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April 2005
Lizzie. Now.
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01: Friday
Between the intense stepping and the kobudo, my legs (and the rest of me) feel exhausted; so today I skipped practice and went to see Lew about a new head shot. It's been a long time since anyone has taken a picture of me. I've been wondering what I look like nowadays... now I know. We all know.
I was surprised to find that my hands were neither sore nor bruised from all that bag punching last night. I was hitting hard enough to move the big floor target every time, so I must have had the angles exactly right. Yay!
02: Saturday
Rain— and more rain... and yet, there remains a line of snow where the deep shadows fall beneath the trees...
Stepping with my tea... Chen stepping, with hands...
Jumping and spinning from ma bu to ma bu.. Hands unfold like fan— fajing!; gather and — jump!... Left... right... left... right... the kid next door thinks I've lost my mind.
... Ma said her Sword Form class did well today...
Chen sets. Section one... I suck. (And my legs get tired.) I don't know how many sets I did. Four or five? It felt like a hundred.
Bo practice. Chounokun. Now that this kata is making some sense to me, it's fun to work on getting it right...
The thing is, now I can work on the katas, and working on them results in actual improvements. I've arrived. I'm teachable!
03: Sunday
A dead loss of a day.
04: Monday
Clearing, but more slowly than taiji...
I have no jing. My feet are lead... Liu feng si bi felt really good; therefore, I must be doing something seriously wrong.
Karate.
Karate and Chen New Frame are looking and working more alike by the day. The other night, it was xiao jie ling jing for punching the bags, tonight...
There are differences, but only in... how do I explain this?
In taiji, a block is done open handed (generally); in karate (generally) blocking uses a fist... But the blocks come from the same place.
In taiji, the follow-up to the block... well, heck, it could be anything from a chin na to a throw to a strike, to a body slam; in karate, the follow-up more often involves a punch, though a throw is common... both disciplines use elbow strikes, kicks...
Karate and taiji look different from the outside. The way of handling the opponent is different: taiji stays in closer contact, feeling for the next move...
But it all comes from the same place; I'm sure of it.
Play the flute or the violin and the method of making music differs. With the one, you blow across an opening in a hollow tube and change the pitch of the note by placing your fingers over holes drilled along the length of the tube; with the other, you draw a bow across strings stretched taught along the length of a hollow box, and change the pitch of the notes by changing the length of the strings by clamping them down with your fingers. But, it's all just sound energy, and the music, though differing in certain qualities, is the same. The song is recognized, though the instrument differs.
05: Tuesday
Gorgeous day...
Seisan, trying to figure out the new blocking mechanics...
You're in left bow stance, left arm hanging down at your side, right hand making a cobra in front of your sternum. Step your right foot to the forward forty-five and whip around to block the attack that comes from your left— before you moved: the move was to avoid the attack...
The right hand makes a fist and hammer blocks to protect the upper left arm while the left fist comes up with a middle block...
It's all driven by the step and turn... interesting.
After that, I investigated Ananku for similarities...
Taiji.
I suck at taiji. Really suck. tonight we were working on apps for last week's move, which were mostly ways of getting out of wrist grabs. Now, I know what xiao jie ling jing means, and I even understand the principle involved, but... making it work is beyond me.
About the only thing I'm good at is developing bruises. Tonight I have some beauties.
More than anything in the whole world, I want to be a guy so the other guys will play with me, horse around with me... so I'll get a chance to learn something. *sigh* If only I wasn't me.
06: Wednesday
Three sets of section one...
I suck at taiji. I'm stone deaf when it comes to tīng practice, my feet are like lead, my coordination non-existent, and I'm jing-less in the extreme. Why do I even bother?
Kobudo.
On the way to the dojo, a huge hawk swooped in front of the truck; then, a short distance later, a black cat with white feet dashed in front of me. I was vigilant, but nothing else happened, so when I got to the dojo, I decided it was safe to go in.
Kobudo sucked. In spite of all the work I did on my katas this week, I couldn't do anything right when I got on the mats— though I did manage to get through Nakamura no sai alone, in front of everyone.
