Martial Artist to D9 Cat

I have had a lot of struggles the last while in working towards balancing my occupational physical movements with my Kung Fu movements. As much as I have tried to integrate it and come to some sort of realistic balance between the two, needless to say they don't seem to want to get along. Which is all the more reason why practicing my forms and expanding my Kung Fu has to remain imperative on a daily basis. I also have to avoid becoming frustrated and loose the end result along the way or jeopardize the quality as well. Patience and discipline are key I think.

To give you an idea of my situation most things I work with are heavy and there is a consistent demand of strength. A task that requires a strength demand to lift, hold or stabilize while in motion, access to the point, and periodic static positioning all while under load. Basically picking something heavy up, carrying it, and holding it in place. Then whatever tools are necessary to complete the work I have to hang on to them and possibly use more strength to work them. If I'm working at heights I have to hang on to something while I work the tools so more physical demand is required. Also when all of these activities take place I load the body up slowly to avoid injury. Think of revving an engine to full RPM and dropping the clutch, your bound to grenade something.

Now the Kung Fu aspect of strength in motion and movement. Typically the goal is very little strength is required until you need it. Nothing is preloaded to execute the technique with the exception of holding a weapon perhaps until you complete definition of execution. But even then when you move the weapon and your body the idea is to remain light and transitional movements are performed with a full body balance, like the first part of the six harmonies and the center is the source of it all. Moving from stance to stance your feet or rotation is performed from sliding on the heels and ball of the foot and you are compressed or settled the whole time.

Now at work if I tried to apply these aspects of Kung Fu, I would be dropping tools and materials all over the place or they would be flying out of my hands. I would probably blow out my back or knees and consistently trip and fall down carrying something. While operating an industrial impact gun I would turn my arm into something that resembles a twizzler. When I apply my work movements to Kung Fu it's like my axe suddenly weighs 100lbs and I'm trying to drive it through a bank vault. When I move I am so tense that my flow and speed go completely out the window and there is a smart car on my back. When I punch or kick it's like I am demolishing a house with my hands and feet.  My Kung Fu goes from the center out to all upper body or I dispatch so much energy to my legs that I begin rising and falling during transitions. So I really have to calm the mind and pay more attention to the details which I am trying to avoid so my Kung Fu becomes involuntary instinct rather than mindful dispatch....the list goes on but I know I can make it happen.

It's not all messed up though and I am working towards a solution. Like I had mentioned in a previous post about programmed muscle memory I know where the problem lies and what the causes are, I just have to put in the time and keep telling my body to work from the center out and to some degree I'm slowly developing this and it is helping. The biggest struggle I have right now is putting in the time. I have so many distractions right now and another big issue is my working mindset contradicts my Kung Fu mindset everyday. My biggest issue is the separation from all or nothing to achieving a healthy and sustainable balance. That's another post though.

Journaling

It has been mentioned several times over the years during I Ho Chuan classes and meetings I have attended that one of the most critical tools for success on the quest for mastery is our journaling. It is the absolute minimum requirement, a perfect tool to asssit with accountability and engagement. A lot of problems or issues an individual may face during the course of their journey or troubleshooting things can be exposed or repaired through consistant journaling. A measure for success, personal discovery and insight through our Kung Fu. Our fails and how we dealt with it and how we grew from the experience. A tool to help ourselves and others along the way. It provides the abilility to let everyone know where we are at or where we are not. Nobody on a crew should be left alone or forgotten, we all struggle from time to time and need a helping hand or a swift kick.

We have all heard from experience that if your not journaling, your not training or engaged. I didn't really buy into it at the time or honestly give it a chance because I didn't see the value or apply the tool as it was meant to be used. I tried to justify this misconception, or I'll be even more honest my stubborness. I would use every reason or excuse I could find. I would say that I am a private person, (which to a strong degree I am, but that is irrelevant to the prurpose.) I would say to myself I have nothing to journal about, I don't have time, etc, etc. I thought that in order to have a successful year you just train and stay on the path. Little did I realize at the time that our journals are the path, they are one of the primary tools for success. You could say the perfect sound board to some degree.

