Winds of Change

Being that today was the last official day of Summer, I heard people wish throughout the day that summer can go on forever. In some ways I can agree with them. Summer is the peak of a typically short motorcycling season, autumn is the early indication that the bike will soon have to be parked for a while. This of course is not my main concern, but this just helps me understand why people would be griping the end of summer.

Actually I really enjoy autumn, it is my favorite season of the year. It's more of a transitional season than anything. It reminds us that life is constantly changing and never stagnant. In life there is always hot and cold, up and down, forward and back. These terms are all relative to your current situation. The key is to go with the flow and take it as it is. This time of year refreshes that idea in people's minds.  There is a lot more to enjoy about autumn than one might think; the brilliant colours that the trees become, smell of decaying leaves on the ground and the crisp, cool air on your face in the morning.

Autumn is great, I don't think enough people appreciate it as much as they should. Get out there and enjoy the above freezing temperature days while they last, there are still plenty to be had.

Take care everyone.

Breathing Room

Quite a few items have been completed in my agenda for the year lately. This being said, I feel like I have a bit of breathing room for the time being. Really the next thing for me to worry about is my upcoming trip. With most of the preparation work mainly done already I have some time to catch my breath and enjoy life a little at a bit of a slower pace. I'll still be training like a demon, in fact, this will make it easier to do so. At the same time I'm looking at what I'm going to be missing these next couple months. It helps me appreciate what I'm involved with now, the lion dance, the dragon dance, various other I Ho Chuan events and how much positive change I have undergone because of my involvement. I just wanted to remind you all of how fortunate I feel to be part of this team and of this school. You are all awesome!

Comfort Zone

The comfort zone is just that, comfortable. It is familiar surroundings and circumstances that you are confident being around and dealing with. I definitely pushed outside my comfort zone last week. As you know, last week was the annual Kwoon maintenance. It is a very important time of the year, if not the most important, as we take the week cleaning and improving the whole place, making it as fresh and clean as possible for the coming year. Not only that, but it is to take ownership and feel connected to the place we go to learn Kung Fu. Our second home. I find this very meaningful so for this reason, I volunteered to organise and supervise the day to day activities involving the renovations.

This was WAY outside my comfort zone. I'm usually more than happy to just have someone give me something to do and I will do it, delegating tasks to people is certainly not something I'm used to or comfortable with. However, I had a great time. This was a fantastic way to push beyond my limits and improve upon myself while I helped improve the Kwoon.

I found a lot of the mental part of Kung Fu training helped greatly, I definitely benefited from it. Constantly reminding myself of where I was and what I was doing, keeping perspective. Instead of focusing on what I couldn't do or didn't know, I focused on what I could bring to the table and what I could learn.

I would again like to thank Sifu Brinker for allowing me to take on this endeavour. It's been educational for sure. I really appreciate the opportunity to see what I can do. As well, I would like to thank everyone who came out to help, you all were eager to get the Kwoon into tip top shape, I'm glad to be involved with such an incredible bunch of people.

A special thanks to the Bjorkquist family. You guys helped immensely through the entire week. Being there everyday with me sure was a moral boost, especially on the slower days. You kept me on my toes, on task and helped me keep things rolling. I couldn't have done it without your over-the-top support.

At the end, after all was done and it was just me there, I took a good look around me. The alter, the tiles, the mats, mirrors and benches. These are all bits and pieces of a bigger picture that students and teachers alike came together to build over the years. I now had a part of that picture to call my own, I felt in harmony at that moment. It was one of those memory anchors, a moment saved in my mind for the rest of my life.

The comfort zone got a little bigger this week, I think. As well, I have a plethora of ideas on how I'm going to handle next year's renovations, whether or not I am overseeing it again.

Take care everyone!

Questions

Asking questions allows you to get more specific information about what you are learning. As well, you become much more engaged and immersed into whatever you are involved in. Earlier this week, Sifu Brinker emphasized the importance of asking questions. Not just that, but asking the right questions.

Don't look for THE answer, look for AN answer. If you merely try to find a specific answer, you may lose what you were asking in the first place. What I mean by this is you are given the answer, great. However, you will most likely lose that information as soon as you get home. Your brain did not have to work for it, so it will remember the information as easily. As well, the instructor might not understand what you're getting at. The key, I find, is to think about possible answers to your own question. Sometimes, just thinking about possible answers gets your brain thinking and you may find your answer yourself. This also allows you to intelligently ask what you need to know. This is definitely something I am still working on myself.

Another reason I think Sifu believes questions are so important is because it show him and other instructors that you are in the moment. If you just do what they say and don't question, they don't know if you are truly getting what they are trying to pass on to you, or if you are simply going through the motions.

I find it difficult asking questions most of the time. It's not that I'm not in the moment, I am certainly thinking about the lesson, but it takes me a while to think about the proper question. This again is something I have become better greatly since becoming part of the I Ho Chuan. I've recently made a point of asking at least one question per lesson, becoming more engaged and attentive and I'm learning way more!

