Vocabulary

 

Vocabulary. We use words and phrases all day every day without a lot of thought, and last week, with some reflection I realized that my Kung Fu vocabulary needs expanding.  I’m confident when it comes to teaching the preschool and young dragon classes, but I don’t think that same vocabulary serves me very well when it comes to teaching adults. 

It’s no secret that I have always felt more comfortable teaching kids, and working with adults is something I am working on. I have the opportunity to do this and this brings me to learning to modulate my teaching towards my audience.  The only way for me to improve is to do, not simply observe.  With practice, I will get better at expressing the lessons I am sharing.  With practice, my ideas with form more defined shapes.  With practice, it will get easier.  

Repetition

 

Recently, I decided to sit down and fold cranes.  It has been around 2 years(?) since I have folded any, but didn’t think much of it, until I actually started to try to fold one.  I was completely stuck about 1/3 of the way in.  I had no clue what fold came next, and unfolding an old crane I had done did very little to help me.

My husband ended up showing me ( somehow things are etched in his brain forever ,while mine is like sand in an hourglass), and after a few tries I had it again.  So what does this illustrate?  My lack of practicing led to a loss of knowledge.  Repetition is key, and not once in a while either.  In order for me to keep this, I am going to need to fold a few every so often (few times a month at the bare minimum).  

The same goes for Kung Fu.  I know that there are forms that are either really, really dusty or just gone (the gone ones are the forms that I created for the I Ho Chuan and then never really practiced again when the new year would roll in).  So, there is a lot of truth in the adage “If you don’t use it, you lose it.”