Thoughts Near a Park Bench

I briefly raised my head, assessed how skippy was doing then dropped my jowls into my paws and returned to rest.  My owner sat on the park bench beside me, a flint of hope in his eyes, overshadowed by reality that I was not going to retrieve that tennis ball.

Skippy was running to and fro, it appeared his owner had now taught him to hold a treat on his nose and on command he would flip it into his mouth.  Hmmm, if the snack is right there in his hand I say don’t risk dropping the treat, just snatch it out of his hand.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m a good dog, I sit on command, I walk diligently by my owner, and have been known to shake a paw every now and then.  But those were all things I learned earlier on, truth is, I’ve grown stubborn, a little stuck in my ways, and just a lot tougher to teach new tricks.

I like the Kung Fu attitude.  Constantly reminding myself that mastery is the process of mindful attention to detail, continued persistence, hard work and dedication.  But how do you start a new trick when the mastery process hits a giant wall of stubbornness, habit, and good old lack of talent.  Do you flog along on a process hoping that eventually you will get it, or cut your ties and find a better way of doing things.  This is a talent in itself.  The ability to know when the horse has passed on, and no matter how large the spurs, he ain’t movin. 

Quite often I hear fellow students say they have these AHA moments when working at a form or a technique and all just seems to click into place.  I have to say, those moments are very rare for me.  More often than not, I stay persistent and gradually work into a groove.  The process always seems very slow for me, and rarely is the result of a one day revelation.  Sometimes the process is so gradual I can’t recognize if there has been a change at all.  Have I improved? How do I know?

Switch the nunchuks to the left hand and try that spin.  Ahhhh, feel that searing goose egg on the back of your head.  Your right hand used to be that poor.  Sometimes this is the revelation I need.  Sometimes an instant reminder of how far you have come can let you know if the process you have been following is working.  Another example would be a video journal.  I am really starting to see the benefit to Sifu Playter's process of using video in his forms.  Firstly video has the obvious benefit that you can pick out problems, but; video also can act as a record to see if the process you have adopted is working.  Compare your video journal today from one you took a year ago.  The revelation or ‘AHA’ moment is right there!  If it isn't, you may be spurring a dead horse.

I think video is something I don’t use enough of.  Moving forward, I think I may use video as more of a tool to reconcile the process in my martial arts training.  I see this as rolling into one of my personal challenges for the upcoming year of the Snake.  Let’s see where this goes.

Until then, back to resting near the park bench.  I wonder if Skippy knows I confused his chew toy for a fire hydrant.  Guess he doesn't know all the tricks.

P.S. – In answer to Sihing Langner’s challenge last week, in case it is a little dark, the photo is of me completing pushup’s on a SABER TOOTH CAT!  Yaaah!

Pistachio's

 The cleaning lady was just doing her job when she found all the elements that spelled TERRORIST spread out over the hotel bed.   A letter outlining the details of a covert operation labelled “Pistachio”.  A book to learn the native language. Electronic video surveillance equipment.  A tasty snack for bribing authorities, and assassin training equipment!  No doubt she thought the Drumheller Spanish consulate could be in trouble.   

I wasn’t worried. As soon as I told the authorities that the mysterious package that arrived at the front desk was simply from a group of individuals that were united for a better cause, I am sure they would let me go.

OK, Operation Pistachio was not as dramatic as that, but its arrival affected me just as much.  For Sifu Rybak, and the I Ho Chuan team that was responsible for pulling this care package together, I can’t explain to you how awesome this was.  It could not have come at a better time.  The morning the package arrived I was greeted with 4 inches of fresh snow and blizzard conditions forcing a shutdown for the day.  I was miserable that the project would be delayed while I wait for yet another day away from home.

I never felt outside the I Ho Chuan group, but missing involvement in what the team is accomplishing, I often wonder about my connection to the group.  Receiving a care package as thoughtful as the one that arrived yesterday does so much for an individual.  It reinforces purpose, reminds of commitment, delivers encouragement, and above all, gives me a reason to feed Sifu’s video camera to the worlds largest dinosaur.

All joking aside, thank you guys so much for such a thoughtful care package, it meant a great deal to me, and really illustrates what a great group the I Ho Chuan is.  On another note, the demo looked fantastic, you all should be very proud!  To the Sihing with the wrapped hand and wrist...yes you know who you are...take care of that injury.

Blog challenge number 2

Well, in answer to Sifu’s challenge, I am blogging today about my experience of performing my form in front of someone not within the I Ho Chuan group, and receiving feedback.

