I can already tell that this year is going to be a great
one. I had to work late last night and as a result I wasn’t able to attend class.
Obviously there is no replacement for being in class but when I got home I completed
my I Ho Chuan requirements that I didn’t do at work (kicks, forms, situps) and
I also worked on my stances and did some stretching, and when I was done I
really felt good even though I wasn’t in class. I got home around 8 and because
I get up at 5am, I’m usually in bed by 10, so it would have been easy for me to
just forget kung fu for the night. The only reason I didn’t was because of the
fear of falling behind on my requirements.
One of the things that I have been worried about is whether
or not my goals are sustainable. Before the I Ho Chuan officially started I had
been gearing up and doing pushups and adjusting my diet a bit in order to hit
the ground running. I expected myself to hit all my requirements every day
right from the beginning. I realized right away that I was being unrealistic.
Even with a month of “gearing up”, this is still a major lifestyle change for
me. But last night I realized that making a small change and then making it
permanent is the key to sustainability. I hate running/biking/treadmill, etc
but I did 2 km last night anyway. I hated it but I still did it. If I can do 2
km for a while and then add on another km over so often, I should be able to
get where I need to be.
This also made me think how important it will be for me to
have a couple of years of the I Ho Chuan under my belt before I get to grading
for my black belt. It was naïve of me to think that I could hit all the
requirements every day from day 1 as a beginner, but if I keep making slow and
steady progress, I’ll have developed some really good habits 5 or 6 years from
now.
Cory Smid
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