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.

Day 14

It's been a while since I said anything about my push ups but all is going well. For a while I felt as though I'd stopped progressing and was staying at the same level but now recently I've had a big improvement. I feel so much stronger than before I started this project and I'm proud of myself for making it thus far.

I also feel good about the things I've been working on each day. The forms I've been practicing are getting better and better, I'm getting stronger, I have more stamina, and my foot position on my side kick is looking more like it should.

I've noticed both in the training and in my push-ups that sometimes it feels like what I'm doing isn't working and I get discouraged and critical. Somehow though it all comes together and I experience a big leap in progress where I can see a major change and feel really good about all my effort. I can see now that in the past if I was feeling that I wasn't getting better fast enough I'd get impatient and move on to something else. If I'd only kept working on it, I probably would have experienced a great improvement.

Hindsight really is 20/20.

Day 13-Lucky # 13

I really did feel lucky today. Lucky to have kung fu in my life, lucky to be surrounded by wonderful people, lucky to be fit and healthy, and lucky to live in such a privileged country. I imagine what it would be like to grow up on the other side of the world sometimes. I might never have been able to learn kung fu as a female in some cultures. I might not be able to afford the luxuries that I so enjoy like fresh groceries and a comfortable place to live. I might not have the freedom to believe what I want and be the weirdo that I am.

One of the reasons that kung fu is so important to me is that it helps me to be more humble and more compassionate. It has opened my world so that I can see more, good and bad. It gives me the passion to change what I can and try to make things better somehow. The biggest difference it has made for me personally is that it has given me confidence. Confidence to speak up for myself and others and to stand up for what I believe in. I can say with certainty that I would not be who I am today if I never met Master Brinker and started training all those years ago.

When we bow in and out at the beginning and the end of class what do you think about? When we say "past masters" I think of all those who have directly or indirectly helped me get to where I am even without me knowing. I feel gratitude for all their efforts and caring. Throughout our history people have struggled to pass on their knowledge of kung fu, sometimes even risking their lives to do so. We are blessed and privileged to be part of this lineage.

Day 12

Holy crap! I'm almost half done already! Time really does fly.

My back has been sore since Friday, I'm not sure why, so today I decided to do my push-ups and some strength training and then I did a yoga routine for healing a sore back. I think it was a really good idea because as soon as I was done I felt amazing and now tomorrow I'll be able to train like usual again. I think part of why it was so great is also that it was so mellow and relaxing. I feel like it healed my mind as well as my body. That's one of the things that I love about yoga, it's a great way to nurture yourself which is especially important for martial artists because training hard at anything takes it's toll on a person.

Day 11

Today I was really tired. I went for a swim which was good to cool off and for a bit of cardio but afterwards I was totally wiped out. I had to struggle to finish my push-ups and my training for today but I did it. Hopefully tomorrow I'll have more energy again and I'll go to bed at a decent hour. I've definitely been getting less sleep since I started this training routine. Some days it doesn't matter so much, the exercise gets me pumped up and I have more energy, but other days it gets to me a little. I can't blame the workouts for it though. If I didn't go out I'd have gotten more sleep last night and tonight so it's all about priorities (there's that word again). More and more I'm learning about what my priorities are and that in the past there were lots of times when I put other things before kung fu. I'm certain that's a big reason why I've had such problems with consistency. All I'm doing now is putting kung fu first (and sleep last) and I've already noticed big changes in the way I see things.

Day 10

Black belt class today was totally awesome! We did this really fun drill that was a great workout, helped us review our curriculum, and tested our reaction time. Basically we went in partners and one person had 2 shields or focus mitts and they called out random techniques and the other person was doing them. The class flew by! I think this is something that I'm going to incorporate into my home training.

One bad thing was that my back was sore for some reason and kicking high was uncomfortable. I'm going to sleep now though and if it's not better tomorrow I know a great yoga routine for it that really works.