Day 21

I'm falling in love with tai chi.

When I first tried it I didn't like it at all, then I grew to realize that it's actually pretty cool. Now I love it! The more I practice it the deeper I fall. Today I was going through the form and it was flowing well and my movements were all synchronized. It was like a beautiful piece of music that you just want to close your eyes and savour. I had this experience that my chi was the wind and it was swirling around me like a gentle breeze. I could actually physically feel it against my skin. I half expected to see my hair blow around. I wonder if other people have felt that too. I've never had a hard time feeling chi but this was much more tangible than most of the experiences I've had. Awesome!

Day 20

Today I got in a lot of training, especially cardio which I sometimes struggle with. I really feel like this training is becoming a part of my life now. It's almost hard to remember what it felt like to go a whole day without doing anything. I just know that at the end of the 30 days I'll have become a whole different person. Someone who is focused and disciplined. I wish that I'd decided to do this years ago. Imagine where I could have been by now. But I guess I probably wasn't ready to take something like this on until now. I can really see by looking back how there were many events and challenges in the past that prepared me for where I am right now. I know from experience that if something comes too easily, it's easy to take it for granted. I'm really glad that I've had to work so hard to progress in kung fu, there haven't been many other things in my life that have been both so challenging and so rewarding.

Day 19

I spent a fair amount of my workout today working on kicks. I'm noticing that stiffness and soreness in my lower back is affecting my kicks. Generally front kicks are ok, it's side kicks and roundhouses that are suffering. I figured that I should focus more on improving that by kicking a bit lower than I normally would and then working my way up higher and higher. I also think that I need to stretch more at work. I work in a standing position most of the day. I do get to walk and move around a lot which is good but my back and hips still get stiff after a full day. I'm going to start doing a quick stretch on each break throughout the day and see if that makes a difference. Yoga always helps but I'd rather be pro-active and prevent it before it becomes a problem.

Everything else is going well. My forms are coming along nicely and I'm noticing an improvement in my stamina. I find that having stamina for working out at the gym is a lot different than for practicing kung fu. They don't necessarily go hand in hand.

Day 18

I've mostly been practicing my hand forms lately to try an improve on my basics but today I decided to do some weapons and pulled out the old nunchuks. I'd forgotten how fun they are! Even though I wouldn't say that chucks are my forte, I have a good time with them. I started out practicing my form and then I just improvised for a while and made some stuff up. I was surprised at my creativity when I got to trying new things. I wonder if the fact that I've been training so much means that I've got the juices flowing and new ideas are coming to the surface? I've noticed that I seem to be coming up with some neat ways to mix up my training so this might just be the next step.

I also noticed that the nunchuk form is a great one to work on footwork. I was having a challenging time when shifting stances. My ankle seems to be doing a bit better when doing a horse stance so I'm pretty pleased. I was starting to worry that it would never fully heal and I'd be stuck with a lopsided horse stance forever. Now I see the light at the end of the tunnel as far as that goes.

I ate 2 sweets today and it was the most sugar I've had since doing that cleanse. I feel kind of gross. I think it was a mistake and I wish I'd been more disciplined and less concerned with being polite. I'm going to have to get over that unless I want to have a sore tummy too often. yuck

Day 17-Thanks!

Today was great.

I had the day off so I could just hang out this morning and perfect my vegan green tea latte making skills and tidy up the house. Then I went for a swim with my cousin and had a great time. Something about splashing around in water makes me feel like a kid again.

Kung fu class was a really good experience. I learned a lot just from being at the second degree brown class and then in our class I learned even more. Master Brinker helped me to see some of the mistakes that I've been making in my sparring and how to correct them. I got to really practice the techniques and get a feel for them. Some of the mistakes I was making seem so obvious in retrospect but for some reason I needed someone else to point them out to me. I think that's one of the good things about going to class consistently, your instructors can offer you really good advice on things that you might not ever notice on your own.

I also want to thank everyone who has complimented me on my blog and my current training project. I've had some very kind words lately and it's so nice to know that other people are benefiting from my actions. I feel encouraged and inspired to continue on.

Day 16

So I'm really relaxed and tired out now from training and so I'll keep it fairly brief. All went well today. My tai chi form is really coming along nicely. I've got tons of questions for Sifu Dennis next time I see her. The flow is a lot better though and my footwork is improving. I've been concentrating on footwork and stances in my tai chi form and my kung fu forms too and I'm noticing two things a)it's a lot worse than I thought it was and b)it's getting better more quickly than I thought it would. All in all I'm pleased. Good night.

Day 15

I am half way done!

Initially when I started planning this project I considered making it 90 days. Everyone said I was crazy so I brought it down to 30. Now part of me thinks that was a good idea. It's pretty hard to find 2 hours every day, I'm a busy gal. That has definitely been the biggest challenge for me thus far. Another part of me thinks 30 days is maybe too short. I still have tons to work on and I need more time to do it. Do I really think I could maintain this pace for 90 days straight? Definitely. Would I live in filth and have no contact with the outside world? Maybe.

I'll be training way harder in China for about 90 days but there won't be any other responsibilities to take care of. No cooking, running errands, or work to get in the way. I'm really excited about that and I also wonder what kind of pace I'll be able to keep once I get back. That'll be interesting to see.

All in all I'm glad I decided on the 30. I'll still train hard afterwards and hopefully I'll also have time to see more of the people I care about and take care of all the things that I'm currently letting slide (like the dishes!). I don't want to take too much time off though, I need to stay on my game.