http://umpteenmonkeystyping.blogspot.ca

No Name.

At work my bed time has been 21:00, so I have 8 minutes to make this happen, plus I still need to shower and brush my fangs. Time is wasteing.....

My passion for who I've become and what I want to change has not altered, its the anomolies and variables which I face that trench my way. Its in that trench that I must maintain my way, my morales and my standards. It's in this way that I can continue to grow and infect others with the values and principles of which I believe. Again a matter of perception as to whether they are wrong or right. It may be in the delivery which one will perceive the way they need or should be.

Happy New Year!

Darcy Regier

Journey

Cool picture, right?

The last entry of 2012.....
When I first started blogging, I found it difficult to imagine blogging every week for a whole year! Now, I sometimes don't make it a whole week without something twigging my blogging fingers.
I have been very reflective lately, thinking about my journey and how I got to be where I am and doing what I am doing. In the beginning, we were told that if we practiced for 10 minutes a day, we could get our black belts. I remember thinking, they can't mean everyday! Now, I get a little antsy if I don't have an hour or two to devote to my kung fu everyday. In the beginning of my I Ho Chuan journey, we talked about reaching great heights and going amazing distances. I remember thinking, they can't mean me! Now, I don't know any other way than to reach as high and as far as I can.
I am at the beginning of my journey as a black belt and it stills feels a little weird when someone calls me Sifu, I catch myself thinking, I'll get a black belt to answer that question, and I feel like a total newby when we are bowing in a class. I am not really sure where my journey will lead me and I am excited to find out.  I want to continue to strive to be amazing, I want to practice hard and I want to try my hardest at everything that I do. I am curious about what I will reflect upon at this time next year or the year after. I am very glad that I have this blog to help me remember and to leave a trail of crumbs in case I need them.
Happy New Year Everyone!

 http://mantismantle.blogspot.ca/2012/12/journey.html

Christmas

Being that time of year again, I loaded the family up; Griswold style and headed out west to find the family Christmas tree.  I am extremely fussy, but in a good way.  The tree has to be cut from an area where the tree is destined for removal, either under a transmission line, or pipeline or road right of way.  My wife with her infinite patience seems to put up with my fascination with finding the perfect tree cut from the perfectly environmentally sound location.  It can be a bit of a gong show, but then again when I find myself walking through the snow, temperature just below zero, axe over my shoulder, snow gently falling while tugging two laughing boys in a toboggan  through the pines, I am at peace.  This is my favourite day in the time leading up to Christmas.

The tree like every year will be pulled halfway through the door before I realize that indeed the time continuum has been maintained, but space has continued to remain constant during Christmas and a 14 foot tree still won’t fit in a 10 foot six ceiling. And after cutting it down three times and ramming it through the tiny door, there will be a pile of needles on the carpet representing the great pine massacre of 2012. The tree stand will leak dirty water all over the carpet like every year before and the cat will pull down a good portion of the ornaments.  The string of lights will go on the fritz resulting in a fugitive like hunt for the 1 cent bulb that will cause me to throw away the entire string in frustration.  The tree will fall over at least two times leaving a nice layer of sap on the adjacent couch.

But when it is all over, and I admire the glistening beauty while the record player skips through White Christmas on grainy Bing Crosby vinal, the Christmas endorphins will erase the bad memories from my brain and prime me for the next year of Christmas cheer.

So to everyone, have a great Christmas and New year!  We pray for many blessings on your households.

From the Krebs’

I Hate the Sound of my Whiny Voice..

Sihing Langner was telling me about his knee pain and I began to dish out the advice and lecture him about making the time to have these pains and aches attended to before they interfere with your training. Good advice, I thought. I should listen to myself …

Its been over a week since one of my ribs slipped.

One doctors appointment, two Chiropractor appointments, 1 physio appointment, a bucket of Advil, endless stretching and more of the same for next week.

Physio guy figures its been building up from overly tight shoulders and traps. Anyways, I have no one to blame but myself. I did not practice what I preach. My shoulders and upper back have been bothering me for months but I have powered through everything ..just didn’t make time to focus on the cause properly. So now I have to, if I want to function properly, never mind train.

Even if you are younger, take heed, for some things left may come back to haunt you later in life.

My sister said it best, we are fortunate to have the resources like physio, chiropractors, acupuncture, massage and other wellness tools at our hands in this county. It is unfortunate that it is not always covered financially but like she said to me , your health is not a luxury it’s a necessity.