Take care everyone.

Adapt

These past couple of weeks I have not been my usual self. My numbers haven't been anywhere near what they usually are, I haven't been blogging and I haven't even been posting my numbers.  Not to worry, nothing has happened to me, it's actually a good reason.

This is due to the fact that I have recently got possession of my house. I have been spending much of my time getting everything settled. The problem is I didn't anticipate this and adapt my training and mindset for this. Lower numbers may be acceptable for a short period given the circumstances, but with posting numbers and blogging there is no excuse. It takes no time at all to simply post my numbers from the day and if I truly put my mind to it, a blog post should be a simple task as well. In fact I already had this post setup and good to go earlier today, but the app deleted it! This one is fresh and is taking me no time at all. Posting numbers and journalling are two of the most important goals in the I Ho Chuan program. They connect the team and keep everyone motivated. I have missed a couple blogs here and there this year and tried to make them up by blogging twice in one week, it doesn't work that way. That being said, sometimes it's difficult to blog knowing I already failed that requirement for the year. That's when I shake my head and look at the bright side, at least that is something I can look forward to next year.

Back to the topic, the ability to adapt to different circumstances is a difficult skill to have, ( at least in my case) let alone master. It takes a great amount of mindfulness and determination to pull it off. I find I would be too rigid with my scheduling and if I can't make it all happen, none of it will. Finding a kind of flexibility in time management is key I think. Smaller training reps that can be completed in a smaller amount of time would help squeeze in as much training in our busy and hectic lives as possible.

Another thing that will come to me with time and experience! My numbers will be posted vigilantly from now on.

Take care everyone.

Lesson Learned...

This past Friday I learned a valuable lesson, a lesson involving reading EVERYTHING in a letter or document. 

In the beginning of July, I received a letter of possession for my house. I read from it that my final inspection was to be on the 7th of August and possession was to take place August 18th. I was so excited! that is all I read, that's it. Then I put it aside and thought nothing more of it.

I re- read it on Friday just before my inspection and found out that there was a lot more information in the letter that I failed to read; the fact that they wanted me to contact the mortgage advisor as soon as I got the letter and finish the legal paperwork with the lawyer. Pfft, I don't need to do any of that! It's not important at all! Right? WRONG.

So, as you could guess, my brain was not in the moment as I was inspecting my house.

All I could think of was, "Dangit! I need to call the lawyer now! I might not get my house when I was supposed to! I'm a total and utter moron, why didn't I just read that darn letter!!"

After a few minutes I managed to calm myself and just focus on finishing the walkthrough and figure everything out one step at a time.

I'm very grateful my Dad and little brother were there with me, they were a huge help! They caught several deficiencies with the house I missed!

After the inspection I did the only thing I could, phone the necessary people and beg for forgiveness in my tardiness as well to help me stay on track with my possession. My mortgage specialist is great! I need to send her flowers or something because she simply went above and beyond! She already had most of it taken care of, she was basically babysitting the whole thing while my house was under construction. She advised me on exactly what to do given the circumstances and assured that we can get back on schedule. Now that's mastery of a chosen field if I've ever seen it!

She helped me set up an appointment with the bank on the weekend to finalize everything on her end so she could send all of the paperwork to the lawyer early this week. This is why I had to leave early on our meeting on Saturday, I assure you all I tried every other possible time on the weekend to get it done, 3:00 was the best I could do, sorry for that team.

On a positive note I also found an application for this lesson in kung fu! It goes back to not assuming you know what you are going to be taught. Look at it like it's your first class, everything is new and you want to pay attention to every detail.

So now I can breath a little bit, things should be smooth now, should be. I just hope there is enough time.

I know for sure I will not fall prey to mediocrity any longer when it comes to reading and understanding something I receive in the mail.

See you when I see you.

Take care everyone!

Perspective

I found a poem on the internet and I thought I should share it. It falls exactly within the subject of our latest conversations regarding keeping perspective.

It really reinforces fact that it's all about how you look at the world around you. Here it is,

Today was the absolute worst day ever

And don't try to convince me that

There's something good in every day

Because, when you take a closer look,

This world is a pretty evil place.

Even if

Some good does shine through once in a while

Satisfaction and happiness don't last.

And it's not true that

It's all in the mind and heart

Because

True happiness can be obtained

Only if one's surroundings are good.

It's not true that good exists

I'm sure you can agree that

The reality

Creates

My attitude

It's all beyond my control

And you'll never, ever hear me say that

Today was a good day.

NOW READ FROM BOTTOM TO TOP

This just goes to show how easy it is to find the positive in the negative. This is something I now read everytime I have a bad day.

Take care everyone!

Guilt

Guilt it's a powerful emotion. An emotion that can alter your perception of the world around you. An emotion that is kicking my butt right now. I've been able to keep it at bay for the most part, but I feel like a volcano building pressure. I figured I should post this before it turns into something it's not.

