Today has been an excellent training day, by virtually every measure I have. I ascribe most of it to the break in the weather, which as afforded me some much-needed sunlight, which means more energy, more power, and more motivation. Training in the last month has been mostly hit-or-miss, owing initially to a nasty cold and some unwanted shoulder tension, followed by a long stretch of inexplicable depression. Despite all that, there has been training, however sporadic, which until now has not translated into an equal amount of blogging. Much has been learned, however.
First, I have had first-hand experience in why excess tension is undesirable in the internal martial arts, such as bagua. In bagua, at least in the lion system, power is generated through the waist and is expressed in the hands, as opposed to being generated solely by muscle power in the arm itself. When I was dealing with the large knot of tense muscle taking up residence in the vicinity of my scapula I noticed a severe degredation of that expression of power. By now I've gotten the whole "power generated by the waist" thing pretty much down, though not perfect, and the strikes I was executing with my right arm felt very solid, and I could clearly feel the wave of kinetic energy flowing in a mostly unbroken path from waist to palm. In the left arm, however, I noticed just as clearly that the power was not going any farther than my shoulder--just a dead stop. So, much of my focus earlier this month was getting rid of that knot of tension, through a combination of massage, hot showers and qigong (dissolving method). This is a problem that has come up before in my bagua practice, and hopefully I'll figure out how to nip it in the bud before the next time. This will likely involve periodic conscious relaxation (as I get tense easily if I'm not aware of what my body is doing) and taiji. I also really ought to look into the qigong massage materials I have.
So, back to today. As I said, it's been a good training day. I've been focusing at least half of my practice time on standing for development, and thus far today I've exceeded my previous record for total time spent standing. Turning was more difficult. I was very determined to go as long as I could, powering through the complaints of my arm muscles, and turned for what felt like an age, though as I discovered it ended up being only 15 minutes. The problem of my weak arms is becoming less problematic, thanks to the standing. Now, the main issue is my weak will, which is still easily distracted.
As far as striking drills, I didn't really set any records today. I can do a couple thousand in a day if I push myself, but I haven't really been focusing on strikes recently, being more in favor of the developmental exercises. Regardless, I did put in several hundred stationary reps of the rising sweeping strike, and moved on from there to test out some of the more advanced drills. I have to say, for some reason I really seem to enjoy the two-step or "box-stepping" drills. Maybe just because it's slightly new, or less tedious than the stationary drills, or perhaps just because it feels more like how bagua is supposed to feel, when you're striking and also moving. Whatever the case may be, there will be many more of those in the future.
Also spent some time feeling out the Lion's sweeping strike "Moving with the Force" form. I'd played around with this a little bit a couple years ago, but coming back to it with a fresh eye is making me see how awkward and ungainly I still am with it. This will take some time, but with this, at least, I am patient. I never really intended to seriously delve into the forms without first getting a solid grounding in the strikes and their various drilling methods.
One last observation I can make at this point is that even though I have done little training that could be considered strenuous, let alone "intensive," there has been some brief progress, I've noticed. It does seem to be the case that a little bit of practice done on a daily basis is more productive than one intense session every other week. But then again, most people probably already knew this.
As one final note, I did recently manage to procure two new Yin style bagua dvd's: the "seizing & grasping applications" dvd and the "kicking and footwork" dvd. Not sure I'm ready to get into most of this stuff, but any glimpse of Yin style bagua in action is well worth the viewing, and is sure to give my mind plenty of interesting new things to work through. Still need to get my hands on the full set of Lion system dvd's, as well as the new circle-turning dvd. I'm looking forward to the upcoming straight sword dvd as well, though I'm not in any position to be attempting that. Unfortunately, that's not likely to stop me.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Monday, May 2, 2011
Interruptions
Training in the past week has unfortunately been somewhat sparse, owing to a trifecta of physical ailments: first massive leg cramp in over a year (thanks to dehydration), tension in my left shoulder muscles that feels like it's pinching a nerve, and a nasty cold (which probably contributed to the dehydration). I've gotten in a token amount of standing, striking and turning, but nothing substantial. I don't really have much strength at the moment, as it all seems to be focused inward on recuperation. I'm doing taiji more often, and I think that's helping. It may take a couple more days to fully get this out of my system, but I intend not to let this little speed bump alter my forward momentum. After so many years of failing to keep to the training regimen, I feel confident in my ability to keep it up now. It's like they say, "fall down seven times..."
