Dodge it. Or Else. {Wushu}
22 October 2013
I'm tired today. I was tired yesterday too. I'm fighting a cold that hasn't fully manifested itself yet. I hoped my wushu lesson today wouldn't be too bad. Sometimes it's hard to tell if exercising will give you more energy or just drag you down a bit more. In this case, I mostly remained status quo. Still tired but I wasn't lacking in energy really so it was okay that I didn't have more energy by the end of the lesson.
Today's lesson began with kicks. I'm liking my front stretch kicks lately. They're looking better. I can kick higher than my shoulders now and am getting better at focusing on kicking my imaginary opponent so each kick is happening with more quickness. I like feeling there is improvement beyond learning something new. It's always exciting to learn new things, putting the basics into different combinations. It is harder sometimes to see the improvement within one wushu movement. If I were working on pull ups (oh wait, I am), I can see the improvement by being able to do one pull up. And then two. And so on. With something like kicks or punches, well, improvement isn't measured by the number of reps. You have to focus on form, hitting your target, having as much force where you want it and when you want it, increasing strength for solidarity, more flexibility for height or squatting. You can learn push up form easily and then just have to build strength. Wushu is so much more than just strength. It doesn't feel like strength training at all. It isn't a strength workout although I'll build strength from it. I don't know what to categorize it besides "martial arts". It can be a bit like cardio and a bit like strength. It's building athleticism. It feels cool. I've never been an athlete before.
I learned a new front kick called Front Slap Kicks. It involves slapping. Twice. (TWICE.) For how apprehensive I felt, I didn't do too badly. That's a good sign for me. I'm not tightening up as much. I'm not overanalyzing (um all the time anyway). I've got to work on feeling my whole body at once because when I focused on my arms, my stretch kick (with a pointed toe which tripped me up since regular front stretch kicks are flexed) suffered and vice versa.
Aman started me on wheeling arms. You use these a lot in future movements, I guess. Yep, wheeling arms. I'm going to guess that it will get easier after a bit of a break for my brain to compartmentalize it, stop thinking, and then just do it.
And just so I don't forget again, stance work: Horse, Drop, Bow, Empty, Rest. A new set of arms this week though. As far as moving from one stance to the next, anything into drop stance is hard. Going from a squat (horse stance) into something lower (or even the same height as horse) but moving one foot away from my body is hard. It's like the trouble I'm having with back sweeps. Gotta increase core strength, decrease thigh tightness, and increase outer thigh strength. Minor things, you know. HA.
Near the end, we worked on five stance again. This is when I felt tired the most since we've been doing so much. It was harder to have a strong singular focus. I was glad for corrections though. When it comes to working out, I assume I'm doing it wrong until I'm told it's right whether by doing enough reading or talking with a trainer or something like that. I know what the end result should look like but I don't necessarily know how to get myself there or what I should focus on first until it is muscle memorized.
24 October 2013
Kaelyn is adorable attempting the wheeling arms! I only had half an hour to practice today between homeschooling, sewing Kaelyn's Halloween costume, and heading off for some Halloween fun with her cousins. Apparently stretch kicks by themselves don't look very wushu-like. But the front slap kicks and any stance + arms grants me "Come on, Suki! Like a boss!" or "you're doing it, Mommy!" or "show me that".
27 October 2013
Well, phooey. I just didn't get much exercising done this last week and that includes practicing wushu. My mental capacity is stretched thin right now! Wushu is a day early this week too. But then I'll have two full weeks until the next lesson so I'll have plenty of time to make up for it. It was probably better that I didn't work out as much. I've been more tired than usual and still have a bit of a cold. My body probably needed a break.
I just have to remember what happened yesterday though. As Jared was cooking up some pork and leek dumplings, I had Kimmi dodge my punching. In my kitchen. Sometimes even I don't know how we decide to do what we randomly do. I punch, she dodges. It was too hilarious to not immortalize on film.
Kimmi would like me to claim she was tired. But.... :-)
At least I wasn't this bad when I first started.
Soon Kimmi will be gone and out of my house and I'll be punching and dodging air. And uh actually focusing during most of my wushu practices....
