Back at it

Week number 1. Finished. I know it's only Wednesday there, but here, my weekend starts on Wednesday. I'm pretty sore. I had a fairly brutal cold this week. I took Monday off of training due to a very sore cough, but was back at it on Tuesday afternoon. One of my goals is 150 pushups and situps per day. So I missed a few on the day I took off, but I made them up on the following day. I have to say that going from being on break and not doing hardly any pushups, to doing 150 a day, maybe not a great idea. I should have.. I dunno. Shoulda, woulda, coulda.

So far the thing I've really enjoyed is practicing calligraphy every day. I only usually do 20 to 30 minutes a day, but it's so nice to just sit down at my desk, and just focus on something so complex. Calligraphy is so much like kung fu in some ways. Probably one of the reasons I enjoy it so much. Some of the characters that one would assume would be the easiest, maybe only have 2 or 3 strokes, but they're the most difficult to make beautiful. Because they are so simple, there's nothing to distract the eye from the three strokes on the paper in front of you. If the proportions are wrong, or if your strokes are shaky, it's very noticeable.

That's why the basics are so important. The foundations of your practice really show through.

Happy New Years

Well, technically I'm a whole day ahead of most of the people that might read this blog. But Happy New Year to you all anyways.

I've set some goals for this year. I'll be honest, in the past I've been terrible with follow through of any of the goals I set. I always start out strong and somewhere just start to lose momentum. I'm sure so many of us have experience this. I just have set myself so many times in the past to be disappointed in myself for failing to commit myself to my goals.

This year is going to be different. I realized that one of the reasons I have such troubles following through with my goals is that I'm self conscious about them. Whether they're about my diet, about my training, or about more personal aspects of my life, I'm always concerned that if I tell someone about my goals that they'll laugh at them, or tell me that my goals are unattainable.

But during this break I had a lot of free time. And although I didn't always spend the time studying like I should have, or practicing as much as I should, I spent a lot of time thinking about the way I interact with people around me.

I've decided that if I tell someone my goals and they laugh, let them. The majority of people that I meet are stuck where they are, and have no desire to change. And I know I don't want to live my life like that, so why should I care if they laugh at me. I also know myself and what I'm capable of better than anyone else does. So if they think my goals are unattainable, it just proves that they've underestimated me.

The Artist

Every person practicing martial arts will eventually reach the point where they're not learning something 'new'.

We've spent the past 4 years working on forms. In four years we've learned 28 forms (roughly). When I sat down and actually counted the numbers I realized how insane that is. I can't imagine where we fit all that in. Now we're at the point where we're spending our time reviewing, repeating and going through our forms individually thinking about each movement. This is the point where you really start to see a martial artist, rather than just a student.

This part is really exciting for me, because it's given me an opportunity to go through my forms in depth, working on parts I've struggled with, and applying all the lessons I've learned in my time here. There's so many facets to every form that I feel like I could work on them forever and never truly master anything. This is where I really start to feel my creative expression. Playing with the movements and making them my own.

I know many people that find this kind of practice monotonous and boring. They feel as if they're not learning something new, they're not improving. There are many things that can be learned from repetition. An artist can spend a lifetime perfecting their masterpiece. To really become an artist requires remarkable discipline, dedication and patience. These are the qualities that I am cultivating now.

"The accomplishments of master artists are stupendous, the result of fearsome diligence, vision, hard-earned skill, profound understanding of their discipline, and an extra dash of something we might call genius." ~ Eric Booth

Amy Poehler's Smart Girls at the Party

I've been in the process of writing this post about training, but it's not finished and I've been inspired by something else.

So I'm sure that I'm a lot older than the target audience for this website, but I just randomly came across this site today and I got really excited about it.

This is a website targeted to young women, to inspire them to be themselves, and pursue their passions. Whatever that may be. So cool.

http://sgatp.net/smart-girls-at-the-party/

Gratitude

I've been thinking this week about all the things in my life here that make me grateful. This has been a hard week. Lots of long hot days. So these are 10 things that helped me this week.

1) Skype - so I can talk to my parents every week.
2) Jasmine - a friend here that really helps me keep life in perspective.
3) My kung fu brothers - I never had a brother, now I have 10.
4) Mangoes - I love eating messy fruit and having the juice run all over my hands. It feels barbaric, and totally awesome.
5) Cold water - on a really hot day, nothing quenches the thirst better, or feels more refreshing in the shower.
6) Chocolate - this is something that I'm grateful for pretty much every day.
7) Facebook - helps me feel like I'm still a part of my friends' and family's life.
8) Sunscreen - to keep me from baking (literally) out in the sun
9) My guitar - love to just sit, play, and sing.
10) Tulsi a.k.a Holy Basil - an Indian herb that helps me get through the roughest days, and makes me feel like I'm not actually losing my mind.

"When it comes to life the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude." ~ Gilbert K. Chesterton

Acts of Kindness

I was reading lists of people's daily acts of kindness. Sometimes the smallest act, can really change the way someone is feeling, and in turn, may encourage them to do something kind for someone else. This is a very basic principle, most of us have heard this before.

One of the greatest things about living here is that I can spend so much time every day cultivating my body, my spirit, and my emotions. I feel as though I've really begun to know who I am. But also while being here, I've made so many friends, and met so many amazing people.

I feel as though I've become a bit jaded, a bit cynical, while living in China, and it really bothers me. I'm sure this happens to many people as they get older. I know it's due to experience, but lately I've been forgetting to focus on all the great things going on around me. There's plenty to be thankful for. I've been so busy thinking of ways to improve my body, that I've forgotten that I'm also here to cultivate my character. In some ways, it's really difficult to put so much effort into relationships with all the people around me. But it's amazingly rewarding, if I just open my heart and remember.

"The soul is placed in the body like a rough diamond, and must be polished, or the luster of it will never appear" ~Daniel Defoe

Encouragement From a Young Woman

As I was reading the blog of a friend of mine, I realized why I like to follow her. She doesn't write much, and we don't keep in close touch, but I find her very inspiring. You know the funny thing is, that we're very different people, going through very different things at this point in our lives. But I guess that's one of the reasons I find it so exciting to read what's going on in her life. I often try to remember what I was like through different stages in my life. I find that looking back can sometimes help me move forwards.

We had a group of German tourists come through the temple a couple of months ago, and after we got past all the regular conversation pieces (where are you from, what are you doing here, etc.) they asked me some really great questions. Questions that I've never had a tourist ask me before. "Do you feel different than before you came here?" I answered very candidly that I couldn't possibly compare the person I was 5 years ago to the person I am now. And I really believe this to be true. When I think back to myself at 23, I look back at a totally different person than I am today, and it really encourages me.

This is why my friend is so inspiring. She's in grade 9, and she's awesome. So when I think about the person she might be when she's my age, or even by the time she reaches 20, it gives me something to look forward to. Some hope for her future, and my own.