Memorable Memory

Well here I am again.This last two weeks has been an adventure in trying to improve my memory.With twenty to twenty five new students in the white/yellow class since September I've been trying to remember all the new names. Faces are always easier for me, but that falls short when I'm talking directly to the student.So I hit the books investigating aging and memory loss. Of course my first thought as I find my memory lapses happening more often is "oh no I hope this isn't the onset of Alzheimer's...the bad news is some of the problem with memory loss comes from poor eating and not enough activity. The good news is some of the loss can be restored with some work.A couple of the tips were to be a life long learner.Great I could give myself a pat on the back for that one couldn't I? You know, always going to class, learning new techniques, remembering the ones I have already learned... but where does muscle memory come into play there? Some of my forms are definatly in my muscle memory and doesn't always stimulate a lot of gray matter. O.K then another tip is to teach a lesson...You're far more likely to retain information if you have to explain it to somebody else. The degree to which you can effectively explain information indicates how well you've actually learned it.By teaching the next generation you should be powering up your own generator.Here in lie's my next challenge,during a class I was helping out in this week I was trying to teach an add on to a basic technique. The first part was easy,the harder part came when I was trying to explain the add on... in the end I could demonstrate it great, but I wasn't too sure how well my explanation went over... Well back to class for me, a little more mentoring and a whole lot of close attention should do the trick,a great way to use my mind,try to learn something new.

Remaking myself

When I sat down to put thoughts to words and tried to find the right direction to take,I realized that I didn't have to say anything profound or have a cool antidote. All I really needed was honesty within myself. Now that's a tall order.My mind goes in a million different ways and I realize that I'm a bit of a scatter brained person. One thought leads to another and then off in a tangent. I know from the people around me that I do this a lot. Some times I feel if I don't say what I'm thinking right that second I'll loss that thought forever.You know how it is, maybe it was really important or maybe, more likely it was not...wait a minute I think I just did it again...did I?So staying focused on a goal is a real challenge to me.I try to invent different ways to remind myself on what that goal is.More likely that not I loss focus and need to be reminded on what the goal was.All through my Kungfu training I have had great people around me. Instructors , mentors if you would like to call them that, but along with that were fellow students.People who can show me every day what my goal is.Inspiration still comes from the most unusual places.I am a shy person and have always had to work at being more out going. I love people and the way they interact with the world around them.This more than not is where my goals are reinforced every day.Lots of days its the student that has the beautiful forms , who has a great eye for detail who will inspire my goal. But I find it is the person who has to over come a major injury, the person who is not naturally flexible, the one who can't seem to translate what they are seeing and making the adjustment to their own bodies that catch my eye.Here is where I see myself in my training and am able to push on.My goal most days is to have their kind of courage to go on no matter what and maybe I too will be as determined as that student. So I guess in a round about way my goal is to keep open minded, and humble enough to learn where the lesson is been thought this day...