Tournament time

The tournament is only a week away and I'm really excited. I always love seeing what everyone has been working on over the year in the I Ho Chuan. There is always some new cool weapon form to see or an awesome fight choreography. The Becketts are back from China too, and I can't wait to see what they will be doing. I've seen a few people at open training and the stuff looks great. I think creative musical is going to be the division to watch this year.
The best entry I ever saw for creative musical was from a tai chi guy at an open tournament years ago. He started off slow with his tai chi sword to this slow music, but the music got faster and faster and he got faster and faster with it. By the end he was leaping around at top speed and blew everyone away. Coolest thing I've ever seen.
That's why creative musical is so difficult...not only do you have to have a great form with solid technique, but you have to marry it to music. But, when done well, it is by far the coolest thing ever.

Can't wait!

Hey! Just like I Ho Chuan....

           So lately I haven't been practicing as much as I'd like. The focus has been on my candidacy exam, an oral examination by a panel of professors to determine if I can continue on in my PhD program. Everyone doing a PhD has to do one. But preparing is difficult. I'm totally worried about failing. I can never seem to find enough time to study....work all day, come home and hang out with Julia then study before bed.
          This has reminded me about my I Ho Chuan year last year. It was a struggle to find time for everything. You had to make the time. I'm trying to apply the same principles. I may not have 2 hours to sit and study every day, but I have 5 minutes here and 10 minutes there to read my flashcards. Same as finding practice time. It will be nice when the test is over!

Been a while....

I haven't blogged in a bit. Weird considering I used to blog every day.
My job is going well. Starting to get into a routine. The nice part is that I have an office with a door so I can work out as long as I'm quiet. I've also started running.
Tonight I ran 3 times around the block with my dog. I was pretty proud of myself for not dying. I actually enjoyed it. Strange.
I'm actually looking forward to running tomorrow. Hopefully it won't bother my back too much.

Today I: did 62 pushups, 51 situps, ran 3 times around the block
Acts of kindness: held the door for someone x2, helped carry some bottles, made someone laugh
Today I consumed: 2 oranges, 3 peices of peanut butter toast, some nuts, a granola bar, some macaroni with chicken and a sandwich. I drank 3 cups of coffee and 9 glasses of water.

Thanks guys

Thanks for the comments guys!
Ya, it's been hard getting used to everything. I'll get into the groove.

Basic numbers: 153 pushups, 26 kicks, 3 reps tai chi part 3

Acts of kindness: gave the cat treats, brought Romeo to Kung-Fu, gave Julia a hug

Today I consumed: a granola bar, 2 hard boiled eggs, a banana, 2 chicken burgers and some ice-cream. I drank 2 cups of coffee, a cup of tea and 8 glasses of water.

Slumping

Haven't blogged very regularly lately. It's funny because last year I blogged every day without missing a beat...now that I don't have to it's hard to keep it up. My training has been reflecting my blogging. Now that I don't have to do all the practicing, it's hard to stay on top of things. It's funny because I didn't think I would have much of a problem keeping things up, but as I shift my focus to other things in my life (like my job), it's easy to be lazy. I guess that's what it comes down to really. A constant battle against normality.....ahhhh Stuart Embery...you were so right. Mastery, as he says, is a constant struggle to produce results beyond the ordinary. The problem is that ordinariness is easy...extraordinariness is hard. Case and point...my coffee struggle. I've pretty much given it up...but that's because it's hard. It's so easy to fall back into old habits and established crutches. Am I really serving myself by just giving up...obviously not and I know that. But it takes effort.
I just need to find some good old self-motivation.

Got to buckle down. Let's see if I can go a week no coffee. Starting tomorrow, the saga continues.

Basic numbers: 51 pushups, 51 situps, 52 kicks, 3 reps tai chi part 2, 3 miles

Acts of kindness: gave the cat and dog treats, took Julia and the dog for a walk, complimented someone.

Today I consumed: a bowl of cheerios, 2 bananas, half an apple, a boiled egg, a cucumber and cheese sandwich, a cookie, a granola bar, 2 hotdogs, 4 cups of coffee (stupid daylight savings time!) and 8 glasses of water.