just recently I’ve been having various ‘insights’ into my training that have been taught to me but never made sense until they happened on their own
for instance:
in any bow stance the rear foot must be at 45 degrees - I used to consciously do this until it became second nature and it was unconscious. However, I’ve recently realised that I shouldn’t be turning my foot 45 degrees because the action of pushing through the ball of the foot naturally causes that to happen. There’s no need for any conscious or unconscious movement - the act of surging forwards turns me.
another example:
my instructor told me for months and months that the form is not as complex as it first seems - there are only so many ways you can move your body. Yet when I learned the form I learnt 108 postures - each different posture was completely different in my mind, I saw little or no common ground.
Yet with time the form has broken down constantly, every week something new occurs to me and I smile to myself in class about it. Movement from single whip into cloud hands is the same movement as from push into closing at the end of a section. The surge from one brush knee into the next is the same as that in cloud hands when you switch hands and squeeze outwards.
Is this something that happens to you guys? Would you notice if your teacher hadn’t prepared you for it? Does it ever stop or slow down?
final question - have any of you taken a break from training (say two to three weeks) because of fatigue? Just recently I was feeling mentally and physically tired after every session and decided to take a breather - I came back fresh but felt very rusty. However, I am now enjoying my training again. What’s your opinion on this - is it better to have a break or do you just persevere?
“one room, many keys”