July was a blur

Is it just me or did July pass by in a blur. July is a crazy busy month for me and my family as there are 11 birthdays to celebrate in my family. At one point there were 16, but some of my relatives have passed away, some at an early age. Turning 47 this year got me thinking about where I was when I started Kung Fu. I was 30 pounds heavier, got winded after 2 squat thrusts and was toast after 5 push ups or sit ups. Now I love doing pushups and situps. Squat thrusts are still a challenge but due to all the running I have been doing this summer I am slowly getting better at them. The one thing I'm really happy with is my recovery rate. Before when I got winded or tired it could be 10 minutes or more for me to recover my breath and heartrate. Now I'm ready for more after 30 seconds to a minute. Much much better. I am working hard at building a strong base for my kung fu to grow on. I have so much to learn yet and technigues to work on, but I dont let that tower over me. I take it one day at a time and progress forward. My next goal is my green belt and I am making progress on my last two stripes. I have been an orange belt for a year now, but I look at that as a good thing. Good technigue and flow now, should lead to good power and better technique and flow in the future. The I Ho Chuan team is responding well to the challenges we have been making to each other. But I still want to reach those that have disappeared off the radar. I understand that people have decided not to grade this year. I hope we as a team can inspire and help them get a running start now, not at the start of next year. I truly believe that if they can get going now, by the time next years I Ho Chuan starts they can already be in maintaining mode and have an awesome year. I am far from a perfect person and definately have a ton of growing to do as a martial artist. Being in the I Ho Chuan is no cake walk and I would never want it to be. I know there are goals I'm struggling with and others I may not achieve. But I want to be able to look myself in the miror and be able to honestly say I tried my best to do my best. If you can do that then I believe you have had a successful year.