Destination: Who cares?

I am currently chipping through Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.  I read this last year, and it was an interesting read.  I am finding the second go around more enjoyable, I am less confused knowing the direction the author is going.  After finishing this the first time, I was a little bewildered on how this related to an inquiry of values at all.  It certainly did not turn me into a motorcycle mechanic; that is for sure.  But reading this the second time is comforting, and I have much more understanding.  

As I fly home on a rain day, I plan on taking the kids out camping.  A day isn’t much time to get to the mountains, especially when tenting with two little kids on a forecasted rainy day.  The trick is making the destination the excuse, and making the car trip, camp set up, and packing the holiday. Using all the senses, sight, smell, feel, hear.  It may not be on the back of a motorcycle, but it will do.

So under high anticipation, I have loaded the last of the gear, all the kids, and the computer is getting turned off. 

Here are my numbers

Most of you know I am working out town for the last few months.  You may have forgotten what I look like.  Well here is the bitter truth of my numbers.  Go easy on me, I know I haven’t been easy on myself:

Pushups:25,200

Situps: 25,200.  This was due to this last week push because I was really behind on these.  I find situps less convenient to do anywhere.  At least they are caught up to now.

Nunchuk Form: 352 repetitions I included practice minutes as well. Three minutes per logged repetition.

Kempo Form:  151 repetitions – Ouch!

Sparring minutes: 380 minutes – zero in the last 3 months.  Most everything was logged in sparring class prior to my depart.

1609 kilometers: 847km – running, walking, a bit of cycling.

1000 acts of kindness: 720.  My favorite- told a teenager outside the 7-11 that smoking will affect his health.  I don’t think he saw this as an act of kindness though.  A close second was moving a displaced vole off the worksite.  Probably not an act of kindness for the farmer however!

Mend a relationship: Complete.

Maintain a public journal:  So far so good.

Maintain an online presence:  This needs work.

Learn to lion dance:  Not complete

Compete in Tiger Challenge:  Present for the wee hours of the morning at the Pandamonium event.  I think this qualifies as a public performance as well, but not sure.

Public Four board break:  Not complete

Personal goals: Swim front crawl five lengths of the pool (without water wings or pool noodle)- Not complete

Complete 2 chosen readings: Complete

Pass grade ten level test in Spanish: Incomplete, and not going well to be honest.

Finish illustration of tiger in the grass: Incomplete

Complete a website and raise money for charity death race: Complete

Run a leg in the death race:  Complete

No Quitting:  Absolutely not.  No matter how dismal the numbers are looking.

Thanks to those that have been offering so much of themselves to help the rest of us strugglers.  I keep tabs on every team members blog and this has been a real positive.  When I am at home (which I can count the days on one hand), I am at the Kwoon.  When I am not working, doing paperwork, eating or sleeping, I am putting towards my requirements.  I have found the last three months, extremely hard to get the time.

Post Death Run

First off thanks to everyone on there best wishes for the death race run this year.  It was most encouraging to hear your support.

Thanks also to Ms. Csillag, Sifu Regier, Sihing Regier for making the event AWESOME!  Couldn't ask for a better group of people to tackle the task.  Everyone gave it their all as true martial artists and it really showed.  Also to Mr. Regier and Mr. Regier (Jr's) you guys did spectacular!

Also thanks to Mr. Csillag and Ms. Krebs for the organization and mega support out there!  It was very much appreciated.

"Be Impressive".  That was the slogan pasted on the death race T-shirt this year.  What did that exactly mean?  This was a loaded slogan.  Prior to the race I took this slogan and felt it's meaning to show every spectator and fellow racer an effort that is worthy of a Silent River Student.  That was good!  This is perfect! Run when others are walking, breath properly when others are gasping, show compassion to struggling runners.

But, when the reality hits halfway up the mountain, and you like every other runner is gasping for air, walking alongside everyone else, and casually step over that piece of garbage like hundreds before you, "Be impressive" tends to lose it's luster.

This Death Race is like life compressed into 24 hours!  Dehydration, physical exhaustion, hunger, chemical imbalance, and a diet of concocted performance liquids and energy bars just makes the time warp to the "I don't give a $#%# phase faster.

Aha!  That is what "Be impressive" means. A life commitment to the extraordinary.  Not just going through the motions when things are easy.  The fella that runs solo and finishes 125km in 13 hours is less impressive than 71 year old "Dag" who did not make it past leg three, because Dag is not blessed with youth, yet he overcomes greater odds because of his commitment to being extraordinary.

