Many Changes, Some Hard, Some Easy

About four months ago. I decided to quit hung gar, permanently.

I was a student of hung gar for almost as long as iaido. Now that I think of it, I think it was something like five or six years. I'm a family member, though, even though I don't practice hung gar itself anymore, so it's possible that I'll be asked to help out with Chinese New Year for the forseeable future. We'll see if they remember me.

I love hung gar itself very much, and my sifu too, so it may seem paradoxical that I've done them such a disservice. I'll summarize what I said when I left:

"I think, pretty much, that hung gar has turned out to be too much for me. I can't imagine ever finding a better art for self-defense and health. But, it demands a lot of time and an iron will, and I don't really have either one of those. I figure I've been trying to build up a habit of practicing on my own for five years, and I barely throw a punch when I'm not at the kwoon. That's surely a sign.

Another is how happy I was when I realized I'd get all my Sundays and Wednesdays back. Practicing kung fu is a great way to spend a day, surely, but I think I need more walks in the woods and fewer dragons, lions, and war drums. In short, I need more peace in my life, and hung gar, if nothing else, is unpeaceful. "

That's the rationale in a nutshell. These past four months I've come to believe that I made the right decision, for these and other reasons.

Sorry, brief non sequitor -- two little kids are sitting down to dinner (I'm at a local cafe in the city I live in), and they're wearing what look like tae kwon do uniforms. They can't be more then eight or ten years old. One of them has a black belt, I think. Heh, anyway.

These past four months I've come to believe that I made the right decision. I miss my training very much, but my life has opened up a little since I've gained control over an additional four to eight hours every week. I've found the time to attend a weekly buddhist meditation (http://www.nhsangha.org/), for instance. I think I'm happier and more effective as a human being in every way but one: I am not as physically dangerous as I was, due to an ebb in my hung gar training.

I did mean to use the word 'ebb' just now, because there's no way I'm giving up on my years of learning. I have been improved far too much by my teachers to let myself forget it all. I'm going to keep practicing what I've learned, hopefully for the rest of my life, but most likely by myself.

I decided to keep iaido, because it was more compatible with modern life, and I think more suitable to me personally.

Speaking of which, the other big change that's occuring is I'm completely replacing all my iaido equipment, except my obi. Tonight I'm going to the gym to try my new sword.