Steps.

Wow! Time flies when you're not paying attention. This is true on many levels, but I'm simply referring to the fact I just realized I haven't blogged since May. It's been almost 3 months. My apologies.
Well, We have been on holidays since Saturday and started it off with coming out of a few hectic days dealing with stuff life throws at ya. But this vacation is about taking a few steps back, keeping things simple and spending time together as a family. Now to take a few figurative steps backwards we thought the best thing to do is take thousands of literal steps forward. Saturday morning we threw on our backpacks and hit the berg lake trail at mount Robson. In 2 1/2 days, we logged just shy of 50 km and made it to berg lake, one of the most amazing places in western Canada. This is a place that I have been to several times as a teen and attempted many times as an adult without success. Until this weekend. I Ho Chuan goal "hike to berg lake" - CHECK! Why is this important? Three things that come to mind.
1. Even if your goals seem out of reach, just take one step at a time. Slow progression is still progression.
2. Your mind can be your worst enemy. If you want to achieve something that is difficult and maybe pushing your limits, make sure your brain is on your side. I literally spent months, mentally perparing myself and convincing my brain that come hell or high water, we were both making it up that mountain.
3. There's power in numbers. You need support. I'm not sure how this weekend would have turned out if we didn't do this as a family. We each took turns mentally dragging eachother up the trail. When your motivation is lacking, borrow some from someone else.

Well, that's all I have for now. I'm hoping to blog a few more times on this trip, but cell service has been sketchy.

Thanks for reading.

Mike

Hammers, nails, paint and astronomy

It's already been a week since we made our way home from the Alabama Build-vention. So many people in and out of silent river have asked me about it since we got back. After trying to give an overview of our trip at least a dozen times, you'd think I'd have a fairly articulate recap formulated, but I don't. This was truly 3 days of my life that have left me truly speechless and humbled. All in all, there were about 45 of us that descended on this small community. We all came together with a single purpose, to create a "pop up" community of martial artists to help another community. I, like most attendees I think, didn't know what to expect, and came into this thinking I am definitely going to give more that I get, after all, that is what this trip was about, right? Well, if was only about giving, then I feel guilty because I took soooo much away on so many levels I don't know where to start. I think that is why I still have problems articulating my experience. I met people from all walks of life, from martial artists to farmers, contractors to students, to locals who just came out to assist and help in any way.  A few of the coordinators mentioned several times that about 3 months of work was completed in the 3 days of the build-vention. As we have been discussing all week, as this relates to the upcoming pandamonium, so much can be accomplished if we all work together.
My apologies that this post is all over, but like I said, when I think of my experience, my brain is overwhelmed by so many things it's hard to focus.
If I try to think of one thing that has had the most impact or at least sums up a lot t of the other experiences, it's something that Tom Callos said. He was referring to blackbelts when he said this, but I think it is pertinent to anyone whether you are in martial arts or not. He said, you should 't measure a blackbelt by their skills alone, but they should be measured how astronomers measure black holes, you cover up the black hole so your not looking at it and then focus on everything else around it. The stronger the black hole the more effect it has on everything around it.
I reflect on the people I met on this trip and the combined effects they will all have on the world around them and I am amazed. When I think of how we in the I Ho Chuan, and the entire school have  affected and can continue to affect others, I am amazed.

Thanks for reading.

Mike

Is Silence Golden?

I have had a thought evolving in my cranium for several years now.  Even as I start to write this, I'm not 100% sure that it has fully evolved or if I can properly convey it. The more I learn, the more people I meet or different perspectives I see, my thought changes or at least my understanding of its concept does. Now, I'm kind of building it up a bit, but I'm talking about communication. No biggie right? Well, every time it think I have it figured out, something happens to tweak my understanding just a bit.  I haven't posted on this before because where does one start and end on a topic so vast. The ability for beings to communicate is vital. As a human race, we have evolved from grunting to speaking to tapping little electronic devices. We have harnessed amazing technologies to be able talk with, email or text anyone, anywhere any time. We can instantly beam pictures or videos of what we are doing right now to massive audiences via numerous apps. We can also send little cartoon characters to friends and family to convey our inner most feelings or emotions at any given time. Now, out of respect for everyone's time, I am truly just sctratching the surface of this topic as I want to get the the actual point of my post.
What has been bugging me as my perspective evolves is, when does communication become over-communication? When do words loose their meaning? When does it all become noise?
As we over-communicate does quality give way to quantity? If so, does this create apathy in our communication? I think it may, without us even knowing it. Is silence the answer? I guess it depends on the question, but as a solution to over-communication, I'd say no.
As I have said, I have been mulling this one over for some time, but I have recently come across a reboot of an old song that really made think about it even deeper. If you haven't seen or heard this yet, I hope you enjoy.

