Journal of Aaradia's MA Journey

Discussion in 'Training Logs' started by aaradia, Feb 14, 2015.

  1. aaradia

    aaradia Choy Li Fut and Yang Tai Chi Chuan Student Moderator Supporter

    Friday, January 20, 2017 -

    First off, San Diego is having real rain storms for the second year in a row. Actual flash flooding in front of and behind my school. Before I was there though. An instructor got his car flooded. I parked up high in the Church parking lot. It is a common place to park. I usually only do it when closer is full, but I decided high ground was smart.

    Oh, and several parts of my yard are ponds right now. With more rain to come the next few days.

    4:30- Joined a private lesson to help prepare a fellow student for his TCC black fringe. I did this by being his two person partner during his lesson. It is a good refresher for me too. All the pattern -walking, square, circle the new one that I don't know the name for....and some Da Lu. Man, I was rusty on the Da Lu,but it came back pretty quickly. There has been a change or two though. I need to go over it next lesson with my TCC instructor.

    5:00 - stretched a little bit. TCC 54 gim. Started a bit of the 32 gim too, but didn't get to finish it.

    5:30 - two person practice with Ms. M. Started with staff and moved on to golden leopard vs tiger.

    6:30 - practice session for upcoming performance. Was a bit disorganized at first. I still am making a couple of mistakes, far less than I was though. I need to just really drill this form the next week. Got Mr. R's feedback watching my golden leopard vs tiger with Ms. M. That is, as always, very helpful.

    7:00 - practiced stick form with a couple of fellow students. Did some walking pattern with Mr. D.

    Some TCC solo hand forms - not so worried about the form. I was practicing the whole letting go, having fun, not thinking too much thing...this is really hard for me!

    Took about a estimated 15 minute break. Got a little TCC feedback from Tai Sifu during this time.

    Talked to some fellow students for a long time. Some about my letting go dilemma. It turned to other training related issues - mostly about mindset and mind challenges in training. It was a very helpful conversation that gave me much to think about, so I am counting it as training time. We also did formal exercise and Siu Moi Fa.

    9:00 - School closes. (4 hours and 15 minutes)



    Saturday, January 21, 207 - Worked all day/ rest day

    2017 - week 3 total - 13 hours and 58 minutes
    2017 Total - 34 hours and 44 minutes
     
    Last edited: Jan 22, 2017
  2. aaradia

    aaradia Choy Li Fut and Yang Tai Chi Chuan Student Moderator Supporter

    Sunday, January, 22, 2017 - Rest day


    Monday, January 23, 2017 - New work schedule, so I now work every Monday. I used to alternate Sat/ Mon off. Now I alternate Fri/Sat off. This is a good thing. The schedule before had me having a three day weekend, but the next weekend I would only have on day off in 11 days. And my days off bunched off made me burn out and I couldn't work out as much as I wanted to. Having my days off spaced out better means recovery time will be more evenly placed and I can get in a better and longer workout on that Friday.

    6:30 - Stick fighting class. Basic's sort of class. It was good. Focus was on acting like the stick was not a padded one and being patient with evasion and then maybe moving in.

    7:00 - CLF private lesson. Worked on my butterfly knives form for the upcoming tournaments. Sheesh, I thought my butterfly knives form was pretty good, but - as always- my instructor found lots to improve on. Extension, always an issue with me, but also my cross steps are not lining up correctly. My back foot is too far in to one side, which isn't good for stability or my knees. Also for stepping correctly into this sequence of multiple cross steps. Improper position was making my steps swing too much.

    Also, she gave me excellent advice on the upcoming performance. I mentioned I am the person in front of the group, setting the pace. She said I need to not only set the physical pace, but the mental attitude/ approach. Meaning I had to approach the performance like it was just another practice. That if I act all anxious or stressed about the performance, that mood will transfer to my fellow students, but if I am calm and set a "we got this, it will be good" tone, that attitude will set the tone for my fellow students as well. I never thought about that, but I can see how true it would be. So, I will put this into action. It will help motivate me to have a calm attitude. I can stress out easily. But I want to do right for my fellow students. Knowing a calm attitude helps not only me, but everyone, will make it easier to achieve this.

    7:30 - Only a day and a half ago, but I can't remember what I did.

    8:00 - techniques practice with Ms. B. Brown Sash 1st degree, stick, dagger, and double dagger.

    8:30 - raining outside and the mats were still drying from cleaning inside. So I chatted with Ms. B for awhile.

