Is it possible that when we try to perfect ourselves, try to improve ourselves by learning a skill or aiming for mastery, that our effort is counter productive?
I used to think that I had no 'catholic guilt', but when I didn't train, or things didn't go the way I wanted them, or some small thing happened like I missed the last post, I got frustrated. I should say I GET frustrated, because this is the way it is for me, right now. It's really very stupid but this is how I have become.
And these insights can be so hard for us to see, to see ourselves, know ourselves. It's taken my girlfriend knowing me so well to let me know these things, and it's a bitter pill to take.
Accepting ourselves for how we are - lazy, over-analytical, judgemental, introverted, not good at making friends... Maybe this is the true way towards perfection, acceptance. then again maybe I'm still trying to be perfect or just over analysing things.
Thursday 31 July 2008
Monday 28 July 2008
Spirals
It can be tough to practice sometimes, especially when you get stuck in a daily grind and there doesn't feel like there are many opportunities to practice. Sometimes I feel like this comes and goes, sometimes it's easy to find the time, other times... it's not.
I've been finding though that there are really lots of opportunities if you just stay on the look out for them. I've been doing a lot of practice of spinning around, like walking through a door and spinning around clockwise or anti-clockwise as I go through. Its a pretty simply thing, and quickly done. But, it's really easy to lose balance or spatial awareness as you do it.
Think how many doors you go through, and how many different types of door there are. Some doors are tougher, some lighter. How useful is this? Sure it's nothing special but it sure beats the usual mindless way some of us go through our day. If training is only done for 2 hours once a week, we have 166 hours that we didn't use effectively.
I've been finding though that there are really lots of opportunities if you just stay on the look out for them. I've been doing a lot of practice of spinning around, like walking through a door and spinning around clockwise or anti-clockwise as I go through. Its a pretty simply thing, and quickly done. But, it's really easy to lose balance or spatial awareness as you do it.
Think how many doors you go through, and how many different types of door there are. Some doors are tougher, some lighter. How useful is this? Sure it's nothing special but it sure beats the usual mindless way some of us go through our day. If training is only done for 2 hours once a week, we have 166 hours that we didn't use effectively.
Thursday 24 July 2008
The cost of living
There is a credit crunch in the UK at the moment, people are tightening their belts and finding the cost of living is getting higher. It's interesting to see how this has a knock on effect on the martial arts we do.
For most people in the UK, martial arts are a luxury. They are a nice hobby that we do in our spare time and we are happy to pay the cost of the classes. For most of us, physical combat is not something that we have to deal with on a daily basis so martial training is not all that important.
When you set yourself up as a teacher in this environment it can be hard. In Wales, the big sport is Rugby. So all the money goes into this. In the wider context of the UK, money is being channelled into Olympic sport. The cost of renting a room once a week can be £25 an hour, if you can even find somewhere with good mats as well.
It's tough, I was talking to a Systema instructor tonight. He said he has had to take a loan of £1000 just to pay for classes, and of course there is no guarantee of numbers. If it was Karate that we were training it would perhaps be another story. There seems to be no limit to the number of people happy to pay for Karate. Indeed many Karate instructors seem to make good money from their classes. Why then is it so difficult to attract the same numbers of people to arts like Cheng Hsin or Systema?
I suspect that part of the reason is that they are a bit more demanding and require a certain amount of insight into self and interaction that perhaps Karate does not. Maybe more promotion of these arts will make a difference. What is clear is that in these harder times financially people will spend less on luxuries.
I would like to argue though, that Cheng Hsin is not a luxury. The art of Cheng Hsin is one which touches all aspects of a student's life. One can't justify not doing it because of the cost unless one didn't really have the commitment in the first place, or didn't really understand what the art was. I recently missed a whole camp because of the cost, so I am lacking a lot. But I can't give up on this practice, to do so would be giving up on myself.
For most people in the UK, martial arts are a luxury. They are a nice hobby that we do in our spare time and we are happy to pay the cost of the classes. For most of us, physical combat is not something that we have to deal with on a daily basis so martial training is not all that important.
When you set yourself up as a teacher in this environment it can be hard. In Wales, the big sport is Rugby. So all the money goes into this. In the wider context of the UK, money is being channelled into Olympic sport. The cost of renting a room once a week can be £25 an hour, if you can even find somewhere with good mats as well.
It's tough, I was talking to a Systema instructor tonight. He said he has had to take a loan of £1000 just to pay for classes, and of course there is no guarantee of numbers. If it was Karate that we were training it would perhaps be another story. There seems to be no limit to the number of people happy to pay for Karate. Indeed many Karate instructors seem to make good money from their classes. Why then is it so difficult to attract the same numbers of people to arts like Cheng Hsin or Systema?
I suspect that part of the reason is that they are a bit more demanding and require a certain amount of insight into self and interaction that perhaps Karate does not. Maybe more promotion of these arts will make a difference. What is clear is that in these harder times financially people will spend less on luxuries.
I would like to argue though, that Cheng Hsin is not a luxury. The art of Cheng Hsin is one which touches all aspects of a student's life. One can't justify not doing it because of the cost unless one didn't really have the commitment in the first place, or didn't really understand what the art was. I recently missed a whole camp because of the cost, so I am lacking a lot. But I can't give up on this practice, to do so would be giving up on myself.
Tuesday 8 July 2008
Games of Cheng Hsin
Formoseaneijia recently added a brief description of two of the games of Cheng Hsin to his blog. The link is here:
http://formosaneijia.com/2008/06/26/opening-up-your-push-hands-with-games/
I'd like to give descriptions of things like this myself, but I don't feel qualified to do it justice so I am just pointing the way.
http://formosaneijia.com/2008/06/26/opening-up-your-push-hands-with-games/
I'd like to give descriptions of things like this myself, but I don't feel qualified to do it justice so I am just pointing the way.
Travis' Somatic Systems Blog
I thought I would share this. http://travisblog.somatic-systems.com/
It's a link to Travis' Somatic Systems Blog. Travis is hosting Peter in Japan next year, now there's a workshop I'd like to get to...
Actually there isnt a great deal in the blog, but at least its out there.
It's a link to Travis' Somatic Systems Blog. Travis is hosting Peter in Japan next year, now there's a workshop I'd like to get to...
Actually there isnt a great deal in the blog, but at least its out there.
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