We often as a society in general, don’t want to take the time for something like preventative measures. We feel we are being selfish or self-indulgent. Booking time for a massage, therapy or simply slowing down to stretch, who has time for that?. We are always in a hurry. On to the next task. Today is not a good day but I will make the time on the weekend or next weekend or , or ,or…

The sacrifice may be time and money but I can firmly say after this past week, my health, my mobility, my ability to function are a priority and priceless.

So Awesome

Apologies to everyone, we had a practice last night and only a few people were there. I'm guessing it was because I didn't post a reminder. Regardless, we had a good practice. It was nice to get back not the kwoon, it feels like its been too long even though its been less than a week.

I'm realizing how much time we don't have left. We're into te final push. And added to that, we all need to spend some time getting ready for the tournament. The process really does take a full year, for a good reason.

I thought it was just me, but after talking to a couple other black belts I realized how much this process really affects a person. I've been feeling a gap between myself and many of my non SRKF friends, a gap that widens every time they ask why I spend so much time at the studio, so much time being injured and so much time away from home when I wouldn't have to if I choose not to. They will never get it, and I can't explain why without sounding like a fanatic masicist. It kinda sucks, but I cannot change it without giving up a part of myself. And I'm not willing to do that. This is way too awesome for that.

Oh, I got The Journal of Awesome too!

Druids,Sprints and Marathons

Today’s post by Arch Druid John Michael Greer, at http://www.thearchdruidreport.blogspot.ca/, challenged his readers to get up from the computer, and lower the thermostat by 3 degrees. Not because it would make a huge difference in the world, but because they would be doing something tangible and constructive, whereas all the talk in the world would just make you look like a hypocrite without that action. Kung Fu is similar in that talk without action will get a similar lack of respect, but how do you know which way to turn your personal thermostat? If you approach a year of I Ho Chuan as a sprint to the finish line, jumping through hoops along the way, and a beach chair, margarita and a life of leisure the reward at the end, then you would probably have the furnace at full roar, damm the torpedoes (injuries) or the final cost.  If however you are into practicing for the marathon of life, and I Ho Chuan is a training session with some of the best coaches around for this lap around the sun, pacing yourself wisely is the order of the day. I am trying to create my 2013 goals such that I develop a good steady cadence that will enable me to finish in style, still going strong many laps down the track of life.
Dennis Donohue

http://dennisdonohue.blogspot.ca/

Merry Christmas Everyone

Not only did we celebrate Christmas, we celebrated our very first gluten free Christmas. Dairy free has been for a few years, but this was first for sans gluten and I must say that it was a feast to behold. I spent the previous 2 days in the kitchen utilizing my wizardry and trying out 8 new recipes to ensure we were well fed in the dessert and goodie department. I found and tried a vegan butter recipe and Krysta found a cashew sour cream recipe for me to try and both are fabulous. Balsamic candied pecans were a hit and so were the raw Cashew Cheesecake with Chocolate Raspberry sauce and the raw Caramel Apple Pecan Trifle. Must definitely make the latter again. Even the dinner rolls that I adjusted to be also egg-free were quite tasty. As I said, a feast to behold along with the other fixings of chicken, cranberry sauce, yams, and a roast potato and carrot combo. I did say feast to behold, didn't I?

Today, being Boxing Day, I was thinking about what Christmas is really all about. Christians automatically say that it's to celebrate the birth of Baby Jesus, the retail industry celebrate sales well into the black and there's those who celebrate other holidays. Mention Christmas and both joy and panic set in with thoughts of all of the preparation for that one (maybe two) special day of the year. Then the day arrives, the gifts are opened and the daunting task of putting on a feast begins. Is Christmas about the gifts? Is it about the family gathering? The food? I think it goes deeper than that.

As I see it, Christmas gives us an excuse and permission to give, to receive, to celebrate and to have fun. Eat, drink, and be merry! Okay, so why limit it to only once a year? Twice if one also celebrates a birthday. What if any day was a day to give someone a gift even if it was for no reason at all? What if we celebrated more often? Had fun regularly? And what if we received everything the Universe has to offer? Imagine what life would be like if we had "Christmas" on a regular basis throughout the year with friends and family getting together just because to eat, drink, be merry, and have fun. Isn't life a celebration, so why not celebrate?

At this time I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday season whatever you celebrate and however long you make it.
Sherri Donohue
Hot Torch, Room Full of Glass, and a Kung Fu Kwoon

What's Left

Chinese New Year is drawing closer and I still haven't finished all my requirements.  I was really hoping to finish everything by the end of 2012, but it isn't going to happen, especially being as sick as I am right now.  I think I have slept more this past week than I have all month.  The bad side effect is that my sciatic nerve is giving me problems, due to the excess of laying around, and not enough being up and about.  I am really hoping to get back to work tomorrow and start slowly back to some training.  I am worried that I won't have it in me, but I can't really afford to take any more time off. . . of either, work or training.

