July 02, 2020

The employment fallout from the current pandemic has prompted me to make a difficult decision. As much as I enjoyed my position as an EMR, I needed to take in consideration what was best for my family. I had been staying at home during the day to take care of Claire, working casual shifts on evenings. However, shifts became more and more scarse, I needed to do something. 

I have now been working in my new position for almost a month now and we are becoming much more comfortable again. The trade off is I am typically working later in the day than I used to. My focus from that point on is my family, preparing healthy meals, upkeep of the house, quality time with Mel and Claire. 

The amount of time I have to even practice is lower than it used to be, but I am content with my progress at this point. My focus is on my family, first and foremost. Anything that I need to do to make sure their needs are met, I am doing with gusto. 

Although I am not practicing as much in the literal sense, I am doing what I can to utilize the mindset and philosophy in everything I do. 

Three Months of Dust

One week turns into two, into three, then into three months before you know it. That is how long it has been since my last blog. Well, I am feeling the effects and kind of awkward to be honest. Nothing to do but start again. There is so much to cover, where to begin? I will jump right into the primary purpose of this blog, my kung fu.

Throughout this pandemic I have been practicing as much as I can at home. I am very fortunate that I have two other black belts to practice with in person. I have some work to do with regards to style. My kung fu journey has not been travelled in the most suggested fashion we will say. Typically, it is suggested to learn one style, developing a good solid base before moving on to another. That is not quite what happened with me.

 

While learning Kempo style at SRKF, I asked permission to learn forms from the Wudang style as part of my I Ho Chuan curriculum. I began with one or two forms. The results seemed great, it looked as though it was complimenting my Kempo. I was excited so I dug deeper. The issue was I was not being mindful enough in my practice. The styles started melding together into this amalgamation that was both Kempo and Wudang. This is something I have been dilligently working on to fix over the past several months.

I have decided to continue practicing both styles, but being incredibly mindful as to which I am practicing at the moment. Kempo is Kempo, Wudang is Wudang. It does make it difficult to master either one, but I don't think it is right to abandon one style for another. Both define who I am as a martial artist. Both compliment my kung fu in their own way.

Online

For the past three years I have limited my online presence to my weekly blogs and Silent River Kung Fu's online platform. This was in an attempt to focus on my kung fu training and my immediate social circle.

The reasoning for this is I found I was becoming too distracted and I almost felt compelled to keep up with everything everyone posted all the time on Facebook. If I responded to one person's post, I would feel bad if I didn't do the same for everyone else's, fearing they might take it personally.

Unfortunately what this has done has instead alienated me from many of the people I know. Recently, this drove home as I missed out on a couple of family events due to my absence on Facebook. Facebook is the main faucet of communication for almost everyone, including my siblings. 

This is not a failure on their part but in mine. I have been so busy trying to stay out of the online world, expecting others to make me the exception that I could not see what was happening.

My only hope is that I can repair the damage to the relationships this decision has made. It will probably be a slow process, but it will be done. I am dusting off my old online accounts and will be more present. I may not say much, but I will be present and show my presence.

I am not the most social, especially online. As this pandemic continues and we are left with nothing but online communication for contact, I am realizing that I should go more with the flow and stop resisting it.

Life is like a river, let it flow. Blockage causes stagnation which is of no help to anyone. 

Simple Powerful Acts

Panic, fright, isolation. These words have been quite present everywhere in the past few weeks. It is scary just how quickly this COVID 19 situation has escalated. I see two extremes from people. One extreme is of pure panic, buying everything they can and isolating themselves as if this might be the end of the world itself. The other extreme is of people not taking this seriously at all, calling it over-inflated and a smaller issue than it seems. No care being taken to even remotely prepare or prevent.

I agree, caution must be exercised. I am a young, healthy person, in a low risk category, but that does not mean that I should not be cautious. It is not just my well being that is at stake, it is everyone I may come into contact with. Elderly, immune compromised, and chronically sick are at the highest risk of not only catching the virus, but also succumbing to it.

This is where practicing proper hygiene habits is so vitally important. Particularly hand hygiene. We use our hands for EVERYTHING. They are exposed to contact with almost everything we interact with. Remaining calm and keeping it simple is our first line of defense.

WASH YOUR HANDS. Seems simple enough, but you would be surprised how many ignore this! Wash them with soap and warm (not cold) water for 20 seconds or more, vigorous rubbing in all areas of your hands.

COVER YOUR MOUTH when coughing or sneezing. Again, simple and easy, but still greatly under practiced. This is vital in mitigating the spread of many ailments, not just COVID 19.

In kung fu we advocate and practice consistent action, this means to always be aware of what is happening around us and mindfully act accordingly. These actions become more common sense the more we exercise them. They become effortless, yet not without mindfulness. Let us take consistent action in doing what we can to slow speed to the virus.

Stretch

One of my main goals this year is to increase my flexibility. How I plan to accomplish this is with daily stretching. Stretching is highly underrated. However, it is incredibly important to stretch before AND after exercise. 

Your muscles work more effectively when they are loose and warm. When you use your muscles the same way repeatedly, they begin to become tight less flexible in a specific direction. Stretching helps you gain strength without sacrificing flexibility.

Flexibility is important in kung fu. For instance, the more flexible your legs and hips are, the higher you can kick with proper technique. Flexibility is also benificial for day to day activities as you have less chance of accidently pulling a muscle. 

I will update on this goal later on in the year with any progress I have made. 

Thoughts

Yesterday, I was reflecting on making correct priorities. I have so much I want to do yet I only have so much time to do it. I must choose what is more important.


On one hand I wish I was able to prioritize better. I don't feel as in control of my life as I want to be and I feel that effective prioritization is the key. I feel that if I just thought more about what I truly want to do with my life, I would find the solution to this problem.


On the other hand, if I did not make my priorities what they are, I would not be where I am today. I am defined by my past decisions. They were obviously correct in one way or another because I am pleased with where I am and where I am going.


I want to improve my kung fu, but I cannot do that if I spread my studies too thin. I must narrow my focus, prioritize and keep my mind clear, acknowledging that it all comes in time as long as I have a sense of direction and purpose.

Dynamic

Today I begin yet another change. Mel and I changed our work schedules to make it more logical and beneficial for us. I am now staying at home during the day to take care of Claire while Mel works, then I work whatever evening shifts I am available for. This is beneficial for my kung fu as it still allows me to be present at the kids classes in the evenings and I can hopefully get some extra training done during the day.

This recent change in events made me think again about how dynamic life is. There are always changes, day by day, some changes impact us more than others. Nothing is the same from one day to the next. Opportunities you may have had one day are not there the next. However, new opportunities arrive in place of the old ones. Change is inevitable in our lives. There is nothing we can do about that. All we can do is make the best decisions we can at the time. Changes do not occur without our intervention, whether due to your actions or inaction. This is why the decisions we make must be mindful, otherwise you are less in control of the changes you experience.

This is yet another lesson I am continually trying to understand and master.