Nate's Blogs

 Now that the snow has melted and it’s starting to warm up, training outside is becoming more and more easier. This week I’ve spent hours outside adjusting and learning new moves for my stick form. I have dropped my stick many times and hit myself even more. However, each time that I made an error in my form, I focused on that section until it started to look/feel better. I have found that breaking down forms into different chunks really helps to perfect the form. The only downside is that it started to become chunky. The sections that I practiced were smooth but the techniques between them weren’t. Now I’m starting to put the whole form back together again and polish everything up. There is a couple techniques that are still proving really troublesome but that just means I have to practice them more!

This week has been slow but with a steady increase. My numbers are starting to get back on track and my training has become more mindful. Mindful training is key to progressing forward in your journey in kung fu. I have been focusing on my staff form for the past week and it is starting to flow better but it still has a long way to go, along with all my other forms. The more I train with my staff, the stronger the connections between my top and bottom, left and right become. I’m finding that the staff is an excellent weapon to work on both the basics of kung fu and the little bit more advanced techniques. 

 As I’m sure a lot of you guys can relate, my numbers are not where I would like them to be along with my motivation. This year has already proven quite troublesome to me regarding motivation and keeping on top of my numbers. However, that is all going to change and what better time to make that change then now. Blogging has by far been the biggest struggle for me each year I’ve been in I Ho Chuan and the only way that will change is if I put it the work myself. No one is going to do it for me. No one is going to train for me. This is my journey. Everything that we do directly impacts our journey in kung fu. However, there is no journey if there is no training. Although my year has had a fairly slow start, it does not mean I have to keep it that way. Each day is a new day. Each day is another chance to start anew and to be better then me yesterday.