Softer Side

The course kick-off weekend in Denver was fantastic. Of course warm weather (65 F) and no snow was a treat. Spotting the Canuck was easy: the one without a jacket while the gals from Houston were in down jackets.

During my private session with David, it was revealed that the only time my softer side does not show through is when it's time to break the boards. Other than that, bring in my softer side. I think there is an echo here. For me it's an adjustment to realize that softness does not mean weakness. Also during my session the phrase "trust that you have the skills when needed, you don't have to be on guard all the time" come out. Oh wow! I've been "on guard' since very young. No wonder my shoulders dropped a few inches when I heard that. I also thought how taxing that is to my adrenal glands (hence increase cortisol = body fat like velcro) to be constantly on alert. What a realization!!

A pivotal a-ha came to me during the topic of "bridging where you are to where to you want to go". Build a bridge instead of taking a huge leap. Yeah well, I'm a leaper and I've lept. I've also hit the side of the mountain, skidded down hanging on by my finger nails and toenails and here I am in the valley. I've tried to climb back up a few times and here I am. The a-ha came when I realized that yes, I'm in the valley, but it's also the place and time for me to heal, to learn and to grow, and when I am ready, I will be shown the path that leads up the mountain. Uber wow! Trust!!

So now after our kick-off weekend we have our daily commitment of 10 minutes, weekly calls, and weekly practice calls for 4 months followed by a finale weekend in Denver again. The question arose as to whether we have the rock solid commitment to ourselves or not because this program needs the unshakable concrete commitment. We are committed to picking up kids from school on time, to doing this, that and twelve other things for others, but are we committed to ourselves? I know I am and I've scheduled "me" in my daily calendar.

It's a new year, a new process forward and a new way of being. All I can do is to trust, do the work, and go forward in the direction I am compelled to go in all areas of my life. Details will be revealed on a need to know basis, when I need to know, I'll know. Not exactly in my comfy zone, but hey, comfy zones are boring and I like adventure. Here's to me, my journey, and where it takes me.

Sherri Donohue
Hot Torch, Room Full of Glass, and a Kung Fu Kwoon

Shocked

I'm still shocked with an email I recorded yesterday.  Just read it again and I'm still shocked.  

I've been chosen to be a recipient of The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal "for your exemplary efforts to make your community a great place to live. It recognizes the important role municipalities – and their elected leaders – play in ensuring our prosperity and high quality of life."   

WOW! Is right. I would have never dreamt of receiving this award, not now and not in a million years. 

Of the millions of nominations across Canada, I was one of 60,000 individuals that was chosen to receive the medal.  I don't think what I've done as remarkable and warrants the recognition of this medal. I'm  sure that there must be other nominees that have done considerably more then I.  

I'm at a lost for words to describe how I'm feeling.   Shocked.... elated.... stunned.... disbelief.... humbled.... honored.... proud.... all these feelings swirling inside me.  

It's going to a little while before this sets in. 

www.wchoy74.blogspot.ca

it's only food

As some of you are aware two summers ago I had challenged myself to complete a 100-mile diet for 100 days. I learned a lot about food over those 100 days and I cannot lie I often found myself hungry in the early weeks until I had figured out viable sources of local food. For those of you who are unaware, a 100 mile diet consists of eating only food that is grown withen 100 miles of where you live with the exception of when you are eating at someone else's house. The premise sounds simple until you arrive at the grocery store the first time. Quickly you realize that the food being sold has traveled great distances to make it your plate. Looking back I think I was able to get maybe a handful of vegetables and one specific brand of grains that I was able to trace to withen 100 miles, also I learned that nothing packaged is 100 mile diet friendly.

From that point on I had to rely on the farmers market, but only after talking to every vendor and inquiring about every aspect of their food, and on friends and neighbours who had grown fruits and vegetables or hunted.  Suddenly buying food was a community event for Chelsey and I. by talking to each farmer at the market we not only learned what they had where they grew it and their proximity to us but we began to learn about the people who provided the food and the lives that the animals lived before becoming food.

It would be lying if I said the three months were easy, there was definitely foods that we missed, foods we got really sick of, and the fact that our 100 mile diet went through Chelsey's birthday. Starting in April with little preparation meant that all we ate were root vegetables and flat bread for the first week and a bit, but when we did get established often times we found that the grocery store foods just didn't compare to the flavours of the market food.

I bring this up because food is often taken for granted, unless it is no longer readily available. Society also has a huge disconnect with our food system. As athletes we constantly monitor what it is that we put into our bodies but how many of us look at where it comes from and the environmental impact of our diets. After talking with Chelsey about food for some lengths we decided that we will for the month of June (not her birthday this year) be partaking in a 100 mile diet again in Vancouver and I am offering an open invitation for anyone to join me.

Sihing Craig Janzen

Cuz Dogs Are Important Too

Hmm... I had a meeting with Sifu Brinker last night and he most definitely gave me a lot to think about. One of the many topics was my blogging- so here I am blogging.

This aspect is rough for me. Not that I'm lacking topics, believe me that there is a lot rolling around in my head, but I've always been nervous about getting too deep into my own training. I'm worried that it'll either come off as egotistical when I'm on my ups or it'll come off as negative and I'll possibly loose the confidence others have in me when I'm on my downs. I can analyze a technique I've been working on seven ways to Sunday, but it may not necessarily benefit anyone unless you can get into my body and feel what I'm feeling. And as Sifu Brinker mentioned; I get frustrated when I can't explain myself accurately, don't have the vocabulary or terminology I'm looking for. I can be so sure of something in my heart but my head just won't listen.

Its strange. I absolutely feel confident and I've been told many times by friends and strangers alike that I come across as confident and more mature than my age. But I also lack confidence. Sometimes I can be sure and assertive, other times I question myself. I've been trying to figure this one out even before my meeting last night, but insofar I can't see a pattern as to why I switch gears. Take the Tiger Challenge- I was confident my forms were solid enough to perform and I felt good in sparring (even had fun when Sifu Beckett went snaky on me. Get it? Snaky? Year of the Snake?). But when I got the Grand Champ I was like, What? Really? Did I earn this or did I win this by default?

Another thing I realized while chatting with Sifu Brinker- while taking on a leadership role is intimidating for most, it doesn't bother me. Ever since I was 18 and went from just another newbie blackbelt to the head instructor overnight, leading doesn't shake me. You just get done what has to be done and people will either take the opportunity or not. Hence why I tried to stay in the shadows for the first part of last year.

What does shake me? My own progression. I feel like I've fooled you all, that if I try too hard and don't manage to get where I'm going then you'll all realize I really am just a mediocre martial artist. A three dressed up as a nine.

Huh. Just read over that and saw my confident/not confident conundrum rearing its head. See?

You nailed that one, Sifu Brinker.

