Path of the Jianke

I'll start off with an update since I have fallen far far FAR behind on my journaling. I am now certified in in first aid thanks to a pair of amazing instructors and feel both impowered by the knowledge I gained over the two Sundays, but also more cautious about what situations I may face. I also finally have an appointment with a neurologist in mid June, which I have been waiting for almost two years on.

This weekend I missed the Pandamonium to attend a two day seminar on traditional Chinese swordsmanship. Although it saddens me to miss one of the most important days at Silent River, I learned many new skills and made new connections with people from many different martial arts.

The seminar was hosted at the Fighting Arts Collective in Toronto, an amazing facility that houses schools of Wing Chun, HEMA, aerial gymnastics, and many other disciplines. The days were filled with drills, discussion about the history and future Jian Fa (sword method), as well as many quips about the socioeconomic climate of North America.

Although we were supposed to learn both the jian and miaodao (two handed saber), the time was spent only on the former with a few miaodao techniques demonstrated without drilling. I also had the chance to participate in a knife throwing seminar after the first day, but declined so I had time to work on my reps.

Tomorrow I'm leaving for DC and am looking forward to all the sights and museums. I was hoping to make a trip to Baltimore to visit a smithy that creates amazing pieces of art but found out through Scott Rodell that they are in the middle of a shoot and aren't even allowing clients to pickup their orders. Although it's a bit of a disappointment, I know that my trip will still be full of adventure and excitement.

Exhaustion

Last week ended in complete exhaustion. Going from next to no class participation to going to the kwoon five days (in a good week) has been a hard but necessary change. Each week I have been trying to push my physical and mental limits bit by bit, but I tend to find myself at my limits by Friday. Two days of rest a week have been more common than I would like, I hope that soon these extended rests won't remain in my training schedule.

Bad Habits

What led my downfall in my last year in the I Ho Chuan was inconsistency. This bad habit filled my last two weeks. My numbers are far behind and I have put more pressure on myself because of my inactivity.

Although numbers were lacking, I feel I made strides in understanding my techniques and movement. Last sihing class really hammered the idea of controlled movement, and I found myself in a better place with my centering than I thought I was. This week will be better, in all aspects, because I know that consistency is the only way that I will succeed this year.

The Current State

This week past week has shown how far ahead the team is and the momentum from the beginning of the year is still pulling us. Although personally I feel that my fitness is on a plateau, seeing the continued progress in my forms and basics, as well as the progress of the team, is the drive that I had been missing in the year of the Horse.

Tuesday was spent at the hospital receiving a neurological assessment for another recommendation for a neurologist. My last recommendation seems to have never been processed, dragging out my waiting for answers when further.

Thursday brought excitement with the presentation of our forms. My jian form feels like it has a solid base, made up one handed and two handed components. My favourite personal sword is a hand and a half jian, which falls on the heavy side of the scale for this style of blade. I wanted to extend my form this year in encompass both variations of grip and technique and can't wait to start learning Wu Dang jian forms under Sifu M. Beckett and the seminar in May so I can keep adding.

Two Handedness and the Center Line

I feel that on Mondays I am more lucid, so I'll be moving my weekly journal posts.

My hand form for the year is Hung, the reasons for choosing this form are many. It helps train consistency of stances, something I have been lacking in my training. It also only has two stances, the horse and open-x, the two stances I need the most improvement in. The last reason, but one that can be found in every form, is two handedness.

On Thursday I forgot my sword at home, I only worked on Hung during I Ho Chuan and made a major breakthrough. The transition between the first and second part of the form requires fluidity with strength in one's stance. By focusing on my two handedness, I found the transition flow naturally from horse, to open-x, than back to horse.

On the weekend I found myself apathetic again. The wear off training leaves me wanting to do nothing on my weekends, but I'm try to work on this. I believe the largest contributor to this dilemma is the constant ache my muscles and joints are in, but that should only be from the hard work that my body has not experienced in months prior and will lessen as I improve.

I'm am looking forward to seeing each team members 1.0 of their form. We have a lot of great skill and knowledge on this team and am sure that Thursday will really help invigorate everyone.

The First Wall

This week I continued to see the progress on my path, with Saturday being full of form repetitions and rounds of excellent sparring. However Sunday I hit the wall. Although Sunday is my "rest day", I did almost literally nothing all day. I didn't do my chi gung and more importantly I didn't journal. I was zapped of all my will and just found escape on my computer. Although I probably did need a complete day of rest, I still don't think I structured it properly.

