I saw this quote and it made me sad. Sad that there has to be darkness for the stars to shine.
There is no light without darkness.
There is no mastery without mediocrity.
There is no success without failure.
There is no growth without decline.
There is no life without death.
There is no happiness without sadness.
I was tagged as the most organized person ever. And it was not the first time. But in the last few years I've been trying to be less organized. Well not exactly but I learned to be open to change and expect the unexpected. This allows me to be better prepared for the unknown and adapt faster to new situations. I have to say that adjusting to the ever changing COVID scenarios were not that hard for me but I do admit that I plan less and more often say - we will see what will happen.
We keep saying that mastery is a journey not a destination. So why is being promoted to black belt is so important? Why is promotion day is so special?
In my opinion it is a combination of 2 things. One, it is a measurement and recognition of the process that has been taken thus far. It is an acknowledgement that you have progressed and improved.
Second, it is a test. Will you reach this peak and then let go? Or will you continue with your journey to better yourself. Will you continue the path to mastery.
The year of the rat was just like any other year. Some good things and some not so good things happened this year. But there was definitely growth.
COVID19 made this year different. There were few major changes in terms of my Kung Fu.
I stopped teaching the morning class. More accurately the morning class seized to exist. I miss these classes
I had the opportunity to work closely with sifu Brinker, sifu Rybak, sifu Vantuil and sifu Csillag K on the livestream videos and online classes. This was such valuable time.
I started teaching one on one classes online. The was and still is an interesting experience. Very challenging.
I was able to watch and evaluate the black belt candidates as they are grading for black belt. Humbling experience that has lots of importance to me.
I helped organizing the Tiger Challenge online version. That was fun.
I hope the year of the Ox will have as much growth as this past year had.
Happy new year!
As we progress with our training we learn more and more about the 6 physical harmonies. Shoulders-Hips, Elbows-Knees, Hands-Feet. Working on connecting upper body with lower body, left side with right side. Along the years, I was able to get better with hips and shoulders connectivity. With hands and feet (mostly hand rotation and foot placement) and I was also able to include my elbows in conjunction with the other parts in certain techniques.
I never focused on the knee. This one is harder to figure out. But while experimenting last night, I found that I probably was without thinking about it too much. Now focusing on it will get higher level of understanding and better harmony between the knees and the rest of the harmonies.
