Beta Hand Form

I am not naturally gifted when it comes to weapons and yet I love the learning curve and nuances that comes with different weapons and how my body needs to move and adapt to each weapon. Put a new weapon in my hand and I mostly feel awkward. It takes a lot of practice and understanding of the weapon before I will start to feel comfortable. 

One may think a hand form would be somewhat easier to develop without a weapon to wield. And yet interestingly I seem to be struggling a bit more with the creation and development of my hand form. Some of the struggle is within the creative process which does also happen when I build a weapon form. I'm also struggling with understanding the hows, whats, and whys of building a hand form. There is so much knowledge to apply. Even though this is my own form I feel there are more parameters and more options to consider than that of a weapon form. All great struggles to have as they will lead to increased knowledge, understanding and skill. 

As I piece together my hand form I have been focused on potential opponents, my block/strike sequences and the flexibility within each for adaptation, which will hopefully help me to be less rigid in my thinking and create more realistic imaginary opponents. Creativity and applying my knowledge and skill in a way that expresses me as a martial artist has been the most challenging and the most rewarding when it comes together.

My hand form was almost complete at the beginning of the week and for some reason I thought hmm..., maybe I should seek out some feedback. It's that feedback that you least expect that can be the most beneficial when it comes from a trusted source. Needless to say I received some great food for thought and observations. My initial very brief thought was that I would have to rework most of the form. After a very quick mental recalibration I was able to shift my perspective to utilize the majority of what I had while reworking a few techniques and pieces here and there. I am feeling even better than I was with my original version. What was needed was more flow within the styles of kung fu that I had originally incorporated into my form, less cookie cutter moves and adding more creative me. Having respect for a tried and true 2000 year old martial art is also on the top of my list as I build and then refine my hand form throughout the year.