I had my private lesson today and even though it was only forty degrees out (felt like thirty-five or so), we decided to have it outside. It felt warmer than that, probably because we’d been in single digits for so long. Kind of. We were supposed to get get snow today, but the snow front missed us. We did not get one single flake of snow, sadly. That does not mean that we will not get snow later as we’ve gotten in June before. Yes, June. That was once, very brief, and it did not stick–but still. It was snow in June. That’s highly unusual, but it’s not unusual to get snow in April. In fact, Prince who was from here had a song about it.
No snow for now, though. I left it up to my teacher whether she wanted to be outside or in because I was fine being outside in forty degrees. It was so nice out and felt warmer than that. I like practicing outside for another reason–lots of room. Now, I’m not complaining about my space beacuse I have plenty. But practicing weapons needs a lot of space–and just a bit more than I have.
I know that’s a privilege, by the way. The fact that I have plenty of space. That’s why I’m not complaining about being a bit cramped–just noting that it was nice outside. The sun was shining and there was a crisp bite to the air. That is my favorite combination; it perks me up and gives me the edge I need.
I asked about the Fast Form and the Short Form. She said both were worth learning (because I asked), but her voice wasn’t as enthusiastic as it normally was. Which means that it’s worthy, yes, but not something I need to worry about right now.
We concentrated on the last four or so movements of the Swimming Dragon Form. As much as it’s good to watch the video I took of her, it’s much better to see her demonstrate in person. Not only can I ask her questions, but I can see the postures in question from all angles. That’s one of my favorite things about being in person. I can walk around her as she’s doing the posture, which is so helpful.
In addition, she is now showing me the applications for the postures, which is my absolute favorite. The one I was having difficulty with was the second-to-last posture. It’s something like The Bear Turns Over the Body. I mean, it’s not that, but it’s close. And no matter how many times I watched the video, I did not quite get what she was doing. Oh, the name is about a bear turning over your body, not theirs, by the way. And my teacher showed me the application for this move along with the last movement, which is conclusion.
It’s really nasty. The Bear posture is if someone punches you. You block it, duck out of the way, and grab their wrist. Then, you trun into them so their arm is draped over your back. Then you stand up and lower your hands (conclusion), still holding onto the wrist of your opponent. They have nowhere to go, so their wrist/elbow will be broken.
We giggled when she told me that. As I said to her, I never want to have to break someone’s wrist. Pause. But it’s nice to know I could. She thought that was funny, too. It’s not something I would say to the gen pub or to anyone else, really, beacuse I doubt anyone else would understand.
I can’t emphasize enough that I don’t want to hurt anyone. I don’t even want to ever get into a fight. Yes, I started Taiji with the intent of self-defense, but that doesn’t mean I want to use it for that purpose.
Another thing we did today was something she jokingly called the paintbrush. This was also a Bagua thing in which she was holding my right wrist with her left hand, and then thwacking me back and forth with her right hand in a paintbrush move while moving me forward and back by her grasp on my right wrist.
I tried to copy her, but I couldn’t quite get the feel of it. I was close, and I’ll keep at it, but I just wasn’t there. Something about the pulling and pushing with one hand and then slapping with the other just wasn’t clicking in my brain.
Here’s the thing. All the form practice is terrific for learning the forms, getting disciplined, getting the forms in my body, and just getting stronger/more flexible in general. However, when it comes to actual sparring, it ain’t about that. It’s about taking what’s given to you and dishing it out in return. My teacher said something today that she’s said a million times, but it only really sunk in today. She said that as you are doing something defensive, you also have to be ready to follow up with something offensive as well. I said I thought Taiji was about reacting, but she corrected me. She said it’s about being responsive, but that did not mean just sitting on your laurels.
Like I said, she has said this hundreds of times before, but it had not sunk into my thick head. Taiji seemed like such a…not passive, but maybe non-aggressive(?) martial art to me that I never would have thought to actually initiate something. It made sense, though, the way my teacher said it today that you would want to pair offense and defense. It was still not about being aggressive, but you can/should attack when you have the opening. And you should never just defend according to Master Choi because that is defeat.
That’s an adjustment in my brain because I had thought for so long that Taiji was purely defensive. Well, reaction and then attack. But, no. It’s just as much about attacking–you just have to be thoughtful about when you do it. And, yes, you want to be responsive as to what you’re being given before returning it ten-fold.
That’s all for tonight. I will pick this up tomorrow.