Phoenix Rising

After a really tough testing, we found out yesterday at Certificate Ceremony the results. I am one of the lucky few that made it through. Only 10 out of 18 people who tested for erluquan were able to get what Shifu calls, "an upgrade." Congratulations to all those who passed!

There is a balance here. Even though I am overjoyed for our achievement, I am saddened that I won't see a lot more of the Level 1 people I train regularly with in Level 2. I really hope that the other 8 people don't see it as a failure. To me, failure is not getting knocked down, failure is not getting back up. Like the phoenix, you shall rise from your own ashes and be even more strong and splendid than before. We will be there with open arms awaiting your rebirth in Level 2.

"But there is suffering in life, and there are defeats. No one can avoid them. But it's better to lose some of the battles in the struggles for your dreams than to be defeated without ever knowing what you're fighting for."
-Paulo Coelho

Fight on!!!! MORE CHI!!!! TRAIN HARDER!!!!

Testing Recap

Level 1 Testing is over! The final verdict? Everyone did really well! My testing time was at 2:30pm but I went to watch/support the other erluquan (二路拳) people in the 11:45am group. Needless to say, I was there warming up, training, and testing for a little over 4 hours.

The 11:45am group was led by Rob and Ted, who were the only ones testing for erluquan. Everyone else was testing for yiluquan (一路拳). Rob was picked to lead the line. Thanks to his last minute cramming of all the names of the moves the night before, he led wonderfully well. Not once did he mess up, except for when Shifu asked him to do tuizhang (推掌). I know what tuizhang is, but I've never done it while going down the line or just as a standalone unless it was at the end of class. So I don't fault Rob for not knowing what it was, and Shifu didn't asking anyone else to do it the rest of the day.

Both Rob and Ted performed erluquan superbly. I hope they both passed in the eyes of Shifu and move on to Level 2.

The 2:30pm group was full. Everyone was excited and nervous. We were all testing for erluquan. There were 13 of us and Jaka led the line, as I knew he would. He is the most senior out of all of us in terms of the amount of time spent at the Temple. And, he has been asked to teach basic techniques and/or forms almost every Level 1 class. Heng Yu was second and I followed up as third. (Edit: Line Order-> Jaka, Heng Yu, Leo, Mark, Chris, Heng Shan, Heng Shi, Steve, Mike, Heng Zang, Elaine, Ellen, Heng Jin)

My nemesis tengkong fanyao (騰空翻腰) reared its head and I messed up horribly while going down the line. I even bumped into the person behind me as I was trying to get up into the air again. I hope I didn't mess him up too much. It just shows that I need to practice tengkong fanyao much much more.

During a break between basics and forms, I over-extended my back and hurt it somehow. Every step was painful and I didn't think I was going to be able to walk let alone do 3 forms for Shifu. But I resolved that I was already there and the worst that could happen would be that I make many many mistakes and don't pass. If I didn't test, I definitely wouldn't pass. I might as well take my best shot and accept whatever may come.

My erluquan was okay. It lacked any pop and I couldn't really extend or jump. I made it through. The only real glaring mistake was towards the end when you twist your body and jump into a pubu. When I landed, I felt a jolt of searing hot pain shoot up my spine. I lost my balance and almost fell backwards. I bit down hard and quickly recovered and finished the form wincing from unbearable agony. Shifu probably didn't notice because he just thought I was tired from doing the whole form. I actually don't remember doing the last few parts of the form. I was merely concentrating on not doubling over and saying, "Amituofo Shifu, I'm sorry. I can't finish."

I dragged myself back into line and those words kept repeating in my mind. I tried to take my mind off of the pain by watching everyone else test forms. I actually don't remember doing them at all. All I remember was the sensations of a sharp hammer violently assaulting my lower back (which it is still doing as I write this blog entry).

