thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me

When I started T'ai Chi it was with the idea that I would somehow lose the frantic craziness that fills my head all the time. Stuff runs through my head constantly, like speeding down the Autobahn with a soundtrack made up of 1970's am radio. It isn't pretty, and it's always like I'm right on the verge of being completely manic. Swear. And when I started mixing up work and school, I knew that this kind of speed-thinking would get worse. So I signed in for the chi class and things were going great --

And then they changed the instructor.

Rather than take the second level class from someone new, I decided to continue on the original teacher, who is now my good friend Brian. And I stuck with Brian, because ... well, here was what I said at the time:

"I don't want to end of taking this from someone who does stick fighting or some weird thing like that."

You know the kind of guys I mean. The ones who have nunchucks in the truck of their Chevy Cavalier; the ones who are really Really REALLY serious about martial arts; guys with their own samurai swords (bought at The Magic Castle of Swords in Springfield) and call their room their "dojo"; guys who walk up to us in the park and show off their akido moves: "What would you do if I did this, man? Huh?"

That said ... ... I'm actually really enjoying this new Stick Chi. I have my own stick (it was in our back/side yard and looks like something broken off of an old shovel -- probably broken by the last tenants when they tried to dig that concrete out of the front yard) and it's loads of fun to swing that sucker around. It's kind of nutty to practice it in the public park and all, and it draws attention in a really embarrassing way, but it's a laugh and it works the same way as the regular chi, in terms of balancing the energy and yah yah yah. Not only that, but now I can break elbows with my hands or with my handy, dandy stick -- although most of the moves seem to concentrate on taking out knees.

I know ... I KNOW ... but when I pull the stick back like Mifune in Ichijoji no ketto and bring it around and down ... ooh la la, it's really satisfying.

I really don't think I'm going to go in for the sword practice though. I'll just end up sticking the cat or slicing off my own ear. And the idea of going into The Magic Castle of Swords to get a practice weapon ... ... no. no way.