Walker

I pondered over an interesting question I heard a few times this past week. It had to do with visualizing what kind of black belt I want to be and how I want to get there. Do I want to be in the best shape of my life, or do I want to use a walker to go places by the time I tie that belt on for the first time? Although I think the idea of creating a weapon form with a walker would be pretty neat, I for one would not want to be crippled because I did not progress wisely. I need to take the necessary steps now to ensure I have no walker at my black belt ceremony.

This is point of the question, to address how I am executing techniques now. I need to maintain the mindset I want to have as a black belt, the techniques need to be performed (to the best of my ability) as if I was already a black belt. This is because if they are done improperly for long enough, it can cause serious problems with your joints and muscles. By the time we get into the advanced classes, we need to be increasingly mindful of what our body is telling us and how we can fix an issue before it even starts.

There is something I heard on a youtube video a few years back regarding changing motorcycle tires that I feel is relevant to this topic, "If a task seems too hard, you are probably doing it wrong." I think if you find out your are doing something wrong, you ask questions! Get the problem solved before it is too late! That or figure out a cool way to make a walker look more menacing as a weapon... 

Take care everyone. 

Alignment

We speak a lot about taking what you learn in the kwoon and applying to the world around you. This is can be in how you interact with those around you, how you react to situations in your life or how much ownership take with your life.

Another form, one that is especially beneficial to those of us who do a lot of physical work, is taking the concepts of body alignment and 6 harmonies into what you do.

For example, I spent the weekend helping my dad build a retaining wall (the first section at least) and we used a power auger to did holes for the posts. It was quite the task; with each hole we needed to pull a 5 foot auger out of the ground, full of dirt, without injuring yourself. Even with having four people to lift, it required some careful positioning. I found that using stances from kung fu helped with this. I focussed on maintaining proper alignment and using more skeleton than muscle.

It is amazing how much easier it was to accomplish this when I got into this rhythm. There is no end to the tools at your disposal if you put your mind to it.

Opportunities

A couple of days ago I was presented with a job opportunity. I have a chance to get a job as a Journeyman Electrician for a company in Edmonton. I must say that I have mixed feelings about this. It is something that I want, to work in my chosen field. It would give me the chance to get the required experience necessary to acquire my master ticket. This would take my career to the next level.

I have been putting a great deal of thought towards this lately. I'm not sure if I am ready to make any changes. My electrical career is not the only aspect of my life. It is not always about money either. I am in a good position right now. I have a steady job in Stony Plain, this means no commute into Edmonton. It means I am closer to the Kwoon, the hours I work allow me to spend more time training and give me the ability to instruct as well. This is what I consider my primary goal at this time.

The other major consideration about this is if I accept that job and it doesn't work out for some reason, I might not get this position back and I will be forced to start from square one again. It is not that I am afraid to take a chance, but this is just not the right time. I will get another chance in the future I'm sure, perhaps the circumstances will be favorable for such a change.

Excitement without Disappointment

As I mentioned at the meeting this past Saturday, this I Ho Chuan year has been more mental progress than physical for me. I am beginning to understand how effortless effort works. Even though I haven't been trying as hard in a conscious sense, my ability to face my goals on a day to day basis is becoming easier. This has been my most successful year yet. It's not just the goals, but my progress in my kung fu and not to mention many other aspects of my life.

With regards to my progress in kung fu, once I stopped taking the curriculum at face value and just focused on my training, the experience has been immensely more enjoyable and I have noticed progress where I have not before. After dumping a deadline and focusing on where I am now, I find I am a lot more engaged. I still have an idea of where I want to be by a certain time and I am still quite excited about it, but I am not so attached to this idea that I will be disappointed if it doesn't come into fruition.

That is another aspect of my mental progress this year. I was struggling with being excited about things in life. I started to feel that if I become excited about anything, I put myself at risk of disappointment. The real thing is that it's all about perspective. I'm learning to change my perspective, instead of being disappointed about something that didn't go as planned, I am committing to just be excited for what may come from what did. Spending your days concentrating on how things could have been different is not the way to live, stay excited for what is to come, always.

Take care everyone.

Trying New Things

Today I had a chance to try out wake boarding.  A friend was showing how it's done and made it look easy. It is definitely harder than it looks! I didn't get out of the water once the entire time I tried. It was a humbling experience, but quite enjoyable. I certainly have plans to continue this endeavor once in a while.

I do appreciate having the ability to try out new things, even if it is just a one time occurrence. I believe it gives you a little more awareness and insight to what the world has to offer you. The wisdom you receive is uncanny. There is no better way to know how something really works than simply going out and doing it. I encourage everybody to try everything (within reason) that comes your way. Even if it ends up being a negative experience at the time, you learn from it and use it to better yourself.

This entire weekend has been excellent. The Canada Day celebrations in Spruce Grove and Stony Plain went well without any major hiccups. We then spent most of the rest of the weekend at the lake. A full weekend of enjoying the outdoors. Aside from the evening thunderstorms the weather was fantastic! I hope everyone else had a good one as well.

Take care everyone.