I know that logically I shouldn't feel guilt, I have no reason to feel it. I'm simply experiencing another wave of life coming up to slap me in the face with a multitude of things to do all at once and I don't know what to do first. I'm feeling guilty because I'm overwhelmed by all that I need to do right now and yet I know it's nothing compared to what others have to deal with. Perhaps it will help if I make a list, so I will here instead of some place else where I may or may not look at it again:

- Setting up utilities

- Going in to pay for my appliances

- Final details are being sorted out with the Argentina trip.

- Getting my bike fixed again (It developed a leak after I got it back from the shop.)

- Finish outfitting by bike

- Get all my travel meds completed

- Setting up and organizing the Reno week

Like I said, the list is not that big, but all of it is very important. I guess the big thing is I feel I should be able to do more. Maybe I should heed my words from a previous blog and just relax, regroup and take it one step at a time. I need to rid myself of this darn stubborn pride I have, accept what I can and cannot do and be happy with it. Pride is not the opposite of shame, it is its source.

Obviously I don't want to just give up and settle. Heck no, but I can't keep beating myself up over things I cannot control. Pick yourself up kid, you're doing well. Stop being such a pessimist.

Just writing this helped me gain some perspective. I feel better about what I'm doing. This is definitely another great benefit of journalling. Thanks team.

See you on the mats

Crossroads

Last week, Sifu Langner challenged me to think of a moment in my life that sticks in my memory which changed the course of my life and brought me to Silent River.

The most impacting moment would have to be when I moved from the place I was living in Leduc to my brother's place in Edmonton over 3 years ago. Several people I talked to at the time said this was a bad idea, but I didn't listen and went through with it anyway. I later regretted the decision for years.

I was in a really good spot in Leduc and I was enjoying every bit of it. However, I had an opportunity to help out my brother financially by renting his house from him and his wife. Unfortunately, there was a falling out between us and I needed to move to a friend's farm for a while. After some time passed I found I was spending more time at my sister's place in Spruce Grove than at home, they offered a room for me to rent and I accepted. While I was there she convinced me to accompany her to the Tai Chi class.

Had I not moved to my brother's place I would not have been in a situation that required me to move to a friend's place and then my sister's place. Being at my sister's place I was available to join her in the Tai Chi class. Had I not joined the Tai Chi class I would not have joined the regular Kung Fu classes and become inspired to join the I Ho Chuan team.

It's interesting to think how much my life would have been different if I just stayed in Leduc. I for one am happy I made the decision I did. It seemed like a very negative set of circumstances at the time, but of course there is always positive in the negative. It just took a bit of time for it to come around.

There you have it, one seemingly unrelated decision brought me here to this point right now.

"What happened before what happened, happened?" - Horseman

ship quote

See you on the mats.

The Path to Mastery

This past Saturday the team had the most emotion and powerful meeting I have been to yet! The main focus was about mediocrity, or rather not accepting mediocrity. Many of us are intimidated by the idea of Mastery. It can be exhausting thinking about what it takes to achieve mastery. However, since this is a goal that is likely not truly possible in a single lifetime, it needs to be viewed another way.

Not accepting mediocrity is a way of doing it. Being mindful and aware of everything you do, not settling for average. Pushing beyond what you think is possible, or even doing ordinary activities just a little bit better every time. To me, it's like long distance bike riding. It seems like so much more of a daunting task if you look at the end point right away. But if you take it one point at a time, before you know it you will get to where you want to go.

The path to mastery is never ending, attempting to abruptly change your way of living won't work. Since it will take so long to achieve, I figure what is the rush? Make it sustainable and enjoy the process, because you will be living with it for the rest of your life. 

See you on the mats.

Horsing Around

Eight of us from the team took part in a 4 hour horsemanship seminar yesterday. I was very happy to have done this because my confidence and comfort level around horses was not where I wanted it to be, considering my mother is an avid horse rider. I realized the biggest part of my uncertainty was the fact that I did not understand the animal. I did not know how to pick up on its behavior and respond correctly. Or even how to approach them properly. We were told the key, like may other things is to remain calm. (Sound familiar?) The horse can feel if you are tense or relaxed and will react accordingly.

I was paired up with this 2 year old quarter horse named Shorty, fitting eh? Him and I clicked instantly! He had so much energy he looked like he could have jumped over the fence if he wanted to. He was a bit stubborn for a couple of the exercises so I had to be assertive, relentless and show him who was in charge. Once he realized this, he was calm and cooperative. We made a pretty good team! This helped me figure out that if I get my point through and stand my ground, the horse and even people will listen and take me seriously.

The most beneficial aspect of this experience for me is I feel like I no longer have any reservations or discomfort regarding horses. I know they are not going to come bite my head off or trample me to death. They are just doing their thing and as long as I remain calm and show them I won't be pushed around, we will get along nicely.  
I would like to thank Tony McKee for hosting this and teaching us these valuable lessons that can be applied to not only horsemanship, but everyday life. I really appreciated it!  

