Practice

I was reading through some of Sifu Playter's old blog posts and in one of them he talked about practicing and specifically that it should be fun. This makes sense to me. If it isn't fun, why do it? But then I thought about it and, if I'm being honest, training is not fun for me. I feel good after a training session but I wouldn't describe it as fun. Class is fun most of the time and I do a lot of the same things in training that I do in class, so why is there a difference?

I don't know the answer to that question but I have a couple of ideas. One is that class takes place in the kwoon, which makes a big difference. It's easier to focus in the kwoon and having instructors give you real-time feedback helps you feel like you're making progress, however, minor it may be. Progress is fun. Second is that I think having classmates makes things more fun. Even though we're all on a journey individually, we're still a team and that helps a lot.

So, if practice isn't fun for me, is it sustainable? I think it is but it's still something for me to think about. There are many things I do, not because they are fun or enjoyable, but because the benefits are worth it. Maybe kung fu is that way for me. 

Cory Smid
http://kungfucory.blogspot.ca/