What skill/technique are you learning right now?

Wax injection for lost-wax silver casting. I bought some wax injection equipment, so now I can reproduce my designs without having to farm it out to a third party.

 

Going back to basics always seems to be a good idea! I hope your hip(s?) can cope

Oh, up to the stability all of that sounds exactly like what I was told by my teacher to learn (or work on)! (But haven't, at least not yet.) It sounds pretty good to work on the minor, but complex body mechanics step by step like that. Although pretty hard as well, I imagine. Can you see improvements in your technique?

Wow, what are you designing?

 

I just came back from Taiji classes. In the last one we learned a move Fall into Split. It wasn't new, I learned it previously and now I heard the explanation from both teachers at our school. Neither can do the hard form of this move, probably, but both wanted me to try, thinking I might have a chance. Just by hearing the explanation, however, I knew I didn't. But I tried nontheless, the result as expected. Even if by doing the utmost I could probably get into that position (sit down), maybe, there's no way to get up. I think my calf isn't flexible enough or my butt is too heavy, but I can't push my center of gravity forward enough, which seems to be the greatest obstacle in getting up.
Still, I am somewhat itching to learn it. I do have very negative thoughts about this and honestly think it quite impossible for me to learn. Aaradia called this A.N.T.S, right? (I could see plenty other barriers, except for the mental one here, though.) Still, I think I will give it a few tries here and there. If anyone has any tips on learning this, I am all ears.

The move (at 10:15):

 

I Have a collection of silver animal-inspired pendants that I created and cast. Ive sold them on Etsy for years, but slowly. Lately I’m trying to re-invigorate my little business and have also started selling at local farmers markets and art fairies. I created the originals and worked with a factory for the reproductions. Now I can do the reproductions myself.

 

In Muay Thai, I am working on cut kicks this week. Hard to do right, but stunningly effective, both in competition and on the street. These are a variation on the well-known Thai low leg kick, but the kick comes up a ways and then angles down into the opponent's thigh. The key is your hips, and mine need a bit more mobility.

 

I suppose it is like drill work with a compliant partner.
Do it enough and you know the moves, it does help against people less experienced or about equal experience. Once applying in sparring you get the feel of resistance, there is still a lot I could get to know, but it is a good start, and certainly i believe it pays off a lot more than if I sat on my bum.

 

Having been away from karate and similar arts for more than two decades, my primary focus now, and probably for months to come, is flexibility and kicking technique.

Yoko geri keagi is not too bad, and just about waist height, but kekomi is knee height if I want to do it right.

Mawashi geri is also just about knee height, and isn’t even good.

I’m hopefully working to 6th kyu as my first grade (due to previous experience), so need to get the kekomi good. Then I’ll have to increase focus on mawashi geri in prep for eventual 5th kyu.

It was all so much easier when I was 40 years younger

 

It is hard to say as I have only just gone hands on after the covid break in the last week. I have not done any sparring so cant say anything about that. For bag/pad work i feel that i am getting more power for less effort. I definitely have more control over the entirety of a punch. I have improved control of were the acceleration band occurs at all ranges between short power and long power. i feel that i am getting a greater acceleration into the target - more punch less push. in locking I feel a good connection to the floor and to body weight. I dont apply short power to partners in locking for safety reasons but I know that it is there should I ever want to do some damage.

 

I have lost my long time students to job relocation, marriage, babies, and covid. I have re-opened but it i difficult to get of the ground. when students come in one at a time they find that they are the only person in the class and it puts them off. I would welcome any suggestions as to how to get past this first bump in the road.

 

I did have a new student last week. We were doing fundamentals to punching and I said something which resonated with this thread.

' In twenty years time you won't be bothered with the stuff you will have learnt in five or six years time, but you will still be working on this.'

 

Good luck with working on the flexibility, I hope you'll be able to improve with some effort

I see. But even if youve achieved more power with less effort when working with the bag, that is a great result. I think learning things that help achieve this is very useful as it can improve one's ability overall

Ah, yes, this has been a difficult year. Our dojo lost many members as well, though it began even a bit before covid. We're back to about 40 members now. I am not sure where sensei put ads etc. but it payed off.
I can imagine how being the only student in class can put one off. On one hand, having a class 1 on 1 is great, but would most likely be intimidating for a beginner looking for group classes.

Ah, habits like these aren't easy to get rid of, though with putting mind to it, I hope you'll be able to sort it out quickly

I didn't know the chinese name of this weapon, but a couple of students of our school learned it this year as well so I saw a form with it quite a few times lately. It is a beautiful weapon! Well, to be honest I'd probably say this about all the weapons I'd seen, but still How many weapons do you already know? I remember you mentioning quite a few. And with all those forms in your school...

 

No, I meant Kwan Dao in Taiji
Nice, there's a lot!
I think it's to be expected these weapons won't be used for the streets, haha. Learning martial arts for self-defence isn't the only universal motivation, though, right? Who would learn these for self-defence?

 

Haha, I do not know much about the three section staff, so I wouldn't be able to tell, but what you say makes sense... On the other hand if someone could be really proficient with, it may be a surprise weapon for their opponent and therefore hard to deal with?

Yes, I know there are karate styles with weapons, but I do not know how that came to be, since "Kara" "Te" is supposed to mean "Empty" "hand"... We have no weapons in the karate I am learning. However, Kobudo is a closely related art with traditional Okinawan weapons. I have a friend who holds a fourth dan in Kobudo and I he taught us a little bit a few years ago, most of which I have unfortunately forgotten by now, but I am always thinking of trying to review - I have notes and videos.
We learned a staff (bo) kata and a few techniques and two person drills with sai (I really like those as weapons) and very quickly learned also a nunchaku kata at one seminar, of which I remember hardly anything at all. I know a lot of people are very attracted to nunchaku, but I am not really that enthusiastic about it. I just keep hitting my head .

Now I am learning a spear/staff form in Taiji. I know about half of the form now, but I am not practicing much and I can't do it well at all...
My teacher mentioned that since I just finished learning the steps of the whole empty handed form in Taiji, while I should spend some time polishing it now, the next form I could lern could possibly be a sword. I never thought about it before, but since he mentioned it, I am really looking forward to it. But it will also depend on how the teacher would see it later and how the classes will be set in the next year.