Thanks for reading.

Mike

http://youtu.be/u9Dg-g7t2l4

The Moment

There have been a few posts and conversations lately about living in the moment. The common theme it seems, is that everyone is rushing from point A to point B to C and so on. I think most people can relate to this. This morning, amidst rushing to make sure I was ready for work, the kids were ready for school, everybody had food in their belly and a whole bunch of other stuff I'm sure, the concept of living in the moment popped in my head out of nowhere. I concsiously took the time to stop and smell the roses so to speak. Well it's too early for roses, but I took a few minutes before I left for work to lean up against my car, close my eyes and just listen.  This was a day changer. I heard the wind, a pair of ducks, a faint train whistle, a rooster, a crow, a distant car on the highway and for just a little while, absolutely nothing. This was a great start to an otherwise hectic day.
As I got home, I found myself continuing my hectic work pace at home. I thought back to this morning and truly realized how important it is to live in the moment.
Just thought I would share my slight epiphany for the day.

Thanks for reading.

Mike

Time to Refocus

I missed posting last week. That's been bugging me since last Sunday. I've attempted to sit down and write several times but it never came to fruition. Oh, I had plenty of excuses, house full of company, spring chores, travel for work, just too busy. But at the end of the day, I just kept letting myself get distracted. I know we have talked about the ups and downs and when life does get in the way and you are at a low, you just have to climb back up. Well, that's where I'm at.  Time to reevaluate and refocus. At the beginning of the year I indicated that this is where I stumbled last year. I didn't take the time to regularly review and a bad week turned to 2 and then 3 and before I knew it several months went by. 

Although I have been doing my requirements regularly, my numbers are not where they should be. With all this beautiful weather though, my Kms are increasing. 

Here are my total numbers as of this week.  

PU - 4135

SU - 2315

Km - 150

Kempis - 60

Chucks - 179

AOK - 160

Thanks for reading. 

Mike

Oh, to be single again.

I found myself contemplating things the other day. Wondering what if? Maybe it would be easier. But alas, even though it has been more challenging than I thought, I'm gonna keep plugging away with the double chucks, no single chucks for me. I found the single chucks challenging but I was able to get the knack of a few moves fairly quickly which definitely helped with motivation and confidence.

Learning the double chucks reminds me of a hike we did this past summer. It was a trail that I had never done before and it seemed like it was literally straight up the side of a mountain. I am used to trails that provide small victories and achievements. A steep incline for a bit, then maybe a nice plateau to give the hiker the opportunity to catch their breath and relish in their small accomplishment before tackling the next. This trail provided no such luxuries, straight up, 5 km, all incline. I found myself taking about 30 paces and then needing to break, 30 paces, break, and so on. I was by myself at this point so during my breaks, I took the opportunity to teach several birds, squirrels and other such critters, some new words. So many times I recall thinking to myself, turn back, head back down the mountain. But I didn't. I took my 30 paces and I rested and then another 30. It was a slow progression, but I made it to the top. I didn't turn back.

Now, I'm not trying to be over dramatic, but like that trail, this has been more challenging than I had anticipated and I have considered maybe I should just do single chucks again. But no, I am not coming down until I reach the top. Although I have taken the opportunity to teach my dogs some new words,  I feel that I have had my first small victory this week ( thanks again to Sifu Playter for your assistance). I have been trying to get the knack of a few double chuck techniques for about 3-4 weeks now and finally had a small break through on one. I am definitely not as far along on my form, but I do have about 10-13 moves so far.  I am going to continue to climb even if it is only a few steps at a time.

Thanks for reading.

