My WHY for my Forms

         I'm sure all of us have a reason as to why we chose the forms we picked this year, and in previous years.  Maybe it was to gain more proficiency in a hand or weapon form, maybe it was for fun, maybe it had techniques that you knew you would benefit from.  Whatever the reason, and whatever the form, there are great insights to be had, if you stick with it.

        My first two years on the team I really sucked at engagement, and I really sucked at doing my forms.  My excuse at the time is I was busy with a bunch of other life events: getting married, opening a business; and although that may be true, when it comes down to it, Kung Fu was just not a priority for me back then.  Which makes me think of my weapon that I chose those first 2 years, the katana.  I really struggled with the katana, in particular making a form.  I looked up lots of videos, and on one end was very traditional where the movements were meant for 1 strike kills, and on the other extreme end, Karate style katana which was very energetic with lots of sword flipping and what not-- looked entertaining, but had hardly any real life application.  Which brings me to now.  Fitting that I chose this weapon for my grading year.  Bit of a redemption arc.  I have more resources to pull from now, and more confidence in my ability.

        As for my hand form, I decided this year to create my own Drunken Form.  Why?  It started with a Bar Song (Tipsy) by Shaboozey, the David Guetta remix, and the idea branched out from there.  I thought that it would be a great song to do a Drunken form too, and also great for a creative musical form (making its debut at this year's Tiger Challenge).  I also liked the idea of playing around with a form where I purposely don't want to be stable, only to have to regain my stability.  There is going to be a lot of sensory information coming at me, and I need to have the patience to decipher it all, but I think it will be a really good thing for me.  I also tend to tense up a lot as I do my forms, and Drunken style is the opposite of tense.

        So there is my why.