Why I’m not training in wushu

If you are reading my blog, you probably know what wushu is (and if you don’t, read this).

You probably also know that I’ve been training or teaching wushu for the better part of the last 2 decades.  In fact almost exactly 20 years ago I started wushu.

I recently came to the conclusion that my wushu days were behind me.  At least for the foreseeable future.  And the reality is, it has nothing to do with wushu itself.

Truth be told, I still really love wushu.  I’d love to be able to train again, and part of me hopes that I will be able to do it again in the future.  It was really only a year ago when I last trained so the physicality and challenge of a good training session is still fresh in my memory.

But I have physical limitations that make it currently impossible for me to do wushu.  And, for the time being, it is a reality I’ve come to accept.

My joints, my physique and my current state of fitness all prevent me from taking part in this wonderful sport.  My joints (my knees in particular) are not in shape to partake, and it isn’t because of what you might suspect — that too many years of high impact martial arts took their toll.

In fact, the reason my knees and joints are suffering has more to do with other factors of health — from nutrition to body weight and beyond.

Actually, all of the things that are issues with my body related to wushu have to do with one very important factor that has been a life long challenge: consistency.

The truth is, if I had been more consistent in those endeavors I tried to undertake, I would still be able to partake of wushu training.  I would be able to walk with no discomfort, and I would be able to enjoy a level of physical fitness that has so far eluded me.

So, right now I’m tackling this aspect of my personal development — consistency — and it is what I’m putting all of my effort in to.

Consistency, like many things in life, is something that can be developed — but only through hard work and dedication and, ironically, consistent behavior.

It is a muscle in the same way that will power or patience or other virtues are muscles.  It must be exercised and utilized and developed.

I have a plan, which I will explore in a future blog post, that will help me develop consistency in a natural, organic manner.  I’m looking forward to the end results.  But even more than those, I’m looking forward to the day to day challenges that being consistent will bring.

When I focus on the end result, I ignore the present moment.  But when I focus on taking consistent actions, then the results end up happening as a matter of course.

Here is to the day to day actions!  And here is to the day in the future when I may once again be able to tie up the shoe laces on my feiyue’s and hit the carpet to enjoy a session of training.