    9:00 - TCC practice. Fajing and double gim. Double gim - the whole form and the shortened tournament version. I think I did something else too, but again I can't remember. *Sigh*

    9:55 school closes (2 hours and 55 minutes)



    Tuesday, January 24, 2017 - 6:30 - Two person practice with Ms. M. Golden Leopard vs Tiger for the performance on Saturday. I can nitpick lots of things to improve on, but all the recent practice IS having us show improvements. I think we will put on a good performance. It won't be perfect, but I think only the instructors and a few advanced students will see what isn't perfect.

    We would have done some two person staff, but the room was too crowded. The rain has stopped, but it was REALLY cold outside. (Well, cold for us San Diegans.) So everyone is still inside practicing. We did some 9 star though.

    7:30 - Watched the sparring matches for sparring class with a fellow student.

    8:00 - took it easy. Practiced ,but with lots of rest time in between. Just sort of lazy today. Practiced with Ms. R and Ms. D doing the stick form. The last couple of times, I ran through it without messing up. That was my goal. Having it come together just in time. Got some good feedback from an instructor watching at one point.

    9:00 - school closes (2 hours)



    Wednesday, January 25, 2017 - Evening Shift/ Rest day.
     
    Last edited: Jan 29, 2017
  3. aaradia

    aaradia Choy Li Fut and Yang Tai Chi Chuan Student Moderator Supporter

    Thursday, January 26, 2017 -

    6:30 - last half of TCC class.

    7:00 - Well, Tai Sifu class was cancelled at the last minute because he had to deal with something related to running the school. So, another instructor had us run through the stick form a few times. The class was sort of unusually disorganized due to the circumstances. There was a lot of confusion. But we ran through the stick form a few times. And for the first time, drums were played. This was helpful as many of us didn't know how having the drums going would affect us. It didn't really.

    Things are coming together nicely. Our being in sync with each other is improving a lot. Or so I am told by other students. Being in front, I only see the other students the few times we turn direction and face the back.

    I called out the starting from breaks again. I have been doing this when Tai Sifu hasn't been at our practices. It was unnerving at first, but it is no big deal now. I got used to it.

    At one point, Tai Sifu did get a break from what he was doing and come out to run us through it with his calls a couple of times. This was reassuring to us as we really wanted to do it exactly how we will be on Saturday.

    Things were weird and there was some chatting and talking amongst us students.

    Not sure exactly when I got together with my two person partner, but I think it was about 7:45ish.

    7:45ish - Two person practice with Ms. M. Did Golden leopard vs tiger a few times. Then switched to two person staff.

    8:30 - TCC Private lesson. Went over tournament version of 48 combination form. One of those days where you find out you are doing something ALL wrong. Glad to know so I can fix it though.

    9:00 - school closes (2 hours)
     
  4. aaradia

    aaradia Choy Li Fut and Yang Tai Chi Chuan Student Moderator Supporter

    Friday, January 27, 2017 -

    6:30 - last week of skipping weapon forms class. We had a dress rehearsal for our Chinese New Year's performance. Feeling good about tomorrow. I think we will do a good job.

    Yes, I have some anxiety. But I am putting into action my instructor's advice. I am being a calm positive influence on the group and not sharing any insecurities/ anxiety.

    Well, I got overly cautious after that. Goofed around a lot because I just want to be healthy for tomorrow. I chatted a lot.

    I did do some stationary push hands with a couple of fellow students. Then some TCC forms. But I was pretty lazy overall!

    9:00 - school closes (1 hour)
     
  5. aaradia

    aaradia Choy Li Fut and Yang Tai Chi Chuan Student Moderator Supporter

    Saturday, January 28, 2017 -

    10:05 - Two person practice with Mr. R. First half- Two person staff. Second half - Golden leopard vs tiger.

    11:00 - Sparring class.

    12:00 - push hands/ moving step class.

    So that combination of sparring class with Tai Sifu and the moving step class is one of my favorite training times of the week. As it is with a lot of my fellow students.

    1:00 - rested a bit, but not too long as I have in the past.

    Did some TCC practice the rest of the day. Except for going over the stick form a few times. Nerves made me forget some parts that I have been doing fine. It worried me. This is a common stress reaction I have. Talked to an instructor and she has that issue too.

    3:00 - School closes. Went to get some food. Tried out a Mediterranean place within walking distance. Great food! How come I never went there before? I will be back.

