Exploring new directions

2008. I was rehabilitating from injuries and training to be a CST (Circular Strength Training) instructor when a series of life events sent me down a very different path.  Work redundancy,  a divorce,  more friends dying and a week at Woodford folk festival changed the way I thought about living.  From married, a full time stable job,  and a mortgage to single, living in a bus, with a new plan to travel the country from festival to festival.  That WAS the plan anyhow.  But not how the story goes.

Now,  married again and with a 2 year old daughter,  after going through bouts of depression and back on the booze to deal with it,  or not deal with it as it were.  Playing in bands again which led to becoming a full time vision and lighting tech or 'VJ' for a few years, meant spending a lot of time in the club scene and lots of sleepless nights and lots of boose.

But it's not all bad.  I love working in the music scene again and it was a line by Aussie hip hop artist Dialectrix that woke me up out of the depression.  "I had to go and figure it quick,  lickidy split, getting rid of the negative activity shit.  The instant you do you soon recognise there's a change to ya mood and ya soul and ya mind... " ( track: What's important,  from the album Audio Projectile) yes music can do that!

Now,  2014,  a tour in New Zealand over new years working as a VJ,  some new friends were talking about going back and training in martial arts after a long break and that got me thinking. Should I go back to Taekwondo and Hapkido after a 7 year break.?
After all, my injuries are well recovered thanks to the help of an experienced sports physio.  And I now know how to avoid such injuries.

So as of last week.  January 14th 2014 I decided to get back to it.  I'm out of practice so I'd pretty much have to start over again, so instead of previous martial arts, I've decided to switch styles and try out Brisbane's own Shaolin Kung Fu Guan. I've always been blown away by the skills of the Shaolin monks, and this school is the official representative of the temple here in Queensland.

I mean, I've done this all before, how hard can it be???. ha ha ha.