Everyone in our group was really strong with erluquan. I was ecstatically happy for our fellow KF Dork Qbertplaya for finishing erluquan in front of Shifu at testing. I know it has been a long hard-won journey for her. Heng Shi really impressed me for being able to do erluquan after only learning the rest of it this past week. Elaine's form was beautiful and graceful. Jaka's and Heng Jin's form were technically flawless. Heng Yu had massive chi as usual and pushed everyone on. Heng Shan couldn't finish the form the first time, but with heart and determination, he was able to do it all the way through when Shifu gave him a second chance.

All in all, it was a great experience to go through, with many highs and lows. Even if I don't pass, I've learned many valuable lessons to carry with me throughout my journey. The ability to overcome pain. Trusting in muscle memory. Not giving up. How much I love what we do. How much I love being a part of this Shaolin family.

I hope everyone passes and moves on to Level 2 where we will train even harder!! It's time to put our tax refunds to good use by buying new orange uniforms!!

Thank you Heng Cheng for coming to cheer us on with your chi and cupcakes! Both were tremendously appreciated!

This and That on a Tuesday Night

Tonight was my first L1 class in a over a week, and my first L1 night class in two weeks. It's not that I'm feeling too proud for L1, just a combination of engagements (and well, ok, laziness) kept me away this week. And you have to have SOME time off... Yeah, my protesting is really just a sign of guilt...

Anyway, it was really nice to come back and be in a big old class of 31 and work on polishing some basics for testing. Boy do they need it; there were definitely some places I felt myself being sloppy. What really threw me off, though, were my forms. What with teaching and learning xiao hong quan and worrying about L2 basics, there is definitely less polish on my L1 forms. I know that Sifu is going to call me on erluquan for testing, and I haven't done it all the way through more than once in the last month. My balance off in places, missing little details; I am starting to get nervous. I might even be more worried about erluquan this time around that in October! I keep going into a L2 basic, gongbu shuangtuizhang housaotui gongbu lianzhang, after the sweep. BAD! I need to get refocused, and quick.

Even so, it was a good reminder that I have to be responsible for my own training. I have to make sure that I work on those things that need it, even if it means taking time outside of class. Naturally the more you learn, the less time you can devote in class to each individual thing. So, instead of attempting headflips before class, I am going to start making sure my forms are on point. I would hate for Sifu to ask for my certificates back! :P

Synchronized 二路拳

Are the stars beginning to align? Or is there some magical chi mist that has descended upon our fellow brethren at the Shaolin Temple? For the past few level 1 classes, especially in the daytime, I've noticed that most of the regular level 1 folks are either done or almost done learning erluquan. This could mean that there will be a unprecedented (my exaggeration probably) number of people testing erluquan. By my count, there could be about 14 of us.

It's very fascinating and rewarding to go through a process with the same group of people. I know that Cheng, Mo, and Qbertplaya (edit. -- and Sucheela!) went through a similar experience last Fall when they were all preparing to test erluquan and were helping each other to ignite the chi. You form a very special bond. Like when we were all freshmen in high school walking into the cafeteria for the first time. We just naturally gravitate towards each other and cower sit at the same table.

By having a large group, it's also has been a wonderful way to polish our own techniques by watching others perform the same movements over and over again. For us daytime folks, we are even more lucky, because we get to have Shifu watch and teach us erluquan. In fact, it's not uncommon to see more than two people working on the form at the same time. And on those rarest of occasions, a 4-person synchronized erluquan.

New Year, New Training

Happy New Year! Resolve to train harder! Wait - we do that every day...