Maybe it was just that I was so tired, having gotten in late last night, and having to get up at the crack of dawn to have my taxes done, and not having had anything but an apple to eat since breakfast. Whatever, I barely kept myself together trying to comprehend the sai/bo bunkai I was doing with Gabrielle...
I haven't done that bunkai since last summer and I couldn't remember what the heck I was supposed to be doing— even when I was doing the kata (Nakamura no sai), which I know very well.
I felt bad for Gabrielle; being saddled with me was a real trial. Dangerous, too. I've got pretty good control, but Gab is tiny, an when I blocked or struck just as I am used to doing when practicing the kata alone, the points of the sai were right in her face. It bothered me a lot...
Perhaps it shouldn't bother me, but it did. I don't care if she is sempai and responsible for herself; she's still only a kid and I'm a grownup, and I'm responsible. Kim admonished me for holding back, reminded me that Gab is sempai. And when I told her about the sai points being in Gab's face, she told me to adjust for Gab's height, but... I don't have that much control. I'm not good enough yet to make that adjustment on the fly when I can't even get the moves right as practiced...
Maybe this means I suck at kobudo, too... What else is new?
I stopped at Ma's after class. I told her about the hawk and the cat, and said I'd been worried about running into a rain of toads— which, come to think of it, would have been a good thing had it deterred me from going to kobudo class and embarrassing myself with that truly dreadful exhibition of kobudo.
When I left Ma's, a beaver, soaking wet, came out from under the truck and went limping off down the street. It was limping, looked like it had only three legs. I followed it until it went up onto a lawn and lost itself in the shadows. I went home.
A three-legged beaver. Big sucker. Soaking wet. What a day...
I never did get to ask my kobudo question about how best to do low strikes so as not to bruise yourself.
07: Thursday
I stayed in bed late this morning. I felt exhausted. When I finally did get up, I did some— a very little stepping with my tea...
Then I called the dojo and said I wouldn't be in class tonight.
It's nearly sunset now. Cloudy and breezy, the wind chimes tinkling constantly, but mild and humid...
Two sets of 24 Form, nice and slow...
Some messing with my mop handle, just alternating strikes left and right; switching this way and that; alternating the forward foot...
A little work on Chounokun...
Enough! It's getting dark and the neighbors are getting noisy.
It was good to have the night off.
08: Friday
Overcast and mild. Woodpeckers and robins making noise...
Some Chen. Sections one and five... today I have a little jing.
Ma and I were watching Scientific American Frontiers on PBS last night. It was about stress and the mind, and how meditation can reduce the level of stress hormones in the blood...
Stress...
Karate used to be relaxing. I used to find the dojo a place of refuge. Then it changed. Or something did.
Taiji is relaxing— when I'm not beating myself up for my lack of progress.
Last month, karate and kobudo were both fun and relaxing. I looked forward to class, to working on the material every day. But this past week, it became stressful again...
Why?
I emailed Lorna today. She wasn't feeling well Tuesday night, and kept to the sidelines. But she was watching everyone, and I found her comments to me about my form were very helpful, and I wanted to thank her for that.
09: Saturday
Gorgeous day. Cool. Sunny.
Stepping with my tea before taking Ma to her lesson...
While waiting, some Sword Form... (I really must go back to the tape soon...)
Some Chen...
My jumps aren't very high. Perhaps I don't have the coordination right. My hands should be giving me some lift...
At least I'm light on my feet.
Jonas was talking about rooting last week. He said... I don't remember exactly. But, the gist was that the idea that one should be rooted at all times is detrimental to successful grappling. One should remain balanced and light on one's feet, rooting only when necessary...
Antaeus, son of Terra, was defeated by Hercules who "uprooted" him from contact with the earth that gave him his strength. If he could have found power and balance within himself, Hercules would not have defeated him easily—
Time to fetch Ma...
I've tired myself out with practice and now I'm frustrated because I'm tired and can't continue to work on things that seemed they were about to come clear— see? I'm so tired that I'm delusional!
