Status from Afar

 The first month of this year felt a little clumsy. I knew entering into the I Ho Chuan this year from a distance would present the obvious geographical challenges, but I thought the knowing that I was part of this would offset the reality of the distance. Not so much, it’s still very alone in all aspects.

The term struggling is being tossed around a fair bit, for me, it’s mostly lonely. The year of the snake is not serving me mentally as I was hoping, but I wouldn’t call this a struggle. It’s just not as enjoyable as I was hoping; I lack the team, the camaraderie, working and learning together, the laughs, the discussions and the sweating together of course, can’t leave that out. My solo year is more of a setback, which will require another toolbox of adaptive tools.

My numbers are doing fine. I’m hitting everything on my challenge list. Relearning all my forms has been a bit more daunting than I anticipated, it hasn’t been as pleasurable as it was learning them at the kwoon in a group environment, but I’m getting through them slowly. Alana and I have sparred a bit and it felt great, or forgot how much I enjoyed putting this together in a sparring match. Alana is a little feisty and makes me work for it.

Participating in the class over zoom felt a bit more connected, but honestly, it’s not even close to the same as being with the group in the kwoon.

I kinda knew what I was getting into by signing up this year, as I’ve always worked out of town, but I always knew I’d be back sooner or later to train with the group. This year, it’s not the same. When I committed to this year, I think I got caught up in how being a member of Silent River used to make me feel and was thinking that it would be the same. The reality is, being at a distance and knowing that I may not make it to the kwoon this year, is weird and just doesn’t feel right without the group.

On the flip side, there are many positives, the mend a relationship; I get it, I understand its value and the dynamics that are supposed to take place with this…and I’m trying, which is the positive. I can say I initially butted heads with this mandatory challenge, but I recognize the value to my health alone in attempting this challenge.

The physical challenges lend themselves well to my general health, to my running events and the active lifestyle that I can appreciate. I love the push…my internal push. When I commit to something, I like to follow through and do myself proud. As I age, these challenges get tougher and it takes a lot more dedication to achieve the same results compared to 10 years ago, so this extended commitment really helps. When I was twenty to forty years of age, it was almost effortless to do what I’m doing today.

The forms were a large part of my journey and challenges this year, as I recognize the benefits that they bring to my mental and physical health. They are coming together slowly but surely.

The facets of what I can bring to my life through the I Ho Chuan are certainly worth every effort. I just hope I can work through the mental challenge of doing this year mostly solo. And as a team member I apologize to the team for the distant relationship.

March 02, 2025 (day 33)

Acts of Kindness recorded - 64,

Push-ups - 5270,

Sit-ups and or equivalents - 5350,

Kilometers (intentional extra mileage) - 238.9,

Meditation/ inversion table (min.) - 86,

Stretching/ rolling (min.) - 149

Sparring/ grappling minutes - 43,

# of forms re-familiarized - 6.25,

Form reps - 52,

Form time (min.) - 179,

“Mastery” recite (min.) - 68,

Blogs - 7