I have had a great year and accomplished more than I ever thought possible.  I have grown in ways I never knew was part of the plan.  Anything more I gain from here on in will be like icing on the cake.  There are less than 7 weeks to go, and I am not done yet.  My pushups are going to need some real hard work and heavy pushing to complete.  I still have 10,000 to go.  That is a lot to accomplish in one month, but I am not giving up yet.  I still want to give it my all.  Pushups have been hard for me with the ongoing issues with my shoulders.  The pain makes it really easy to procrastinate doing them, and I have done a good job of that.

What else is left?  4,500 sit ups, over 400 reps of Loa Gar, 266 reps of my rope dart, 259 km on the bike, 200 acts of kindness, and the tiger challenge.  It seems like a lot but compared to what I started with, it doesn't seem like much. Once I am back on my feet, I will have to really work hard and I am determined to finish with a BANG!!

merry christmas, hold the sugar

Merry Christmas everyone!! I hope everyone has had a great couple of days to rest and enjoy. I'm loving having time...such a precious commodity. I'm almost at a loss what to do with it! Sitting here enjoying the sun seems to fit the bill for the moment. And I completely agree with Sihing Langner--I think I've had more than enough sugar.In fact, I think I'm fermenting:) See you all on thursday!

Once.. Twice.. Three Christmases

Hello everyone, you know i never thought i would be sick of eating sweets i never want to see another one again. It is not that i ate so many it is a mixture of the smell in the air as well. I swear i feel my teeth tingle just thinking about all those sweets. I also like to say i got 85% on my bio and Math 31 finals; I am very proud of that. I did not do as well in chem 30 though but i was still able to acquire a desired mark. This Sunday i will be visiting my relatives in Saskatchewan; I have not seen them in five years it will be good to see them. I guess i have run out of things to say other than i hope everybody is having a wonderful holiday and happy new year.


Sihing Langner

Merry Christmas and to all a Recognition

 

Just wanted to take this minute to wish all of you a healthy and happy new year and a well deserved christmas break to you and yours. It has been a year of great things witnessed and many great challenges defeated by some of the coolest people I have met in a long time. I am grateful to have had the pleasure of training with all of you and we should hopefully see you all soon. All the best to the Dragon team and to all the instuctors and students of Silent River. Merry Christmas!
Brian Chervenka

A Hockey Helmet and Duct Tape

Hard to believe it’s only 1 more sleep till Christmas.  I really can’t believe how fast this past year has gone.  It has been a full and amazing year; one filled with challenges, failures and achievements.  In all a year that has been an incredible year of learning.  Along with all the preparation for Christmas this month, I have been working on a few more specifics in my training.  The past couple of weeks (more so the last week), Sihing Robinson and I have been working on our weapons choreography.   Working on the form with the nunchuks is one thing; however trying to work with it against another weapon has been a whole other learning curve.  I never expected working with a hinged weapon to be easy.  I have realized that actually making contact with another wooden weapon when striking can be unpredictable, especially when you are first playing with it.  My best friend during these practice sessions has been my old hockey helmet and duct tape.  I may look ridiculous but have fewer bruises thanks to it.  With this weapon I have been playing with for the past 10 months for forms, I now am trying to figure out how it could be used in reality as a weapon.  Just the start of more learning!  I have enjoyed working on this and look forward to after Christmas working on it again, hopefully without the helmet!

I’d like to wish everyone a wonderful Christmas.  Take time to enjoy all the blessings you have and we will see everyone in the New Year (except the I Ho Chuan, see you on Thursday).

 

Alana Regier

http://alanaregier.blogspot.ca

 

Aaaahhh-Choo!

I have managed to stay fairly healthy all year, and now as it gets to the last week of 2012, I am sick.  It was hard doing the dragon dance on Saturday as that was the start of it all.  I slept most of the remainder of that day and Sunday as well.  Today I went to work, as it didn't seem fair that the rest of my team had to work on Christmas eve, and not me.  I made it till lunch and then left early.

My big concern here is that I have big plans to train during the week the kung fu school is closed down, but   I can barely walk the length of the store I work at without feeling over exerted, so how am I going to work out?  I have our big family dinner tonight, and then tomorrow I will rest most of the day.  Hopefully by Wed, I can feel strong enough to start to go at it again.  I still have lots I want to do.  I try to keep it in perspective and remember this is a minor set back for me, as I think about the many, many sick people in hospitals around the world that don't even get to be home for Christmas.  My heart goes out to them, and I hope that no matter who they are or where they are, that they are surrounded by family and have a pleasant holiday season.

http://umpteenmonkeystyping.blogspot.ca

Awesome!

