Impermanence

Impermanence is all around us. It is not just in the living things, but in the non-living things as well. Everything around us is in a constant state of change, even materials that seem to be 100 percent permanent are slowly changing, deteriorating and shifting. It is the nature of the universe to constantly change. Look around, the trees, the sidewalk, even your car is resetting every moment. They are not quite the same objects they were a moment ago. 

I feel this reality of impermanence is why it is so important to stay consistent with your training. Like everything else, you are constantly changing. Your body will react differently to your kung fu than it did yesterday. You can't say, "Well I used to be able to do that this way.", because you are not the same person you were, therefore you need to adapt. 

I find because my physical body and surroundings are in constant flux, my approach and my training must change as to work with the current circumstances and realize that tomorrow I will have to change it again. This keeps it all interesting and I'm just fine with that.

Kicking

The last couple weeks I have been concentrating heavily on my kicks. Quality, consistency and speed. I took an approach to this practice in that I am doing the required number of kicks for the fitness test, no matter how long it takes, instead of seeing how many I can do in a minute. So far I am just over the 1 minute mark across the board. This is a good starting point I feel.

Last Saturday my kicks were fast, but lacked consistency and some quality. I decided to change my stance in one of my kicks and turn my focus back to the basics instead of straight speed. The interesting thing about this is they were not that much slower, but the difference in quality was certainly noticed. I will continue to work purely on the quality and work my time back down. The sacrifice on time is worth it. This goes back to the philosophy that you sometimes need to take a step back and adjust in order to get any further ahead. The sooner you back up, the sooner you can go forward, but with greater proficiency.

Brainstorming

This year, I am quite enthusiastic about developing my 5 applications. These help define you for who you are as a martial artist, your unique approach and spirit. It is one representation of what you can do with what you have learned in your training. I have witnessed some incredible stuff from candidates in past years and will do what I can to meet that standard.

My partner in this endeavor, Jackie Kohut, and I have been putting together some pretty cool techniques. The act of brainstorming, thinking of a move, finding a potential problem with it, and coming up with a solution that makes it better than the first version is what makes it so interesting. It is almost akin to creating a form. It is another reminder, a mirror of sorts, that allows me to analyze my strengths and weaknesses and adapt to them.

New Path

I have experienced emotions this week. My career is taking off soon. I am finally at the point where I can begin working as an EMR. I am excited for this prospect, happy that I took this financial risk and I am now going to reap the benefits. 

All change comes at a cost though. This career path does not work on a Monday to Friday, 8-4 schedule. Because of this I will not be present at the school as consistently. I don't know why I didn't think of this factor when deciding to undertake this. An oversight indeed. I am not by any means regretting my decision. I am just torn between the happiness of starting something new and the sadness of spending less time and energy where I want it, in kung fu. 

This compounded by the fact that this is my grading year. The year I need to spend MORE time at the kwoon, not less. This reduction in time spent also affect the students and other instructors. I am letting them down.

Even though this all sounds negative, I would not change it for anything. This is a mere reflection of where my path is going and how it will help me become a better person, a better martial artist than I thought. This will all contribute to a successful year. With a relatively unknown schedule, I need to take advantage of every free second I have. No time will be squandered. 

Overthinking

The year of the pig has been good to me so far. I have consistent momentum, the kind of momentum I can compare to my first year in the I Ho Chuan. However, it is early days yet, I feel the pressure to make this year unlike any other. This is good pressure, the pressure of accountability, the pressure that comes from knowing what is at stake. Am I going to get done what I promised I would? What if life throws yet another obstacle that threatens my success? This momentum will not last forever. I must create something tangible and sustainable from it that allows me to keep progressing and succeed even when it is not as easy to do so.

So far I have developed a structure that works for me. I have learned a lot from the last several years of trial and error. I know what approaches are conducive to success and which toward failure and yet I can't help but think whether or not my approach will work. Is there a better way? 

Only time will tell. I have been known to overthink things such as this. I just need to slow down, think clearly and do what I need to. Plain and Simple.