Applying a Different Style

It has been an interesting week for my training. I have been trying out the more karate style we were practicing with in class on Thursday. I've have been applying it to all of my forms, even the slower forms like Long and 18 Temple Motions. I have been working on looking before I move, pausing between each move to feel the power of everything sinking into place, and focusing less on flow and more on power. This has been a great way to switch things up for me! As Sifu Brinker said on Thursday, some people can fall into a rut of just doing the same thing over and over again which makes it very difficult to improve. I had definitely started to feel that way, as I have already done quite a few reps of my I Ho Chuan forms and have figured out most of the obvious problems that I find are the easiest to fix. 

The hardest thing I've always found is to keep on improving once those obvious problems have been found. Things begin to transition from a state where if someone is watching they can give you a pointer on what you need to do, to needing to look deeper into a form and find concepts and ideas to apply. This complete change in style has been really interesting for me. I've found that my eyes are a lot more engaged when I have to look before I move, and not when I move. So now I realize I have to work on looking at my opponent and not at my hands or my feet all the time. This different style has also helped me to really feel the power and connection of my harmonies between moves where the stances don't change, as I am forced to pause and move everything together. Another great thing to start applying to my forms!

It has been great to do my forms differently, and I am interested to discover what other insights I can gather from doing my forms in different ways!

Harrison Whitehouse-Strong