Recovery

I am in a constant struggle with myself. Patience and progressing wisely and pushing myself and training hard. I am starting to realize that I can still do both but I will admit to a bit of an ego that is holding back my recovery. I enjoy being a woman who can play hard. I like sparring, take downs and grappling. There is a part of me that is proud of the bumps and bruises I've gotten along the way. I didn't mind being the only woman in the San Shou class, even though it meant I got my butt handed to me most days. I always felt like if there was something that a lot of people were worried about doing I should jump in head first; I think in a way I am always trying to prove myself. I don't know if it's because I thought if I didn't I would be perceived as weaker or softer, and for some reason, to me, that was a fate worse than death.

So now I'm paying the price for my stupidity. I have continued to train in a way that has further aggravated my injuries. I'm between a rock and a hard place. It's take it easy or nothing. The first thing to change has to be my attitude. I have to stop seeing things I can't do as a weakness, I have plenty of great examples at the kwoon of people who train hard around injuries or limitations. I need to be creative- learning new ways to get the most out of my training while listening to my body. I will focus on the aspects of my training that I can push myself and make those the best they can be.

I have finally started a supplement regime for my joints and I am crossing my fingers that I will see results. Being forced to slow down has changed my perception of myself and those who train around me also coping with injuries or limitations. I will stop seeing these things as weaknesses, rather as an opportunity to focus and gain strength in other areas. Here's to recovery!

hand shoes

I had a great workout today. I haven't run in over a year, trying to give my feet a rest. I got myself some funky shoes, vibram five finger toe shoes, and I ran in them today. I am very happy with how the run went, my feet didn't hurt and I can see a noticeable difference in my cardio. Running has always been a struggle for me, so it's a good day. Worked on forms with a partner and got a ton of great feedback and things to work on.

I injured my elbow last Friday so, yet again, my arms are resting. Still feels like there are nothing but setbacks with gaining upper body strength. Push ups and pull ups are part of the black belt grading, so I will have to get creative because right now I am at zero for both.

The ice has melted off the lake and although I will need to wear a full wetsuit with water shoes and a neoprene hat, there is a possibility of going windsurfing tomorrow for the first time this season. It's a good day.

busy

Lots of kung fu this week, I have really increased the amount of training I'm doing everyday now that I'm out of school. My body is certainly feeling it! I attended the forms seminar on Saturday and finally learned the rest of lao gar, it's been a long time coming. It was a really positive experience and I was really impressed with the caliber of everyones forms when it came time to perform. I look forward to getting the nuances of the form now that I know all the moves. I am trying out a pre workout supplement recommended by a fellow student and I will continue to read the book about inflammation that I bought and never got to finish. Hopefully I can find some solutions to help me with my shoulders and wrists and regain some ground with all things upper body. I got myself some shoes and I will attempt to run again, hopefully the new shoes will help support my feet as the foot issues I've had have not resolved themselves with rest. All in all it's been a great start to the month.

woot!

It's time to take a big breath in and out. Finished exams today, it's a relief but so far I'm having trouble not feeling like I should be remembering something. I am looking forward to having the freedom to attend daytime classes at the kwoon again, and when school is out for the kids, night classes as well. My goal right now is to make a new plan for my daily training, which I will be able to spend much more time on. Have a good week everyone.

the sun is here!

I'm late blogging this week, just a lot going on and not much to say about it. Final exams are next week so it's nose to the grindstone all weekend with a short break to see the in laws on Saturday. I feel like a pale, squashy bug you find under a rock right now from all the time spent inside. I can't wait to go out and enjoy the sunshine that is finally here. I'll miss training with my team mates this weekend, but I'll be back full force with all of my attention focused on kung fu next week. Have a good long weekend everyone.

Supersaturated

I've been trying to memorize the speech Mastery by Stewart Emery this month as one of my Sihing requirements for black belt. At this point I only have the first 3 lines memorized, which is not where I'd like to be with this, I'm finding I lose information when I put more in. In chemistry when a solution can't dissolve anymore solute then it's saturated, you can heat a solution to make it dissolve more solute, then it's supersaturated. This is the state of my brain right now, supersaturated! Although this is a challenge, I am finding it motivational, it's a really great speech and it's made me remember that the effort I put in right now will have equal results. You can't expect excellence from mediocrity.

Best Laid Plans

Here's a valuable lesson I've learned over the past two weeks: do it now (whatever it is that needs to be done) because you have no idea what's going to get in your way even 5 minutes from now. Of course, I've learned this lesson the hard way, in case you were wondering. While it is a good idea to plan to do certain things regularly putting them off until that mythical "later" is a bad idea... "later" never comes...it's like the end of the rainbow. All that free time I keep wishing for is a pipe dream.

Finals are a few weeks away and the date to grading looms closer and closer. Right now I just have to keep telling myself that all it takes now is discipline. I've worked hard to get where I am, I just have to keep it up at this point.

Have a good week everyone, keep it up!