So, now what? Now I take Sifu Brinkers' advice and shut up and do it anyways (or try really really hard to). Take my own advice from my last post and trust Sifu Brinker and trust myself. So I apologize in advance- if, in my posts, I'm doing nothing but talking about myself and how great I'm doing or alternately how crappy I am and how crappy I feel, I'm sorry. I'm not an egomaniac and I'm not meek or depressed. I'm just lost in the middle.

I will, however, still have intermittent postings about my dogs. Period.

http://dogsthinking.blogspot.ca/

Super Happy

Hello everybody, i am super happy because i have received a letter that states that i have been accepted into University of Alberta to study Geology. I can't believe i actually did, i will be the first in my fathers side of the family to get into University. Now that what i have been working so hard for, for so long. I am at a lost into what to do next. I will be trying to contact the university to ask what will my next step be, but either way i can not wait to begin. On another note though in San sou ( not sure i am spelling it right) I am actually really enjoying the new way of learning and all the bone density training we are doing, that is my favorite part. When i started the class i was still pretty new to it, but for me most of the class just seem really fun, which most of my other classes are, but before the new way, that's all i felt like what i was having, fun, i personally, did not feel like i was actually learning or gaining anything of value, other then some more socializing. But this new way of training i feel like we are actually learning a lot about what we can do and a new way of fighting that i was not entirely used to and of course bone density training. Although i was not their long enough in the class when the other way was being taught, to properly judge it. Anyways i find new San sou super fun and a great learning experience. Also i have also just received my new weapons i will be using for my next year of I Ho Chaun my twin hooks. I can't wait to start practicing with them, but not till after this year with my sais are done first.

Sihing Langner

My Old Book of Kung Fu

I have been doing alot of reading this past week. I dug up my Old Book of Kung Fu, as I call it and plopped it on the night stand. This is where I kept all my curriculum sheets, notes, clippings and photos  of years gone by. 

It was kind of fun to go back in time. I kept everything, including my very first hand out sheet from 1999 when I started. I went page by page thru all my belts and all the years. There has been lots of changes over the years. The printed requirements changed, the belts had changed to sashes, the way students were striped had changed, some things went back to the way they were and some of the Forms had a major overhaul,(probably a few of you remember the Da Mu Hsing form of earlier years  and the Sashes) it was fun to go back and look at that stuff, like an old photo album.

The Theory questions, however, seemed to always be there in the background. Different formats but always the same theory questions. As a coloured belt, I remember finding the answers writing them up and answering them for my Sifus. Another stripe on the belt.

I looked at them again, those questions, like

• commitment
• the Void
• leadership
• patience, trust and progressing wisely
• truthfulness and purity to the art

They are not words on a page anymore, instead , in the I Ho Chuan, I have been practicing them.

For me, they no longer are questions you put some thought into then explain it to your Sifu and check it off your list. Those theory questions are now embedded and actioned within the I Ho Chuan. 

 This is where you can explore, experience, demonstrate and put those questions to the test with heart. 

Even the Food Blog challenge speaks to our anatomy/physiology theory question. In the I Ho Chuan, after tracking your food, I found myself thinking of the effect it has on your health and your output as a martial artist. How you are fuelling your anatomy.

When it came to  the Void, for me, probably the closest was the Demonstration at the Seniors Facility, something clicked there that day for me, just you and your weapon in that moment.

Of course Commitment, every day in the I Ho Chuan bleeds commitment! but I mean that in a good way. Too often, like a cheezy New Years Resolution, the commitment fades away unnoticed. You live Commitment as a I Ho Chuan member. Commitment to your requirements and commitment to your team.

Leadership for me was in the background , admittedly. I found some creative, ambitious people emerging in the group. Group discussions were vibrant and engaged, I never felt "not included" so I suppose I didn't feel the need to take the reigns so to speak. (speaking to the last part of the year, I don't think anyone got the leadership capacity till then) . As far as Leadership goes, I think we have some real successes this year.

Patience, trust and progressing wisely, that one I did not take advantage of enough. Sometimes I was not patient enough with myself. If my weapon form was not where I wanted it, I lost patience and lost out on creativity as a result. On the other hand , I trusted the insight of my peers and coaches to unlock some  walls I was hitting with my Sai form.

Truthfulness and Purity to the Art- where did that fit in? There were days when I had enough, I had other things piling up and sometimes just tired of being at the Kwoon but the commitment brought me there and I would ask myself "why, why are you doing this? no one is holding a gun to your head, what makes me come here all the time?" What are my reasons for being a student of the martial arts?

Because there is something more, because there is something to the Art.  After the hard work, its like a cleansing, like you can think clearly about other life questions and challenges., like you are recharged again and able to deal with the "outside " world.  Its not about feeding the ego its about nourishing the soul.

So as I read through my binder, these were some of the thoughts I had about the Evolution of the new I Ho Chuan.

 Its only in its infancy but its like it was always there, in the pages of Silent River Kung Fu waiting to sprout.

Sorry for the long blog, for anyone who has made it to the end!

Headcold nightmare

This past 4 days have been no fun at all. Been bed ridden with a super bad headcold. Of course this is the worst time of year to get sick, but sick I am nontheless. I think I'm finally on the upswing as it seems to be breaking up a bit and on occasion I can actually smell something. Between my ears needing to pop and not being able to taste or smell properly my head is a ball of mush. I can't wait to feel better. I'm getting in a little training, but little is the optimum word. I hate not following my routine. See you all in the kwoon soon, I hope.

http://umpteenmonkeystyping.blogspot.ca

Mid life, lost in life, stressed or the light is in sight?!

Last weekend I sat in front of my laptop with full intentions of putting together an entry for my blog. I sat there hoping that my mind would release a topic of quality, a topic of revelation for growth or struggles of my last week. After the better part of half an hour, I typed and deleted...typed and deleted. The result of last week’s entry did not get any further than the start of a Microsoft Word doc without title.

I’ve been struggling with translating my journey into words and coming up with a product of value. I realize the value of blogging and its relevance to my success and the success of the team, but at the same time I feel a strong desire to make it relevant to my journey. I have encountered many struggles over the years, mostly with the time that my career has consumed from the dreams as aspirations of my personal life.

...................................................................................

I guess mastery for me has come forth within my career first and foremost. My personal life has been impacted in many ways by my choice in career mastery...this choice, has not been wrong, but comes with a lot of sacrifice. I dream of the day that my sacrifices will prove to have been worthy. Many times I think of how the weeks and months seem to be slipping by faster and faster. Soon the mastery of another facet of my life will circulate to the top of the list. Balance is just not possible when the scale is overloaded 75 to 25 right from the start.

.....................................................................................

The part of my journey that is difficult to face or to even translate is ‘work’; I say this because at times I feel that my personal success has been very minimal with my career still running my life. To the working world, a job and dedication to it, is priority, it has to be at the top of the list, which does suck up a vast amount of personal building and family time. It has been and still is at the top of my time consumption list; I’m at work and physically away from home 65% of my life, even when I return home at least another 10% of my time is consumed with book keeping, invoice and receipt entries and vehicle maintenance. Remaining is 25% of my life, which is still far from being the time which is truthfully being allotted to self building. I have, for a couple years written about my journey through work and my career. Many things have altered within me and my journey while coupling my spiritual being and kung fu with my work environment. I’ve seen great success in my approach, and realize there is always room for continued improvement in order to reach or maintain mastery. But it has come to a point where my focus must turn to the other 25% of the scale.

