Baila conmigo!

[bailo]

Hi, you can call me Bailo! I've been on a fitness journey, and I was looking for somewhere to share my goals and help cheer other people on. This forum looks awesome, I love that you have monthly challenges that are somewhat self-lead. 

I love to dance Zumba, do yoga and stretches, a little weightlifting (mostly freeweights), kayaking, and lots of walking and hiking. I'm also trying to re-teach myself Tae-Kwon-Do through YouTube videos and online resources-- I earned my black belt when I was 13, but it's the kind of thing where you should really start from the beginning if you go a while without practice, so I'm starting with white-belt forms. Even though I have a lot of fun doing these things, sometimes I have a really hard time motivating! Especially since I grew up with the stigma of being a nerd, and always kinda felt like fitness wasn't for someone like me, especially since all my friends hated working out so much.

I've been on web forums since... jeez, at least 2007, so it's cool to see sites like this still alive and well! I'm excited to jump in.  Nice to meet you all.

[ViperN7]

Welcome the rebellion! It looks like you're doing a lot of cool things! Here you will certainly find nerds who are very into fitness. What are your tae-kwon-do forms like? (I don't know too much about tae-kwon-do, but I always picture kicks to the head.) 

[bailo]

Thanks @ViperN7! The forms basically are combinations of kicks and punches, similar to Tai Chi, each movement seamlessly blends into the next. Each form represents an aspect of nature that symbolizes where on the journey of TKD knowledge the student is. White belt is "Purity, no knowledge of Tae Kwon Do", and so the kicks and punches are just simple and straight forward, done in each of the four directions (kick, punch, punch, turn, kick, punch, punch, turn).

 

But as your knowledge increases, the forms get more and more complicated, and you have to practice and coordinate as if it's a dance. Usually it's also done in a group setting, so you have to try to sync your movements with others. but it's not necessary to have a group, all the movements are done on your own and not to or on anyone else. Most of Tae-Kwon-Do is self-defense, and the main tenants are courtesy and self-control, so hopefully not too many kicks to the head in my future! It's against the rules in sparring lol, but I have gotten to high kick a mannequin in the head before, and it's pretty satisfying. ?

[tae-ho]

 Welcome to the forum! It's great to hear about your fitness journey and all the activities you enjoy—Zumba, yoga, weightlifting, kayaking, hiking, and re-learning Tae-Kwon-Do sound fantastic! You'll find plenty of support here for your goals, and it's awesome that you're ready to cheer others on too. Don't worry about any stigma—fitness is for everyone, and we're glad to have you here. Looking forward to seeing you around the community!