Tag: outline | A Banana Peeled

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My pragmatic plan for weapons in 2025

Posted on March 15, 2025 by Minna Hong • 0 Comments

I’m going to talk more about weapons. instead of meandering as I normally do, I’m going to try to be more methodical about it. We’ll see how long that lasts as I am tend to wander down several side roads at one time.

I did a bit more clean up on the Cane Form. There was one spot in the fourth row that continued to escape me, no matter how much I tweaked it. I watched my teacher do it several times and thought I got it, but didn’t quite get it. I watched Sifu (her teacher) do it a few times as well. I continued to think I had it, but I did not. I slowed the video down to half-speed before watching it yet again. And again. And yet again. And on the fourth or fifth time at half-speed, it finally clicked. That’s not to say I won’t need to watch it again in the near future, but I think I figured out what I was doing wrong.

Today, I did the fourth row with the cane on both sides. That’s when I did some tweaking. Then I did the Cane Form on both sides with the saber, and that’s when I really had to tweak even more (fourth row).

I love this form so much. I think it’s rocketed up to the top of my list as of favorite forms. Before this, I would have said that the Double Saber Form was my favorite, but now, I think that will have to slide down a spot.

Once I start doing the Cane Form with the saber, I never wanted to stop doing it. I taught it to myself in something like three days, and I have never had an easier time learning a weapon form. Granted, I already knew the Cane Form, but still.

I whipped through it like it was no big thing.I can safely put it in the done column and check it off my list. How many weapon forms is that now? Let’s count. Sword Form, right and left side. Saber Form, right and left side. Cane Form, right and left side. Fan Form, Double Saber Form, and Dancing Sword Form. I know the Solo (Long) Form, the first section of the Fast Form (though I don’t do it any longer), and most of the Swimming Dragon Form. Three movements left, and then I’m done. And then it’s on to the DeerHorn Knives.

I am so stoked for this. I’m trying to keep my expectations down because what if they don’t live up to the hype? I think they will, though, beacuse I’ve enjoyed walking the circle with them. I have included a video of a Bagua Double Deerhorn Knives Form. I don’t know whey it’s called double–well, there are two of them, but I just assumed you always did it with two. Huh. Don’t know why I assumed that was the default for this form when it’s not for any other form. Anyway, it’s really cool, and it shows what the deerhorn knives can really do.

Planning my next move

Posted on October 10, 2022 by Minna Hong • 0 Comments

It’s time. My brother has left me his little camera, and it’s time to get shooting. I have a hatred of pictures and videos, which has been lifelong.

Brief primer: I have been fat for most of my life–except for the two times I deal with anorexia (and bulimia the first time). Well, to go back a bit more, I was a chunky kid, but I wasn’t out-and-out fat. This is an important distinction because my mother put me on my first diet when I was seven and hated on my body since that moment. She never had anything positive to say about my body, and when I was so skinny I was passing out from lack of food, her only comment was that my waist was smaller than hers–and it was said with much envy. This is something that scarred me for most of my life. I had to actually institute a ban on her mentioning my weight because it was that bad. She protested that she was only concerned about my health, which the previous anecdote has proven incorrect. But more to the point, she only harped on it looks-wise, saying things like, “You have such a pretty face and would be beautiful if you lost weight.” When I pointed out to her that I was the only one in the family with low blood pressure, she ignored that.

It’s not a nice feeling to know that your mother thinks you’re a grotesque pig. Pigs are so cute, by the way! I love them. So let me rephrase it by saying my mother thought/thinks I’m grotesque.

Because of that, I have hated the way I look all my life. To be fair, it’s not just her; it’s society in general. America is not kind to fat people, especially women. It’s one way, sadly, that women bond–over dieting and counting calories and exercise. If you don’t participate in the discussion, then you are considered suspect.

I understand bonding through shared experiences. It’s one reason I identify more with women than other genders. But, on the other hand, after a lifetime of being told that I am not a woman because I don’t do anything that women like to do or act in a way that is congruent with how other women act, well, it’s difficult for me to feel warmly about it.