Meet Margaret

I'd like you to meet Margaret.

She came to be during the Break-a-thon on Monday.  From one of the wooden boards broken by Todai Raw.

It may sound funny, but I think I might just take as much pride in holding a board for a successful break as I do when breaking the board myself.  Holding a board is a big responsibility and the holder can make or break (haha...get it?) the attempt.  It requires proper technique just like the strike would.  Proper stance, locked arms, strong grip, perfectly still....a checklist of things that I go through while getting set up and placed.  When that board breaks, I feel that excitement.  And when it doesn't, I accept some of that responsibility and feel that disappointment.

So when someone asks me to hold their board, it's not only a big responsibility, but also a huge compliment that they trust me enough to do so.

Break-a-thon 2024

I was quite pleased with how my board breaks went last night.  In fact, the Break-a-thon is turning out to be a real indicator of progress over the previous year.  I recall just last year having some difficulties with the orange board.  And I don't even recall attempting the green...maybe once.  But this year, I found the orange to be a non-issue...and even the green with the majority of techniques.  And I recall thinking to myself that I could feel major improvement from last year.  So yay!

Leading up to last night my main focus with board break practice has been acquiring my target.  I realized in class a few weeks ago that we spend way too much time and attention setting up our boards (or shields).  We tend to move our holders a fraction of an inch this way or that.  And it's really irrelevant because once you actually get into the sequence, things change.  Perhaps you don't recover quite how you intended.  Maybe you step a bit off.  Turn a bit wide.  Whatever.  And I was finding that I was just rolling into the next technique with the expectation that my board was where it should be.  I wasn't really looking and verifying before I started to move....which meant I was often moving incorrectly.  So as I worked on this, my strategy was to pretend, somewhat, that the second break was somewhere "unexpected".  As soon as I recovered, I would specifically have to look for that second target, and then move and step as needed to get there.  I changed my thinking from "set up the target for how I want to move" to "move as needed for where the target is set up".

Last night was a perfect test for this.  As I set up my 4 boards, I did so quickly and with a general approximation.  I was about to "tweak" everyone a bit further and then thought, "nah...close enough, let's just go for it".  At the forefront of my mind I just told myself to do what I've been practicing...after each break, just look for the next one and do what needs to be done.  And I did it!  I'll be honest with you...it wasn't perfect by any means.  There were a couple little hippity-hops I had to make, but the breaks themselves were successful.  And there are a few things I know I want to work on moving forward....the biggest one being that I need to take my time a bit more to ensure my recovery is solid before setting out for the next one (this relates to expansion and contraction as well!).  I think this, in itself, will rectify the stutter steps when I need to adjust and will make the flow between breaks more fluid and even more intentional.  I have to remember that the recovery is still part of the technique...and we need to finish the first one, before we move on to the next.  

Anyhow, errors aside, this will mark my first successful 4-board break.  And I love firsts.  Lol.

October 19, 2024

 IHC Numbers To Date

Pushups = 21104
Situps = 20418
Fan = 473
Long = 322
Sparring = 279
Km's = 785
AOKs = 637

Partners

Working with a partner for my IHC weapon form has been both challenging (in a good way!) and very rewarding.

In addition to all the normal things that we encounter while developing a form....incorporating a variety of techniques...trying to find flow and harmony...maximizing speed and power...looking super cool...showing off your skills...incorporating things you need to work on......

...well...in a double form, you now have another person and a complete second form to consider along with all of these same things.

When working alone, the tweeks, the adjustments, the additions, the deletions....are all fairly straight forward (the process that is).  You find something that needs fixing...you figure out the problem...you come up with a solution...and voila!!! (kidding....I know it's not quite THAT simple...lol).

But it DEFINITELY isn't that simple when your form is intertwined with someone else's.  There are occasions where I might want to make a "simple" tweek here or there....or maybe I want to just delete a particular step that isn't really working for me....but doing that might actually cause a waterfall of problems for my partner.  One little "fix" for me might mean that, as a pair, we are no longer aligned properly...or our timing is off....or, or, or....so not so straightforward. 

We are also noticing that we seem to have different "stubborn" spots.  The things I am finding difficult are things my partner doesn't seem to have any issues with...and vice versa.  This is important because it is challenging us to not give up so easily on different techniques or transitions.  We know it's possible...because our partner has figured it out...and we just have to figure out the way for ourselves.

Working with a partner has added a completely new level of "eye of detail" for me.  And to be honest, it's really kind of exciting.

Old Friend

I was doing some training and I was suddenly inspired to pick up my Kwan Dao. Of all the weapons I’ve used, my Kwan Dao is my favourite.  It was one that I really felt challenged by, but that I also felt a real connection with.  My understanding and knowledge of using a weapon to its fullest advantage came with my Kwan Dao. It taught me how to turn a weapons “weaknesses” into strengths. I’m pretty sure I will return to the Kwan Dao someday, but for now, it’s a friend I can turn to when I need to ground myself. Both literally and figuratively. Lol