    4:00 - back at school to meet up for last minute preparations and discussion of the performance. Lightly ran through the two person set with my partner. This is something I do. Remind myself I DO know the form. It helps me deal with the stress.

    As I was lightly going through the stick form, an instructor told me I seemed calm. I was happy to hear I was projecting that as in reality I was a bundle of nerves! I told her about what my instructor said about helping set the mental outlook of a group and that I was happy to hear I was successful in projecting calm.

    My nerves did get the better of me at one point and I did get my two person partner to go over it lightly with me to calm myself. She did what I needed and I felt better afterwards. And only confided in one person without projecting the wrong thing to the group.

    5:00 - PERFORMANCE! Sad thing is, I didn't get to watch the performance. The performers were off to the side. But I needed to stay focused. Watching others puts me off my focus. And the door where the performers were was too crowded to see well anyways.

    One of the instructors has his dad video the exhibition. We get a DVD of it as a thank you for doing the exhibition. I look forward to seeing the whole thing.

    Anyways, I was happy with BOTH my performances! All the students seemed to do very well! So proud and happy to be a part of such a GREAT group of fellow students! All the instructors seemed genuinely happy with how we did. So did Tai Sifu. Sifu Lau (from another location and Tai Sifu's student) came up to us afterwards and complemented our stick form. Tai Sifu said later that Sifu Lau really thought it was well done.

    I had felt like I had sped up too much. But fellow students and Tai Sifu said the pace was good and not sped up. (Watching the video clip later - yeah - the pace was not sped up.)

    I did get to see a video clip on Facebook of the stick performance that was posted by a fellow student. I was overall very happy with it. We managed to be in sync pretty well. I saw things I could work on, but overall- yeah happy!

    I felt like the two person form went very well too. Although I have not seen a clip. (Last performance, the clip made me not as happy with the performance as I felt during it.) But I felt like all our extra practice sessions paid off and we did one of our best jobs at the right time - during the exhibition.

    I didn't forget anything. I didn't rush. I didn't let my fellow students down. I am happy with myself.

    Glad to get back to training and have this behind me. Good experience, but ready to move on.

    Whew!

    2017 - week 4 total - 13 hours and 15 minutes
    2017 Total - 47 hours and 59 minutes


    Well, I will call that one 5 hours and 20 minutes. But I was at the school for about 6 1/2 to 7 hours. Long day!



    Sunday, January 29, 2017 - well earned rest day!
     
    Last edited: Jan 29, 2017
  6. Xue Sheng

    Xue Sheng All weight is underside

    Cool.

    Back when I use to do demos, and performances, I cannot remember one of them where I did not think I did something wrong. I think it is just part of demos and performances
     
  7. aaradia

    aaradia Choy Li Fut and Yang Tai Chi Chuan Student Moderator Supporter

    Monday, January 30, 2007 -

    6:30 - Stick Fighting Class

    7:00 - CLF Private Lesson. My instructor and I reviewed a video clip of the performance of the stick form together. And she gave me feedback. Well, I succeeded in keeping my shoulders relaxed but I was too tight in my wrist grip. I think that was nerves. I don't think I normally do that. But that is the point right? What do you do when under pressure? So that is something I need to be aware of. Also some of my targeting was off. So I need to focus on what my targets are. I thought I was doing that, but I wasn't at times.

    We also talked, again, about my longstanding issue with the off hand being not far back enough, my hand position being wrong, which assists not having the arm in the right place. And how this affects my body not turning enough.

    Then we did some work on my Butterfly knives form. I need to get this tournament ready.

    7:30 - I cannot remember what I did. That is what happens when I wait too long to write in here.

    8:00 - Techniques practice with Ms. B. Double Daggers and Cane.

    8:30 - See my log at 7:30 - I know I worked on stuff, but can't remember what. Pretty sure I did some tournament TCC practice.

    9:00 - school closes. The instructors did not have training tonight, due to them putting in extra time on Saturday for Chinese New Year's celebrations. (2 hours and 30 minutes)



    Tuesday, January 31, 2017 -

    6:35 - Stretching and warm up.

    7:00 - Solo practice. TCC tournament forms practice - double gim, 48 combination and fajing. About 15- 20 minutes of kicking practice - yellow sash kicks. Had to kick lower due to groin/ Hip flexor injury. Very frustrating! This is taking too long to heal! And kicks are what I need to work on the most for my next test. Did I mention it's very frustrating?

