T Minus 5 Days

“I said that in the time we have, I would make your wushu better than you could imagine and I will.  Your only responsibility to me is to practice and to learn.  My responsibility to you is much greater: Every time you think your task is great, think how much greater mine is.  Just keep this in mind: if you fail.”

~Grandmaster Pan  Qingfu (Excerpt from Iron and Silk written by Mark Salzman.)

Instructor and student responsibilities seem to be front and foremost on my mind at this time.  The grading date is so close now that I can taste it, and my thoughts seem mostly directed towards not wanting to disappoint my instructors.  Also my family who have done so much in order to allow me to put as much time as possible to training the last few months.  With a history as old as Kung Fu, Sifu’s that have invested in me for reasons I don’t always understand, I consider this to be an exceptional privilege and honor to even be a part of.  If I am successful there holds the equivalent challenge of improving my Kung Fu to that worthy of a black belt in the following months.  Keeping engaged, and not just maintaining but always improving.

So, with a little anxiety I am looking forward to being a part of this. Being the final week there is little more I can physically do to improve my strength, flexibility and cardio.  Mostly I understand that all of the training in the world is worth nothing if you do not enter the day healthy. Currently this means nursing an ankle injury so that it is ready to go.  With the day fast approaching, it may prove to be the most difficult week mentally of my training so far.