Our childhood years are supposed to be the best of our lives - at least, that's what people say. So why did so many of us decide to spend our time rolling around in stiff cotton jackets, collecting coloured belts like Pokemon cards? Admittedly martial arts are useful, a good form of exercise, and a way of meeting new friends, but some days it just didn't seem worth it. Some of us will have carried on our martial arts training beyond childhood, leaving behind all the old problems and hopefully becoming far more competent. However, it's sometimes nice to look back on the foolhardiness of youth. Whether you did practiced karate, judo, ju-jitsu or taekwondo,here are some of the common issues which will have affected every martial arts kid back in the day.
20. Waiting For The Previous Group To Finish
If sessions were scheduled from 7-9pm each night, you knew not to turn up until 7:15 at the earliest. Otherwise you'd just be standing around waiting for the local brownies to finish, or for the weekly yoga group to untangle themselves and get the hell out of your sports hall. If they didn't get a move on you might have no time for games at the end!
19. Having To Help Drag The Safety Mats Out
Forget stretching - this was warm-up enough. Unless you had the luxury of a class before yours, it was your job to help drag the mats out of that ruinous old storage cupboard in the corner. Half of the class would get changed in slow motion just to avoid this, while the rest of you were stuck trying to manhandle items easily far bigger than the average child. One of your mates would inevitably find it hilarious to jump on the mat as you were dragging it into position. Every week.