    Techniques practice, but I can't remember what sash levels. Also can't remember what else I did. I really have to write this down right away. But I am still going to log what I can and not give up on the log. I can still say I remember how long I practiced at least!

    9:00 - school closes. (2 hours and 25 minutes)


    Wednesday, February 1, 2017 - evening shift/ rest day.
     
    Last edited: Feb 5, 2017
  8. aaradia

    aaradia Choy Li Fut and Yang Tai Chi Chuan Student Moderator Supporter

    Thursday, February 2, 2017 -

    6:30 - last half of TCC class.

    7:00 - Tai Sifu CLF class.

    8:00 ish- Two person staff practice with Ms. M. LOL- we finished with perhaps the worst run through in months of the form. It was comical. But I was trying to get her to keep going through it and not stop no matter what. We need to get in the habit of this for tournament. She has a habit of laughing when we mess up, and although I love her lighthearted attitude as I get too serious, for tournament she needs to push though mistakes. But it was so bad I was trying not to laugh too!

    8:30 - TCC private lesson. Focus on tournament version of 48 combination. I am doing well with his many corrections from last week, Still needs some work though. Tournament version of 48 started. He is happy with my progress with this. Said my speed/ acceleration is good for fajing.

    9:00 - School closes. (2 hours and 30 minutes)


    Friday, February 3, 2017
    - started off great, but ended badly.

    6:30 - weapon forms class. Back to it since the practices for the exhibition are over! Chau Sot staff form. Nice to be back in this class. I enjoy it a lot.

    7:00 - had to redo tape on sash for one stripe. It was coming off.

    7:10ish? - Running through all forms in format style. Well, almost. I did stop and practice a bit more than pure formatting. Because...........

    A day or two ago, I watched the DVD of the exhibition an instructor made for all us performers. Overall, it was a great exhibition. Better overall performances by the students IMO. But I watched myself in the stick form and the two person form. I was happy my leaning that I did the last exhibition in the two person form was mostly fixed. And overall it wasn't bad, but - like last time- watching it I wasn't as happy with it as when I was doing it. And I compared it to the instructors performing

    ............and a lightbulb went off!

    The whole extension issue. My instructors and Sifu have been talking to me about it in both CLF and TCC for years. I think it is getting better in TCC. As a matter of fact, Tai Sifu commented on my improvement in it in Thursday class. But in CLF? I SAW IT! I think I GET IT! Finally! Something just clicked. And all the things my main instructor said- I just got a feel for what I wasn't doing like I haven't quite grasped before.

    an AHA moment!

    And to a lesser extent, I saw the issue with speed and how it affects intention in strikes.

    So, I REALLY focused on extenstion and worked on my speed. Repeating some things, which isn't what I normally do in format style practice. But it was a great practice. I think I am having a breakthrough!

    But then my hip flexor got worse. It got really sore. Not just that moment of going out of place, but hurting constantly. It is worrying- it is getting worse - not better.

    So I stopped. I didn't get to solo golden leopard vs tiger, broadsword, or wall bag. Martial spirit, not martial stupid. So i stopped. I got through most of it though.

    Rested a bit. Then carefully and lightly ran through part of the staff form with another student. He is a newer student learning the staff in weapons class for the first time. Nice young man. Hard worker, respectful, overall a very impressive student. He asked me to go through it with him a few times. Just up to what he knows from weapons class.

    I did some stretching too. But no more workouts. Tried a few times and just no..........

    Extra careful because Tai Sigung Seminars are tomorrow!

    8:55 - left school (approx. 2 hours)
     
  9. aaradia

    aaradia Choy Li Fut and Yang Tai Chi Chuan Student Moderator Supporter

    Saturday, February 4, 2017 - I took the day off of work today to go to..........

    :banana::hail::happy:Tai Sigung Seminars!!!!! Woo Hoo!!!!!!!!

    Tai Sigung Nathan Fisher is the founder and head of White Dragon Schools. I am pretty sure he is the second highest person in the PlumBlossom Federation. Seeing as they had to make the Title Tai Sigung for him. He used to be called Tai Sifu, but when my Sifu fit the qualifications for that, they had to get another level of titles between him and our Grandmaster. Enough of school hierarchy, which matters not outside our Federation. Suffice it to say he is a really knowledgeable guy and I am excited for these seminars.

