One After Another

This past week was not ideal in terms of my training. In addition to the little moments here and there, as well as my classes, I've been trying to fit in three longer training sessions each week (1 1/2–2 hours each). This week, two of those sessions were kiboshed.

To make up for some of it, I decided to do some higher-intensity training last night. I ran through all of my forms, one after the other, trying to limit the time between them to about a minute, just enough to settle myself and catch my breath.

• Da Mu Hsing 1–5
• 18 Temple Motions x 2
• Stick
• Lao Gar 1–3
• Broadsword
• Long 1–2
• Butterfly Swords
• Hung 1–2
• Nunchuks
• Personal Staff Form
• Spear

Although I mostly wanted to really sweat, I also wanted to challenge myself to stay mentally focused, especially when my brain started telling me to hurry up and just get through it because I was getting tired.

And for the most part, I felt I was able to do that.

I'm sure my technique started to wane as fatigue set in. But what I was proud of was my ability to keep bringing myself back into the moment. To remind myself to get deeper into my horse stance, or to really fire that punch. It may not have been to the same level as when I'm fresh, but I was still aware enough to recognize what I needed to do and make the effort to do it, even when my legs were burning or my arms were fatigued.

I also really tried to manage my breathing, which is something I've struggled with for a long time. Sure, I was pretty gassed between forms and needed that time to settle my breathing. But the fact that I can now even think about my breathing while performing my forms, and have some ability to keep it from getting completely out of control, is a big improvement.

I think that's what I took away from this session more than anything. I know I can push myself physically. But being able to stay mentally present, recognize when things are starting to slip, and make a conscious effort to correct them, even when I'm exhausted, feels like a different kind of progress.

I'll definitely do this again.