Up until this year I never fully embraced the mindset or appreciated the tool, and it showed. Sometimes it takes me a while to get it or maybe even go as far to say acceptance to something that is designed to help, but requires change or the need to come out of the comfort zone. I think I get it now....it just took a few years! When it comes to journaling I can only speak for myself here but this year a lot of light bulbs lit up as ventured down the path and made some discoveries and insights to my Kung Fu. In fact a recent challenge gave me some very sound proof to the value of journaling because I applied the tool as it was meant to be and it was working great. Then I started to slip a bit and not journal and as a result so did my discipline and focus.

The last few weeks have been tough, weird hours, lot's going on at home, working hard all day in the heat, really, really....really crappy drivers on the road, and not much left at the end of the day. Because of my weird hours and other areas of my life currently I haven't made it to the Kwoon yet since it re opened. I'm not getting in the amount of training I want and that time for me to escape the day and do my Kung Fu is becoming less. I started to get down on myself about it and angry about things. But then I thought about it, hold the phone man, what's missing? These last few weeks are no different than the previous two. I might only be getting in a little bit of training but I'm training consistantly and the quality holds....then it occured to me, my journaling.

I have missed sealing off the last two weeks with a journal and I finally realize the value. My tool for engagement and assurance that I am moving forward is missing. That journal that marks my progress and helps me keep the discipline alive and the goal in my sights is not part of where I am at. My teachers or team mates have no idea where I am at, so now I am doing this alone. That record that assures me I am committed to see this through and Kung Fu is here with me solid. It's that hand that reaches out and says things are cool, forgive yourself and smarten up. It might not be so exciting for others, but for me this was a really cool moment of clarity because I know this year I am doing things right and still managing to grab that gear when the clutch slips. Where I am at and what I am doing is a whole lot of alright. I just need to keep using my tools and believe in something I am not used to putting faith in. My journals will keep me committed to my Kung Fu, the I Ho Chuan crew, and of course my Sifu's. See you at the Kwoon. 

Consistency of Action

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity and keeping up my training has been a challenge. In fact there are times where it's a tough go. With a 6am start at work my day begins at 4 am, 30 mins of meditation, pound out some push ups and sit ups and maybe a form rep or two and out the door I go. When I get home I do my best to make the most of my time after work, tend to whatever needs tending, and complete the last of my training before I have to hit the bricks earlier than usual. My work is physical and we go wide open so it's like I get paid to work out and it keeps me in shape. But I won't deny there are days that I am beat like a rented mule and really don't want to do much of anything. I say to myself that I can catch up tomorrow, then the precedence of excuse has been set and now it's okay to put it off and lower the priority. The excuse becomes easier to use and I don't want that to happen. It needs to remain a priority but also stay fun and remain that escape I look forward too. Life happens though and there are days that training will be missed or less productive. That's a lot different than just saying I don't feel like it. As it has been mentioned before, "If you don't feel like training, train anyway!" I really like that saying and it does inspire me even though there are times I want to say how about pound it, but I make it happen anyway.

The main driving force though is I don't want to lose the momentum and progress I have made lately and I want to see through my goal of consistent discipline. I have been working very hard on the changing of priorities because I know me and I know that the discipline is fragile when it comes to me working. So I have been working hard to strengthen that and not beat myself up if things go South. Keep on it and have fun doing it.

The good part is right now I'm just a guy that shows up, performs the work in a productive, efficient manner and goes home. I'm not managing the project and all that comes with it. Frankly it's awesome to just shut the switch off for the day and not be concerned with much else. That could change at any time if I get the call. So this is exactly why I need to keep things rolling along together and why it's so important for me to remain engaged in the approach I have been taking. 

All this time off to soley focus on Kung Fu and the betterment of my approach has done me wonders for clarity and a deep look inside, a step back. The discoveries and progress myself and others have made thus far keeps me engaged. I feel better physically and mentally and take a much better balanced perspective towards things.

Although, like everybody else, I have been training virtually this past while, I feel a deep restoration with my teachers, students, and the school. The one on ones have been critical for those times when you need the help and I am very grateful for that.

I don't really say much but the members on the team have really added to the purpose and have helped me a lot as well. I've met some new faces and watched some really amazing people do some really amazing things which helps keep me inspired as well. The attitudes, personalities, and compassion are the best and the unique individualism of every ones Kung Fu is amazing. This I Ho Chuan team has been one of the strongest and skilled I have seen or had the privilege to train with in some time. There is no need to struggle or falter on engagement or lapse on commitment, it's automatic at this point because of the people in this class. Thanks to you all. I just hope I can keep it this way when things get really busy for me when other things come in to play. See you at the Kwoon!

