Rest

I heard an analogy today on the radio.  Quite often we are like mountain climbers.  A mountain climber at some point in the route will have a point when they have two solid hand holds, and two solid foot holds.  At that point in time it is comfortable.  But the climber realizes that the only way to complete the climb is eventually go beyond the present security and remove one of those hands.

Rest is a dangerous thing.  It is also at times pretty necessary. I find sometimes it is difficult to decide whether rest is necessary or just comfortable.  One thing is for sure, when I am resting, I am not progressing.  Here is where I have to rely on those little daily routines to ensure my engagement doesn’t waver.  I find routines are awesome for avoiding training funk.  Before things get too comfortable, my brain is re-engaged with a set of sit-ups. Routines are awesome, it’s unfortunate I don’t have more of them.

I always struggled with the idea of working a day of rest into my routine.  Probably because I know my natural instinct is to be lazy and always feared that even one day would become too comfortable, and resistance would be futile.  But I am not being honest with myself, because I am still taking those breaks, but not according to a set schedule.   I don’t think this is benefitting me.  I have to somehow come up with a system that works with a fly by the seat of my pants schedule. Now there will be a challenge. I think the benefit however, will be an engagement that is more consistent, less ups and downs in the training regime, and less likelihood of injury. 

Mr. Baseball

A more responsible person, following such a dismal performance while throwing at this weekends dunk tank, may have said, perhaps I am not the guy to pitch baseballs to young children.  A more clever person would have stepped aside when faced with the opportunity to provide a safe environment to learn how to hit a baseball.  But nope…not this guy.

The blood coursed from my sons nose, the tears ran down his cheeks.  The entire team surrounded, jaws wide open in amazement.  On my face they read my thoughts as though a book; I have single handily ruined my sons love of the sport of baseball.   The nose of a seven year old is a pretty small target.  Odds of hitting that perfectly are not very good.  Unless you don’t want to of course. 

Either my son has a great deal of courage, an over inflated confidence in his father, or a poor memory, because he got right back up there to bat.  I was extremely proud of him and took that as a life lesson.  At his age, he probably didn’t realize how important it was to jump back to it following an experience like that.  Despite that, he took his bruises and moved on.  I think that misguided baseball probably hurt his dad more than him today.  That being said being hurt and proud at the same time is a bizarre emotion indeed.

Changes and adaptations

This past week has been all about adaptability.  Like the dandelions on my lawn who have learned to avoid my lawnmower by growing and seeding out 1cm from the ground.  Well the last couple weeks have been much like that, adapting to a couple health issues, back into the work schedule, helping with ball coaching.

I have been called out for work for the past couple weeks which has entailed jumping back and forth onto night shifts, then back to days and so on.  I have a real appreciation for you night shifters out there.  I feel like I am stuck in a revolving door of a fancy hotel, not sure if I am supposed to get out inside or outside, so instead I just keep riding.  It is pretty stressful on the body with disrupted sleep patterns and so forth.  Good on you folks that do this on a constant basis.  It is pretty messed up.

Anyhow, I have managed to fit some repetitions in near darkness which I am not sure if this is beneficial or just dangerous.  I much prefer the Kwoon.  In any case nothing too deep in this week’s blog, but I figure an update to the team is order. Currently can’t wait for the Pandamonium and will see most of you there.

Kung Fu Fusion

I recently evaluated where I am at with my Kung Fu, and it had nothing to do with my kicks or punches.  I evaluated where I was at with what Sifu Regier referred to as; “Believing in the system”.  I think when we first tie on the belt and take in our first class of Kung Fu we are entering a relationship similar to that of a vacuum salesman at our front door.  We approach with caution to determine if the salesperson genuinely believes that I would be better off with a Super Sucker 1000.

For me there was no real definitive time by which I can say that Kung Fu went from being a life add on, to becoming fused and a part of me.  The difference in those two perceptions however, is immense.  When something is an Add On, it is considered detachable, of little importance, easily sidelined, and even easier to drop altogether.

