shanmonster | Tiger, Dragon, Burning Bright

My neck and back were pretty freaking sore, yesterday! It's all because of the work I did. I was Super Duper Art Person. I made enlargements of several photos (my very first time!), and I also did a half dozen paintings/collages. They're pretty nice, but twelve hours of work left me soooo sore. Ouch.

Then, today, I spent five hours or so at a kung fu seminar. It was remarkably pain-free, aside from the usual rigours of low horse stances. Just as Sifu Jay's youthful visage competes with his silver hair, his superduper oh-so-cute exterior belies his ferocious reputation. The power in his hands was palpable from across the room. His fists literally made cracking sounds at the implied point of impact of all his strikes. He has a beautiful smile--the sort of smile you'd expect to see directed at a particularly adorable puppy. However, he saves this boyish grin for descriptions of the most maiming strikes imaginable.

The students (and other sifus) worked their way through fook fu under his tutelage. I know it was informative for everyone, regardless of experience. I learned many applications I'd never even considered, including a few which made Sifu Jay grin in ecstacy, so you know they must be nasty. Lamentably, we only got the smallest taste of gung gee applications. There just wasn't enough time.

I wish I could train every day like I did today. Well, actually, I'd like to train a bit harder. I only barely broke a sweat, but then again, it was very chilly in the lodge cum kwoon.

Tonight, I'm going to a birthday party for one of my fellow students: Shawn. I'm giving him one of my paintings. Here's a scan of it. The colours aren't perfect, but I'm pretty sure it's impossible to capture iridescence digitally. It flashes both silver and copper, and is much warmer looking than the scan. The calligraphy reads "Tiger Dragon." At least, I hope that's what it says. I also hope Shawn will like it.