My dear friend gave me a journal yesterday, it is called The Journal of Awesome . This is what is says in the foreward:
Hi Everyone,
A few years ago I hit some giant speed bumps in life. Within the span of a few months, my wife told me she didn't love me anymore and my best friend lost the battle with serious illness. I was heart-broken and lonely, and my mind was all over the place.
I found a lot of comfort back then in writing about one awesome thing every single day. I would come home from work and start jotting notes about random little things - like the cold side of the pillow, the smell of a bakery, or finding five bucks in my coat pocket - and just sort of smile to myself.
Over time these awesome things started putting my mind in a different place. They helped me get to bed without a twisted stomach. They helped me find focus on all the little things that make life so awesome. 
So I kept coming home and writing about one awesome thing every day. I kept writing and writing and writing until my little website called 1000 Awesome Things suddenly won some big awards and got published as The Book of Awesome and then  The Book of  (even more) Awesome and then The Book of (holiday) Awesome in dozens of countries and languages around the world.
The Journal of Awesome was created in response to teachers, preachers, grandparents and grandkids who told me they started writing their own little thoughts about what them think, smile and laugh from their day.
This journal is a wide open space for you to share your big wishes, dream your big dreams and remember all the precious little moments that make up your day. I've filled it up with pictures, prompts and reminders of how awesome life can be. I know you've lots of your own thoughts too, and I think that together we can create something pretty special.
Let's have some fun and let's stay awesome forever and ever and ever.

I am going to use the journal to record all the amazingly awesome things that happen in my world every day. From time to time, I will share them in my blog.

Merry Christmas Everyone! I hope that you are all blessed with some awesome this holiday season!!!

 http://mantismantle.blogspot.ca/2012/12/awesome.html

Solstice

The winter solstices is here and so are we which means the world didn't end, shocking. More serious note I am very sore today, the other day I was feeling particularly good and had a pretty decent training session but am feeling the time off today.  I have been slacking on working out as of late aside from all the walking I get at work. I am working in a small cafe now which will be helpful while I am attending class. The biggest part of my life the last couple weeks was getting into the classes I needed to apply for the program I want in September. Now that I have got all my classes worked out and my schedule mostly finalized and my student funding taken care of it would be nice to be able to relax until my classes start and enjoy the holidays but I have to get two portfolios created by the end of January. It's weird that the more that I pile onto my plate and the less time I feel I have the more motivated I am to train. Anyways I should be off I have an early morning shift tomorrow morning followed by portfolio building.

Sihing Craig Janzen

Old Man Style

An Instructor I trust and look up to has told me several times don’t train hard and fast train “Old Man Style’.

This week I find myself contemplating this concept with much seriousness.

An injury has given me a reality check.

I am aging. I am not as flexible and pliable as I once was. I have to admit I am not as fast nor as strong as I used to be in my 20s and the longer I deny this it can only lead to consequences.

I need to approach my training now  with more logic and less muscle.

Analyze technique, focus on timing, think about my attack and defense from a smaller weaker perspective.

Train “Old Man Style”

I want to be actively training well into my seasoned ages.

My basic body health will be the foundation and my mind should over rule my muscle.

I get it now, when he says, train old man style.

Week before Xmas

So this will be short

The girls are home Yeah!  They are going to go over the tai he form with me because I am planning on doing it at the Tiger Challenge this year and it needs some perfecting.  

Really enjoying participating in the Dragon Dance group its alot of fun and is starting to look impressive.  The area we are doing it in is pretty small so everybody being in the right place at the right time is going to be critical.  

Christmas is busy here at the office and at home.   Really getting everyone a gift certificate is so much easier!  Not as much fun though.

A Date With Me

Before any eyebrows start to raise or any inkling of snickering arises, this blog entry has nothing to do with the romantic style of dating. Definition of date: 1) a specified block of time 2) small, oval, dark, tasty fruit that when consumed in great quantities can lead to hurried and frequent trips to the throne where the Sears catalogue may or may not have to  be included. While both definitions apply at my house, this blog entry pertains to the question of why do I blog weekly? Because it's an I Ho Chuan requirement and no, that's not the answer. Yes blogging is one of the IHC requirements, but it's not the reason why I blog, it gives me an excuse to blog. Say what??!!

