That was the phrase I introduced to the Zhongguancun Toastmasters Club this evening, in my role as Wordsmith. It was an interesting evening, as we had a rare joint meeting with the Microsoft Toastmasters. However, as I mentioned in a previous post, I attend Toastmasters every Tuesday evening, which for the last couple of weeks has meant I can’t go to the Yiquan Academy on Tuesday afternoons.

I needed to catch up with my manager today to discuss an idea I’ve had for a prize to be awarded to students next semester, for the best group project. It involves drumming up private sponsorship, so needs a bit of thought and planning. The idea only struck me last night, and it needs to be acted on quickly if we’re going to do it. So…. I called up Master Yao and let him know I couldn’t make it at all today. Tomorrow willI be no problem, though. So no further yiquan news today!

It wasn’t a martial arts-free day, though! I got up shortly after 5am, and met Master Sun Ru Xian not long after 6. We reviewed the eight basic palms and then the first set of the 64 Palms again. After that, a surprise! He started teaching me the Shanxi whipstaff set. Yay! I’m - ahem - not exactly a natural, and rapidly became a menace to passersby, small animals and low-flying aircraft, but I will get better! Ahem, I hope. Poor Sun Lao Shi, I often think he must go home after lessons and bang his head against the wall at having such a retarded student! I’ll keep trying, though. He had a spare staff which he’s giving me. He’s a really generous guy. I think I’ve really fallen on my feet, finding him as a teacher. I do need to work hard to live up to his commitment.

As for that… look back at my post on “the narrowing of the ways”. After five years of searching, I rather think I may have found the right mix of teachers and styles to focus on. More on that in a future post, coming soon!