wenwu Posted October 16, 2018 Hello I have posted a few times over the past couole of years about struggling with different things. Well, 2 years on and the struggle continues. After being a martial artist for many years, once again it seems that it is being stripped away from me. I am in a situation where i have no teachers and no students ( in the martial arts). My practice is solo and basic right now. Meanwhile i get to watch all my training partners continue to push themselves and progress in skills and accolades. Don't you just love facebook. I was also an avid lifter until recently. Through circunstance I don't have much access to heavy weights anymore and make do with different sorts of exercise, I won't trouble you with the details. I also got a mystery injury at the beginning of the year which still hampers me a little right now. It is possible that maybe i was being too yang?.. not that MA and lifting makes you 'yang' but there was little or no 'yin' to balance it out. I say this because as well as losing the aforementioned practices I have also returned to working with small children in my day job. This move in job wasn't by searching so much, but something that came to me without me even looking for it. I do feel a little confused about all these things and really just taking a stab at it. Just very frustrating. Does what i write make sense? 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lost in Translation Posted October 16, 2018 Hi Wenwu! I think maybe you are being too hard on yourself. You don't need anyone else to validate you. Teachers and students come and go. Right now they have gone but keep working on yourself and that will change. And who cares about the accolades? Unless you compete professionally it's just a bit of painted tin and a fancy card in a frame... Sometimes in life there are stimulants that just feel so good you can lose yourself in them. Perhaps for you that's martial arts and lifting? Don't forget why you do these things. You control them, they don't control you. And watch out for that mystery injury. That's telling you something. Maybe you need to take it slow for a while, give yourself a chance to recover, you know? Lost 2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Marblehead Posted October 16, 2018 I oftentimes offer the suggestion that we need to harmonize Yin and Yang. I offer that here too. And I agree, don't be so hard on your self. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OldDog Posted October 16, 2018 I think what you are experiencing is understandable ... and perhaps natural. I have always believed that the universe will present you with circumstances and opportunities that are timely for where you are on your path. Perhaps this is what is happening with you now. Certainly things change and nothing remains the same. Could you be too yang? Sure, its possible. Perhaps it is time for you to change your practice. When I was younger, I loved getting out there and mixing it up on the mats. I was strong and seeming had boundless energy ... two and three hour vigorous workouts were frequent ... all very yang external style martial arts. My teacher used to tell me that I needed to relax more in my practice. Later, as I grew older I could still mix it up but noticed that my martial art had matured. I began to see a difference in how the 18 year olds approached their practice and where I was at. Then I lost my teacher when he relocated. I continued much as you have with solo practice for a few years. Eventually I was introduced to a taiji instructor and my training resumed ... but along a different course. I finally began to learn what my teacher had meant by relaxing ... more yin. Progress was there ... and certainly there was potential for accolades. But somehow the accolades seemed less important. My growth in martial arts was going in a new direction ... one that seemed appropriate for the time and complemented my other interests. Now once again, I am without my teachers, both having passed much too early. But I am content with solo practice. It is in keeping with where I am along the way. Consider where you are along your path. Look for the opportunities among your present circumstances. The universe appears to have brought you back to working with children. That is probably not by accident. It is likely what you need right now. Continue your solo practice and be watchful for further opportunities. Good luck. 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zerostao Posted October 16, 2018 may be it's Natures way of telling you that there is something else out there waiting for you to discover--- expand your horizons and evolve transform shake loose the cobwebs and shed stagnation something out there is beckoning you find it 2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aetherous Posted October 16, 2018 Places with children have very good feng shui...I think that one is a good sign. 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thelerner Posted October 17, 2018 (edited) Ya know, obstacles don't have to stop you, sometimes you only have to change directions to get around them. There are katas and weapon work that can be explored by oneself. Fast, slow, still.. with greater awareness and looking for hidden potential in them. Similarly there are chi gung and tai chi routines you can explore for years. Or open yourself up to body work, yoga classes are all around and some can get pretty hard core. You can explore your limits with programs like Wim Hofs 10 week programs. A poor concept in the West is that only martial arts have belts and mastery. In the East many arts follow the novice to master approach. We tend to miss that. And mastery of one art helps with mastery in other areas. And mastery of oneself, mind and body is ofcourse the most important. If weightlifting is stopped there are books like Convict Conditioning that take it slow and easy from pushups against the wall to one armed push ups and slowly at your pace to one armed hand stand push ups. So.. no weights, no problem, there are hardcore programs out there, that you can work and modify to your own circumstances. You don't have to stop, you have to look around and pivot to a new challenge. Edited October 17, 2018 by thelerner 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wenwu Posted October 17, 2018 Hello Thank you so much for taking the time to respond. The advice and thought that was shared were helpful and comforting. I am not sure but my original post may have been brief as to my martial study. If yiu have the time and are interested in have detailed a large part of it here. https://tacticaltaekwondo.wordpress.com/2017/10/19/my-journ I only post this as it is somewhat connected to some of the responses. Once again, thanks for taking the time 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
