Whoa, Nelly!

Monday afternoon I decided to take a few days off from my OCD training schedule and get a little work done on my so-called "real" life. Sensing this hubris, the Shaolin gods smote me with a thrown back. So whether I had wanted to or not, I didn't return to training until Thursday night.

It felt great to be back, I was full of pent up energy, and ready to go hardcore. About halfway through warming up with kip-ups though, my back pain reasserted itself and I knew that unless I wanted to really lay myself out, I'd have to work at containing the exuberance I felt.

This was quite a challenge; lots of my favorite Kung fu dorks were there including the long-absent Heng Gui! As we all know, he has through-the-roof chi so his return made class even more energized.

It was a strange feeling, instead of having to dig out the energy to go full-chi the whole class, I was getting constant reminders in my lower back to not extend quite so much, or explode quite that hard. I now understand a small part of your pain Qbertplaya, in having to pace yourself when your physicality can't match your chi. It's hard!

The fact that I had to do that though, was a good indicator that I CAN pop and extend and go strong all class. Finally, when trying (unsuccessfully) to do 5 kicks with slightly less vigor, I gave up on reining in the chi and went for it. I'm paying the price today, (training L2 is getting about 60/40 odds right now) but it was worth it to take advantage of such a fun class.

I keep going and going and going.....

As per my last post, there are lots of external factors contributing to how difficult/easy a training session feels. And even though I know I'm stronger, have more endurance, and can train harder than when I began, I still find myself panting and dripping sweat at the end of every class. Don't get me wrong, it's a great feeling, and I know it's a result of pushing myself and not relaxing into a comfort zone, but it does sometimes make it hard to be aware of my progress. Yesterday was no exception, but later that evening, after eating, going with some folks to watch the Blue Vipers for a bit, meeting up with a friend, going grocery shopping, and then going home and cleaning my apartment and working, I realized I NEVER could have done all that when I started.

In the beginning, class left me comfortably wiped of all thought and all energy; whether I got to got to the park or I had to go to work afterwards, I spent the remainder of the day in an exhausted haze. In the mornings I rarely did anything. If I wasn't sleeping then I was lying very still on the sofa, reading and conserving my energy. Now I can wake up, run an errand or do some chores and then go train and have plenty of energy left to not waste the rest of my day. Or on a weekday, get through 8 hours of work then jump on the train for class. Usually around 11pm I get a second wind and want to go out and work on whatever it is I worked on in class that day. On days when I don't train I'm able to get much more accomplished before curling up in my bed. This lets me know, that while I'm never going to make it through a class sweat-free with no shortness of breath (and what would be the point?) I am getting stronger. Heck, right now I'm up two hours early making cinnamon rolls. Hopefully that energy and endurance will also help me make it from one end of erluquan to the other.

Run!!!!

Today was a day of running. Running in class, running out of class and trying to get to work on time. The question is, was the former worth the latter? Was showing up to work late and not having a chance to eat until after 5 worth getting to go to temple and being made to run for not doing ceshoufan fast enough and sweating in humidity that felt practically solid? Honestly, there was a moment (when I thought I was going to fall on my head) that I wasn't so sure. But even when I was at work, sweating and STARVING, I had to conclude that it was.

I spent a lot of time trying to follow through with my resolution to slow down my movements. And miraculously, things did feel a lot smoother, more balanced, better (except my cartwheels, which were harder than ever). And I also worked at limiting my water intake, not AS successful as I wanted but much better. Altogether, a really good challenge for me mentally and physically, I only wish I had time to wind down instead of bolting to a very hungry afternoon at work. The question now is, will I do it again tomorrow?

'The Wall'

Last night was definitely the hottest day of the year. I don't know about you but my head felt like it was going to explode. One quick word from shifu "Don't wash your head down, only wash your neck and face. Your head is where you lose the heat." Yes shifu... but I feel so woozy and it wants to explode and the water feels sooooooo good!

I left class a little down-trodden. I was nearly pushed to my limit (due to 6 of us doing forms for an hour) but knew that I hadn't reached the proverbial ‘wall’. How close do you think you came to hitting 'the wall' yesterday?

At the end of class I got some special shifu love... "Train Harder". I knew it too… I hadn't taken full advantage of the day. Of course he was right.

Great job to everyone who trained yesterday!