4/23 tuishou
I was the first to arrive in the park, by a long shot, at 8:30. Teacher Xu got there a bit later, followed by Weeble and Mr. V, who started practicing. I went through the empty-handed form a couple of times while they taught each other wrestling moves.
Teacher Xu interrupted their session with some advice. “Use about a third of the power you’re using now,” he said. “If you find you need more than that, relax and change the direction.” This had a visible effect on their practicing. Later, I pushed with Mr. V for a while. Mr. V’s style has evolved into a sort of quick, nervous patting as he tries to find pushing points. Once he thinks he has something, he clamps down like a robot. He’s a lot quicker than he used to be, but not much more subtle.
Then I practiced with Weeble, who was full of advice. Weeble spends more time teaching than being taught. He told me that he wanted to learn all styles and all levels, and he said I should join a competition. I couldn’t convince him that that was the last thing I wanted to do. The 1/3 advice from Teacher Xu had an effect on him as well; his quick shoves were less frequent than normal. We went on after Mr. V, Teacher Xu and his son had left, until Weeble got tired. He spends a lot of energy practicing. I didn’t spend much, and wasn’t even breathing hard. The night, for me, was all about being insubstantial. It sort of worked, I guess. At least it’s something. Lately I’ve been feeling that my practice lacks focus, but it’s probably because I’m distracted by so many other things these days.