Last night was my first training back since vacation; stamina-wise it was a bit more challenging than usual. But my body was so nice and healed that I was able to do everything without any aches or pains or nagging injuries. Still, I was definitely panting harder than usual, especially after doing erluquan all the way through during forms. Luckily, i got a break after when Sifu asked me to help teach Ricardo. I've never been asked to teach before so it was very exciting. But I was also a little nervous being asked to help him with his erluquan. I was hoping my first teaching assignment would be caijiaos... :P

This first teaching assignment was interesting because it was a learning process for me as well. Obviously when teaching someone a form and breaking down the pieces you have to think more specifically about each move and it makes you more aware of places you are weak on and places where you've gotten stronger. But also, having Sifu standing there much of the time watching and sometimes making comments, I realized I was being taught how to teach. It was an interesting perspective and I enjoyed the sort of irony of a teacher teaching a student who is a teacher also teaching a student... Everyone with me? It was fun but not as easy as you'd think, and I appreciate all the more everyone who has ever taught me.

Refining

In class yesterday, during forms, Heng Ji and I were on the floor doing erluquan when Sifu told us to stop. Then he had everyone in the forms line work on their arm rotations and do erluquan for him individually while he corrected us as we went. Even when an older student who had been teaching came over to do a quick form, Sifu had them do the same thing. It was a reminder that even the older, more advanced students can slip into bad habits, and that no matter how long you’ve been training there’s always refining that needs to be done even on a Level 1 form.

It’s hard to remember every detail of each move every single time you do it. But there are definitely places where I’m making the same errors again and again. Also it’s interesting to see the places where we all have compensated the same way, or are making the same mistake. It was good to work those things out; I feel like my erluquan is gradually getting stronger and cleaner. Yet if yesterday taught me anything, it will always be able to get even stronger and even cleaner no matter how far I get.

Frankie Says RELAX!

Since I finished erluquan, in preparation for testing, more than one person has warned me about the importance of learning to pace myself properly through the (very long) form. In fact, when I was still learning yiluquan, someone, I think Joshua, told me to relax because if I was that tense doing erluquan I'd collapse halfway through. It's hard to find the balance of doing every movement all-out with lots of chi, while making sure you aren't a sad sack of sloppiness by the end. What was pointed out to me, was that while of course everything should be sharp and clean, there are points built into the form for catching your breath to prepare for the next strike, kick, 5 kicks, whatever. And if you concentrate on being relaxed in those parts and not constantly tense (like I often am) you'll find your energy goes much further.

Finding this good advice, I've also tried to apply it to the entire class. When on line for basics, I've been trying to make sure that during those brief intervals of standing I'm totally relaxed, breathing controlled, and not tensed up waiting for the next trip down the line. I have spent a large portion of my time training trying to relax my shoulders during forms and basics, relax my muscles for stretching, relax relax relax. Most of my life I've maintained a constant state of tension and it's been a difficult adaptation. But I'm slowly getting there, and it has really helped me focus my chi into both explosive power and controlled execution. I hope I can keep it going for this weekend!

Through the mirror of my mind

Sorry it has been a while since I've written a post. It's not like I haven't been training; this has been probably one of my best months in terms of attendance. I've been busy in my non-kung fu life -- some of it meh, a lot it really awesome. I've been doing a lot of reflection during this crucial stage of my training, and to be honest, I didn't feel quite ready to commit any of my thoughts to concrete words.

Yeah, yeah, we know -- testing is just one week away (eek!), and it's been pressing at my mind. I had somewhat convinced myself to be prepared for the possibility that Shifu might not think me ready to test for the 3rd form. On the testing sheets, I have yiluquan next to my name (and yes, I know I oughtn't read into it too much), and it seemed like in the last few weeks, everyone was learning more and more of their form except me. I felt stuck in erluquan purgatory.

I had resigned myself to the likelihood that I could be stuck in Level 1 another six months. But why use the word "stuck?" Another six months of L1 would undoubtedly increase my endurance, make me sharper and faster, and make me more confident in my execution of erluquan. Subsequently, I told myself, fine, you will learn the end of erluquan whenever you do, and in the meanwhile, just kick ass and burn through class with a stronger fire in your heart. Improve what you do know and it will all follow through. And if I get to test erluquan, awesome. Awesome because it means I will have completed yet another milestone of training, and awesome because it means L2 is around the corner...and if not, I will do it when I'm ready, which is also awesome. Because it's not about this one single point in my training; it's about reminding myself that the mere fact that I have committed myself to a beautiful lifetime of kung fu -- the whole shebang -- is the awesomest.