Six sets of 24 Form. The press in Grasp Peacock is bugging me... maybe I should look at it analytically from a Chen perspective? Hmmm...
I'm doing well creeping, but haven't got full control yet. (Creeping in the last three sets was pretty ragged.)
Wave hands is a strange mix of Yang and Chen these days, but there's something very interesting happening to the coordination and the feel of it... as if I've come close to tapping a power band. Can't wait to find out how it evolves from here.
Embracing the Tiger now finds me sunk very low, and still in control. I'm surprised.
Chen. Section one...
Chen is bugging me. This style requires a high degree of control over your ability to relax... and yet, you must be relaxed, but then able to move quickly and fajing! when required... 's funny, you know, when I was trying to learn to play the piano, this stuff was called "learning keyboard attack." What it meant was you had to have control of each finger to the degree that you could strike each piano key, as and when required, with exactly the correct sort and degree of force to produce a note of the desired tone, intensity, and duration...
I never did learn to play the piano well. *sigh*
10: Sunday
Gorgeous, warm day.
I was useless this morning. I started to practice, but it devolved into silk reeling, and then movement for the sake of movement. I gave up. I took Ma shopping, then we spent the rest of the afternoon at the farm.
The sun is below the treetops now, and it's very warm out. I practiced sections one and five and did some work on the odd moves...
I tried to go slowly in the moves. That's very difficult... I wish I knew what I was doing the way I do in 24 Form— or is that a delusion? I don't know.
Yesterday in 24 Form my creeping foot slid out barely touching the boards— both sides— while I just sank. It took me by surprise to find so much strength and stability in myself.
I still feel I'll never be able to practice enough.
11: Monday
Cool and sunny. Excellent practice weather.
Stepping with my tea... my left foot doesn't feel quite stable at times...
Chen stepping: kick three times before shifting over...
Xie xing ao bu through qian tang ao bu, trying to find both coordination and balance... my jumping turn still lacks sufficient height— but, hey, there's an awful lot to think of n this move, so give me a break!
The other day, I was at Jo's while Lettrice was there giving her a massage. (Jo's back had gone into spasm while she was out raking, she told me.) I sat by the stove and watched Lettrice, and listened while they talked. As I watched and listened, I relaxed, and soon I found myself feeling Lettrice's hands as if they were massaging me. I had just started to really get into it when they drew me into the conversation and I lost... contact. Truly the mind is an amazing thing.
12: Tuesday
Another gorgeous day: sunny, cool, and breezy.
Stepping with my tea... Yang... Chen... "knee walking..." "Jon walking..." Not too much of any of them, just enough...
Karate last night... the warm up was a little intense. Forty sit-ups; ten of front, side, and sliding side kicks at each height (knee, ribs, chin). I floundered a bit near the end, but I rallied to finish. My left big toe is still too weak and too angled to provide the stability I need for kicking, but it's improving.
We worked on Ananku and its bunkai. My middle blocks suck— when I'm actually trying to use them, that is. It really is a shame there's no way to practice correctly alone.
13: Wednesday
Brain overload. Taiji was intense— lots of fun, but... intense.
14: Thursday
Gorgeous. Again. And not much time to practice.
Yan shou hong quan, a.k.a, hidden hand red fist. I'm going very slowly on this one: each move is comples— or do I mean complicated? Whatever. There's so much to it, I can't even being to put it into words yet.
Kobudo last night was very nice. Small class; four white belts. I worked with a newby on bunkai for shihonuke—
Before that, when we were doing drills, Kim demonstrated the correct technique for powering the bo in side and overhead strikes, and I discovered I'd been doing it wrong— all this time. It was so obvious that you'd've thought Sensei— somebody— would've mentioned this to me! *sigh* Well, at least Kim finally did spot my error, and I've got it corrected.
Karate tonight...
Lots of punching and blocking with partners. Then a blocking and punching exercise exactly like the one we did in taiji class last week. Opponent punches, you step forward and to the side the punch came from (on right hand punch you step to their right), block the punching arm sending it across the opponent's body opening up the target on the ribs, being sure to control the elbow, and then punch to the floating ribs. The blocks in taiji and karate are different, but the technique is exactly the same.
