Knees 2.0

I have a brand-new set of knees. Well, not really. But that's the mnemonic I'm using.

I just recently got my motorcycle out of the shop. Fortunately, they had a "parts bike" in their lot that matches mine, and I think I got back a machine that has more of the "parts bike" on it than my original. The section with the ignition switch in it is from the "parts bike", so I was surprised to find that my motorcycle key doesn't even fit it any more. I have to use the ignition key from the "parts bike".

How is this relevant, you may ask? Well, now that I have a new set of knees, my old posture is just not going to work for them any more than I could force that old key to start the new motorcycle. The new body will only run with the new alignment. (Or so I'm trying to convince myself.)

I can feel muscles on the backs of my thighs right above the knees engaging- and complaining that they are not used to working this hard. Lower back is saying, "Hmmmm…. I'm not really sure if this hurts or not…. but I'm tired and grumpy." It's pretty exhausting; I'm tired of doing it, tired of thinking about it. I feel like I'm walking around with a broomstick up my butt all the time. I hope it gets easier soon.


The sprained finger looks like a burned sausage. I thought I'd be able to do one-handed BJJ, but any bumping or the slightest pressure on the finger makes me dizzy with pain. It's going to need a few days, at least. Benched. Sigh. Should be able to still do some kung fu formwork, although I am not looking forward to the centrifigal Crane arm-swings that we will likely be doing tonight.

I will say that it's not as crippling as having a thumb sprain; although many of the same difficulties persist- with typing, dressing oneself, opening a can of cat food, etc. I can hold a pen only with great difficulty, so work tomorrow is going to be interesting.

I'm going to consider hosting Turtle Drum last night to be a workout. I was really relieved to see Bill show up, because using a djembe or my big frame drum was out of the question. Luckily, I was still able to play my bell drum, my Remo Sound Shapes, water drum, and rattle. Without a giant djembe strapped around my waist, though, I ended up dancing and chanting more than I am usually inclined to do.

It was a decent turnout, but pretty chaotic at times. There were a few rhythmically-challenged folks present, including one dude who was not only pounding at complete random but doing it LOUDLY, with a large frame drum *and* a medium-sized ashiko. Sigh. Whattaya gonna do. Fortunately, he was sandwiched between Bill and me- but he even pulled the two of us into a train wreck a few times. It was a challenge to find and start rhythms that would hopefully be simple enough for this guy and the other beginners to follow, not QUITE inspiring enough to encourage Arrythmia Guy to spin off in a solo, have enough building potential for the more experienced drummers to not get bored (you can only play "Fanga" for so long), and be sustainable in the face of someone thumping randomly into your right ear. I stayed beside Arrythmia Guy much of the time, keeping it simple, and making sure he could not only hear me, but SEE my drumstick, and maybe use that to help him try to stay on beat.

My dance was very MA-ish last night; pieces of Box form were popping up, and inside cross blocks, and a few circular kicks- but it didn't seen Dragony, which was a little unusual. More tai chi flavor than anything. 180-degree hopping turns. The balance was exquisite. Some really low shifting stances, too.

Leading a drum circle- especially one with a Shamanic focus- is like chasing a bunch of colorful paper streamers across a parking lot through a windstorm, trying to catch them all and gather them into one cohesive horsetail. Only it's not so much catching and tying them as trying to create a streamer of your own that is shiny enough and "sticky" enough that all the other streamers are drawn to bunch together with it of their own accord. In the meantime, you have to be constantly monitoring the currents and making adjustments, as this is a fickle wind. The more beginners (beginners at drumming, as well as beginners at energy work), the harder it is to pull it all together. It is a lot of intense energy work, which is mostly why I'm considering it a martial arts workout- although the drumming and dancing is a physical workout as well.

It turned out pretty well, though. Arrythmia Guy seemed to get a little better melded by the second hour. The guy with the camouflage Remo has become a much more proficient drummer over the last few months, and is almost at a point where he can act as an anchoring force. The Digeridoo Guy was there, and he started some nice songs. Thekla was there to chant. There was also a new woman- Susie- I've never seen her before, but as soon as she walked in, it was like she was glowing. I forgot what I was doing and was propelled across the room right to her. She started off tentative, but she obviously knew her way around dancing energy work. Three or four other people got up to dance, too... it's always so much easier to keep the momentum flowing when people are dancing. Trying to keep a drum circle going with no dancers can sometimes feel like "trying to run away from lava while wearing swim fins" (and if you haven't seen the gut-busting illustration that goes with that phrase, hie ye to the Hyperbole and a Half website and check it out!)... and I can't dance myself unless there are enough strong drummers that I am not needed in that role.

If the rest of this year's drum circles go that well, we'll be sitting pretty.


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

Sunday Kung Fu. I have missed the last two classes in a row, so it was a relief to get back.

Black Crane One. Make the first section of movements all one continuous swirl with no breaks. Don't get lazy with hand position on the Crane-serves-drinks pose. Also- both the hands and the foot are strikes in that motion, so don't do it like a dance step.

Tiger Versus Crane. Unfortunately, last week when I wasn't here, they were working on the centrifugal arm-swinging thingie that leads into the first big flying crescent kick, which is my particular trouble spot in this form. For some reason the momentum is stopping and the energy is grounding out right before the jump- it feels like my arm motions are trying to drive me downward while my legs are trying to drive me upward. We worked on that some more tonight, and it's still not coming together for me. The kick itself is feeling even more powerful, though. It almost makes a snapping sound in the air. If I can get all the pieces assembled, it should be awesome.

Note that the target of the kick- as well as all three of the hand strikes- are toward the east (same opponent). The first rt arm swing is straight up, and that arm continues the circle all the way around without stopping or changing direction.. No elbow-bending at any point. Acknowledge all of the hand strikes.

Note also that the very last kick in the form is toward the south. For both of these kicks, if you fail to turn enough and/or begin the kick too soon, you won't be able to get all the way around to the intended target.

Fully extend the Crane's beak strike at the beginning. The first high cross block to the north- make it snappy and blocking forefully upward BEFORE you turn, not just as an afterthought at the apex of the turn.

Then some Black Crane drills- apps from the last two, which are the long ones, against multiple opponents. We took turns having one person in the middle while the others attacked. They were all laughing at me, and I couldn't figure out why. Apparently there is something humorous about the fact that I hit the same target precisely every single time (in this case, groin, throat, just-below-the-knee, in succession). Well, that's the TARGET, right? That's the idea.

Note that in the drill with the kick-and-backfist… it's okay to put the foot down after you knock the opponent to the ground, if you need to do so in oder to change position for the kick. It is not necessary to hop on one foot over to the fallen person so that you can reach hir to kick hir again.

In the drill with the throw- after the cover-and-corkscrew punch, as you turn to the east to get ready to kick, use a Black Crane guard arm frame. Not only does it provide extra protection in case you fail to jam the opponent's leg with your kick, but it also sets up the arms correctly for the double corkscrew punches so that you don't have the wrong arm on top.

As we were sitting down for the meditation, SK said, "We've all had our sessions with CK last week, so let's all pay attention to our PELVIC ALIGNMENT…" I moaned.

(pic- Cindy)