This weekend will be my birthday, and my parents are taking me out on Saturday after training for a special lunch. As a present to me, I asked that they come to the City earlier and come watch class, and observe me and my fellow dorks and all of our super duper chi. I want them to understand the commitment I've made to myself, and I want to show them the amazing things I've learned to do with my body. I want them to see how happy training makes me and the sense of accomplishment I gain each time we sweat buckets.

In the off chance my parents don't show up, I will be a little disappointed, but it won't change how hard I push myself during that class, or any other for that matter. It doesn't matter whether Shifu thinks I'm ready for L2 or not. It doesn't matter in the long run if I pass erluquan this time or not. What matters is that I am honest with myself, and I don't sell myself short, and I train as hard as I can. I will learn whatever I have to learn, even if it takes me a little more time, but as I've done over and over again, from the very first caijiao, I will stick it through, and just friggin' do it.

So, anyway, I finally did finish erluquan last night after trudging through it for exactly seven months to the date! (I started it on February 27th). So happy -- after watching Shifu send another handful of people off to work on forms with others, he finally plucked me out of line to finish and polish erluquan with Richu with 40 minutes left in class. I think it was possibly one of my sweatiest classes ever, and I felt woozy, but so proud. So proud to be sticking it through. And excited to polish it...loads.

These boots were made for walkin'...

Today when I got to temple I was tired. I took the day off of work, woke up early and did laundry, then spent the rest of the day hanging out with a friend. We started off at Columbus Circle, and over the course of the day zigged and zagged our way all the way downtown. We covered something like 70+ blocks, and when we arrived at Canal around 6 I did not have the chi. I was actually sleeping on my bag as we sat in Starbucks. I used to trek all over the city all the time, but ever since I started my 9-5 I don't get to as much, and I forgot how tiring and dehydrating sauntering around in the sun for 6 hours can be. But I couldn't very well find myself at Canal and Broadway at 6 on a Thursday and not go train. Especially after lugging my bag around all day.

I'm so glad, as always, that I overcame my lameness and trained. It was a lovely night, big class, and lots of people doing a trial so I felt urged on to extra chi. Another inspiring element was the posting of the testing schedule. My name with "erluquan" written next to it reminded me how very near testing is, and how much I want to do well. Even better, lots of my fellow dorks are scheduled at the same time so we'll be there to boost one another's chi. I'm trying to do erluquan all the way through at least once every class to work out the endurance, then do it in pieces so I can focus on refining the tiny tricky bits. It's starting to feel more comfortable. So maybe, when I try it in a class that does not follow six hours of walking, it'll feel even better.

:-D

Last night Shifu pulled me to the side after seeing me doing Erluquan and corrected a few of my moves. Right before he started, he said "Not bad but you need to...bakjdhsfkjewhsadfldjskfjpwoe..."

Not bad!

Not bad!

Shifu said I was NOT bad!

I was so happy - excited - exhilarated. I thought my need of approval has been worked out with my therapist but I guess it's still there. After the class I was told that my face was beaming the whole time - punching - kicking - crouching - or doing whatever I was taught.

Heeee hee heee

I think these are what he told me:

• At the very beginning of Erluquan and at the end when I whip my left hand up to my chest and right hand 45 degrees behind me, my left palm needs to face down rather than facing out to the front. Also don't keep the left hand too close to my chest.


• After the sweep and arms rotation into Pubu, going into Mabu my left palm should be in the same position as above as the right fist goes into chamber. Then as I get up with my left leg and knee up, slide my right fist over left palm which moves to my right armpit. Keep my right arm straight right next to my ear and look left. After 2 skips, to go into Mabu right before the 5-kicks, head should follow my left hand which rotates downward and up. Then look right as I punch with my right fist.