My left foot is swollen and there's a very tender spot on top, though there's no bruise. I don't know what I did to it, but it started bugging me after kobudo last week. Now it's worse... What could I be doing in kobudo to aggravate it?
Tonight I was wishing again that I had someone to practice application with. If I'm ever going to develop my martial brains, I've got to have a partner. Rats. Rats, rats, rats, rats, rats.
15: Friday
The weather continues gorgeous.
Stepping with my tea... I'm wondering if it's my intense stepping practice last week that overworked my left foot...
Yang stepping... Chen stepping... some of Jon's walking... Doesn't seem to bother my foot...
Some Chen. Yan shou hong quan. Slowly, trying to wrap my head around it...
One set of 24 Form to settle me.
16: Saturday
The latest issue of T'ai Chi Magazine has an article about Master Gao Fu who died recently. She was a very accomplished and respected taiji teacher who didn't begin studying taiji until she was 56 years old. She started learning Yang style, and when she was 64 she began learning Chen style from a student of Chen Fake.
... all the secrets of taiji are contained in every single movement... so by mastering one thing you master everything...
Four sets of 24 Form. Good sets, but my left leg feels weak and my left hip seemed stiff...
I was moving the qi, but I know my coordination is off in many places. I want to blame that on not having had a teacher for so long, but, the truth is that I know the principles and I should be able to figure it out— with a lot of practice.
Chen still frightens me sometimes...
Chen. Very slowly...
Question: Gin gang dao zhui: when the foot comes down and we jab right, when does the weight shift? When the foot comes down, right?
I have other questions, but they're difficult to articulate...
Chen. Very slowly. Sections one and five... looking— listening for answers...
If you stand at a forty-five to the left of the kicking post and set the tip of your right elbow against the edge of the corner, you can practice the arm movement for the first jump in yan shou hong quan and know if you elbow is moving. (Mine wasn't. Yay!)
The post is... handy. I've used it to practice strikes and punches for both taiji and karate, checking for elbow problems, making sure of fist positions and turnings...
I'm tired. I wish I had someone to practice with, though, because then I'm sure I could go on all afternoon.
...
You think you're done practicing, so you take a shower, and the next thing you know, you're out on the porch again, trying to figure out yan shou hong quan...
Yǎn shǒu hóng quán... conceal hand red fist.
I'm going over to Jo's...
Bo practice up on the hill by the lodges. I had a little brain fade at first, had to begin some of the katas twice, but I worked on the things Kim and Sensei have pointed out to me over the past two weeks, and I think my katas are improving.
17: Sunday
A little stepping with my tea... Yang only because my left hip seems to have been overworked (bo practice yesterday?)...
Grasping practice, looking for the correct coordination... grasping to the right is very difficult, especially the rollback because of the left hip. But each time it improves...
Yesterday, I tried to teach Jake the push hands exercise. Jake is Jake's kid. I hadn't seen them in years, but Jake the elder was taking the bow building workshop at Jo's and had Jake the younger in tow. I got to talking with young Jake and evidently Snail had told him I study taiji and might know something about push hands. I explained that what I know— which isn't much— is a practice set that teaches one how to listen, not fight. He wanted to give it a try, so I tried. We didn't get very far as it was pretty late when we began, but I learned more about teaching the set.
Chen. One and five. Slowly, learning a lot— no fajing! for now, but feeling my way through the mechanics of things...
I still have questions about jin gang dao zhui.
Two sets of TCA, learning new stuff— amazing!
18: Monday
The weather is — continues incredible.
Some stepping with my tea... Yang... Chen...
A few sets of TCA... I am beginning to understand this form, I think. When I have a few minutes, I'm going to try to analyze the TCA version of lan zha yi.
Chen. I was going to practice sets, but after the second one I noticed that I was onto something in yan shou hong quan, so I worked on that from the ma bu hand split to the sideways jump. I think I've finally got the downwards pull that precedes the first turning jump, and now my hands are leading and the "spring" seems to "load."
