TAIJI SWORD

Taiji sword work is completely different from iaido sword work. First, the sword is much lighter, which affects the movement of the blade through space. Second, the double-edged blade means I don't have to be as aware about which way the blade is facing. Third, the movements are slower and more deliberate, even though they aren't necessarily less powerful or dynamic.

This morning, I started working on "body geometry" (my term for it) with Master Shirley. The primary focuses of these early lessons were economy of movement, relaxed form, the sword as an extension of the arm, and moving along a plane. It has been great to remove rigidity from my stances, to apply circular motions toward the angles of the sword and my body, and to learn (again) how to channel energy as it spirals up from the ground while my body moves but my arms mostly don't (at least in relation to my body).

WU SONG

Tonight, I learned a new set of relaxation techniques in Shaolin Qigong: Wu Song (Five Loosening Methods). Afterward, I first felt like I'd been "beat up" but within a short amount of time did indeed feel relaxed. I slept like a baby.

The five methods were Shou Song (hands), Xiong Song (chest), Fu Song (belly), Tun Song (buttocks), and Tui Song (legs). When working on a particular area, those muscles felt like they were on fire and the release at the end was wonderful.

I laughed through most of Tun Song, as we were imagining cracking a walnut with our buttocks, and ensuring our insides didn't leak out.

This is a good tool/resource to have in my "box" of martial arts workout routines.

FREEDOM DAY

Freedom Day. Today is the second anniversary of the start of my martial arts journey. To acknowledge it, I freed 牙 / kiba from its decorative knot. (It's a working sword and needs to reflect such.)

I've traveled from the basics of karate in a dojo for about fifteen months to training in qigong and iaido in my backyard dojo for about the same amount of time, with some overlap. I'm now incorporating the practice of zazen (Zen breathing) into my sword work.* This form of "moving Zen" reminds me to stay in the present and particular moment and to be fully present to it. (Much easier said than done.)

Year three begins here and now!

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*I've been slowly working my way through two complementary books: Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by Shunryu Suzuki, which I've read a couple of times prior, and Taking the Path of Zen by Robert Aitken. I'm incorporating the practice of zazen into my sword work, without the sitting (instead, motion) and without breath work (instead, forms and stances). So not really zazen at all. And yet completely zazen.

THE WAY

I am slowly finding my path, figuring out my journey, along The Way. As much as I liked karate, I love iaido and qigong. Karate provided me fundamentals that I continue to practice, but I enjoy the movements of the yi jin jing series and sword work with my iaito and suburito in ways that I cannot quite properly put into words. I look forward to drawing and swinging and sheathing shita/舌 and ago/顎 each day.

Everything about working with them is prayer. Putting on my belt and gi and hakama is prayer: arming myself with the clothes of righteousness. Preparing to enter the backyard dojo is prayer: gratitude and respect. The meditation of forging a new body and new spirit in repetitive drills is prayer: thankfulness for the opportunity to push back against the void. Routine and ritual. Mystery and mysticism. Dancing before the Lord. Grounding myself in God.

CALM / MOVEMENT

This morning, I practiced qigong and iaido in the backyard dojo, enjoying some winter sunshine (pictured above).

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I’m not one to typically participate in New Year resolutions or goals, but this year I did both. I had been thinking about a word that would potentially define my next year, when one of my coworkers led an exercise at our weekly staff meeting to do just that. The two words that emerged, both as individual concepts, but also as a phrase when combined, were calm and movement.

For me, I had the martial arts of qigong and iaido in mind with these words, but I think they also apply to other areas of my life.

Calm is about control during chaos. Quiet. A relaxed state of readiness. I will find this word, this concept, to be a challenge, especially since I can often be quick to anger. I accept that I need to be a better listener, less reactive, and slower to strike out (unless the moment calls for such).

Movement is once again about control. I was thinking that although movement if often forward, it doesn’t always have to be. Backward movement, retreat, shuffling to the side, yielding, and avoiding potential harm are all helpful movements that are not necessarily about progress, but are about preservation.

Calm movement is about awareness and economy. I had the Japanese concept of sen in mind. Initiative, but always knowing when to move and when to react because one is in a state of relaxed readiness.

To achieve these words/concepts as goals, I’ve been following two teachers/sensei online. The first is Shi Heng Yi, the current headmaster of Shaolin Temple Europe, for Yi Jin Jing qigong. The second is Kaz Kobayashi, of Samurai Kaz Arts, for iaido. What I appreciate about both sensei is that each embodies calm movement for me. And each has taken what I am attempting to learn and broken it down into intuitive and intriguing “chunks” that make training enjoyable and something I look forward to each day.

So here’s to a year of calm, movement, and calm movement in the backyard dojo and in the wider world.

TRAINING

After all of the food of the holiday, as well as the aftermath of leftovers and leftovers and more leftovers, it was time to get back to training. Outdoors was freezing fog, so a little indoor workout was in order. The Yi Jin Jing set of qigong exercises set the tone. (Pictured is "Black Dragon Shows Its Claws.")



A sun break later in the morning meant "robing up" and practicing sword drills in the backyard dojo.

TENS

Two steps forward and five steps back. My problematic disc seems to have slipped again. So I pulled out my TENS unit and got one session in last night. And then it died.

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This morning, I picked up a new TENS unit and it is an order of magnitude better. At half strength it is about ten times more powerful than the old unit at full strength.

It allowed me to discover that my back muscles tightened up around the disc after it slid, which, in turn tightened up the muscles even more, which tugged the disc farther out of alignment—a vicious physical feedback loop. The new TENS unit helped to relax the muscles. That allowed me some relief so that I can do my PT exercises.

It will still take some time for everything to completely settle down, but it's three steps forward!

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This evening, while the first November storm raged outside, I worked on slow and control indoors. Yi Jin Jing qigong, iaido, and then the TENS unit. (One step forward.)

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Pictured above is the sixth movement of Yi Jin Jing, "Flexing Paws and Spreading Wings," as I workout with Master Shi Heng Yi of Shaolin Temple Europe via the magic of YouTube.

TIGER CATCHES ITS PREY

Qigong in the backyard dojo after a workout in the karate dojo. Tiger Catches Its Prey. Yi Jin Jing.