Week 11

I've been getting lot more kung fu in the last few days with the better weather, getting lots of kms too. I am finding that doing double articulation is super hard on the shoulders. I am also finding it hard because I have always had my hand position wrong for double articulation and it wasn't until I was a black belt that I found out. Old habits are hard to break, as you all know, and I find myself easily slipping into bad habits.

I have started a kind of physio routine for my shoulders, they are pretty sore right now but I feel that there are some good changes happening. I am doing an exercise to push my shoulder joint into the back of the capsule using weight, it feels awesome. Anyone who slouches their shoulders forward should try it. See you all this week!

Week 10- whoops

Totally forgot to blog. Totally. Not that I had much to say anyway. I am pretty much just plugging along over here. Had a good Easter weekend with family, ate a lot of food! I am actually enjoying the rain since it's not snow.
At lunch today I was reading a veterinary magazine and there was an article about a vet who had her nose broken by a dog who lunged at her in the exam room. The point of the story was about how not to get hurt by an agressive patient, anyway, one of the points was to learn how to dodge a punch. Really. This vet recommends having some kickboxing or martial arts training to develop your reflexes. In the weird way the world works, after reading this article, a pitbull went after me today in a closed space, I avoided getting hurt and although I can't say what combination of circumstances was responsible for keeping me safe, I will take the odds that knowing how to dodge a punch helped me out.
See you all on the mats

Week 9

Today is one of those days that I am staring at the screen not sure what to write about. It is my only day off this week, it's been so busy at work, and while overtime is nice I am really looking forward to the long weekend next week. This is the most I've ever been away from the kwoon and it is hard. I am trying to go to the kwoon on Sundays to practice, although there is a growing patch of grass in the backyard that I will be able to practice on soon, hurray spring! 

I have been trouble with my shoulders again. I am so used to dealing with it I hardly think of it anymore, but the most frustrating thing for me is not being able to stay in bed. Like I said earlier, it's my day off and my big plan was to sleep in until at least 9. I was up at 7 because I just can't stay lying down and be comfortable. I can't sleep on my sides or my stomach so I lay in bed like I'm in a coffin. The swelling from not moving gets so uncomfortable I have to get up. It has made me think about how I tend to put up with things that I shouldn't, like constant pain. Adrien got me a really good book called "Becoming a Supple Leopard", different title but its an amazing book. There is a ton of info about your muscles and your body in general as well as how to fix problems- like your pesky shoulders. I'm going to try to be diligent with it this week and I can post more about it next week. 

One a totally different note I just want to put it out there how grateful I am for the life I have and all the good things in it. There are people connected to me that are having tough times and it just reminds me of how many things there are to be thankful for, kung fu definitely being one of them. See you all next week.