• After the Pubu following Waibaitui, twist my right hand, arm and leg just like I would my left hand, arm and leg after the Pubu following the 5-kicks but the other way.... This is a little confusing but it made sense when he explained it to me last night...

Cool down....

I feel like I need some extraordinary post now that I've finished erluquan. ***cymbals, cheering, birds singing, trumpets rainbows, the music of all the heavenly host*** After all the anticipation, the buildup, the anxiety, the debates, and everything that have come up as we have been posting our progress, I want to express some cathartic revelation that has occured. But with discipling and family stuff, it has somewhat lost precedence from the things prioritizing my mind the last 24 hours. Which is not to say I am not SUPER stoked about finishing and the prospect of having three weeks to practice before testing. But commitment to training was a huge part of my becoming a disciple, and I think that I'm re-settling on the opinion that being able to train at all, no matter what I'm working on, is so fun, so challenging, so beautiful, that erluquan in all its glory, can be there or not, so long as I get to train harder. Of course, as I commented to Sucheela, it's easy to say things like that once you're done. :) But I really think that I sort got caught up in tangible evidence of progress instead of recognizing the progress I've already made and enjoying what I've learned (and so much too!) in the past 15 months. And now that I'm done, the places in the form I feel weakest are the parts I've known for some time. (*cough* the sweep). Reminder that I need to remember the present and not always be caught up the future, which is a problem I have in and out of temple. Yay lessons. But, nonetheless, (and recognizing that I need to polish my everything) here are the things I want to make sure to focus on in the next few weeks: sweep, everything about it, powerful but CONTROLLED strikes, deeper stances, especially my pubus, always looking far, not down, and spreading my chi through my whole form, not just in the 5 kicks. Good times are ahead, dorks. No wait, the good times are now.

And for those who want to see some bald disciple pics, go here. Hopefully it will help keep me cooler in training.

Headlines from the front....

NEW YORK, NY: Hannah (now known as Heng Cheng) has finished erluquan. Also she has no hair. More on this breaking story as reports come in....

PUSH!!!

As I mentioned recently, testing is October 6th-7th, and time is a-ticking. So I am inching my way forth in erluquan, a good number of moves past five kicks now, and some tell me I am oh-so-close to completing it. I have avoided focusing on the end, preferring to work on what I'm being taught at that present moment. But as the days draw closer, I am forced to ponder it some more because it is becoming more apparent that I'm really not that far. It is do-able...right?

Part of my reluctance to look too far forward is a desire to learn it right, meaning, waiting patiently for someone to teach me during class, in Temple. The natural progression of things. But that also means sometimes going through an entire two hour session without learning something new in erluquan if I'm not called upon to work with someone. So, I've found myself trying to study the folks ahead of me as they do erluquan, hoping to pick up the next move or two. I am not confident in my ability to 'fake' my way through, however.

So, is it cheating when I ask someone outside of class for a pointer or two in refining what I've picked up myself? Am I breaking the rules, specifically, #16, which states that we ought not ask other students to teach us? (Although, a loophole would suggest that these are rules of conduct during class, thereby making anything outside of class okay -- I'm such a lawyer!) Or, is that part of the game too -- using my own eyes and brain and body, and pushing myself to learn versus just being passive and waiting?

I am conflicted. My primary goal is to learn erluquan correctly, and it should be done regardless of whatever deadline is looming in the future. But, such a deadline can be useful if it serves as the impetus for me pushing myself to train harder. And it's not about being competitive with others, but with myself.

In tossing this all about my head I am also wondering if my hesitation is due to a fear of failure. If I don't push myself to complete erluquan, I therefore will not be able to test for it and will therefore fall back onto another six months of Level 1 training. While another six months of training would do a body good, I don't want to think that I'm somehow tricking myself into forgoing this opportunity to advance by being complacent -- by hiding behind the idea that whatever happens, happens.

