February 21, 2016

On our way back from the banquet yesterday evening, while stopped at the red light by the McDonalds in Stony Plain heading back to Edmonton, a drunk driver narrowly missed killing my son and I.  How is that for a concoction of emotions throughout the day.

The driver, estimated at travelling over 130km/hr ricocheted off two vehicles also stopped at the light beside us. If his vehicle were ten feet further south, we would have been the prime target of this vehicular missile. Vehicle parts rained down like confetti, my son thought a gun had gone off from the sound of the collision and he was crying. The sound of panicked people resonated.

Today, I had a great deal to reflect on.  I thought mostly on being in a room with the Sheep team only a couple hours prior, Sifu Brinker reminding us the importance of taking in this very moment.  That exact miracle experienced exactly that way will never be experienced again. Cherish it. Remember it.  Be thankful for it.  

February 14, 2015

This year will be the first banquet that my two kids will attend.  For whatever reason, circumstances have never worked in our favour for them to be a part of the awards ceremony in times past.

I am most excited at this because I don’t believe I have done a good job at relaying exactly what I do at Kung Fu.  I think there is a real realm of mystery with a lot of my friends and family as to what it is all about.  Most often I find my audience is lost in the first explanation that Kung Fu is not synonymous with Judo, Karate, or Tai Kwon Do. 

No doubt, my kids have come accustomed to household weirdness such as nunchuk socks, rakes that get articulated on the front lawn, or an extension cord becoming a rope dart for a moment.  That's all in good fun, but more importantly, my focus should be placed on the true nuts and bolts of what Kung Fu is to me. I am hoping that in the future I do a better job of translating the importance of Kung Fu in my life to the people I most care about.   

     

February 7, 2016

Recently on a radio-thon generating donations for a charity that was aiding with homelessness, a comment was said, “Really we are all just one decision, or circumstance away from being in a similar situation as people struggling on the street”.  That really hit home with me, and made me think about the importance of mindfulness in our days and decisions.

The thought was further solidified today while backcountry skiing in the mountains well west of Banff with a very good friend of mine. Our plan was to ascend up Vermilion Peak. The route required a switchback uphill climb through a tree region burned several years ago to the alpine and then a traverse along the ridge to the summit. As it would have it, the burn region had changed in that the undergrowth was very significant making the old route impassable. The gully had a major life threatening slide that probably had released yesterday covering tracks from skiers either that day or the day before.  From a snow stability stand point this can be an indicator of both good and bad things which I won’t go into here. 

At that point, the current avalanche conditions, the condition of the snowpack, temperature, weather, inexperience with the location, we turned around with very little consideration for continuing and headed for another location.  On our way down, we met 10 other individuals that made the decision to continue to climb up the avalanche path.  I can’t get out of my brain that had this slide happened at the wrong time today, there would likely be 10 buried bodies.

Just two unrelated things this week that really emphasized the importance of mindfulness in all that we do.

January 31, 2016

The I Ho Chuan is a program that focuses on a year of Mastery. In its collection of students that sign up and commit to the challenge, are people at various stages of their martial arts journey, and sometimes a real eclectic group from various walks of life.   Through the weekly journaling requirement, the team is brought to an understanding of the struggle and needs of each of their teammates, and I for one, love this about the group. It has been in the honesty of the journaling of my teammates that my perspective of the I Ho Chuan has changed over the four years of my involvement.  Let me explain.

First off, let me clarify I haven’t been involved in the I Ho Chuan since it’s infancy, or prior to the programs patterning from the Ultimate Black Belt Test.  Prior to my involvement, which was a grading requirement the year I first signed up, the I Ho Chuan to me appeared as an elite group of people, hand selected for guaranteed success of the program. To be completely honest, at that period of time, I don’t believe the I Ho Chuan group sold itself very well to the rest of the school.  I was proof of that.  I wouldn’t say I was scared that I couldn’t handle it, but rather most concerned that I really did not fit into this group of exceptional people that seemed to lack life challenges and flooded with time and talent.

 

Fast forward a few years to 2016.  The more you train, and learn about people, the more you realize their struggles are so much similar; or maybe nothing similar, but equally daunting to your own. It’s in that realization that my perspective shifted to understand that the I Ho Chuan is a group of ordinary people, doing extraordinary things.  It’s that simple.  It doesn’t require a secret handshake, team members don’t wear capes, and they don’t have x-ray vision, thank goodness.  I can finally quit wearing my lead lined boxer shorts.

