I had a fantastic training week. I think that I finally understand the concept of the six harmonies. I was cognitive of the concept before but now I can feel it. I started out trying to figure out what was wrong with my punch, well, I knew what was wrong, I was trying to figure out how to fix it. I very patiently threw punch after punch, trying to be aware of my body and how it was moving together. I noticed through this scrutiny that my hips were not insinc with the rest of my movements. It seemed like they were moving separately, with their own agenda. When I moved my hips, shoulders, knees, elbows, feet and hands, together as a unit, everything began to fall into place. I am still getting used to using all the six harmonies together and it will need a lot of work but I am confident that I am making progress in the right direction. My forms feel different and better (right) and I am really excited about the changes that I am making.
I find this whole process absolutely amazing. There I am practicing and practicing and trying to be mindful and feeling like I was making progress, and then someone makes a comment and changes my focus just a smidgeon, and I am flying off (soaring really), in a direction that I was never really sure that I could take. I know that all my practice has not been wasted because I needed to have attained the level of awareness that I had in order to be ready for the next revelation. I am so excited about the possibilities that this opens up for me and how I move, I feel like I can do anything that I set my mind to.
Well, that is all for this week, til next week, work hard and have fun.

The highlights of my week was most definitely training. Several days this week, I had the opportunity to train with many different people on several different aspects of our art. One day, after a seemingly innocent question about Loa Gar, a group of us spent about 20 minutes, practicing and giving each other feedback. That kind of experience gives me such a rush of adrenaline and excitement about kung fu that I want to whoop and holler like a little kid. My week continued on with practicing techniques with my partner. We were trying to invoke reality into the techniques and after much laughter and many mistakes, they are beginning to look like something. Then I stumbled upon another group at the training hall practicing forms and spent some time with them, picking things apart and putting them back together again.
The thing that stands out for me is the camaraderie that I feel when I am working at the kwoon. While I am there, I am focused on what I am doing and where I am but I can feel the others around me working just as hard at what they are doing. I am not too sure if I can explain this very well but it is as if we are all working together and separately at the same time. I think that it is the common goal that bonds us, the strive to be better martial artists, the working towards perfecting our craft. I am so privileged to be part of such an excellent group of people, I can't wait to go back and practice some more on Monday.

Thanks

I think that it is really important to remember and respect the people that support us in our passions. The people that give up weekends away so that we can attend classes and train, the people that nod in understanding as we dash out the door instead of clearing the table after supper and the people that encourage to try our hardest and go for the gold every day. My family and friends have been amazingly supportive and understanding over the years since I have discovered my passion for Kung Fu. I am very grateful for them.

A funny thing happened on the way to the demo.....

I volunteered to be a part of the Canada Day demo for two reasons, I love to celebrate the birth of our country any way that I can and I figured the more exposure I get to situation where I am not comfortable the better. During the first practice, I was so nervous that I had a difficult time getting a grip on myself. I think that I was anxious because I have been working on my form and haven't showed anyone in a while. At least that is the only reason that I can see. I managed to complete it and only looked like an amateur a couple of times. The second ( and final ) practice was much better, I had had a chance to practice a bit with my partner and work out some logistics ( where to stand and all that). I was quite comfortable afterwards, hoping that I would not be too nervous on the performance day.
The day started bright and shiney, I think there were even some birds singing. My partner for one of the forms was my daughter and she has been performing at various demos since she was four (she's 12). We started the day together with breakfast and some visiting and then got ready to leave for the celebration. She wasn't nervous at all. We arrived early and wandered around a bit, talking with friends from Silent River and waiting to begin.
And then we started, the lion dance was very cool, I am beginning to tell the difference between different dancers and their styles. I thoroughly enjoyed the show. We were up next, we walked out onto center "stage" (it was outside) , looked into each others eyes and began. It felt absolutely fantastic, we were in-sinc and our intensity was out of this world. We finished strong and then waited for our next form. Then we performed with a larger group, we had only practiced together a few times but we managed to stay together and look good.
So here is the cool part, after we were done, someone said, that wasn't too bad, I was nervous this morning but it went okay anyways. I started to respond with yeah, me too and at that moment realized that I hadn't been nervous, before, after or during. I felt cool, calm and collected and it was an amazing feeling. I have been doing many different things to decrease my nervousness, like meditating and putting myself in situation where I need to remain calm at all costs. That day was the first day that my work has begun to pay off and it felt great.