I am still in a lot of pain this morning and found myself asking to work a half day, and took the time to stretch out and do my chi gung, with another scheduled for the end of the day. This evening I'm picking up my mom from the airport after her month long journey in India. I bet she will have many stories that she will be sharing with me, but I'm glad that she will be home.

Starting the Incline

Tuesday was the first time I attended the Sihing class in almost a year. One thing that recently came back to my training is intensity, however during class I saw my technique was in need of major improvements. We were drilling kicks and working on bettering our numbers, but also how to work on pacing. As a collective we were averaging 30 kicks a minute consistently, almost 600 in a half hour with our pace slightly increasing at the end. My personal numbers were lower than I would like, but I see what needs to be worked on but as long as I keep working on my endurance and technique I will see my numbers increase.

On Saturday open training was packed with people and weapons. I spent a while working on my articulation and flow with staff work and when I switched to my sword I was able to find another block to add to my form. The last 15 minutes of mat time had a few pylon marked rings for sparring appear, and I was able to get my first 3 rounds of sparring for the year. I'm looking forward to many more rounds with Sifu Lindstrom so I can work on the holes in my guard.

The engagement at the meeting was great to see. I am really looking forward to all the demos and dances as this team seems like it will pull of one of, if not the best year of the I Ho Chuan yet. At the meeting I mentioned that I am going to a traditional Chinese swordsmanship seminar in Toronto during May. I will be learning techniques with the jian (one handed straight sword) and the miaodao (two handed saber) and hope to share all of the knowledge I bring back. I will be gone from May 12th to the 20th and because of this will be unable to attend Pandemonium, but I've already started planning on how I will still contribute to this very important event.

Working through the Five Animals

The personal requirement that has served me the most so far this years has been my daily Five Animal Chi Gung. There are 356 days in the year of the Monkey, and already the effects of this daily ritual are showing. For those that are unaware, Five Animal Chi Gung is an exercises that lengthens tendons, opens joints, conditions muscles and each pose works a specific organ. The Dragon improves the kidneys, the Tiger works your lungs, the Leopard betters the liver, the Snake helps the spleen and the Crane strengthens the heart. 

Before the banquet last weekend I was lucky enough to have my poses critiqued by Sifu M. Beckett, and was surprised that I had retained most of the basics and was shown the beginning of the more advanced techniques in the poses. Each day I'm finding my stances deepen and my flow into the poses becomes smoother. I look forward to having my poses looked at again, and hope that the changes I've made to my technique are improving my form.

Admittedly I missed my second day, but was I just to accept that I failed my requirement and quit? The I Ho Chuan has a no quitting policy, so I will just have to do two extra days going into the year  of the Rooster.

From the Sheep to the Monkey

Yesterday was magic. The New Year banquet always brings a sense of awe with it, even more so since I wasn't a member of last years I Ho Chuan team. From what I observed, the night ran smoothly with tear down and bringing the equipment back to the kwoon taking what seemed like no time at all. The Sheep Team really put together one of the best banquets I have attended to date.

Seeing the change of four of my fellow students to the four newest black belts of the school was an intense and emotional moment. Seeing what they had accomplished through the years, converging into this traditional accession that happens each year, was the first of many highlights for this year.

Back On the Path

Monday was the beginning of the year of the Monkey, and the official start of this years I Ho Chuan team. The year of the Sheep was a difficult time for many, but through perseverance we have made it to this new beginning. A new career path, a new treatment, a new outlook on my martial arts, as well as the inspiration the I Ho Chuan provides has given me the launchpad to succeed this year.

Watching from the sidelines while the Sheep team rehearsed the lion dance and demo was an awe inspiring moment. Seeing the progression, the skill sets each of the members have honed, made me believe that I could attain some measure of "that" this year.

My balance is still suffering but with the active release chiropractic treatment I am seeing noticeable improvement. I don't know if it is a result of the treatment or a change in perception, but I am finding myself able to push myself again. When I started my count of 50,000 push-ups and sit-ups on Monday I was only able to do sets of 10 at a time, but already I've progressed to sets of 20. Many of my numbers are going to be low in the beginning, but I think I have found the right pace to get back too and improve on what my fitness used to be.

Tomorrow I will be taking my mother to the airport to start her month long journey in India. I know she will have an amazing time and my sister will make sure that everything goes right. This month of solitude in my house (except for a cat) I plan on tweaking my schedule even more to optimize it around the I Ho Chuan. I also plan on completing unfinished renovations that were part of my requirements for the year of the Horse, the biggest priority being re-flooring the basement.

I am a Water Monkey that has entered the year of the Fire Monkey, and I will succeed this year.