Hot Sauce

I've been denting the couch for the last three days, but I've managed to drag my butt to work today. This still doesn't mean I'm in a talkative mood, however. Nicks cure isn't working very well- chicken soup with hot sauce. Doesn't taste too bad, though. Who woulda thought.

Khona Rybak, Silent River Kung Fu, Alberta

Whew it’s gone

Last night we had our first decent rain and with it went most of the nasty snow mold. When I was traveling to work this morning I noticed that I could breath in deep without the constant resistant’s, and rattling and wheezing in my lungs that I have been experiencing for the last month or so since it started to warm up and melt around here. Of lately I have been finding myself unusually out of breath, worse then most days, even climbing a short flight of stairs I would be a little out of breath, and I was finding that I was using my inhalers more then normal lately.

Today I can breathe deep so it is a good day!

Greg Wiebe

Stony Plain, AB, Canada

www.silentriverkungfu.com

woot!

It's time to take a big breath in and out. Finished exams today, it's a relief but so far I'm having trouble not feeling like I should be remembering something. I am looking forward to having the freedom to attend daytime classes at the kwoon again, and when school is out for the kids, night classes as well. My goal right now is to make a new plan for my daily training, which I will be able to spend much more time on. Have a good week everyone.

Andrea Prince

Injury

I had been doing quite well with my training while on vacation until the Injury. I cut my foot on the coral and had to get 6 stitches on my middle toe. It's amazing how much of your training requires both feet. I was very limited with what I could do for 3 days. Even now it is still painful and I will be playing catchup for a while.

Kevin Lindstrom
Silent River Kung Fu
Student UBBT Member
UBBT 8
Onoway, Alberta, Canada

April Challenge

The month of April has always been a challenge for me with snow mold allergies.  I have a bit of difficulty with my respiratory system, but the month is almost over and I am looking forward to a green May.  Training is going well, however my numbers are a little low in forms over the past couple of weeks.  The good news is I am looking forward to our "Forms Seminar" this Saturday and hope to work on the Lao Gar form, which is a required form for Black Belt testing this fall.  I am really excited for this opportunity!!

Have a great week.

Allan Gamble
Student Member
Silent River Kung Fu, Stony Plain, Alberta

What’s Planed My Not Be What Happens?

All last week I could not wait for the weekend to come, not because it was Easter and with that a few extra day off. No I was looking forward to my Saturday classes, start off with a nice class of Tai Chi (which I’m really enjoying), then ramp it up with the Shaolin Fitness class (which Sifu Regier was filling in and he had posted that we would be doing some running that class), and then to end the day off with some open training with my peers. Now this is what my typical Saturday looks like anyway but for some reason I was really looking forward to this one, maybe it was because there was no classes on Friday due to the holiday, or maybe because I enjoy those classes so much. But in either case come Saturday I was not going to get my way, due to circumstances beyond my control I was not able to make it to Saturday’s classes. Oh I still found some time to train throughout the day but for some reason I was feeling unbalanced in my life. I guess I have become so accustomed to these types of Saturdays that it feels unnatural when I can’t do it.

Greg Wiebe

Stony Plain, AB, Canada

www.silentriverkungfu.com

The Mane Event

The focus this week is preparing for The Mane Event, a horse show in which I am a vendor at.Truthfully, I am both excited and a little nervous about the show as it's the first time I've been at this venue, type of venue, and this big of a venue.

Mostly when people look at my glass art the common reply is craft show and that's not a "bad" reply. However, in a craft show I'm one of how many tables allotted for the show with the common theme of "craft". Because I want to advance myself, I started thinking about where my niche in the market is and the suggestion came last year at my first craft show of the season. The suggestion was horses and it resonated because I'm a horse nut and have been since I was born.

Now at The Mane Event the trade show part is quite large and the weekend attendance is about 40,000 (yikes!).Of the 200+ booths, I will be in with the horse trailers, outfitters, horse blankets, training services, breeders, saddles, tack, you get the idea. There are a few jewelery booths, but for glass art, I'm a league of my own. In reality I have no idea what to expect as to how well I will do or how long my stock will last and that can be a little (ok, a lot) nerve rattling when it comes to preparing for a show as some shows get very cranky if one runs out of stock.