Where do I go with this...? I have felt stressed and lost and my writing is evidence of, as you’ve just read. I look forward to this next exciting chapter in my life, whatever that may be! But for now...Mastery in my career and consciousness simply requires that I constantly produce results beyond the ordinary.

Darcy Regier

Back to 2005

This afternoon I stumbled upon a video from 2005 of our youngest sons’ first kung fu class.  It seemed so strange to see the kwoon as it used to be (red mats and extra walls), to see how young all us adults looked and just how tiny our own son was.  At the time of the video, our son was a whopping 3 years old, and sooooo cute.  Where has the time gone? 

As I watched the video with a huge smile on my face, I couldn’t help but think that kung fu has been a part of our family for quite some time.  Our kids have grown up with kung fu. They have learned so many things of value that has helped them develop into the respectful young men they are today.  However, as they get older and continue to grow and change, so it seems their interests may as well.   As much as I wish that they would recognize the amazing opportunity they are being given, I have realized I can’t make them like something.  I can’t make them work hard and try to achieve something that they don’t have a heart for.  They are developing into their own individual and unique person and need to be allowed and encouraged to pursue what they have a passion for (even if that may not be what I have in mind). 

 The thought that my children may decide to choose other interests makes me kind of sad, but I hope they know that whatever they decide I will support, encourage and even drive them; however there are no guarantees that I won’t keep trying to nudge them subtly back to their kung fu.  Every day I see the evidence of what my children have learned up to now and I am very proud of them.  Whether it is picking garbage, serving supper at the Mustard Seed, making healthy food choices or deciding to race mom and dad up the stairs instead of taking the elevator, they have learned some healthy and positive ideas, values and habits.  As parents we have tried to set an example that will help build a strong foundation for our children.  I trust that the lessons and values that they have learned will stick to some degree always.  Yes, they will make mistakes and may go sideways for a time, but I believe that the love, support, encouragement and time; the foundation that we have helped build for them since they were born will be what they continue to build on throughout their lives.

Alana Regier

http://alanaregier.blogspot.ca

 

Goodbye Stress! Hello Playtime!

Phew.  My stress level has gone down a ton, now that my grading is over.  My friend at church today said to me, "wow, you seem so much lighter today somehow, and much more relaxed".  Gee, I wonder why.  I wish that I could relax more when I am under pressure, but it is what it is.  I kind of think that pressure is sometimes good for us.  It keeps us on our toes.

But now that some of the pressure is over, I decided to take a day and just play.  So one of my daughters and my grandson and I went out to Lake Chickakoo, and simply played.  We had a ton of fun, and laughs.  It felt great, and I felt no guilt what-so-ever about taking some time from my training.  I know there needs to be a balance, and I have pushed pretty hard the last few weeks especially.   I also need to give my elbow a couple days rest, as my rope dart seems to irritate it lately and causes it to get all inflamed and very painful.  Enough so that I am learning to brush my teeth with my left hand.

So I will take tomorrow off too, and go play at Chickakoo some more on my skis and snowshoes, and then Tues it's back to work.  The banquet is only 3 weeks away, and there is work to be done!

Super long blog about my week!

This has been an action packed week for me! I feel like I have lot's to write about, let's see if I can make all my thoughts make some sense.
The Tiger Challenge. What a great day! Some of the highlights for me were not what one would expect when discussing a tournament. I enjoyed sitting on the floor talking to my students about stuff and things, shared some giggles when we imagined what it would look like if the grown ups got to noodle fight. I spent some time with some of the parents, talking about their kids, the school, our classes and what our goals are. I loved having a front row seat during most of the black dragon events, it's the best seat in the house and I think I learned tons about being a judge! I loved the weapons competition, not because I received a medal, but because I experienced the zone! It was just me and my chucks in that ring and it was an amazing feeling. At the beginning of the performance I remember thinking, just do it your own way and then I was off and running!!!! I loved the feel of the kwoon that day, when I walked in in the morning, there was already something special hanging in the air, a buzz you can't quite put your finger on, perhaps it was our combined excitement or just knowing it was going to be a great day.
The last three days. Wow! Most of my spare hours have been at the kwoon in the last three days. On Thursday night at the beginner black dragon class, I felt a new connection with the students, we had shared a new experience and because of that they seemed to want to pay more attention and work harder. We worked on our techniques and everyone did a fabulous job of focusing and trying to get better. I got a little buzz off that class. At the demo practice, hard work and laughter mixed together to create a nice ending to a great kung fu day. I love hanging out with the team!
Friday night was fantastic! I like when we show our demo to the coaches because there is that little bit of nerves that makes everything stand out. I can always feel every move, thought and feeling, just a little bit more and I like it. I like this place that I am at in my training where I can recognize a mistake and then fix it right away, it feels like I am the boss of my training. In the black belt class we sparred and I had an opportunity to spar with one of my friends that I haven't sparred with in a while. It was awesome, it was like we just practiced together yesterday! We laughed, teased and pushed each other to try different things and it was great. Of course, the sounds effects were entertaining too, no one makes cool noises like you my friend!
Saturday dawned bright and early for me, like it always does. My family knew that I was having what they call ' a kung fu day'. This means that I get up before them and leave the house with my lunch packed prepared to push myself beyond my limits for as many hours as I can. It was  great day! I started the kids class by doing the warm up and just kept going through the entire class, it just seemed to flow together, I had their attention, we shared some laughs and the time flew by. What a great way to start the day. A highlight of my Saturdays has been sharing some chatter and laughs with my fellow instructors after class, I think that it helps us bond and work better together and I like to visit. Tai Chi was next and always helps me keep my feet planted on the ground, I love that class. I decided to try a fitness class today and see how far I could go, I hadn't been in one since before I got sick in October! It was great! We did stations at two minute intervals so I was able to set my own pace and not hold anyone up. I lasted through most of the class until I started to feel like I wasn't getting enough air and might pass out. I am very pleased with my progress and was very tired at the end of class. At this point I was planning on eating my lunch and then working on my forms. I have some new ideas about how to approach my forms and I am excited to try out my plan. What really happened was that I got to be in the Dragon dance practice. Thank you dragon dancers for being too ill to make the practice, standing in for you was a great pleasure. I'll admit I was a little scared a few times when just following the guy in front of me wasn't the answer, but once I got the new dance down, I loved every second of it. I forgot how exhilarating it is to run with the dragon and quickly learned that there are spots where you can do some deep breathing and try to get your breath back. Does anyone remember that song, Puff the Magic Dragon? I always think of our dragon as that rascal puff, only in my head and I don't think that I have ever said it out loud until yesterday when I was telling my family about my training day and it slipped out. Now I know that that is not his real name but that is how I think of him. I think that we have a special connection, I was on the team when we first brought him out of storage, and I got my black belt at the Year of the Dragon celebration. I have had an amazing year and reached heights that I had not thought possible, most of that is me, some of that is the dragon!
I find myself looking towards next year a lot in the last few weeks, I am very excited about some of the things that I will be involved in. I have big chuck plans, some different moves that I have been working on that will find their way into my form and maybe even some wooden chucks if I can figure out how to make that happen. I am planning some super cool things with my stick, that I can't really talk about just yet.  I have some new forms to learn, I have some old forms to master and I have only one year to make it all happen in. I remember a long time ago (before the UBBT and I Ho Chuan), I used to think that a year was a very long time to wait for something to happen but now I always think, I only have one year to do this, I better get going. I think the difference is that I no longer wait for anything to happen, I make it happen.
Once again, thank you I Ho Chuan for giving me the tools to be who I am.

