Doom Dreams

[Drunk Monk]

I had this dream like a week ago but it really stuck with me. I’m sitting in that cornerstone of Kung Fu - horse stance. Sifu Wing Lam corrects my posture by hooking my foot with his and pulling my stance wider. While it seems like a mundane dream to relate here, I was left with the distinct sense that it truly was my old Sifu, that he had somehow reached me from the beyond the grave to give me another lesson.

I’ve been having some knee issues this winter. That’s somewhat new for me. My knees have been okay so far, despite the strain of 50+ years of martial arts practice. Shaolin is very knee dependent, and on top of my shoulder issues, my achy knees have completely undone my practice. After all this time, it’s like having three flat tires and trying to drive hwy17 - a lifetime of work and ultimately nothing to show. I’ve reverted to the basics - stance work - and am trying to spend some time every day just sitting in horse. Previous to this winter, my daily regimen included some pubu exercises - that’s crouching stance where one leg is straight and the other is fully bent in a crouch with the heel flat on the ground. I used to work that a little after my qigong closing meditation but now I’ve squeezed horse in between. 

It’s either my subconscious informing me that I must commit more to horse stance practice or my Sifu telling me the same from the great beyond. I’m going with the latter because my subconscious is seldom that clever.