So in this week of madly preparing for a show I am going to Kung Fu even though my daily training has been scaled right down. I do slip something in here and there to keep connected. What I have made a priority though is meditation especially when I feel myself starting to go into a flap. I have a 10-minute meditation CD (I can spare 10 minutes) that I tune in to and bring myself back down to this planet. It's been a sanity saver and sometimes my sanity has been saved a few times through the day.

Even though The Mane Event is both exciting and scary, I am looking forward to it both for the adventure and my glass art career. It's something that I have a feeling about. I made 43 horses for the show (so far) and 5 have been presold, and another one spoken for and I haven't set up at the event yet. So if that's any indication, I'm in for a great ride.

The only thing for me to do is to don the boots, the jeans, the hat, the buckle, and my best smile and enjoy the show! As I see it I have nothing to lose, but everything to gain. At the very least at the end of the show, I will have completed one of my UBBT goals. Yeehaw!!

Sherri Donohue
Silent River Kung Fu, Stony Plain, Alberta

stretching my limits

This weekend for fitness class, Sifu Regier was pinch hitting and decided to take us for a little 'stroll'. I'll admit when I saw the post on kwoon talk to bring shoes, I cringed. I havent ran very much this year, in fact that was my fourth time out and all the others had been just short jogs with walks. I was afraid I wasnt up to the challenge, but stubborn enough to show up anyway. I think we all amazed ourselves. First, that everyone that showed up, was very encouraging of each other--that we showed up! Mr Hamiltons young son even ran it in rubber boots! Thats showing us adults up.lol. No whining from the rest of us, when he could do that. We ended up running somewhere between 8 and 10km we figured...awesome!! I've NEVER run that distance before--never even considered that I could! I completely amazed and curious now to know how many other barriers I've set for myself that are holding me back without my realizing it. Hopefully this year of UBBT will continue to be a barrier shattering time. I may just have to go for another long run tomorrow to celebrate.
Krysta Lowery student UBBT Silent River kungfu

Sullivan and Kiddog

These are my boys in the first year of their lives. They are much bigger now and each time that I look at them, I see these two little faces. They are capable of giving so much love and understanding that it is incredible. It doesn't matter if I work late, sleep in or spend all day training, they still great me with all of their enthusiasm and love. They will turn eight this year and their little faces have more grey hair than black, they take a few more naps than they used to but they jump around like puppies when the leashes come out. They like to cuddle, watch movies and eat grapes. They make me laugh, cry and fill my heart with love. These are my boys.
Robyn Kichko
Silent River Kung Fu
Stony Plain, AB, Canada

A Short One :-(

Unfortunately, my tendonitis has flared it’s ugly head again, so I have to limit my typing for the time being. That’s difficult, as my job requires a lot of data entry, and I am working on some written assignments.

It’s a little frustrating, as this past week and a half has been wrought with aches and pains, which has impacted my training. Not to complain though, as I am forced to address other areas which need my attention. I was hoping to be able to work on my double broadsword form for the Tiger Challenge, but at this time, my wrists cannot take it. Oh well. That gives me an opportunity to do some required reading, and to direct my energy into teaching. I have a list of other aches, but as with the tendonitis, they are a part of me.

the sun is here!

I'm late blogging this week, just a lot going on and not much to say about it. Final exams are next week so it's nose to the grindstone all weekend with a short break to see the in laws on Saturday. I feel like a pale, squashy bug you find under a rock right now from all the time spent inside. I can't wait to go out and enjoy the sunshine that is finally here. I'll miss training with my team mates this weekend, but I'll be back full force with all of my attention focused on kung fu next week. Have a good long weekend everyone.

Andrea Prince

To Be a Pincushion: Round 2

I had my second acupuncture treatment on my neck and shoulders last Thursday and this time I did something a little different: I went straight from acupuncture into a Reiki session. By my thinking, acupuncture releases the muscles and the trapped energy and the Reiki would help clear it out making room for new fresh energy that serves me. I was correct in my thinking as the Reiki treatment right after acupuncture was amazing and did a ton of benefit.

