Simply For Enjoyment

Today I decided to do my Tai Chi form with no “training” ideas in mind.  Meaning I wanted to do it simply for the purpose of moving meditation, feeling my energy (however and whenever that may occur) and just truly enjoying the form.

I forget to do this sometimes.  

I am always training with a focus.  With something on my mind that needs fixing or improvement.

I forget that sometimes it’s just nice to do the form….simply the way I know how and to the best of my ability….for the simple pleasure and enjoyment of doing Kung Fu.

My Day

I spent my entire day at a community garage sale. 

I mingled and joked with people I didn't know.  Connecting with the community.

I was outside for 8 hours straight.  Breathing fresh air and enjoying both the sun and the wind on my skin.

I gave away way more than I sold.  Making people I don't know smile because I just can't seem to charge someone money when I see their face light up when they've found a treasure.

It was a long day.  But it was a good day.

Right Across The Board

I spent some time working with Sifu Brinker last night.  We were focused on the kicking section of my form.  This section has definitely mushed together.  The momentum of my weapon was pulling me into my next move.  Meaning I was not finishing my technique…meaning my next technique was weak right from the start.  And so I wasn't really accomplishing anything in this sequence.  All of these things he touched on at the end of class.

And so moving forward, I’m going to really focus on the following in this sequence,

Solidify my stance.  I need to be grounded and firm if I want to maximize my striking power.  And although in this sequence my front leg has most of the weight (essentially this is a bow stance), it's my back leg that requires my attention.  That's the one that will ground me and keep me solid so that I’m not fighting my weapon.

One technique at a time.  This concept seems to be a theme for me right now.  I've been noticing all over the place that I am too eager to move on.  Always thinking about what's coming next.  The strike preceding needs to be strong and complete…I need to release that energy, even when I might feel it’s not happening fast enough.  If it don’t, the next technique doesn’t stand a chance.  Faster doesn’t mean better.

And although there is a particular section of my form that I’m working on, these things certainly apply across the board.

Time Is Ticking

Deadlines are huge motivators for me.  With the Tiger Challenge coming up, I have lots to do and many things on which to focus.  Although lack of direction was something I was struggling with a bit ago...it certainly isn't the case now.

• Obstacle Course - entered.
• Pool Noodle Fighting - entered.
• Hand Form - I have every intention of doing my Tai Chi short form...but I'm not sure how to approach this.  I don't know if the judges would appreciate me up there for 5+ minutes.  But selecting a minutes worth doesn't really cover much either!  I have an idea, but I'll need to chat with one of the instructors about it before I implement it in my training.
• Weapon Form - I'll be doing my Kwan Dao...but I sure hope I can smooth out some wrinkles before then.  
• Creative Musical Form - entered.  I think I know what I'm doing but not 100%.  This is one I need to make a decision on and get training.
• Team Form - With Todai Ward - dedicated practice has started.
• Board Breaking - entered.  But I don't really know what to do yet.
• Fight Choreography - With Todai Ward and Todai A. Csillag - dedicated practice has started.

And on top of my own events, I'm also trying to keep the kids motivated with training towards theirs.

So yeah.....definitely lots on the go!!

Not My Fave

Sparring is not my favourite.   There’s too much going on and I can’t keep it all straight.  It doesn’t make sense to me.  It’s not organized.  I will even find myself all tangled up with my hands and arms exactly where I don’t want them. Usually meaning my face is wide open.

But there was still an excellent takeaway from tonight.  After Sihing mentioned that the major difference he was seeing with the black belts was that they were much more patient…calmer moving…always waiting for an opportunity…I decided to try that approach.  Which worked out well because my next opponent was Sihing N. Csillag…who, to me, always seems so calm and collected.  So instead of immediately going on the offensive, I tried to stay calm and wait a bit.  I tried to focus more on observing rather than feeling like I needed to constantly be launching a strike.  I spent a little more time watching them…trying to notice the smallest movements that might give something away.  Essentially I was attempting to recognize a strike coming at me, in order to refine my blocking.  And I think I actually made a few! Because realistically, if I can’t block anything, I’m done.  But if I CAN block an attack, that at least gives me a fighting chance.  In theory anyways.

That’s About It

My mind is filled with some other things tonight.   And so my mental capacity to blog is fairly depleted.  Today will be a simple check in with what I did today to accomplish some of my goals.

My focus this morning was on pushups, sit-ups and my tai chi form.  I’m on par with everything else at the moment so I wanted to devote a little extra time to Tai Chi today.  I led the 6 Harmonies portion of the Young Dragons classes.  I really enjoyed developing a simple form with the students.  That part turned out better than I had hoped.  The “performance” part didn’t go quite as well.  Not that the kids didn’t do amazing!  They did. It was just that many of them chose not to participate.  But I can appreciate the anxiety that comes with standing up in front of an audience and hopefully I can help them gain some more confidence in the future. 

And that’s about it for today.

Finish The Move You’re On

When I notice things people are doing, or not doing, in the level 1 class (or in the kids classes for that matter), I always try to pay more attention to these same things in myself.  Today I noticed one of the students with a very loose hand for their jab.  Essentially open.  So I pointed out to them, for the purpose of this drill (and I recognize there can always be exceptions), that the jab should be an actual solid punch.  Hopefully you get them with it, but if not, you have the reverse following.