Journaling is not new to me. In fact, I have been journaling in various forms for many years prior to being on the IHC (then UBBT) team. As for blogs, I had no use for them. Waste of time to read someone's useless drivel on subjects that I could care less about. Then one day, I had this innate urge to start my own blog. Why??? I don't know, just had to and yes, I'd be contributing to the countless blogs of "useless drivel" that were already visible on the internet, but I didn't care. I wanted to write a blog dammit!! The author within wanted to come out! Then along came UBBT with it's "must blog" requirement. Hah!! One goal I know I can achieve. Besides I could put all those English/Grammar classes to good use now.

So why? Blogging/journaling gives a voice to a part of me that is wanting to be expressed. It's giving a voice to that part of me that would otherwise be suppressed and unheard. Suppressed thoughts, feelings, and emotions lead to dis-ease and eventually disease. So yes for me blogging is somewhat therapeutic, but it's also an outlet for my creativity. On my writing "pad" I get to say whatever is on my mind be it a concern, a rant, a thought process, a celebration, a whatever. I write whatever I want (key word is "want" not "should") to say on a subject and because of that my creativity increases flow. Translation: I feel a release, and I feel good. But what if the reader is offended by what I say? Then I have supplied that reader with an opportunity for his/her own thought process, "issue check" and growth. Besides, the reader has full choice to continue reading or not.

However, there is one more important reason as to why I blog. It's a weekly date that I set with me to be me. Come hell or high water, and sometimes the day varies, but every week I have a date with me. Moments of time for me by me. Right now I am watching a gorgeous orangey-red sunrise while writing this blog. Would I see that otherwise? Maybe not but because I am here, I am. That particular piece of me knows and is assured that every week the stage is set and the microphone is on. Here's the really cool, nifty, and trippy part: it's after the blogging process when the surprise is gifted. Often times I have realizations, a-ha's, and ideas that otherwise I would not have. Pretty cool, huh?

Now that I blog, do I read blogs? Yes and no. I subscribe to various blogs that interest me but I don't necessarily read every word, I get the gist and a lot of times there is a recipe attached. However, there is one exception: I do look forward to and read the IHC team (past and present members) blogs vs. getting the  gist. They're personal and I honor that and their courage, openness, and sometimes goofiness. Plus it gives me a change to know them from a different angle that what I see on the mats and that is time well spent.
Sherri Donohue
Hot Torch, Room Full of Glass, and a Kung Fu Kwoon

1000

I jumped over a huge hurdle on Tues.  Well, actually I have been jumping over it all year.  There were 2 requirements that gave me the most concern this year.  Concern is saying it lightly.  I have to be honest and say that I was more like. . . . . angry and freaked out.  I thought that 50,000 push ups and situps was a bit much to ask, but 3 public demos and 1000 minutes of sparring was seriously over the top pretty high expectations.  They were expectations that I had no idea how I was going to succeed at, because both of them, terrified me.  I didn't like feeling "forced" to do either.  I don't like feeling forced to do anything.  I usually sink my feet in pretty hard and fight it all the way.

 I have been learning since white belt, that when an instructor at Silent River Kung Fu  raises the expectations of me, I rise higher than I thought I could.  Brings to mind 'Mastery'.  "One of the best ways, (to achieve mastery)  is to surround yourself with people who ask more of you, than you do".  So far this year, I have done 4 demos, and the year is not over.  On Tues evening at the sparring class, I completed 1000 minutes of sparring.  This is a pretty big accomplishment for me, and it feels good to know I did it.  I conquered my fear of sparring.  I still get a bit nervous, but I do put myself out there anyways, and have a positive attitude about it.  On Tues I got punched in the side of the head, and kicked in the pelvis area.  Yes it hurt, but I came to realize it didn't mean the end of the world.  This helps my nervousness a lot, as I learn that I can take a hit and still go on.  I know it's my age that makes me a bit hesitant as my bones are not quite like they were when I was young, and injury is an honest concern for me.

A huge part of the growth I am grateful for, caused by my participation in the I ho chuan, is my attitude.  I say I felt "forced" to do these requirements at the beginning of this journey.  It's true, I did.  I started with the attitude that in order to progress in my kung fu, I had to do all these things that I really didn't like to do.  I had to do things that I would never have done otherwise.  I felt my life needed direction, and I felt it needed some kind of purpose, plus a distraction from other life concerns.  So, even though I felt the way I did, I decided to jump off that cliff and give it a try.  And wow!  Look at me now.  It blows my mind away to think that I actually did all that sparring, never mind the 4 demos.  I feel far more positive about everything, and know that I was never forced to do anything.  The requirements were laid out, and I chose to do them.  No one forced me to.  Sifu Brinker is a smart man, and he knows what his students need, and for that I am also grateful.

