Cane Part 2

Last year my weapon of choice was the cane. I remember doing some research at the time on the history of the cane which I found quite interesting. Learning the striking and poking sets from Sifu Hayes really helped me to better understand how to work with the cane and become more comfortable with the weapon. Shortly after learning the striking and poking sets, I started to create my own form. I love the creativity and personal touch that's goes into building my own form.

Everything was going great. I had a completed cane form that I was happy with. I was ready to take my form, add in some wow factors and expand the length. Mission accomplished! Unfortunately I fell off the wagon part way through the year for various reasons and my cane form as well as most of the other requirements became dusty.

Fast forward to November and there we were getting ready for the banquet. If I was going to be able to take part in the demo during our banquet I needed to not only dust off my cane but mostly battle my anxiety so that I could get out on the mats and practice in front of the team. The first and second time I did this was the hardest. Each time after got a tiny bit easier. Putting myself out there and doing all the extra practice outside of class brought back the initial excitement I had at the beginning of the year when I first started working with my cane. I had some great "aha" moments working with Sifu Hayes those last couple of months as I tried to fine tune my cane form and prepare for the banquet. The "aha" moments weren't just about the cane itself,  I could also see how what I was learning and doing related to other areas of my Kung Fu as well.

I know that I have barely scratched the surface with my cane and because of that I feel the need to continue on with it. So for part 2 I am learning a Tai Chi cane form from a video. I had chosen a form and video and started the learning process. I have since changed my mind because I found a form that I feel is a better fit for me. The form is not excessively long and it has wonderful flow and beauty. I had looked at this particular form a few times and thought that it was maybe more than I could take on. Learning from a video can be very challenging and it also has some deeper stances I'm not sure I can execute due to knee issues.

One of the many things that Kung Fu has taught me is to not say, 'I can't". When I find myself thinking "I don't think I can do this",  I switch my thinking to "how can I do this?"  I don't want to limit myself and miss out on what could be. For me the key is start from the beginning, break it down and ask for help when needed. Thank you to Sifu Beckett for all your help on Saturday!

Namaste, Michele Ward