One more thing! I was born in the Year of the Snake! I think that means that this is going to be an amazing year for me, I will make it so!

http://mantismantle.blogspot.ca/2013/01/super-long-blog-about-my-week.html

Thought Bubble Required

Yesterday, while en route to the studio for a practice, I got to thinking about my grading, and why I'm doing it. I think a lot while driving, and this time I decided to record my thoughts with the audio recorder on my phone. I felt kinda stupid at first, talking to myself in my car to my phone, but I'll try to transcribe my jumbled thoughts for you now.


When it comes to me personally getting promoted, I didn't care much if I did or not, I was content with what I was doing, I enjoyed what I was doing. I knew I was progressing, albeit slowly, I didn't need the visual effects of extra stripes to satisfy everyone else. But a while ago, Sifu Brinker told me that I needed to start getting promoted, not just for me but for my school, so my students could see that I was actually progressing, that their instructor has what it takes to be their instructor.

Now, thinking about it, it goes beyond those reasons as well. It was selfish of me not to try for my next degree. If I didn't try I couldn't fail, and therefore no one could say I failed. Now, I feel I need to get this thing in order to be what I'm striving to be, to be the leader I need to be. Being a leader is more that telling others what they need to do, where they need to be and helping them to get there. I have to show that I myself am able to take direction, to take what I'm told and apply it, that I am able to progress in my own training. Break the chains of mediocrity.

Sifu Brinker has laid out all these stepping stones for us. I need to show that a) I have full trust in my instructor and b) I am capable and eager to do what is required. How can I encourage others to become leaders if I am unable to follow?

This year I've had a lot of feedback from people, comments about how I've really become a good leader and stepped up my game. It wasn't so much me stepping up my game. I finally, finally listened to Sifu Brinker and trusted myself enough to give it a shot. Now, I'm really hoping others take my example to heart and do it for themselves. Trust in your instructors and trust in yourself.


But, as always, these things are two fold. This is now me thinking, after my grading. I'm sitting here after my grading thinking about what went well and what didn't, what I did right leading up to this day and what I did wrong. Because ultimately, whatever the outcome, it was me and the results are solely on me. If I want to master this, I need to recognize that the results are a reflection of me, and I need to take those results and make them better. Always strive for better. Don't settle for passable; make it great, then make it even better.

http://dogsthinking.blogspot.ca

My Year.

What has the I Ho Chuan done for me?

This is a question I find myself thinking about daily.  This year went by in a blur, it seems like yesterday we were having our first meeting and declaring our requirements, and today we're in crunch time getting ready for the banquet in two weeks.

The most difficult thing for me during my I Ho Chuan year was finding a way to make my year extraordinary for me.  I remember about 3 months into the year, sitting down with Sifu Brinker in his office explaining to him that I had already hit a road block.  I didn't feel like I was on the way to completing anything amazing.  I set goals all the time, I complete challenges that I've made for myself every single day, I'm always doing push-ups and sit-ups; my participation and commitment to the I Ho Chuan felt like I was just putting an unnecessary label on my normal routine.  This was definitely NOT what I wanted my year to be about.  I wanted it to be something that I could sit down the morning of February 16th and think, "Wow.  I really accomplished something extraordinary here.  I've changed myself."

It wasn't until a few months later that one I finally realized the one thing that I've been silently struggling with: Getting involved with the team, and taking on a leadership role for a big project.  These were two things that I wanted to change about myself by the end of the year.  Unfortunately for me, I realized that I was way too independent.  I didn't like asking others for help, and definitely didn't like having to rely on others to complete a goal.  It wasn't until I was laying in bed one night that I realized that I've always been like this; it wasn't just this year that I was finding this hard for me.  I'm that one student in school that gets put in a group for a project, and takes all the work and does it herself.  I also realized that that's why people want to be my partner so much for projects in school ;).  But, I knew that this was something I needed to change.  I pushed myself to start getting involved in group discussions on Kwoon Talk, and on the I Ho Chuan google group.  I also started to get more involved with others during our Friday class.  But, the biggest step for me was organizing the Tiger Challenge.  I'd never done anything like that before, and it took a lot of courage for me to step up and volunteer to look after the organizing of the divisions.  When I went home and told my mom what I was doing, she thought I was crazy; and so did I.  But I pushed myself through it, and I found it to be a very rewarding experience.  I had a lot of people compliment me for my work, and it really made me realize what I've pushed myself towards this year.  This was truly the highlight of my entire year.

My school work took a big hit this year.  I find that every odd year of school, I really struggle, and the first half of this year was definitely the worst.  I like to pride myself in being an honour roll student with an above 80 average in all my subjects.  But, that didn't' happen this semester.  I finished with a 72 in Physics, 74 in Math, and 83 in English.  Don't get me wrong, those are still really good marks, but I didn't reach my full potential, and I know that.  But, that's all the reason to work even harder this semester.  I did complete one of my 'sub-goals' that I set for myself after I got my first English essay mark of 75% at the beginning of the year; I wanted to work hard so that when I write my final essay, I'm able to get above an 80%.  I got my final essay mark back yesterday from my teacher: 92%, highest mark in the class.  It's amazing what a little extra effort, and some extra help can do.  I took a 30-1 course in Bio this term, which means that I write one of my diplomas.  Scary.

That's all I have to say for today, I'll be back next week.

Year of the Dragon

I have had this journal entry in my draft folder for weeks, afraid to throw it out there.  Afraid of being too negative.  Afraid of being too honest.  What have I gained from this past year?  A loaded question.  In a way, a simple answer can reply to that.  I have learned what it really means to be a black belt.  Enough said?  Probably not.  The real explanation isn't a very pretty one as it gives a lot of personal information about the kind of person I used to be.  I didn't really like the person I used to be when I was at the kung fu school, and I am not too sure about sharing, but I have always been honest and open in my blogs.