Instead, this is how I think I'm gonna approach the upcoming weeks: no matter what, I want to learn erluquan because it's been long enough, dammit. I can totally do it, and I will (I hope). And I'm not gonna give up on executing it as well as possible. Even if I don't have the entire sequence of moves down, I don't have to forget about being crisp and sharp. Whether I pass or fail is irrelevant to my desire to push myself and train harder in attaining the end of erluquan. But I will do it, to give myself a chance.

Breaking it down

So folks, testing is around the corner -- some speculate it might be the weekend of October 6th-7th, which means just about a month away. Eeek!

There are a good clump of us in erluquan purgatory right now -- I myself just finished the dreaded five kicks very recently, and have been trudging forth, trying to make training whenever I can, sneaking a peak at Hannah and Sucheela and the others ahead of me for a preview of what's to come.

Some days, I wonder if I will indeed be able to finish erluquan in time for testing and therefore test for the third form, thereby giving myself an opportunity to move to Level 2.

I know historically, there is usually a mad rush in the weeks leading up to testing to cram as much learning as possible into those on the cusp. Luckily, for the past two testings, I didn't feel rushed. I had learned chujiquantao and then yiluquan respectively well in advance of testing, so by the time the actual testing date came around, I was still nervous, but could still rely on muscle memory to carry me through to victory!

This time, though, should I manage to finish the remaining moves in erluquan in time, I won't be testing for it in a totally rehearsed fashion. Erluquan is such a long form -- so much to remember! But, according to Richu, I only have about 21 moves left. If you break it down, that's less than a move a day -- so it should be totally do-able, and I'll still have a week or so to brush it up. I hope.

The concept of breaking it down is so important! If you had said to me over 20 months ago, Hey 'Playa, you gon' be sweatin' up a storm and doin' all kinds of mad shit 3-4 times a week, and jumpin' and kickin' and stuff, and enjoying it, I would said you must have gone and lost yo mind. But from the start, from the day we learn our first caijiao, from when Heng Li says, okay, stick your foot out light as a feather, you realize you don't focus on kicking the ceiling lights. You break it down and do it bit by bit. And you crawl through the basics little by little, like Shaolin babies striving for more. And then some. Bottom line, you learn that just about nothing is insurmountable if you break it down into baby steps and don't let the whole shebang overwhelm you and defeat you even before trying.

So, in the meanwhile, I will train as hard as I can. I will push myself to go both Saturdays and Sundays. I will try to be more efficient at work to avoid being stuck at the office (although writing this post right now is probably counter-productive). I will not overthink it. And even if I end up sticking it out in Level 1 another six months, so be it cos I will use that time and make myself tougher than I ever dreamed before. 'Cos I got all the time in the world!

Get yer kicks...

Last night I returned to training after a week off due to illness. I felt the effects of my head cold still, coughing up lots and getting winded much more easily. Well, dem's the breaks, I guess. At least the time away allowed my oncoming shaolin butt sword to go away, I hope.

Glad I trained though -- I was able to practice erluquan a few times including the four out of the five kicks I learned a week and a half ago with De. I even faked my way, albeit poorly, thru the 5th kick -- the waibaitui -- and into the gongbu.

Fortunately, for the last ten minutes or so of class, got put in a good group by Xu to hammer out more of the five kicks with De. Whereas I had just learned them, some of the folks in our group have been doing it for a while, so it was good to observe their technique and listen to De point out what to tighten and speed up.

I've got a long road ahead of me in perfecting the five kicks. I think I'll have to sometimes do them exclusively when it's my turn to jump on the carpet!

Me, Myself and I

For those of you who actually read this blog, you might have realized that my fellow dork Hannah and I have been pretty much neck and neck in terms of progressing through erluquan, and it's been a blast supporting each other for each little bit. I love the way during forms practice how we cheer each other on, especially for the dreaded sweep.

