Nose to the grindstone 2025

[Drunk Monk]

Gotta clean house before I leave tomorrow in preparation for our small Xmas gathering here next week. Then home to tend to some banking and get Darth Seearvy smogged. Maybe some KFM work if I can squeeze it in (it’s actually a day off for me at YMAA - another use or lose vacay day). 

Then I’m giving a lesson to a Sifu who is visiting Monterey this week - his special request. I haven’t taught since the pandemic. They have kindly lent me a key to the Academy for it. He wants to review some Bak Sil Lum, focusing on Tantui. He’s paying me in top shelf tea (he’s a gongfu cha practitioner) and dinner to nerd out more on Kung Fu. It’s a step up from being paid in peanuts (but those are damn good peanuts and I still haven’t finished them. I don’t know this sifu that well but I’ve watched him compete and can share a few pointers. I’m honored thst he’d ask. 

I’ve been feeling the urge to teach again, mostly because I’ve been watching Ted’s senior pupil teach and can see so many errors; my old ‘head’ instructor reflexes are kicking in. But I have an agreement with Ted that I won’t teach any of his students unless he requests it. He’s very possessive of his followers and I respect that. I taught for so many years but stopped when Tara was born, just did some side coaching and some workshops at tournaments to earn a little extra cash. Now my schedule is rather irregular so it’d be hard to keep students. But I feel the end of my hard style practice, particularly my Bak Sil Lum, is nigh. Makes me want to pass on what little remains, just a few more times to anyone who can keep up. Tonight shall be a test to see where I stand as a teacher nowadays.