I am not sure how others saw me before, nor how they see me now.  I can only speak of how I saw, and see myself now.  The only word I can really think of to describe how I used to be is "attitude".  I had an issue with attitude.  I had a BAD attitude.  This wasn't all the time, but a large majority of the time.  I felt like I didn't belong, like I didn't deserve to have a black belt, like I wasn't as good as everyone else, like I didn't really have any friends at the kung fu school.  I felt like I always had different ideas than everyone else, and my ideas were not the right ones.  Everyone else was on the right track, but I was way out in left field.

My bad attitude often got me in trouble.  It was so bad that, on a couple of occasions,  I actually walked out the door as soon as I walked in because of. . . .well, I will leave it at that.  I didn't care for Chinese News Years banquets, although I tried to put on a good face, and help out a little bit. This sounds soooooo bad and I shouldn't even be this open, but the celebration made me feel even worse about myself, and as if all those people being recognized were way better than me.  I wasn't good enough to be recognized for anything, and my techniques were not as good as the people on stage.  Wow!  I actually admitted to that.  I am really ashamed of the way I was, and I am very grateful that I am not like that anymore.  I see now with the attitude blinders off, that I was right in thinking I wasn't as good as the people on stage and being recognized.  But the reason for that is that I didn't work hard at my training like those people did.  Those people deserved what they got, as did I.

I am excited to say that I am not like that because of this past year.  I can't say enough, or find any words to really describe how huge this change is for me.  It's like, before everything was all about ME, and what others can do for me.  Now my thinking is all about what I can do for others.  I have no idea how that really works, and what this past year did to change my way of thinking.

The first part of the year, I went ahead and started to do all the things I was required to do.  I did this by myself, as I thought we were to do, as I did the first year we did what was called the UBBT.  This year, Sifus Brinker and Sifu Playter ran the classes and the meetings, so I had it in my head that they were the leaders of the "team".  It only took getting hauled in the office once and told otherwise, to change my thinking and my training plan.  Suddenly it became about the team, and not just about me.  Maybe therein lies the magic.

Part of the process in this change in me and my attitude is that I actually took the time, and was given the time, to get to know other people on the team, and other people at the school.  I got to know who they really were and what they were about.  I got to make friends, and that I did.  This is one of the things I am most grateful for out of the entire year.  I made a lot of kung fu friends this year, and found people that I highly respect, and admire.  It was the group training that did this; the dragon dance practices, demo practices, sparring at open training, and attending the sparring class. These were the best parts of this past year for me.  These gatherings were what I really needed most, and I am so grateful to the group that came out to train together.  They made my world change.  It was hard to complete the requirements, and definitely a lot of work.  We worked hard at the dragon dance and demo practices, but they also added so much fun to the whole year.  They brought a balance to working hard, and having fun.  An added bonus was training with so many different belt levels.  That has been awesome!

This brings to mind the one and only disappointment this past year. I don't mean it to sound negative, just honest.  It was very disappointing to witness the people that slipped by and didn't become a strong part of the team.  There was a large group of us that stayed strong and worked hard together.  I can only imagine the greatness we could have experienced and how much we could have accomplished, if everyone had stayed strong.

Instead of following and watching things happen around me, like I seemed to always have done, I made the conscious decision to be a part of what was happening.  I took my first step with calling a team meeting one I Ho Chuan night, and that was the start of it for me.  I took a leadership role and went with it.  This put my head in a totally different mode than it had been in before, and I think it did this for others on the team too.  I did manage to act like a leader and tried on other occasions to  take the roll as a leader, but others were doing the same,  and I sometimes got pushed to the back seat.  I don't feel bad about it as we have some really great leaders on our team. The team is what it is because of all of us.

So those are the really big things that stick out in my head as being the greatest things to come from this past year with the dragon team.  That wasn't all though.  My rope dart has taken leaps and bounds since last year, and I feel really enthusiastic about keeping with it and going to the next level:  faster, more cool moves, and more direction changes with more spinning type moves.

My tai chi is another great accomplishment for me.  I didn't like tai chi much before, and sifu Brinker said it was because I didn't DO tai chi.  I just thought, "yah, whatever".  But I came to know what he was talking about and he was right.  After doing upteen hours of tai chi this past year, I experienced first hand what he meant.  Tai chi has some kind of beauty to it.  Kung fu can take your breath away too, but somehow tai chi steels your heart too.  Sounds hokey, but that's the best way I can explain it.  

I used to have real troubles remembering tai chi as well.  There are so many moves that are the same, but the moves surrounding them are different, and it was always confusing.  Now after doing so much of it, it somehow makes sense.  Now that it makes sense, it is far easier to remember.  The only time I get lost is if my mind is off in la la land, and suddenly my body takes over for my mind.  I will be doing single whip in part two and suddenly I am doing snake creeps down in part four.  Tai chi is great for my focus.

So, I make myself sound like I used to be some kind of Ogre, but I am hoping that I wasn't really that bad.  I know I had my good days, and my bad days.  This past year seemed to be full of nothing but good days.  My plan is to keep progressing with my tai chi, and my rope dart, keep taking part in the sparring class,(maybe get in on the teaching rotation), and stay on top of my training at all times.  I still feel like my ideas are often out in left field, but that's OK now.  I have learned so much from others on the team, and about different ways of doing things, and especially that even when it seems like a strange idea, at least give it a try.  "Seriously??!!  You want me to fight 6 people with my rope dart??!!"

Never turn down an idea without trying it first.  When I do, I have no choice but to fail.  If I give it a chance and at least try, and it doesn't work, I walk away having learned something.

Kung fu has a way of molding people into something  better today, than we were yesterday.  It can mold us into greatness, as long as we stay open, and are receptive to making a change.  That is the best way I can describe my success this past year with the I ho chuan dragon team.  It has made me a better person this past year, than I was last year.  It's been a year full of changes for me.  A year full of good changes.  I am so grateful to those that helped make this happen for me.  They helped to make my year a really great one!  They helped me to achieve success.

I now feel totally engaged in my kung fu training.  I feel a strong connection with so many people at the school, and not just with students that were on the team.  I understand more of the connection kung fu has on the rest of the community and to others worldwide.  I would highly recommend the I ho chuan to any student at Silent River Kung Fu, and especially to the students training in outlying areas and in the morning classes.  If you feel at all a loss of connection to the rest of the school, the I ho chuan is for you!

reading has turned my brain!

