When human beings lose their connection to nature, to heaven and earth, then they do not know how to nurture their environment or how to rule their world- which is saying the same thing. Human beings destroy their ecology at the same time that they destroy one another. From that perspective, healing our society goes hand in hand with healing our personal, elemental connection with the phenomenal world. –Chogyam Trungpa, Shambala: the Sacred Path Of the Warrior”
Today's Form Of the Day is the White Crane Walking the Path fragment.
Did a three-and-a-half-hour stroll on the Bridle Trails trails... not exactly difficult exercise, but exercise nonetheless. I was down to 125.5 this morning. I'm not actively trying to lose more weight right now, but I've just been too busy to cook or eat, so I have grabbed a Slimfast in place of a meal a number of times this week. I wouldn't mind coasting right down to 124, if this trend keeps up- but I probably don't want to let myself get any lighter than that.
Thursday kung fu. We did some Three Step Arrow. I need to work on making my stance more square-shaped and not so long/linear. I also need to fully extend strikes. During the press-blocks sequence, the hands roll with palms toward you between each transition.
Spear Hand. Don't be quite so circular with the initial arm movements. For the deep lunge, arms straighten and THEN let the lunge drop to the floor. No bending at the waist.
In response to my recent complaints that Bung Bo Kuen and Spear Hand have such differing flows that I now feel like I don't grok Northern Mantis, SK gave us a short sequence that really helped bring together the reboundy bounce of Bung Bo Kuen and the hip-turning torque focus of Spear Hand. I think this is cribbed from a later part of the Spear Hand form.
Stand straight facing east, feet together, hands chambered.
Turn north and step left foot out into a north-facing horse. With violent hip switch, bring rt elbow fwd into left hand at shoulder level.
Look east, right hand rotates overtop in a hammer fist at chest level, continues rotation downward and toward chest, then shoots outward from chest to punch east, while left hand slaps inside of rt wrist. Feet switch with violent hip shift to front stance facing east, left foot forward (toe turned in).
Curl left hand under rt wrist in hooking motion, bring both arms down to hips with a pull-apart motion.
Then immediately circle back up (close to body, don't throw them out wide) and right punch straight fwd, left palm slaps inside of right albow as you twist hips hard into seven stars stance (rt foot fwd)
Hop forward into horse stance facing south, Hooking with right hand, then pull both arms violently across body at shoulder level, ending with left bent in front of chest and right straight at right side, horizontal.
Geez, I'm glad I transcribed that tonight... I'm tired and almost blew it off, but I had a hard time piecing it back together... by morning it woulda been gone!
We ended with some reps of Kiu Two (at my request). I was embarrassed at how rusty this has gotten, but it did come back with a little work. I did several reps with Nemesis. We had to try a number of times before the strike sequences solidified, but we did get it.
SK keeps bugging me about the Tiger drill homework. I had said that I really needed someone to stand there and just throw strikes at me so I could improvise- and I do need that- but he keeps offering me the services of fellow students to do that, and I guess what I really want is some non-kung-fu person who doesn't understand what I'm doing and won't be critical- will just stand there meekly and be clawed. I begged off this time, pleading that my brain was in knots from being Mantissed half to death- but I won't be able to dodge this much longer. Maybe I can use the heavy bag to try to get some idea of what I want to do.
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