Last week, I missed class because my body felt terrible and there was just no way to get out of bed and drag myself over to class. Then, the weather was very bad, and I had to miss yet another class. I was rapidly going through class withdrawal...
As each week goes by, I recognize that mindlessly going over the form over and over will have little beneficial effect. Shifu is always talking about intention and being serious.
He also insists that we try to do the form in a "natural" way, meaning that we don't force ourselves to drop into too deep a stance, or make stances too wide, unless we can sustain those positions with somewhat relative ease.
What I did this past week was to work on a few motions that were giving me difficulty in class. Examples are standing on one leg, in different motions, and trying to do some strength building at home working on lower stances, trying to hold them lower and longer and gain comfort in these positions with my knees/hips/quads, etc..
At work I sit at a desk, and during a few breaks, would work on my hand/arm spiraling motions, trying to understand the function, trying to make them smoother and easier.
Clearly, improvement in the art will be improved by going to class. But there is much work to be done when not in class that will be supportive and aid in one's development of skill, strength and application.
J
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