Teachers and Students

          I’ve been really working on improving the areas in my forms where I know I lack connection in my harmonies and power.  Normally I would work and work and work at improving these areas; and sometimes that’s fine, when I have the right intent in my mind, but when I don’t, it can lead to a lot of frustration and lack of forward movement.

          There’s been a transitional piece near the end of Da Mu Hsing V that I’ve struggled to piece together.  It’s the part after the breathing, where we turn and downward foot block, followed immediately by a punch.  I just could not seem to land that transition.  So I looked to my teachers.  Not just the ones you think of.  I’m talking about my classmates.  Each one has something to teach me.  I looked at those whose transitions, to me, looked good.  I watched, and then I made the choice to ask them what their intent was and how the transition feels to them.  I got a lot of great feedback to apply to myself.  It’s feeling better, just going to take some time to solidify.  Thank you Sihing Burke and Todai Ferris for the feedback.

         This leads me to the way I approach my training.  Honestly, I rarely do my forms in their entirety.  I pick a section I struggle with, or what feels the most “sucky” to me, and I work on that.  I’ll do it over and over, making adjustments until it feels good… well, better, and then I’ll do the whole form and see how it feels when I get to that section.  It always feels better, just not as good as when I’ve isolated the movement.  That’s all I try to aim for.  Making something feel better than the last time.  Sometimes that means making it feel worse first.