Day SixteenBuilding

CLASSES:
Movement: More with "the stone game". I'm getting close to being able to do the two bits which frustrated or scared me. Some of it is building up strength, and some technique and confidence. We moved up to Walt for the last bit of class, the small studio on the third floor. It has a very nice feeling, especially since they stripped and refinished the floor. We continued a balloon exercise up there, in pairs then groups of three or four 'tossed' the balloons to each other and caught them without disturbing them, avoiding any bouncing on the hands or redirecting of the balloons. It's tricky and engaging -- try it.

Combat: We learned a block to capture, that not being the actual term. One person throws a punch at a target over your shoulder(right fist towards right shoulder target), the other steps away and blocks grasping the aggressors wrist as light as possible and placing the other hand on the aggressors shoulder. It is a great looking arm twist. We reviewed front chokes and quite a few jabs and crosses. It was a different space, the Hugo House theatre, as all the Freehold spaces were booked.

Speech: This class was in Walt, and we started with the Omnish oration from the person who was absent Sunday. Then we finished the diphthongs and triphthongs, and discussed rhoticity (r coloring). I find this stuff very cool. In a diphthong (or triphthong) changing the stressed vowel sound helps with accents. The unstressed vowel is always a schwa. The schwa moves around a bit, so that would be something to be sure and include when working on accents where diphthongs are still there, but the sounds shifted.

OBSERVATIONS/CLICKS:
I'd read our homework assignment for voice, which was a medical doctor's essay talking about reaching plateaus in Tai Chi, how it frustrated him at first then provided a level of ease and comfort aiding is further advancement. I've misplaced the damn thing, and if I find it I'll reference it and try to find a copy on the web. He talked of being at a level, and not feeling you're moving forward at all, then suddenly finding yourself on a new plateau. It resonated deeply for me, as I seem to assimilate in chunks and not on a gradual slope. I was starting to feel more like I was in a chasm, and the handout was exactly what I needed at the time. I got to thinking of that with regards to the bits in "the stone game" which have been hard for me. I really felt stuck in a spot, and all of a sudden realized I was much closer on one part, and actually there in a rough form for the other.

It was a small plateau. I've noticed more new plateaus lately. Is it that I am assimilating smaller chunks, becoming more aware, or something else? I think it is the latter, something else. We are so immersed in this training, that there is some synergy, making the sum of what we learn greater. There is hope for me!