Practice

Before I start today, I just want to thank the universe for dawn sunlight on New England trees at the height of their fall color magnificence. You may think that a God has created such a masterpiece, or that evolution has produced something so miraculous, but either way it floods your visual sense with the sheer beauty of nature at its most spectacular.

There is no doubt that practicing on your own is critical to successful kung fu training. Not just physical practice, but also thinking through what you have learned in class; digesting the information. For me, this blog enables me to do just that -- thinking hard about what I have learned and what it means to my practice. Sifu Maury took the idea of practice a step further this week and extended the usual 'practice makes perfect' idea to 'perfect practice makes perfect'. If you want to practice roundhouse kicks there is no point banging out 50 kicks with a poor technique as hard as you can, you would be much better off doing 10 kicks at a slower pace and less power, but with pinpoint accuracy and a perfect technique. The power and speed is more important and this will come as the muscle memory of the correct posture sinks in.

When a novice student begins training they know what they want to do, but there can be a disconnect between their intention and how their body physically performs. While wanting to perform a perfect head-high sidekick, your body may only allow your leg to reach waist height. So there is a difference between what your mind is trying to achieve and what your body is doing. The ultimate goal of the practice is to close this gap between body and mind.

This can be extended into our daily lives. We know we should go get up early and hit the gym before work but it is way too cosy in bed and outside it is raining and cold. We know we should replce that lightbulb that has blown in the basement, but there just hasn't been the right time. This should be even easier right?, this is the disconnect between mind and mind - we don't even have the excuse that we don't have the right amount of muscular strength or joint flexibility. So why don't we? As we strive forward to perfection of our body-mind connection in our kung fu we should also develop our mental strength.

Nick
Yellow stripe sash

Changes

There have been some changes in the school recently that I have found frustrating and I have come away from class not filled with a feeling of exhileration but with annoyance a few times. I have come to terms with the idea that I will be a lower rank than the people I have been training with all along, I am still shown the same respect which is fine but there have been more disturbing changes. 6 months ago I was invited to join the ranks of the seniors to train with rather than the beginners, they saw that I could cope with this intensity of training. Over the past 6 months all the other beginners have been invited to join this same leadership team as well. Now, withuot any communication there has been an additional class created for the seniors and the instructor training group and I find myself removed from training with the seniors again. I obtain most value from working with the seniors and find it very frustrating just being among the people that have little or no martial arts experience at all. I love to spa, but it is not nearly as fun when you are teaching your opponent to spa rather than being able to work your skills.

But I am just a white belt. What can this teach me? Well I am being put in the position to play a leadership role within the group which I would not get otherwise. Maybe it is that old humility lesson again that keeps trying to teach me to take my time and not be in such a hurry to learn kung fu. Maybe it is time to just accept this and focus on my basics before I try and build too much on a poor foundation. Maybe it is time to push the authority and stand up for what I want.

The one thing there is no doubt about is that there are a whole bunch of lessons out there for me to learn from this experience.

Nick
Yellow stripe sash