I'm still a little confused by the coordination of the left hand movement after it blocks for the first punch. The left hand shun-channing left must coincide with the second low punch, but I haven't a picture of this move in my head...
Well, Jonas will clear thing up for me tomorrow.
19: Tuesday
It's 60º already.
My right heel is sore from last night's karate kicking, but nothing else is, so that means my foot position is correct if nothing else— and I'm pretty sure nothing much else was correct!
Sensei had three hanging bags set up, all at good height so a hit would have to be at least rib high on a person of his height (5 foot 7 inches). The drills differed, sometimes we had to hit in combination, say two punches and a kick, or all kicks or all punches; sometimes, the exercise was to time the strike to when the bag was moving away, or coming back, or even just to completely change the direction of swing. We ran the whole time.
My kicking form, except for foot placement, went all to heck. But I did better when punching... though, as they're fond of reminding us, if we're in a real situation, we'll never actually get to throw a punch from a stance.
Kobudo.
I've got a dandy bruise on my left forearm. And I whacked it again last night. Accidents all, caused by trying for speed and power and not having the form precise.
I'm not sure how I feel about the class schedule change. The Monday kobudo class is now for white through green ranks, but all of us last night were unranked. Pretty dull. Nobody to watch.
We worked on tonfa ('ichi) and shihonuke. Sensei showed me the correct sequence for speeding up the turn in shihonuke: turn the back foot and push off with the forward one— it reminds me of taiji— and just slide right through into a forward bow stance and whap! that bo around. Works nice.
I got reminded about not extending punches with the tonfa. "Same as in sai," Sensei said. I've been working on it, but I still forget from time to time and over extend.
Sensei had us working on how the tonfa work. I've had the devil of a time with this, ever since the beginning. Punch center with the tonfa. Now, imagine a bo jabbing at your face, and swing the tonfa up and towards the opposite shoulder, knocking the bo to the side as your tonfa continues over your shoulder...
Another jab to your face and you swing the tonfa back across your body in a middle block, knocking the bo to the outside. Quickly, let the end of the tonfa swing down and bring it around into a centered overhead strike; then let the rebound take it back and let it drop so you can swing it up to strike center from below.
Until last night, I never understood exactly how the tonfa were supposed to be moving.
The only thing that really bothers me about this class of the unranked is that we'll never get to see what we're shooting for. That's a real disadvantage to learning.
Tonfa practice. I got out my old, square, clunky hickory tonfa. They're heavy, but I can handle them better now. Punching (keeping the punches short)... swinging blocks (it makes sense now)...
I wonder if it's kosher to use the "speed turn" from shihonuke in 'tonfa ichi...
My heel feels better now.
Later.
Rats. No taiji tonight. Jonas got tied up at work. Class is rescheduled to Thursday. But I don't think I should blow off karate. Rats.
My feet are a little sore on the bottoms. I went for a nice long walk tonight (4 miles). It's a beautiful night.
20: Wednesday
Tonfa— and a little bo— letting the tea steep...
For now, I'm exaggerating the motion of the tonfa. It feels very awkward... What the heck! The only thing worse than going too far is not having gone far enough! Exaggerate away!
Bo turns, going for speed...
It's too war, today (70º!). At least there's a breeze. I'll drink my tea...
The other day, someone, I can't remember who... must've been someone at the bo building workshop, was talking with me about kobudo, and said to me, "I think it's unconscionable that your teacher puts you in such danger." That hauled me up short. Where, I asked, did you get the idea that anyone was in danger? "Well," he asked, "isn't it dangerous going at each other with those weapons?"
I suppose it is. But only reasonably so. We aren't trying to beat on each other, only practice realistically. We have brains, and we use them. We exercise control and judgment. Yeah, accidents happen, but they're seldom serious. Knicks and bruises, mostly. We heal.
No, Sensei doesn't put anyone in danger. We're responsible for ourselves. If we get in over our heads, it's up to us to call a halt; and Sensei will back us on this.
I'm glad I don't belong to one of those crazy dojos where students are encouraged to beat on each other—
Breakfast is ready...
Stepping wit— and without— my second cup of tea (same bag)...