    This is the third annual one. I have been to all three. In fact, it was the first one that inspired me to start this log.

    12:00 - CLF seminars. The format this year was that people took turns going up and doing part of a form they would be doing in our upcoming tournament. Then, Tai Sigung would stop it and give corrections. Then, often we would go practice the move- or series of moves. Sometimes he would have us practice a stretch or something to develop the ability to do the move correctly. We were encouraged to ask questions.

    I volunteered to go up first. Even though it is really nerve wracking to go up in front of everyone and have Tai Sigung watch you. But he will be watching my next test, so I NEED to get over my nerves. And that is one kind of pressure to be put under too. Sheesh, if one can't do a move in a form feeling nervous by who is watching, how the heck can you expect to do it when needed?

    So, I sort of blanked out from nerves. As in, I did stuff, but I felt unsure I did the right moves. I think I did, as he didn't say anything about that. He gave us corrections on breathing. About how not every strike has the same energy and therefore the breath is not the same. Also, to carry breath through multiple moves sometimes - not to sharply exhale every move.

    Just lots of good stuff throughout. I think I asked the most questions. One was about transitional multiple cross steps. I struggle with a couple of areas that have this in the butterfly knives form. And I got good information about how to properly do a transitional stance vs just doing one set - so to speak- cross step.


    2:00 TCC - We focused on push hands the whole time. Yay!



    Will finish later...................
     
    Last edited: Feb 5, 2017
  10. aikiMac

    aikiMac aikido + boxing = very good Moderator Supporter

    :heart: I love when that happens!
     
  11. Nachi

    Nachi Valued Member Supporter

    Hi aaradia,

    how are things going? I can see your last post in the log is already a month old, so it wasn't just me missing the updates. I hope I am not too intrusive, but I was wandering how are your trainings going, since I always liked to read your log :) I suppose you didn't stop going to classes and are maybe just too busy to log them down?
    What about your log fans, though? :D
     
  12. aaradia

    aaradia Choy Li Fut and Yang Tai Chi Chuan Student Moderator Supporter

    Hey Nachi, I know it seems like I didn't see this, but I did and I appreciated it very much! Just stuff going on in my life and I let this log drop for awhile. I am bummed about it as I find keeping the log very helpful for my training.

    I am going to try to start doing it again as of now.

    Thanks again for your kind words of encouragement!
     
  13. aaradia

    aaradia Choy Li Fut and Yang Tai Chi Chuan Student Moderator Supporter

    White Dragon Tournament 2017

    Saturday, May 6, 2017 - Dragon Cup Tournament! Part 1: General thoughts and TCC Forms


    They did some changes to how the tournament is run and I have to say this year went extremely smoothly for me. I hardly had the running around from ring to ring with several events at once and it was really nice! A little, but not much. Most of my fellow students had a similar experience, although a few still had multiple rings going on at once. There was still some of that, but less than previous tournaments.

    I got to do my TCC, then move onto CLF forms and techniques, then two person, then combatives.

    Scoring in our tournament is roughly this. 14 or below is below average. 15-16 average. 17-18 above average. 19 and above is REALLY good.

    My main goal was to approach the tournament with a certain “in the zone” attitude. Hard to explain, but to take my tournament mentality to the next level mentally. To not let mental hang-ups get in the way. And I feel I was very successful in this.

    All I can say is that when I did my last CLF test, I had this “in the zone” feeling and it was my best test. I know what it felt like. I didn’t have this and stressed myself out in my last TCC test, and that test wasn’t as good as I wanted, not terrible, but not great. I definitely did not show my full capabilities. So, achieving this state at will is something I am working on. Particularly for my next CLF test. It is kind of esoteric and hard to explain. I hope this makes sense.

    TCC hand form. Senior Black Fringe - all ages. About 6 people in the division? Give or take one? At that level, one can choose whatever hand form you want to do.

    I did the 48 combination form. I had a little tiny bit at the very beginning that was a tad off, just a tiny bit. The rest of it I felt really good about. This is a form I have been working on with my instructor a lot. I love this form, and felt it was one of my weakest and really wanted to turn that around.

    I scored a 19. Bronze medal. Very happy about this as I haven’t gotten a medal in WD tournaments for TCC forms for a few years.

    TCC weapon form. Senior black fringe- all ages. 5 people in the division? Again give or take a person. (A couple of students were in and out going from ring to ring, so it was hard for me to say exactly. Especially as I try to not look around me before performing. I try to stay focused on myself and not my competitors.) One can do any weapon form. I did a double gim form.

