Moving Forward

         I either have the worst luck, or I just really needed the rest, but days before the Tiger Challenge I got the same sinus cold my wife got, and that meant I couldn't compete.  I was really looking forward to the Tiger Challenge, it would have been my first in-person tournament, after having competed online last year.  I was really hoping to use the opportunity to gauge where my training has led me, and more importantly, to bond and engage more with the SRKF community.  Always next year.

        As far as my training goes, last week was a slower week for me.  I had already decided, before catching the cold, that I was going to rest more.  I've been going hard with my training for months now, with very little rest time, so it was time to give a hard break for my body to heal.  Now that I've had the time to rest-up, I'm feeling ready to start my training anew.  First thing on my list is Da Mu Hsing. 

        Even though this isn't the form that I picked for the year, I've made sure to practice it, party so that I don't forget the form, and so that I can start integrating what I've learned from Lao Gar into it.  That last part hasn't been going as well, or has it?  A few classes ago we did Lao Gar followed by Da Mu Hsing, and maybe it was because Lao Gar is feeling good after practicing it so much, but it made Da Mu Hsing feel really bad.  After discussing this with Sifu Brinker, it was brought up that maybe it feels bad, because I have more awareness of how things should feel, after having done Lao Gar so much.  Where Lao Gar feels a lot more smooth and flowy, Da Mu Hsing is feeling very rough and choppy.  I'm taking this opportunity to really slow down the form and exaggerate the movements.  I've already noticed that in doing this, that I am getting more of the hip engagement that I am missing in this form, and I'm definitely using less muscle.  I really feel this in my punches, I'm having the hip launch the punch, and my arm is being pulled after it, instead of engaging the whole arm and shoulder.

        On the other side of all this, I have found that I have been losing some motivation in my training.  Having the week off to rest and recover was nice, but it also slowed my momentum down, at least that's how it feels to me.  Of course, summer and the nice weather also provides more distractions/ busier personal schedule.  I'll be leaving for a vacation to Kelowna for the last week of July.  It will be a fantastic trip, and I have every intention of practicing my Kung Fu while I'm there, just not as frequently.  Guess what I'm trying to say, is if there's any of my team members out there that are also struggling with motivation or whatever, maybe we can help each other out.