Where's the enemy?

133.5

CK's in town! Unfortunately, my schedule is not looking great for having a lot of time to get together and work with her. I am *not* skipping Cindy's Friday no-gi class this week, since I missed it last week and will have to miss it next week (work... such an inconvenience... Cindy's probably wondering why I officially enrolled in her school and then promptly vanished). JB should be able to store up many tai chi corrections and such to impart to me later, though. Am not looking forward to answering CK's probing questions about why I turned down the Wednesday advanced class. (She asked me about it by e-mail a few months ago, and I dodged the question.) I'm sure she thought she was doing me a favor by interceding on my behalf, and is likely to be irritated with me (or worse, disappointed in me). If I don't get much time with her this visit, the silver lining is that at least I'll be spared those uncomfortable conversations. Just thinking about the topic today is starting to stir up discontented emotional sludge (get back- back under the rug, you!). She is actually STAYING with DD, so also am not happy about the idea that I am likely the subject of some discussion between the two of them. Well, they won't have much to talk about, unless they haul in SK for interrogation, since he's the only one who knows anything about what's going on with my training. I'm surprised and disappointed to find that the knowledge that CK is surely scoring a lot of private instruction with DD during her stay still stings.



Later.................................

Thursday Kung fu. CK wasn't there. SK told me it was because she was having a private with DD. Humph. See how it is?

After warmup (my knees were doing okay at the beginning of class, enough so that I was able to do some good "tabletop" horse stance), we took turns picking forms. We would do the selected form 3 times, and then SK would pick out whatever most needed help and we'd go over that section. I picked Tiger Versus Crane. JM asked me, "Which way are you kicking on that first flying spinning kick?" I pointed. "Oh. because I'm kicking here." She pointed in the 180-degree opposite direction. I asked SK, "Where's the enemy?" Always a good thing to know. JM was right. I need to work on adjusting my rotation.

Nemesis picked Leopard Fist. After we went through it three times, I commented, "Wow, for a form we've been doing for years, that sure sucked," "Needs some work," was SK's response. The section he chose to work on was the funky Snake-stepping part that resembles the footwork in the Snake dao form... the part I told him on Tuesday that I was having trouble with. Then we worked on the throw that got changed a few months ago to make it "more advanced". Nemesis is still struggling with that throw. I can do that part, although I had had to put a lot of practice into it when we were first taught the new version.

JM picked the White Crane "Walking the Path" sequence from January's retreat. Good, I needed some refinement on that and had a couple of questions. I had to ask everyone to go through it slower, because there is a deep lunge-and-sweep section at the beginning which hurts my knees.... it was slowing me down, and then I had to hurry to catch up and was making more errors in my haste.

Then we worked apps from a section of the Tiger kick drill, with two opponents. SK made me go last, which meant the others had already used up the easy and obvious apps. But (because it was Tiger) I was able to pull something decent out.

SK quizzed us about where exactly on the opponent's knee we should be targeting on a certain one of the low kicks. I have almost entirely ceased answering questions in class, so I kept my mouth shut- even when he eyed me pointedly and added, "Someone who knows about anatomy and knee pain.....?" But after JM answered (bottom of the kneecap), SK looked at the rest of us and said, "You all agree?" No, I didn't, so then I had to answer. Why would I want to kick right on a shield-shaped bone? Sure, it'll hurt, but that's the most armored part of the (albeit fragile from all angles) knee. Yes, I am a biologist and I know my anatomy- but all I have to do for a question like that is think about where on my poor knee I would least like to be kicked. Where have I been kicked in the past where it hurts worst, and is most likely to collapse my leg? Well, the back of the knee is great for at least a momentary collapse- but from the angle we were working at the time, the back was not readily reachable. Why, the side of the knee, my dear Watson. This time *I* was right.

We also revisited a variation on this sequence involving bracing the hand on your own knee during the kick. We had never had any app for that explained to us. SK asked us to come up with some. We were collectively flummoxed... it doesn't make any practical sense. SK refused to give us the answers, to my exasperated annoyance. He said that if nobody can come up with anything by next week, he might tell us then.

Individual formwork. I worked on Silken Needle (still a little hesitant about the sequencing on the side-pushes section, but flow and energy seem nice), Iron Needle (all seems well here), and Touch Bridge. I have questions on Touch Bridge, and SK doesn't know the form. I was irritated that CN was absent tonight- again- and will also be absent this coming Saturday and Tuesday.


Racy Rideshare tonight- worse than usual! I am about to crack. One of THEM is driving home every single night next week, I swear. I feel bad demanding that they drive so much, but REALLY people.... given the situation, why on earth am *I* so reluctant to be inconsiderate??