Chen stepping , with hands, until my left knee protested. Then some Chen... slowly...
Most questions are answered by practice— as long as you have the basic principles correct, that is! Wish I knew how to tell.
It's too warm today. I hope this summer remains cool— maybe the recent volcanic activity will see to that. Could happen. Though it would play old Harry with the world.
21: Thursday
A disconnected feeling day...
A few sets of TCA...
Barefoot: cold boards underfoot in the shade; warm boards underfoot in the sun. Today, everything seems very green.
Two sets of 24 Form... not my best sets, but good. My left side seems stiff— perhaps because I did no stepping.
No class tonight— taiji, that is. Jonas cancelled Tuesday and suggest a rescheduling to Thursday, but it didn't happen, so tonight I will attend my regular karate lesson. But I did decide earlier, before I knew taiji wouldn't happen, that taiji lessons will take precedence until I have the whole of xinjia yilu. I know of no other New Frame teachers, so I figure I'd better take advantage of Jonas's teaching while I can.
The sun is westering, but not setting. There's a waxing moon pale in the southeast... It's cooling down: it will be a gorgeous night.
Some Chen. Section one. Slowly... six sets? I have questions, but some things seem to be coming clear...
Xie xing ao bu and qian tang ao bu (walking obliquely and wading forward) is very interesting when the moves are done as one continuous movement— I suppose the whole form ought to be one continuous movement, but I'm not quite there yet...
I have questions on most everything now... but most won't have to be asked...
I'm beginning to really like yan shou hong quan, in spite of not being able to get that lateral jump...
Time to go to karate.
Later:
Seven in class tonight. The schedule change has thrown everyone for a loop.
Good class. We worked moves from Wansu. Just bits and pieces, but it was good practice. And fun, too. We worked the throw— we were partnered up— and none of the others were kiai-ing, but Rebecca and I did double kiais, one for the thrower and one for the thrown.
The black belt class before mine was working on sticking and listening exercise, and push hands. It looked a little like a dance class at times; a taiji class at others. I don't know if there's a name for the exercises they were doing, but they were very similar to taiji exercises, and the reasons and principles were the same: "listen" and "stick."
22: Friday
Thirty last night and now it's almost too warm— but gorgeous.
Stepping, concentrating on my left foot... Chen stepping, kicking four times while balanced on the left leg, and one time while on the right... I hear a little crackling very low in my back... realignments.
Chen, section one. Slowly, working the qi... yan shou hong quan...
Yan shou hong quan! Again! Again! Again! Again...!
I think I've got it. My execution is crude, but, in time, I will learn finesse.
One slow set of section one... good—
Time to go.
23: Saturday
Fog. It rained a little last night. The grass looks very lush— like slivery green fur.
I'm tired. I didn't sleep well, and had to get up to deliver Ma to taiji. I did some stepping with my tea...
Last night, in one of my wakeful periods, I thought I might try practicing my karate katas sequentially as one set. I have nine katas, so it wouldn't take long to do them all... ditto for kobudo... I went through all the karate katas today, but I didn't think to time them.
I'm a little disappointed that I can't go to push hands practice this afternoon, but the herb apprentice program starts today, and I did promise Jo I'd be there. Not that I'm necessary, or that I wouldn't be forgiven for preferring taiji, but, next Saturday I'll be in new London all day playing taiji. That's something.
It's raining now. I wish I could go back to bed.
24: Sunday
Rain and wind from the south. The porch boards are slick today...
Stepping...
A little TCA...
One set of 24 Form... snakes creep quick and easy over wet boards...
Some Chen. Section one... yan shou hong quan... again and again and again...
I'm not trying for perfection, just trying to train my feet and coordinate my focus with the moves... I'm a little handicapped by not knowing exactly what this move is supposed to look like...
I feel all at sixes and sevens again today— as if I missed a step, but where there are no stairs...
Meditation doesn't seem to help. Ah, well. I' have to get over to the herb apprentice class.
25: Monday
Sun and rain... cool and breezy...
Stepping with my tea...