And so I wanted to pay attention to this in myself when we were running through the same drill.  And wouldn’t you know it, my fist was loose as well!  Not full on open, but not fully tight either.

This tells me that I’m not committing to that punch.  That I’m already thinking about the reverse.  And that I need to commit to that jab with the intent of landing it.

“Finish the move you’re on” - Sifu Dennis

This also tells me that sometimes it’s often easier to see the details by watching rather than doing.

Awesome

There is a spot in my Kwan Dao form that is really challenging me.  Okay...more than one...but this one in particular.  

It's a part where I do a big circular strike upwards with my Kwan Dao....immediately followed by a kick while I also simultaneously pull the Kwan Dao back into my body. This happens on both sides.  And I’m also switching to my left hand on the one side.  And I have to adjust my hands pretty quickly to get both the extension and avoid lodging the blade into the ground.  Now that I write this out…this is a pretty complicated sequence.  

As this sequence has morphed and evolved, I’ve also had to make adjustments to the kick. Things had become much more circular, and the linear front thrust just wasn't working.  I tried it with a roundhouse, which seems alot better, but that turned my body a bit more than I wanted.  And so now I've somewhat settled on what I'm calling an "open front thrust".   This kick sort of just happened while trying to work WITH my weapon, rather than against it.

This sequence is likely going to take all year to master.  It’s certainly not easy.  And it challenges me on pretty much every level.   And it’s gonna be awesome.   

The Time Is Now

It's so important to blog when the events are actually taking place.

I was recently struggling with both lack of direction and confidence.  And although I talked about it and worked through some things in 1-on-1s, I neglected to put it all in writing.  Not in full anyways.  Truth be told, I was feeling guilty for even struggling at all.  I mean, there are people around me with real legitimate challenges...and I was feeling a bit ridiculous and somewhat like a whiner.  I touched on it in passing, but didn't really dig deep.  And I convinced myself to leave it for another day.

Now, a few weeks later, I've worked through those issues and am back on track.  I went back, wanting to finish that blog, but it no longer feels relevant.  Nor does it feel as honest.  I'm on the other side now...and my perspective is completely different...so trying to explain how I felt just doesn't feel organic anymore.  And it feels like I missed my opportunity to really be true to what I was feeling and recording it in an honest way.  My take on it now is distorted...the memories of what I was feeling and the struggles I was facing have diminished.  And I'm simply no longer in that place to accurately reflect where I was and what I was doing.

And now I don't have a true record of that time.  Nor do I have a true record of what I might have learnt from it.

She's ROCKING IT

A while back I was really struggling with some conflict I was having as a parent.  I am so happy and proud to say that things have really turned around.

Without getting into too much detail or breaking her trust...

Through hard work and dedication...by putting in a little bit of effort every day...by staying consistent...by utilizing the tools both given to her and designed by her...by making and following a plan...she has done a complete 360 with her attitude, motivation, choices and success.  

If I am ever doubting the efficacy of daily consistent effort...if I ever doubt the simple tools I have at my disposal...don't.  My 10 year old has proven their value.

Falling Apart

What is happening???  I injured my back on Tuesday by breathing.  Then I tweaked my ankle doing a little "skip" before Tai Chi.  And then I pulled something in my hip while working on Da Mu Hsing during the Level 1 Adult class.

I can complain all I want, but this is probably my own fault because I'm pretty sure I know the underlying issue.  I haven't stayed true to my stretching.  If I took a wild guess, I don't think I've done any dedicated stretching practice for over a year.  I could probably look back in my blogs to really pinpoint when I stopped....but I don’t want to out of embarrassment.  I’ll guess at a year and we’ll go with that. 

This really isn’t good.  I remember feeling like a million bucks when I was doing my stretching every night.  I remember noticing how it extended to benefits all across the board. 

Why does it have to take my body slowly falling apart to remember what it did for me?

Why is it that we stop doing things that are working?

I Breathed Too Deeply??

I hurt my back pretty bad yesterday.  How, you ask?  I took a really deep breathe. 🙄

Obviously it wasn't actually the breathe that caused the damage.  I'm sure that something had occurred previously and the big deep breathe was the straw.  But I am realizing more and more that my body is not quite as resilient as it once was.  I'm still strong and capable.  I'm healthy.  But as we age, it takes less and less to take us out.  Having said that, with prompt attention, I am able to heal fairly quickly.  And after an emergency visit to my chiropractor this morning, I am already feeling much better.

If I could do it all again, I think I'd marry a chiropractor.  Or a vet.

No offense Dan.

I AM Dependable

I am feeling very frustrated today.  Today brings yet another missed appointment by the plumber.  

I understand that emergencies can happen.  But what bothers me the most is the complete disregard for anyone that may have been counting on you.  That may have had to make special arrangements to accommodate you.  It's the lack of communication.  No phone call...no message.  Nothing.  Like I didn't matter.

Perhaps I'm just in a mood, but it feels like this occurs more and more all the time.  

I take my commitments very seriously.  If I say I'm going to be somewhere, I am there.  If I schedule something with someone, I show up.  If I say I'm going to do something I do it.  And if I'm faced with some sort of emergency, the people that are counting on me...the people I've made a commitment to...are the first to know and I'm open and honest about it.

I'm not saying I never screw up.  I have, and I do.  But I certainly don't make it a habit.  And I certainly don't sluff it off like it didn't matter.

I AM Dependable