Blind Mans Buff

Heyo everyone, this weeks post is going to be about being aware of your surroundings, communication and putting faith and trust into others.

So yesterday was the pandemonium, one of the biggest times of the year. All the set up and take down and food amd excitement is a lot to take in, yet it's still so much fun. One of my highlights was a learning curve for me, and put me a ways out of my comfort zone. During the early stages of the day, I got to wear the Master Tigress costume, and let me tell you, it was not designed to be walking around in a hot day. The whole suit was padded and awfully warm, and I felt like I was in an oven. A really cool kung fu oven, but still an oven. But the part that really got me was the head. I don't know who designed that head, but I'm pretty sure it was made for people who were already blind, because the only hole to see out of was a little slit at the mouth, completely closed up and not even at eye level. The most you could see was an occasional glimpse of colour, such as a green patch of grass or the white siding of the kwoon, and your feet. And hence, I was guided through pandemonium by little Aviva Csillag, who kept me out of danger as best as she could with the occasional yank on my arm.

I've been attending the kwoon for around 8 years, and I'd like to think I know the area fairly well. Yet after stumbling around blind for only 5 minutes, 8 years of memorizing the kwoon diminishes down to nearly nothing. One time I thought I was by the bake sale, till I caught a quick glimpse of the cooking station and I thought "wait. Where actually am I." With my only job having to be walking around and giving kids high fives, I didn't really know where I was going. I can't count how many times I tripped on my own feet, yet I can tell you I didn't walk into a lot of things. At first, I bumped into a few things because I kept thinking I knew where I was going. But the moment I started listening to where Aviva wanted me to go, things started to get a lot easier.

Now to apply this to Kung Fu. One of the most important aspects in working with a partner is communication, and putting trust into one another. By doing this improperly the chances of someone being injured rise significantly. You need to be able to communicate with your partner your limits and your intentions. But you also need to trust them. You can't learn anything if you can't do anything. After being blind for only 15 minutes, I can hardly begin to comprehend what it's like for people who live with it permanently, with no small glimpse here or there to help them see. With that, I guess it's an adaptability thing. With time, you get better. So now I just have to blindfold myself repeatedly in preparation for next year.