Water ain't got nothing on this fish.

First off, thanks for the comments on the previous blog. Now on to what happened last week.

I had chewed my fingers to bleeding nubs in anticipation of this day.  Alternatively I let my toenails grow extra long to help my chances of success.  I took the balloons out of my shorts though, because that just looked ridiculous.  Today was ripe for tackling my personal goal of front crawl 5 lengths of the pool.

For those that don’t know, I swim like a shot put.  I have good technique from countless lessons but panic with the breathing end of it.  It is completely an irrational mind game that has plagued me for years. 

Practice, Practice Practice, that is how you master anything right? Wrong!  I tackled this challenge completely differently this time.  Practice over the last thirty something years obviously was not the key to success, so I changed strategies....finally.

Here is what I did.  I wrote down what went on in my head when I try to exhale under water and dissected what happens as a result to my body.  Tense muscles, shallow breathing, exhaustion, light headedness, constriction of the throat, and so on.  I then wrote down five strategies, some of which were a result of Kung Fu training.  Some targeted mind focus, others targeted body control, some ideas from fellow students and took these strategies to the pool.

Well I got through lap one, and by jiminy, if I can do one, I can do more.  I am happy to say this is one personal goal that now receives the old check off.

Up until that day I had never completed a single length of front crawl.  This was big success, and by the time I left the pool, I had chalked up 22 lengths of front crawl, and will be looking at using swimming as a part of my exercise regime following more strategies and practice.

Competitive Blogging

When I was told that weekly blogging was a requirement of I Ho Chuan, I thought, hey no problem, I never missed a week in the fight club blog, this isn’t that different.  However, the reminder to the Dragon team that they need to keep up to date with their blogging got me thinking. One of the big differences is feedback. With Fight Club, there was immediate feedback from your competition, and a ruling by the Sifu in charge on whose was best. Sometimes blogging with I Ho Chuan feels like blogging into the Void, does anybody even read this thing? I know that when somebody comments, either in the official comments or verbally, that the feedback means a lot to my motivation to continue. So if you like feedback, give feedback. I will try and make a point of letting people know that I read their blogs, as I know that I appreciate feedback. The next problem is that I have not figured out how to score these things so that we can get some competitive action going, any suggestions?

 www.dennisdonohue.blogspot.ca

After the events of last Friday, everything I was planning on writing seems very insignificant in comparison. My thoughts and love go out to those now grieving.

I hugged my niece and nephew a bit tighter yesterday.

http://dogsthinking.blogspot.ca/

my mind's just buzzin

Hello everyone i have two more days of exams then i will officially be done upgrading. I have all of bio to study and math 31 to do then that is it. You ever actually feel your brain go numb not metaphorically but literally, because i have experience this before. It is the weirdest feeling in the world. Something was happening in front of me that was just so stupid and not brain stimulating at all my brain actually went numb. When i hear the term mind numbing work or something like that i can actually say i know what that feels like. I am not bragging that is for sure. But for 10 second i felt like i was actually becoming dumber. Anyways enough of that i need full brain power coming this Tuesday and Wednesday. I guess i have nothing else to say today so merry Christmas or what ever you celebrate and a happy new year.


Sihing Langner

http://umpteenmonkeystyping.blogspot.ca

Just A Big Elastic

This past Friday I started physio for my shoulder.  The last month things have gone a little downhill and I am getting desperate to fix it.  Loss of feeling and strength, pain and aching and loss of sleep are starting to take its toll.  On Friday I left the clinic and was sent home with 2 big elastics and a list of exercises.  I have to be honest and say that I couldn’t believe that after everything I do in my training, that a few exercises with a giant elastic was going to have any impact whatsoever.  It seems I might be wrong.  Friday night, all day Saturday and still today, I have a feeling in my arms that I have done all 50,000 push ups in one evening.  I’ve been told that I need to build on the rotator muscles and some of the muscles in my neck.  As piddley as these exercises may appear, they seem to be having some impact on my body already (hopefully soon it will be positive). 

 What I am finding to be the most disheartening is the thought that I may be letting down others.  If it’s just myself affected, that’s one thing but if my inabilities start having a negative impact on others around me, their training and their goals; that’s where I have a hard time.  I know that I need to progress wisely and be patient with myself, which is challenging since I have so much to work on right now. 

So I will give the big elastic a chance and work on all the muscles I have been neglecting (without even knowing it) and keep moving forward.

