Back in the Philippines, when I was a lot younger, I was quite known of my walk. I'm not talking about a runway/fashion model walk. I'm talking about just my ordinary walk. It's nothing special either. But it's noticeable.
When I was a kid, I had a hard time catching up to my dad whenever we go places. Being asthmatic makes it worse when I have to take three steps for each of my dad's single step. I think I didn't complain 'cause I just see dad as a giant. Apparently, he noticed how hard this was for me. So he taught me how to walk "his way".
"Take wider strides."
"Use gravity/your weight to pull you forward."
"Don't force it. It'll come naturally."
As I grew up and got "the walk" I added "a steady rhythm." Fortunately I was a dance enthusiast that time. That helped a lot! Being light-footed but with powerful strides made me walk faster, stabilized, and steady. Add to that, it gave me power-thighs!
I walked this way everywhere I go, however the path may be. Be it climbing a mountain or treading downhill. Even the locals of the mountainous regions gave compliment to the way I walk. Some people recognized how I "pass by them like the wind." And even when it's not directly addressed to me, I hear talks about how fast I could go distances.
The only bad thing (but I don't consider it bad really) is when kids notice me. As I pass by them, I hear them counting "1... 2... 3... 4... 1... 2... 3... 4..." a lot of times. I can easily tell they're teasing how I walk as it's so steady and rhythmic, you'd mistake it for a march. I wouldn't say it's a bad thing, 'cause they just don't understand how beneficial to me, the way I walk. But it's sometimes annoying as I pass by people minding my own business, and get distracted by these petty mockery.
It's when I came here in Korea that everything changed. Lately, I noticed how bad I walk. I walk like a fat person with very short strides, no more heel-and-toe motion, and no sense of stability. I even lost my precious rhythm. Back in the Philippines, when I stopped dancing to concentrate on music, I gained a lot of weight. But that didn't affect the way I walk. It only affected the distance I could go to without rest. Here, I'm just pathetic.
I blame it on snow. I never learned how to walk on icy roads. It takes short strides with a strange footing (landing my foot very flat as I take a small step) to avoid the chance of slipping. In Ilokano, it takes to "baddek" (stump) instead of "magna" (walk), to cross a simple, icy, four-foot, walk. It shortens my stride to ensure my supporting leg is stabilized, and in case I slip, I can easily recover.
So there you go. I lost my walk that I was proud of. A walk that my dad taught me. All because of snow.
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