Kung-fu and Intentionality in Physical Culture.

Of course it is pleasing to like what you see in the mirror and that is definitely a good side-effect of physical training, but pursuing that as an end goal is filled with pitfalls.

Think about it: a change in body composition due to a life circumstance, or an accident or injury can destroy the foundation in which you built your habits upon.

My Sifu back in Brazil lectured us on the meaning of Kung-fu and that has stuck to me. The word has a very interesting meaning. Differently from other martial arts that will have a clear definition within their name (e.g.: Karate: empty hand; Jiu-jitsu: gentle art; taekwondo: art of kicking and punching) Kung-fu means time spent in skillful practice. 

Anything can be Kung-fu training when you set your mind to it. You can be practicing Kung-fu when cleaning the house, gardening, or playing with your kids if that is the intention you are putting into those actions. The first Karate Kid has this concept beautifully illustrated with Mr. Miyagi showing his disciple how to perfectly execute a block by painting his fence.

Adding intention to simple, seemingly trivial activities such as breathing, standing straight, picking objects up from the ground, walking, and so many others, will give you so many benefits it is hard to describe; from concentration, playfulness, purpose, stillness of mind, to motor coordination while also having a rehab and recovery component built into it.

Applying this intentionality to your life is taking the skills you learn in your strength room out into the world to make it a full system. That can make you stronger, more resilient, happier and always give you things to work on.  

Nothing is trivial and the right technique will make everything safer and better.

If these ideas resonate with you, drop me a comment or a line and we can discuss how this can work for you.