Tonfa... this still seems awkward— I mean, the correct over-shoulder-down-to-the-hip-up-and-over-to-the-center-around-and-up-again thing. Maybe I'm still doing it wrong.
I finally remembered to "iron" my bo. It had a couple of deep dents in it—' sai hits, I think— that needed to be got out, so I fetched Bruce's old iron from the basement and got me a dish of water and a dropper, and took care of them...
Most people take sandpaper and try to smooth dents out, I guess. But I learnt this from a woodworker when I was a kid: put a drop of water on the dent, then touch a hot iron to the water— just the tip of the iron— and mind you don't scorch the wood! (If you do, sandpaper will take the scorching off.)...
The steam created by superheating the water drops expands the wood fibers and smoothes out the dent. Some deep dents require a few treatments, and even then you may still see a bit of a mark — sai!— but hey, it'll be better than it was.
I was going to put some tung oil on my bo, by I discovered that it had completely congealed. I wonder why. The cap was on tight enough, that's for sure: I had to get the vise grips to get it off. Pfui. I'll have to remember to get more.
A bit of Chen... today yan shou hong quan is not working well.
Kobudo and karate tonight.
26: Tuesday
Guess this isn't my week. I have more brain overload.
27: Wednesday
I can feel yesterday's and today's work on yan shou hong quan in my muscles of my left knee. There's no pain, only a feeling of use an building strength...
Jonas had us all jumping in unison down the length of Lorna's basement last night. Yi... er... san... si... wu... liu... chi... ba— seven or eight repetitions was all we had room for, else Jonas would've just kept counting. As it was, we'd hear "Chi!" jump, wait for the assessment, and then troop back to the other end of the room to begin again...
Ready! Ma bu, right hand a fist eight inches above the right knee, elbow out, left hand and forearm upright and blocking, elbow aligned above the left knee... you look to the forty-five...
Yi! The right fist drill down and out a bit as the left hand (open) ni-chans down to mirror the spiraling energy of the right hand, then, quickly, the right fist circles out and around the pinned elbow and comes to rest at center, while the left hand has ni-channed out and around the pinned elbow to block, palm up, middle finger pointing to the forty-five as you jump laterally, your body a single unit, pushing off from your toes to land lightly in ma bu, both feet touching down simultaneously, a few inches or a few feet to your left...
The left hand palm turn vertical, fingers pointing at the forty-five, as the right hand fingers curl into panther paw (a flat striking fist) and sneak up to hide beneath the left hand. Surreptitiously, the right wrist turns the fist to point toward the target at the forty-five...
Xiao jie ling jing! Like lightning, your hands lie apart tearing the energy between them, your right hand arcing our to strike to your opponent's short ribs, as the left elbow strikes the opponent behind you, the tiger claw of your left hand raking across your chest...
The strike to the ribs was fast, short, and hard, probably puncturing a lung, causing your opponent to spit up blood. Hidden hand, red fist. Neat.
28: Thursday
Some stepping with my tea...
One set of 24 Form... the snake is in very bad form today...
Some Chen. Section one...
I rather like walking obliquely and wading and walking... yan shou hong quan! I tried to look very fierce, but I'm afraid that my opponent would die of laughter, his only fear that might have hurt myself in all that thrashing about. So. Slowly...
Karate:
Kicking, kicking, and more kicking.
Bruce stuck by me most of the time, coaching me; but, I'm still very bad at kicking.
Watched the weather tonight: rain for Saturday— and wind. I hope they're wrong again. It's World Tai Chi & Qigong Day, after all.
29: Friday
Beautiful day. Breezy, though, and lots of pale green maple buds blow onto the porch...
As I was yan-shou-hong-quan-ing my way across the porch for the n-th time, it came to me that...
Well, that I'm a discreet ball of energy. I've chosen to make my energy discreet for a purpose. From my center, I can issue energy in any direction...
I'm not "rooted" to anything, anywhere, until I choose to root, for a purpose.
Sensei keeps telling us we're never going to deliver a punch or execute a block from a stance in a the real world, and a few weeks ago, Jonas was saying how being rooted is over rated. I believe they're both right...