As a result of the acupuncture treatments my neck and shoulders are now much more relaxed. Yay! The Reiki treatment flushed out a lot of negative energy and such that I have been carrying around since a child. The past is the past and it's time to let it go and truthfully, I'm for that. I was also advised to meditate daily to further facilitate the releasing process. So now I have a 10 minute energy refresher meditation that I plug in to daily and it has benefited. In fact there was one day I meditated twice because I felt my breathing get too fast and shallow. It worked.

Speaking of shoulders, during our fitness class Sihing Gamble pointed out that while my technique is good for punching, my shoulders are very much lifting. He also stated that keeping my shoulders relaxed will save energy as well as it takes energy to tense them up. I am very grateful that Sihing Gamble was kind enough to point this out to me because if I'm wearing my shoulders as earrings for punching, where else am I doing the same thing besides just about everywhere? From that point on I have been very conscious about my shoulders during my day be it in training, at the torch, or at the design table. I did find that I have to adjust a couple of things however the benefit will be in the long run.

There was one final message that I got this last week from Reiki and it was to go forward from Spirit and not ego. Hmmmmm. This is vital for me considering that my energy goes into my artwork and I have a major show next weekend. All of this is very timely and so are the tools that I recieved to help me.

Where am I? What am I doing? And where are my shoulders? Nameste.

Sherri Donohue
Silent River Kung Fu, Stony Plain, Alberta

Fine Tuning

I have spent a lot of effort this year related to improving my overall conditioning level.  I think spring-time may be here, but we have been fooled before, and I am going to add running for the next few months to my goals.  This will increase my quickness, which is required for some of our black belt conditioning requirements, and will also help with the remaining seven pounds I would like to discard.  I am also going to add pull ups as a goal throughout the next  few months as well.  Training is going well and I am finding it benefitial to switch up my routines to add some flavor.  Have a great Easter weekend!

Allan Gamble
Student Member
Silent River Kung Fu, Stony Plain, Alberta

Hawaii

As many of you are aware, I am currently in Hawaii. Although it is nice to get away from the snow, it's not nice to be away from the Kwoon. That place is like a second home to me. My goals while away are to keep up on my training as much as possible but to definately keep up on my UBBT goals. Wish me luck and I will see you all again in 3 long weeks.

Kevin Lindstrom
Student UBBT Member
UBBT 8
Silent River Kung Fu
Onoway Alberta Canada

running as meditation

Spring is here---the paths in Stony are (mostly) clear, and its time to run again. This is the first time EVER that I actually am chomping at the bit to get out and go for a run. I've been running in the non-snow months now for 2 years--this will be my third, and I'm amazed to find I really missed it this winter. It is becoming a meditation ritual for me; a running meditation as I try and focus on my breath, on my stride, and basically just enjoy the moment. I love the crisp air, the quiet, the sunrise. ( I could do without the dog making his messes as we run, but hey. Thats life.) Not that I'm good--I always start back up with the couch to 5km running pod casts and work my way back up to 5 km. Slow and steady and I'm at peace. All may yet be very well.
Krysta Lowery Student UBBT Silent River Kungfu

My Car Doors Were Frozen Shut With Mud

Sorry, I did had a post prepped, all about the signs of spring but then everything disappeared under a blanket of snow.

So, new list; How You Know You Live in Alberta
1. Two days of snowfall in the middle of April, the day after you rake your lawn.
2. You turn on the heat in your car in the morning, and open your windows en route home.
3. Your dog has a muddy underbelly and snowballs on her feet all at the same time.
4. You feel bad for the first few geese you see.
5. One day you're practicing spear in the driveway, the next day you're shoveling the driveway.
6. I'll be able to post my signs of spring tomorrow.

Happy April Everybody!

Khona Rybak, Silent River Kung Fu, Alberta

What I am thinking about!