I'm tired today. I was tired yesterday too. I'm fighting a cold that hasn't fully manifested itself yet. I hoped my wushu lesson today wouldn't be too bad. Sometimes it's hard to tell if exercising will give you more energy or just drag you down a bit more. In this case, I mostly remained status quo. Still tired but I wasn't lacking in energy really so it was okay that I didn't have more energy by the end of the lesson.
Today's lesson began with kicks. I'm liking my front stretch kicks lately. They're looking better. I can kick higher than my shoulders now and am getting better at focusing on kicking my imaginary opponent so each kick is happening with more quickness. I like feeling there is improvement beyond learning something new. It's always exciting to learn new things, putting the basics into different combinations. It is harder sometimes to see the improvement within one wushu movement. If I were working on pull ups (oh wait, I am), I can see the improvement by being able to do one pull up. And then two. And so on. With something like kicks or punches, well, improvement isn't measured by the number of reps. You have to focus on form, hitting your target, having as much force where you want it and when you want it, increasing strength for solidarity, more flexibility for height or squatting. You can learn push up form easily and then just have to build strength. Wushu is so much more than just strength. It doesn't feel like strength training at all. It isn't a strength workout although I'll build strength from it. I don't know what to categorize it besides "martial arts". It can be a bit like cardio and a bit like strength. It's building athleticism. It feels cool. I've never been an athlete before.
I learned a new front kick called Front Slap Kicks. It involves slapping. Twice. (TWICE.) For how apprehensive I felt, I didn't do too badly. That's a good sign for me. I'm not tightening up as much. I'm not overanalyzing (um all the time anyway). I've got to work on feeling my whole body at once because when I focused on my arms, my stretch kick (with a pointed toe which tripped me up since regular front stretch kicks are flexed) suffered and vice versa.
Aman started me on wheeling arms. You use these a lot in future movements, I guess. Yep, wheeling arms. I'm going to guess that it will get easier after a bit of a break for my brain to compartmentalize it, stop thinking, and then just do it.
And just so I don't forget again, stance work: Horse, Drop, Bow, Empty, Rest. A new set of arms this week though. As far as moving from one stance to the next, anything into drop stance is hard. Going from a squat (horse stance) into something lower (or even the same height as horse) but moving one foot away from my body is hard. It's like the trouble I'm having with back sweeps. Gotta increase core strength, decrease thigh tightness, and increase outer thigh strength. Minor things, you know. HA.
Near the end, we worked on five stance again. This is when I felt tired the most since we've been doing so much. It was harder to have a strong singular focus. I was glad for corrections though. When it comes to working out, I assume I'm doing it wrong until I'm told it's right whether by doing enough reading or talking with a trainer or something like that. I know what the end result should look like but I don't necessarily know how to get myself there or what I should focus on first until it is muscle memorized.
24 October 2013
Kaelyn is adorable attempting the wheeling arms! I only had half an hour to practice today between homeschooling, sewing Kaelyn's Halloween costume, and heading off for some Halloween fun with her cousins. Apparently stretch kicks by themselves don't look very wushu-like. But the front slap kicks and any stance + arms grants me "Come on, Suki! Like a boss!" or "you're doing it, Mommy!" or "show me that".
27 October 2013
Well, phooey. I just didn't get much exercising done this last week and that includes practicing wushu. My mental capacity is stretched thin right now! Wushu is a day early this week too. But then I'll have two full weeks until the next lesson so I'll have plenty of time to make up for it. It was probably better that I didn't work out as much. I've been more tired than usual and still have a bit of a cold. My body probably needed a break.
I just have to remember what happened yesterday though. As Jared was cooking up some pork and leek dumplings, I had Kimmi dodge my punching. In my kitchen. Sometimes even I don't know how we decide to do what we randomly do. I punch, she dodges. It was too hilarious to not immortalize on film.
Kimmi would like me to claim she was tired. But.... :-)
At least I wasn't this bad when I first started.
Soon Kimmi will be gone and out of my house and I'll be punching and dodging air. And uh actually focusing during most of my wushu practices....
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