Alana Regier

http://alanaregier.blogspot.ca

The importance of blogging

I have been going over the importance of blogging and what I have heard, learned and now need to embrace about blogging. Blogging is a tool that can be just a hoop for some to jump through, or it can become an amazing tool that really helps you become engaged in what and how you are doing things in your life. It can impact not just your kung fu but also your everyday life if you let it. When you're blogging consistently as a member of the I Ho Chuan, you are connecting with your teammates. By reading and hopefully commenting on each others blogs we are getting insights into our teammates. We see their successes, their hopes, their trials and even their failures. I for one find I can learn from all of that. Being alone struggling through something more often then not sucks. But having a positive minded and supportive team behind you can inspire and motivate in ways you can't do alone. You never know the impact you can have on another by just sharing your journey towards mastery. I have yet to hear of or read of someone who has had an easy road to mastery. Mediocrity is easy to achieve, we see it all around us everyday. But mastery is something worth working towards. It won't happen over nite or even in a month or two. It's a life long journey with many twists turns and sometimes detours along the way. By blogging about what we are going through on our journey we may help another avoid a pit fall or two. We may inspire someone to try something they didn't think they could do before. We can even get a word or two in return that helps us through a difficult time or aspect of our training that we just can't quite figure out. I am finally starting to see what Sifu Brinker means about how much more someone can learn about themselves by overcoming their failures as opposed to just coasting along and not truly stretching our limits and expanding our thoughts. I am not a great writer. Math is my strong suit, or give me something mechanical to fix and I am in there like crazy. When it comes to writing my ideas down I sometimes get to many things going on in my head at once. Blogging has helped me try to put my thoughts and ideas down in such a way that I can make them understood. This helps me focus better. I don't think mastery can be achieved without focus, discipline and definately hard work. If you stay in kung fu for any length of time, you can't be afraid of a little hard work. But achieving the focus and discipline is by no means a piece of cake. Becoming mindful of everything we do and how we impact others. Thats very powerful. How we impact another can have a huge ripple effect, that we often aren't even aware of or can see. But it is there nontheless. I know I have a long ways to go in my journey. But I have alot of teammates and friends at Silent River Kung Fu that are going to make that journey memorable, fun, exciting and very enjoyable. I would rather be in a tiny room full of friends then in a enormous room full of indifferent people anyday. Mr. Hamilton

Dragon Dance Practice

I had a great time this Saturday at Dragon Dance practice. It was one of the most motivational days at Kung Fu I've had in awhile. It was fantastic to see so many people turn out to put together a dragon and lion dance. There was such a lively ambiance in the room. I can see why everyone keeps telling me to come out on Saturdays more often.

I tweaked my knee the night before and about 1/3 of the way through practice it was starting to hurt, making me limp a bit.  I decided to power through it and by the end of practice it felt fine, so that's a relief. The dragon dance and demo practices have really been driving me lately. I really enjoy the team aspect and the freedom for creativity.

Sifu Wetter

http://liveforeverordieintheattempt.blogspot.ca/

Why

I'm in disbelief of the senseless act of violence that had occurred in Newtown. What happened? Was there signs? Could this have been prevented? 

Many of these questions will never be answered. We will never know what was going through the mind of the perpetrator. 

My prayers and thoughts are with all that are affected by the events that will forever change many people's lives. 

We have to start looking at the root cause of these incidents. Guns don't kill people, people kill people. We need better education and support in the school for our children. Many children slip through the cracks because there isn't enough resources and personal to help them.  They get pushed on without the proper tools and supports to deal with life. 

We need to refocus our attention and resources. Government needs to put more money into prevention not cures.

We have fought many fights for our children. Many do not know what we have done to support them but if we didn't they would have slipped through the cracks of our school systems because they are not prepared to deal with special needs, especially what they can't see. 

It is easy to explain and have people feel for someone who has a physical disability but its a different story when someone has a mental disability.  There is a societal stigma about mental illness that we need to change. The sooner the better. 

Why? We failed. 

www.wchoy74.blogspot.ca

Apology

I'd like to post a public apology to everyone, not only tho apart of the I Ho Chaun, but the entire school for my absence in my blog posts this past month.  I find that every year I struggle with the month of school leading up to Christmas because of the intense workload our teachers put on us; and my grades have been suffering.  I am in no way making up excuses, or trying to point out why it's okay that I haven't been slogging, because it's not.  This isn't the first time I've done this, but it will certainly be the last.

I apologize for leaving everyone hanging, and I will be posting a proper blog post tonight after all of my homework is done :)

Sifu Wonsiak

Truth

I found this after I posted my journal this week and I wanted to share it!

 

 

 

 http://mantismantle.blogspot.ca/2012/12/truth.html

I can

Do you ever wonder why things happen? Where is the"good" in a tragedy? What are we supposed to learn from the senseless death of small children? Today, the lesson is lost on me.

