Versatility

Yesterday many of us met and did a few rounds of sparring again. I'd say it went well for me personally but I'd be lying. I felt ok, but into the second round I really banged up my right shin, I know I need to build up some strength in my shins but this one really did some damage. Problem was after that I was totally useless. I had lost one of my main weapons and couldn’t compensate with any alternative forms of offense and defense for some reason. I know I’m still trying to get my sparring up to speed again but yesterday was really frustrating; everything I did was off – my timing, my precision. Going back to work on this for the next week with some shadow boxing should help some. Need to work on my combinations and again not just always relying on my right leg for my bulk of the work. Guess this is as good a time to fix these flaws that have crept in the past few years and see it as an opportunity to widen my versatility. Thanks again to all who came out yesterday and a special thanks to Sifu Lietz for the smack to the shins and another with a stick to the shins for good measure. Next time let’s have the bleeding stop on my shin before building up my conditioning on the leg...kids... Sifu Bryant

T-E-A-M work

Yesterday many of our team met at the Kwoon for open training. For us it was a chance to work on our sparring and any other requirements we wished to tackle. For one full hour we trained together through sparring and it felt great. For me it made me pause and think about our team and our mindset. Think about it, most of our requirements are personal in nature – forms, pushups, situps, acts of kindness, etc. I do most of this away from the Kwoon since this is how I like to train and go about my day, yet we are a team and some of our requirements need other people to be involved. I mean I can work on my combinations and such by myself but sparring requires another person in front of you (my wife doesn’t count I guess). It was nice to know that for that one hour there were over a dozen like-minded people working toward a similar goal – great stuff. As for the sparring, it went great, I need to work on a few things – a few bad habits have crept in but again another step in the right direction. This could turn into another good weekly habit I think. Sifu Bryant

Another chapter.

So these past few weeks I have been tackling my other form, being the spear. It has been going slow, but again that is to be expected. One thing that has been the same as my other weapons is the feeling of the connection with me and the weapon itself. Sometimes I will force the weapons movement and be working against it instead of with it. It just takes some time and patience. Another good week of good progress and of course I have the blisters to prove it. Still feeling like each day is another step forward in my progress which tends to make me want to tackle the next day and see what lies ahead. Sifu Bryant

How do you eat an elephant....

Thinking about the goals that we have set for ourselves and how we approach them. I know the numbers that we strive to achieve can be a heavy weight if we let it be. Each week I never ever look at the total numbers as a whole, I look at the numbers I have put up the past week and adjust accordingly. Maybe I’m up on some and down on others so I make small adjustments when needed. For me if you had a bad day or a string of days you need to have a short memory – wipe that off the slate and start the next day like you’re right on track. I have been focusing on only small aspects of my training at a time, if I try to do too much it all gets lost in the mix. I may be doing a lot of things as a group but none of them well. So another week in the books, time to call it a night. Tomorrow I will hit the reset button once again and hit it harder once more. Sifu Bryant

Changing gears

Well this was another great long weekend. Spent time with my family, celebrated not one but two Canada Day Celebrations(odd but still fun) and performed a demo representing our school. Not a bad weekend to say the least. July 1st is always a change of pace for me. School is over and the teachers and students are gone leaving our department free and clear to do what work needs to be done. I love this time of year, a busy but enjoyable pace. For me this summer is different in that I have broader goals for myself. I can focus more of my time on Kung Fu these next two months and get out and enjoy this great but short season. I plan to get ahead on my requirements and hit that next gear I've been itching to get to the past few weeks. It will be nice to recharge and immerse myself in every facet of my training. Yup best time of the year. Sifu Bryant