See you on the mats.

Best Canada Day Yet!

Canada Day is a day for celebrating the coming together of this great, vast nation. It is best spent with your family and those you hold closest to you. I think today has definitely hit the nail right on the head! Khona, Randy and I went together this morning to visit Melanie in the hospital. I was very happy to see her again, as well to see that she is definitely on the upswing in her recovery. Having the Alabama group all together again was great!

The rest of the day was spent at Rotary Park where we setup and did a couple of demos, some lion dances and of course goofed around with a 10 ft. beach ball. It felt good to use Po this time as he is the new lion this year. I finally got the scooch part figured out in the wake up sequence! Doing the demos to the drum beat instead of the song we have been practicing to was a bit of a challenge. This is good though as it kept everyone on their toes. We had to solely rely on visual cues rather than visual and audio cues that we are used to.

Seeing how everyone is progressing with their forms is awesome. Everyone seems more confident and fluid, it really shows the dedication we share to do the best we can. I was in awe when Mr. Duncan modified his form on the fly and used the railing on the bridge to jump off of to perform a spinning attack. Well done! 

The giant beach ball was simply a ton of fun. Everyone really just let out their inner kid as we had a huge game of crab soccer. It got everyone involved and the looks from drivers passing by were priceless! Even deflating the thing was hilarious. Definitely a team effort! Sifu Brinker said it was almost therapeutic, and I agree, it was a good way to cool down after all the excitement of the day.

Like I said before, today was a day to spend with your family. This team, the entire school! They are all becoming like a family to me. The Kwoon is our home. I'm glad I could spend today with you. Thank you.

See you on the mats.

A Great Day

The boot camp this year was phenomenal! The seminars were either physically testing, mentally testing, or both. I always enjoy seeing what I can or cannot do, what I can improve on and what I excel at. The boot camp is a great way of seeing who you are.

It's very difficult to say what my favorite part of the day was, being that everything brought something neat and unique to the table. That being said I'll go over what I enjoyed about each one.

Starting off with the walking meditation and chi exercises was a good way of getting in the right state of mind for the rest of the day. I got a better understanding of how chi works and it was a good reminder of how important Tai Chi is to my progress through kung fu. 

The fitness seminar sped the pace up. It definitely got the blood flowing. By the end I was sweating bullets! This may also have something to do with the temperature rising quickly outside.

The striking seminar was a good review of the combination we learned in Shaolin Combative class. I was working on my flow to make it seamless from beginning to end. This was interesting with new opponents!

Learning broadsword techniques that came directly from China was great! I found it interesting that even though the left hand wasn't holding anything, it was still just as involved in the movements as the right hand. To get a chance to learn from Sifu Beckett who trained fulltime in China was a unique opportunity.

I didn't realize what I was missing in my classes until Sifu Rybak showed us just how easy it is to get complacent. The tips and tricks to be completely in the moment are invaluable! I will be sure not to let my brain trick me into thinking I know what's coming next. 

We learned some of the basic movements involved in Wing Chun. It seemed very different from our own style. A lot of close quarters and sticky hands practices were emphasized. It was awesome! This was a good chance to see what other styles of kung fu are all about. This was Bruce Lee's original style before developing Jeet Kune Do! 

The flying kicks were something else. I honestly didn't think I would be able to perform spinning flying kicks like that, but Sifu Playter explained and simplified them in such a way that it made sense to me. It was a blast!

Grappling was intense! That and very tiring. Who would've thought rolling around on the floor used up so much energy. 

Self defense psychology really got me thinking about how I act and how much I pay attention to my surroundings. It's scary to think someone may have been observing my actions without me knowing to determine whether they'll attack me or not. 

Unfortunately due to the insane heat outside we ended up dropping the fitness test. This is alright though, instead we practiced some knife techniques. I don't ever plan on using them on anyone but it's good to know what someone might attempt to do to me.

Last but not least was the 2 Km run. The hot weather did not make this easy, but it wouldn't be fun if it was! It's a real test to tire yourself out thought the day then do a run like that. This was a great way to end the day, I'm glad we didn't forgo it.

The boot camp is not only at chance to learn different styles or techniques. It's also a great way to spend a day with a group of amazing, like-minded people, to create or strengthen bonds and to just have a good time. I know I did! 

See you on the mats

Cold Feet

I can't stop thinking about my trip to south America coming up this fall. Unfortunately, they are not thoughts of excitement and anticipation. Rather, they are thoughts of worry and uncertainty. When it comes to equipment and supplies I'm feeling pretty good, but this is going to be the most outrageous experience in my life at this point. What if something goes wrong?

My Spanish is nowhere near at the level I thought it would be and that is concerning. Knowing how people can take advantage of you when you know their language, let alone when you don't, it's kind of scary. Plus this is one of my I Ho Chuan goals, so this is doubly troubling.

My other concern is if I saved enough for the whole trip. I've never gone on this long of a trip so I'm just going by what others tell me. 

