Saturday Practice - Know the application, but do not focus on the martial aspect of the art.

Standing Meditation Posture - Play Guitar - One of my personal favorites
 

I practiced out in the driveway this morning. A full Warm Up and a Round (right side).

It's important to know the applications of the postures but it's equally important to not emphasize the martial aspect of the arts. 

Master Paul Gallagher told me that "any martial skill that is derived from training should be a latent effect" and not something that you would be primarily focusing on, day by day. Like many aspects of correct training, it's a paradox.

It's important to have no expectations, but to just let whatever benefit you derive from the training to come to you naturally. Traditionally they would say 'doing by not doing'. 

Schools of Sardines, Moalboal, Cebu, Philippines

This is a short video that I've been working on today;

 

Huge schools of Sardines, right off the coast of Moalboal, on the south west coast of Cebu, Philippines. I shot this with a GoPro 4 with no filter and no video lights. The viz was poor but the huge schools of Sardines were a sight to see. A peak life experience! Why the Sardines return there everyday is a mystery. They hang out just off the shore line. Perfect for the snorkelers. I felt very lucky to be scuba diving.

Mother nature is truly amazing!!

Don't Force Anything - Alan Watts

Wu-Wei

Modern Arnis Strike 1 and 2

Sifu Roy showing a possible training progression using strike #1 and #2 as a base. He has used the teaching method effectively with a beginning level student. The student simple continues to feed strikes 1 & 2 and the receiver 'changes it up'. Great practice for both teacher and student alike. 

Philippine trip May 2023 - Slide show 1

A few images I've worked up from our recent trip to the Philippines. Enjoy! 

Friday Practice

 

After the best nights sleep in several weeks....Yay! I had an early morning practice in the driveway. I was scheduled to meet with Jeff this morning but we ended up not meeting. I finished my Round (left side) after a short Warm Up and went into the YMCA for a Cybex session. 

Afterwards, I stopped at Foster's Market for some supplies and ran into Lefty Cullen. It was good to see him. I wish I would have gone over to his place to play some music with him and Brian Mallet. Soon!

I also had music scheduled in The Barn this afternoon, that also got cancelled, sort of at the last minute. Maybe next Monday or Tuesday?? 

Thursday Practice

 

The Photo:

Looking east from the deck as the sun is rising. 

Another night of interrupted sleep. Oy! My sleep clock is all messed up. I've been waking up at 1-2 am, tossing and turning for awhile and finally going back to sleep...I ended up, getting up mid morning and still feeling groggy. Oy!! This too shall pass?!?!

I would like to get back to writing about my thoughts and experiences as I pursue my 'Practices'. It's been more challenging than I could imagine during this period of travel and the sleep disturbance.

The Practice: 

I did a full Warm Up on the deck with a little Standing and a Round (left side). 

I found myself breathing in the fresh Leyden air, the new and fresh and breathing out any injury, disease, illness, negative or limiting thoughts. Drawing in the positive healing energy that is all around me. 

I am becoming more receptive to natures healing energy. She can take anything we can dish out and give us back healing energy...How fortunate are we?

All in all a very productive session. 

Tuesday Practice

 I went into The Studio to teach the 8-9:30am T'ai Chi Ch'uan and Qigong class. After catching up with Wes and Janee we did an abbreviated version of The 10 Warm Ups and 3 Swings followed a Round on the right side. I reviewed the Jian Sword Form with Janee. 

Then I went to the YMCA for a round of Cybex and then up to Spofford Lake to test out a Cape Dory Typhoon. . 

This is the Cape Dory Typhoon we've been considering buying. Nice boat but we think it'll be too much upkeep for our present lifestyle. We've decided to try sailing our O'day 17 (daysailor 3) from a mooring. To see if that works better for us. We've been 'dry' sailing it for a few years. It's much easier to sail a boat off and on a mooring.  

Monday Practice

 

Looking east from the deck. 

A full Warm Up and a Round (right side) on the deck. 

Wednesday Practice

 

It's been a bit of a strange day. We spent the morning at the Brattleboro Memorial Hospital ER. Ginnie was having some odd sensation in her left side and arm so we thought it prudent to get it checked out. All's well.

I did a Round (right side) in a grassy area next to the parking lot. Nothing remarkable except where and under what circumstances I was practicing. I was able to reach a deep level of inner stillness. Always a challenge when health concerns pop up. 

I think that the ability and tech of reaching a deeper level of inner peace is one of the greatest benefits of internal cultivation. 

Inner calm and peace is a super power! 

Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday Practice

 

I've been having some great practices in the side yard practice spot with Big Greenie (large maple on the left) front and center. 

I've been focusing on "in every movement the entire body must be light and spirited". With a slight expansion in my hands as the Peng Jin is expressed at the end of the postures. 

I'm also training a slight circling at the end of one posture or straight line and the beginning of the next. I've been using larger circles and refining them as I become more familiar with the feeling, until there is little to no perceivable movement on the outside but a definite feeling of circling on the inside.

Tuesday and Wednesday Practice

 

Looking east at sunrise from the deck.

Wednesday May 1st is day 7,975 consecutive days of T'ai Chi Ch'uan and Qigong/Neigong

This past week in Leyden, I've been having a string of 'Epiphany Practices'; That's when I get a deeper level of understanding or a deeper level of feeling, while practicing. This usually happens in a flash of recognition and is impossible to determine where the heck it comes from. 

This is probably due to 'where' I'm practicing and that I'm not traveling which is highly disruptive to a daily practice. With much effort I was able to maintain.

I had a personal breakthrough in Oslob, Cebu while scuba diving with Whale Sharks while using breathing/meditation techniques to calibrate my thinking and feeling. Either you can or you can't adjust yourself internally.

***Recent posts have been sporadic!

Ginnie filming a Whale Shark (juvenile) up close and personal. This one is easy to ID because of the chunks taken off the upper tail fin. 

Diving with Whale Sharks is a Peak Life Experience (PLE)
 

***It's been hit or miss posting about my daily practices during these past few weeks of travel and diving. I've been on a strict schedule with little to no time to write (a new project for me). I've been doing what I can to just stay on a daily practice schedule. Thanks for bearing with me. I'm going to get back to writing about my practices and what I'm focusing on, along with some posts of my photos and videos from the latest scuba diving trip to the Philippines.

Thresher Sharks Encounter at Kemod Shoals off of Malapascua Island, Cebu...

Thresher Sharks live a 700'. Kemod Shoals is the only place on the planet that you can go and be almost guaranteed to scuba dive with them in their natural environment. Once a day in the early morning the Thresher Sharks come up to Kemod Shoal for a 'cleaning'. Kemod Shoal is the current 'cleaning station' that these sharks are using. It's about a 45 minute boat ride from The Exotic dive resort on Malapascua Island and the shoal starts at about 50-60', making it around an hour per dive. We did 5 dives on the site. Note: Every single day there are dozens of divers in the water with these sharks. We are NOT on their menu. The are seemingly unconcerned about our presence as long we don't use lights (flash or video lights) and do not chase after them. If you do any of those things the sharks will flee...Immediately! It is perfectly safe to be in the water with these majestic creatures. The eco-tourism that they create allows the locals to make a living, otherwise they will have to resort to fishing to feed their families. The problem with that is that there are very few fish left to catch. The only recourse is more protected areas and more eco-tourism. As it now stands without the draw of Thresher Shark sightings there's not enough fish and coral left to attract divers from 1/2 way across the planet. So...Thresher Shark Encounters are the big draw for eco-tourism. Yay!!