One Thing Leads To Another

After some reflection what felt like a routine week actually contained some great self discoveries and important lessons.

We have been working on Lao Gar in class which has been very helpful towards developing a better understanding of the form, technique and my eye for detail. My body mechanics and six harmonies continues to amaze me.

Last week with some help from Sihing Csillag I discovered an issue with my hip in a technique that I was having trouble correcting because of muscle memory. As soon as I focused on and engaged the correct hip my hand positions automatically corrected themselves. I wasn't fighting muscle memory. 

This carried forward into Monday's class as Sifu Rybak had us focusing on stances. As I went through Lao Gar 1 I realized that I needed to address my stance in the "pose". I could feel my heel was in contact with the mats but I did not feel connected. After class I played around with my hip rotation in trying to feel more grounded and solid in that technique. I was getting closer and then Sihing Burke came over and mentioned the intent of the technique which right away helped with the proper hip involvement and resulted in a solid connection to the ground. 

Fast forward to Saturday mornings class and a discussion with Sifu Brinker about hips and application in another technique that provided important information and instruction. My takeaway is that when we have a clear understanding and awareness of the intent of a technique our skeletal structure will support that intent. In most cases instead of fighting muscle memory to make a correction we need to focus on the intent of the technique and let the body do what comes natural. 

My focus for the next couple of weeks is going to be to delving into the intent of each technique within the form as I move through each sequence of techniques.

Michele Ward