• I can thank God for my blessings

• I can be more empathetic towards people who suffer from mental illness

• I can not worry about the small stuff and be glad that I have small stuff to worry about

• I can pray for the families that have suffered during a time that they should be rejoicing in the birth of our Lord 

• I can pray that there is more world wide understanding and assistance for mental illness

• I can appreciate what I have in my life and not take for granted that I will always have it

• I can't make someone else's pain go away, but I can pray that they will find peace and accept what has happened. 

Until next week.......

http://mantismantle.blogspot.ca/2012/12/i-can.html

Journal

Sifu Brinker asked us all to focus on our jounaling . Why we journal and maybe why we don't sometimes.

Years ago, when I started journaling I disliked it, too personal and uncomfortable. Later I realized journaling should not be an exercise in exposing yourself as it is sorting issues and thoughts.

I try to take stock on something that has happened or is on my mind. Journling forces you to think about your experiences and formulate your opinion and check your emotions. I always hope that logic is the end result from reflecting on something , even if its after I leave the computer.

For me, it gives me the opportunity to reflect on my thoughts or what has taken priority for me the past week.
It seems, when you take the time to compose your thoughts from what is circling around in your head and put it in front of you, you can find more order in your thoughts.
I think there are lots of benefits but probably the best one for me is to give myself a better understanding of what I am about to say. Journaling can take away the knee-jerk reaction because you have to express yourself in a slower time frame. A lot of realizations can be pushed to the surface when you take some time to analyze your topic, issues or feelings.
Clarity has been the best benefit for me so far. If things are a little more clear then solutions become more apparent, chaos seems less of a factor.

I haven't always seen the benefits of journaling, its taken a long while, and admittedly I started only because we had to.
That has changed for me but only through habit.
I'd have say this one is a good habit.

MIA

So I have not blogged for the last 7 weeks ... and I am supposed to explain this! Not sure how to do this without sounding like a whinny baby offering endless excuses. Its not that anything disastorous has happended it more like ALOT of things have been going on.

Since June of this year its been very busy at work ... the number of workers doubled and the projects got bigger and more complicated. So as a result I have been getting farther and farther behind on my other responsibilities at work (ask the last time I went out on a site inspection ... its been months). Its not just Kung Fu journalling that has taken a hit, its happening all over my life. Haven't been helping as much with my Mom. Its a litany of small things that I have not been keeping up with.

I like to be organzied and plan and schedule things unfortuantely lately everything has been getting done last minute, just under the wire so to speak. I do not like living like that ... its hugely stressfull and my theory is that with good planning you prevent that from happening. Its just that I have been juggling too many balls ... so many in fact that I don't notice that I dropped one until it comes to bite me at a later date when the status of the situation is now urgent. I.E. in November and December ... the safety audit; the bonding paperwork, healthy eating, my daily eating journal, blogging.

My life being so chaotic I guess conciously or unconciously I made choices about things that were going to get done and things that were going to be sacrificed. Kung Fu is something that is for me and that I do just because I like doing it. Alot of the other things in my life people are relying on me and it appears that I give those priority over something that I do just for me.

Did I make the right decision (conciously or unconciously) ... still don't know, but I was aware that I was not performing as well as I would like. Did I let the I Ho Chuan team down by my lack or participation? Absolutely!

Had a discussion with my husband a month ago and we agreed that we need to make some changes in the management of our lives. My husband Dean comes first before anything else, and Dean loves the ballroom dancing and I love dancing with Dean so its something that will remain in our lives. We both enjoy running our business, even if sometimes it makes you crazy, its never boring. I feel something missing without Kung Fu in my life so that remains. (You will notice Kung Fu came in third, I believe that is the correct order for me) The responsibility of caring for my Mom and my aunt is not something you get to slough off so it stays.

However altnerate arrangements can be made for renovations, healthy eating, working out, housekeeping, yardwork etc. which take up all kinds of time.

We have already started with this;

• A Bowflex at the office.
• We had a fellow come out a give us a price for some renovations that will happen in the spring.
• Found a service in St. Albert that provides organic, partially prepared meals.

Still need a housekeeper and someone interested in some partime yard work. Still need to convince my Mom to move from Sylvan Lake to an assisted living facility in Edmonton or area (that will be the tough one, I have been trying for the last two years). In additiion I asked my husband/business partner to not make any drastic changes at work for the year of the Snake so that Jackie (my right hand girl) and I can have a breather on the business management side of things. Hopefully life will smooth out as we put these things in place.