Programmed Muscle Memory

Muscle memory to me is just as powerful as thought memory and this is determined by action that simply becomes involuntary, like blinking your eyes or breathing. You don't have to think about it, it just happens. The same could be said for repetitive actions when performing day to day activities. Once the task begins your body reacts and moves on it's own and away we go due to continuous repetitive movements. Programmed muscle memory is great because we can include thought, or not, while going about our business and this provides the ability to change on the fly, or options needed. It can however, be detrimental to martial arts progress and requires a lot of repetitions to correct....like a lot. They seem to have very strong memories and when programmed for years become very stubborn to change. You change things up but they always seem to go back to the original train of action. This is where the hard work through repetitions comes in.

I noticed this past week while practicing my forms and heavy bag work, and especially my axe, that I am using more upper body again and I'm becoming tense while transitioning. I know exactly why, programmed muscle memory. As said before I am working on a bridge and it is bull work and for 20 years as an Ironworker the upper body and the legs are used steady, but there is no connection between the two such as the center we utilize in Kung Fu. So the go to for years has been the upper body and that has always reflected in my Kung Fu when I started to train in the art.

My muscle memory has reverted back to what it knows and how to adapt to the change of familiar repetitive action. I have been training quite a bit the last while basing everything from the center out, but a few weeks of bull work has knocked me back a few steps.

The good part to all of this though is because of all the training and repetitions I have managed to get in and the growth of awareness in relation to my Kung Fu lately, I have already started to reprogram and the base is created. If I can start to train myself to base everything from the center out, not just in my Kung Fu, but in my work as well; then my Kung Fu will be with me at all times and the reprogramming of muscle memory will succeed. If I can move and react this way and practice this repetition through this thought and action it will become natural. I really my theory works because at the moment my body doesn't know what to do or think!

The last few days of the week I did my best to start all actions from the center out. For example when I'm working off girders or angel wings swinging a sledge while driving drift pins, using my wrenches and sleever bar or on the grounding picking up steel and throwing it around, packing timbers or whatever else comes into the picture. It's kind of neat actually once I started to introduce it all together. It may be a long shot but I guess we'll see what this upcoming week brings.

One last thing to mention also was the amazing Kung Fu I witnessed yesterday while watching the Tiger Challenge. All of the students that have adapted their Kung Fu to the limited space and modifying their forms so they could compete in tight quarters was beyond impressive. Some have been learning most of it on line and that in itself is incredible, good on you all. I'd have to say no one skipped a beat and the individual signatures, dedication and hard work was pretty damn cool as well. But none of this would happen if it weren't for our Sifu's that are so commited to the school, the success of it's students, and the art. They found a way to make it happen, rolled the dice and took the risk to hold a virtual tournament. As far as I know nobody tried this, awesomeness indeed. Thanks to you all for your time and efforts, they are beyond appreciated. See you on the screen. 

Trial Run

Two and a half months into the pandemic shutdown and things have taken a turn in my training. I have a job just waiting for me to go too but until hiring freezes are lifted and other items are brought to a head nothing is happening. These items are completely out of my control so it has been the great waiting game. However, I have my Ironworking skillset to fall back on in times like these but that too has been rather quiet. So this has given me ample time to train and put forward a design that will help my engagement and catch me up on all things Kung Fu. For me anyway this has been great and I'm glad the opportunity came my way. It has provided me with the time to focus on my training and achieve some break throughs along the way. I have had plenty of time to build a discipline and a fairly solid routine....just great.


 That is until earlier this month I pulled a slip through the Ironworkers hall to work on a bridge that started this past Monday. So I'm back to work for a stretch and it is great. Bridges are heavy bull work and I'm grateful that I had all this time to train and maintain my conditioning. But as much as I thought Kung Fu covers all the major muscle groups, I found out that is not necessarily the case. Between ramping up on my training and starting this job, I came home fairly stiff the later part of the week when things became busy.

The good part is I am maintaining my goal of discipline towards my training no matter what and keeping the quality front and center as well. Making that time in the morning to get something done before I begin my day to completing the remainder in the evening. As beat as I was a few nights this week I still went out and trained and made it happen.

I was also lucky enough for Sifu Brinker to find me a time slot that would work for him and I could maintain my weekly one on ones. For me these are critical and I am very grateful that I still have this tool to stay grounded and a source for all my advancements and set backs to remain in check.

