After a couple rest days and trying to listen to my body, I’m back at it. March madness was definitely a distraction over the weekend.
I’m pondering many things today. As part of my writing requirements, I’m supposed to write about my martial arts philosophy and my teaching philosophy. I’ve been procrastinating on doing these assignments, as I’m not sure I ever really thought about what those two things really mean to me. When you’re a student, you start for a specific reason. It might be for fitness, it might be to be able to defend yourself, who knows. We had a testing at the school this last weekend, and everyone was well prepared and looked great. As part of this journey, I’m reminded that I will eternally be a student of something, as the pine tree grows year-round. Another part is that of an instructor, which is another layer of depth and challenge to pass on the knowledge to others in many parts of life. The last part of the journey is that of a master, to accept the lifelong calling to continue to develop future students, instructors and eventually masters. Whether this means ‘higher calling’ or not, I don’t know. I do however, feel the yoke of responsibility, coupled with gratitude and honor. It is a surreal feeling….Difficult, yet achievable.
Sometimes I question things. Why do things happen? What caused this? How did I get here? Sometimes I think that everything seems to happen for a reason, in the time it is meant to happen. I don’t know why, and maybe it really doesn’t matter. What I do know is when it seems like things are a battle, I find that if I stop pushing where I think I need to go, often times an alternate path is there all along and I’ve been unable to see it. Sometimes the right path is over, under, around or through, but regardless, it is the path I need to be on to learn what I need to learn.
Today I’m thinking about my current form. There are 30 moves I need to come up with that will complete the required pattern. I’ve written and re-written this 4 times already, and I have been told that most people change it about a dozen or more times before it feels right. I have a vast new appreciation to the depth of thought, significance and symbolism that went into our existing curriculum.
Yesterday and Today’s Workout (combined, since I taught last night)
Theme of the day – focus
Training qualities – proper technique
2 mile run/walk
50 pushups
Inwah 1-2 three times
20 squats on Bosu ball with 45 lb weight in each hand
15 pushups Bosu ball
25 front kicks each leg
15 pushups Bosu ball
50 round kicks each leg
15 pushups Bosu ball
25 slow (2 sec.) side kicks each leg – with 10 lb. ankle weight
After a couple rest days, I’m back at it today. This dumb cold is hanging on for dear life, but it isn’t slowing me down much anymore.
Today, I am pondering an upwelling of determination inside me. I had an old playlist with some throwbacks, so todays beats were an homage to the 80’s. I think sometimes we get inspired by others to act and that is simply the start. We begin with high confidence and enthusiasm, and then over time, we may hit setbacks that make us question the amount of effort it will take to achieve our goal, we often question the goal itself and wonder if that is truly what we want. We get to a crossroads. We make a choice to either quit, modify our goal, or reinvest in the determination to stay the course. Today I chose to push a little harder.
h3. Today’s Workout
Theme of the day – Effort
Training qualities – footwork/stances
2 mile run/walk (20:33)
50 pushups
Inwah 1-2 three times
50 pushups
25 front kicks each leg
50 round kicks each leg
25 slow (2 sec.) side kicks each leg – with 10 lb. ankle weight
Finally….I am feeling well enough to workout fully again. It’s been a week since I’ve been able to run and it felt good.
This is the most unique journey I’ve ever been on. I know the path in front of me, yet I don’t know what to expect. I know the things I need to do, yet not how I will be impacted. I am overwhelmed and focused at the same time. I have clarity and confusion. This road is meant to be travelled with others in the group, but yet is an individual journey. I need some time and space to think and reflect, as I feel lost, and at the same time I know where I’m going. Things don’t make sense to me today on a number of fronts. There is a pattern in the chaos…and I need to find it.
Today’s Workout
Theme of the day – Focus
Training qualities – body alignment
2 mile run/walk
40 pushups
Inwah 1-2 three times
50 round kicks each leg
30 pushups
25 front kicks each leg
30 pushups
25 slow (2 sec.) side kicks each leg – with 5 lb. ankle weight