I have so many things going on in my brain right now that I am not really sure what to write about. Here is a list in no particular order:
- I am lucky that my family is patient with me
- I love my pet family, especially the cuddling part (yes!boxers do cuddle, you just have to get used to breathing with nearly 100 lbs. on your lap)
- I love my job, especially seeing the personal growth before my very eyes.
- I love kung fu, practicing, learning and teaching
- I am so glad that spring is nearly here (I am not in denial, spring will be here soon)
- I feel stronger and stronger everyday
- I keep running in to people in public places that used to train and are thinking of starting again. I have had opportunities to share my passion.
- I don't understand mean people, do they know that they are mean?
- I worry about where are leaders are leading us, who's agenda is most important to them? The best interest of the people or their own best interest?
- I have the greatest daughter on earth
That's my list, so many thoughts, so little time.
Until next week, work hard and have fun.
Robyn Kichko
Silent River Kung Fu
Stony Plain, AB,Canada

The Book of Awesome

I was given this book as a gift, and I give a silent high five to the person who wrote it, and a heartfelt hug to the person who gave it to me.

I was struggling with what to write about today, and when I picked up this book for a smile, I knew I had to quote something from it. It's called "The Book of Awesome" by Neil Pasricha. I love it.

"Getting Grass Stains

First of all, getting grass satins mean that you were running around at high speeds without proper equipment. Maybe you slid last minute to avoid a frozen tag or made an awkward somersault dive at a line drive Wiffle Ball. Either way, the grass stain symbolizes your large devil-may-care investment in having balls out fun, and that's something worth respecting.

See boring people, like myself, rarely get grass stains running around because we're always doing it in Umbros and shin pads from 7:30 to 8:25 p.m. on Mondays down at the indoor gym.

Now, when you're just running around full throttle in cords and a sweater until you trip on a rock and fall down a hill, my friend, that is something. Walk home with pants full of grass stains, some spicy kneeburn, and mud-caked shoes, and you've just had yourself a great day.

AWESOME!"

A Little Set Back

I had hoped to be ready to really focus on my physical and mental training after returning from a short vacation, however I am ill this week and am not able to train hard physically.  The bright lining in this is that I am able to focus on our memorization requirement for April.  Have a great week!!

Allan Gamble
Student Member
Silent River Kung Fu, Stony Plain, Alberta

What to Write About?

Yet another week with very little to write about. My training is progressing, I am staying up on the UBBT goals I set for myself, and I am not hitting any major road blocks. (knock on wood)

I must say that I am happy with last Sunday, (April 10) that is when three of us Sihings met and went through the entire physical fitness test that we have to do when we grade for black belt. It was a great opportunity to become familiar with the entire test as a whole, yes we have all went through it before but it has always been done in chunks since you just can’t fit the entire test in a one hour class. Our run through on Sunday took us about 3.5 hours from start to finish, I suspect that it will take less time when we do the actual test at our grading, and due to the fact we won’t be asking each other which one we should do next, or which way it is best done. We did a little bit of analyzing on last Sunday, but there should be less or none the next time we go thru it. My goals for the next time we meet on a Sunday is to run thru the fitness test are to improve on all of my scores and to complete the test in less time.

I must say that doing something like this regarding the fitness test has eased my mind and also released some of the stress I’ve been having about grading for black belt this year. I would also like to thank the Sifu that came to the Kwoon on a Sunday so that we could do this, and I would like to thank all of the rest of the Sifus that will also give up their Sundays so we can continue to test our selves each month.

I just wish more of the Sihings would take this opportunity to that is given to them to do this extra practice once a month to help them prepare for their up and coming black belt test whether it is this year or the following years ahead.

I guess I had more then just a little to write about this week then I first thought.

Greg Wiebe

Stony Plain, AB, Canada

www.silentriverkungfu.com

Something In The Air?

I'm not sure if it's something in the air, something in the water, something in the weather patterns, or something in the acupuncture needles, but this last week I have been as enthusiastic and energetic about training as a rock. I've been dog-dead tired which is very unlike my usual can't-sit-still self. What gives?

I had acupuncture on my shoulders last Monday and a lot of stuff was released because of it. I carry my tension, stress, and emotion in my shoulders. Considering that I had been doing such for most of my life, there's a lot of junk packed into my shoulder muscles. After my treatment I looked and felt like I hadn't slept in a week. Needless to say training was not a high point in my things to do list and what was a high point was sleep and lots of it. It could very much be that I was going through a detox.

I have another acupuncture appointment tomorrow and I am doing something a little different this time to see if it helps. Right after my acupunture treatment I am going down the street for a Rieki treatment. I figure that acupuncture will loosen a lot of tension and past energy the Reiki will serve to remove it. I shall see how the combination works.

