Sacrifices

Just had to ask the question, "If we're supposed to be on a health kick / intending to lose weight, how many times can we have 'one last takeaway'?"

Mother in law rang up offering a communal takeout. Missus agreed then I countermanded with pesky facts.

Now I am in the doghouse

Pah!

1,000 Days of Bagua: Day One

Managed to practice my baguazhang during my lunchbreak at work today. Or, rather, at the park near my work. It was pretty windy and cold, despite the bright sunshine. So I had to keep my overcoat on for the full five minutes of basic hand movements and single palm change.

Doesn't really match the iconic image of the internal martial artist that I have gained from watching way too many martial arts, herioc swordplay and chop sockey movies. Call it is misspent youth, if you will, I consider it a valuable education.

The movies, though, really hammer home the idea of an internal practitioner, honing their art for hours on end. Usually at sunrise and probably while sporting an impressive pair of pajamas (possibly shiny).

I, on the other hand, was wearing a pair of camouflaged combat trousers, a t-shirt, fleece and overcoat and a pair of Everlast trainers. Not exactly iconic, is it?

Still, it was good, focused practice and I must have been doing something right, as my be-trainered feet were slowly drilling down into the muddy, sodden grass.

After that, I went on with my usual, lunchtime walk. It felt really good to take a break and do something I actually enjoy in that time of day normally reserved for the drudgery of work.

First day of 1,000 Days of Bagua has been a success. Roll on tomorrow's practice.

1,000 Days of Bagua: The Preamble

Okay, so elsewhere on the information superhighway, you may have come across the concept of "100 Days of Bagua". Not sure who came up with the concept, but essentially, it requires you, the bagua player, to commit to training Baguazhang at least once a day, every day for a continuous, 100 day period. Usually starts with the new year in a resolution type way.

Really good idea, and a task I have undertaken a couple of times. Both times failing a few weeks down the line. So, perhaps hoping to redeem myself, or maybe by way of punishment, I have corrupted the idea into 1,000 Days of Bagua.

Essentially, on April 6th (in a few days - this Wednesday, to be precise), there will be 270 days left of the year. 270 + 365 + 365 = 1000 (days).

So, if I begin on Wednesday, April 6th 2016 and train Baguazhang each and every day until 1st January 2019, then I will have completed 1,000 continuous days of Baguazhang training.

Why am I deciding to do this? Well, weirdly, for me it sounds like the kind of thing I would find easier to keep going. And, anything that encourages me to train more can only be a good thing, right?

So, to add a little detail, to avoid making my training a chore, anything more than 10 mins counts. However, it has to be focused, good quality training. And, after a few weeks, I will work out my average training time per week and make adjustments to improve upon that on a monthly basis - where possible.

As often as possible, I will try to log or at least recount in retrospect what training I have managed that day/week.

Watch this space.

Quotes of inspiration & enlightenment

A young boy traveled across Japan to the school of a famous Martial artist. When he arrived at the Dojo he was given an audience by the Master.

"What do you wish from me?" the Master asked.

"I wish to be your student and become the finest Karate-ka in the land," the boy replied "How long must I study?"

"Ten years at least" answered the Master

"Ten years is a long time," said the boy. "What if I studied twice as hard as all your other students?"

"Twenty years" replied the Master

"Twenty years!" "What if I practice day and night with all my effort?" the boy said

"Thirty years," was the Masters reply

"How is it that each time I say I will work harder, you tell me that it will take longer?" the boy asked.

"The answer is clear. When one eye is fixed upon your destination, there is only one eye left with which to find the way." ~ Text from: Zen and the Martial Arts (1979 edition) by Joe Hyams


"The ideals of the Martial arts and Martial virtues teach us how to balance our mental and physical skills and to find an awareness of our center. While the Martial arts revolve around the art of personal combat, it also demands that its adherents live in accordance with a certain warrior code of conduct and honor..

The Martial arts involve both physical training and mental conditioning. The devotee must train himself both physically and mentally; therefore mental discipline is both a pre-condition of learning the art and also the result of undergoing such training.

The Martial artist who has trained properly overtime is a confident, tranquil person." ~ The Martial way and it's Virtues: Tao De Gung (2003 edition) By F.J. Chu


"In the West, the 'Martial arts' are a fashion, they have become an urban sport, a technique, and have none of the spirit of the way..

True Martial arts take their spirit from Budo rather then from sport. I have nothing against sports, they train the body and develop stamina and endurance. But the spirit of competition and power that presides over them is not good, it reflects a distorted vision of life. The root of the Martial arts is not there...

