A Breakthrough

So I think I've had a pretty major breakthrough with my side heel.  And with my King Fu as a whole, really.

I realized recently that my approach to the side heel has essentially been purely physical.  Crane, pivot, drive from the hip, straight out, make contact with my heel, blade my foot, keep as upright as possible, guards up.  Every little thing I've been focusing on has been external.   Every time I would accidentally throw a really good one, I would evaluate these physical aspects, trying to figure out what was different. Turns out the physical aspects were pretty much good, for my level at least, and from an external viewpoint. What’s been throwing me off was my energy.

I am typically pretty aware of my internal energy.  My Chi. I'm not saying it's very strong.  I'm not saying I can channel or direct it very well.  I'm developing it all the time.  But my awareness of it comes fairly natural.  For some reason, I overlooked it here.

I'll try not to bog you down with every single tidbit of information that led me down this rabbit hole, but essentially what I discovered was this,

When my kicks are poor, it's as if I'm attempting to initiate my energy right at my heel.  

When they're “okay”, I'm trying to initiate at my hip and then it flows to my heel.  Somewhat better. 

But when they're really good, it initiates right in my core and flows all the way through...shifting and changing as needed.....and then the dark clouds part, the sun shines through and the angels sing....

If we look specifically at the 6 harmonies, we aim to harmonize our Chi and Intent.  And in this instance, my Chi and my intent were completely separated.  They did not manifest together and there was no harmony.

The side heel hasn’t just been a hard technique for me. It’s literally caused me distress...anguish even.  I think that maybe those feelings were actually my Chi anticipating this major disconnection.  A warning of sorts that something was wrong.  I figured it out eventually I guess.  And I will hopefully be able to recognize this disconnection in the future.  

Now by no means is my side heel miraculously perfect.  But that feeling of anguish is gone.  And I think that in itself is a huge step forward in my progress.

That and the fact that I think I’m understanding intent a bit better.  I know we get a lot of instruction on intent...but it’s soooooo much different when you make a connection on your own.  😊

*I apologize if much of this is nonsensical. I find it really hard to explain my personal feelings of energy because everyone is just so different.  I know what I'm feeling....I trust what I’m feeling...but I have difficulty putting it in words.