My Outlet

Keep that ball rolling

I need to confess something to myself. Kung fu and Eskrima have become my outlet.

I love how these two martial arts make me fully concentrate. If I don’t, I can’t train. 

Sifu sends us daily videos, and that helps a lot. I have something to practice and concentrate on.

Kung fu helps me manage my stress like nothing else. It’s not a distraction. It’s being there 100%. It reminds me of what’s important. Economy of motion, concentration, relaxation, balance, structure, and, my favorite, simplicity.

Simplicity and my head can’t seem to go together. My mind is an overthinking machine, going from thought to thought, process to process at lightning speed. And that speed is my greatest enemy, even when I don’t train. It stresses me out immensely. At times it becomes impossible to function.

But for some reason I always do function when training Kung Fu and Eskrima. Right now I’m in Austria and I have to stop and take a break to realize how many staring faces I have in front of me. That was unthinkable in the past. I’d have been beyond stressed by all that attention. Now I don’t even notice it.

German speaking countries love staring. I’ve always felt uncomfortable with it, until I started training in public.

And nothing else matters when I train. All that matters is being in control of my body, moving it to perform each exercise the way I believe it’s supposed to be performed.

Using the knowledge I have so far.

I love it. I love the process. I love training.

And if I happen to feel tired or overwhelmed by the world around me or my relationships, I train more. As much as I need to calm down and get better. 

„I do 30 repetitions, but when I’m tired, then I do 50 repetitions.“

Lesson of the day: Remember why you do what you do. Repetition then isn’t just recommended; it becomes a necessity.