Reminders

A few posts ago I talked about living life to the fullest. Sometimes it is all too easy to loose sight of what is important and what living life to the fullest means. It's not always easy to stay focused or motivated especially when life gets in the way and sometimes we need to be reminded.  The past few weeks have been fairly busy and overwhelming and just when I was at my low, I was very fortunate to be reminded.
As a family, we have been hiking a lot more and camping on the trails. This past weekend, we met with a woman, to purchase her used trail tent. Expecting this to be an "in and out like the navy seals" Kijiji transaction like they normally are, we were very surprised to be met by a couple in their eighties. They explained to us how they have always been active hiking, backpacking, skiing and what not and only recently needed to slow down due to medical reasons. We spent the better part of an hour speaking (and listening!) to them about their activities and adventures.
I can't count how many times after a class or when waking up sore, I have thought to myself; "there's no way I can keep doing this, I'm too old for this stuff".  After meeting this truly amazing and inspirational couple, and getting my "reminder", there's no way I can use that excuse anymore.

Synergy

Synergy is defined as the interaction or cooperation of two or more organizations, substances, or other agents to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects.  This may be hard to conceptualize by some, after all one plus one is two not three.  The I Ho Chuan, is not only an example of this, but quite possibly the epitome. I have only been a part of this team officially for 23 days and I have witnessed and experienced its synergy on several levels. 

Friday night's class was amazing to see everyone's efforts come together in their forms. I was very awed, inspired and humbled by what I saw.  Learning a weapon can be intimidating by itself, but learning it while creating a form for the first time is beyond that. I have witnessed so many occasions in the last month of team members offering assistance and supporting each other (and others),  in and out of class.  I can only speak for myself, but I feel that I have made progress so far, but this is not my accomplishment alone, it is our team's.  

We discussed the adopt a driveway last week. Synergy does apply to this as well. If only one person shows up to shovel, does the driveway get clean?  Yes. But when a group of people show up something more happens.  The snow gets removed, but working together, we develop relationships, camaraderie, and take another step closer to becoming a team. 

Without teamwork we are only a group of individuals working toward our own goals. But as a team, our goals are the goals of the team and I believe the potential of a team is truly limitless. 

I am looking forward to seeing more "twos" turn into "threes" in the weeks and months to come. 

"Alone we can do so little, together we can accomplish so much" -- Helen Keller

Good job everyone and thanks again for letting me be apart of your team.

Mike Kohut

Persistence Required.

Well, another Sunday has come and gone and the sun has set on day 18 (not that I'm counting the days, I'm just a bit over analytical when it comes to numbers). Last week I wrote about regaining a bit of a buffer for my numbers, but have found they have slipped a bit.  I've struggled most of the week with "old guy" pain mainly in the shoulders, back and hips and have been trying to avoid taking any pain relief, that is, until today. But despite a dip in the numbers, this week has been pretty good. I've been spending a fair bit of time with my chucks, had a great night on Friday practicing the dragon dance with everyone, got some time in on my combinations and started my Sunday morning with 2 km jog (well, mostly jog). Thanks to Mr Repay for the incentive.  My numbers below are actual accumulative/ minimum required. 

Sit-ups: 2526/2556

Push-ups: 2520/2556

Distance: 76.5/82.8 km

Sparring: 45/54 minutes

Kempo: 56/54 reps

Chucks: 31/54 reps

AOK: 42/54

Total weight loss: 1.8 lbs

Pages read: 210. 

Goals for this week are to get ahead of my numbers again and to continue focusing on my fitness, combination and form stripes, as well as  my chuck form. 

Thanks for reading. 

Have a great week. 

Mike Kohut

Motivation

We are into week 2 of this journey and I have already been found myself struggling a few days with motivating myself to practice, do my exercises and stay driven towards my goals. I recalled something that Sifu Brinker had said sometime ago about attendance, even if you can't partake in class, your attendance is still important.  You need to be in a positive environment with like minded people to stay engaged and focused.   I found that very pertinent on those days that I was lacking motivation.  Friday was a busy and mentally exhausting day.  I had to work hard just to convince myself to do my push-ups and sit-ups.  However, going to the first I Ho Chuan class made all the difference. It was not hard to get motivated and excited when I could feel everyone else's energy and drive.  Learning new things and starting to plan for the year to come turned my day around.
My  numbers this week weren't too bad and I seem to be keeping my head above water. I have calculated the bare minimums I need each week to make sure I stay ahead. I have lost some lead that I had last week, but hopefully I can gain some extra buffer this week.

Accumulative Totals:
Sit-ups: 1786
Push-ups: 1780
Distance: 48 km
Kempo: 26
Nunchuks: 8
Sparring: 30minutes
AOK: 24

I am also focusing on my weight loss goal and finishing the book "Moby Dick". I'm happy to say I am down 1.5 lbs and have read a total of 170 pages.

That's it for me this week. Thank to everyone for helping me stay motivated.

Mike Kohut.

Reflection

I have designated Sundays as my "reflection" days. A time for me to actively look back at the previous week and see how I did. Not just with the physical goals of the IHC but with everything, family, work and my own personal goals.  It is also the time to see how I could have done things better and  develop a plan for the following week.
The New Years challenge was very exciting for me. Although I did not make the goal of 1000, I know that I completed more sit ups and push ups in one day than what I had probably completed in the two decades prior to joining Kung fu.  For me, that was a win, but only the start.
I am getting into a routine and rhythm with the push ups,sit-ups and walking as that was my focus this past week.  This week's focus will be on maintaining that routine but  also focusing on my forms, sparring and proper diet.
Thanks to everyone who helped put on an amazing banquet last night. Congratulations to Sifus Tymchuk and Beckett and everyone else who received an award or promotion. Sifus, your heartfelt words are truly inspirational and motivating, for that I thank you.

Mike Kohut

Take 2

This has been quite the week. We have seen some tragedies in our community and some new family  challenges that lay ahead. I am reminded that life is short, it can end or change in a heart beat. I have always believed in the old adage "live life to the fullest", and have always tried to.  Over the last few years, I have realized that not burdening myself with worrying about what I ate or I drank and taking the time to relax and enjoy myself, wasn't living life to the fullest, it was the opposite. I missed out  on many opportunities or events because I wasn't in shape or I was self conscious.  When my time comes I can't imagine myself looking back and saying "I wish I would have never missed that episode of person of interest" or "if only I could have had more fried chicken".  Instead, I know I will regret missing the important things like taking my kids to the beach or the water park or taking them for a bike ride. I Ho Chuan for me, is part of living life to the fullest. I am getting in better shape, both physically and mentally, I'm working toward something and I have the opportunity to do this challenge with my son.
I have spent the last few months preparing for the journey that lays ahead, it is not going to be easy, but it's not going to be impossible. It will be just part of living life to the fullest.

The Blog Experiment take 1

Hello there everyone,

So this is my first crack at posting a blog, and is something that I have been putting off for sometime as I am not much of a techie (I'm not even on Facebook). If anything, it has been a good lesson in empathy. As I work through setting up my google communities, my blog and now a flavors.me account, with little understanding of how they all connect and interact, I keep flashing back about 25 years or so when I set up my grandmother's television.  She did not understand how every thing worked.  I now get her anxiety and stress about operating her new 4 button remote.

Sorry Grandma.

I have been reading other's posts and thank everyone for sharing, it definitely helps.  I am looking forward working with everyone over the next year (and hopefully beyond).

Mike Kohut