My options are pretty limited.  Aside from a couple of equipment operators, the odd time a heavy equipment mechanic, and my dual personality, there really is very limited persons to complete this task.  Since I don’t like my alternative personality (always eats my snack food) I was stuck with the equipment operators.

So, me in cover alls, steel toe boots, hard hat and safety glasses completed Kempo on a very lumpy dirt site.  And from his perch on the D6, taking a deep long drag from a cigarette offered no criticism of sorts, just a simple question.  Where do you think your gonna use that?

Aha, he had opened up the opportunity!  No, not the opportunity to knock him off the dozer track with a flying kick, but rather the chance to explain how forms are instrumental in the practice of our style of Kung Fu. This led to a very good conversation regarding the martial arts with a person I originally pegged as having little to no interest in any activity whatsoever.

This was challenging because it forced me out of my comfort zone entirely.  It forced me away from being a closet martial artist.  Truth is, how can you make an impact, be an activist for anything, or influence somebody if you lack the confidence to just get out there and do it.

Blog Challenge

I am posting this one a little behind schedule, but here is a narrative on two of my goals:

One of the greatest challenges for me was completing Kempo 1000 times.  This is a challenge that I have not been very successful at.  Space and time were at an all time low this past couple months. When I had the space, I had limited time.  When I had the time, I have limited space.  I suppose that is never an adequate excuse, Kempo could be done in the dark outside.  What I found however was completing the form 1000 times is a challenge itself, however when additional constraints were thrown on it, there was that much more reason to avoid it, or focus on other matters.  With the winter approaching, it is only getting harder for me to complete this goal, freezing weather, but more importantly the lack of light is becoming a real drag.  I am finding I can complete pieces of the form during the day when appropriate, but to complete the entire form several times a day is a struggle.  The nunchuk weapon form, is an absolute no no on site which leaves very cramped space in the trailer or in the dark outside.  Hmmm, never tried the nunchuk form in the dark before.  I will give that a go tonight.  Black eye to follow tomorrow.

Pass an introductory grade ten Spanish test.  That was a personal goal of mine which so far has been a complete crash and burn.  My wife is fluent in Spanish.  My in-laws are fluent in Spanish.  I have CD’s and little doo dad games for learning Spanish on an ipod.  I listen on occasion to Dora the Explorer. 

Current status;  The family cat knows more Spanish than I do. There is no excuse, this is a goal that has no space constraints.  Headway can be made while driving, waiting, or cooking dinner.  I have been pretty hard headed with this one.  There is still time however, I am ending this blog post and putting the CD into the player as we speak.

Shadow Ninja's

I’ve since moved from hotel life to trailer life.  It has been a good transition as I am now in better control of making healthier meals and I am getting better and more consistent sleep.  The transition was tough as it came close to Sifu Regier’s challenge of shadow boxing in confined space.  The day I received the challenge I remember precisely. 

Here I thought a battle with the trailer sewer hose was big.  This I hadn't counted on. Ninja’s had somehow gotten into the trailer.  Dressed in black, one Ninja had already gotten into the cupboard and had a mouthful of dry mini-wheats. So with nothing to lose I launched down from the bed and snapped a side kick into the first victim.  He flew clean past the table well into the kitchen and straight out the tiny one foot window.  A second one wielding a stick.....no..... a battle ax came flying from the 3 foot squared bathroom.  Crossblock, knee to the guts, second Ninja down.  

Suddenly ominous music was playing.  Obviously the worst Ninja had been hiding in the closet the whole time.  He was obviously the leader because like all good martial arts encounters, the best Ninja is always dressed in a different color.  He wore crimson yellow and definitely meant business.  What was this!?  In his hand he had popped the top of my Pringles.  BIG MISTAKE.  After a fight of epic proportion the battle was over, the ninja’s were vanquished......for now.

This was an interesting challenge.  Practicing kicks, punches in confined space is nothing new, but a full out attack of shadow boxing ninja’s makes things very interesting.  I sometimes like tapping into the imagination for shadow boxing, forms, techniques.  It adds some realism.  What I also noticed in the exercise is how I missed circular motion on my opponent.  With the very limited space I had, everything had to stay linear, so my techniques and sparring style adapted.  I would say it got a great deal simpler, sticking to more thrust punches and front thrust kicks.  Most importantly was an awareness of surroundings and concentration on technique rather than getting in on an opponent opening. It was a great challenge, thanks Sifu.