What May NOT Have Been

I realized today that I have been a student at Silent River during the pandemic longer than I was prior to it.  I attended in person, "normal" classes for about 4 1/2 months before the first shutdown.  It has now been roughly 9 1/2 months of "pandemic" training.  Granted, some of that was able to happen at the Kwoon, but even so, was still very different than the norm.  And although others might have a different perspective, I feel that I've been really fortunate.  The pandemic itself is terrible, obviously....but I am certainly grateful for many things that resulted because of it.

I have had the privilege of being exposed to so much more information than I likely would have been otherwise.  Without the pandemic, the livestream classes and the 1-on-1's wouldn't even exist.  The amount of information I have gathered and accumulated from those two resources has propelled my training forward in an exponential way.  Although there were times I felt overwhelmed with the shear amount of information, once I figured out how to utilize and categorize it, I found myself wanting more.  And there was always more available.  

With every new livestream there were things I'd never done...never heard of.  Lao Gar 2&3, Broadsword and too many combinations, applications and techniques to list.....I have to wonder if I would have been exposed to any of this, at this point in my training, if not for the livestream classes.

With the 1-on-1's, not only have I been able to expand on that extra knowledge and go into further detail, but I've also been able to develop some personal relationships with the Sifus.  That, in itself, has been extraordinary.  Further to that, because of the increased online presence, I've made relationships with other students...many not in my core class.  Again, I'm not sure this would have happened, as quickly, by only attending typical weekly classes.

The opportunity to delve into Tai Chi has also been invaluable.  The benefits that correspond to our main Kung Fu curriculum are infinite.  Would I have tried it had it not been offered as a bonus during the pandemic?  I don't know.  Likely not, simply due to time constraints.  But there's no way I can give it up now.

Again, I don't intend to downplay the hardships many have faced with the pandemic.  But if there were a silver lining within it somewhere, my opportunities with Kung Fu would definitely be it.  If the pandemic hadn't happened, I don't think I would be where I am today with my Kung Fu.