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Not quite good enough
The week continues, and still I have an unbroken (if rather short) string of training days. That sounds kinda pathetic right now, especially, I'm sure, to any hardcore bagua people who might be reading that are used to multi-hour training sessions every day of the week and who have survived seminars and intensives with He Jinbao. Fair enough. I haven't really earned the right not to be pathetic yet.
As far as the training itself goes, there is definitely incremental progress. With every day of standing practice I end up being less easily fatigued while turning the circle. If I omitted the standing and the strikes, I might reasonably expect to make the 30min. mark. Amazing what a couple days of more-intense-than-usual training can do. Unfortunately, it's not quite enough, I don't think. I suspect that if I was going for a truly intense workout, I'd be a lot more sore than I am now. I have yet to test the upper limits of just how much I can do in a day without collapsing, but I am concerned about overtraining. If nothing else, it's a habit picked up from playing video game RPG's: defeat lots of little monsters until your experience level is high enough to comfortably fight the bigger monsters. I am fond of overkill, but it's a ponderous and subtle kind of overkill.
Perhaps in the near future, after maybe a week or two of continuing as I am now, I'll begin designating certain days as "focus" days, wherein I will devote significantly more time and effort to one of the bagua "pillars," such as doing the standing postures, or circle-turning.
On a random note, I've noticed that my left arm is noticeably weaker than my right. It's somewhat annoying.
As far as the training itself goes, there is definitely incremental progress. With every day of standing practice I end up being less easily fatigued while turning the circle. If I omitted the standing and the strikes, I might reasonably expect to make the 30min. mark. Amazing what a couple days of more-intense-than-usual training can do. Unfortunately, it's not quite enough, I don't think. I suspect that if I was going for a truly intense workout, I'd be a lot more sore than I am now. I have yet to test the upper limits of just how much I can do in a day without collapsing, but I am concerned about overtraining. If nothing else, it's a habit picked up from playing video game RPG's: defeat lots of little monsters until your experience level is high enough to comfortably fight the bigger monsters. I am fond of overkill, but it's a ponderous and subtle kind of overkill.
Perhaps in the near future, after maybe a week or two of continuing as I am now, I'll begin designating certain days as "focus" days, wherein I will devote significantly more time and effort to one of the bagua "pillars," such as doing the standing postures, or circle-turning.
On a random note, I've noticed that my left arm is noticeably weaker than my right. It's somewhat annoying.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Still going
It's funny how I can think so much about my training and then when it comes to writing about it...poof. Anyway, today's session went rather well. It was a light day for strikes (250) but still got in what is becoming the standard 10 minutes of standing, followed by 10 minutes of turning. The standing is getting harder, I suspect because I'm getting more focused and really pushing it, to the point where I actually sweat while doing it. I've never concentrated so much time and effort into standing in such a short amount of time, so it's nice to be able to see some slight progress there. As for turning, I think it's too early to tell if the practice of the last few days is helping, but it does seem as though it's a little less taxing than before.
I haven't really been doing much in the way of strikes lately. Part of that is deliberate. On previous occasions I would typically focus on strikes to the exclusion of everything else, but now I'm trying to stress the standing and turning as much as, if not more than, the strikes. I do pay attention to the mechanics of the strikes when I do them, though. I remember how awkward the rising sweeping strikes felt when I first started doing them about 2 years (or more, I forget) back. For a while I couldn't quite figure out how to do them, and tended to practice them using only a weak, lateral force from turning the waist. More recently, after viewing self-taken video of myself doing the strikes, viewing the strikes on the Lion dvd's, and getting some insight from the time I spent trying to work on the Dragon system, I found what I believe is the correct force, involving a coordination of the forces of the waist. It definitely feels very solid, and has a very satisfying snap to it. It'll take several thousand more of them before I'm likely to feel really comfortable and confident with them, but I'm not in any particular rush at the moment.
My training sessions thus far seem pretty meager, but I suppose that's just a testament to how generally weak I am, since even these meager workouts make me sore and sweaty. I also forgot to take into account the changes to my food intake and sleep needs since I began this atypical (for me) physical training regimen. Still, I feel pretty good. And every day that goes by wherein I meet or exceed my training goals makes me more confident and hopeful of being able to persevere and make this practice a habit.
