Sore No More?

I’m not that sore.

(Knock on wood.)

(Actually, let’s knock on wood a second time just in case.)

It’s so weird, but 4 days of training in a row, after a week off, and I’m not feeling as stiff or pained or injured or throbbing as I have come to expect in my training experience. I felt a little bit drained physically last night, but I still felt I had a lot of chi. My back hurts a little, but that is probably more from my soft mattress than the kung fu. Why do I not feel, well, frankly, worse?

(Knock on wood a third time for good measure. Also maybe throw salt over your shoulder or whatever other good superstitions you have at your disposal.)

Talking to Sucheela last night I wondered, “Am I not pushing myself hard enough?” I mean, one can always push harder and train farther, but I don’t feel that I’m taking it easy on myself these days. Admittedly, sometimes I don’t get in as many kicks as I should going down the carpet. But that’s because I have been focusing on putting maximum chi into each one. And while those things should be united, not exclusive, I certainly can’t pin that as the source of my non-soreness.

Why am I worrying? Not being sore is a GOOD thing. Why question when good things come to you? Maybe I’m too cynical and I am expecting a dreadful backlash. Maybe I don’t have enough confidence in my ability to increase strength and stamina. It’s sick, I was almost excited last night when I thought I felt some shin splints starting (they weren’t). I guess, the real answer is twofold: 1) my body is ready to push through to training at the next level, and 2) I am not used to exceeding my own expectations. I guess that means I should set them higher and then I won’t be so disconcerted when I am able to sleep like a log without waking up doing caijiaos. That's what we call "normal."

No clever title - just glad I'm blogging

I almost didn't make it tonight. I hadn't been to L2 in a week and a half, and a riotous end to my workday made me feel more like finding the nearest bar and drinking myself tight (which at this stage would take approximately 2 1/2 beers...). I knew I would be sans most of my dorks as well, and even as I was on the carpet stretching I contemplated claiming illness and going home to pass out in the park. Around 6:50 Leo pointed out to me that I was essentially the most senior person present and that I would potentially have to lead class - Xu had already showered and changed, though I am fairly confident she would have thrown her robes on rather than the ludicrous option of having me to teach L2. Luckily, or maybe through circumvention, N'ou appeared at 6:55 to get us all sweating and panting appropriately.

There were only ten of us in class and a large proportion of newer L2 folks, so I think N'ou took pity on us/was appalled by our basics, because he spent a lot of time stopping/slowing us down to work on execution and technique for our basic moves. Funnily enough, this was just what I wanted. When the brief and unlikely idea was proposed that I might have to lead class I thought "what would I do?" I quickly decided that rather than act under the pretense that I was advanced enough to provide qualified corrections, that I would lead us all through basics and then spend the second half of class doing a "technique workshop" where everyone would have the chance to just pound away at various basic moves. Thankfully that task did not fall to me, but N'ou trained us in a similar vein. Level 2 is not like L1 where you spend a week learning one basic and you spend a year getting kicked back to KFK if you start messing up, so it was definitely nice to have a class where we were simply grilled through our sloppy habits and reacquainted with our pop and extension.

In the end, I was glad I came if only to get a two-in-a-row this week. I am trying very hard to get back into the correct training and blogging groove, but in spite of post-class happiness, getting myself there initially has been a struggle. I know once I get on a roll it will sort back out; starting the roll is the tricky part. Probably blogging at 1 am is not conducive to my rolling into class tomorrow though...

Perpetual Motion

Lately I've been learning the value of momentum. I know that when you're kicking, doing moves, you should use your muscles and not rely on momentum to carry you through. That's not the kind I mean. I'm talking about the benefit of not slowing down. Take back stretch, at the end of class what I'd love to do is just lie there on my stomach, but if I keep going, I make it to the end. Whenever I lose my rhythm or stop, even for a split second, it becomes a 100 times harder. Or when we do jumps. If I just keep running and jumping and keeping that flow of chi going, it's actually much easier than when we have that much longed for, but ill-advised few moments to stand and wait. Stopping, then trying to mentally re-start is the worst. On a larger scale, this is the same for training as a whole. When you come more and more and more it's easier every time. But as soon as you stop and take a few days off, it becomes harder to make yourself go back. It's understandably easy to see work and your personal life as too consuming to let you go, when they are actually no more consuming than when you were training 5 times a week.

I've found this to be true in my regular life as well. When I'm at work or at home, if I keep doing tasks straight through to the end of the day without a break, I get much more accomplished than if I stop for a minute. The moment I stop to look at what's in front of me everything seems much more daunting than when I charge through. Not to say you shouldn't look at what's in front of you; otherwise you might kick someone.