I have been working on a difficult challenge the last while that involves some in depth connections and discoveries. I caught myself becoming frustrated and the lack of quality and progression was more than apparent. I was losing the technique and the mental calm that is required to make this work succesful. So I shut this down for the week and will dive back into it starting tomorrow. No sense programming bad habits and the need to remember that two steps back, one step forward is okay. As it has been said: The Master has failed more times than the beginner has even tried.

Mlong Kwuen is coming along well considering we are learning it on line and I'm really enjoying this form so far. It has definately enhanced all of my form work and that is always a good thing. 

My axe form is still coming along well and I am still stuck on a few parts that are starting to smooth out. I have managed to finally get the beast out in the open at a park close to my home and go out later in the evening. I am a little gun shy about swinging it in public due to a situation I had a couple of years ago. Between some petrified parents and a visit from the RCMP, fun wreckers indeed!!! So I am careful where I go to train in public these times. Nonetheless it is great to be training outside and clearing the imaginary battle field. That is pretty much all I have for this week, see you on the screen.  

Defining the Weapon

I had a Sifu during class a quite a while ago tell me, probably like most of us, to relax the shoulders...relax the shoulders. At the time I couldn't feel any tension in the shoulders and I didn't fully understand what she was getting at. I tend to have trouble comprehending some of these things until I can find an analogy or a way to visualize it mechanically. Once I reach this understanding I can apply it to what I am trying to do and successfully move forward. This time around Sifu provided the analogy. She said, "Think of an animal prior to attack or being attacked. They are supple, there is no definition to the muscle structure, they are fully relaxed. That is until they either defend or attack, then you can see every muscle in their body and the speed is lightening quick and a lot of power is applied." I also ran into a quote in one of my Bruce Lee books that I have been reading a lot of lately that reminded me of this as well.

Recollection and Anticipation-recollection and anticipation are fine qualities of consciousness which distinguish the human mind from that of the lower animals. They are useful and serve certain purposes, but when actions are directly related to the problem of life and death they must be given up so they will not interfere with the fluidity of mentation and the lightening rapidity of action.  

These analogies came to me the other day when I was working on the heavy bag and going through my forms. When I am striking or moving, I'm thinking of what I am doing in deep detail and constant checks and adjustments. I am anticipating the attack or defense, so I tend to load things up slowly and then complete the technique to definition and apply full power simultaneously. This effects my transitioning, speed, and timing to a point of feeling jammed or held back like a rubber band. So I applied this mindset by doing my best to completely relax every muscle I could, attempting to move and transition light as a feather, keeping the over abundance of thought out of the equation and leaving the intention and power out until I needed it. 

Well the results were pretty cool as I found I place resistance in almost everything, the anticipation or thought being the main cause. It's not like I wasn't aware of this before or applied the rotation and power at the last second, but I feel now the awareness is more defined, a deeper connection with my Kung Fu. I seem to have improved the fluidity, my speed has increased substantially, I run on intuition rather than focus, and that full body snap is more powerful. I can transition better and I feel a lot more relaxed when practicing and full body execution is definately defined with a great snap. I still have a ways to go and it's not perfected by any stretch but I am aware of the flaws that occur more keenly and this awareness comes into effect even with my weapon now so this is great. Once I get a good handle on this then I can dive into the deep complexity and disciplined reservation of separating form from application, while not thinking about it.....one thing at a time.

I have also been doing a lot of core work to improve my stability and gain more power from my center. Needless to say the core is everything and I have been placing a lot of focus there with all kinds of exercises. I am making good results but the crucial area I failed to keep in check was stretching and I paid the price for that last week, painful lesson indeed.

Weight lifting has come into my training as well and it feels great. Nothing over the top, just enough to build some endurance and exercising the small muscles as they are the most important as they keep the joints from blowing apart. I have adopted a hand grip exercising thing, whatever you call it that I can adjust from 20-90lbs for those soft tissue hand techniques. I practice these on the bag and find that if you don't have strong hands, you'll hurt yourself and the technique is virtually ineffective. I use different hand configurations during push ups as well to not only strengthen the hands, but all the muscles that will be dispatched when applying said techniques as well. So this is going well.