I haven't really been doing much in the way of strikes lately. Part of that is deliberate. On previous occasions I would typically focus on strikes to the exclusion of everything else, but now I'm trying to stress the standing and turning as much as, if not more than, the strikes. I do pay attention to the mechanics of the strikes when I do them, though. I remember how awkward the rising sweeping strikes felt when I first started doing them about 2 years (or more, I forget) back. For a while I couldn't quite figure out how to do them, and tended to practice them using only a weak, lateral force from turning the waist. More recently, after viewing self-taken video of myself doing the strikes, viewing the strikes on the Lion dvd's, and getting some insight from the time I spent trying to work on the Dragon system, I found what I believe is the correct force, involving a coordination of the forces of the waist. It definitely feels very solid, and has a very satisfying snap to it. It'll take several thousand more of them before I'm likely to feel really comfortable and confident with them, but I'm not in any particular rush at the moment.
My training sessions thus far seem pretty meager, but I suppose that's just a testament to how generally weak I am, since even these meager workouts make me sore and sweaty. I also forgot to take into account the changes to my food intake and sleep needs since I began this atypical (for me) physical training regimen. Still, I feel pretty good. And every day that goes by wherein I meet or exceed my training goals makes me more confident and hopeful of being able to persevere and make this practice a habit.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Feeling hopeful...and tired
Had a good workout today, and it has me feeling pretty good about my chances of maintaining a regular training schedule. Overall, I did 10 minutes of standing in the Lion representative posture (whereas in earlier times I would only ever do 2, if any at all), 10 sets of 50 rising sweeping strikes, and managed to turn the circle for 15 minutes (as opposed to the 10 that I was originally shooting for). I seem to have struck a decent balance between the various exercises, whereby I'll stand for two minutes (one minute per side) and then do a set of strikes, followed by turning the circle for as long as I can manage. This varies things up and seems to relieve some of the tedium. I'd probably go into greater detail, but I'm actually really tired, so I think I'll just go to bed.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Training Restart (again)
Once again, it's been quite some time since I last was very motivated to do any training. It comes in waves. Suffice to say, it's all too easy to find excuses not to do it. But, the important thing is to keep picking yourself back up and keep on trying...or so I keep hearing. With any luck, and more than a little perseverence, I'll be able to keep the string of unbroken training days a lot longer this time around. I now have a job again, so I am simultaneously less depressed and flush with cash, with which I intend to get more bagua dvd's. In the meantime, I will continue practicing what I have. I don't even remember at this point what I was doing back in September, but it hardly matters.
My current plan is simple: train every day. Doesn't seem like much at the outset, but it would unquestionably be an improvement. Previously, I'd set certain vague numeric goals for my practice that were somewhat detached from anything concrete. I'd get into bad habits. Now, by focusing primarily on simply making sure I practice everyday, I'll get into the habit of doing so. And once that is achieved, I can simply continue to add more to my workload over time.
Starting out this time around, I've decided to take a suggestion from Jim in Knoxville: train for an hour every day, with ten minutes of standing, 20 of striking drills, and 30 of turning. It was about as much of a workout as I'd guessed, considering how generally out of shape I am. Stood for 10 minutes in Lion Representative, doing two minute intervals (one minute per side). Then for 20 minutes I tried to see how many sets of 50 Rising Sweeping strikes I could fit in, which came out to 6 (300 strikes). Unfortunately, by then my unsuspecting muscles had become worn out, and I only managed 15 minutes of turning (Lion) before throwing it in. End result: took over an hour due to rest breaks, and didn't quite finish anyway. But at least now I have a sort of baseline for myself; something to improve upon in the comings days and weeks.
After I've done this particular workout until it becomes easy, I'll start to add other things to it, such as other standing postures, other strikes, the 1-step, 2-step and 3-step striking drills, as well as some other stuff that isn't strictly bagua, like the (non-yin style) saber dvd's I have.
I've still got a long way to go, but I'm getting there.
My current plan is simple: train every day. Doesn't seem like much at the outset, but it would unquestionably be an improvement. Previously, I'd set certain vague numeric goals for my practice that were somewhat detached from anything concrete. I'd get into bad habits. Now, by focusing primarily on simply making sure I practice everyday, I'll get into the habit of doing so. And once that is achieved, I can simply continue to add more to my workload over time.
Starting out this time around, I've decided to take a suggestion from Jim in Knoxville: train for an hour every day, with ten minutes of standing, 20 of striking drills, and 30 of turning. It was about as much of a workout as I'd guessed, considering how generally out of shape I am. Stood for 10 minutes in Lion Representative, doing two minute intervals (one minute per side). Then for 20 minutes I tried to see how many sets of 50 Rising Sweeping strikes I could fit in, which came out to 6 (300 strikes). Unfortunately, by then my unsuspecting muscles had become worn out, and I only managed 15 minutes of turning (Lion) before throwing it in. End result: took over an hour due to rest breaks, and didn't quite finish anyway. But at least now I have a sort of baseline for myself; something to improve upon in the comings days and weeks.
