I have been away for awhile again.
This time it hasn't just  been gopher.
I have kind  of detatched  from coding
and  computer  stuff in  general a bit
stronger  than  happens from  time  to
time.  I feel  like  I have  made  the
code  projects  I  wanted to  make and
learned  a  bunch  of cool things, but
that  I  am  not   really  feeling  to
jazzed  on  technology these days, nor
my  relationship  to it.  So  the only
coding  I have been doing has been for
two contract web dev gigs I have. I am
also trying to limit computer time.

    So, what have I been doing with my
time? My wife and I have stumbled into
learning martial arts. Which is a very
broad thing to say. So, the specifics:
We started out with an online  Tai Chi
Chuan course. It was alright,  but not
really the place we wanted to stay  or
land or whatever. I would like to take
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu,   but learning at
home feels  less doable  and I am  not
ready to do in person yet,  due to the
continuing covid situation. That said,
there is a BJJ gym on the mountain! So
I will check that out once our toddler
can get vaccinated and numbers go down
a bit. In the meantime we found a very
good Wing Chun program online. We have
started that and are pretty happy with
it so far. I figure between  Wing Chun
and  eventually  BJJ we should  end up
fairly well rounded between striking &
grapling. Neither of us have sports or
competition in mind with either,  more
just the  fitness of it  and a bit  of
self defense ability. That said,  I am
hoping  to  start   doing  some  light
sparring  with the  Wing Chun  after I
get a bit further into the program. My
wife does not want to spar with me but
I have a friend that can come up.  She
has a background in Muay Thai  and  is
going to show me some escrima/arnis as
well. So looking forward to that.

    I also continue  my years long  Qi
Gong practice each day.  It remains  a
great thing in my life.   I have added
the Chen 8 Form (Tai Chi)  to my daily
Qi Gong practice,   which has actually
enhanced it a lot for me.  So the  Tai
Chi  was  definitely  not a waste,  it
just   doesn't   have  enough   combat
application  to persue  much more than
I  already  have given  available time
and other goals.

    Do any of you out there do martial
arts? Write about it!  I'd love to see
more posts  from people on  gopher and
gemini about physical pursuits (hiking
camping, cycling, fighting, meditation
etc). Or  e-mail  me if  you  have any
good online resources  to share on the
subject or just want to chat about it.

    Separately, but related I suppose:
if you like  action  movies check  out
"Wheels  On  Meals"  with  Sammo Hung,
Jackie Chan, and Yuen Biao. It is such
an under-rated and fun film. It may be
blasphemy in some  circles but I think
it  was  better  than  Chan's  "Police
Story".