    I felt good about my performance and apparently the judges agreed. I scored a 23, which is an extremely high score. I mean I have never scored that high before (I have won gold with some 20 scores- I think that is the highest I have done? I have to go look at my notes of previous tournaments. A 20 score often wins gold to give you an idea of how high this is in our scoring system.). I was quite sure I must have heard it wrong because I never do that well.

    Here is the thing. I have had this mental block, particularly in TCC divisions. Because there are a couple of students, one in particular, that are so excellent I have gone in just thinking they have it won, period. I set them on a bit of a pedestal above me and go in thinking they have the gold and maybe I can get a medal below them. The one student usually scores a 21, she is magnificent and I have so much respect for her skills. But my previous TCC instructor, my current one, and my Sifu have all told me to not assume I can’t beat her (or anyone) in competition. To not sell myself short. But it was so hard to believe that in my heart.

    But this time I DID score higher! And my 23 score tied the other person I thought I couldn’t compete with. The judges gave him the gold and myself the silver, but we actually got the same score.

    So, the lesson I learned is the lesson my instructors have been trying to tell me. To not put limitations on my abilities. I CAN be competitive at that level.

    I received a silver medal that I am particularly happy about.
     
  14. aaradia

    aaradia Choy Li Fut and Yang Tai Chi Chuan Student Moderator Supporter

    Saturday, May 6, 2017 - Dragon Cup Tournament! Part 2: CLF forms, techniques, and two person form.

    CLF 3rd Degree Brown sash. Techniques (cane) : Ages 46 and up. 5ish people. At least 5 for sure, maybe one more.

    I felt it went well. I am not sure why I didn’t score higher as I had gotten really good feedback on this for all the tournament preparation classes and my instructor – while having a few corrections – seemed to be happy with them too. That’s how it goes sometimes.

    There was no score. The judges just assigned medals.

    CLF 3rd Degree Brown sash. Hand form (Small Five Animal): Ages 46 and up. 6ish people. At least 6 for sure, maybe one more

    Eh, I scored a 16. Average. No medal. 2 other students got the same score, but after the judges talked, I did not make it to a medal. Again, that is how it goes. I felt good about my performance. Sometimes you know you don’t do well, but that wasn’t the case here. I felt good about it.

    Feedback from the judges on these two events was that I had great martial intent in my moves, and good eye focus. (Which is something that I had been getting corrections on in tournament preparation classes, so I am glad that I fixed that.) They said my moves were a bit too tense and could be more relaxed.

    The feedback I found a bit odd is that I was told that I hesitated a bit in my hand form, but I really don’t think I did? I mean, at least not in my mind. I didn’t feel stuck at all. I just had pauses, which we are supposed to do for performances sake. Maybe my pauses weren’t very good and looked like hesitations? Listen, I am open to critiquing. One of the great things about tournament is you get instructors from other schools to see your stuff with fresh eyes and get good feedback for improving yourself. I always try to ask if I am not busy running from ring to ring. And usually I can see what they say and go “ah – ok! And I see it.” This one – I dunno – it just seemed weird to me. Not saying it wasn’t true, but I just am having trouble seeing where I did it.

    CLF 3rd Degree Brown sash. Weapon Form (Bot Gwa Butterfly Knives) : Ages 46 and up. 7ish people?

    The last few years, you usually get called up for your division in the same ring and the same judges do techniques, and weapon form. This time, they called up techniques and hand form. The judges said weapon would be called separately.

    But it ended up being the same ring, with the same judge’s right after hand and weapon forms.

    I tried to make sure I took the feedback from the techniques and hand form and be more relaxed in my moves. I did better with a score of 18. A good score. I felt it went well too. Not good enough to medal, but that’s ok.

    I didn’t get a chance to get feedback from the judge’s for this one as I had to go to my two person ring right away.

    I was happy for my fellow student and two person partner as she did very well in all these divisions. Got medals in all events here! Yay!


    CLF 3rd Degree Brown sash. Two person form (Two Person Staff): Ages 20 and up. 3 teams.

    My partner and I got to go up first as here was a time I was called into another division at the same time – my push hands division.

    Not all of us did two person staff. If your partner is a different degree, you do what form you know, but you do it in the division of the person with the highest sash level.

    We messed up a bit at the beginning, but kept going without showing it in our body language or facial expressions. We pushed through it, the rest of the form went well.

