Ready to Spring into Action

         Only a month and a half into the Tiger year and I'd like to say that my training has been going good, but at best I think it has just been okay.  As we move closer to the renewal and warmth of Spring I do find my mood getting better, but it has still felt kind of low and a bit stagnant.  That isn't new for me around this time of year.  I always feel like a sprouting bud having difficulty pushing through the thawing soil.  Still, these periods of stagnancy are uncomfortable for me.  I have a hard time with staying still for too long, and feel like I should be moving, preferably forwards, or towards something.  As uncomfortable a feeling this is, I know that periods where I feel stuck are usually there so that I can rest up and prepare for a busy period that is coming.

        This inner turmoil does affect my training.  Feeling uninspired tends to infect my ambition, creating a fog that obscures my goals.  The fog will eventually lift and I'll make leaps and bounds again.  Until then, I will continue to push on and train, even when I don't want to or feel like it.  I've never regretted training, even if I felt it wasn't a productive session.  Having said all that, I have managed to improve upon my beta version of my weapon form.  Is it feeling good yet?  Not really, but I have most of the movements and sequences that I've been wanting incorporated.  Now it is just a matter of smoothing it out and doing more and more repetitions.  I'm sure the form will change slightly over the next little while as I work out the kinks and areas where the flow is inhibited.  I remember creating my form last year I had areas that were transitional fillers, and I had to work to create movements that flowed into one another.  So far, I don't have any of those, but there are a couple of places that I feel could be phrased better.

        I remind myself that this is only the start of the year, and I have plenty of time to build my momentum back up again and make some really great progress this year.  As much as I always want to be seeing progress, I know that sometimes it isn't always obvious and that sometimes we have to go in circles a few times to learn and improve.  I'm hopeful that I'll make a breakthrough soon.