I have just been over thinking the whole thing lately, that's all. I usually don't like to complain about such things, but I simply needed to get it out there. I feel better about it already. 

Thanks for your time everyone. See you on the mats!

Blood, Sweat and Gears

I have always wanted to do a long distance bike tour. Especially for a charity organization of some kind. I kept putting it off, mostly because I was unsure where to start or how to get involved. Two years ago, my uncle was diagnosed with progressive MS. My family was devastated. This gave me the push I needed to finally get my butt in gear and get involved. Last year I signed up for the Leduc to Camrose MS Bike Tour and started handing out pledge sheets. My mother drove the truck behind as a support vehicle and I rode through the route. It was great seeing all those people riding for the same cause!

This year I was able to convince my mother to ride along with me. It was an incredible time! I spent the last few months training and preparing her for this tour, everyday after work we would do a 20 minute run around the area. Each time we would push a little more, trying to beat our time from the day before.

The first day this weekend went smoothly, considering the weather. We were fortunate enough to have the wind on our backs for the majority of the day and we made some pretty good time. We were still quite tired when we got to Camrose, passing out in the tent for a couple hours before supper. The food provided was delicious and the speeches were heart-wrenching. To think that this affects so many is unbelievable.

The ride today was vastly different than yesterday. The weather was about the same, but the wind. The wind! It helped us out so nicely on Saturday, but today it was out for revenge. I knew there was a catch! Our pace was nothing in comparison, the wind was just too strong. By the time we made it to the lunch checkpoint, I noticed a huge lineup of people loading up their bikes into a large cube van. This is probably due to the heavy wind.

I turned to my mother, who was starting to show signs of fatigue and asked, "Did you want to hitch a ride there to next checkpoint?"

She laughed, "Are you kidding me? I signed up for this thing and I'm going to see it through. I sure as heck am not going to let some little wind stop me!" This was the response I was expecting. She's a tough lady and won't stop for anything. A trait her brother shares in his fight against MS.

Pushing along we finally made it back to Leduc, the last leg was better as we only had a crosswind and most of it was downhill. This ride was grueling! However, I enjoyed every bit of it! Why? Because this was nothing compared to what someone with MS has to deal with. People like my Uncle. Keep fighting Uncle Ray! They'll find a cure yet!

I also couldn't help but think of what Sifu Beckett is going through right now. GBS seems similar to MS and wanted to ride in support of her recovery as well. I miss you Melanie! Everyone here at the school misses your warm, positive attitude and selflessness! Have a safe, speedy recovery and hope to see you soon.

See you all on the mats! 

Let's Do This!

Hello team. Unfortunately, I will be unable to attend the upcoming meeting. I am already committed to the Leduc to Camrose MS bike tour the entire weekend. I wish I could be in both places at once. I like to make a point of being at every meeting and every class. Last weekend, Sifu Brinker stepped in and gave an intervention for the team. He is concerned with our recent lack of attendance to the I Ho Chuan classes as well as the lack of encouragement from teammates to attend. I share his concern. We started off incredibly strong! So strong that it was challenging to find room to practice my form on the mats, it was awesome! 

I do understand that life gets busy and some circumstances are unavoidable. This week was pretty jam packed for me and I felt my motivation waning, my numbers show that clearly. I recognized this was happening and I am correcting it promptly. If I can do something to help you make it to the kwoon you let me know, I will do what I can. The more that show up to practice the better. We can't keep making excuses, we all joined this team for a reason. We are learning mastery! It is a never ending process, to push beyond what we think we can do and then when we think we've had enough, push a little bit more. We need to work as a team to create the extraordinary out of the ordinary. It's not easy, if it was everyone would be doing it.

The unofficial classes are great tools towards our success in the lion dances and dragon dances. I for one would like to get more practice with the dragon and I'm sure I'm not alone. At the beginning of the year, Sifu Brinker was hoping we could do a double dragon dance. However, by the time Farmer's Day came along we didn't even have enough for a single dragon! This is something we need to change. 

This is why I am challenging the team, let's help each other out and call for help when we need it. Let's work together to get as many of us out to the kwoon as possible! Let's setup a dragon dance for Canada Day! Let's prove that we are the best team yet!

See you on the mats everyone!

Mindset

For the past few months my outlook on the world around me has been slowly changing. For the first time in 6 years I can say I genuinely enjoy my job. At first, I detested it, coasting from day to day, thinking about anything else that I could be doing at the moment. I felt pretty good about the technical training, but as soon as I returned to the field I became miserable again. After a while I started to tolerate it, reminding myself that there are a lot of jobs worse than being an electrician. However, my mind was still not into it, I kept convincing myself that I wasn't good enough for the job and insisted that there was something out there better for me. The only reason I stuck through with it is the fact that I promised my family I would get my journeyman ticket before quitting. I was still unfocused and unsure what I wanted to do with my life. I didn't have the right mindset.

