I am now able to say I have finished the Swimming Dragon Form–for real. I went through the whole form today, and I did pretty well. I was a bit hesitant towards the end (there is still one movement that I am a bit confused on), but other than that, I think I did ok. There is also one pressing question about the philosophy of Bagua that I need to discuss more at our next lesson (which is tomorrow). I’m still struggling a bit with the ‘keep your weight back’ bit, even though I’ve gotten more comfortable with it.
In yesterday’s post, I was talking about focusing on two or three forms at a time–and creating categories for the forms. The first is refinement/clean up. My forms tend to get sloppier over time, so it would be good to check out the videos at least once a month. I have cleaned up the Fan Form and the Cane Form (in addition to learning the Cane Form with the saber).
Side note: Part of the problem is my broken brain. I had a stroke three-and-a-half years ago, so my memory is now shit and shot. I do rue it now and again because I used to have an excellent memory, but I’ll take the trade-off. As a result, though, I can’t rely on my memory as I used to.
Side note II: Sifu has a video of his short form along with a video of the first section of the fast form. I have wanted to learn the Fast Form for quite some time. I’m not as interested in the Short Form, but it would probably be good to learn as well. If that’s the case, then that’s another category of forms–hand-only forms. I mean, technically, the Swimming Dragon Form is hands-only, but it’s also the basis for the Deerhorn Knives, which is what I really want to learn.
Boy. This is getting really long. The amount of forms I want to learn, I mean. And the ability to narrow them down is, well, daunting. It’s never been my strong point, honestly. I’m good at coming up with ideas and not as good at carrying them out. Or rather, I get about halfway through and then lose interest.
That’s not the case with the weapons. I am interested in them all the time, but my brain hops from one to another because I want to learn ALL THE FORMS ALL THE TIME. I have to force myself to finish thing, and my teacher is a bit brain wandery as well. We are perfectly capable of gabbing about everything and anything for hours on end. We’ve curbed it sharply since the early days, but we can still go on a tear.
So. First section of the Fast Form or the Short Form? I have never learned the Short Form, so that would be interesting. There are no new movements (I assume), and it follows the Long Form, but just has cut it down to the bare minimum. No fluff, no fat. In other words, I could definitely teach it to myself. Hell, I could probably do it at the same time as I teach myself the first section of the Fast Form. Which I already know, but Sifu has tweaked it.
Once again, I had to quit working on it because I get too frustrated when he changes it seemingly every other week. I understand that this is a me-thing because he is the master, and he can do what he wants with the forms. I know, though, that if I have to change it every week or so, I will not actually learn the form.
Now, it seems like he’s settled into the form. I haven’t heard of any changes in a hot second–this is the Fast Form, by the way. I think the Short Form is pretty much set. So do I teach myself both the Short Form and the first section of the Fast Form? I could conceivably do that. Am I going to do that? I might just possibly do that.
In addition, though, I want to clean up the Double Saber Form. It’s getting a bit sloppy in a few places, which means that I’ve been fudging those places. And I need to stop doing that. It’s better just to immediately look at the video when I’m fuzzy about the details rather than to muddle through it half-assed.
So. Now that I’ve finished the Swimming Dragon Form, I can at least look at starting the Deerhorn Knives Form. Which, if I’m going to be real with you, is all I want in my life. Ever since my teacher put the pracice set in my hands, I was smitten. I can’t explain the difference between weapons that just fit right in my hands and those that aren’t quite there. If you know, you know.
I have a hard time believing that I’ve leraned the Swimming Dragon Form. I’m always surprised at the end, though I should not be. It’s because I focus so hard on one thing, and then that one thing is done. What am I supposed to do after that?
Hm. I think I’m going to try to do both at the same time (first section of the Fast Form and the whole of the Short Form) because I already know the former, and the latter shouldn’t include anything new. In addition, I will clean up the Swimming Dragon Form with my teacher. This is a hand-only form, so she will be excellent at it. She is not a weapons person, but she’s a master when it comes to the hands-only forms.
It’s strange to think that I have progressed past her when it comes to weapons. I have thought of myself as a newbie or a dabbler for so long, it’s hard to shift to thinking of myself as an advanced student. I mean, I knew it intellectually as I’ve been studying for over fifteen years, and I practice every day for at least an hour-and-a-half.
So. First section of the Fast Form, the Short Form, starting the Deerhorn Knives Form, and cleaning up the Double Saber Form. I will still continue to clean up my other forms, too. I need to tweak the Long Form as well because Sifu has changed it up in the last six months or so. More like a year. My teacher has shown me the changes, but they have not all stuck in my brain.
More or that later. For now, it’s bedtime. I know I say that at the end of every post, but I just run out of steam.
Added: WordPress fucked up my post and said that it was gone. I had to restore a previous version in order to get back the version I had just written and tried to post.