#strikeblr

“How long have they sent you for?” 

“A-a week to begin with,” said Robin, who had never been greeted with such a lack of enthusiasm. 

Strike made a rapid mental calculation. A week at the agency’s exorbitant rate would drive his overdraft yet further into the region of irreparable; it might even be the final straw his main creditor kept implying he was waiting for.

-Robert Galbraith, A Cuckoo’s Calling

like. i’m actually shaking.

i was really getting comfortable on this platform. i got a compliment earlier today on my liveblogging nonsense, i just broke 400 followers this week, i had all these posts planned and queued, and i was like okay tumblr is going under slowly now but i’ve got a community here, i’ll hang around while it does.

this site had turned into a home. a place where i had people.

and now, poof. technically i still exist; if you’re following me you can see me on your dash, i can still use the chat function, but like. i’ve been cut off from any real networking capability. i’m not in the community anymore. my posts can’t really circulate because even if you reblog them your followers can’t see them, because i’m Sensitive Content. i’ve been ostracized by mechanical fiat.

because i reblogged too many of the ‘this image has been flagged’ memes since yesterday? because i’m mutuals with people who’ve been flagged? because of a glitch staff is unlikely to get around to fixing in the middle of the censorship apocalypse? who knows.

i never started trying to monetize being-creative-on-tumblr because of a lot of reasons including shyness, but it was in the back of my head that if things got any tighter i could start actually trying to use Patreon properly and advertising it here.

Since I started training Bajiquan I’ve had the opportunity to first-hand experience and remember what both “being the new girl/guy” means and what training with new girls/guys is like. I’ve trained in other styles and gone through different gyms/dojos in the past, so this list is not exclusive to chinese martial arts. Note that I am a woman from Chile and there may be some cultural differences between you and me. My approach to train is a strict one rather than a friendly, light-hearted one, and I’m aware some may differ with it. That’s ok. Feel free to reblog and add anything you want from your own experiences too.

- Always arrive on time. Earlier is even better. Especially when you are new. You don’t do this to receive recognition from your Master, you do it to let them know you are commited to your training and studies and respect their teachings. It’s good manners, too.

- When you do arrive late for whatever reason, don’t interrupt the class. Apologize privately to your Master and do not give excuses or explain your reasons unless you are asked. Promise, both to yourself and your master that you’ll try to let these situations happen as little as possible. This is about respect.

- Chances are, you’ll feel nervous and silly the first classes. And that’s okay. Martial arts are both a physical and mental discipline. Your head may be filled with questions such as “Am I doing this right?”, “Do I look silly?”, “Is my body too tense, or too relaxed?”, “Do I need to fix my clothes?”, “What are they thinking about me?”, “Shit, I suck”, “What’s the point of doing this?” With time, these questions and doubts will either get answered or fade away from your mind. One of the hardest aspects of martial arts (and life itself) is overcoming your thoughts. Especially when doing zazen in japanese arts, or holding a horse stance. Push through it and try to ignore your thoughts as much as you can with the knowledge that it’s part of your training. 

- When receiving direct instruction, ask questions if you have them. If you are not sure about something, ask. Never keep them to yourself if it means you’ll do things halfway. Talk clear and be direct. Both your instructor and your training partner will appreciate it. You are here to learn.

- Don’t talk too much in class, and definitely don’t talk about things that have nothing to do with your training IN class. You have the internet and friends to do that all the time you’re not in your gym/dojo/dojang/kwoon/etc. If someone starts talking to you about trivial stuff when sparring or practicing applications, either don’t reply or just reply with a “hm” sound. They’ll get it. This is not about being mean, but about avoiding distractions. Remember, you’re here to train. Friendship develops naturally as time passes.

- Be quiet, but remember to be kind and courteous to other students and your Master. Treat them with respect and use good language when interacting with them. Being serious about your training doesn’t equal being unapproachable. When someone who knows less than you gets something right, congratulate them. A small smile here and there doesn’t do any harm.

- Leave your ego outside your gym/dojo/dojang/kwoon. No, seriously. Don’t be an arrogant jerk. No one likes to be around “that guy”. We, as students, are supposed to help each other learn and work alongside each other. This is not a competition to see who is the best. For example, the other day I had a nerdish dude come train with me on the wooden dummys section and he insisted on staying in “his” dummy instead of switching with me every 5 minutes like our instructor said so. Thing is, we have one Wing Chun dummy and one Baji dummy. He was training on the Wing Chun one, as it was supposedly “harder”. Because of his ego all he got was bad technique from wrong positioning and sore arms. Don’t be that guy.

- When told to do something by your Master, don’t stop until they tell you so. This means that If they told you to do 25 kicks with each leg, and you’ve already finished it and your master is busy, keep doing it. Better to do that than to stay there standing up like a fool losing time.

