Centring

        Last night's class was a good reminder of how far I still have to go.  I thought I was making good progress in my stances and in my harmonies, and perhaps I am in my hand forms; however, putting a stick in my hands last night really threw off my centre.  I felt some of my stances narrow, and when I'd go to strike, especially stepping into a bow stance, I felt my centre mass move so that I no longer felt as strong and connected to the earth.  Sure this is a little disheartening, but it also gives me something to work towards.  Weapons really do amplify our weaknesses.  For me, it is staying centred and not allowing my mass to continue so much forward that I'm throwing myself off-balance.

        Stick is said to translate into a lot of the other weapons we use, and as true as that is, it also shows me the difference between a long and short weapon.  I've been using the karambit as my weapon for this years IHC form, and there is definitely some fundamental aspects of stick showing up in my form, but a shorter weapon also means having to distance myself a lot different.  With the karambit I have more to travel, and thus by the time I'm striking my stances are pretty solid.  Practicing stick last night I had a weapon that could reach without traveling as much, but I did sacrifice my footing.  Why?  What is the difference?  They should be the same.  Is it because of the length of the stick that my centre mass is also that much further than a short bladed weapon? Perhaps that is one explanation; still there should be no difference in my stances other than my distancing from the intended target.  Maybe that's it right there.  The weapon form I created I have a strong intent of what my movements are accomplishing compared to the stick.  Thanks blog for revealing the answer!

       Looks like I have some work to do when it comes to my intent while performing stick 1&2; and stances, they can always use more work.  Another thing of note last night, is that Sifu Csillag had us each perform Stick in-front of everyone else in the front group of class.  It was a great opportunity to develop our eye for detail more by seeing others perform and seeing where they excelled and where they had areas that could be developed more.  I was last up and it was interesting, because I found myself trying to make sure I was hitting areas where others were underdeveloped and focusing on areas where I saw others excelling in.  I was definitely influenced, in a good way, to perform my best ahead of amazing individuals.

        That's all from me, see you on the mats.