Colors of the sky

This morning when I exited my house I felt a chill that dug between the fabric of my thin gloves. I took my staff and saber not certain what todays training regiment would involve. It is so early that it feels like night time as I see the light from the half moon refract off the iced and crispy blades of grass. The stars on Orion's belt are clear and I use them to roll through possible training ideas. The stars turn like a slot machine as my thoughts wander on what needs to be trained the most. I take my stance as I see the stars light up "The unlimited fist."

The sky is black as I slowly begin my journey through 28 movements. My mind hasn't woken up enough to think passed the first technique. I dive into the first technique both deeply and completely. I finish dozens of repetitions before I relax and my arms become one with the darkness. The heat from the Qi trapped within my gloves creates a milky mist that traces my movements.

The sky changes to dark purple and my stance lowers bringing me closer to the chilled road. There is no life about except for my movements. Even the animals remain asleep as I move silently and unnoticed. I'm so alone that it is almost terrifying if I think about it. Especially when my thoughts wander to the funeral home nearby. I attack through my random thoughts of fear as I reach the street light and turn around for another lap.

When the sky becomes dark blue I notice a change in the rhythm in my technique. A question about the arts that I had asked my master many years ago had been revealed to me. I had finally broken into a new level of understanding with my movements. I am thrilled to see that at the beginning of my workout, I have already touched upon a new level.

A bright white line splits the sky in half as I come to the end of unlimited fist practice. I am lost within the new perks of my level up when one of my movements opens a new chamber of possibilities. The chamber is filled with answers that I have wondered about for many years. New ideas that I have been touching on in my Nine Palace training. I vacate my original training in order to run through the halls of the Nine Palaces just long enough to find a missing jewel. I search between the lines of every movement looking for a key to another level. After a half hour passes I realize that it is not something I can find today. I return to the last movements of the unlimited fist. Just as I bow out the street light turns off. It seemed to be cuing me to the next section of my training.

Pink stretches across the sky as I look at my two weapons on the floor. I know that there is no way that I can practice my staff techniques while wearing gloves. I remove them reluctantly and find myself being electrocuted as I grab the blistering cold staff. The staff slides back and forth through my hands like razors, completely overpowering the warmth of my Qi. The numbness in my fingers begins to affect my thoughts as I am determined to finish all 8 sections of the spear and staff 3 times. The pale blue sky seems to mock me as I use every effort in my body to ignore the pain.

The color of the frosty grass and naked trees comes with the sun. I grit my teeth through the remainder of my techniques just long enough to drop the staff. The sound shatters the quiet and startles all of the animals that have not yet awoken. I immediately practice the Eight Silk Brocades that I learned from the Southern Shaolin monks. It isn't related to my Bagua training, but it acts like a heater in the center of my palm. After only two movements the feeling returns to my finger tips.
My shadow seems to turn red as the energy circulates through out my body.

I look to see the sun and the moon now both in the sky at once. It makes sense that at this time of day there is more power to be gained. I inhale all of the power of yin and exhale the power of yang. When I finish the remainder of my techniques it is met with the applaud from the nearby animals. The energy of the atmosphere invigorates me like 1000 cups of coffee. There is nothing better than getting the hardest part of the day over before the day has begun.