What Matters

    The Bjorkquist clan has been away all week on a family outing in Mexico. This trip has been a bucket list item of mine for 30+ years (Cabo San Lucas). It has been marvellous. Fantastic weather, food, scenery, people and most importantly, family time. We (Deb, Kody and I), have many more memories to add to our shared times together, and that is the most important thing to me. I am not saying things went perfectly, life always has bumps, but it is how you handle them that matters. We have had some room issues, tummy troubles, missed opportunities, but these are trivial compared to the unbelievable memories we will have from the time spent together enjoying life. 

   But this has been at the expense of my training and participation in Kung Fu. Poor Wifi, forgetting about our time zone difference, rushed schedule, crowded pools, and an unexpectedly strong rip tide limited what I wanted to do. Mentally I was constantly thinking about Kung Fu, but physically not so much. Needless to say I am anxious to get back at it Tuesday when we are back at home. But that will be tough as well, our plane doesn’t get in till after midnight on Monday, then customs, drive home, work on Tuesday (Deb was smart enough to take Tuesday off, I wasn’t). Poor planning on my part, oh well. 

   So while I missed a weeks worth of classes, I gained a lifetime worth of memories with those I love. Truly what matters the most to me. 

   Now to get back at it. I have numbers to work on, forms to tweak, Tiger Challenge to prepare for, classes to attend and a weeks worth of sloth to crush.

P/UP 9967 (no change)

S/UP 9840 (no change)

SPAR 160 min (no change)

1609 KM 443.28 km (watch broken, no data)

AOK 300 recorded (no change)

HAND FORM 80

WEAPON FORM 90 (no change)

MASTERY 8 

The Long and Wide of it

    When I walk on dry concrete I walk normally. When I walk on ice, I walk entirely different. Concrete is long easy relaxed stride looking at the world around me, walking on ice is akin to being a long lost relative of a penguin, short choppy steps while looking at my feet and legs. Now I could walk on concrete the same way I walk on ice but that would not only look ridiculous but it would be a total waste of energies. I could also walk on ice the way I walk on concrete but that would be down right dangerous. So they each have a place and a purpose. Used correctly, the world is good, used incorrectly, well....

   This is the way I tend to think about my stances in our many forms. Our long stance in Lao Gar may feel like it works in Da Mu Hsing but I can also feel it is not correct. A wider stance might work in Lao Gar, so why not use it? Cause It feels wrong. Well after being part of a conversation about this, a light went on a little brighter in my mind. 

   I have been playing with this lately and boy does it mess with my vectors. And after a little enlightenment from Master Briker I now understand a little better as to why. Linear versus rotational, the stances support this. LauGar is a linear vector form verses Da Mu Hsing is rotational. Now I in no way can explain this correctly because to me it is all about visualizing the flow of my movements and feeling the placement of my stances. Every once in a while I will look in a mirror to "see" if what I am doing matches what I am feeling (it rarely does). Too wide, too deep, not long enough, too tall, heel up, so on so on so on. But now I have another tool to use to fix this, my intent of vector. Width, length but not depth. Time to build another tape box on my basement floor so I can work on this. 

   Hope what I have put here in words makes so sense, it was like trying to juggle snowflakes to put this into sentences. 

    

 

P/up - 9967

S/up - 9840

Spar - 160 min 

1609 km - 443.28 km

Aok - 300 recorded

Hand form - 75

Weapon form - 90

 Mastery - 8

Why I Blog

   Excerpt from my first day at Silent River Kung Fu as a student.

March 3, 2014 Monday

 1^st night. Lots of jitters, very nervous that I am going to make a fool of myself. Instead, had a lot of fun. Started with basic kicks, front snap, front thrust, and straight leg.  Paired up with Deb and Sihing Timchuck. Went over bowing in, first 4 moves of da mu hsing. Then paired up with a young guy (didn't catch his name) to work on a submission technique. Slide to side, ridge hand to groin, lift elbow, grab arm, knife hand to chest, step on leg, hold 1 arm up and choke hold. What a combo to learn on the first night. Great people there, think we are going to really enjoy this, Deb even said she had fun (and that really makes me happy).

   This was my first. It was the first of many, many, many I have written. It is a snapshot in time. It will never happen again. It was a simple summary of my first night as a Kung Fu Martial Artist. Without this little story there is no way I would have ever remembered that moment in time. It, to me, is priceless, one of a kind, non-repeatable because that moment is gone forever. But thankfully I wrote this down and now I can look back and see where I was and what I was doing. That is why I blog!

   My blogging helps me define my thoughts. It helps me reflect on who I am. It is a staple in my life because it has transformed not only the way I look at myself but also forces me to make myself vulnerable to others. Not blogging is not an option for me. It predates my Kung Fu journey and it will continue on as long as I can still get my thoughts into coherent meaningful words to "paper". 

   I am lucky enough that blogging is actually very easy. Gift for gab? Verbal diarrhea? Take your pick, but it is a release for me to blog. I actually usually have multiple things I want to blog about, but I limit what I post as there is already enough "noise" out there. Short and sweet (usually), that is what I strive for in a blog (this one isn't really following that format, sorry). 

