Ground Work

We got a chance to work on something that isn't reviewed as often in the 2nd degree class, grappling. Much like anything else in kung fu, the key is in the hips. In order to get yourself out of a mount, nothing short of brute force does not work unless you properly use your hips. Even then, relying on brute force is not guaranteed. Proper use and practice of technique is how you succeed, sounds familiar.

There is much I need to improve with my grappling. I realize now that I took it for granted. After not practicing it on the mats for some time, much of my knowledge has atrophied. However, once reminded of the techniques, I was able to apply them, though not as skilled as I once was able to. This must be addressed.

Tonight was a good reminder that I need to broaden my review of the curriculum to prepare for the grading. I still feel I am doing well, but it could be better. This is why it is vital to attend the other classes during the week. There is a huge difference in reviewing it yourself and participating in a structured class. Sometimes you learn something you did not realize needed learning.

Practicing Together

I got a chance to attend a class this Saturday with Claire on the mats. It was fortunate that it was the Purity and Strength class, one that I was able to improvise and still participate while keeping her calm and quiet as to not distract anyone from the lesson at hand.

I am not able to spend as much time as I would like at home with Claire, so this was a great way for us to spend some time together. The exercises we practiced were quite relaxing. The breathing and relaxation techniques, although slightly modified, not only were beneficial to me internally, but also extended to Claire. My slow breaths calmed me down and in turn calmed her down. With her calm I was able to further concentrate on the exercise, win-win situation for both of us.

So far, she seems to like this type of activity. I have had some success in using Tai Chi as a method of calming her so I am not surprised that she enjoyed this. I am grateful that Sifu Cosgrove and the rest of the class found no issue with her attending. I appreciate the experience we had.

Kung fu means much to me and because of this I am at the kwoon as much as I can, so I am pleased to have shared this with my daughter. I hope to make this a more consistent activity for her. Perhaps what we do at Silent River, on and off the mats, will become a major part of her life as well. 

Breathe

Tonight we worked primarily on our strategies regarding distancing in our sparring. Not only is your own range very important, but your opponent's range as well. Whether their range is longer or shorter than yours, it poses a unique challenge on how you position yourself in relation to them.

I learned much in terms of how to recognize what your opponent might be attempting to accomplish through their body language, as well as how to counteract or exploit it.

During this lesson, I realized that I needed to address something much more basic if I were to actually learn anything. This concept was to breathe properly. While participating in the lesson, I found my breathing was shallow at first, only getting air into the top half of my lungs. This is one of the reasons why we teach the sound focus, to expel all the air in your lungs in order to force yourself to take a full breath.

As soon as I recognized this I paused for a moment to reset myself, remind myself of the importance of good, full breaths, how those full breaths will keep me calm and give me more power. I slowed my breathing, but increased the quality of each breath, allowing me to embrace and respond to the lesson that was being taught.

Mediocrity

I have been working hard since joining kung fu to minimize the mediocrity in my life. I look back and accept the fact that I let quite a bit of it rule how I lived. I lived by the idea that the less you have to concentrate on, the better, this makes for a simple life. I don't think I was lazy, but I just did not apply myself as well as I could have. Now I know I could not have been more wrong.

Mediocrity sneaks up on everyone. We are not always so accepting of this fact and try to defend our habits. We see that someone is trying to correct us in something that we feel we know all there is to know. It is an attack at our very identity. 

Once we accept that we don't know everything about ANYTHING, we can receive new ideas, correction or even criticism with an open mind. By letting go of what you think you know, you can broaden you knowledge greatly.

The only thing worse than willingly accepting mediocrity is being adversarial when new ideas come by that might improve what you are doing. 

80

80 hours. That is the estimated amount of training hours we have left until grading. This is a rough calculation of 5 hours of training a week over 4 months. This is not much time, the equivalent of just over 3 days. If I trained non-stop for 80 hours, grading would be early Saturday morning. Whoa!

What does this information do for me? It is a constant reminder to take consistent action. Don't waste or squander any time. Not consistent mindless action either. Mindful, meaningful action that propels me forward. It is a reminder to take every free moment to improve.

Like with anything we learn, this also translates into everything we do. If we increased the quality of everything we do, even something as mundane as brushing our teeth, our mindset will naturally be that of constant self improvement. With this it will get easier over time, but only if there is a true commitment made to do so.

The Skill of Awareness

A big theme for me this week has been situational awareness. Wherever you are, you need to be aware of what is around you. This is common knowledge, but it is not always practiced.

This comes down to an eye for detail. Extending your eye for detail from yourself to your surroundings. Making note of every little piece of information and consciously being aware of it's affect.

A method I use to improve this is creating an inner narrative about what I see, hear, smell, etc. Almost like a book I try to describe the object or activity with as much detail as I can put words to. Not only does this practice increase my awareness, but it also grounds me and forces me to be present, a double affect.

Being aware of where you are and what you are doing is an important skill to have. Like any skill it requires constant practice, you can say you KNOW about awareness, but knowing and the ability to DO are very different. Look around you and really take in what you see. Practice makes the master.

Promise

There is a promise you make when you join kung fu, intending to earn your black belt and beyond. You make a promise that you will consistently do your best. You will develop the knowledge AND the skill at a standard that represents you and those who came before you. There is a difference in mindset between a white belt and a black belt, this is consistent eye for detail.

By the time you are grading you need to be sure that you have fulfilled your promise. I feel I have done my best to do this, but know there is more I can do to prepare. Even if I am consistent now, it might not be enough if I am not consistent on the day of the grading. 

This being said, the more consistent I am now, with my training, my eye for detail and my blogs, I am confident I will be successful. I will be sure to use the tools given to me, to turn the gifts of knowledge into skill, to convince those around me that I will be successful as well.

Sludge

The subject of food, how much and what kind to eat, was discussed a couple of times this week. It makes sense that this is a very important factor in your training, for multiple reasons.

Food is the fuel for your body, what you put into your body eventually becomes part of it. If you are eating nothing but junk, your body will react accordingly. Your performance will diminish because your body is too busy working through all that junk, trying to extract any usable nutrients and getting rid of the sludge.

How much you eat is just as important. Again, if your body is too busy working through unnecessary food, it takes energy away from what you want to do otherwise. It is also a work of willpower. The more you practice your willpower, only eat what you need, refrain from overindulging, it will eventually become an ingrained habit, something that you don't need to consciously think about. 

This is definitely something I need to work on. I am known as the guy who will just keep eating. Famous for not letting food go to waste. But is it worth it? Is there a better way to handle it?  Packing it up and eating it later for instance, or just saying no even though it is almost a collective agreement that I will say yes to seconds. 

What can I say, I love food. However, there is a mindful way to eat and still enjoy what I eat. I am young and fit now, but if I don't look ahead and realize my metabolism won't be this lightning fast forever, I could cause a lot of problems in the next couple decades. That is not what I want for my future.