Montana vacation not a vacation from forms

[Matt - a simple hobbit]

It has been another great training week, even with the challenges of food on the holidays and traveling to Montana for Christmas. There is a great gym here to train and I was able to get my three hour forms work out in the day before we left. Our 12 hour drive day was a rest day. My first day in Montana did a two hour workout going through each form four times medium speed in four different directions and then each form twice fast. I had a real nice stretch afterwards. The next day I did all 15 forms at tai chi speed twice. This took about an hour. Yesterday was a rest day ... steam room, sauna, and light warm up for stretching. I feel strong, partially due to the self-healing salves from Sue. We went sledding after I finished working out and I took a hard knock just above my knee. It gave me the dead knee feeling for about 30 minutes. Once we got back to the house, I put the salve on three times over the next 9 hours and I woke up to find mobility good and pain gone. Thanks Sue. We head back in two days and I will have one more week of this rhythm before giving my body a few days off before the 2nd degree test on the 8th. Looking forward to the challenge.

[Joseph Bronson]

Well done Matt. You are doing the type of training that all of my Black Belts should work towards. The work is hard but the benefits are great. With this type of training I expect you to be as prepared as possible for the upcoming test. Keep using the self heal that Sue sells out of the apothecary. It is amazing how well it works on healing after hard workouts. No need to wait for an injury. Could you possibly talk more about how the forms that we study in our program have benefited you. Not just physically but what kind of deeper understanding you have gained about yourself while on this quest for 2nd degree Black Belt.