Dynamic

Today I begin yet another change. Mel and I changed our work schedules to make it more logical and beneficial for us. I am now staying at home during the day to take care of Claire while Mel works, then I work whatever evening shifts I am available for. This is beneficial for my kung fu as it still allows me to be present at the kids classes in the evenings and I can hopefully get some extra training done during the day.

This recent change in events made me think again about how dynamic life is. There are always changes, day by day, some changes impact us more than others. Nothing is the same from one day to the next. Opportunities you may have had one day are not there the next. However, new opportunities arrive in place of the old ones. Change is inevitable in our lives. There is nothing we can do about that. All we can do is make the best decisions we can at the time. Changes do not occur without our intervention, whether due to your actions or inaction. This is why the decisions we make must be mindful, otherwise you are less in control of the changes you experience.

This is yet another lesson I am continually trying to understand and master.

Listening

We all have habits in how we move that are actually hindering our progress in the art and can even be harmful to our overall health. We become so accustomed to these habits that we lose sight of what our bodies are trying to tell us. This can be seen everywhere you go.

Look at posture for example, how often do you see others walking around with their shoulders slouched forward instead of relaxed and back, or their toes pointed outward instead of ahead while walking or standing.

When practicing kung fu, your body will tell you if your are not properly aligned, you will feel that something is off, but only if you are listening. If you do not pay attention or even choose to ignore it, it will become more difficult to overcome the longer you leave it. In order to improve you must actively listen to what your body is telling you all the time.

For example, if you kick improperly, this causes unnecessary strain on your hip. Over time this strain turns into damage and overtime the damage becomes more difficult to heal without intervention. This is why it is so important to fix the error sooner than later. When you feel strain on your hip, you are probably executing the technique wrong and need to evaluate how you are doing it. Even once you come up with a plan and adjust your approach, you must still listen to your body to determine if the right action was taken. Re-evaluate, adjust, repeat.

One at a Time

This week I thought of the concept of taking one lesson and expanding it to your entire skill set. I started thinking about how much effort it takes to overcome old habits and reinforce new ones in your training. If you try to improve or fix too many concepts they will be less effective and lose their effect.

This makes me think about teaching. It is more effective to teach and review one concept at a time rather than attempting to introduce several ideas at once, expecting any results. Through repetition, the students will get more out of focusing on one goal, allowing them to take on other concepts sooner.

One concept I am personally working on at the moment is my stances. I wish to perfect the purity of my stance, being mindful in the style the stance represents and the intent it can display. I will continue to work on this one concept until I feel ready to take anything else on. The stance is the base of all of your techniques. The stronger the base, the stronger the technique.

Explaining

This week I have been reflecting on my ability to convey what I want to teach to the students. I have come a long way over the years, but I need to continue to improve. To do this I need to recognize what I need to work on. For instance, I stumble with my words sometimes and don't get what I was intending out of the class. I believe my problem is I am not letting my mind slow down. I think too fast and in turn I speak too fast.

 I feel I have a long way to go. Like anything, it takes practice. Consistent practice with mindful corrections along the way. If I just concentrate on slowing down and remaining present to exactly what I am doing at the moment, down to the exact sentence I am speaking, I will improve. I need to continue to focus on why I am explaining what I am and what benefit it will have to the students' progress.


“First you must be calm, then your mind can be steady. Once your mind is steady, then you are at peace. Only when you are at peace, are you able to think and finally gain.” -Confucius