quarterly summary - Q3, 2008

this quarterly summary is WAY late. no excuse. i've just been so busy that i completely forgot about it. this one is going to be short, because things are still pretty hectic. as always, this follows the previous quarterly summary (reference: quarterly summary - Q2, 2008).

original goals

as given in the last quarterly summary, the objectives for this quarter were:

• continue attending class
• continue practicing during the week outside of class
• continue learning applications
• work on qi-gong
  
• refine pao quan, and maybe (if time permits) start learning applications for chang quan
  
• refine the bagua leg form
  
• refine yang & chen tai chi long forms
• continue learning push hands
  
• refine kuen wu jian yilu, and start learning erlu and the jian shu basics
  
• keep learning the nuances of theory to better understand its applications
• prepare for full-speed full-contact fighting at the Las Vegas tournament

summary of events

with respect to the curriculum, this is what has been covered this past quarter:

• refinement & applications, 64 palms: palm changes 1-8, A & B
• continued jian shu basics

other things this quarter that were not in the curriculum:

• prepped for the Las Vegas tournament

evaluation

i'm somewhat satisfied with the progress on the goals for this quarter. i started my search for a tenure-track job (yes, i am a professor), and also had to start work as an adjunct professor. which made for a very big increase in my workload. this reduced the amount of available time i had, and so resulted in the following situation:

• continue attending class: things were a little so-so. i made all the weekend classes, but dropped the week classes at UCLA (personal reasons...you'd know if you knew me)
  
• continue practicing during the week outside of class: this was a little spotty as well, as there were a few weeks i had some injury issues and had to rest
  
• continue learning applications: this is a given
  
• work on qi-gong: spotty. definitely spotty. didn't have as much time with this as i would have liked. but hopefully i'll be able to devote more time to it over the winter.
  
• refine pao quan, and maybe (if time permits) start learning applications for chang quan: this is something i spoke with Sifu about, and we decided to put this off until after the Las Vegas tournament
  
• refine the bagua leg form: bleah. did not do this at all. i know the form, but i've only managed to put in a couple of practice sessions on it.
  
• refine yang & chen tai chi long forms: ditto.
  
• continue learning push hands: we did a little of this, but the bulk of time was spent prepping for the Las Vegas tournament
  
• refine kuen wu jian yilu, and start learning erlu and the jian shu basics: ditto
  
• keep learning the nuances of theory to better understand its applications: ditto
  
• prepare for full-speed full-contact fighting at the Las Vegas tournament: this was the bulk of time
  

observations

my comments can be summarized as follows:

• tournament: there ended up being a conflict between the beginner sparring and the jian shu. Sifu had told me the jian shu was the higher priority in his opinion, since it was the first time it was being held as a formal component in the tournament, and so i decided to withdraw from beginner sparring and help out Alex as a judge. this turned out to be a good move, since we ended up actually being short-handed on jian shu judges, and found ourselves with absolutely no time other than just running the tournament.
  
• the future: well, now that i have a gig as an adjunct professor, i'm actually overflowing with work, and am very busy. but i'm lucky, seeing that the economy has seriously hurt a lot of people. and being an adjunct buys me time while i look for a tenure-track job. so i get to keep up my studies in the martial arts.
  

objectives for the future

somewhat the same themes, but just some changes:

• continue attending class
• continue practicing during the week outside of class
• continue learning applications
• work on qi-gong
  
• refine pao quan, and maybe start learning applications for chang quan
  
• continue learning bagua
  
• continue learning tai chi
• continue learning push hands
  
• refine kuen wu jian yilu, and start learning erlu and the jian shu basics
  
• keep learning the nuances of theory to better understand its applications

i should also note i'm thinking of taking a kyudo class. it's japanese archery, and not entirely related to anything i'm learning now. but i've always had a curiosity about japanese archery, more as a spiritual exercise, and it turns out there is a place in Pasadena that teaches it. so i'd like to give it a try, hopefully starting with the fall classes at UCLA and USC.

rock and roll.