Feeling better this week. My knee is on the mend, the cold I was coming down with only lasted a few days and never got really bad, and though the week still seemed long it was only the usual 6 days. We finished learning Tai Yi Wu Xing Chuan and this week we start broadsword. Yes! It's called Xuen Gong Dao and is definitely one of the coolest broadsword forms I've seen. I hope to be really good at it someday and though it has some serious jumping involved (not my strong suit) I think my understanding of vectors will help me out. I guess we'll find out right away!

On a different note I've noticed some improvement in my meditation practice. Recently in our Taoism class Shifu translated a text for us which discusses meditation and such. There were certain lines that really spoke to me and seemed relevant to where I am right now. A lot is said about diligence, many people want the benefits of meditation but are not willing to spend the time on it. Shifu encouraged us not to make that mistake, he said it can take many years of practice before you can really control your chi. Really old texts like these are often translated mistakenly, giving people with little understanding the impression that amazing things can happen in only a few days but it really takes a very long time. I've only been here for 6 months so I'm basically a brand new beginner in the scheme of things and if all I can do now is sit and try to relax and breathe, that's fine. It's a start. The text also talks about how in our internal practice we have good days and bad days. Sometimes I am very relaxed and focused and can feel my Dan tian and other times I am uncomfortable and distracted, this is normal. I find it encouraging to know that everyone from now and backwards through time has had similar challenges on their journey. Some of what is discussed is way beyond my level but that too pushes me to carry on as I have something to work towards. The final line of the text is really awesome, it basically comes down to...

Do not be afraid of not knowing,
only be afraid of never trying to learn.

It could probably be put much more elegantly than that but you get the idea. Shifu always says that these ideas are useless if you don't put them into practice. It's exciting when you can see the ways in which you have done that in your own life. I enjoy that Taoism class, we're always learning such cool stuff.