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