Crossing the "finish" line

Well, on Monday I finally did it. I went through the entire Guang Ping Yang form in it's entirety. What a great experience it was to say I accomplished something I had been dreaming of for 10 years! It's said that a form must be practiced 1,000 times before it becomes yours. That is, that's when it becomes natural and you no longer have to think about the movements, they just happen. Then you can really begin the real work of perfecting them. I'm hoping, either this weekend or next, to videotape myself doing the form so that I can use it as a point of reference where I was at the beginning compared to later. Also, I can use it to look for flaws in my technique and posture and maybe get feedback from fellow Guang Ping'ers. I'm so happy to have discovered Tai Chi and especially Guang Ping. Guang Ping is still relatively small and obscure compared to Yang so it feels almost like a family. I also like that it's a style stripped of all the fluff with definite martial intents.

Now that I've completed the form I've set other goals for myself. Starting this weekend I'm taking one unique movement (of which I counted 37 in the form) and focusing on it for an entire week. This means standing still in the postures of the movement, doing the movement with my eyes closed, repetitions of the movements, learning it's martial applications, and relating the movement to the I Ching. Also, in the middle of April I'm officially starting a 100 day Chin to Toe Challenge with myself. I'm hoping to accomplish this goal by my birthday in July. Now if I could just get rid of this cold!

In other news, we had a great weekend in Washington DC visiting with Dan and Stefanie and seeing the sights. It was great to see them and the girls again. I had wondered if it might be awkward since it had been so long since the last time we saw them, but it was like old times right from the start. Highlights from the trip for me were: doing a soduku puzzle with Savannah the first night(and her giving me a thank you note the next day for helping her), feeding a squirrel out of my hand, and seeing the Declaration of Independence. I only wish it hadn't been so cold and windy out. I also think we need to go back for another weekend because even though we saw alot, there was even more that we didn't see.