Thoughts and musings

         During the 2nd degree brown class this morning, our conversation sparked something that I saw on Wednesdays class.  I was watching some yellow belts go through stick, mostly 2 and a little bit of 3.  It was the transitional move in 2 that I was noticing, but really clicked for me today what it was; all of them were coming up out of their centre in a big wind-up kind of way before the strike.  It broke their flow, gave up their foundational structure for hope of a bigger payoff.  The finishing stance was fine.  I checked all of them, and they had good stability, but that transitional piece was off.  It made me think of my own forms and what I sacrifice for the next move.  Lets put that context now into sparring, what am I sacrificing for my next move?  What's my payoff, and was it worth it?  Going back to my forms, what in my sequencing am I shorting myself, and how is that causing ripple effects throughout my form?

        Another thought I had was about INTENT.  At first it was in the context of energy work, which for me is all about intent.  Then my train of thought went further, and thought about intent in forms.  Now, here is where it gets interesting.  We all have different intents when we are training, and especially when we are doing our forms, but when is it right or wrong?  Is it when our instructors say so?  Is it when we feel something is going right, or may be off?  I think our intent is always right, but that doesn't mean it is right for what we are being trained to do, or told to do.  If something is going wonky in my form, it is because my intent is not what or where it should be.  You follow?  My body is just doing what I'm basically telling it do, which if you always train like that, then no wonder doing something "wrong", can feel so "right".  Your intent is working, but it is not the RIGHT intent for the task.  For example, lifting a heavy object.  How many of us actually use proper technique when lifting?  Be honest now, because I know we are all guilty at some point of using improper mechanics when lifting something heavy.  We bend over from the waist, hold on to wherever we can grab, and hinge back up, putting a lot of strain on our low back.  Your intent is to lift the heavy object.  GREAT.  You did it, thumbs up.  Do that over and over and your back is going to hate you.  Now how about bending with the knees, and using your legs (some of the biggest muscles you have) and lifting that way?  Not so straining is it?  It is also repeatable for longer without issue.  Your intent is producing the same end result, HOWEVER, the way you get there is what really matters.

        Anyways, just some food for thought.  Figured I'd share these musings.