Lately I've been thinking about how I think when it comes to kung fu. I stay focused and engaged, in turn I am enjoying it greatly and seem to be grasping the concepts pretty well. So I asked myself, "If it works with kung fu, couldn't it work with my job too?" I conducted a few tests, almost tricking my brain I was going to the kwoon instead of work. It started working! Almost like making a fake smile which eventually gives you real happiness.

I don't even need to trick myself anymore. Now that I am truly focused on what I'm doing, I feel great about it. I wake up and look forward to going to work. Rather than finding ways to make it through the day, comparing myself to my more successful co-workers and putting myself down, I now try to see how I can improve the efficiency and quality of my craftsmanship each day. I feel great now!

Your mindset greatly affects your life. The same activity can be either enjoyable or excruciating depending on how you go about it. Marty McFly explains it perfectly, "If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything."

See you on the mats!

24 Hours of Awesomeness

The Pandamonium was not only a test of my resolve and endurance, but an awe inspiring event where students and teachers alike came together and worked diligently to make it a complete success and bring awareness to the five charities our foundation supports. This was my first Pandamonium and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm glad I decided to partake in the 24 hour challenge.

One benefit I found with committing to the full 24 hours was the chance to see so many people practice forms. Everyone gives the forms their own personal touch. For example, I watched Kempo III being performed countless times by several students and instructors, they were all the the same, but different. Some were more powerful, some more fluid. They seemed like an extension of themselves. Almost like listening to the same piece of music played by different musicians. I really have grown an appreciation for the forms we learn.

The dunk tank was a real treat! I had a lot of fun on both sides of the fence. That was a fantastic idea, Mr. Helm! It definitely brought a crowd in. 

I'm also glad I got another chance to take part in a public lion dance. Last minute changes and Being almost completely unprepared yet still giving it our all and pulling it off was a tremendous feeling. I'll get that belly scooch to work somehow!

I didn't participate in the actual fundraising of the event as much as I would have liked and do feel a little disappointed in that. I definitely plan to take a more active role regarding that next year and the years to follow.

A shout out to my fellow 24 hour team members, Sifu Langner and Sihing Vanderham, we rocked it! We kept each other motivated and engaged throughout the day, I'm so happy and proud to have accomplished this with you!

See you on the mats!

Rest

I'm hoping everyone enjoyed their long weekend! This weekend was a good reminder of the importance of having a rest day during the week. I started to feel a little under the weather during Friday's I Ho Chuan class but figured I could just take it slow, push through it and take something to help prevent it from getting worse.

This seemed to work at first; in fact, on Saturday I finished an important set of modifications to my bike for my Argentina trip. I was still okay at this point. Then by Sunday afternoon it hit me like a wall, my entire body and mind just shut down. I had no energy, my head was killing me and I lost all motivation to do anything. I slept most of the rest of Sunday and almost all of Monday.

I gather my body was merely trying to catch up with the non-stop physical exertion I have been putting it through. I have been using what is supposed to be my rest day to help my Dad work on his new garage these past few months. In no way is this a rebuke or a regret, I'm happy to help, but without allowing myself to rest, my body finally had enough and forced me to.

Luckily, the major work is done on the garage and I'm no longer required to help all the time. I can now utilize my Sundays for proper recuperation.

I'm recovering now and I feel much better than I did yesterday. However, I'm still going to take it easy today, especially considering Pandamonium is only days away and I can't afford to be any less than 100% that day. See you on the mats, just not tonight...

Priorities

This Saturday's meeting was really great for me. I started to recognize the fact that I am quite fortunate with my day to day schedule. It allows me to go to the kwoon everyday of the week on a regular basis. If I ever feel like I have no time in my life I just need to look at several of the members of our team who work out of town for days, weeks, even months at a time! You are incredibly inspirational! To work so far away from the kwoon and still commit to something as trying and testing as I Ho Chuan is a definite show of character!

With this in mind, I seem to have put the blinders on and focused on almost nothing but kung fu in the past few months. Not that it is a bad thing, but like Sifu Brinker says, it needs to be sustainable. I do have other elements to my life that I may have been neglecting. There is a multitude of preparations I have yet to complete for my motorcycle tour to South America. I have noticed my lack of engagement in this regard and feel like I'm being left out on some details of the trip. Not that I blame my riding companions, of course. I don't expect them to stop and wait just because I am not paying attention. I owe it to them to make more of an effort to involve myself a little more with our trip.

Because of this I am putting a list of what I have going on in my life this year and I'm going to set a priority for each. It can't be all one activity, otherwise there is no balance and a life without balance is not healthy. It will come in time, I am certain of this. See you on the mats!

Confidence Vs. Ego

With recent events unfolding in my life, mainly the Alabama trip, I have a new found confidence about everything around me. In my work, my kung fu, even my social interactions with people. I feel great, but there is a little part of me questioning how far I'm letting this confidence go.

I have been pondering the difference between having confidence and an ego. What is the turning point between the two? How do you recognize when you go beyond just being confident and start developing an ego?

