Here at the frontier, the leaves fall like rain. Although my neighbors are all barbarians, and you, you are a thousand miles away, there are still two cups at my table.


Ten thousand flowers in spring, the moon in autumn, a cool breeze in summer, snow in winter. If your mind isn't clouded by unnecessary things, this is the best season of your life.

~ Wu-men ~


Friday, April 12, 2013

Disrupt Your Training

I posted back in February that we got a new puppy to be Bella's companion. Along with the new puppy came a lot of disruption in the daily routines around the house, including my training.

At the time we brought her home, I was rotating through three different workout routines over the five weekdays I go to work and was covering everything I wanted to work on adequately. When the puppy came along, I had to take her outside frequently (proactive). I had to be very careful that I didn't step on her. I had to keep an eye on whether she was chewing on something... in short my routine was disrupted.

I happen to think that some disruption from time to time is a good thing. We (at least I) need to get shaken up and stirred from time to time. It's all too easy to fall into a rut.

Martial arts training has a lot to do with changing according to the demands of the moment and adapting. In a real life self defense situation, we can't expect our opponent to attack us in a time and manner which we find most suitable.If we wait for conditions to be perfect, we'd be waiting a long time indeed.

Instead of my regular routine, while adhering to the broad outline I have drawn  up for myself, I have to continually ask "what is the best thing for me to work on for the next X minutes?"
In a few weeks or months, the household will fall into a new "normal" and a new routine will establish itself for me. In the meantime I am making the most of the chaos that Mabel (the new puppy) is throwing into the mix.

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