Out of the Kwoon

I received some advice from a supervisor that was familiar to me. He spoke of taking the attitude you have on duty, the image you want to show, the attitude you want to have in emergency services, and take it out into the rest of your life. He stated that you can't just stop when your shift ends, you need to live it, make it part of who you are everywhere you go. It won't work if you only do this some of the time, it has to be consistent, it has to be ALL the time. This mindset sounds akin to one we embrace in kung fu. I was delighted to see that this idea is present in other groups and occupations. 

The first time I heard about the concept of "out of the kwoon and into the world" was at the 2015 Alabama Martial Arts Build-Vention. Master Tom Callos made clear the importance of taking what you learn on the mats, in terms of mindset and awareness, and taking it out into your community. You learn patience, humility and empathy when you train. Why not take these principles and make it part of who you are as a person? If you don't, you need to analyze why you are training in the first place. Whether it is to improve yourself for the benefit of those around you as well, or simply for narcissistic reasons. Try your best, stay humble, recognize when you can give a hand.

This whole idea made a significant impact on my approach to training and to life in general, early on in my martial arts journey. It is something I have gratitude for and reflect on every day.

Applications

We were reminded tonight about the value of applying what you learn in one technique or application and applying it to all of them. When you learn a concept, you need to be flexible with it. It is a concept, not specific. This allows you to change your intent midway between techniques while maintaining flow.

It is not a formula like a+b=c. There are so many variables that you cannot get married to a single set of movements. This closes so many options to you and leaves you shorthanded in the long run. I am working on this idea, especially with the combinations and applications that I am comfortable with. I sometimes find myself rushing through, thinking that I had such great flow. My intent sometimes skips to the end because I "know" how it is going to end already. 

Splitting up my intent into smaller bite sized pieces is my goal, no matter how proficient I get, there will always be room for improvement. This is the beauty of kung fu.

Time

Time is a commodity, probably the only pure commodity we have. There are no exchange rates, no returns or refunds, no interest. Once it is used you cannot get it back, all transactions are final.

I have reflected this week on how I utilize my time. It could be better, but I am not entirely wasteful. I have this habit of taking on so much at once that it could be perceived that I don't have enough time, but when I truly apply myself I find I have more than I realized. Again, to use the currency analogy, you would be surprised where you can find lost money. Under the couch, in drawers, in a motorcycle jacket you haven't touched in months. Same idea with time, let's be honest, how much idle time do we spend on our phones? My guess would be more than you think. How much time do you think is wasted when we doddle and are not mindful of what we are doing? Again, could be more than we think.

It is about deciding what is worth doing, what will I benefit from, what will make me a better person, what will help me help those around me. My reflection this week has concluded that I was not using my time to it's fullest. I am not as mindful as I could be in what I am doing, it takes longer than it should to complete some tasks.

On the flip side, I have made some incredible progress, especially these last few months, to squeeze in what I can. Yesterday is a great example, between kung fu training, taking care of my family, yard work and courses for my job, I accomplished a great amount in little time. It is possible! I maintained the right mindset. I just kept going, I did not let my momentum slow, but I also savored the moments as they passed. Weird, trying to get things done while stopping to smell the roses, sounds contradictory doesn't it? But somehow it worked, I will continue reflecting to find out how.

I would guess that most of us could benefit from having a look and recognizing habits that don't constitute to an efficient use of time. The more efficient you are, the more you accomplish, the more successful you are and the better you feel.

Strategies

There are strategies to make the most of our time, critical thinking is a big one. To attribute this to kung fu I will use the example of training.

When you want to decide if you should train or not you need to look at the big picture. Ask yourself what benefits you are looking for in this particular training session and what potential benefits or consequences there would be from not training.

If the reason for you not to train is you are too tired, that is not good enough. Trust me, I used that reasoning before. Tired or not, there are so many things you can practice that will benefit your skill and knowledge in the future.

Another strategy is to break it down into microscopic pieces. For instance, working on a specific technique to improve body memory or your understanding if the concept can be done, tired or not. You go over the movement, visualize how it could be applied and practice it.

Finally, I find just talking to someone helps greatly. Bounce ideas back and forth or ask for clarification. I learned that when you verbalize what you are thinking, it boosts your higher brain function and allows you to work things through logically. Blogging also falls into this category. I find most of my insights are reinforced by what I am writing.

Next Step

I will be taking another big step in my new career tomorrow, beginning my orientation in Edmonton which will hopefully transition into a more full-time position.

It has been almost a year since I worked in a true full-time position. To be honest, we have done quite well considering. The less you have, the less you spend, the more creative you need to be to make ends meet. It also helps that we have such a great support structure, for this I am grateful.

I will do my best to not let my new career affect my training. Keeping my routine and my vision for the future intact will be my best bet in accomplishing this. I have failed to adequately manage my time to make such a thing possible several times in the past, but failure is not an option anymore. I will not fail my kung fu and I will not fail my family.

Farmer's Day

It was great to see so many of our team taking part in the parade yesterday. It is a great opportunity to get some real lion dance practice in, while having a little bit of fun with it and I'm happy we had a good group who were eager to get back into the lions. The demo afterwards turned out well. The last minute demos are always great because they are different every time. Good job on the lion dance Mr. Bergstreiser and Sifu Meier, that first solo dance is the most memorable.

I learned much from my board break attempt. For instance, my knife hand does in fact work. I admit it was the one I was worried about the most and when I broke that board, I was surprised at just how easy it was. I was in so much awe about this success that I did not position the following kick properly. This is most unfortunate, but it is a great learning tool. They are not this evil impenetrable mass, just a small piece of wood that, with the knowledge and skill I have developed, should be no problem to break. It's all in the mind. I psyched myself out, it will not happen again. 

So I look forward to Canada Day when I can make my next attempt. I will use the time to learn from this and become successful.

A big thanks to Mr. Bjorkquist and Mrs. Kohut for providing the trailer and transportation, you two continue to be inspirational members of this team. Thank you everyone who came out, you made this successful day possible.