(un)tangled thoughts

I’ve been practicing with an invisible opponent more often lately, and a few really cool things started happening.   First, when I picture someone actually in front of me, my heart rate seems to kick up a notch, almost like a mini adrenaline rush. And that in turn appears to create more snap in my strikes and I get the sense of some extra speed in my forms.   Second, I had a lightbulb moment with my distancing. In Da mu Hsing 4, I realized my ridge hand was way too close to my shoulder. Imagineing to impact an opponent’s neck forced me to reach further, and suddenly the strike made sense. Without my invisible partner, I probably wouldn’t have noticed it at all.   And third, directions! Blocking or striking while actually picturing where the attack is coming from makes me look, line up, and commit in a way I just don’t do when I’m „just“ going through the motions.   It’s funny how even „nobody“ makes a great trainings partner and mentor!

Last week I wrote about trusting myself when something felt powerful, even if it wasn’t the way most people were doing it. That was a big step for me, giving myself permission to experiment. But of course, that just presented me with another challenge. What  happens after I get excited? Lately in my  training , I find myself wandering off the main trail more often. Moves taught to me step by step do not always click, so I try little variations, sometimes out of curiosity and sometimes from suggestions. And every  now and then something really clicks. It might be more snap, more hip engagement, or more power. Whatever it is, it can feel so good that going back to the version I initially learned seems almost unreasonable. And I find myself asking, but why? Let me give you an example from this week. In Lau Gar, when we come out of an elongated bow stance with tiger claws, we step into an open X blocking behind us. From there, we untwist into a left leading bow with a ri...

Last week in class we went over some footwork in Lau Gar, specifically moving from a horse stance into a bow. This sequence shows up in quite a few places, and the general consensus seems to be to kick the back leg out first. The issue is that as the heel comes down, it often creates a backward shift. Sihing pointed out that the intention should be the opposite, we are supposed to hold our ground and drive our power forward. I started playing around with this, questioning how I was doing it, and eventually I noticed something exciting. When I moved my front leg first, my hip seemed to snap around more easily and gave me extra whip and momentum. I brought this up in my one-on-one this week, and the initial feedback was still that the back leg should move first. But the longer we talked through what I was feeling, the less black and white it became. When I mentioned the intensity of my hip snap, the answer shifted to: do what generates the most power for you, because it’s not the same fo...

No blogs for weeks! And I'm already delayed again. (I promised a blog to one of our "Dragon Besties".) I'm going to use the 2-minute blogging concept to make it happen and at least let you all know I'm still here! Distractions have been plentiful, and summer is coming shockingly fast to an end. There are significant changes coming as of September, too many goodbyes to say, but I'm also looking forward to more structure, renewed focus, and routines that make showing up easier again. As for my training, I'm currently excited about some major discoveries in my general movement (there will be a blog about this eventually), I have also made a new connection with my braid form, and have finally decided to really wrap my head around it, or the other way around!😜 And lastly, I'm super excited to learn the butterfly sword form. I know it's a shiny new thing, but it's been helpful to pick up randomly throughout the day to connect with my kungfu, even du...

 A 2 minute rundown.  Life is super busy right now and this is really not by surprise. I knew from my previous two years that summer is when things are seemingly completely falling apart. I'm doing better this year over all though.  My blogs of course have not been timely or consistent anymore but again compared to my prior self it's still been going way better as long as I don't get to hung up on my content, I guess. For the next while I will be In and Out of classes more, due to my festival season starting and eventually welcoming my Dad after 11 years back to Canada for an extended visit. Balancing it all is going to be my motto for the next few month but who am I kidding more likely all the way to the end of the year. And as much as I love summer just writing this out, I realize how important the seasons are for me, because the first three month of every calendar year are apparently the only time life slows down a bit and I'm somewhat on top of things.  In any ca...

I'm back from my short trip to Germany. I thought these few days away wouldn't have that much of an impact on my routines and momentum, not true! Life keeps happening and has thrown all kinds of challenges at me these last few weeks and right now I really struggle keeping up with what I put on my plate. I have no idea how everything seemed still possible two weeks ago and now I'm ready to cut, cancel and quit all kinds of things. I know these moments of overwhelm are not the time to make decisions so 'breathing through it' it is for now. I'm also clueless about what to write a blog about but the fact that I have now let go of my consistency of the first three month is just another stress factor and I can feel the mind set of "what ever" creeping in. So this is all I got for now just to say "I'm still here!" My numbers have also plummeted not just a little bit and I'm now also officially behind on my 50.000s.  On the bright side I want...