update

Not a lot of structure to this one, but I’m a few days late already  and have been really struggling with burnout / parlysis. Figured I’d get a post out anyways instead of waiting till I felt better. Since I posted just my numbers last time, I didn’t really want to do that twice in a row, so this is more of a ramble of what’s going on. Currently been working on a Swedish blog which will be posted in the next week or two, as per my personal requirements. Was a pretty rough week physically as well (illness), so numbers are a lot low. I’ve made some progress in swordbreaker, but Snake has felt pretty static otherwise; I’ve been focusing a little bit on the few moves I’ve got and doubting whether they work or not. This week, I’ve started writing a poem first thing after I get to work. I did it the first day as a jokey thing, but as I just wrote and rhymed what came to my head and what I was feeling, I realized it was pretty macabre. I figured I would try writing a few more based on what was floating around in my head, and force them to be a bit more positive. Positive vibes by proxy. Not sure how it’s working, only three days in. 

Numbers (Last Seven Days Combined)

Push-ups: 160

Sit-ups: 80

KM: 9

AoK: 35

Sparring: 10

Snake: 3

Swordbreaker: 4

Numbers (Last 7 Days)

Push-ups: 220

Sit-ups: 160

KM: 11

Sword breaker: 4

Snake: 4

AoK: 35

Straying Paths

From Kindergarten to Grade 9, I attended the same elementary school and was in the same class as ~40 others. Not a small class, not a big one. But when you spend 10 years with the same 40 people, I think everyone has gains ties to each other, in one way or another. 

Earlier today, I found out that one of those people I grew up with was arrested earlier in the week for some pretty serious stuff. I haven’t talked to this person since high school, but they were still my friend for 10 years. I recall, once in grade 7, I got rather upset over some little thing. My mom checked in on me later that night; I thought “how did she find out about this?”. Turns out, that friend, who was sitting next to me at the time, told their mom, asking her to check in with mine. 

I wasn’t ever really close with them; at this point, I can only really call them “someone I grew up with”. But it makes me wonder if there was something I could have done to help, at any point. Realistically, I don’t think so. I don’t think, all things considered, I could have done anything to change the way things turned out. But it does remind me about some of the things I am grateful for. 

I am grateful for my family and for Kung Fu, for the atmosphere and opportunities I was given. I am thankful for the way I grew up, and the person I have become because of how I was brought up. It also reminds me to take the opportunity to provide as much support as I can for those around me. There’s no way of knowing how everything will end up, but there’s no harm in help (most times). 

Fried

I’ve struggled with overstimulation for a really long time, but it seems to have gotten worse lately. I don’t think the sensitivity is getting worse per se, but it feels like my body is reacting worse. 18 months ago, overstimulation could cause my brain to “fry out” and crash, but that was typically as extreme as it got. Since the start of 2025, there’s been almost a half dozen incidents where I’ve reached a point of getting physically sick. 

Something I’ve been working on is understanding my limits and taking measures to preemptively reduce stress on my senses. This includes always carrying earplugs on me to reduce noise, having sunglasses readily accessible to reduce light, carrying a supply of mild flavoured gum to keep gustation consistent (does air ever taste funny to anyone else? I hate that), and wearing athletic long sleeves under whatever else I’m wearing to keep tactility consistent. 

I have only been deploying these measures AFTER overstimulation occurs. I am working on trying to keep a few of them in place at all times, especially in stimulating circumstances, to prevent myself from even getting there in the first place. 

Numbers (last seven days)

Pushups

822

Sit-ups

1102

KM

 22.4

AoK

35

Snake

7

Sword breaker 

5

From The Top, Once Again

As always, I quite enjoyed the banquet. As far as annual events go, I think there are few that can match the atmosphere of the banquet. It’s the accumulation of all of our efforts over the last year, as well as an event that generates a sense of camaraderie throughout the day which ultimately leaves a lot of people (myself included) a little empty afterwards. 

Overall, I’m thankful for everything the night brought. I’m relieved that the preschool demos went as well as they could have (thank you to the instructors who made that possible, it wouldnt have even worked without you all).

And the lion dance! This was probably the most physically demanding dance I’ve done so far, I think. I can’t count how many times I put my legs higher than my head was during our “skipping”, but I’m extremely grateful I got a chance to go all out the way I did. I was also stoked we were able to pull off the headstack pretty perfectly. And with the partner switch only occurring a couple weeks ago, it really feels surreal. 

The Year of the Dragon met me with a lot of lessons, pain, joy, and everything in between. I’ll be honest; I still feel scared and anxious to the point of nausea. I feel like I’ve lost sight of a lot of important stuff but at the same time, have been forced to see important things I glossed over before. I’m still scared of what I can lose (and what I can fail to gain), but I’m pushing a lot harder to move forward. 

Cheers to Snake progress :)