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.