Mike

Duck, duck.......GOOSE

One of my favourite things is hearing Canadian geese honk as they fly overhead. I think it is because that is a sure sign that we are starting a season of change. Spring and autumn are definitely my favourite seasons. Spring is exhilarating as we anticipate all the new freshness and growth Mother Nature can bring us. It is a time to watch the browns and yellows of winter give way to greens and other brilliant colours. This is also a time of rejuvenation not only in nature, but personally as well. An opportunity to reaffirm my trajectory and confirm I am going in the right direction and a chance to start certain goals that have been hibernating and continue on with others with refreshed motivation.
I have been dedicating a fair bit of time on the chucks the past few weeks. I have learned the school form (thank you Sifu  Playter), now it's time to work on cleaning it up.  I have also been focused on several double chuck techniques so I can start piecing together my form. I am nowhere near where I want to be with this, but I feel a steady, albeit slow (very slow) progression. I think I may have been overly ambitious with a few (what seem to me as advanced) techniques. I may have to refocus my efforts on starting with a simpler form then tweaking it to where I want it to be through out the year.

My accumulative numbers are:

PU - 2835
SU - 1715
Kms - 74
Kempo - 34
Chucks - 120
AOK - 100

Thanks for reading.

Mike

Sustainability

I have been reviewing my progress so far and comparing myself a bit to where I was a year ago. Part of my problem was I jumped in with both feet, now in one respect that is good, but in another, I wasn't prepared, physically or mentally. I started out of the gate sprinting (at least for me it was), and that proved to not be sustainable. When I couldn't maintain that pace I started to struggle mentally as I felt that I was already failing just after a few weeks. This year I have taken a different approach. I don't really need to win the race, but it is more about finishing. I have developed a pace that is working for me, and I am slowly increasing it when I can. Although, my numbers are slightly behind of  where they were a year ago, this is about the time I started to struggle. I have no doubt that my numbers are only gong to get better from here.
So, I'm happy where I am this year and I'm looking forward to further progression.
Accumulative numbers are:
SU - 1600
PU - 2300
Km - 48
Chucks - 82
Kempo - 20
AOK - 80

Thanks for reading.

Mike

Should I stay or should I go?

 I have still been sick this week but was finally able to make it to class Wednesday and Thursday. We have all said it before, but I'll say it again. It's tough to be away from class. It's a balance sometimes when you are sick. You want to go to class, but you also want to recooperate and get better. You also do not want spread your illness. I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel guilty as I see several team members out sick this week. I was definitely sick last weekend during the banquet and all prepatory activities. But my balance was to drug myself up to minimize symptoms, avoid contact with as many people as possible and keep my germs to myself as much as possible, but still be able to commit to the team. To anyone who has been sick this week, my apologies if it came from me. If it weren't for the banquet, I would have stayed away. Simon also became sick this week and missed a fair bit of school. We kept him home from classes including an I Ho Chuan class. He was not happy at all and was trying very hard to negotiate terms to allow him to attend. I am glad he is passionate about Kung fu and the I Ho Chuan to put up a fight to attend. Again, it's about the team, sometimes you need to attend and sometimes you need to stay away.
I spent more time this week on cerebral activities. Developing form ideas, sitting down and figuring out plans for several of my goals. The good thing about being sick is, I have inadvertently started working on my weight loss goal.
My numbers are  not as good as I'd like for this week but are still climbing. I am happy because I finally hit a 200 PU day. Next goal is a 200 PU and SU day.

These are my accumulative numbers.

PU - 1580
SU -1450
KM -24
Kempo - 12
Chucks - 53
AOKs - 45

Well, that's some of what is going on in my head this week.

Thanks for reading.

Mike

In with the Monkey, out with sheep.

Congratulations to Sifus Vanderham, Csillag, Fuhr, Krebs, Vantuil and Regier (my apologies if I spelled any names wrong) on your promotions. It was awesome to hear your stories and watch your promotions but it has been even better watching you work towards them all year. Congratulations also goes out to Sifu Csillag and Mr. Sollinger on your awards. You have all worked very hard and set an amazing example for all of us. Thank you for the inspiration that you spread to the rest of the team and school. Your promotions and accolades are truly deserved.
Although, the year of the monkey did start a few weeks ago, the year of the sheep officially concluded last night. What does that mean? For me it is partly a fresh start, but also a time to refocus, set new goals, and work harder on the ones I have yet to achieve. I am excited to be continuing with the chucks this year and have a head full of ideas for a new form. It has been quite a while since I have hit myself with the chucks (dare I say knock on wood?) so I have decided to start making a wooden set.
 Thanks to all the sheep members for a truly amazing year. And to all the monkey members, I am looking forward to working with you all this up coming year.