An area which I really really suck at and need to improve and change is writing my training down consistently. I somehow fail to recognize the value, I know better too but still can't seem to penetrate my thick skull. So I had to get tough on myself here and carry my book around with me....everywhere! I have adopted the mindset that this is just like my field progress reports I have to do as a superintendent. If I don't do my reports I have to answer for it. If I don't write my progress down then I never did it. I am not gaining any returns on my investment and failing to pay myself first. I won't have a successful year with out this tool so I better step up my accountability and make it happen.

Lastly my axe form is coming along well but I am stuck in one area in particular that is affecting weapon timing during a stance transition. It's a technical area so those are always fun to troubleshoot, but I believe I have a solution that will be a nice addition to the carnage those two poor suckers are going to experience for getting cute! I'm sure you are all experiencing similiar issues with your formwork. We all know that as your form evolves, so do other problems. However, this is progress and it's nothing that can't be fixed through exploring yourself and your weapon with more practice drills and from reps. All on the quest for awesomeness! See you on the screen.  

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Two Wheel Therapy

As individuals there is always something that we need outside of our normal interest or occupation, away from family life, the need to remove us from everything. Something that takes us out of the constant and places us in the pause. A reset, another world perhaps, the area between reality and dreams, that serenity or solace, the great escape.

 This doesn't just drop into your lap, you have to find it and that's not always easy. There needs to be some experimentation, the courage to test yourself and search. The courage to maybe even ask for help to find that sign that takes you down that path to find yourself and sort the mess. To make the conversion of inefficient to efficient, contaminated to pure. That place of comfort and security where you can just pull everything out you have going on deep inside and sort it through, tune the machine to balanced awesomeness.

 Whatever it may be it's critical. Because I don't care who you are, you can't do it on the fly or alone always. It will eat you from the inside out and the more you neglect the inventory, the more negative and scrambled mess you will carry and it will mutate into something that will throw a wrench into your personal gears of excellence. That excellence translates into individual awesomeness. But it's not maintenance free. A clean mind is imperative as it runs everything. Okay that was super deep, and perhaps this post may be a little over the top, but I hope the point is there.

For me usually Kung Fu works very well and I can tell when I neglect the gift. But what happens if this isn't working because I'm not running mentally efficient? I'm stuck on something that I can't let go and everything else around me sucks at the moment and I can't think anything through. When that happens I turn to my bike. I'd like you to meet my therapist Purple Death. She's been with me for almost 20 years and it's her 30th birthday this year.

When stuff goes South or my head becomes clogged and heavy, I jump on my bike and we head out to the highway. In this moment, this is where I do my best thinking. This is where my mind calms and the sorting and clarity comes through easily. I'm in my own void I guess. As I ride and think about things deeply. I listen to the roar of the engine, the mechanics of the drivetrain translating the raw power to the rear tire that rips up the asphalt. I am feeling the different temperatures, the smells of nature, the sights of nature. I am traveling just inches above the highway at high speeds, much faster than we are meant to be. There is that edge of risk that my personality needs or even craves perhaps to find that calm and clear the inventory. I'm off in another world and before I know it, I snap out of it and I have just covered several miles, corners and landscapes. Sometimes I pull off of the busy highway and just hit a secondary road and just take it all in, just putting along and it starts all over again. My bike keeps me in line to though. If I abuse her or neglect her, she will kill me or leave me stranded. It's a give and take for sure and that is the ultimate agreement. I take none of it for granted.

So what happens when I can't go out and ride? Well then I have the garage and we hang out and blast death metal. I go through every square inch of her. I can fix or replace any part of her, I get my bike like it get's me. It's critical that she looks and runs her best at all times as well. I owe her this because my bike gives and helps me so much, unconditionally. While I'm diving deep into all of this and the eye for detail is sharp, thumbing through the manuals, installing high quality parts that can take it when I ride it like I stole it, adjustments and tuning so I don't melt her heart and she runs clean....I'm  thinking about things and sorting my head out. It's just another part of the escape.

All of this takes me away from it all and by the time I finish my ride or hang out in the garage, I feel good about things. If I need more, well I just repeat the process because my bike and all of this never let's me down. There's something out there for everybody to make ourselves feel better and deal with things, that reset that's critical to our well being and mental health. That something for ourselves that let's us run in our own individual voids and fulfill the quest for reason and understanding. I hope everyone has some place to go, do what they enjoy and have that tool that makes it happen. I think right now something such as this is very important and if you don't have this type of tool, go out and find it. Ask for directions if needed, grab it and run with it, don't be shy or uncertain, the only thing stopping this quest is you. See you on the screen.