Confidence is defined by dictionary.com as, "Belief in oneself and one's powers or abilities."
Ego is defined as, "Self-esteem or self image"

Knowing this, it seems both relate to your outlook on yourself and what you can do. So again, what is the difference?  I believe it may be that you are more attached to your accomplishments and your reputation when you have an ego. You are proud and you do not wish for anyone to question you. In contrary, when you are simply confident in yourself, you know you have the ability to do something, but you are not worried what people think about you.  

Food for thought, I guess. To those reading this, what is your take on the subject? I'm still puzzled writing this and other perspectives and thoughts would be great. Thanks everyone. See you on the mats!

Eye Opener

There are so many things we believe to be a necessity nowadays that are just luxuries. I did not truly understand this until I went on the Alabama trip. I learned what it really means to take what you have and make the best of it. They have very little down in Greensboro compared to what we are used to, but they still appreciate what little they have exponentially more than we do here. This got me thinking...

What do I have that I just don't need? Mmmm, let's see, how about three motorcycles? What do I need three for? I can only ride one at a time! What compels me to find a reason to keep all of them? Some would say, "Oh, that's so you have variety" or "If you have one in the shop you can still ride". You know what? I don't NEED to ride all the time. If I have to wait a week or so to get my bike back so I can ride, so be it, it's not going to kill me. This is a luxury, not a necessity. This is one reason why I'm selling one right away and possibly another later in the year. Then I'd "only" have one left, seems pretty sad to say, really.

I find that people generally hold material goods at too high of a priority and they never seem to have enough. Everyone wants the newest gadgets and whatnot. Throwing away perfectly good stuff, just because it doesn't have the latest features. I admit, I have been one of these people. I was sucked into the throw away society we live in now, but the time has come for change. I'm keeping what I actually need and giving or selling stuff that would be more useful to others. 

The less you have, the more you appreciate. This, I am beginning to understand.

Teamwork in Alabama

Hello everyone! I have just completed, alongside Sifus Rybak, Langner and Beckett, a trip down to the small town of Greensboro, Alabama to assist in repairs and additions to shops and homes throughout the area, I have learned more about stepping up for the community and giving back whenever I can in the past 5 days than I have my entire life. Not only that, I have learned so much about leadership and teamwork.

Being kind and helping someone makes them feel good, which in turn makes you feel good for creating that happiness. Not only that, it makes whoever sees this act of kindness feel good and inspires them to do something nice to even more people! I find this is even more impacting when you work with a group of like-minded people hoping to achieve the same goal.

We had a lot of fun and worked hard together to get several projects either done, or setup to be completed. The energy and atmosphere here has been amazingly positive! Everyone has been super friendly and willing to give a hand at the drop of a hat, it has been really great.

Another aspect I thoroughly enjoyed in this trip was the chance to go with black belts that I look up to and admire, and interact with them in a less formal way. Getting to know them outside the kwoon, seeing what they are like personally, sharing laughs and experiences. Really connecting with them, making friends with them and truly feeling like part of the team, this made me so happy!

I would like to thank Sifu Brinker for encouraging us to go down there to represent Silent River and our country for that matter, being that we were the only Canadians there. Also for giving us the unique opportunity to participate in such an impacting event as well as meeting Tom Callos and other inspirational people like Julia Hill and Keshia Thomas.

This may be the euphoric feeling of the moment talking right now, but I feel I have definitely changed my outlook regarding helping others, preserving the environment and my eating choices (the vegetarian meals were actually quite tasty). I am DEFINITELY looking forward to next year and years beyond and I encourage everyone reading this to come along as well, you will not regret it!

Dietary Defense

Eating food is an important part of our daily lives. It's what fuels our bodies as well as our minds. The amount of food is also important, have too little and you do not have the energy to do the things you need to do during the day, too much and your body cannot utilize all of the nutrients and some is wasted. The quality and type of food is integral to how your body functions.

I have been recently reading a book about Tai Chi Chuan by a man named Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming. From what I've read so far, it also goes into detail about qi inside and outside the body, and one particular part, it goes into how your breathing and food intake affect you.

"In order to produce healthy cells (in the body), first you must consider the materials that are needed. From the structure of a cell, we know that we will need hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, and other minerals that we can absorb either from air or food. Therefore, air quality, water purity, and the choice of foods become critical factors for your health and longevity"

The statement above illustrates the importance of dietary defense. If you eat junk food all the time and live an unhealthy lifestyle, your body will begin to suffer in health. However, if you maintain a balanced diet with healthy food and exercise , you will feel better physically and mentally.

Calm

As I progress in my Kung Fu training, I am quickly starting to realize mental fitness is just as important as physical fitness. Several sifus explained it to me tonight, the ability to land kicks, throw punches properly, or perform a combination means very little if your mind is not engaged, focused and most importantly, calm. 

