Moving right along. Yesterday I had my very first Kenpo seminar. I knew it was review for the testing and that there would be a lot of things that I haven't seen before, but I still wanted to check it out.
When yesterday morning came though it was a different story. I honestly, didn't want to go. It was my day off and the thought of biking up to the school and doing karate for 3 hours sounded about as appealing as, well, going to work. But I told myself at the start of this project that I wasn't going to get in the way of myself and I told Alec that I would be there and I wanted to keep my word. It ended up being a good experience and by the end of it I felt a lot better about just getting out there and trying new things. There were, (and still are), a lot of things I didn't know, so I got lost several times, but it did give me a chance to learn some new things as well as go over things I have learned.
There are some things that are harder for me, like the stances. I don't like the stances. Mainly because they're uncomfortable and I feel that I would be easily off balanced, which is contrary to their purpose. I talked about that with Alec over lunch and when we got home he worked with me a little bit on it and while I understand how it's supposed to be, I'm obviously still doing something wrong because it feels unsteady. With the comfort issue I realize that it comes with time. The more I do it the more natural it will feel and maybe the more balanced and steady I will feel. We'll just have to see because it's not something I can know right now.
I'll keep practicing and let you know what I think about that particular problem in a few weeks.
If you're doing martial arts or just trying something new, what are things that you find difficult? Do you give up on it because it's "too hard" or do you keep going because you want to get over that hump?
I'm tempted to give up at times, not with martial arts, but with other things that I find difficult. Once I really think about it I realize I don't actually want to give up; I want to see it through to the end just to prove to myself that I can do it. If you're finding something difficult I encourage you to stick with it. Just think, right now it may seem hard, but in a few weeks/months you may look back and think "Really? What was so hard about that?"
I look forward to the next seminar. Who knows maybe I'll be able to follow along! And of course I'll let you know! :)
Last thing. It's not about me, but it is karate related. Alec went from being an orange belt yesterday to a purple belt! Pretty cool, huh? I've never actually seen someone get a new belt before, so that was a neat experience. I look forward to seeing others progress in the system as well.
My challenge to myself and to other's is to stick with it, even when you're tired, or it's hard and to be an encouragement to those around you. When you're encouraging your friends and fellow students you start to feel better too! That's all for now!
Something I've always had a hard time with is holding very high standards for myself. When I don't learn something quickly related to martial arts I become frustrated, so I fixate on it until it becomes smoother and understood better. All the time I've been in martial arts and I'm still learning the basics of patience. You're an inspiration.
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