Shortcuts, Detours, or Dead Ends?

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 right knife hand strike. I have struggled with this move in particular for a long time. I stumble at the end, never feel solid, and I have never been able to connect my hip to the strike. The timing of my step and the knife hand never land together. After our recent talks about transitions, I experimented again. I tried different pivots, heel first, ball first, which leg first, testing distance, balance, and timing, but with no success. Finally, I added a slight projection with my front leg as I untwisted, a little forward and a little out to the left. Suddenly, I felt it. My hip snapped through, my stance locked in, my knife hand carried real momentum, and I finally felt solid. For once, everything seemed to line up.

Come Monday morning, I had my one-on-one, my regular road map checkpoint. My instructor pointed out that the projection I added might be a crutch. The idea was that I should not need that extra step. My stability should be supported by the angle of my front foot when I settle into my stance, rather than landing in a perfectly parallel bow stance. The power of the strike should come from the momentum of the untwisting itself, not from an artificially added hip snap. (or at least this is how I understood it). Maybe that is true. Maybe the projection is not the final answer. But at the very least, it showed me what the move could feel like when my hip really connects. And now I know what I am chasing.

In the end, I know all of this has its place. The tricky part continues to be when to trust what process ("or what trail"), some of these explorations might turn out to be shortcuts, and some may just be a detour, but some could lead me completely off course. Exploring them is valuable and fun, but I need regular reminders to keep checking the map. And still, the comfort-seeking (mediocre)side of me sometimes wishes I did not have to share any of it at all. I would rather scoop up my findings, run with them, forget about the compass, and live happily ever after .🙈