Some people will buy a Super Sucker 1000 after five minutes with the salesman, others may evaluate it for weeks.  The point is, Kung Fu fusion; I believe comes different for everyone.  For me, I know the process was slow. In fact it happened over a period of years.  In fact, I would even go so far as to say that it has only really been the last year that I have believed in the system.  I am not sure why it took so long.  Realistically I always liked what Kung Fu did for my life, I liked what it was doing in the lives of fellow students, and people who seemed to believe in the system already, really had no reason to lie.

What I do know, is that I believe I have arrived.  I am in a very different place now then I was even a year ago.  There are noticeable differences in the two perceptions.  When I miss a family event, I don’t feel guilty, I feel disappointed I couldn’t do both. When I miss a Kung Fu event, I don’t have resentment because I take my Kung Fu with me everywhere.  It’s fused, and it manifests itself in more than just 50,000 push-ups, it becomes integral in the way I think, the decisions I make, and my relationship.

One thing I am proud of, is that I did not quit for many years because I wasn’t fully invested in the system.   Making sure a Super Sucker 1000 is exactly what it claims to be takes time.  For me, that time meant periods of guilt, doubt, disengagement, resentment.  I think that is normal.  Realize that changes in your life of this enormity probably won’t happen fast, but they are very exceptional.  For those that are working through this, all I can say is stick with it, take a deep look at yourself at the end of this I Ho Chuan year, and whether you see it or not, I believe you will be one step closer to Kung Fu fusion.

The Action Plan

“Rather than giving up, as many ordinary people do, he will use his ordinariness to correct his errors, which is essential in the process of attaining mastery” Mastery, by Stuart Emery.

This next year of the I Ho Chuan may be a defining year like no other.  But, like all the others, a work schedule will inevitably complicate the process.  This is not a problem if I can define a well thought out plan of attack for this year.  Here are a couple of thoughts that come to mind.

First, I am going to define my goals.  I need to have a clear understanding exactly what I want to correct in the time that remains for the year of mastery.  Determining each and every improvement required in my Kung Fu is the life long journey that I will be on, however, this is where the success coach comes into play.  Now, I am a person that has a very high appreciation for people who offer there time in my accord, but strangely I rarely will reach out for help.  This has to change.  I am going to mine the resources I have available at Silent River somewhat selfishly and seek out the mentorship that is available.  With help, I will be able to drastically narrow my focus to a realistic amount of improvement for the most crucial requirements.

Once defined, I will systematically attack these required changes, and once again tap the help button on occasion for the most efficient way to improve.  Now, times away from the Kwoon on a work cycle are going to happen, but here is the plan.  Video.  Dropbox.  Critique. That simple.  Utilize video for review and really tackle the issues.

Now onto another point.  Seek incremental improvement.  I will not be throwing all items on the plate at once.  For me, the most successful way to iron out details is one item at a time.   Dividing my focus over too many items at once is not productive.  This is where the coaching can come into play once again. 

There are roughly 10 more months in the year of the sheep.  Past experience has proven there will be a great many highs and an equal number of lows.  “Reality Checks” as was explained by Sifu is part of the process of beating the lows.  When things get down and dirty, I will be calling in reinforcement.  Often, a low can encroach very sinisterly and all too often I am not even aware of it.  This is the importance of the blog, and as equally important the blog readers.  I am asking a huge favour in this respect, if you read a blog of mine and see something that might indicate struggle, I really hope that you would reach out.  Sometimes an uplifting comment can be the difference of swinging perspective into the right direction. 

Maybe my Dad or Grandpa used to say “make hay while the sun shines”.  My highest level of engagement is when I am home.  This is roughly January through to middle of May and varies as the fall encroaches.  Spring, summer can get busy…. So as I have always suggested, when I am home I focus on getting to the Kwoon as often as possible.  Taking advantage of the Pandamonium events, demos, forms seminar and so forth whenever possible results in drastic advancement.  I will use these times to my advantage, kinda like booster pads to get ahead of the curve before the work tries to stagnate any progress.

Reflection will be key throughout the year.  Evaluating where I have come from and where I am going will be a constant thing for me.  Reground and regroup, analyze the goal and stay dynamic.  Change what is not working and move forward.  This may be the best plan for now, but it may not be 3 months for now.  Since flying by the seat of my pants (I prefer to call it adaptability and being dynamic!) comes pretty natural to me, this should be easy!