I read this today and since one of the best goals I ever did was take up a 20 book challenge for the year, it seemed appropriate to share. 'Meditation for Women(and men) who Read Too Much' Virginia Woolf believed that when we who read too much arrive at the pearly gates carrying our beloved books with us, the Almighty will tell St. Peter: "Look, these need no reward. We have nothing to give them here. They have loved reading." In real life there are people who read and people who read too little. There aren't people who read too much because this is an impossible feat. How can one read too much with only twenty-four hour days? Lifetimes that average only 80 years? Andy time of the day is perfect for reading. Any place. Any excuse. Reading is the last refuge for addictive personalities; there are no bad side effects from reading too much. Louisa May Alcott thinks becoming too fond of books will "turn" our brains. Of course, any women so fond of books that she felt compelled to write her own can't be all wrong. Books do turn us. Turn us on to our passions and to pursuing our passions. Turn us into authentic people. When a sentence in a book resonates within, it is the voice of your authentic self.Listen to what its trying to tell you. Spirit is constantly communicating with us. Most of us long to experience Paradise on earth. People who read, do. Whoever said that you can't take it with you obviously never read a good book. For everything you've ever read, loved, and remembered is now a part of your consciousness. What is once cherished can never perish. 'Reading means,' Italo Calvino tells us, "[being] ready to catch a voice that makes itself heard when you least expect it, a voice that comes from an unknown source, from somewhere beyond the book, beyound the author, beyond the convention of writing: from the unsaid, from what the world has not yet said of itself and does not yet have the words to say."

Does time change?

Time sure flys by when you're busy.  

Why is that?  Doesn't matter what you're doing, if you focus in the time, it seems to take longer. Time doesn't change or does it?

The Tiger Challenge is over, it was enjoyable and fun. The group did a great organizing it and it showed at how smoothly everything went. Great job guys. 

www.wchoy74.blogspot.ca

Let them be

My little one has been in Kung Fu for a little while now, and I was ecstatic when she said she wanted to try it out. I have always taken the position to support and let her try whatever interest she decides to partake and let her discover it on her own. If she enjoys it and wants to excel, then all the power to her and I will help no matter what. If she wants. Not because I feel it is my right to. If she chooses not to, so be it. I have no interest in forcing my daughter to continue something she doesn't like. I also don't think its healthy to stand over her and constantly bark out what she is doing wrong, forcing her to practice and then of course the lecturing all the way too and from class. I feel that would stunt the creativity and remove the life lessons of discipline,challenge, defeat, triumph, self confidence, and of course setting her own life path that she absolutely needs in order to evolve and mature properly with out me taking that experience away or shielding her from it. I also did not want to install a type of resentment towards me because perhaps I lacked patience or smothered her when she was trying to learn and out of my own selfishness of not letting a kid be a kid regardless of the interest she observes. I mean she's 8 years old and has a long road of discovery ahead. But what a better tool could be introduced than Kung Fu to help her see ahead and handle obstacles. Although this interest was a little different because her Dad practices it too, but I still wanted to keep my distance and see what transpires. I felt that the only way to really see if she takes to Kung Fu or not was to let her find the bug and learn on her own and patiently see if she would approach me for help. Sometimes there were moments of struggle to not tell her what she was doing right or wrong or pay attention and stop jack assing around. In other words, stop being a kid and you will be a little satellite of me. Not cool. So the only intervention I really imposed was the praise of what she did do, and did you do your Kung Fu homework. A few times I did ask her if she was really that interested or are you doing this just for dad. She told me she still liked training but may want to go back to being a cheer leader. She missed it. So I thought well lets see what happens. Much like Sifu Masterson's observations of her son, I thought perhaps I should just pull her out because she was fooling around and didn't really seem that interested, then something changed. As I watched her I seen she was trying alot harder and you could see progress in her form. She was telling me how very excited she was that she was going to be in the banquet demos. She started to practice more at home. Cool, the instalation of a goal.  One night I heard this little voice coming from down stairs shouting every step of Hsiegh Chien, and then the moment I was waiting for, my little one looking up at me asking if I would come see how she knows the whole form and would I help. I couldn't help but beam with pride. So a few nights here and there we are practicing our forms together with the goal of doing our best for the banquet. Throwing in push ups and sittups and some other training. I still tread lightly but am grateful for stepping back and witnessing young discovery. For letting her be.
Brian Chervenka

So tired

Hey everybody i am just so darn tired. my job requires me to get up around six in the morning, and  know other people can do it just fine, but i am not a morning person. I try every time to go to bed early, but i always have troubles sleeping so i always end up with about five hours of sleep or less. There is something i have always said that i know that i am my parents kid for sure. My dad when he goes to sleep he has a hard time fallen asleep just like i do, but when he finally falls asleep he can be woken up by a pin dropping in someone else home. My mom on the other hand can fall asleep on a dime, she could just start thinking about going to sleep and she could. My mom works night and work mornings, i could head off to bed and my mom who has to go to work could still fall asleep ten time faster than me, and my dad and she is the big coffee drinker. But my mom once she is asleep loud noises are not an issue, we have a dog that always sleeps with her, and a lot of the time he will bark and random noises and she will not hear a thing, she may as well be dead to the world. I am the exact same way once i fall asleep i sleep super heavy, the only thing that wakes me up is a well hidden alarm clock that eventually wakes me, sometimes it will wake my dad up before it wakes me and he is on the opposite side of the house. Anyways i fall asleep like my dad it takes a few hours, but i sleep like my mom where i will hear nothing. well that is my sleep story, and if your not already sleeping by now, then welcome to the club :)

Sihing Langner

Tiger challenge......wow

This past weekends tournament was awesome. I can't thank everyone involved enough for the efforts they put forth to achieve such a great event. The most rewarding part of the day for me wasn't competing in my own events. I knew going in that I was injured and I went into the tournament with it being used as a oppurtunity to grow as a martial artist. I did ok in my events, I know I can do better in the future and I learned that even as calm as I thought I was, nerves still hit me during my hand form. I love doing forms. I found myself tightening up and this caused some balance issues nearer the end of my form. Lesson learned, relax and breath. Let the form flow, and you are never as prepared as you think you are. The highlight of the day for me was talking to all the kids that were competing. Listening to their triumphs and their failures. Not one young student that I talked to was upset that they didn't or hadn't yet won a medal. They were trying their best and having fun. That to me is what the whole tournament is about.I was especially moved by the conversation I had with Mr. Powell, for such a young person to have such a great outlook on life and his place in it. If only I could have had that kind of insight into the world. He is someone to watch in the future as I think he will truly make a huge impact in anything he puts his mind to. Congratulations to all the grand champions. You all inspired me in various ways. The only thing I was a little saddened by was the small amount of adult competitors. To be able to watch the Sihings and Sifus compete was the icing on the cake. Watching how they move and do the forms. Definately shows me where I want to be in a few years. The other thing I wish we could achieve is to have more people stay to watch the final competitions. It is definately a wasted oppurtunity to not go. Now its time to go to bed, I have a headcold that is trying to block my nasal passages like a beaver dam. Lots of good rest should take care of it though.

I've Already Been Threatened with Garden Shears and Weed Whackers

I've had a crummy last two days, for reasons I will elaborate on next week. As such, I kinda missed being able to reflect on the Tiger Challenge. But after reading (and watching) the last wave of blog postings, I'm feeling better and I'm realizing that it isn't just me, that the Tiger Challenge was really was as awesome as I felt it was. Kudos to the competitors and to everyone involved!

