The Year of the Dog

I'm second degree now. Do I feel different? Actually, yes. Having the chance to look back at our past few Chinese New Years banquets, I can see how far I've come. I can also see how much I've grown and changed since I earned my black belt. How much my mental game has changed. How I've realized that I need to be the one pushing my training forward. Being left to your own devices can be intimidating, and frustrating. But worth every internal argument that I've had with myself.

The coming year, most of my personal goals are oriented towards my mental health. I think over time I've realized that I don't recognize very quickly when I'm getting overwhelmed. It sort of sneaks up on me, and before I know it, I'm past the point of recovery. Before GBS, I thought I could take on anything and deal with it. Now I realize that is a completely unrealistic expectation of anyone. I am more prone to anxiety and fatigue, but in some ways, it has also made me more aware of my mental state. Another good thing that has come out of this experience.

I have set goals to help me spiritually and mentally, but I am keeping the physical goals as per the usual. I set some goals for the year of the rooster for my kicks and stances, and I have made progress and intend to continue that. Another goal I have for this year is learning to deal with my lower back/hips. I have chronically had an on again/off again struggle with my lower back. So, I've been getting physio and practicing some boring but effective exercises and stretches. Looking into learning some functional exercises for strengthening or supporting.

I am going to be focusing on all of my long fist style forms. They are kind of like Kempo, in that they all kind of fit together, so it will be a good refresher. Plus, doing long fist forms requires a different sort of coordination, which I think will benefit my training at this point. I also have a goal of working on some of my long weapon training. Part of my issue there, is that a couple of them need to be constructed. One step at a time I suppose.  I'm gonna have an awesome weapon collection by the end of it... Good luck to everyone in the coming year. I'm excited to see the potential of the dog team!