After I've done this particular workout until it becomes easy, I'll start to add other things to it, such as other standing postures, other strikes, the 1-step, 2-step and 3-step striking drills, as well as some other stuff that isn't strictly bagua, like the (non-yin style) saber dvd's I have.
I've still got a long way to go, but I'm getting there.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Progress and Goals
Training over the past few days has been pretty good, though compared to the usual scarcity of training in my schedule, considering how much free time I have, just about anything constant is good. Thursday was a fairly heavy day (by my standards), in which I did 750 strikes, some standing and some turning. Friday was comparable, with 850 strikes and twice as much standing practice (same amount of turning). Yesterday was relatively lighter, with only 350 strikes, with about the same amount of standing and turning. Today is looking favorable, though I'm still not done. My striking practice is proceeding apace, and happily I can say that in the last three days I've done no less than 10 minutes per day of turning and 2 min. of standing (1 min. in Lion posture on each side). I've been trying to incorporate more standing into my regimen for some time now, though it has been about as intermittent as the strike-training sessions, which typically constitute the large part of the regimen. Up until now, circle-walking hasn't figured very prominently in the training schedule at all. I'm changing that.
From what I've heard, the stated goal of any serious YSB practitioner, according to He Jinbao and other higher-ups in the organization, is one hour of turning per day. And from accounts I've read from those who have attended any of the seminars, He Jinbao will typically have people spending at least an hour on it on any given seminar day. So, if I'm to get the most out of a seminar once I eventually get the chance, I'll need to be capable of doing that. Which leads me into the main topic of this post: goals.
Short-term goals (next couple of weeks):
1. Finish my goal of 10,000 Inside Pushing Strikes - Even though this is Dragon system material, and I plan soon to take up Lion full-time, I am continuing with this for a number of reasons. Partly, because it is still Yin style, and any Yin style training is arguably good training, or at least better than not training. Mostly, because I am stubborn--I've been working on this goal for some time now, continually restarting it, and I want to finish it. Primarily, as an extension of the previous reason, it's because I set this arbitrary goal as a test of my commitment, not my ability. I knew I could do it, if I only worked hard enough and consistently enough. What I didn't know was if I was capable of working hard and consistently at it. This is meant to prove that to myself. Maybe it's a pride thing. I don't know. But I do know that keeping commitments to other people is easier than keeping them to myself, since we're always willing to cut ourselves a little slack (who's to know?). Knowing this, if I can keep this commitment to myself, then I know I can keep it to someone like He Jinbao, since I don't want to disappoint him with any half-assed efforts and thus waste his valuable time.
2. Improve my circle-walking practice - Like I said, this has never been a particularly constant or prominent aspect of what little training I've done up to this point. That has to change. At the moment, 10 minutes is about as long as I can go before my arms give out. From this point, all of my developmental circle-walking will be with the Lion representative posture. My goal for right now is to continue doing at least 10 min. per day, trying to increase that to 15-20. My walking stance right now is a reasonably comfortable mid-level--once I'm more sure of myself in making certain that my stance is structurally correct I will start lowering my stance to really work my legs.
3. Increase the time spent doing the standing-strengthening postures - As I'm getting back into the Lion system, most (if not all) of my standing will be in Lion. Over the past few days I've been averaging about 2 min., meaning that I spend about 1 min. in the stance on each side of my body. I'm not really going for distance right now, so each session of standing will continue to be 1 min. per side. However, I intend to stand for an increased number of such sessions every day, and I'd like to get that up to 10 min. per day, for the short-term.
4. Start fully training Lion system - This has already been touched upon above, but it deserves its own explanation. Once I finish my goal in doing the Dragon system Inside Pushing strike (as detailed above) I plan to begin working totally on Lion system material, as it is not only the best way to truly begin my training, being the most developmentally strenuous system, but also so that I can be more or less on the same page as practically everyone else practicing YSB, since He Jinbao starts pretty much everyone on Lion so they can get the proper foundation. When I started out in Dragon it was partly because the description of its methods and "personality" appealed to me, but also partly, I suspect, because I wanted to be doing something different from everyone else at the time. Now, however, I'd much rather be in a position to get better feedback from others by virtue of the fact that they have already worked extensively in what I'm doing.