Next, I just put a posting up on Kwoon Talk. I have officially committed to joining Sifu Stoddart when she loses her hair. Additionally, whoever donates the most will be the one to cut it off. Yes. I know. I'm scared for me too. I'll let you in on a secret- on stage, when its happening, I'll be smiling and laughing. But in my mind I'm going to be screaming and panicking and rocking myself in a corner. Yay!

http://dogsthinking.blogspot.ca/

After The Medals

This post is coming early because Thursday, my usual blogging day, will be spent jumping time zones. So here goes.

This last weekend was our Tiger Challenge tournament and it was a totally awesome event. I was looking forward to learning Sifu Dennis' job as whatever she does but does very well. I was not looking forward to competing because I didn't feel ready enough, my fan form wasn't fluffed and polished enough and could I pull grace, style and elegance from somewhere for 18 Temple Motions?

Insert time to compete: I grounded myself and started 18 Temple Motions. Sihing Regier commented after that it looked like I was really trying not to let the "Manson eyes" show through. Truth be known I was singing "Daydream Believer" by the Monkees to myself to keep my intensity at bay and me in a happy place. Hey, whatever works and it did and I thrilled and proud of that. As for my fan form, my form took over and I played out the moves. I felt I was in the moment. My major concern for this form was landing my final running, flying kick into my low back stance facing 45 degrees right. Could I do it the way I envisioned a thousand times in my mind? I did and I realized "oh yeah, I have to bow out". This was the first time performing my fan form publicly and because I designed my form, I'm walking a few feet above the ground.

Even though I was (and still am) proud of myself, I'm very proud of Dennis for his performance. Dennis has been working very hard fixing his stances, improving his movements and flow, and working on "both hands at the same time". All of his hard work showed and paid off. Yay!!

I think after watching the pool noodle events, they should be included in the adult class. I'd enter! Watching the Beckett sisters perform their forms was a real treat!!! There was also some great sparring skills to observe. I was amazed as to despite how "shiny" and "squirrel" Sihing Robinson is normally (I can say that, because I can be just as much), he's as cool as a cucumber in the ring. Wow! I think one of my favorite performances came from the young fellow who performed to "Happy Trails". He had at least 2 forms rolled into one and was very creative throughout. The little wave at the end topped it off. He showed me what creativity is about.

It was an amazing event that flowed very smooth. In the end I was glad I competed because I showed myself just what I can pull out when the time comes and maybe, just maybe all of this "not ready" is just my fear  showing through.

Speaking of jumping time zones, this upcoming weekend I am in the kick-start to a 4-month intensive energy course I am in called Peak Performance where I will learn how to get over myself, get on with it, and have it all. Not only will I learn for me, but I will be learning how to teach it to others both in person and via distance. Event coincidence? Doubt it.
Sherri Donohue
Hot Torch, Room Full of Glass, and a Kung Fu Kwoon

Performing Anxiety

The fear of publically performing or speaking has been a stumbling block for me most of my life. This last year has given me the opportunity and pushed me to getting up in front of groups of people; and I have to say I survived and feel a little more comfortable every time.  I doubt I will ever be jumping up and down saying ‘pick me pick me’ to publically demonstrate something, however, I am not running for the door quite as fast as I once would have. 

This past weekend at the tournament was absolutely fantastic.  When I think back to my first tournament and the sleepless nights and anxiety I felt leading up to it, I was surprised with how different things felt this year around.  Yes, I still felt the butterflies before my own events (and for my son and his events, must be a parent thing), but not until an hour before instead of 2 weeks before like last time. 

 A couple of years ago I had an absolute fear of sparring.  Although I actually have started to enjoy it, I still feel a little anxious and this past weekend I felt yet a little more uncertain.  How do you get over that?  Attack it!  It may not be pretty and it may take time and time again but it will get better.

The public demonstrations that I have had the privilege to be a part of this year with the I Ho Chuan team has been more beneficial than I would have ever thought.  We keep teaching our kids that if you want to get better at something you need to practice.  Avoiding and running away from things that we fear will never lead to growth or change, only to lost opportunities.

I would like to thank everyone who helped make Saturday an enjoyable and rewarding day for the school and their families.   It was truly a success!

Alana Regier

http://alanaregier.blogspot.ca

 

 

bad spear day

So here we are post Tiger challenge--I think it went well! At least, the running of it. I'm annoyed with myself that I couldnt finish my spear form--and after practicing hard! Argh! I apologize to Sifu Playter for killing his form. The kids were awesome, the team all being there to run it went so well, I hope all the parents enjoyed themselves. And watching the Beckett girls was such a treat. Glad they could be there:) It was weird to be relaxed, enjoying the tournament, then as Sihing classes got closer my nerves started to get wound up and it wasnt fun anymore. At least until I was done--then it was good again. Does the stage fright thing ever go away? On the plus side, I've added some fruit and/or a bit of sweet potato to my sugarless diet and thats making a big difference in my recovery time. Hallelujah! 4 more weeks to go...

90 Degree Turn to Uselessness

Ernest Shackleton had it, Ferdinand Magellan likely, Anthony Henday, certainly had it.  This uncanny ability to navigate; likely the result of a process of land-marking, memory and visualization.  These are the fellas you hope to have on your soccer team when your plane crashes in the Andes.  Well maybe not Shackleton, I heard he could eat like a horse.

Following the tournament and a noticeable struggle with my hand forms as of late, I have realized that I am a very directionally oriented individual.  While this is great when finding your way out of the woods by compass, stars, or sun, it isn’t a favourable trait when learning a form such as Lao Gar.  I am currently working on my visualization when performing the form in my head, trying to concentrate on the feel of the body and its harmonization rather than land-marking by mirrors, windows and lions.  We will see where this takes me.

Year of the dragon in a nutshell

As this years UBBT is beginning to wrap up I find myself looking back at this year. It was tough one where I was thrown a couple curve balls like moving out of the province, finding out about the torn cartilage in my knee, having my kung fu bag and weapons stolen, and probably some other things. The biggest one was moving and being away from the kwoon. Without the structure of classes my my self discipline towards my training went pretty quickly. On top of that I was not keeping up with my blogging and am still not great at it. This further isolated me from the kwoon and my fellow teammates.  These are things that I really have to work and have to make my self more accountable for.

Another thing I realized this year is that keeping track of numbers in a purely digital form doesn't work at least for me. I thought having set up a spreadsheet that was accesible from my computer, my phone, my ipad, or basically any device with internet would make it so that I was alway up to date and seeing the numbers would have me always aware of them and keeping them up to date. I never made it effortless effort which is really what would have kept the numbers up to date. Another problem is that in a purely digital form I am able to detach myself and skip updating my numbers. In my case it would have been better to keep a hard copy and transfer the numbers weekly to see my running totals.

Finally one of my biggest hurdle which was self made, the snooze button. Instead of getting up and starting my day off with pushups it is usually a mad scramble out the door to get to work, school, or insert destination on time. Not only does this mean that I am not doing my kung fu but that I am also not properly nourishing myself. It is my goal for the next year to eliminate the snooze button from my habit and wake up and get out of bed.

