One at a Time

    Forms, I talk about forms a lot. I really enjoy doing forms. Until yesterday. I was practicing some forms yesterday, slowing them down to work on various techniques. And then the wheels fell off of my bus. For some reason I could not get through a single form without felling extremely frustrated. Stances, junk, Intent, non existent, Flow, zip zero nada. The madder I got, the worse I got. The worse I got, the madder I got, arrrggg!! So I stopped.

   I now realize that I was trying to fix everything all at once. My brain and my body were both on different pages. My harmonies were tone deaf. All of my struggles with various aspects of every form had come home to roost. Crash and burn.

   But, like the fiery Phoenix, I will be reborn, or so I am really hoping. Today I will start slowly. Just do the forms from start to finish. Feel the form. Enjoy the form. And fix 1 thing and 1 thing only at a time. And with that, my love of forms should come back stronger than ever.

Pushin Past

    Running. I'm not a fan. In my minds eye it is like getting wet bags of cement to dance. I am heavy footed, my stride is short and stiff, I can feel every fat cell jiggle and giggle, and my breathing is suffocating. 

   But yesterday I had a breakthrough.  I was doing the 300 meter shuttle. Normally at about just over 1/2 way mark, my body decides that that is enough and I start to walk. But not this time. My mind decided to keep running, so I forced my body to listen, and..... the full 300m without walking! I had to laugh (gasp actually), it felt like winning a marathon! And all I had to do was not do something, quit. What a great feeling to not quit AND actually reach your goal. I wanted to do it again right there and now, I didn't cause that would have been silly, but I wanted to. 

   The feeling of pushing past what I perceived as a limit was enlightening. What else can I apply this feeling to? Why everything dear reader!! Now this doesn't mean I am going to go all fitness freak on everything I do but now that I have found a way to get over my "wall", maybe, just maybe, this is a step on a new path that will allow me to break down some more walls that I have imagined in my way. 

  

Size 11 Baby Steps

    Forms. I love forms. I may have written several times over the years about my fondness for forms. A properly done from, to me, is so satisfying. The flow, the power, the way that the 6 harmonies can feel if you allow them to work together. But here is the rub. We talk about the eye for detail, and I have said a few times that my eye for detail may need glasses. I used to joke around about that, trying to hide behind the humor, using it as an excuse. My excuses were a crutch, allowing me to "joke" my way through the things I was doing incorrectly. And this has cost me years of time. I am now being forced (by me) to break my forms down and fix many many fundamentals that I have let slide over the years. And of course as I focus on 1 thing, 2 more scream "what about me?". 

   So baby steps, slow the Forms down, feel my center, correct my footwork, finish my moves, lead with my eyes, correct don't protect. Baby steps, listen to the advice of my instructors, figure out how to apply what I am being told, assume nothing, removing my ego. Baby steps, lots and lots of baby steps, so my Forms can grow into something powerful and complete, allowing the Chi to flow. Baby steps, so I can give the Forms the respect that they are due, honoring the tradition and lineage behind them, believing that Kung Fu is over 2000 years old for a reason, and searching for myself to try and see where I fit into this amazing martial art.

   Forms. I love forms.......

Blip

    Lately my routine has been a bit off. Between staff shortages at work causing to have to go in extra early to do their job and just generally a very busy couple of weeks, my training has been sacrificed to just keep up. But now, I can begin to pick up where I left off. No more home football games 😢, most of my staff is back 😀 (plus I have Kody working for me during his fall break - poor kid never gets a break), yard work for winter mostly done, vehicles winter ready, Halloween decorations down, Christmas going up, I'm ready to get back at it. Plus most of my nagging injuries feel better, except my elbow (doctor time). 

   One thing I found out during this busy time was I missed my food. Being busy and on the run caused a lot of fast food to be substituted in place of my now normal food routine. Instead of fresh fruit and veggies it was toast or a granola bar (or nothing at all), instead of a nice sandwich it was a burger, instead of a glass of water it was a coffee. Blah! I can feel the difference inside, heavy and unfulfilled. Luckily I can start getting back to eating healthy again today cause it is grocery day! 

   Now to go and get my personal requirements done for the Year of the Tiger!