There is another thought for me to consider and that is that I am in a lull in my training. I can't be on my game all of the time and this lull is part of the whole process. During this lull I have been doing something for my daily training, but I want to do all of it and I get frustrated when I don't have the energy and gumption to complete all of my daily requirements. Argh!

So what to do other than go to acupuncture and Reiki tomorrow? Well accept that this is where I am in the moment and like all moments this too shall pass. Patience Grasshopper, patience.

Sherri Donohue
Silent River Kung Fu, Stony Plain, Alberta

Supersaturated

I've been trying to memorize the speech Mastery by Stewart Emery this month as one of my Sihing requirements for black belt. At this point I only have the first 3 lines memorized, which is not where I'd like to be with this, I'm finding I lose information when I put more in. In chemistry when a solution can't dissolve anymore solute then it's saturated, you can heat a solution to make it dissolve more solute, then it's supersaturated. This is the state of my brain right now, supersaturated! Although this is a challenge, I am finding it motivational, it's a really great speech and it's made me remember that the effort I put in right now will have equal results. You can't expect excellence from mediocrity.

Andrea Prince

Look where you want to go

One of the goals I gave myself this year has been to read 20 books--at least half of them not novels, and its been interesting to say the least! Not that I dont like to read; there was a time I'd have laughed at the paltry number. But the challenge to read at least half in books that are challenging my mindset has really been an awesome thing. Alot of the books I have chosen have been recommended by other UBBT members, whether our own team or mentioned on the UBBT site; some I eat up, others I have started then given up on. In all of this, I have been stretched.
One such book has really brought home a quote I stuck on my blog 'Look where you want to go.' It actually came from watching canadas worst driver, but it struck me as appropriate at the beginning of the UBBT--to focus on where I wanted to be. And in my reading, it just brought it back to my attention again; Look where you want to go--or how will you get there? Just like our forms, look at your opponent, or how will you hit him? I want to hit my goals-so I will keep them before me, to remind me the choices I make today should aim me in their direction.
Krysta Lowery student UBBT Silent River kungfu

Fitness

Yesterday, a couple other Sihings and myself got together to do the black belt fitness test. I was really nervous about going as I didn’t know how I would do and I thought it would discourage me if my numbers were low. I am really glad that I went as my numbers were quite good in some areas. The best part was that it identified which areas I need to improve upon. My goal now is to improve my numbers significantly in these areas while trying to improve my other numbers as well. Even though this is only a part of the black belt test, it is important to know where you have to focus your attention. Thanks Sihing Wiebe and Sihing Kichko.

Kevin Lindstrom
Silent River Kung Fu
Onoway, Alberta, Canada
UBBT 8

I almost forgot to blog today...oops. I don’t have much to say today, except that the last little while I have been trying extra hard to live in the moment. To revel in the warm sunshine, and to ignore the snow that is still on the ground. To enjoy the alone time I am given while sitting in a futile traffic jam. Maybe this is less living in the moment and more of staying in a positive frame of mind. Somehow, I think they both go together.

Fitness Test - Before and After

Before
Today we are going to have a practice fitness test. I am not really sure if I want to do this, I am a little bit nervous about my numbers (what if they are not good enough?), I am a little worried about injury (what if I hurt myself and can't practice for a long time?) and I a little bit chicken to do the whole thing. I was considering canceling the whole thing when I got up this morning, visions of reading my book and drinking my tea were dancing around in my head. I am going and I am going to give it my all.
After
So I did it and I am very glad. My numbers were better than they have been, I didn't hurt myself and I managed to swallow my chickenness. When I got there, I felt like turning around and leaving. I was totally scared to face me and find out where I was at. I am really good at practicing stuff and doing fitness everyday but I am a big baby when it comes to testing myself. I did it!!! I took a big breath at the beginning of each test and I went as hard as I could. The result is that I feel fantastic.
I am also glad that I started this blog this morning because I am not too sure I could have described my fears as well after they had passed.
Until next week, work hard and have fun.
Robyn Kichko
Silent River Kung Fu
Stony Plain, AB, Canada

Living for Today

As the days pass me by, quicker and quicker, so it seems! It leaves me wondering why...the amount of hours in a day have not changed! As a matter of a fact I utilize more hours in the day than I did in my younger years, so it would stand to reason that the days would seem longer and would go by slower (because I'm not sleeping them away...?)

