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.