    My partner, and some other people, including the Sifu who was a judge, told me that the other teams also made mistakes. So none of us had a clean run. That is why it is so important to not give up if you flub a bit.

    Actually, I was told the gold winners made a LOT more errors, but they got gold because they hit harder.

    Again, no score was given. They just assigned medals. We got silver. I was happy to share this accomplishment with my partner, who is just a great two person partner and overall person. She medaled in all four of her events and I am so happy for her. And to share a medal with her is a nice bond between us.

    Feedback from the Judges- well the Sifu who was a judge. Lower stances. Hit harder. Oh and something else I can’t remember. I will ask my partner and see if she remembers.

    My other two person partner, Mr. R. saw our performance and said it was good and he saw a lot of improvement. He gives honest feedback. He is also a long time black sash and was last year’s tournament grand champion. So it was nice to hear his feedback and I trust that we have improved if he sees it. I did feel like the tournament practice had improved our two person a lot over the last couple of months.
     
    Last edited: May 7, 2017
  15. ned

    ned Valued Member

    Well done aaradia ! Medals are a nice reward for your hard work but to have acknowledgement of what you have learnt and the approval of your peers and others whose opinion you value is just as important.
     
  16. aaradia

    aaradia Choy Li Fut and Yang Tai Chi Chuan Student Moderator Supporter

    Agreed. That is why I track other things besides medals when I document my tournament experience. Medals, score, feelings about how I did, feedback from fellow students and feedback from judges all are important parts of the tournament learning experience! :hat:
     
  17. aaradia

    aaradia Choy Li Fut and Yang Tai Chi Chuan Student Moderator Supporter

    Saturday, May 6, 2017 - Dragon Cup Tournament! Part 3: Combatives and final thoughts

    Push Hands. Well Boo!!!!!!!!!!!! :mad::(This was by far the biggest disappointment this year. There was supposed to be 2 other competitors. That seems to be the norm for my division. We usually do a round robin. But neither one showed up! The judges tried to fit me in a younger division, which is fine by me. I just want to compete! But that division, indeed most of the push hands divisions, had already gone up.

    I didn’t get to compete in my favorite event this year!:lowblow: There is much sadness in my heart over this- really disappointing! I am so glad I went to that other open tournament and got to compete in some push hands somewhere this year!
    One of the judges was my CLF instructor, and my past TCC instructor. She knew me well enough to know I didn’t want a meaningless Gold medal for literally just showing up. (I had just talked to her about my experiences with that in some divisions in the open tournament I just did.) So, I am going to get a refund for this event.

    Sparring Heaviest weight division. I think 150 and above? Also didn't catch the age division,but all the other students were significantly younger than me. I think what happened is there was no one in my normal age division even signed up, so they put me in with the younger division. Lots of students that seemed to be in their 20's. I am fine with that. Maybe because of the age bracket, there were lots of contestants. I think 7? That is way more than usual for me. But I still had two matches. I am not sure how that all worked out - I mean, how they do the brackets. Anyways,

    First match - I won it. I am not sure, but I think it was a unanimous decision of all three judges. I would say it was a close match. I was not sure who the winner would be ahead of time. My opponent just rushed in and crowded me a lot. I spent a lot of time and energy pushing her off and then trying to do a strike as she got pushed back. She was pretty relentless. There was not a lot of moving in and then going for it and then backing off. then going for another combination. It was just being rushed a lot. I could have done some moves sideways to move her off of me, would have been less energy used on my part. But, and I should know, I wasn't sure if those moves are legal in our matches as the "turn the wheel" sort of moves can result in knocking down the person. I wasn't sure if that would be a foul or on them if they lost their balance that bad. I need to check with Tai sifu or other instructors. I also need to get better at knees and elbows. I tried to clinch and succeeded some in that, but was not good at making something out of it with knees and elbows.

    I fouled my opponent with a head shot, which I apologized for during and after the match. I wasn't even going for the head. I DID do what we are allowed in our matches, which is get really close to the head, but no contact. And I was very successful in those.

    I won a hard earned match against someone younger by me than a couple of decades.

    Second match - Much the same as the first. The rushing in thing just like the first match. Then, I could see my opponent noticeably tiring out the last part of the match. I thought, as we are trained, here is the time to pull the trigger and go harder! This worked for me last year! But I didn't. And I am not sure why. Lame huh? I might have been tired, but I didn't feel too bad. Maybe I was more tired than I realized, but I am usually aware of that. I just had the thought of what to do and didn't act on it.

