Loss of Past Knowledge Update

I missed posting last week as Sunday was a tough day.  Both my Grandma and my best friend's mom passed the same day, January 19th.  Although I grieve for the loss, I am at peace that neither is suffering.  Both were surrounded by loved ones.  Although both were older, it still brings home the importance of mending relationships and ensuring you connect with others that are important to you. You never know how much time you have. 

Rest in peace Grandma and Marilyn and thank you for the memories!

Humbling Experiences

Thursday I had an opportunity to help teach the children's classes.  I forgot how much I learn when helping out with these classes and how humbling they can be. 

I was asked to assist a student with stick I and I was confident I could help so I answered "no problem".  That confidence was quickly checked when I saw him staring at my hand position on the first move and him trying to switch his hand position.  I looked down and realized I had switched my grip on my right hand.   I apologized to him and went over the move to refresh my memory and then started showing him again.  I knew the moves but teaching them was so different.  

This happened while teaching one student and luckily I was able to notice his actions and realize I was the one that had caused the uncertainty.  If I had taught a large group, I could have easily caused confusion and never realized it and that is a very humbling fact. I can't just use muscle memory.  I need to be confident but own a mistake if I make it.  Also know that I am being watched on every move I make so a wrong grip or a poor stance is being watched and then emulated by others.  

I could take this humbling experience two ways.  I could be scared and not be willing to try to teach something until I know everything solid or I continue to teach and make sure that I am very aware of what I am doing and what I am teaching.  I pick the latter because I learnt more from 10 minutes with that student then working by myself for an hour.

See you on the mats!

Numbers

Pushups (equivalent) - 10,590

Sit-ups (equivalent) - 4,830

Kilometers - 1607.13

Weapons form - 315

Hand form - 375

Sparring - 95

AOK - 2305

Piano - 1/50

Tai Chi - 53.5/50

Yoga - 49/50

Meditation - 27/50

Loss of past knowledge

As a western civilization, I do not think we fully embrace the loss of knowledge from our elders.  In Kung Fu we honour past masters but what does that truly mean.  Is it just the Kung Fu knowledge that we gain knowing it comes from them?  A technique, a form, a tradition?  Luckily we are a traditional school so there is a lot of tradition and techniques passed down but there is a lot that is lost with each generation.

My grandma will not be with me much longer nor my best friend’s mom whom I am also very close to.  Just this Christmas she wanted to teach me how to make her bread and already it’s too late to get the full knowledge from her. 

We know that we will lose knowledge as our instructors and family age but we always think we have more time with them than we have.  I can tell you, things change very quickly and watching that knowledge slip away brings tears to my eyes. I only know that I have lost learning to bake her bread but there are so many other things I have lost that I don’t even realize.  This is from someone embedded in my life, and I see how it compounds through generations. 

It is a reminder of the consequences of putting something off and what I need to prioritize in my life.

The Power of Forms

There is a lot going on in Da Mu Hsing 1 that allows for feeling and reflection.  During the kick sequence of roundhouse/spinning back kick, I was feeling my power coming from my lower back and I was sure this wasn't right.  Sifu Brinker helped me break down the spinning back kick so I could try to feel the engagement and power within the hip.  So I went back to the roundhouse, spin, sideheel and within that sideheel I could feel the engagement in the hip instead of my back.

Breaking apart a form helps to fix the big disconnect but now I need to tie it all back together so the pieces that I break apart not only flow together but they support each other as well.  My normal process is to identify the problem area, fix it and then expand in either direction to bring it together but in some cases that does not support the technique like this spinning back kick.  

When I add the spin, the engagement of my hip must come sooner but to get that I need to feel stable in that spin.  So for this fix, I need to work on two areas and bring them together.  I need to get that spin and feel the loading of my hip and bring it together with actually throwing the kick, still keeping the hip engaged.  I would like to blame it on my decreased balance since my transplant, but that is not the truth.  As I pick apart this kick, I have realized that I have never had a good "feel" for the spinning back kick.  It's just now I can't hide it like I could before and this is something that I am rejoicing.  Now I get to work on something that has always been broken and it became apparent in my form.  I love the power of forms!

Numbers

Pushups (equivalent) - 10,180

Sit-ups (equivalent) - 4,730

Kilometers - 1535.53

Weapons form - 289

Hand form - 353

Sparring - 83

AOK - 2205

Piano - 1/50

Tai Chi - 51.1/50

Yoga - 47/50

Meditation - 25/50