4.8 (March 27)

 I Am In Training

I have always been training, and probably always will be. From the moment I was born I was training to do basic human things, right before I turned three I started training in Kung Fu, and when I was five I started training in an academic sense. Throughout my whole life I have been training and working towards some sort of goal or achievement. For the longest time my main focus in all forms of training was achieving a black belt. When I officially became a black belt in February, I spent about a week thinking about what to focus training on next. I realized that graduating high school is the next big thing in my life, so I started to transition more focus and time to school. Something that didn't go so well at first, but is now starting to become more natural and successful at it. While I shifted a lot of focus on to school, I still have plenty of attention on Kung Fu, something that won't change for the foreseeable future. Even though I achieved my initial goal of earning my black belt, I still have a long way to go in Kung Fu. Because of that, my goal for Kung Fu is no longer to achieve something specific, but rather to keep improving on my skill level to the best of my abilities.

4.7 (March 20)

 This past week we moved away from the competitive parts of the Tiger Challenge (Pool Noodle fights, obstacle courses), and we worked on forms instead. this really helped me see where some of the kids are at, with some of them being a lot farther along than I thought they would be. I wasn't too sure before where some of the kids are, but now I know that most of the level two young dragons are doing very well with their forms. I think I might do a few more forms classes before moving on to other fundamentals, but what I see in the next few classes will truly determine that. 

4.6 (March 13)

Now that Spring break is over, it's time to get back in gear and go back to a normal life. Back to school, back to classes at Kung Fu, and back to the Summer heat (Unless we keep getting Winter back over the weekends). This means that in a few weeks we can start to do larger forms outside without putting on multiple layers. This is great for me because I'm running out of space for my stick form inside, and it's difficult to work on it in chunks. After choosing relatively large weapons for the past few years, I think I'll go small next year, with a knife or something similar. That depends on where my stick leads me this year though. If I really like it, then I might do it again or something similar. If not then I'll explore my options. Enough about next year. The due date for the Beta for this years form is coming up this week, and I'm excited to see what the rest of the team has come up with.

4.5 (March 6)

With the Tiger Challenge coming up, we have been doing obstacle courses and pool noodle sword fighting in the kids classes. It's been fun teaching them how to properly start a match, and the basic rules of pool noodle fights. It's even more fun with the older kids because I get to go in and fight them myself sometimes. There are other parts of the Tiger Challenge that we're going to cover before May 14th too, but I think that pool noodle fights and obstacle courses will sort of become a "default" for the time being. After the Tiger challenge, we'll go back to more technique based classes. Doing things like this has really helped me with my planning skills, something that I've needed to improve on for a long time. 

4.4 (February 27)

Since the last mandatory I Ho Chuan class, I have finished the Beta version of my weapon form, and I already have the next few moves in development. This year I am doing my own Stick form, and it has been a lot easier to make than my Sword form last year. Last year was essentially my first time using a sword, as I wanted to try something different. This year I went back to the first weapon we learn, so that I could go back to the basics and work myself back up. I'm doing this because I found the sword to be quite difficult to get the hang of. I had a tough time getting my moves to be somewhat effective instead of flashy. This hasn't been as much of a problem with the stick, as I have spent a lot more time with the school form and it is a fairly simple weapon at its core. I won't be able to fully compare the two until I am satisfied with how my Stick form ends. I'll just keep working on it to get there as fast as I can.

4.3 (February 20)

 I am resourceful.

    When I am faced with a challenge, I do one of two things. If I know how to get past the challenge, then I'll get past it and move on. If I don't know how to get past it, I'll slow down and examine it. I'll see what tools I can use to help me overcome the challenge. I do this both figuratively and literally, as I try and think to past teachings to find what would help me most with the challenge I'm facing while also looking around seeing what could physically help me with the challenge. If I'm going through a form and I feel something isn't right, I'll go over that area a few times, then I'll take a look at my technique, then I'll try and think of anything one of the instructors had said in the past to see if it would apply in a useful way. If any of that doesn't work, then I'll raise my hand to ask a question. This applies outside of Kung Fu too, as I prefer to use my own knowledge and skills instead of asking someone to assist me.

4.2 (February 13)

I have officially been a Black Belt for a week, and it’s been very weird. Bowing at the front of the class, Not being in line and actively participating in class, the title of Sihing, and the Black Belt class on Tuesday have been the biggest changes so far. As time goes on, my “reputation” as a Black belt will grow, so people won’t hesitate as much to ask me a question instead of another Black Belt. More knowledge will also come with time and practice so that will help in that aspect as well. It was very weird bowing in to my first Black Belt class, but I very quickly realized it’s just a normal class. Overall, I’m glad and relieved that this time has finally come, and now a new chapter of my Kung Fu journey begins.