I have been trying to cut back on my meat intake for ethical reasons. But, and this has happneed in the past, when I up my exercise, I want to eat more meat. My Taiji teacher explained that it was a protein builds muscle thing (and, on a similar note, she recommended I eat an orange a after exercising because it helps reduce lactic acid). Now that I’m doing Bagua and a weight-bearing set, I want meat. Lots and lots of meat.
It’s interesting how the body is connected like that. Yes, I know that’s an obvious thing to say, but it’s good to be reminded when we think we’re above it all. We really are just animals underneath it all.
I am reinvigorated. will admit that I was flagging a bit with my Taiji routine. It’s not that I don’t love it–I do. But I felt a bit rote in what I was doing. I did the same things in the same order al lthe time. I mean, I rotated what forms I practiced each day (and which parts of what forms), but it was all the same stuff overall.
I asked my teacher to beef up (heh) my Bagua routine because I always liked the deerhorn knives. They are perhaps my favorite weapon. They are vicious, and no one can mistake them for anything but weapons used for attacking. I really want a good pair of them in addition to the practice ones I have.
Here’s the thing. Taiji is not an aggressive martial art. It’s meant to be reactive. Meaning, you aren’t attacking. Running away is a great option, and you want to do as little as possible to put an end to the situation. I really appreciated my teacher saying in one of the first classes that it was the lazy person’s martial art.
In America, there is a heavy emphasis on personal effort. (In a way to displace societal responsibility. Power to the people!) You’re supposed to give it your all. This is pushed so hard, there’s even a saying for it. “Give 110%!) That drives me crazy, by the way. Not only is it impossible to do that, it’s a toxic notion that you can’t evevr just chill the fuck out. We have a work culture that pushes more and more work. And has ‘at will’ laws–which means an employer can fire anyone at any time for any reason as long as it’s not discriminatory.
I read Ask A Manager, and there is so much focus on work-life balance. How to achieve it. How to push back on the company wanting you to work way more hours than you’re paid to work. The scam that in non-exempt (no set hours). People from other countries are always so flabbergasted by how awful work conditions are in America, and it can get tiring.