weapons forms

Last I Ho Chuan class was awesome.  There are some really cool forms developing, it was great to see everybody's progress.

Finally I have the entire horse whisk form in my head.  Not perfect performance but got thru it without stalling too much.  My stances were better ... meaning lower/deeper and most of it flowed, that weird kick went okay so I guess I am reasonably pleased.  Had fun attempting to do the horse whisk form with Sihing Csillag.  Asked Sifu M Beckett for feed back and she said our styles of performing the same form are very different.  My performance is too soft and flowy, lacking some definition/phrasing, and my vectors need some attention,  Sihing Csillag is more intense and powerful, she suggested that we work together to meet somewhere in the middle of our two interpretations and we would achieve the intent/ideal performance. Looking forward to that ... Hey Sihing interested in doing a team performance for the Tiger Challenge ... I bet we could make it look awesome!  Bringing home the Gold!

I believe the Farmers day performance is the same day as the dance studio's 'Spring Extravaganza'  June 11/16 that Dean and I are committed too.  We are doing a QuickStep solo and are part of a group formation dance.  Therefore I will not be able to participate in the Farmers Day performances and because of extra practices to prepare I will be missing the I Ho Chuan meeting on the 28th.   Its the hubby's turn for an event.

Write a Love Letter to Nature

As part of the 30 X 30 Nature Challenge with David Suzuki Foundation I have written a Love Letter to Nature

Dearest nature you are such an essential part of my life, you nurture me in a way no one else can.

I see your beauty... sunlight sparkling on water, blinding crystals of snow, lightning flashes against stormy skies, you dazzle me.

The dark green of needles on trees that stand bravely thru winter, brilliant blue skies , the bright reds, yellow, purple and blue petals of endless varieties of flowers that bring joy to my heart.

The soft shades of pink at sunset, the gentle browns, greys & creams of tree trunks, the endless shades of green they soothe me.

The infinite variety of colors that you create paint pictures that define my world.

I hear your song ... foliage or snow crunching as I walk,

buzzing, humming, clicks, trills, croaks, honks, bellows, grunts, shrieks, screams, roars, trumpeting sounds that comfort, thrill and frighten me

wind humming thru the grass, whispering thru the leaves, hissing across the snow, the thunder and roar of summer storms.

the pounding and dripping of rain which nourishes everything around me.

I smell your perfume ... of soil, leaves on the ground, freshly cut grass, flowers, the tang of salt water, the sharpness of winter, the scents surround and enthral l me.

I feel your touch ... the light brush of snowflakes, the patting of rain drops, the stroking of the breeze through my hair.

I feel your power ... in the sting of the snow in a blizzard, the pull of waves and currents, the crashing of snow and rocks as they fall,

the ferocity of the winds in tornado's and hurricanes ... sometimes you terrify me.

I feel your love ... laying in the grass on a hot summer day and watching white puffy clouds float across the sky,

snorkelling with beautiful fish and coral, hiking in the mountains, riding and bathing elephants in Thailand,

and best of all hanging out with you in my garden planting and harvesting all the bounty that I helped grow.

Everything comes from you! I will love you for all of my life.

Ahhh the heat

I am loving practicing outside however the heat this week has been a bit of a shock.  Makes me wonder what is was like for the girls in China in the summer when the temperature was in the 30's?  On Monday I practiced in the morning so it was great, yesterday I waited for dark.   Man it was hot! Today I am going to practice in our air conditioned shop at work (what a baby I am).  Typical Canadian its either to hot or to cold, never happy.   I wonder what its like in places where the temperature stays the same year round ... a nice 26 degrees C.   Is there such a place?

So now that I have a grasp on the sequence of the form I need to get my stances lower .... way lower.  The style of the horsewisk is stances that are deep and long.   So my legs are definitely going to get a work out.

April 13th, 2016 Couldn`t come up with a title

Finally I think I have the sequence and basic moves for the first half of the horse whisk form with some flow but its pretty slow in comparison to the other Sifu Beckett`s performing it.  There is one really awkward kick that looks pretty rough but on the whole it kinda looks like the form should.   Ready to continue and move on to the rest of the form ... finally.

Back to work full time and it sucks,  I enjoyed being able to work shorter days - even take days off  - but the safety person we hired & trained quit.  And its getting crazy busy which means more safety paperwork, more inspections ... yada yada.  This will be a challenge as I had plenty of time to devote to my requirements and now I will have to be more disciplined and plan my days better.    I think the biggest thing is that our business is very dynamic with lots of urgent situations that come up constantly during the day and its hard to plan for kungfu stuff at work. So its got to be before or after work for the majority of personal stuff.  The stuff I don`t enjoy so much ... like pushups probably best in the morning because when I get home my commitment to my requirements is much more likely to be weak.  Mentally I`m tired and would really prefer to sit and read.  However I enjoy doing my forms so the evening has and will continue to be a great time to get my reps in.   I love practicing outside, its quiet with nature noises, no phones, no TV noises from downstairs, the sun is setting, what more could a person ask for ....

Sifu Masterson suggested Saturday Fitness Training outside if the weather permits ... my vote is yes!!!

one step forward & 2 back

I have had a very frustrating couple of weeks.  The horse whisk form has a whole different feel from the sword of last year. Transitioning to different stances, really big arm movements, multiple directions changes for feet and arms.  Well lets just say it is not smooth,  klunky might be a better description and I am always second guessing the sequence.  So of course my reaction to all of this is totally mature and I continue to work on it and not throw my hands up in the air and give up for five days (which is how long it took to get over myself and my bad attitude).  Sometimes its hard to believe I am 57.

space allocated

Its been a tough week,  seems like my brain is full of my kung fu form and I have maxed out on space allocated or something like that.  The more I try and cram more moves in there the more mixed up it all gets.  Frustrating ... going to stop adding for a bit and work on improving what I do have written to the hard drive of my brain.   Need some time to process and defrag the space allocated.  Brandi (Sifu Beckett #1) is home for about 6 weeks pretty excited!

Stretching

I have been going to some of the martial arts fitness classes on Saturday and I got a low impact Pilates/Yoga workout DVD set for working out during the week.  Both of these have a stretching component and I can't believe what a difference it makes in how I feel after / between workouts.  I stand up straighter, walk differently and I feel GOOD (there is a song with this line).  I experience less sore muscles after a workout and seem to bounce back with more energy.  Its amazing the difference it makes to incorporate stretching into your life 3 times a week.  I am hooked on a feeling (there is a song with this line) and will keep stretching as an important part of my conditioning.

Yes I am weird!

While on the subject of songs ... for our demo how about 'Inner Ninga' by David Myles a little bit of rap but no bad words.