Big Spear, Little Spear

Although I have yet to do it as an IHC weapon, the spear is a weapon in which I am very naturally inclined to. It makes a lot of sense to me and I enjoy using it to the point where I learned Sifu Brinkers spear form on my own time, many years ago. On top of that, the spear form is one that I can accurately recall after long periods of time without much difficulty, in comparison to other weapons forms. I can find a lot of inspiration with the spear and I have created several musical and creative forms (none of which have seen the light of day, for better or for worse) over the years with it. 

As such, I decided it was finally time for me to do the spear as my weapon next year. Originally, my plan was to use my family's standard wooden spear; a style of spear which is commonplace at the Kwoon. It is a light weapon that I can handle with speed, finesse, and agility; all traits which are essential in my personal style of spearmanship. As I was considering what I wanted my form to look like, I had several inspirations for moves that relied on these three traits; a necessity to handle my spear with one hand and be able to stop and start momentum on a dime. 

However, I am in an extremely vulnerable phase of my life where I have adult money and a not-yet-fully-developed brain. Many of my peers who are in this same state fall victim to spontaneous vacations, unsavoury habits, and copious amounts of tattoos. Me? I bought a big and heavy steel spear that was sparkly and shiny and had dragons on it. Oh well, what can you do? It’s better than gambling, as far as I’m concerned.

A habit of mine that has persisted throughout my years of the IHC is to create my personal forms before the new team begins. While part of this can be attributed to an itch to get going, I also enjoy being able to count full form numbers right from the get-go. As such, I’ve been tinkering away on my spear form for next year, and I’ve run into some obstacles.

As far as heavy weapons go, my spear is pretty light. The thing is, it’s still a heavy weapon. It is NOT something that I can wield with one hand and be able to stop and start on a dime. The speed, finesse, and agility I was anticipating have all seemed to go out the window; the form I have created seems more reminiscent of a monk spade than a spear. Don’t get me wrong, I’m pretty fine with this, but it does bum me out when I think of all the stuff I wanted to do.

And that’s when I had a thought; why can’t I do all the stuff I wanted to do? A few blogs ago, I talked about all the spiritual aspects of strength I have been working on, but it does not change the fact that I have also been pursuing physical strength. I want to be physically stronger as well, and I think I have been presented with a golden goose. By aiming to create a form which remains agile and quick and by performing it with a spear that is several times heavier than what would be standard, I believe I can create something that is truly me.