- For fucks sake, when practicing applications (in my case, Qin Na) use force as needed and aim to where you are supposed to aim. The point of practicing applications is to develop muscle memory and understand the core principles of our movements and techniques. The logic behind action. Ideally, with time your body should be learning these techniques to apply them to a resisting, active opponent as a natural reaction. Because of this you really aren’t doing your classmate a favor by reaching out your arm next to him instead of aiming to his face as you should be doing. He is going to end up learning the technique the wrong way and won’t be prepared or remotedly used to have a blow coming for his face. This doesn’t mean you should hit them. Go for their head at a slower speed, and retrieve your arm if needed. They’ll thank you in the end. And holy shit, when someone is applying a hold on you, don’t act as dead weight. That’s what bags are there for. Try to simulate a resisting opponent according to their level, but please don’t drop dead.

- Show your classmates the respect they deserve by training seriously. Even if they don’t return the favor. If someone is weaker or has less experience than you, they deserve to learn as much as you or anyone with a higher level does. Don’t understimate them and don’t look down on them. Treat them with the dignity and respect all martial artist deserve, regardless of sex or age.

- Train at home and be diligent. I don’t care if you think you don’t have time or space to do so. You do. If you can extend your arm, then you can train. Do all over again everything you learned in class. Practice your forms and fists as much as possible. Your instructor is there to guide you at your gym, but if you don’t train what you learn there at home or use your free time to improve as a martial artist you won’t get far. 3-4 hours per week is not enough. Always strive to be the best you can be, there’s always room to improve. Eat well, drink as little alcohol as possible and as much water as your body needs, don’t smoke and work on your body too. Train each muscle group separatedly, lose weight if you deem it necessary, train strength, train your grip, train your endurance and stamina. Work on your speed. Condition your body to be hit and learn to control pain. Don’t be mediocre. Become the best version of yourself.

Anddd I think that’s it. If I remember anything else, I’ll edit this and add it. Like I said before, feel free to reblog and add your own tips. shaped-by-karate I’d appreciate if you could give this a reblog so it can reach the MA community better.

Ronda Rousey, UFC Women’s MMA Bantamweight World Champion

As an athlete and martial artist this quote resonated within me a lot. Though I’ve never suffered from any eating disorder in particular, my relationship with food has been a complicated one throughout my life. To me, food always meant warmth, family love, nurture: all things I lacked through my development years as a child and teenager. I learned how to cook not because I cared about food itself, but because I dreamt of living together with my siblings and be able to cook for them, to nurture and love them like normal people do. That dream never came true as we all parted ways quite early. I’ve accepted that. On the other hand, I truly do believe I’m a natural fighter as I’ve been training and working out since I was a kid out of an inner desire to do so, therefore I’ve always been on the “fit” side. At some point a few years ago I took a wrong turn in life and started drinking a lot. I’d go out to drink and fuck shit up. I’d drink and fight. After a shitty day I’d drink to make myself feel better. I’d drink because I was happy, because I was sad. Because I wanted to chill. Sometimes drinking made me hungry, so I ate more. I was fucking with the reward circuit in my brain constantly.

Naturally, I gained a few pounds and my health worsened. My body that has always felt light, fast and strong was feeling heavy, slow and weak. I felt bad about myself. But at some point I thought to myself “fuck this shit, this is getting ridiculous” and started preparing my body to go back to train and work on my discipline. It took me a while, but after around 6-7 months I’ve successfully quitted drinking and eating crap. My stamina levels are stable and I make sure to provide my body of enough energy to train as needed. I don’t eat “superfoods” or expensive, highly-calculated pretentious crap either. I eat normal food, but just enough to fit my lifestyle. The only supplement I take is protein powder whenever I’m too busy to cook and can’t meet my daily protein intake otherwise.

I don’t crave shit at all but I don’t deprive myself of anything when I go out with friends either, food and alcohol on a personal level are not an issue anymore. This balance and control is the best thing I could’ve achieved. 

I truly don’t care what other people do or choose to do with their bodies and their relationship with food and drinking, it’s none of my business nor is it my place to judge. I’m very aware proper nutrition is a social issue itself and even on a personal level It’s never that simple either. I'm sharing my personal experience not as a ‘normal’ person, but as a martial artist. Developing strong emotional connections to food when you are devoted to train and fight is dangerous. When I trained and the best part of my day was a bottle of beer, then damn, there was indeed something wrong with my fucking day. With my fucking life, and my fucking mind. I was a fucking weak, pathetic mess.

Now that my mind is on the right track and I couldn’t care less about alcohol, my body came after. I realized (and reassured myself at times) that the thing that made me happy the most was training and sparring, not drinking. And before I realized it my body was in it’s peak condition again. Shit, I’d say I’m even in better shape than when I was 15. I’m strong, I can take care of myself and hell, I look so fucking great naked I’m even getting worried my next big problem is gonna be narcissism LOL.