August 7th, 2019 — Leo

A great way to start the day: Kung Fu class. I was really excited for my class today because I will be training with a weapon today, which is a staff. After the usual warm up, Master Yandi gave me a staff. It is made out of wood and the two ends are wrapped in bandages. One side of the staff is thinner than the other. Master Yandi then told me about the history of the staff, about why it is “The King of all Weapons”. He said that most weapons’ basic forms are made from the staff. For instance, a spear is basically a knife attached to a staff. Master Yandi also said that if I can master the staff, then mastering other weapons will be much easier. Since it was my first day of using a staff, Master Yandi only taught me two basic techniques, which roughly translate as “Toss” and “Smash”. The toss is basically flicking the thin tip of the staff upwards, and the smash is a downwards slam using the heavier and thicker end of the staff. The two moves are quite easy. I grew adept to them pretty quickly. In the next class, I will probably be able to learn more techniques, which is already making me excited again.