Then, this past Saturday, Hannah had the good fortune of being plucked by Shifu from the line to work with Richu on erluquan for thirty minutes. Figuring she and I were at the same spot in erluquan more or less, I went over to Shifu and asked him if I could join them, and he flat out said no. I have to admit, I felt a little dejected by his denial of my request, but I rejoined the line and decided to trudge on in practicing what I have learned already. Happily, about ten minutes later, Shifu called De over to work on erluquan with me, and that lifted my spirits. Shifu told De what I specifically needed to work on -- injecting more chi/extension into my moves. I realized then that although Hannah and I are about the same in terms of progress through erluquan, we each have different things to refine, so to lump us together would not necessarily benefit either of us. In the end, I was happy to have received one-on-one attention from De so we could focus specifically on my kung fu.

So it got me thinking -- while for the most part, I've been pretty good about understanding that what we do is not necessarily competitive and we are to view ourselves as individuals, lately, because I've been so parallel in terms of learning with Hannah recently, I lost sight of that concept. I felt a slight tinge of jealousy that she got to the five kicks (a major milestone!) the other day even though I was also very psyched for her. So I've had to remind myself -- it's not about what my fellow dorks are doing, it's about what I'm doing, and nothing else. Just me, myself and I.

Hannah made a commitment to herself recently to train harder until testing, which includes going to class 4x a week, which is so awesome. I dabbled in doing the 4x thing a bit last year but realized that on the weekend, I really need a day off to tend to other areas of my life, especially with the oncoming stench of my job around the corner. I am very content to train only three times a week, and I have to remember that just the fact that Hannah trains an extra class a week means she'll probably charge forth faster, and I applaud her for it. And the path I've chosen is what's right for me. I have to reinforce all of this in my head constantly, especially now that I might have given myself a new shaolin butt sword, but this time on the other side!

Anyway, last night, not too long after we started up forms practice, Shifu came over and grabbed a lot of us to work on forms, and I once again got paired up with De (yay!) to work on erluquan. I learned all the way up through five kicks! Well, mostly -- four out of the five kicks ain't bad!

Two, three, kick, turn, turn, turn, kick, turn!

Five kicks! FIVE KICKS! Count 'em, one, two, three, four, FIIIIIIVE. Saturday Sifu pulled me off line to work on erluquan with 30 minutes still left in class. Which meant that even though I had a lot to go over in the part I already know, there was still time to learn the eagerly anticipated 5 kicks. Whoo!

Today however, couldn't have been more different. By the time we got to fanyao in basics, Sifu had slowed us to a halt, going over the arm rotation and the extension again and again. He continued in this way for the following moves, breaking down every piece and doing it very slowly over and over. When we got to yangshen yunshou it was already 12, and Sifu told us to break and stretch, without having gotten to the rest of basics or chuji quantao. Then we did waibaitui and zhengtitui like usual then did both the first two forms and the xiebu, pubu, dingbu cycle twice. By the time we started doing forms on line there were 15 minutes left in class.

After all my bellyaching about wanting to learn more erluquan, it should be a no-brainer that Saturday's class was my more favorite of the two; oddly enough it wasn't. Before I got to go on to five kicks Saturday, Richu, who was teaching me, went through and found all the places where I'm being lazy, that is to say, all my stances. Mabus too high, gongbus with a bent leg, and pubus leaning too far over. And the last several classes I've heard Sifu yell my name out with frightening regularity, usually with the words, "lazy," "sleepy style," "slow down," etc. attached to it. So today was a welcome chance to work on all the nuts and bolts of my basics. I've never had a class quite like it, but it couldn't have been better timed. I can't wait to get a handle on the "choreography" of the five kicks, but for now I'm happy to concentrate my efforts on keeping Sifu from calling my name out again... Or rather, not without "very good," "beautiful," Or at least a "not bad" attached to it....

Mystery....