In practice, I was trying to send myself (as that discreet ball of energy) across the porch boards without really touching— no, you have to touch them, but ever so slightly, and only for the purpose of propelling yourself along— like that running on water thing they do in the kung-fu movies—
Now there's a thought... What if... what if people can really learn to do that? Today it seems possible to me. Really possible...
What if... I'm suffering from oxygen deprivation?
30: Saturday
World Tai Chi and Qigong Day...
Rain. But we didn't let that stop us! We gathered in New London, at Harkness State Park, and played taiji. It was... excellent! (And wet!)
Lorna and I were first of our "school" to arrive. We missed the opening group qigong by mere moments. Then the schools dispersed, each to do their own thing, so Lorna and I found a flat-ish spot on the grass and The Jonas Sanchez School of Indiscriminate Grappling went through sections one and five of Xinjia Yilu...
A man watched us. When we were done, he asked, "What was that?" I told him, "Xinjia Yilu." He looked puzzled and shook his head, no. Lorna tried to clarify, saying "It's Chen style. New Frame," but the man still looked puzzled. Then his eye caught the logo on my teeshirt, visible just above the zipper of my rain coat. "Ohhhh," he said, with an air of having been given the understanding of the Universe, "Jonas Sanchez." I guess, in some circles, those two words do explain everything.
Joe showed up next, followed by Scott. Bob and Tony whimped-out. Jon sent regrets— he hasn't been feeling well this week. The rain was light during the demonstrations, but it wasn't cold, so everyone went on as planned. But the damp got to Lorna during the demonstrations, and she decided to head home before they were over. Scott and I walked her to her car. On the way, we met her first taiji teacher, whom we had just seen performing two very neat fan forms, and she introduced us. And then we saw Jonas sauntering towards us in the rain, cheerful as a duck. It was a little after eleven and he was just coming from work where he had been "checking on something."
It got to raining lightly, but steadily after the demonstrations, but everyone decided to stay, so we played taiji.
Since Jonas's first workshop wasn't on until one o'clock, we found a flat spot and began playing. We were joined by an old friend and student of Jonas's who had never seen Xinjia Yilu...
Jonas and Scott and I (Joe had gone off to a workshop), and Walt went through section five... then we did section one and Jonas taught us the last few moves of that, and we did it again... and again...
It was excellent. I positioned myself where I could watch Jonas and I did my darndest to match his moves. It was very instructive. Very. Like acting, or anything else, when you work with someone who is very talented, it raises the level of your own performance. It was wonderful!
They had put Jonas down for two workshops, so when it was time, we trooped over to his assigned spot (Mountain), and he began teaching us more about push hands. Other folks joined us, all of them impressed by Jonas's knack for explaining things...
We all ended up working the application for White Crane as it relates to the push hands routine... when it was time, the crowd dispersed slowly to other workshops and it was down to Joe and Scott and me and Walt again, still working apps with Jonas...
I didn't mind the rain, nor did Jonas, nor Walt— Jonas said he and Walt had practiced for years, at night, in a parking lot, year in and year out in all weather, bringing snow shovels in winter to clear practice space. Taiji players after my own heart!— and Joe and Scott had no complaints, so we all just continued to play taiji, having a grand time... folks were packing up and leaving around us, but we played on, squishing in the mud...
Finally the last folks, the ones who had been in charge of the day, were packed up and heading out. We were still playing, but by then it began to really pour, and we decided that maybe it was time to find a place to hole up and get something to eat. Scott and Walt had to get home, but Jonas and Joe and I slogged to our cars and went to the Chinese restaurant where it turned out the rest of the diehards had already gathered...
We had dinner and talked, and talked... and again, Jonas and Joe and I, the School of Indiscriminate Grappling, were the last to leave, the last to quit playing: Jonas was still showing me some of the finer points of the apps as we waited for Joe in the lobby...
We said our good-byes in the parking lot, and, still a bit soggy around the edges, we went our ways home, Jonas leading me back to where I could pick up my route home. It was an excellent day.
Copyright © 2005 New Moon
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