Thanks

Mike

Week 1

Well, the first week of the year of the monkey has come and gone. As I previously posted, my focus this year is going to be on self discipline and regular reviews of it. So after after week one how am I doing? It's been a good week. I've had motivational challenges near the end of the week but I've managed to stick with it. even on these days where the motivation is waining, I have still managed to get something done. My nemesis this week has been a lack of routine. The goal for the week to come is to develop even a small routine that I can build on in the weeks to come.
Have a great family day!

Thanks for reading.

The Pursuit of Betterness

What a year it has been. Successes and failures aplenty. For the past few days I have been brainstorming and planning a pivotal post to recap and say goodbye to the sheep and say hello to the monkey, but something sifu said yesterday keeps reverberating in the back of my mind. "Blogging is important!".  

Well, I wish someone would have said that a year ago...oh wait...he did. 

Now that's not really the piece I'm stuck on, it was the comment about blogging so you have a record of who you were and who you now are because a year on this team will change you. I have to admit, it's a little embarrassing that I didn't figure that one out myself. You see for quite some time, analytics was a large part of my job. Any time we proposed a change, I would be the first one to say, what's our baseline and how are we going to measure if the change has been beneficial and then how beneficial was it. Now, this is really important. I didn't join this team because I really like push ups and sit ups, nor did I sign up because I've had a life long yearning to learn Nunchuks (although they are pretty cool) and nope, it wasn't the endless repetitions of forms and sparring.

I just wanted to be better. 

So, who was I a year ago and who am I now?  Am I better?

Unfortunately, I don't have a plethora of posts nor do I have statistics to demonstrate who I was physically and mentally.  I think I am largely the same person I was, although I know I have changed, and for the better.

Now, I know that I have a long way to go. The pursuit of "betterness" (yes, I just made that up), is never ending.  I will keep reminding myself as to why I am doing this. It is not to get a stripe, nor is it to get a green, blue or even a black belt (I know I not supposed to say that, but it's true, that is NOT why I'm here). 

I just want to be better. 

If I just so happen to earn these achievements in the pursuit of betterness, then that will be pretty swell. 

So, if this is really why I am here, I really have to track, log and blog to show my incremental progression. 

Thanks for reading. 

grounding?

I mentioned several weeks ago about some impending changes at my work. Needless to say, the past few weeks have been filled with uncertainty, frustration and a whole bunch of extra stress. I think the biggest stressor is the loss of control.  It is very easy to go home and shut yourself off from the world, go into a bubble and just wait for everything to subside or pass over.  But that doesn't usually work out so well because when you reconnect, the situation and stress are still there.  Although, I wanted to choose the bubble option, I did not. I stayed engaged.
The reason I bring this up is, I have noticed something in the past few months. There have been many times when I just wanted stay at home, stay in my bubble, not face the world, not go to regular class or the I Ho Chuan because I needed a mental rest, a break because of stress at home or at work.  But something happens when I do go. I'm not sure how to explain it, but I hear many people talking about how staying engaged and just coming to the kwoon keeps you grounded. Maybe that's it. Despite what is going on in all other parts of my life, coming to the kwoon whether  for regular class, I Ho Chuan or just to run with dragon, things look and feel different after.
Not that long ago, we came to the decision we needed to put our family dog of 17 years down.  The decision was obvious but still difficult nonetheless, and I booked the appointment for the next day. Several hours later we had an extra dragon dance practice. I'll be honest, that was the last place I wanted to be.  I wasn't in a very good mood, I really didn't want to be around anyone, but as the practice was winding down things seemed better. The situation was no different, but I seemed to be in a better place mentally. It has been the same thing the past few weeks, by the time I leave the kwoon, regardless of why I was there, I seem to have a better perspective when I leave. It may not always last long, but that's why I have to come back. Is that "grounding"? I dunno. But what I do know is something that started as merely as an opportunity to get in shape physically has provided so much more.