I feel this is apparent in my sparring. I'm focused, but I'm not really calm. I start moving and striking without really thinking about it and lose myself to my adrenaline. It's quite interesting to describe. It almost feels like I was along for the ride, like a dream. This is no good. I'd rather be in control, who wouldn't? 

I'm making progress though, I am catching myself when this happens and I am taking steps to slow my mind, control my breathing and concentrate what is happening right in front of me. I'm getting this, bit by bit, and I'm loving the challenge! See you on the mats.

Words

I have never been all that good at conversing. Whether it's face to face, on the phone or through an email, I have always struggled to get my point through. I also usually find it very difficult to go and speak to someone at all. I'm not sure what it might be. Am I not focused? Do I need to read and write more? Or do I just need to calm my mind? I have used this as an excuse for not involving myself in anything worth while. I would usually try to stay in the sidelines, shying away from everyone who even looks at me, afraid they will try to start a conversation with me and I will have nothing to say to them.

This has been changing, thankfully, since I started Kung Fu. More so when I joined the I Ho Chuan team. Everyone seems so charismatic and helpful. Asking how I'm doing when they haven't even met me. This friendly outlook towards other people is starting to influence me. The more time I spend at the Kwoon, the more confidence I gain, and the easier it is for me to speak to others.

I find I go up to speak to people way more often now, and with more intelligent things to say. The change is slow-going though, I still find myself fumbling with words or completely forgetting sentences. There is improvement non-the-less. Like anything in Kung Fu, or life even, it will take a long time with great effort to get better with words, so I will be patient. 

No time! Right?

I am hitting my first "wall", I guess, in my I Ho Chuan experience. Everything seems to be happening this week that requires more time out of kung fu than I wish to give out of a single week. My sister and her husband are in the final stages of selling their house. Being that I live with them, I am required to move temporarily until my own house has finished construction in August.

Fortunately, my parents have been gracious enough to take me in for the next few months. I am grateful for this and will do whatever I can while I am there to help out around the place. I have been spending the evenings this week moving and organizing my belongings and my attentiveness to I Ho Chuan suffered a bit. 

This situation is reinforcing to me the point of time management. Even with a week this busy, I still feel there were missed opportunities to do some reps or write my blog. I'm not sure if it's laziness or lack of engagement, either way, it is something I will work towards so when life comes knocking at my door, I Ho Chuan does not need halt so abruptly.

Thank you for your patience everyone, see you on the mats.

Why?

Sifu Freitag and Sifu Playter both taught me a lesson beyond the lesson tonight. What I mean by that is they made me ponder a bit. What is the purpose of the lesson? What can the lesson be applied to? Why is the lesson important? 

Anytime we are instructed to do anything in a class, say a thrust kick for example, I do that to my best ability and call it that. However, that is only half the point. I find a lot of the time I fail to visualize or think about those vital questions. I did not catch the correlation between what was taught tonight and techniques used in board breaking until it was explained to me after. As well, I did not realize the fact that control played a big part in the exercise, and everything else for that matter.

I will definitely keep this in mind for next time and every time after that. I will open my mind more and be more inquisitive instead of just blindly doing what I'm told without thought. It's easier the grasp the "What" when you understand the "Why". Thanks for another great class, Sifus! See you all out there!

Gratitude

My first New Year Banquet was absolutely fantastic! I was amazed by the amount of people helping out with the setup and take down, it took no time at all. The ceremonies were inspiring and humbling, pumping me up for what's to come but reminding me yet again to be patient on my journey to getting my black belt and beyond.

Congratulations again to Sifu Beckett and Sifu Tymchuk, you set a great example for everyone in the school for what it takes to get your black belt. As well, congratulations to all the promoted and awarded black belts and students! 

I would like to thank Sifu Brinker and the Year of the Horse Lion Dance team for welcoming me to their practices during the last month and allowing me to take part in the dance at the banquet. I felt honored to work with a group of such dedicated people even for that short time.

I feel I'm ready now for this coming year when the rest of the Sheep team and I get our own lion dance together. 

See you all on the mats. 

The Plunge

Here we are, my last practice blog. The year of the sheep is merely days away. I have attempted to prepare myself these past few months both mentally and physically. Getting daily reps in, making a conscious effort to begin breaking bad habits and managing my time better. However, I am still very anxious about what is to come, anxious and excited.

The past couple of weeks have been a bit of a taste for what I'm getting myself into with the preparation for the New Year Banquet. I keep thinking if I can just get through this week, I'll be past the busy point. Wrong! This is just the beginning of a year of constant testing and yes, very busy days and weeks. I'm almost doubling my required km of running with bicycling so we'll see how that goes. 

I'm not looking at this as a bad thing though. I've been reading the Horse Team's blogs and getting a glimpse of the incredible challenges the past year has thrown at them. It seems I'm in for quite the beating, I must be a masochist because it only makes me more excited to do this, even with such a great chance of failure.

Bring it on! Every great, life changing lesson I've ever learned was due to failure, this one should be no exception. So here I am, standing on the edge of the precipice, ready to take the plunge.