Let’s talk about martial arts. Why? Because they are very important parts of my life and because I want to. I think those are good enough reasons. I’ve decided that I’m going to do both the idealistic version and the realistic version in one post. Maybe intertwined. ‘Coz that’s how I roll.
First, though, I have to say that this last year has been hard. Really hard. Both for personal reasons and political reasons, and they kind of bounce of feach other. I’m not the most optimistic person in the first place, and this year has made it even worse. In addition, K is having a hard time, too, which only emphasizes and underscores the roughness.
I don’t expect 2026 to be better in that vein; indeed, I’m just bracing myself to see how much worse it gets. The last time I talked to K, I mentioned again that when I went to get my license renewed after my birthday in 2024, there was the option of nonbinary for gender on the form for the first time.
I was amazed and delighted, but I was also hesitant. With the specter of the election coming and the very real chance that things would change for the drastically worse if Biden was not reelected, well, I thought long and hard about changing my gender to nonbinary. For one, it’s not how I identifys–though it’s the closest of the three that were available. For two, I really did not want the smoke I might get if I was pulled over with nonbinary on my driver’s license. Look. I’m already a visible minority (Asian), so why would I want to add another minority (nonbinary) to it? Especially when it’s not the label I have chosen as my own, and doubly especially when I want to think less about gender–not more.
I reluctantly chose female, but I did not feel good about it. I could not help but note to myself that four years earlie, had it been a choice, I would have probably chosen nonbinary. Or if I were twenty years old. I’m not going to get into the latter right now, but just trust me that it makes sense. I don’t like the choice I made, but I also don’t regret that I chose female.
Back to martial arts, specifically Taiji and Bagua. I know about ten forms, most of them on both the left and right sides. I want to refine them. All of them. In 2026. Yes, that’s idealistic, but hey, why not reach for the stars? I also want to go back to the beginning and really polish my Solo (Long) Form. Going back even further than that, there are a few basics that I need to work on–like keeping my shoulders down.