The Joy of Beginning

It is something that must be done daily, usually multiple times daily to keep mediocrity at bay. It is repetition of practiced motion. So practiced that it becomes ever easier to do it without thought, and only mindful repetition allows me to make progress and gain the benefit. 

I think about Kung fu a lot when I’m brushing my teeth.

Especially this past week. 

I had a cleaning recently and the dentist I had mentioned that I must be right-handed from the condition of my teeth on one side of my mouth compared to the other. She explained that the angle of your dominant hand changes the way you angle the brush on each side of your mouth.  

I decided to become ambidextrous.

It has been extremely awkward so far. I feel like a little kid again trying to exert control over my arm and having it go rogue no matter how much I scrunch up my eyes.

I had a moment of self-reflection after starting this (literally, I was standing in front of the mirror after all). I realized that I am not afraid to be a beginner, and I think that that is one of my greatest strengths as a martial artist. I don’t want to be good at something, I want to be better than I used to be, which means I need to constantly change the metric I’m measuring myself by, setting a higher standard to aim for. I recognize that this mindset can go too far in this direction, of never feeling satisfied, but I think having joy when beginning is the difference. I always want to feel the resistance of progression. I think it is one of the reasons I dislike practicing with a performance mindset, polishing what I have feels like stagnation and it makes me uncomfortable and more importantly bored. The pressure allows progress, and as much as I like feeling like a beginner I think what’s closer to the truth is I like the feeling of getting better, I like feeling the difference between each rep, not necessarily linear progression, but the differences that arise with developing something. 

All this to say I’m getting more used to brushing with my left now. 

Push-ups

13699

Sit-Ups

13730

AOK

340

Km

1076

Blogs

16

Sparring

31

Hand Form

130

Weapon Form

181

Repair Relationship

0

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