Bruise My Ego; Bruise My Leg

I'm so embarassed.

Last night, after wing chun class, gha5t was practicing some southern mantis and Hung Gar forms while I chatted with a new student. When I last looked, gha5t had been doing a mantis form. The new student looked over at him and asked, "What's he doing?"

I took a brief glance then said, "Mantis."

"Uh, no," said gha5t.

He was doing long, low stances, back fists, reverse punches, and the ilk. And that's when I clued in he was doing fook fu, the very first form I learned, and it's a Hung Gar form which looks nothing like mantis.

What the hell? Someone had better revoke my sash. Sheesh! Talk about a brain fart....

I think I'm progressing pretty well in wing chun. I'm self-correcting now, so the sifu doesn't have to make nearly as many corrections. I think he only had to make one adjustment last night, which is a huge improvement over the constant changes he was getting me to do during the first two weeks. I'm getting much better at speeding up muscle memory. And minimal directions make maximal sense, now, too. I went through gung gee at the end of the class, and during my double tiger claw strikes, the sifu said, "No, use your back."

This made sense to me, and as soon as I opened through my back, I could feel the power flowing down through my arms. Nice....

If you know anything about pressure points, then you're likely aware of the pressure point a few inches below your hip. Well, I don't have one. Any time I tell a martial artist that (which I suppose is a gaffe on my part, since I'm revealing a Super Power!), they, of course, have to test it out. So right now, I am sporting a lovely black bruise courtesy of the sifu doing a few test punches to see if I was shitting him or not.

Nope. I wasn't shitting him. I do, however, have all the other pressure points, and am not keen on having anyone punch those.

Right now, I'm baking an apple crumble pie. I just thought I'd let you know.

Want some links? Here you go!

Beatboxing flute inspector gadget remix: I used to play flute. I used to try to beatbox. But I never tried doing them both at the same time (thanks, snowy_kathryn).

This is an awesome necklace. That is all.

Saidance 2003: Saida is wearing a seriously bitchin' dress at the beginning of this clip. Oh yes, and I like her dancing, too.

Israeli defense chief makes lens cap gaffe: Derrr....

Every Bite You Take: I'd rather eat at home than go to restaurants. My cooking is just generally better. And now I know why. It looks like more and more restaurants are going with premade frozen dinners (thanks, gha5t).

Danse du Jour

Today's clip, Buddha With A Thousand Hands, is remarkable for a couple of reasons. First off, it's just damned cool. Second, it's performed by a troupe of deaf dancers who receive their cues from helpers in the wings.

Watch on YouTube