It is good to take periodic inventory of what one has learned, what benefits one has acquired from his or her practice, and how best to balance the time and effort required to maintain commitments to the different lines of study one is engaged in. This includes not only personal practice, but time taken traveling to training, financial costs, social obligations, and the responsibilities one makes to their students, juniors, seniors, and teachers (as the case may be).
Having caught the flu [the flu vaccine this year does not have a strain that started in March], I've had some time for meditation and reflection. I have looked closely at two martial arts I have engaged in over the last ten years, both deep and rewarding, but both with their own challenges. On the Chinese side, I have thought about my practice of Gao Yisheng's "linear bagua" and on the Japanese side, I have examined my practice in Sugawara Budo, which is a group that teaches Aikidō and a heterodox branch of Katori Shintō-ryū .
The 64 Gao Linear Tactics
With Gao Lineage Bagua, I was taught circular bagua and linear bagua tactics side-by-side by Bob Galeone, and subsequently passed on that knowledge to one student, Ben Lawner. Since Bob no longer practices the art, I have limited avenues for correction and tutelage. I have had corrections by Paul Cote on some of my tactics -- Paul is in my opinion one of the best sources of information on the art, as he has catalogued sets from several lineages flowing from Gao Yisheng an an effort to be broad in his study. He still finds Gao Bagua a deep practice, but due to distance I never attended his Frederick, MD classes in the art more than a handful of times [I was attending his Sunday YCGF classes instead, when I able to get out to Damascus, MD or Frederick, MD on a regular basis] and am not his student in Gao Bagua. I consulted with Su Dong Chen, who studied under Hung Yi Xiang and Hung Yi Mien, who thought more than 24 forms was overkill. So, maybe the two men are two extremes or perspective on the martial art.
The more I continue to practice in Yin Cheng Gong Fa (YCGF) the more I am drawn to the circular Yin style baguazhang and the Liu style "eight methods", which is a more compact practice than Gao linear. I first learned Liu-style from Paul in YCGF, and have had further exposure to the sets from seminars and classes with Zhang Yun. Both are deep practices and I can get a lot of further mileage on.
I have decided, since my regular instruction is in YCGF under Zhang Yun, to put the Gao linear aside. What I am doing at this point is focusing instead on applications from the Eight Big Palms and Single Palm Change and elements of linear bagua, without worrying about the entire set. Given my focus when I get together with Ben is efficient entry into locks, throws, chokes, grappling and take downs, I think it is a fair trade off. I am adding into our meetings the fixed postures of the eight mother palms I have learned as part of YCGF, to begin to deepen his exposure to neijiaquan. In 2015, instead, I will start working with Ben on the Liu style eight methods, which is an older form of linear practice useful for bagua developed by Liu Dekuan.
Sugawara Budo
With Sugawara Budo, over the last four years I have had trouble due to work commitments and injuries maintaining a regular presence at Capital Katori in Silver Spring. I found the raw external athleticism of Shintō-ryū is not tolerant of injury, whereas other arts I practice could be practiced easier when in recovery. It is likely because Shintō-ryū is such a visceral, external, practice when done with a partner at speed. I continued to practice Shintō-ryū on my own, and get to class when I was able, but over the last four years my focus shifted more and more towards understanding Jikishinkage-ryū . My mindset, posture, movement, rhythm, and timing have become more and more a product of my Chinese training and my exposure to Jikishinkage-ryū than a pure expression of Shintō-ryū . Additionally, I am at the point in my Katori training where I have to dedicate the effort to get from the plateau I am on now to a point where I am good enough to be allowed to teach others, performing Shintō-ryū in as pure a manner as possible.
At the 2014 annual seminar in DC, I did not understand Sugawara's approach to teaching the art at an advanced level -- at times the roles of uchidachi and shidachi lose their meaning in a pure quest for speed. The speed may be a mechanism to test how relaxed one can be under pressure, how efficiently one can move and react, and how well one knows the kata under duress. It seemed to me, however, almost as if Sugawara-sensei has come to view his sword practice as a form of aiki-ken versus a manifestation of teachings from Marishiten. In contrast, I very much appreciated very much his guidance to be soft and precise and smooth in movement. That resonated with my interest in Taiji. Given that I do not practice Aikidō [maybe I should have joined Capital Aikido ten years ago when Clyde invited me to train] and that my passion is first and foremost neijiaquan, I can just do the latter rather than Shintō-ryū in that form, but there is a great depth to Katori I do not want to abandon. So, what of Katori Shintō-ryū focused as a personal practice?
Katori [like Nen-ryū ] is said to be the sword that protects, and Jiki said to be the sword that dominates, but one should not ever be found wielding a sword of doubt. I need to let go of preoccupations about my skill in Shintō-ryū versus the time I have put into the system and simply train if I enjoy training -- but, importantly, in a manner that is compatible with my goals of furthering my abilities as someone who practices the internal martial arts, and does justice to the art in of itself.
Ultimately, I continue to enjoy practicing a subset of the Shintō-ryū kata I know as a personal misogi (purification) and shugyo (asceticism). That will have to be enough for me.
Conclusion
Letting go of an idea, a fear, or a path can be terrifying or liberating. It is all about one's state of mind. When challenges arise, or things do not work out according to plan -- this is when equanimity is put to the test. However, when one has a surplus of opportunity, the question is how one should best focus to get the most out of the time, resources, and energy one has to devote to the craft. Each person may make different choices when presented with the same opportunities. The choices made depend on their history, mindset, and goals. These remain private and personal decisions, but I am writing on the topic to shed some light on my thinking, given I have been maintaining this blog off and on for the last several years.
I hope, for me, 2015 is the year of focus.