return to training

last night i trained for the first time in 2 weeks & it was great! it is funny that if you miss training for a bit, you are not as sore when you return as you are on subsequent training days. my lucky hardcore brothers who train every day say that when you train every day you don't give your body a chance to get sore. i want to believe this! maybe some day i can tell you first hand if this is true.
so it was a damned busy day at the office & i thought i may not make training but i ran out of the office around 6:30 & made it there in enough time to warm up & say hello to the gang. quan tuo was already there & worked up a sweat. then bang! class started.
i wasn't as winded but i also wasn't going as fast as i normally do. i found myself mid line which is fine with a bit of switching around. my pop was lacking, sifu even said so warning me that he didn't want to send me back so pop! eventually, of course at yangshen yunshuo i was sent back & it was maddening at KFK where it was slow, so slow i felt my damp shirt cooling!
at stretch time, i stretched with neo & xu & man did the pull me apart! that's what i get for asking to be pulled out a wee bit more after the initial stretch. it really hurt! but i breathed through it & had a bit of difficulty getting my legs to work after that when i stretched alone.
at the back line with sifu, he pulled me off to work on cetitui & the pop! i was shocked! cetitui is always one of the ones i really think i do well! but tiao did enlighten me about opening up more, to find that push pull with arms & legs, as well as that hollow in the hip that let's you without effort allow your leg up then snap it down. i could feel the difference! tiao also said that i was more flexible than i thought & noticed i was keeping my legs from going higher. so i worked on it & it does feel better. doing this will prevent me from bouncing which i know i do & many others do as well. i will try to keep myself grounded since in the end the bounce will hurt the knees, something many brothers suffer from.
soup training was lovely! a nice group, we had a lot to giggle about & catch up on. it's so nice to be back among the shaolin gang. quan tuo & i really missed the CHI in class!
train harder!