Now that I wrote that, you would think that I adhere by it, however it is a great deal easier to say than it is to follow.  Looking back on the race, "Be Impressive" soon forced me to answer the question.  Did I impress myself during the run this year.  Well strictly looking at the numbers, no.  I did however show progression in other forms that I am proud of.  I thought about the well being of the team and did not rush down technical trails where Sketchy and Dodgy (right and left knee respectively) could end the teams effort for a finish.  I overcame countless battles of mind and body and ran where five years ago I would have walked.  While my training was an abomination this year, and physically I was disappointed in myself for the lack of commitment to putting more time on the trails, I have progressed in mindset.  My focus was very strong through the race and I was pleased with that.

So with that, I guess I am pleased in certain aspects with my progression, but certainly realize there is work to be made.  With any luck I will be blessed with many more years of Kung Fu and death racing; ever searching for a life that is "impressive".

Live From Grande Cache

Well we as of yesterday we have arrived in Grande Cache for the Death Race.  Four of the team runners are Silent River Kung Fu students, and two Silent River Kung Fu young fellers are also running in the youth 5km solo on Sunday.

Here it is.  Sihing Regier will start off on the first leg tomorrow at 8am.  The start will be initiated with a army howitzer cannon.  She will battle hoards at the start line and fight through some swamps and hills to get us out to a good start (GO ALANA!!).  At leg two I will take over from her and end up finishing leg two back in town.  Here I will exchange with Ms. Csillag who is tackling leg three.  She will be faced with a couple stream crossings and run along a very scenic valley, in which she will have to make really good time in order to beat a time cut-off for the exchange at leg four (GO SHARIDA!!).  She will exchange with Sifu Regier who has the daunting task of running up and down Mount Hammel.  This is a gruelling 37km with a crazy elevation change (GO DARCY!!).  He will exchange with a new recruit to the team, Matt Denney who will brave the woods in the dark, cross the Sulphur river at hells gate via river boat and run into Sunday morning to the finish line (GO MATT!!).  There is a rough breakdown of the plan for this weekend.  Most importantly it has already been a wonderful start to the weekend.

On Sunday, Mr. Regier, and younger Mr.Regier will be running the youth race solo.  This includes a challenging 5km burn with a mud pit near the end.  Can’t wait to see them show their youthful skill!  (GO KAYDEN and GO BRANDON!).  You both have a very big cheering section.

On another note, Dag, a runner who is renowned for having run the race solo since its beginning strolled across the parking lot today, so he is here once more.  Talk about dedication this man has.  He doesn’t finish every year, but just about.  Chances are, if you keep up with Dag, you are likely to finish just fine.  Oh by the way, Dag is 71 years old this year.

Non Lethal Dose of Good

Rained out for a day.   And It’s a Kung Fu night!  YEEEEEEESSSSS!  Probably forgot much of my belongings in Vermilion, but I was packed up in record time.  Beeline home and off to the Kwoon.  For me it was like unleashing a caged animal.  Like getting an injection of motivation, energy, discipline.

I thought back a few nights ago when I recognized a death race shirt on a fella just stepping out for a run.  I pulled the truck over and talked to him, not because I am all that personable, but rather I NEEDED, this influence.  We talked briefly about training, what legs we were running, how things were going for this year’s endeavor.  That contact was important to me, because alternatively while out on the work site, most people deem walking to the truck for a cigarette and coffee more exercise than they wish to muster.

The way the world is now, most people involved in Kung Fu deal with these two extremes;  Torn between building something great  using the synergy of like minded people, and falling the other way under the influence of those that are the sinks and vacuums of everything that is good.

Obviously each person has a different level of positive influence they require to keep them on the right track.  Being away from the Kwoon and getting more than my fair share of people giving it the college try, I am starting to realize my personal threshold for dummies.  Surprisingly it is quite high.

The death race is coming up in a week, and this is a great event for so many reasons, but mostly because like Kung Fu, the atmosphere is rich with people that are health conscious, strive for physical discipline, and feed off other individuals of like mind.  The challenge for me as of late is not recognizing when I am reaching my dummy threshold, but rather where to go to get a dose of the good stuff.  I am slowly learning to take full advantage of every opportunity.  Even opening a newspaper and scrolling past the negative and reading the stories involving, as put in Mastery terms....miracles.

