Something Clicked

Aahh, Bruce.  Always good to see an inspiring quote from him, especially after a week or two of frustrating reminders of my own phyiscal limitations, including a hip flexor strain that just never seems to get any better.

So Bruce happened to show up on my Facebook feed yesterday morning, perhaps planting a seed of inspiration in the back of my mind.  I spent the day feeling antsy and eager for afternoon open practice, determined to accomplish a time-consuming but necessary back-to-basics goal.

Accomplish it I did - about two hours worth of monotonous basic actions that left me soggy, breathless, and exhausted, but definitely feeling more powerful and confident than when I started.

When I returned to my normal practice of running through my open hand forms, something just... clicked.  I was suddenly not performing a robotic series of actions.  I was training for combat.  A concept I had previously understood in my head, but not with my body.

It was a true aha! moment as I felt myself launched upward off of the plateau. It reminded me of one of those magic eye pictures that you stare at and stare at and then suddenly your eyes unfocus and you see this whole 3D world that wasn't there before.

I demonstrated my first basic form for the guru.

For the first time ever, I heard him say: "Good.  Now do them all like that."

Very satisfying.  And motivating. 

I need to rehabilitate the hip.

Hip therapy started last night with a hot bath and a lengthy massage from Savageman, for which I was extremely grateful. 

This morning, I got up, ran through an abbreviated Ashtanga Yoga series, and iced it.  Tonight, I will stretch extra well before and after classes and hopefully get another massage.

No limits, only plateaus.  I'm determined.