Stay the course

Jiu jitsu gives me a sore neck! All that lying down and pushing yourself up onto your shoulders is really hard on the neck. I have a massage booked for tomorrow before work and I'm really looking forward to it. I hope it helps. I know that after I get used to it and the muscles get stronger, it'll be much better but in the meantime I need some relief. I wonder if anyone else is experiencing this.

On a positive note my cousin Jena is a physiotherapist. We did an experiment last week. I did the splits as far as I could (after warming up of course) and then she asked me what muscles felt tight in that position. She did some acupuncture on those areas to relax the muscles and then I tried it again. What a difference! I reduced the space between myself and the floor by about half. I decided that I'd go and see her for future sessions to relax some of the other areas that have tightness. I'm interested to see what improvements we can make. Maybe I can get her to work on my neck too.

Things are going well for my preparation for the tournament in May. My practice schedule is regular and I'm seeing steady improvements in both forms and grappling. All I have to do now is stay the course and I should be able to have some success at the tournament. In contrast to previous years, I am actually looking forward to this one. I've managed to overcome some of the performance anxiety so that I can actually enjoy myself now. It's a lot more fun!

Practice staying calm

Jiu Jitsu this week was cool. I've gotten more into the class. We're starting to learn some really cool stuff that is pretty exciting. We learned something called a helicopter armbar that was really fun. It looks so complicated but it's actually easier once you start practicing it. Now that I get to participate in class with everyone else as a fellow student, I'm enjoying it more. I'm learning more too I think.

I've been trying to focus on getting ready for the tournament in May so I'm practicing my forms a lot and just squeezing in as much grappling and sparring as I can. It's not that far away anymore though. I was hoping I'd be further along by now. Well, I'll jsut have to keep practicing and do my best. In China we had a demostration day every wednesday where we performed our forms for the instructor one by one. It was really nerve wracking but Im glad that we did it now because I'm hoping I won't be as nervous at the tournament. Our instructor there said that the reason we did that every week was to practice staying calm in stressful situations. It works too. Week by week it became easier to get through the class and not get really nervous.

New Perspectives

I'm all better. I took a few extra days off on pretty much everyones advice and I think I made the right decision. I'm back to doing push-ups and I'm not feeling any pain at all. Now I can start playing catch up with that.

I started training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu this week in order to get my grappling hours done in time for China. I'm still going to have to practice outside of class but at least now I'll have an arsenal of things I can work on. In some ways the class was really different from kung fu and in other ways it's the same. A lot of the basics are similar to ours. We learned how to get up safely after being taken down and I realized Master Brinker taught us that in class already. The more I learn the more I realize what a great instructor he is. Being in China and taking BJJ has really made me appreciate Silent River and Master Brinker. I'm so grateful that our training has been so well rounded over the years. I really enjoy learning a new style so far but I don't think I'll ever fall in love with it the way I've fallen in love with kung fu. I find that every time I learn something new that's really cool, the thing that excites me the most is taking it back and trying it out in our class or showing it to everyone to see what they think. I hope that I continue to learn some neat things with BJJ but I really only want to round out my kung fu training, not replace it.

Last night Master Brinker gave us an inspiring little talk about our progress. I was balking a bit at having to buy an expensive jiu jitsu gi that I'm only going to use for 4 months but he mentioned that if we thought we didn't have the money to train at what we wanted, our priorities were messed up. I know that he probably didn't mean to direct that at me but it was exactly what I needed to hear. I've decided that in order to make up for the cost of the gi I'm going to stop buying lunch every day and more diligently make my own at home. I'm sure it'll be healthier and cheaper in the long run anyway.

Last night was inspiring for another reason. Hearing about everyones trip to Alabama and how they felt about helping people and associating with high level martial artists was amazing. I can tell that it made a really big impression on them. They were both humbled and proud(of our teams hard work). I really see that they've had a powerful experience that will probably change their lives for the better. I'm proud of you guys!

It was bound to happen eventually

I know that when training as hard as I've been, eventually some kind of injury will pop up. Mine is a strained pectoral muscle on the right side. It's not that painful, unless I do push-ups. I imagine that I injured it by doing push-ups every day. I don't remember a particular incident, it's just been steadily getting worse for about 2 weeks now. Well I took a day off push-ups and I'm still taking it easy by doing less reps more often. I try to position my arms so that they're doing all the work instead of my chest. I'm not sure what else I can do. I know that I need to give it time to heal but I don't want to get too far behind on my push-ups either.

So I guess I'll just play it by ear and take it easy in the meantime. Any tips from anyone would be greatly appreciated. Should I take more time off?

Struck Down Again

I got a cold this week. The second time I've gotten sick since I've been home. I decided this is not a good sign and I'm taking measures to fix the problem. Perchance my immune system is down from travelling or training so I'm taking some herbs to help bring it back to normal. In the meantime I accomplished very little this week. Did the bare minimum I had to in order to not fall behind but I certainly didn't make much progress. Except on one thing. The form I'm creating for our tournament in May is coming along very well. Added a couple of wicked new moves this week and polished what was there. It's really starting to feel good. I was a bit worried that it would end up looking the same as the sword form I learned in Wudang just with the moves rearranged BUT that is not the case. I don't even know where the inspiration for some of this stuff is coming from! The collective unconscious perhaps. Who knows. At any rate it's very exciting. I've never created my own form before and I didn't realize how much fun it is.

So I'm happy with my the new developments and I'm no longer sick. Life is good.

Yay me

So at the risk of seeming arrogant I'm posting a link to an article with me and my sister in it.

http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com

Click on the article Women of Wudang. I'm pleased with the way it turned out.

Wow. I can't believe I'm in an article for Kung Fu Magazine! I never imagined anything like this would ever happen to me. Haha. So maybe I'm bragging a bit but I'm just really excited.

Other than that all is well. I'm feeling good. Making progress on my goals and attracting all sorts of positivity my way.

My First Living Hero: Vandana Shiva

Why I love Vandana Shiva:

A few years ago I went to see Vandana Shiva speak at the university. The lecture was called The Seed and the Spinning Wheel. She spoke about the genetic engineering of lifeforms and how dangerous this new technology was. She went into great detail explaining how biodiversity works and how our ecology depends on it. She also shared several stories about industrial agriculture versus small scale, family farming methods, water shortages caused by irresponsible practices, corporations patenting life forms, and the cultural impact of these acts on local peoples. The lecture left a huge impression in my mind and I decided to learn more about this intelligent, articulate, and caring woman.

Vandana Shiva is a quantum physicist, environmentalist, author, and womens rights activist. She is my hero because she cares about our world and about women in third world countries and because she provides a powerful example of what one woman can accomplish. Her foundation Navdanya does important work in promoting sovereignty of natural resources, bio-diversity and organics, and empowerment of women and children.

There is so much important work that Vandana Shiva does, I have neither the space nor the fortitude to include it all here. For more info please check out the links below.

"The primary threat to nature and people today comes from centralising and monopolising power and control. Not until diversity is made the logic of production will there be a chance for sustainability, justice and peace. Cultivating and conserving diversity is no luxury in our times: it is a survival imperative."
-Vandana Shiva

http://www.rightlivelihood.org/v-shiva.html
http://www.vandanashiva.org
http://www.navdanya.org
http://www.ecoworld.com/Home/Articles2