In the spirit of Zen and Budo everyday life becomes the contest. There must be awareness at every moment - getting up in the morning, working, eating, going to bed. That is the place for the Mastery of self.

~ The Zen way to the Martial Arts (1982 edition ) By Taisen Deshimaru (Roshi / Zen Master)


"The arts of peace and the arts of war are like the two wheels of a cart which, lacking one, will have difficulty standing."

~ Ideals of the Samurai: Writings of Japanese Warriors (1982 edition - trans. Wilson) (Text from: Notes on regulations - written in the year 1620) by Samurai (Daimyo) - Kuroda Nagamasa (1568-1623)


"One who is good at being a warrior does not make a show of his might; One who is good in battle does not get angry; One who is good at defeating the enemy does not engage him"

~ Text from: Tao Te Ching ~ (written in the 6th century BC) ~ Lao Tzu ~

Dedication to Tyr

I have made what you might call a resolution to up my training significantly.

I also hope to train wiser and target those areas in which I am currently lacking.

When I think about it, it is such a small thing to include more bagua practice into my day.  The reality of my life, though, is that there is always something else that could also be occupying any time I do give to training.

I guess I just have to accept that I need to prioritise my bagua to ensure I get more training done.  Sacrifices might even have to be made.

Long live meatspace!

Most mornings, when I am enduring the tram ride to work, I notice that the vast majority of my fellow commuters* are somehow 'tuned out' of what is going on around them.  Either they are tickling their smartphones, their ears are plugged into some music device or they are lost in an e-reader.

Somehow, as a people, we seem to have lost the desire or ability to connect to the environment immediately around us.  Preferring instead to talk to someone miles away who isn't even a good enough friend to be with them in person.  Personally, I would prefer to witness and react appropriately to what is going on around me.  The driver's announcement being a convenient case in point this morning.  The line was down for a while.  Not that most of my fellow passengers would realise, as it was back up again fairly soon.

This doesn't just happen in the mornings, either.  At any time of day, the number of people around me either literally or figuratively 'plugged in' to some electronic device, draining their attention, is considerable.

I read something on a lifting site that said, "If you've got time to Facebook, then you've got time to train...".  This paraphrasing my earlier sentiments that I would now rather train than watch something I don't particularly like on tv.

What do each of us actually get from spending more time online?  The illusion of a social life?  How social are you if you hardly ever actually see your friends?  If I train, it might not be very rock and roll, repeating the same action again and again ad nauseam.  But I do get something at the end of it all - eventually.

That's why I'm shifting more and more of my endeavours into 'meatspace' (and why I'm posting on here less and less - sorry!)

Daily devotions or going through the motions?

I am currently managing, despite a family to look after and a lazy streak a mile wide, to train at home every night. Okay, so I'm not exactly running through all eight big palm changes or completing all the houtien lines in sequence, but I am managing to do a little.

I am concerned that my less than impressive physique is letting me down in class, so I've mostly been working on strengthening.  Once I am happy with that, though, I assume the nightly training will have become a habit and then I will simply substitute the strength training for something with a little more emphasis on technique.

Considering I know how adept I am at avoiding committing to anything, disliking exertion as I do, I am quite proud of myself.

Better second time around

Back when I was in my twenties (not so very long ago) I used to train in a different martial art.  I studied Lau Gar Kung Fu for around five years or so.  I really enjoyed it and attained my yellow sash (around 6th kup, if I recall correctly).  I still have the certificate.

One thing I found, back then, though, was that I didn't really have the required attitude to be a good fighter.  I was too soft.  Too much of a hippie, maybe.  Or a fragile soul...

Now, some years later I must have grown (or devolved, depending on your viewpoint) as I now feel that I really can enjoy sparring a little more than before.  As such, while I am still not, perhaps, in the prime condition I was back in the 90s, I do feel I have a much better attitude this time around.

I think a lot of people focus purely on the physical side of martial arts and give barely a second thought to the mental side - or, at least, to what attitude they have when they train, or when they spar (if, indeed, they do).

I am going to focus more on trying to develop the kind of attitude and discipline that I hope will help me succeed and get more from my martial arts than the all-too limited time my work and fatherhood allow me to spend on training.  I don't want to sacrifice my family for my training.  Time with them is sacrosanct.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes!

Proud of myself tonight.  I discovered that I have managed to forcibly change my attitude.

Whereas normally, I would put off my bagua practice til later - sometimes even bargaining with an offer of twice as much practice tomorrow in exchange for less practice today - tonight I felt the compulsion to do some bagua, was about to put it off til later, then got up and did 40 of each jiben shou fa exercise.

I'm on the right track, at least...