Squee, Martial Artist?

So, I’ve always "done" a lot of "things", or at least been interested in them.  But usually I’m the jack-of-all-trades type; I know a little about a lot, and a lot about very little.  Thus, dedication and discipline-in-the-long-term don’t really come naturally to me — but this is something I specifically wanted to overcome when I signed up for Taiji classes.

I realized recently that that’s about two years ago now.  (Note:  yes, I started my Everyman schedule and signed up for Taiji within six months of each other.  The Taiji was partially reward for adjusting to Everyman, partially motivation to keep it up, since it does take a fair bit of time!)

Two years.  That’s the longest I’ve ever continued any physical endeavor or hobby, and by a long shot too.  (The closest was when I took a typical Americanized Tai Chi class for about a year, several years before this class.  That class was nothing compared to this, though.)  It’s actually made a palpable difference in who I am — a sobering realization.

I’m…a martial artist.  I’ve started to think of myself as a martial artist.  To enjoy walking like one, breathing like one, analyzing a situation like one.  Of course there are many kinds of martial artist, and in the details one can easily see that I’m a Traditional Chinese martial artist; but that’s less shocking to me than that I’m martial artist, period.

I have a ton more training to do, that I fully expect to take the rest of my life.  I’ve never been interested in just Taiji; but it’s been an awesome jumping-off point and I’m amazingly glad I started with it.  The balance, strength, focus, breathing, energy-control and principles that I’m learning from it are, I think, the perfect foundation for other forms to build on.   In a few months I’ll be starting a shorin ryu class.  Shorin ryu is actually two steps more martial than Taiji (even the relatively martial taiji we do at my kun); one step more martial would be traditional kungfu, which is what I would have picked for my next class, but circumstances forbid it for now.  This might not be a bad thing, though, since the shorin ryu isn’t as physically demanding as full-on kungfu.

Shorin ryu, if you’re curious, is Okinawan karate.  At some point, Chinese Shaolin monks taught some of their "moving meditation" exercises to Okinawans.  The Okinawans gave it their own, more practical and martial, twist — and then, as a sign of goodwill and politics (I’ve been told), taught a stripped-down version of it to the neighboring (and often threatening) Japanese. 

So anyway, kung fu + Okinawa = Shorin ryu + Japan = karate.  Much to my amusement, this means that the "karate" in the Karate Kid?  Yeah — is actually Shorin ryu.  That’s why you don’t see a crane-style kick in any of your usual Tae Kwon Do-type karate forms…because there isn’t one.  (Also note the taiji-like balancing exercises on the posts.)  "Crane style" is a clear reference to Northern Crane Style kungfu, which is the kungfu developed in the Northern Shaolin Temple in China.

Oh, something else weird?  I’m getting flexible.  I’ve never been flexible, at all, at all.  But suddenly, it seems, I’m the most flexible person in a room more often than not.  I just realized yesterday that I routinely lift my foot up onto the kitchen counter and put my forehead on my knee, just for a nice stretch.  No WAY could I have done that before!  But part of our class is some pretty intense stretching Yoga, and I guess it’s showing that I’ve been doing it a couple times a week for two years.

The unholy balance thing?  Yeah, I have that, but I had that from the Americanized taiji class too–it’s a taiji "staple", I think.  So, fun, but not as weird.

And I’m definitely stronger, and have more endurance in several ways.  I can control my breathing tons better than I ever could before (and as I’ve mentioned, as a major side-benefit it improved my singing!).  Okay.  But the psychological changes are the ones that really startle me.  I tend to want to work out now; I feel shitty if I don’t get some *real* exercise every day.  I have to practice at least some of my forms every day, too — I used to have to convince myself to do them, and often fail to, but not anymore; I’m uncomfortable if I don’t. 

And I’ve become concerned about things like wrist strength (I know my sword forms now, but executing some of the moves right takes some serious arm-oomph!) and not twisting or lifting wrong and hurting myself.  I’ve actually…become physical, in a way that I never was before.

As always, succeeding a little opens up a whole can of must-succeed-more worms.  But overall, I’d say it’s been overwhelmingly positive. 

So, yeah, apologies if I turn into a bit of a martial arts evangelist.  Especially when I start taking a more aerobic, weight-loss-inducing* class!

*  To be fair, my desire to lose a few (more) pounds is totally cosmetic…health-wise, I’m probably in better shape than I’ve ever been.  I don’t need the chiropractor hardly at all anymore, as long as I go to class at least twice a week and practice every day.  …And that saves some serious ducets!