Is it that I am living too much for tomorrow than in the present...? I'm aware of the importance of living in the moment and not letting my life pass me by.

One thing I hear my self saying quite often is, "I can hardly wait to be debt free!", recently it has been, "it will be nice to see all the snow melted and have green grass again!".

I believe I'm still very much living in the future. I'm literally pushing the days through my life. I have been pondering over this for a few days now, wondering why this is taking place. Is it the mental state I'm in? Is it a state of depression? How long have I been doing this to myself and why? Is it like the fading away of embryonic breathing, something that naturally takes place without awareness?

Living such a scheduled lifestyle I believe plays a big part in this phenomenon. We are all thinking about the end of the work day, the end of the week, the holiday coming up.... Time is of the essence, we are always trying to get 25 hours out of each day, always racing the clock...! Whats up with that?

Living in and for the moment is essential and even more importantly to recognize your situation before it is too late.

For me, writing these blogs is a way for me to visualize my short comings, which enables me to see things a bit more clearly. Without the self awareness I think it would be very difficult to change. It's like self therapy for me and if it strikes a chord with anyone reading them, I consider that a double bonus.

At the beginning of UBBT 8, I wrote a quote in my journal by Mahatma Gandhi, "The future depends on what we do in the present."

Darcy Regier, Silent River Kung Fu, UBBT, Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada.

Reflections

So its the end of the week and I now I write my blog or fall behind in one of my goals. So as you read this, you must have guessed that I am not about to fall behind in this goal. No I find this goal to be one of the more important ones.This is where I reflect on what has happened and where I am and where I am going. I may not write every time about what has been going in my journey along the path of the UBBT every week but I do reflect upon it before, during, and after I write my blog. 

Greg Wiebe

Stony Plain, AB, Canada 

www.silentriverkungfu.com

Recovery is not fun at all

A couple years back I was doing something stupid and ended up tearing all the ligaments on the inside of my left wrist. It sucked as it pretty much made any flexibility in my wrist non existent. I went to the doctor and was told that all I could do is slowly strengthen it and I did and it was mostly perfect up until a couple weeks ago and BAM!!! Re-injured and the worst part is that I can't think of what I did to injure it? Suddenly my ability to push ups was cut to pretty much zero. I've been slowly working it up and stretching it out with progress but it's slow, and well I can tend to be impatient sometimes so I want it healed now. Unfortunately it's not going to happen and I don't want to put myself back at all in the recovery process so for now it's slow and steady wins the race.

Craig Janzen
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Silent River Kung Fu

Best Laid Plans

Here's a valuable lesson I've learned over the past two weeks: do it now (whatever it is that needs to be done) because you have no idea what's going to get in your way even 5 minutes from now. Of course, I've learned this lesson the hard way, in case you were wondering. While it is a good idea to plan to do certain things regularly putting them off until that mythical "later" is a bad idea... "later" never comes...it's like the end of the rainbow. All that free time I keep wishing for is a pipe dream.

Finals are a few weeks away and the date to grading looms closer and closer. Right now I just have to keep telling myself that all it takes now is discipline. I've worked hard to get where I am, I just have to keep it up at this point.

Have a good week everyone, keep it up!

Andrea Prince

Numbers

Training is going well.  Last week was a physically demanding week for conditioning, strength, and endurance training which was great.  This week for me is all about attaining numbers related to push ups, sit ups, and forms.  I will be away for 5 days starting Friday and know that I will be doing little training during this short vacation.  Have a great week!!

Allan Gamble
Student Member
Silent River Kung Fu, Stony Plain, Alberta

Blowing the dust off

This past weekend, I had the gift of attending a ladies retreat through my church. Its been awhile since I've attended to anything spiritual and I confess I was definitely dry. It was nice to come away from everything, yes even kungfu, and as our leader put it, 'blow the dust off our souls.' I know part of this journey is spiritual as well as physical and mental; I tend to get caught  up with the physical to my determent sometimes. One 'nugget' I took away from this weekend was there is no perfect balance in life--we're not standing still. We need to have rhythm. And to see how we're doing, we need to pay attention to it. Now whether you're jazz, reggai or other...thats up to you:)
Krysta Lowery Silent River kungfu student UBBT

Sigh

I am feeling lost this week as my family is dealing with some personal issues. I hope we can resolve them soon as it takes away from your energy and your focus. That’s all for now.

