Horse stance outside

I usually think of "outside" practice and "inside" practice. Usually these terms refer to the secrecy of the arts you are practicing. That is not what I'm talking about. i don't have a gym per se so there are things you can do outside (running, jumping,  stick swinging, full on forms) that you may not want to do in the playroom that used to be a living room and is therefore structurally unsound.


Of course when I teach children we end up doing a lot of "outside" inside but slowly and carefully. There is also the problem of bringing your swords and sticks outside and what people may think of that. So I often do the swords inside, again slowly and carefully.

But push ups, basics, and standing still in horse stance are all good for inside. But today, due to fatigue, or a sense that my structure needs to be tended to in order to prevent injury when I do the more complicated forms, standing still in horse stance and even standing basics was part of my outdoor routine. Not only this, but I really felt like I was tired and could not do everything I set out to do. I mean I could have pushed it...but I am going to opt for practicing more often, maybe throughout the day, instead of trying to push it all in one go, possibly injuring myself.

Also, whenever I do basics in the house, and start sweating, Grace will complain.

It feels good to do some simple horse stance and Kung Fu outside, in the sun, with the eagles and Hawks flying over head. Even if I only get to a few of them.  And in a way that's all you need. Yes of course I danced around and did complicated forms and Tai Chi and walked around the pond as well.

But as I did the basic stuff I realized that even if I'm not going to make the kids do 2 hours of horse stance...and even if I introduce a lot of material to make it more fun... there needs to be at least part of the class that is just horse stance.. and correct them on that somewhat strictly.

and then those standing basics, even if you only do a few, have to do it and correct them. And then everything esle, whatever they can do. You open up a path for students, and encourage them to take it, coaxing them with stories and entertainment. But you still have to introduce the idea of the hard practice, even if you can't force them to do it.