Blurry Brain

   Not sure why but lately my mind has been very scattered. Life just seems to be passing by, me just watching as it goes.  Even events that should make me smile are just meh. Not sure where this funk has come from but I don't like it. So even though it is early and everyone in the house is still asleep, I am going to get off my butt and go do some Kung Fu, meaningful repetitions not just maintenance.

Push Ups 26376

Sit Ups 24351

Sparring 640

1609KM   1726.47 km

Acts of Kindness 1450 Recorded

Hand Form 530

Weapon Form 550

Mastery recited 18

Warm Ups

   Every once in a while I get to do the kid's warm up and for that I am grateful. I do still feel the same stress as if it is my first time doing a warm up regardless of whether or not it be in front of the kids or adults. I'm just not a big fan of being the center of attention, I tend to get inside my own head almost immediately. What to do what to do......? Do I cardio this one? Do I make it a fun one for the kids? Do I go hard or do I vary my pace? Sometimes I am given a set of objectives for the warm up by the lead instructor of the class, sometimes it is all spur of the moment. And I love every moment of it. 

   Warm ups challenge me to think outside of my box. If I find myself being predictable, I tend to lose the class and I can see their mind wandering. If I go to hard, I notice a few starting to give up and just stand there.  I need to alter as I go, think on my feet (or butt if need be). To keep the students involved, the warm up  needs to be fun and challenging but still Kung Fu. I need to push and guide at the same time. I know the warm up is not the time to teach but at the same time, minor corrections during dynamic repetition are easy to do. It's a great time to push their horse stance, increase their sound focus, get them to breathe deep, and so on. And at the same time, it forces me to do all the above as well. I can't expect them to do something I am unwilling or unable to do. So I push myself and I usually find myself really enjoying it. 

   

Push Ups 26376

Sit Ups 24351

Sparring 640

1609KM   1694.34 km

Acts of Kindness 1450 Recorded

Hand Form 515

Weapon Form 500

Mastery recited 18

Bag or No Bag

   Stiff Swinging Kick to the Spine. Last Tuesday we worked on this. So much fun. So much frustration. So many new things to work on. But for me the kicker (heehee) was bag or no bag. Throwing the kick in the air feels wild and on the verge of losing control. I have a very hard time committing to the kick. 

In the air it's not the first half of the kick, it's after the target recovery that I struggle with. There is so much momentum in the leg that my balance disappears. 

With a bag, my momentum is arrested by the bag making recovery much easier. 

This points out a deficiency with my control of expansion and contraction. Another minor issue I have is repetition. After about five of these in a row on both legs, I have to stop and wait for the room to catch up to my brain. So getting in meaningful and mindful reps is very time consuming. Good thing I am not in a rush right?! So if you see me watching you do these kicks without a bag, thanks for helping me better understand "your" mechanics, maybe I can find a way to adapt them to "my" mechanics.

Push Ups  26361

Sit Ups 24351

Sparring 640

1609KM  1666.30 km

Acts of Kindness 1450 Recorded

Hand Form 505

Weapon Form 490

Mastery recited 18

Sounds

   My five senses. in particular for this blog, sound. The sounds of everyday life can be profound or mundane. Example, my work. I expect to hear certain sounds without fail. The constant buzz of the vending machines, the chatter of customers and staff, the relentless paging of the intercom for staff to pick up calls, the ultrasonic whine of my computer, and so on. They are not comforting sounds at all, but they are a part of my reality because I need a job to pay the bills and the noise is uncaring of my discomfort anyways, so I "mostly" try to ignore them. There are times I need to step away from the din and take a breath, so I do, I go on a quick walk about to survey and assess my surroundings, usually outside in the parking lot, but I am right beside 16A so really I am just trading one set of sounds for another. Grrr.

   I bring this up because of Thursday's IHC meeting. The Kwoon. The walls of the Kwoon. The people in the Kwoon. The Lions, the dragons, the pictures on the walls and on the Alter, the weapons rack, the mats, everything has a sound to me, whether it be imagined or real. And these sounds are the polar opposite to the unwanted sounds of my life outside of the Kwoon. 

   It really struck home for me while we were listening to Master Brinker talk about time. I don't know if it was where I was standing, or my imagination or just a particular moment in time, but a wave of sound seemed to wash over me and I was left dumbstruck. I was so moved by the experience I lost track of all my surrounding except for the sound of his voice. 

   It was surreal. It made me instantly appreciate my absolute pure privilege that I have been given to be around a group of people who have so dramatically altered my live for the better. I was about to share this with the group but my current state probably would have brought me to tears. So I am blogging about it to share my experience with the team.

   Thank you Silent River Kung Fu for so enriching my life.

 

 

 

Push Ups 26116

Sit Ups 24071

Sparring 640

1609KM  1628.96km

Acts of Kindness 1450 Recorded

Hand Form 505

Weapon Form 490

Mastery recited 18

Just Numbers

 Missed a week, here are the numbers from that week.

 

 

Push Ups 26066

Sit Ups 24061

Sparring 640

1609KM  1593.70km

Acts of Kindness 1425 Recorded

Hand Form 490

Weapon Form 475

Mastery recited 18

Small Piece

    Playing around with my weapon form recently I inadvertently added a small a move in just by chance. Was it accidental or intentional, who knows, it just happened. And wouldn't you know it, it fit like it was supposed to be there all along. When I tried to duplicate it, it now felt forced and disconnected. Is it footwork, is it timing, is it me being in my own head? Several repetitions later, it is starting to feel like it did the first time. I found if I just let the weapon flow like the weapon wants, it works. I also found if I allowed my imagination to "animate" my intentions, winner winner chicken dinner, it becomes a form and not a sequence. 

   I know we are close to the banquet and now is not the time to start changing my form so I will save my "play time" till after. Okay, maybe I'll sneak some fun in here and there 😏.

 

 

 

Push Ups 25768

Sit Ups 23801

Sparring 640

1609KM 1559.93km

Acts of Kindness 1400 Recorded

Hand Form 460

Weapon Form 448

Mastery recited 18

Introspective

   Todai Bauer's kindness project.

   What a great way for me to analyze my vision of those around (IHC team Dragon) me and what they bring to my life. Some people were very easy to quantify, they are just a force that can't be denied, that you can't help but take notice of. Others are more of a behind the scene presence, a gentle hand applying their "force" to you without you really noticing it at the time. Some took deep introspective for me to realize how I feel/think about that person. Either way, every single person on the IHC brings something to my table for me to digest and now I am more aware of that. I really hope you all take advantage of this project as it has made me take more notice of those around me, pulling me out of my own "ego" and  appreciating my team mates just a little bit more than I already did. 

Thank you Todai Bauer, great project.

https://nigelbauer.blogspot.com/2024/09/kindness-project.html

Push Ups 255768

Sit Ups 23801

Sparring 640

1609KM 1529.54km

Acts of Kindness   1400 Recorded

Hand Form 460

Weapon Form 448

Mastery recited 18