7 down/45 to go

Classes continue to go well, still excited for graduation day on the 14th. Need to spend some more time practicing at home and work on timing and balance. I am feeling pretty confident and getting positive comments from Master Olson, but don't want to get overly confident or cocky & then really mess up ;) !

I've started noticing a 3-level approach to moves we're learning in class. First, I look only internally, concentrating solely on getting the moves down and getting them right. Once I've grasped that, then I can look at myself in the mirror and see if the moves look right. I have to be careful on this step, because I tend to want to compare myself to others in the class and see how they're doing. This can be good if it inspires me to do better, but mostly it's distracting and there's no guarantee the person next to me is doing it right either. The third and final stage is to do the moves while imagining defending yourself from an attacker. This is a little tough since there's no one there, at least not until I start sparring. Each stage provides a slightly different perspective and gets me thinking about my movement in a little different way. I'm usually able to do all three stages in one session, but I imagine as the moves get more complex, it will take more classes to get it right. I hope this varying approach helps make me a more well-rounded and better athlete.