tylik

Sometimes a class just really works. Sword in particularly today was like that. Having a week off was apparently a good thing, and I've been learning to relax my psoas and stabilize my pelvis using the pelvic floor muscles. (Yes, during forms I'll be reminding myself to relax my psoas.) And my hips were just dropped, and I had control over my center, everything was relaxed and very easy and fluid. Which was particularly nice when I was the only person in the back half of the class that actually knew the form reliably... (Heh. I started out practicing bare hands -- though actually, though my shoulder has been sore, sword didn't bother it at all -- and they complained that they couldn't tell what I was doing without a sword. Oh, yeah, that. I swear, all the people I usually practice with can see it just fine... I obligingly practiced with one of the sticks we used to use to prop the windows open for the rest of the class.)

Chen was also a good class, but the constant horse stance gets to be pretty challenging if you keep it low. And my left knee, while not really doing anything to get in my way, has been vaguely whining at me, which is worrisome. Lots of jow. And lots of stretching in crouch stance, I think. OTOH, I practiced CZL's 18 form over the break, so that was a lot more fun. (I sat out a lot while we were learning it, so while it's one that I do know, I didn't have the confidence there that I do with the other Chen forms.) No push hands, though.

[I am such a spammy bastard today...]