    Again it was a hard match. This time I lost a split decision. And it was within my grasp. I saw what I needed to do to pull ahead and I didn't do it.

    I got a bronze medal. Actually, I am just pretty happy with that. I kept it close in matches with people half my age this year.

    Stick Fighting. Again heavier weight class. I think around 150 and above. Again, not sure of age, but it seemed to be all adult ages
    . I am guessing they combined several divisions to make enough participants. 4 people.

    First Match - I went against a fellow student I have gone against the last few years. Nice person, but then again most of the people I have met at my school are. It was a close well fought match. I lost 3 points to 2. Actually, I am pretty darn sure I got in at least one wrist shot and another shot that weren’t called by the judges. But that is ok. This is an observation, not a complaint. I have practiced judging stick fighting in class before and it is really hard to do. It is up to me to be decisive enough to overcome that and I didn’t. It’s on me.

    I did talk to some fellow students afterwards though. They have noticed the same thing- wrist shots often don’t get called. Which is nice that I was not the only one thinking this. This is a bummer as it is a big part of my strategy and style. I think it is important in a real fight as it disarms your opponent. But what I have learned is that for the game that is tournament, I need to develop other strategies that are more obvious. This is good. I need to expand my horizons and skill set. I will work on this during this year.

    Chatted with this student that was my opponent after our match while watching another match. And after the tournament. She ended it with see you next year! And I was like Yes!

    Second match – I had gotten to watch her fight before going against her. She was really aggressive and wild with her strikes. I decided on a strategy of counterstriking. Moving back and then into hit. This is something our stick fighting instructor has been starting to focus on. I did ok, but I could have done better. My timing was off and I was too slow to move in for my strike. I did just enough. It helped that my opponent swung so wildly that she lost the stick twice, which gave me points in addition to my points from striking. I won, I don’t remember what the score was. I talked to my fellow student who is in stick fighting class a lot with me and asked for what she noticed. She noticed exactly what I said above and confirmed my thoughts on what I did and needed to do in the match.

    So, that was a bronze medal for stick fighting. Good fun matches where I learned what to work on.

    And so that was my tournament for 2017. Good times, learned a lot. Got good feedback from instructors and fellow students. No below average scores and some really good ones. 2 silver and 3 bronze medals out of 8 events. The main bummer was the one canceled event.

    One of my fellow students at La Mesa got the Grand Championship! So very happy for him! I knew he would be a contender to win this as he is very dedicated and very talented. Woo!

    Some of us went out for dinner afterwards. Then a couple of us went to a tea place called Kung Fu Tea. I tried a new tea I had never had before with something called Boba in it. They played snippets of Kung-Fu movies on a screen. Good people and good times!
     
    Last edited: May 8, 2017
  18. Late for dinner

    Late for dinner Valued Member

    Congratulations for getting out there and competing! The results are important in helping you to know how you perform under pressure but otherwise I wouldn't get to worried about the actual scoring. Being there was the biggest thing and feeling comfortable was a big bonus!

    Fantastic to be at 2 competitions so close together. Well done!

    LFD
     
  19. aaradia

    aaradia Choy Li Fut and Yang Tai Chi Chuan Student Moderator Supporter

    Thanks! Like I told Ned, I just like to document the whole experience in great detail. I am not too worried about scores, but it is one useful thing to keep track of. It is one of many factors to use when looking at tournament performance.

    Except that one high score was a big deal to me as it was a personal best by far. And for the reasons I already wrote. It was something I thought I never could achieve. So it reminded me not to place limitations on myself, which is an important lesson.
     
    Last edited: May 8, 2017
  20. ned

    ned Valued Member

    Well done Aaradia, I enjoyed reading your write up !

    I have experienced a similar disappointment with low turnout at competitions - more often than not I'd be lucky to have more than half a dozen in my weight for push hands.
    But its invaluable to put yourself in an unfamiliar environment with people you don't know from other schools, to put what you've learnt under scrutiny.
    Most people who learn taiji aren't really interested in putting in the hard work to fully understand how it works in practice.
    But (imho) push hands enhances your understanding of the mechanics and hence your form so is worthwhile even by those who "don't want to fight".
    I have also found that competing has given me an objective way in which I can measure improvement, if only 'cos i got used to seeing the same old faces year after year !
     

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