Last night I finally solved a mystery. Lately, every time I've finished what I know of erluquan the toes on my right foot have ached like I jammed all of them at once. I never notice myself doing anything to them during the form, but I've ended up with a little limp as I go back to the line. Running through it in my head I couldn't figure out what move I was doing that would jam up all the toes only on my right side. Whenever I was doing the form I would forget to try and figure it out, my mind consumed with trying to remember all the things Sifu has told me to do. Last night though, my toes were so sore they reminded me to solve this mystery once and for all. I thought, maybe something to do with the sweep? I don't quite know how.... maybe from jumping into the pubu? But I never had that problem before... I went through the form step by step and then -- I couldn't believe it. It was the xiebu stance right before the sidekick. Possibly the least demanding part of the form that I know thus far. And I've done xiebus forever; how could this be? But there was no doubt about it. Apparently, when I go down into the stance I am slamming my right foot really hard into the ground, causing the ache in my poor, abused phalanges...

The more I thought about it the more it made sense, because that's the point in the form when my legs start to feel a little tired and I'm not as controlled as I should be. Mystery solved! At least partway. Now, how to prevent continuing to hurt myself? I've had this problem before, overzealous moves causing me injury. Slapping my foot too hard during kicks, stomping too hard during pubu chuanzhang.... But I've gotten control over these things in the end. This is slightly different since it's a result of being tired more than being too exuberant, but the same rules apply: I need to be more controlled, pay more attention to what I'm doing, and of course train harder!

Spin Cycle

On Sunday, Heng Xu taught our small class of 21. The line for basics was quickly whittled down due to the large number of newer folks, including this family who started a few weeks ago -- a dad, and his daughter and son. I spoke to the daughter, Alyssa (sp?), briefly in the changing room. She's 15 and her brother is 13, and they're from Staten Island. Her dad works across the street and saw our Temple and thought it would be a good idea for all three of them to try it out. Awesome!

So last Thursday, I decided to try doing the sweep kick on my own without instruction. My historically bad right knee has been a little tight since then, almost like a bunch of rubber bands were wrapped around it, so during a few of the basics, I had to lay off some of the jumps. And I avoided zuopan as well. During forms practice, I continued to skip zuopan when in chujiquantao so as not to aggravate the tightness. When it came time to do erluquan, I debated with myself -- do I practice my improvised version of the sweep kick thus potentially annoying my knee more, or avoid it as well?

I decided to go for it. I reasoned that some of the discomfort I was experiencing was due to building new muscles, and that based on most people's experience, I am bound to feel funny at first anyway. And how else am I gonna do it if I don't try? So I groaned my way a few times through what I've learned of erluquan, and was encouraged by others cheering me on. And being at the same spot in erluquan as my fellow dork, Hannah, was helpful, for the synchronized chi can bolster one's spirit.

Perhaps the best thing about stumbling and wobbling our way through the sweep? It caught the eye of Xu, who gave Hannah and me a mini-sweep clinic in the last 5 minutes before we did pushups. Seeing her sweep is amazing, as she demonstrated her agility by showing that you don't even have to plant your hand(s) down if you throw your hip hard enough. And apparently, I've been incorrectly sticking my butt out.

While my legs were too spent to really give her tips a go at that point, I am eager to try them next time, when my legs are hopefully fresh.

Sweep you off your feet!

Ok, so I won't actually... and I know this is the third post in two days about sweeping, but I officially learned the sweep yesterday. Huzzah! So sad Qbertplaya wasn't there to take part! Almost didn't come to class myself, as I was out till 3 with some other kf dorks to see an art show of a couple of former temple students. Good times, but I didn't anticipate waking up in the morning until about noon. Luckily I was up in plenty of time and got to go to a great class and learn something new. Has "learning" the sweep brought me to new levels of understanding of the move? Wellllll...... ok it's still murder trying to kick around, but I understand the mechanics better now. And at the end I did get around pretty well a couple times. Off to class again in hopes of learing even more!