Hair today, Gong (bu) tomorrow

I got my hair cut a few weeks ago for the first time in almost ten (!) months, and as a result, I have quite a few shorter strands of hair towards the top of my scalp that are too short to bundle up in my hair elastic. So for the past few classes for which I've actually made it, I've been slightly distracted by the stray hairs constantly flopping in my face. I'd brush them back and tuck them behind my ears after each time down the carpet, only for them to dislodge themselves with each powerful kick (har har) and end up back in front of my eyes, or worse yet, in my mouth. And lemme tell you, Shaolin hair don't taste so good sometimes.

Yesterday during class, Niederwelt noticed my predicament and presented me with a simple solution -- a bobby pin to clip down those shorter strands to the top of my head. It's not the first time she has been a hair rescuer at Temple -- she provided John Sid with an elastic to tie up his hair a few months ago. So I used the bobby pin and felt like a burden had been lifted from my shoulders...or, um, my face. I felt freer and faster and practiced my forms without worrying whether I would whip myself with my hair. So awesome! Amituofo, Niederwelt!

Enter the Hannah

Amituofo! I'm so happy to be added as a part of the Kung Fu Dorks family! Here's how I imagine the conversation went:

Qbertplaya: Anyone else notice that Hannah is commandeering all the message boards?
Mo: Yeah, I did.
Sucheela: Me too.
Qbertplaya: I was thinking we should ask her to join the blog.
Mo: Good idea. It will prevent her from performing some sort of hostile take-over.
Sucheela: I agree. Let's go get some Number One soup.
Qbertplaya & Mo: Excellent.

Last night was a great class, and perfect for my inaugural post because it involved several of the things I'm really working on. And the point of the blog is to help talk about lessons and track our progress. Last night I learned lots of things, but they all had to do with patience.

Sifu was in a really funny mood yesterday and everyone had lots of chi. There was something in the air..I could feel it.. maybe... could it be? Will today be the day I finally learn more Erluquan?

YES!!!!!!!!!

Sifu heard my silent plea, and after nearly two months of watching me screech to a halt at the first pubu, he had Heng De take me to the side to learn the next several movements. Huzzah!

Here's my story with Erluquan: I kept almost getting to learn more. Something always happend. Class would be over, or I would need to clean up the beginning, or there wouldn't be enough people there to teach. I really wanted to start faking my way through the next part as I've been watching people do it for months, but I knew that if Sifu was still correcting my first two moves, then I should do those over and over and not jump ahead, no matter how bored I got, or how desperately I want to learn 5 kicks.

But last night I got to go all the way to the first Erqijiao. So happy! This gives me plenty to work on, and brings me to the next thing that happened yesterday, which was that I felt a definite difference in my Erqijiaos during basics. It's pretty much been the hardest move for me, I always feel tired and short of breath and can't imagine making it to the third kick. I still have a long way to go, but yesterday I finally felt a real POP at the end. I felt like my leg was higher, my arms straighter, my body more extended. I don't know if I was all those things, but I didn't feel like curling into a ball anymore. This just goes to show you are always getting better even if you don't realize it at the time.

My final thought in this very long post is about straddle stretch. I've been a wall stretch gal for the longest time. I started doing straddle recently for a change and now must face what Heng Ji calls my "fear of the straddle". It's true, it's become a monster in my mind. I am scared, scared, scared of letting people pull on my legs in this stretch. I don't like not being in control, and all it takes is one slip of my hands and I'll fall into what I can only imagine is unbearable pain while my groin muscles tear. (I told you, it's a way out-of-proportion, psychological block.) So for me, it's just as much about conquering this mental hurdle as gaining the flexibility. Last night I think I got lower than I've ever been, not just in training but in my life. So I know that with more patience I can get on the floor. Lessons are fun!

So, to sum up, happy to be here at KFDU, thank you Heng De for teaching me, kick and ye shall find improvement, middle splits by next testing!

Kung Fu Dorks Unite! and Grow!

We have new contributors!

Not just one, but two! Two new dorks!

Welcome Quantou (aka Branden) who has already posted here twice as a guest contributor and Hannah R. who has been consistently expressing herself on this blog in the comments.

Cruisin' For A Bruisin'

Last night was the first evening class I made in two weeks. Work has been kicking my ass and despite there still being a mountain of paper on my desk, I decided nothing would stop me from getting a different kind of ass kicking.

Basics were tough for me, but not horrible. Because I was concerned about running low blood sugar like the last time I trained, right before class I gobbled down a hard candy, but that was a mistake. I ended up having really gummy saliva that lined my throat, and I had to spit it out a few times. Yuck! I had been dreading my return to training, worried that my flexibility would be shot, but it was actually okay.

During wall stretch with Niederwelt and Hannah R., I went to sit against the wall on the wood, and placed my hands on the floor to steady myself, and discovered I had a nice bruise on my palm below my middle finger on my left hand. Ouch! I have absolutely no recollection of when I did it -- probably during caijiao or something. It is even more pronounced this morning. I am excited to show it to my civilian friends.