Though I still have a nagging cough, I'm feeling much better now. It took a few days to recover but I'm pretty much normal now except for my lungs. After the morning run I cough really hard for a few minutes and usually when I lay down to go to sleep in the evening too but it's slowly improving.

It's been really hot here which makes it kinda tough to train hard and also makes me nervous about the coming summer but it sure is easier to stretch. After making little to no improvement all winter long I'm back to stretching in full swing and already noticing some improvement. Pretty cool. It's also a lot easier to breathe when we're drilling forms over and over again in quick succession and while running. Now I have to make sure to use sunscreen, bug spray, and drink lots of water.

We're working on a straight sword form called Xuen Men Jian, I actually learned it last year and performed it at the Tiger challenge but now we're going over it again and I'm able to really work on the details. I'm really pleased with it and think it might just end up being my best form this year, Shifu even came over to me a few days ago and said 'your sword...good' which is really high praise around here and made me feel so happy.

Still working on the website idea, it'll happen soon I swear!

I have a really bad chest cold right now. Missed a day and a half of classes but I'm starting to feel a little better now. Still have to sleep propped up on a pile of pillows though so I don't just spend the entire night coughing and not sleeping. I'm pretty tired and I don't have a whole lot to say at this point. Hope to feel better soon.

This week we had our first ever sparring class here in China.

Let me start off by saying that if you taught a class like this in the west, you'd get sued. Or you'd end up with an entire school of macho mouth breathers.

Basically it consisted of Shifu pairing us off and everyone standing in a circle watching each match of about 10 straight minutes. We had cheap boxing gloves and no other equipment and the only guidance we were given before beginning was to use only punches for now, no kicks until we were more experienced (the only real caution as far as I can see) then we went at it. Some of us had years of experience and some of us had absolutely zero but this was not acknowledged in any way. Most of the time the only feedback we were given was to punch harder. Some people were so afraid they either crouched into a ball with hands over their head, or started crying. When one woman with years of competitive fighting experience in Russia gave her partner with zero experience a bloody nose and black eye, she was not scolded at all, Shifu's reassurance was to tell him that this is a 'normal' part of sparring practice. I was lucky to end up paired with Mel whom I'm very familiar with but after our match we were told that we wouldn't be allowed to spar again because we love each other too much to try to hurt each other. I don't want to try to hurt anyone, I just want to learn, but I guess I'll have to change that if I'm going to participate in these classes.

Although it was pretty intense and I don't approve of the way it was handled, I feel confident after watching everyone that I can hold my own against any of them for the most part. It made me feel so grateful for the training I've done at Silent River over the years. If I didn't have that experience behind me I would have been completely overwhelmed and probably terrified. The way we are taught is so effective and there is so much emphasis placed on control and safety that nobody needs to be afraid. We can all learn together. After seeing the way things are done here, I have a new appreciation for the structure of sparring lessons at home. I now have an example for when I open my own school one day of how to go about the sparring training....and how not to.

Thanks Sifu Brinker for your intelligent fighting training. I'd be lost here without it.

I finished with my acupuncture treatments on Tuesday and can start back with normal training again this week. They did tell me that the problem I have with the ligament isn't fixed yet, it'll take time to heal and I'll have to not re-injure it in the meantime, which means no big jumping for 2 months. I'm kind of disappointed that it'll take so long but I'm also grateful that I can do the rest of the training pretty much as normal. I'm still going to wear knee braces when running and drilling forms just to be safe, especially in the beginning. I'm really happy to be able to participate fully in class again.

On a completely different topic, I'm thinking of creating my own website and instead of using this blog, I'll journal on there. Blogspot is blocked in China so I can't upload any pictures or change my settings because I have to use a proxy site which blocks certain activities. blah blah blah, boring computer stuff, the point is that hopefully soon you will be able to check my journal entries, see pictures and videos, and other neat features all in one location. I am not particularly savvy at this sort of thing so don't get too impatient, it could take a while.

So I finally decided to do something about my knees already. They've been bothering me off and on for at least a month now but other than stretching and massage I didn't really know what to do about it. Shifu suggested I try acupuncture at the local hospital and today was my 5th session. The doctor said I would need at least a week of treatment and reduced activity so I am doing my best to take it easy for now.

The treatments consist of needles in both knees hooked up to a mild electrical current for about an hour with a heat lamp (the best part by far) pointed at my knees. Then they do cupping on the area by placing hot bamboo cups on the points which creates suction and pulls my flesh up inside them, leaving circular shaped bruises on my legs. The last and most painful step is a herbal injection into my knee. Apparently the tendon or ligament doesn't have enough circulation so they inject a herbal solution into the problem area to move the blood and chi. Although at first I was really skittish about the injection, I do think it's doing some good. It's hard to be patient because my western mind wants to see significant results right away but I know that I'll have to finish the treatments and slowly start training harder again before I can really see much difference.

The doctor said no running, jumping, low stances, or kicks for the meantime which basically leaves me with a modified qigong and tai chi practice for now with lots of standing meditation and dragon claw practice. Though it's hard not to do the things I'm used to, I try to be sensible. I constantly remind myself that pushing myself too much, too fast is probably the worst thing for my progression in the long run. It's especially hard to rest here because any type of reduced activity comes with feelings of guilt and doubt, as if the problem isn't actually that bad and my mind is creating an excuse not to train. I have to remember that I am an adult with lots of training experience and lots of motivation and that sometimes resting is the best thing for an injury.