Kevin Lindstrom
Silent River Kung Fu
Onoway, Alberta, Canada
UBBT 8

Take the public path, I dare you!

It is easy to say that you will travel your journey publicly, it is quite another to do it. It means sharing all your trial as well as your triumphs. It is not as easy as it sounds.
I struggle with my nerves, when I get nervous, I say things that are uncharacteristic and I do things that I am unaware of. I am not even sure if I can explain this very well. My main goal this year is to get a handle on my nerves. This means that I will be able to perform in situations where I am really nervous (such as the black belt test). My plan is to put myself in situations where I am uncomfortable and nervous and try to perform. This week there was some action to my plan and it was pretty scarey. I decided that I needed to break some boards in front of a whole bunch of people. Sounds like a great idea, not so easy to put into practice. The busiest time at the kwoon is between classes, so that was the time that I chose. Two very cool things happened that night; one - I managed to focus on only the task at hand and not on all the people watching and two - I learned that I am not performing as well as I could be and narrowed down what I should be working on. The next thing that I did was volunteer to be in a demonstration for our school. This, I figure, was another good way to test the nerves, be able to perform my form in public. This turned out not too bad as well, I am pretty sure that I got through the whole form, it wasn't my best performance but I learned more about how I move when I am nervous.
All in all a good but hard week. I will continue to share my journey, even the hardest parts to the best of my ability.
Robyn Kichko
Silent River Kung Fu
Stony Plain, AB, Canada

Where I am at

It was Spring Break for the kids last week, so there weren’t any children’s classes. I decided to stay home for the four days that we normally have kids class, and spent time with my kids instead. It was a needed break.

I thought it might impact my training, as I am not the best when it comes down to working out at home. But I got some forms in, and my mind actually feels a little fresher.

We performed our first demo of the year yesterday at the local trade show, and it turned out really great. We had many belt levels perform, a lion dance and kids do their thing as well. I love demos, as they continually give me something to work towards, and I feel that by taking part, I can impact my mental training, my physical training and those training around me. I think passion is infectious, and by taking our martial arts into the world (not excluding our community work), we are infecting those around us with it.

It felt good to be out there. And congrats to all those that performed yesterday. You guys did fantastic!

Smile :) !!!???

This last week has been spent training for and focusing on the weekend Trade Show demonstration of which I was performing my broadsword form at. I love my broadsword and get right into the form when do it. After one of our practices, one of my team mates asked if I would do a favor for him after the demo. The requested favor was to perform my broadsword form smiling. !!!!!???!?!?!!?!!!?!?!

Ok, to me that request made just as much sense as it would be to frost a chocolate cake with sauerkraut. In my disbelief, I asked the obvious question: "why???" His answer was that I always look so grumpy when doing my forms. (I have intense eyes that can see through a person when I'm in action). For the record, I'm far from grumpy when I am doing my form, I'm very much enjoying it. When I am doing my forms aren't I supposed to be in the moment of action, actually being the part in my mind? At least that's what I learned in acting classes. I will mention that the last time the team mate commented on me not smiling I whacked myself in the ankle with my spear.

However I must say that my team mate has a point. What would my flow, movements, expression, and aura be like if I were smiling (toss in any other expression) during my form? It's worth exploring because who knows what I will discover when I do? Right now when I think of me in broadsword form, showing my pearly whites brings one word to mind: psychopath having that grin of delight as I'm slicing someone to ribbons. However, I could be (and am willing to be) wrong on this one. Exploring the facial expressions while doing my forms could bring a whole new dimension to my performance. So, what the heck, why not play around and see what happens?

One thing for sure is that I will honor my team mate's request of doing my broadsword form with an honest smile and yes, in his presence. But alas, I have requested a favor of my team mate: perform his forms, especially weapons, without smiling. Checkmate.

Sherri Donohue
Silent River Kung Fu, Stony Plain, Alberta