I feel as a martial artist, especially a Silent River Martial artist, we are dealers.  It is our responsibility to first tend to our needs for preserving what makes us exceptional.  To know what we require personally to keep us thriving positively, and then, knowing what we have in reserve to improve those we influence. 

Vince.

Truthfulness

I have reflected a great deal on the last couple of posts.  I am really enjoying the honesty in both Mr. Chervenka and Sifu Regier’s journal entry.  These posts have got me thinking about truthfulness. 

What makes a person an excellent human being?   When we talk Mastery are we talking about mastery in just Kung Fu, or mastery in other aspects reverent to our lives.  I think it is easy to get caught up in chasing a particular goal, to get so focused that we forget it is the process that makes things great. I think a trap I have fallen into at times is one in which my efforts may be focused on the goal of black belt such that neglect creeps into other aspects of my life. 

I think the blinders have to be removed every now and then, and you have to give an honest review of where you are at in life.  You may be achieving your requirements in Kung Fu, but where are you at with other aspects of your life.  Are relationships falling off the rails, are you missing important events, are you neglecting certain aspects of your job.  If this is the case, then I don’t think Kung Fu is serving you in a positive way or the way I think it is intended.

Are you meticulous in your training, yet hand in a half effort report at work, or miss out on your child’s baseball game.  I think it is important to look hard to see if there is a great disconnect between what you learn or teach in Kung Fu, and what you do outside of Kung Fu.  Naturally, focus and hard training in Kung Fu will spill over in positive aspects of your life, but I feel that leaving a bomb crater around every place except the Kwoon can be dangerous as it will eventually lead to resentment.  This is what I am feeling with my job right now.  I enjoy my work, but I can’t help but resent the fact I am missing church, family, Kung Fu, friends and events that make me who I am.

I have decided to assess my spirituality, family life and relationships, achievements, work ethic and quality and be completely true to myself.  My job as of late has led to neglect on more than one front.  If I am being completely truthful, Kung Fu at times has also. What I feel is important however, is constant self reflection.  This is what I believe Mr. Chervenka has just undergone by reading his post.

Some things I have noticed with myself since joining the I Ho Chuan.  Initially, I looked at it as a high bar or benchmark to see if you have the heart, the moxy.  Am I made of black belt fibre?  To a point I still believe this.  But now being away from the Kwoon for a couple months, I stand further from the action, and see it more as a process to force self reflection (or self destruction).

I don’t know why, but the requirements of work have never forced me to ask the tough questions like the UBBT and I Ho Chuan has.  With work, I have always blundered on, head down, butt in the air.  As of late, I have never had this many conversations with my wife regarding what seems to be working out, what isn’t, and what may need to change.  Self reflection and evaluation has been at an all time high for me.

It reminds me of a piece of advice a person gave to me before heading off to Forestry school.  He said, you are not going to college to learn about trees, you are going to college to learn how to learn.  There was a great deal of truth to that.  I am thinking more that the I Ho Chuan and UBBT is more the development of process rather than a means to an end.

Vince.

Worse than the Caramilk secret

As my time in Drumheller is nearing a close, and I am destined to head back north to Lloydminster, I took time to reflect on my experience in southern Alberta.  The diversity of this province is mind blowing.  And like my great, great grandfather that settled here in I believe 1887, I have found no other place I would rather be.

Over the past couple weeks I have seen and studied more plants, animals, weeds, landforms and soils than I have in a long time. Yesterday a huge snake skittled across the road, today a moose (on the prairies of all things!!) came to visit me and pose for a photo on site.  How many people can say they’ve completed Awakening the Dragon on the top of a hoodoo in the  wake of a setting sun?  Or explored a series of mud arches in the hoodoos that formed down a really cool and dangerous looking creek bed.  

But there is one thing I have to understand before leaving this part of the province.  More baffling than Jimmy Hoffa, crop circles, or the sock thief in the washing machine.

I have come across a couple farmer fields that have these weird plywood enclosures disbursed throughout.  Even more curiously there is an open side that is always facing the same direction.  They are spaced very evenly with about 40 meters apart in a grid configuration.  Inside the enclosure, there is nothing.  On the outside they are painted very colorful, some with very distinct patterns to them.  The shelters are about 3 feet wide, by maybe 6 feet long, by 5 feet high.

Even Google was stumped.  The only thing I can think of is perhaps bee hive enclosures, but then why are they empty?

The truth is out there.