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eredienI don't do a terrible lot of stuff outside of school. I mean, I do musical stuff and do computer stuff and draw and write, but that's generally about it. I'm not also doing, say, particle physics.
This results in me having a very few hobbies which I take very seriously and tend to obsess over, in a good way. I don't just want to write, I want to write a Nebula-winner. I don't just want to play Mozart, I want to play Mozart with all the dynamics and the accent markings in place and get the stacatto note just...there, and feel like I'm making beautiful music.
So, I started taking tai chi. And that was a great deal of fun and made me feel good, mentally and physically. And then I started doing western-style martial arts (swordfighting, a little wrestling stuff, and some other odds and ends) on top of that. And then I started learning Maori stuff from New Zealand. And so when Randal decided to see if he could get his kendo teacher's son over here to do kendo and iado, traditional Japanese martial arts, I thought, "hey, why not try it?"
I just had my first class. Wow, it's so hard. It's like, "keep the sword parallel to the ground, and step like this, and hold it like this, and breathe, and go fast, and try to be relaxed." And my arms are aching now. But it's amazing. And I'm so glad I'm doing this. It's so focused and so much fun and it's so energetic. And I'm going to be so sore tomorrow. But I don't care.
I didn't notice my gradual transformaton into the kind of person who will happily chatter on about tai chi for an hour, but I can't say I'm surprised by it, and it's definitely not a bad thing.
This results in me having a very few hobbies which I take very seriously and tend to obsess over, in a good way. I don't just want to write, I want to write a Nebula-winner. I don't just want to play Mozart, I want to play Mozart with all the dynamics and the accent markings in place and get the stacatto note just...there, and feel like I'm making beautiful music.
So, I started taking tai chi. And that was a great deal of fun and made me feel good, mentally and physically. And then I started doing western-style martial arts (swordfighting, a little wrestling stuff, and some other odds and ends) on top of that. And then I started learning Maori stuff from New Zealand. And so when Randal decided to see if he could get his kendo teacher's son over here to do kendo and iado, traditional Japanese martial arts, I thought, "hey, why not try it?"
I just had my first class. Wow, it's so hard. It's like, "keep the sword parallel to the ground, and step like this, and hold it like this, and breathe, and go fast, and try to be relaxed." And my arms are aching now. But it's amazing. And I'm so glad I'm doing this. It's so focused and so much fun and it's so energetic. And I'm going to be so sore tomorrow. But I don't care.
I didn't notice my gradual transformaton into the kind of person who will happily chatter on about tai chi for an hour, but I can't say I'm surprised by it, and it's definitely not a bad thing.
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1/11/02 09:19 (UTC)Iaido?
Wonderful that you're doing it, but take care of yourself, OK? There are four martial arts which scare the crap out of me, and Iaido is one of them. For the record, they are:
At the same time, I'm drawn to all four in a way. Tai Chi, because of the philosophy (and the stuff you can do to someone with it, though a different subset of said stuff than that subset which scares me). Muay Thai, because of the way they harness the instinct and channel it. Krav Maga, because they've got more improvised weapons than a season of Ranma 1/2. And Iaido... well, I think that's my self-destructive urges calling there; living on the edge and all that.
Terrifying yet seductive; kind of like a kinder, gentler Dark Side. Tai Chi and Iaido are the only two I'd ever seriously consider actually practicing, though. But hey, be careful with the Iaido, all right?
!
1/11/02 12:22 (UTC)But that's all a side-note.
Yes. You can do stuff to people with tai chi that's serious. But:
-It takes years to get to that level. Really. And--supposedly--when you've actually reached such a level, you know exactly how much force you need to use at a near-unconscious level. So if you don't need to hurt them, you don't.
-You can heal/relax people with it. It's just as much creative as it is destructive.
A question: what do you mean by "a different subset of said stuff than that subset which scares me?" What exactly are you talking about here? I'm curious. Feel free to take it to email should you want to do that instead of replying here.
Iaido (thank you for spelling it correctly, I knew there was another "i" in there somewhere): we've been practing with bokkan, and we haven't started sparring yet. We're a long way away from doing that yet, I think. I'm taking kendo and iaido on a trial basis here, though, moreso than the other stuff I've been doing.
This means that if at anytime I don't feel comfortable or don't like it, I'll stop. It's that simple. And this applies to all the martial arts I do.
Thanks for the concern, B. - know that I will be thinking about that. And thank you.
Re: !
1/11/02 12:34 (UTC)Your arguments for Tai Chi sum up why I'm drawn to it, actually. The knowledge gained in any martial art can be applied for healing purposes, and I've used this quite often with my own training (mostly in the area of massage, but I've done a few other interesting things). But Tai Chi is uniquely suited to this application, and that's the subset which draws me to it (as opposed to the subset which lets you, say, permanently take away someone's voice). I'd never consider you the type to abuse Tai Chi. It's just freaky, the stuff that can be done with it I mean.
As for Iaido, it's more just a matter of don't slip.