Ice and Hung Gar

Life is hard. Since an ice storm hit my county, life has been a bit harder. Numerous trees have fallen, heavily encrusted with ice: glittery, beautiful and dangerous. Tangled with the trees are the wires that bring electricity, telephone and internet service, usually considered essential, but actually only conveniences compared to more serious concerns of safety and freedom.

As I worked alongside my family in an effort to clear the road, for ourselves and our neighbors, the power of nature was everywhere -- shown not only in the beauty which many can appreciate but more astonishingly in splintery destruction. Whole trees had been uprooted by the weight of ice. Harmless and life-giving droplets of water had gathered to such an extent that they combined into a force that destroyed. Each tree trunk, every branch, individual pine needles, all were encased in ice. Each item weighed much more than normal.

As I began the work, grabbed the first limb, I was astonished at the effort required to shift its dramatically-increased mass. It took me a few minutes of adapting to the weight to realize that the first impulse I had was to shift my stance to accommodate the weight, and that stance was pure Hung Gar. Turns out, powering a punch from the ground, through the heel, channeling through the body correctly equals power to push a variety of items. The stance and shifts required to pull an opponent off balance equals power to move heavy objects. A correct stance meant that I was less likely to tumble backward onto splintered tree stumps. Properly shifted weight meant that I could pull heavier branches than before. Consistent training meant that I could work for hours instead of minutes.

Alongside my husband's powerful, efficient, and careful chainsawing, and both my sons' durable, enthusiastic energies, I was able draw on the power of Hung Gar to enhance my own effort. As a result, combined with the unexpected assistance of (believe it or not) volunteer firefighters from Alvaton fire department, the road to safety and freedom was cleared in a day.

Since I've updated my workout spreadsheet, and the old link didn't work when I clicked on it, here is the current link.

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=p47-aGTuSE8UU2p37we_CYgPublished on Jan 30, 2009 2:21:27 PM CST

Missing class... (in a good way)

I just finished the outline to my accounting final project and have to finish my push-ups and sit-ups. I was thinking how much I missed having class this week. In a way it was nice to practice the forms by myself with nobody to help with hints or advice, relying on my own memory. I do miss the group atmosphere though. I am looking forward to our first group session this weekend. I really enjoy the comeraderie that we all share.

I have a request for Steven though... I'm pretty sure I remember Tammy saying she was taking some classes about nutrition and health, although I could be mistaken. Would you be able to talk her into relaying some information regarding nutritional suggestions for people like us who are apparently forcing their bodies to do much more than they are used to? I don't know a whole lot about the subject but I have been eating like a horse since I started! Is that good or bad? Is my once a day vitamin enough? Should I eat certain kinds of foods to help build up my body? Things of that nature. Any advice would be most welcome.

I hope you all are having a good and productive week. Hopefully we will be able to have class tomorrow and everybody can make it. Maybe this will be the worst that old man Winter will throw at us this year!

A lesson learned the easy way.

I dragged my aching body off the couch into the office.  Sniffled, snorted, blew my nose.  Plopped down in my chair with a moan.  I'm sure glad I decided to stay ahead of my pushups and situps commitment instead of doing the minimum possible.  I am doing no pushups today.

time

It is a bit hard to fit the stuff in to our schedule some times I wait for the weekends and do them then and some times not.  How do you guys fit it in???

Training Smart

After 6 days of training with the new thought from Sifu Mike, I hurt.  My body had just gotten used to what I was demanding of it, then I started demanding more.  The point my body is at right now, I decided to train smart.  I will take it easy today, I will listen to my body.  I may do some pushups and situps, I will most likely do some forms, but I will not go full bore today.  My body needs to recover.  There is a time to sprint, and there is a time to catch your breath.

Where is the difference?

Where is the line between confidence and hubris? When does faking it become a path to making it real? Why is a swagger negative, and a strong stride positive? Where do the differences come from?

I've been thinking about RAoK and intentionality, wondering if the main ingredient to RAoK is intention ... But I don't think so. If I complete an RAoK just to check a box off each day, that's closer to a swagger than taking a strong stride -- closer to faking it. But remembering each day that such acts are important is starting to make it real. Assuming that something I consider a kind act is seen similarly by someone else is some kind of hubris --- but persevering into an understanding of RAoK that includes others' viewpoints may be confidence that the concept is valuable enough to work on.

Fine lines -- razor edges -- thin paths. The main ingredient to RAoK, today, for me, may be awareness.