Mid-term goals (next few weeks-months):
1. Tentative training goals - Increase standing time to 20 min. per day. Begin standing in at least two of the remaining 8 Lion postures. Increase turning time to at least 30 min. per day. Begin stationary drilling for the three basic Sweeping strikes (though probably mostly sticking to the first, the Rising Sweeping strike).
2. Secondary (vague) training goals - Improve arm and leg strength, waist strength and flexibility, as well as all-around physical endurance.
(After securing employment)
3. Resume attending local YSB study group (assuming it still exists). Would that the meetings were free, and I suspect they would be, if not for the fact that the group's facilitator has to reserve the space, requiring money. Since I plan to resume training the Lion system, I'm going to need instruction and correction, and that's best obtained with the help of others. It's probably been about two years (or more) since I've last been to the study group, so I'm a little worried at this point as to whether or not it actually still meets. I still remember a fair amount of what I learned there, though I still would really like to get some corrections and advice again. In reading Jim Lindsay's blog I've taken a number of points of advice to heart. One of these is that group meetings and seminars shouldn't be the place where you do the most work. They should be for getting instruction, correction and advice, as well as being able to test applications and the like with other people. The greater part of the training is solo. In the past, however, I was more likely to do the majority of my training at the group itself, for an hour every Saturday morning. Usually I'd be so overwhelmed by how exhausted I was that what I learned was probably minimal compared to what I should have been getting out of it. Lesson learned.
4. Buy the full set of Lion system dvd's. I already have the applications dvd for the Sweeping strikes, so that helps. Also, look into getting a dadao (or reasonable substitute) and a straight sword (in anticipation of the upcoming jian dvd), as well as the YSB saber and (eventually) straight sword dvd's.
Long-term goals (next year or so):
1. Be able to do at least 30 min. of standing per day, including most, if not all, Lion standing postures. Be able (hopefully) to turn for an hour while holding the Lion posture, in a moderately low stance, without lowering my arms. Gain a halfway decent amount of experience with the Sweeping palm strikes (as much experience as can be had in a year of constant training), as well as exploring the other 7 attacking methods in the Lion system. Begin learning some of the forms at the "learning speed", at least enough to know the movements.
2. Attend a seminar. By the time the next fall tour comes around I should have enough money to attend. Hopefully, unlike this year, there will be a seminar in Portland at that time. I'm probably not going to make much substantial progress until I actually have the opportunity to learn from (and be corrected by) He Jinbao himself. I look forward to being tossed around like a rag-doll for the sake of greater learning opportunities.
Some of these, particularly the longer-term goals, will probably change somewhat as time goes by. I remember that it wasn't all that long ago that my goal of doing 10,000 Inside Pushing strikes was a long-term goal. That probably contributed, psychologically, to my inability to actually accomplish it in the last five years that I've been trying to do so, because it was always something that I'd "get around to eventually." That's not gonna cut it. Not this time.
From what I've heard, the stated goal of any serious YSB practitioner, according to He Jinbao and other higher-ups in the organization, is one hour of turning per day. And from accounts I've read from those who have attended any of the seminars, He Jinbao will typically have people spending at least an hour on it on any given seminar day. So, if I'm to get the most out of a seminar once I eventually get the chance, I'll need to be capable of doing that. Which leads me into the main topic of this post: goals.
Short-term goals (next couple of weeks):
1. Finish my goal of 10,000 Inside Pushing Strikes - Even though this is Dragon system material, and I plan soon to take up Lion full-time, I am continuing with this for a number of reasons. Partly, because it is still Yin style, and any Yin style training is arguably good training, or at least better than not training. Mostly, because I am stubborn--I've been working on this goal for some time now, continually restarting it, and I want to finish it. Primarily, as an extension of the previous reason, it's because I set this arbitrary goal as a test of my commitment, not my ability. I knew I could do it, if I only worked hard enough and consistently enough. What I didn't know was if I was capable of working hard and consistently at it. This is meant to prove that to myself. Maybe it's a pride thing. I don't know. But I do know that keeping commitments to other people is easier than keeping them to myself, since we're always willing to cut ourselves a little slack (who's to know?). Knowing this, if I can keep this commitment to myself, then I know I can keep it to someone like He Jinbao, since I don't want to disappoint him with any half-assed efforts and thus waste his valuable time.