Integrity

This week I found myself thinking back a few years. Back to when we were looking for some "activities" for our children.   You know, the stuff to keep them occupied. We were refered to SRKF by some friends.  I remember the big thing that stood out for me was the fact that our kids were learning about values and empathy instead of just smashing things. Don't get me wrong, smashing things is fun!  Every time I watch a kids class or see a grading, I hear the question, " what does Kung Fu teach us?", followed by an enthusiastic and almost musical "discipline and respect".  But it is sooo much more than that. I could list all the values kung fu teaches or reinforces, but you'd get tired of reading.
I had the proud moment this week to watch my daughter (with some classmates) get up in front of her whole school and give a presentation on integrity. For those of you that don't know her, she is extremely shy. Even though this was way outside her comfort zone and she was scared, she was one of only a few kids who volunteered for this. I think Kung Fu also instills confidence and courage. There is a motivational poster in the men's changeroom at the kwoon that says something to the affect of "courage is the ability to do things without fear". I couldn't disagree with this more. My daughter taught me that courage is the ability to do things despite fear.
After the poems were read and the songs sung, the teachers wanted to recognize a few students from the entire school who consistently displayed integrity in and out of the classroom. This then became my second proud moment of the afternoon.  Kung fu definitely teaches integrity.
I don't know if any of our kids will continue with kung fu as a life long journey, maybe they will, maybe they won't.   But what I do know, our children and probably many other kids (even those who have only experienced Kung fu for a few years), have already started to develop values and skills that will serve them for the rest of their lives.

Aces

Good evening all,

I have been sitting here for the better part of a few hours looking at a blank screen. I'll type a line or two then start hitting the delete key like I'm playing space invaders. For those of you too young to know what that is, you should google it. I'm having troubles focusing on a particular topic as my mind has been all over the place this week.  I guess I can talk about that. Like many folks as of late, the changing economy has had significant impact on both personal and professional lives. I recently found out we are going through a significant restructure at work. Now the ironic part about my profession is that when the economy slumps, we get busier. Then that old cliché "do more with less" becomes our mantra. Anticipating the changes on he horizon has been predominating my mind, but as I loom over what might be, I am mindful that I have a choice. Regardless of what happens, I have a choice. It is my choice to step out of my comfort zone, learn, develop as person and take on new cballenges or don't.   I think Kenny Rogers said it best, "every hand is a winner and every hand is a loser, it just depends on how you play the game", for those of you too young to get that reference, you should google it.  Whether it is work, school, your personal life or even kung fu, we are all gonna get dealt crappy cards at some point. But, the way I see it in real life, sometimes you just have to make your own aces. I have had the amazing opportunity to witness many people in the I Ho Chuan create their own aces this past year. One more reason I'm am thankful to be involved with this team.
Sorry for being all over the place tonight.
Thanks for reading.

Mike

The Year of the Sheep

Hello everyone.

This my first post in a very long time.  I apologize in advance for being all over the place, this is several different posts that never got completed and several recent thoughts mushed into one. I would to thank everyone for their posts and apologize that I haven't returned the effort sooner. As I look back at this year, I remember getting prepared, making goals and plans for the year ahead. I had no idea what I was getting into or what to expect. I had high hopes of extinguishing old habits and learning new ones. Although, I fell short on quite a few goals and requirements, I have made leaps and bounds from where I was before I Ho Chuan and definitely before kung fu.  But as I look back and reflect on the successes and the failures, I have to ask myself "why?". Why have I suceeded where I did and why have I failed where did?  To do this is a very good exercise in self reflection. Until you truly look at yourself, the good, the bad and everything else, you will never understand what you need to do to improve yourself. That is what this journey towards mastery is all about right?  One thing I really didn't expect from this year, was gaining a better understanding of who I am. As I struggled with my requirements, I stuggled even more with the thought of my commitment waining. Why else would I be having problem achieving these commitments?  The thought of loosing my commitment was terrifying.  This is just not a commitment to myself, or the team or to the school. This was a commitment to my family, my children and my friends. This was a commitment to become a better and healthier person. To develop new habits and behaviours so that I am still here in 10, 20 or 30 years from now. The thought that I was no longer concerned with this created even more stress which in turn created even more impedance to accomplishing what I set out to do in the first place.  Sometime ago, Sifu explained that commitment and self discipline are very different. Well that makes sense doesn't it?  Of course I have self discipline problems. This isn't really a surprise, I knew this, but haven't really acknowledged it. This self realization is one of my biggest accomplishments this year. It doesn't sounds like much, but this is pivotal. This is vital for me to conquer if I want to accomplish anything worth accomplishing. As the year of the Sheep draws to an end, I look toward the year of the Monkey, I am preparing, making goals and plans for the year ahead. The difference this year, I know myself better than I did a year ago. I know what I want to accomplish and I know developing my self discipline will be at the heart of it all.

Thanks for reading.

Mike