   So I blog. And blog. And blog. It is primarily for me, but if others read it, all the better. Thanks for reading.

P/up - 8977

S/up - 8860

Spar - 145 min (no change)

1609 km - 400.11 km

Aok - 250 recorded

Hand form - 65

Weapon form - 85 (no change)

 Mastery - 7

So Obvious

 

   It was plain and simple. I have been trying to figure out a transition in my Tiger Hook Sword form but I couldn't and it was driving me to frustration. All it took was some brilliant insight by Todai Mike Kohut. I was focused on being even on my left and right, everything equal and I just could not make that happen, grrrr. So Mike said basically "stop trying to". And then it clicked. Now I could make the transition work (sort of). So simple, stop fighting the natural flow of the weapon and just let it do it's "thing". I was trying to change the natural limitations of the weapon instead of using the weapons potential. So now if the weapon wants to go left or up or whatever, I will listen. Thanks Mike, you rock!

PS,,, have I ever said I love open training? Well guess where this happened, open training!

 

P/up - 8337

S/up -8220

Spar - 145 min

1609 km - 361.07 km

Aok - 221 recorded

Hand form - 60

Weapon form - 85

 Mastery -6

 

 

The Old Gray Mare

    Grappling. I really struggle with grappling. I totally understand the need for it, you need to be able to defend, dominate and escape if you are forced into a ground situation. But that doesn't make it any easier for me. This last week we did quite a bit of grappling, and the last few days I have really felt it's effects. I call them my ground pains. Back sore, sides sore, neck sore, you know, all the muscles that ground work tends to work differently than non-ground work. But such is life. Just because I don't like doing something doesn't mean I should avoid doing it. I just need to adjust my practice to my potential skill level. 

    I am not in the under 20 or 30 or 40 or 50 club any more and injuries last a long time. This means I need to be smart about how I grapple, not jumping in and acting like I have any business bouncing around with someone 1/2 my age and 10x my skill level. Being "stupid" can get us both injured. Being uncontrolled and reckless is dangerous so I need to grapple with care.  

My song of the Day

https://youtu.be/bsByJy9wB-I?feature=shared

P/up - 7492

S/up - 7390

Spar - 85 min

1609 km -321.57 km

Aok - 200 recorded

Hand form - 55

Weapon form - 77

 Mastery - 5

Structure and Open

   This week was frustrating. Without the structure of set class times, I did very little actual Kung Fu. One hundred percent on me! I had every opportunity but just didn't. And now I am regretting my choices. I had eleven days to work on a mountain of things that need work, but I chose to use crappy excuses to not to instead. The only positive was I did manage to add one move to my weapon technique, so a small victory there I guess. 

   On a positive note, I finally committed to one-on-ones! After a few parents and kids asking me if I did one-on-ones, I finally ran out of excuses as to why I didn't and committed some time to doing them. This might be a humbling path to go down but I am excited to see where it leads my Kung Fu. Now to hang my "open" sign out and who comes through the door. 

   

 P/up - 6682

S/up - 6610

Spar - 70 min

1609 km -236.41 km

Aok - 185 recorded

Hand form - 50

Weapon form - 75

 Mastery - 4

Gems

   Chances, opportunities, whatever you want to call it, are few and far between. Once they are gone, poof, they are gone. I had an opportunity to sit in on a conversation the other day. I almost didn't though, thought I would get more done with my day if I skipped it and just carried on muddling around. What a monumental mistake that would have been. I can't go into too many details because I am still processing the massive gem this laid in my lap. I can summarize but even that won't do it justice, I just don't have the words to properly relay it to others let alone myself yet.

So here we go........ ready??

   I have been mulling over an interview I watched with the actor Michael Caine. In it he was asked about his early days of acting and the hurdles he had to overcome. What his reply was hit true to me. He said "use the difficulty". At first I was a little baffled, it can't be that simple, can it?? So I listened to it again and it just made so much sense to me. What a great philosophy to live by.

    And then there was the conversation I had the opportunity to sit in on. Here it is..."let the style fill in the gaps". It was like two freight trains smashed into each other in my head, pieces of logic and insight scattered everywhere. Now I have to collect them and make use of them.

    So if I am struggling with a move because of whatever difficulty (real or imaginary) is in my way, can I just use that difficulty and let the style fill in the gaps. Is it that simple? I really hope so cause this might be game changing. There are so many layers on this onion to peel back, I know it is not that easy but I am excited to apply that to my training.

    So anyway, opportunities and chances, do not pass them up cause this one has blown my mind.

 

 P/up - 5832

S/up - 5760

Spar - 60 min

1609 km -252.33km

Aok - 170 recorded

Hand form - 45

Weapon form - 65

 Mastery - 3

https://www.google.com/search?q=michael+caine+interview+use+the+difficulty&client=firefox-b-d&sca_esv=d34a127615f5f538&ei=80IAZvX2MqbB0PEPrsaVoAQ&ved=0ahUKEwi1vPTsl42FAxWmIDQIHS5jBUQQ4dUDCBA&uact=5&oq=michael+caine+interview+use+the+difficulty&gs_lp=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&sclient=gws-wiz-serp#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:2f9f95ac,vid:TsN18ocel3A,st:0