2. Improve my circle-walking practice - Like I said, this has never been a particularly constant or prominent aspect of what little training I've done up to this point. That has to change. At the moment, 10 minutes is about as long as I can go before my arms give out. From this point, all of my developmental circle-walking will be with the Lion representative posture. My goal for right now is to continue doing at least 10 min. per day, trying to increase that to 15-20. My walking stance right now is a reasonably comfortable mid-level--once I'm more sure of myself in making certain that my stance is structurally correct I will start lowering my stance to really work my legs.
3. Increase the time spent doing the standing-strengthening postures - As I'm getting back into the Lion system, most (if not all) of my standing will be in Lion. Over the past few days I've been averaging about 2 min., meaning that I spend about 1 min. in the stance on each side of my body. I'm not really going for distance right now, so each session of standing will continue to be 1 min. per side. However, I intend to stand for an increased number of such sessions every day, and I'd like to get that up to 10 min. per day, for the short-term.
4. Start fully training Lion system - This has already been touched upon above, but it deserves its own explanation. Once I finish my goal in doing the Dragon system Inside Pushing strike (as detailed above) I plan to begin working totally on Lion system material, as it is not only the best way to truly begin my training, being the most developmentally strenuous system, but also so that I can be more or less on the same page as practically everyone else practicing YSB, since He Jinbao starts pretty much everyone on Lion so they can get the proper foundation. When I started out in Dragon it was partly because the description of its methods and "personality" appealed to me, but also partly, I suspect, because I wanted to be doing something different from everyone else at the time. Now, however, I'd much rather be in a position to get better feedback from others by virtue of the fact that they have already worked extensively in what I'm doing.
Mid-term goals (next few weeks-months):
1. Tentative training goals - Increase standing time to 20 min. per day. Begin standing in at least two of the remaining 8 Lion postures. Increase turning time to at least 30 min. per day. Begin stationary drilling for the three basic Sweeping strikes (though probably mostly sticking to the first, the Rising Sweeping strike).
2. Secondary (vague) training goals - Improve arm and leg strength, waist strength and flexibility, as well as all-around physical endurance.
(After securing employment)
3. Resume attending local YSB study group (assuming it still exists). Would that the meetings were free, and I suspect they would be, if not for the fact that the group's facilitator has to reserve the space, requiring money. Since I plan to resume training the Lion system, I'm going to need instruction and correction, and that's best obtained with the help of others. It's probably been about two years (or more) since I've last been to the study group, so I'm a little worried at this point as to whether or not it actually still meets. I still remember a fair amount of what I learned there, though I still would really like to get some corrections and advice again. In reading Jim Lindsay's blog I've taken a number of points of advice to heart. One of these is that group meetings and seminars shouldn't be the place where you do the most work. They should be for getting instruction, correction and advice, as well as being able to test applications and the like with other people. The greater part of the training is solo. In the past, however, I was more likely to do the majority of my training at the group itself, for an hour every Saturday morning. Usually I'd be so overwhelmed by how exhausted I was that what I learned was probably minimal compared to what I should have been getting out of it. Lesson learned.
4. Buy the full set of Lion system dvd's. I already have the applications dvd for the Sweeping strikes, so that helps. Also, look into getting a dadao (or reasonable substitute) and a straight sword (in anticipation of the upcoming jian dvd), as well as the YSB saber and (eventually) straight sword dvd's.
Long-term goals (next year or so):
1. Be able to do at least 30 min. of standing per day, including most, if not all, Lion standing postures. Be able (hopefully) to turn for an hour while holding the Lion posture, in a moderately low stance, without lowering my arms. Gain a halfway decent amount of experience with the Sweeping palm strikes (as much experience as can be had in a year of constant training), as well as exploring the other 7 attacking methods in the Lion system. Begin learning some of the forms at the "learning speed", at least enough to know the movements.
2. Attend a seminar. By the time the next fall tour comes around I should have enough money to attend. Hopefully, unlike this year, there will be a seminar in Portland at that time. I'm probably not going to make much substantial progress until I actually have the opportunity to learn from (and be corrected by) He Jinbao himself. I look forward to being tossed around like a rag-doll for the sake of greater learning opportunities.
Some of these, particularly the longer-term goals, will probably change somewhat as time goes by. I remember that it wasn't all that long ago that my goal of doing 10,000 Inside Pushing strikes was a long-term goal. That probably contributed, psychologically, to my inability to actually accomplish it in the last five years that I've been trying to do so, because it was always something that I'd "get around to eventually." That's not gonna cut it. Not this time.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)