Is the I Ho Chuan for everyone?  Maybe not, but I do believe there isn’t a single student at Silent River that wouldn’t benefit from at least one year in the program.  Most exciting is seeing the skills adopted from a year in the I Ho Chuan when people take the tools, and apply them into a successful balance symbiotic to their own life situation.  That no doubt requires discipline in the application of the tools without the support of the team. I want to get there some day.

I realize this blog outlines most of what team members mostly already know.  The reason I write about it though, is because I strongly believe the perception of the I Ho Chuan is very important to our Kwoon.  Can you imagine if all the students of Silent River adapted to the principles of mastery as outlined in the program? But how can that happen if they have the preconceived notions I had five years ago?  I think this is an aspect we can work on, but until then, it can start with the Chinese New Year celebration.  There isn’t a better venue than that for displaying how ordinary people can set their mind to doing extraordinary things, without the need of a cape.

January 24, 2016

I am probably the worst patient a Doctor could have.  Cancelling appointments, only going through with a portion of the required testing, rarely filling a prescription given, next to no follow up.  I am not proud of it, I just do not like admitting a problem. 

Recently a dull nagging shoulder pain seemed to have persisted for about a month.  My wife booked an appointment with a sports therapist that she had visited and had very good success. I had my doubts, but following the meeting he tested my strength in various positions, and with a bit of pressure in just the right place the shoulder injury subsided. 

Now I am pretty sceptical about a fix that could be as simple as a two minute meeting, but the pain is gone. According to his explanation, two vertebrae in my neck were out which had pulled my upper rib out of place putting pressure into the shoulder. He replaced all said bones into the proper slots, and so far it has made an entire difference.  I have never had results this instant with any consultation with a chiropractor, acupuncture, or otherwise.  It reiterated the importance of proper maintenance of our bodies in the care of people that know something about it.

With that being said, I am hopeful that the fix will allow for ramped up practice and training coming in light of the upcoming News Years ceremony. 

January 17, 2016

With just over a month remaining before the Chinese New Year celebration at Silent River, time is at a premium.  Currently I am juggling around aggravated muscles and joints, while trying to cram in the much needed practice of forms and weapons.

At times it can seem overwhelming, but not unexpected. Every year there is always a sense of urgency in getting things done.  Because I have limited opportunity every year to perform in the various demo’s through the year, I always feel there is a thick layer of rust that has to get worked out for a public performance.  Battling the demo challenges also means battling the feeling for the need for cram training.  I am brought back to the old saying, “Everything in moderation….including moderation”.

So with that in mind, repetition is on the menu. My highest focus is on the Sai, Lau Gar, and Kempo at this point.  Learning the dragon dance is good, but in the words of the kids these days, I feel like a NOOB. Burying the old habits in forms I am familiar while learning new habits in the form of the Dragon will prove to be a mixmash of Kung Fu awesomeness for the upcoming month.

January 10, 2015

The year of the monkey will represent the 10^th year that I will have been training in the martial arts.  A decade is a long time for some things.  From my perspective, I realize I could have spent 9 years exclusively on the intricacy of one Kung Fu technique, and would likely still need more time.  Training in Kung Fu seems like a very small drop in a very expansive ocean doesn’t it?  The thought of it all makes me wish I started training 20 years ago.  

That being said in the last 9 years in reflection I can say I am slower now, but am also slower to anger. I care slightly less about time, and more about timing.  Instead of seeking to be a spectacle, I seek more to be spectacular, at least in relation to where I was when I started martial arts.  Recognizing where we have come from is great, but can you imagine if we could see ourselves on another chosen path in the absence of the great influences in our life? It would make our current accomplishments all that much sweeter.

I see where I have been, I see where I am at, but seeing exactly where I am going to end up is foggy to me.  And I am ok with that.  That lack of clarity is just the result of the expansiveness of Kung Fu.  Where I am at now was foggy to me 9 years ago also.  A path that is well trodden is comforting in its familiarity, but it’s the unknown that makes me excited about the next decade to come.