It wasn't all negative for this year. I did keep my commitment to go on two dates with Chelsey a month, something that can be tough given the amount I work and my schedule mixed with her schedule and amount of homework. Another Success was that I am now actively learning a new language. One of my classes is mandarin. I also rebuilt a relationship with my cousin who I haven't talked to in more then two years.

Sihing Craig Janzen

http://umpteenmonkeystyping.blogspot.ca

Tiger Challenge

The Tiger Challenge yesterday made me proud and grateful.

Proud of my son and grateful to the wonderful group of people known as the Children's Instructors.

You see, about 5 months ago I was about to pull him out of the Black Dragons. Lack of interest, attention and even respect but he insisted he wanted to stay. I instead, removed myself from the floor and let the other Instructors do their thing.

Where my son lacks focus and attention he makes up for in energy and personality so I was not sure how he would improve so i would wait and see... but I would have to say that yesterday was a direct product of his Instructors’ hard work.

Yesterday started out rough for my son, he lost out on a competition that brought him to tears as he tried to hide in the corner. A few consoling words from mom brought him back but now he was visibly upset and unsure of himself.

I let him be and he continued on.

Two Divisions later, I saw something in him I had not seen before. He pulled himself together, his determination and focus came from someplace I didn't know he had and he preserved to do his very best for his next competition.

He won a gold.

It came from him and him alone. It was his hard work and it was his focus.

I could not have been more proud, not because he won a medal but because he grew 10 feet tall that moment.

I have been struggling with his ability focus on school work and other skills for some time now but these moments of focus and calm seem to come more frequent now and for that I am excited.

Strictly speaking as a mom, as a parent, in only a few short months the lessons taught in his class are starting to emerge. I’m not talking about the kicks and punches but the life skills.

The Tiger Challenge was a great opportunity for me to witness those skills that are blooming within him. And for that, a thanks to all.

Year of the Dragon

I think the assignment before me is to reflect on my I Ho Chuan Year of the Dragon and talk about what I learned, what I would do differently, and what I will keep.
I decided to review my journals for the whole year and see what jumped out at me. I read a consistent message; I am truly and totally excited about my kung fu and the direction that it is going in. I am learning to relax and enjoy myself and learning and growing at the same time.
I have learned lots of things this year; I can be patient! When I relax and be myself, it's okay! You don't have to do everything to be a leader! I like training with a variety of people and still value the time I have to train alone! Sometimes, it takes me a little while to figure things out, that's not a bad thing! Everyone is on their own journey and learns and grows in their own way! You can influence how others conduct themselves without ever speaking to them about it! I have amazing friends! My family continues to support whichever direction that my martial arts takes me!
What would I do differently; well....I set a couple of goals that are things that I really want to do but something is holding me back. I figured if I put them out there, that would be the push I needed to take the next step, it didn't work! I created many, many roadblocks! I think that I still need to figure out what is holding me back; fear of failure or fear of success!
What will I keep.... I joined the team this year because I was afraid that I would lose my momentum after getting my black belt and I didn't want that to happen. I wanted to make sure that some of the lifestyle changes and habits that I created would become part of who I am. I have succeeded in this area and setting goals and working towards them is how I think of most things in my life now. I think that I am ready to continue on with this lifestyle without being on the team. I will still be doing all the things that the team does, I just won't be taking up a spot that could be used for someone else that hasn't experienced the awesomeness of being on the team!
Bye for now Dragon, it's been a great year! 

 http://mantismantle.blogspot.ca/2013/01/year-of-dragon.html

Weeks End

I have to say that I am so glad that this week is over.  It has been a hectic and very exhausting week from start to finish.  There were projects going on at work that I had to oversee, which required me to put in some overtime, having to be up at 4 am every day.  Top that up with training a lot at the kung fu school, going there right after work,  staying till usually 9:30 pm. I figured out today that I have put in 30 hours at the kung fu school this week alone.  That seems pretty excessive, but I simply felt it was necessary.  I had to practice, I had to teach and I had to prepare for the dragon dance demo, and the banquet demo.  It sounds like I may be pushing myself too hard, but I can handle it, as long as it is only temporary.  I know my limits.  Next week I will be training pretty hard as well, but Saturday won't be quite as long a day as it was today, and I have 2 days this week where I can be home early.

I was also pretty stressed out about the tournament all week long, and it increased as the tournament got closer.  I have only be involved in one of our school tournaments before, and that was years ago.  I am happy to say that the tournament ended up being a huge success for me today.  I didn't win any medals in the one and only category I competed in, but I gained a lot of experience and confidence with judging, seeing just how the children's categories went, and I learned what it takes to run a tournament.   One of the things I witnessed today is how successful an event can be when everyone helps.  Todays tiger challenge was a huge success.  There was a wonderful,  happy and positive atmosphere all day long and so many people helped out.

I have come a long ways from a year ago, when I would train for maybe an hour a week, attend the odd class, teach once in a while, and not get very involved in school activities.  That's pretty sad.  Is it any wonder I wasn't going forward with my training?  You get out what you put in.  I have put in a lot this year, and I have gotten lots from it.  I don't look forward to Feb 16th as being the end, but rather the beginning of a new way of continuing to do things.      

What is stronger the "will' or the body?
Hopefully the Will.
The body can fail, get injured and sick but the Will is always there.
Nourish the Heart and Mind and the body will follow...or at least you can drag it along:)

Fan Appreciation

This year the fan is my weapon to master and I can't say that I chose the fan, rather it chose me. When I first saw the fan a few years ago when Sifu Tiffany Playter was working on her fan form, I didn't think much of the fan. Yes it's pretty, but come on, a fan??? What a floo-floo wannabe of a weapon! I admit, those were my original thoughts until Dennis told me to take a close look at the fan that was (then) hanging on the wall. When I looked, my eyes widen as I realized that the blades were steel. Maybe there is some thing that I should be investigating here.

Forward to this past year. It's been a learning experience with my fan on a lot of different levels. How it's a weapon, how to use the weapon, how it be elegant and have flow with it and I've gone through many love-hate bouts with it. The one thing that has kept me anchored to my fan is that it's highly deceptive as well as being the loudest weapon in the Kwoon which yes, I get my zippy thrills with. Designing my form has been both a challenge and a huge reward, but the best was yet to come.

Last night I had an amazing demo practice with Sihing Chessall. Sihing and I are partners in fight choreography and (you got it) my fan is also there. To me last night was pivotal in our demo piece as we really go into the fan applications thanks to help from Sifus Wetter and Rybak. Now I am beginning to understand my fan and really sense as to where/how to apply it. I'm now in love with my fan, actually both of them and yes, there are differences between the two besides color. One is bamboo and the other is steel making both very different to work with.

I am so happy that I have this great opportunity to learn my fans even more. The bonus is working with Sihing as well as the valuable input we get. There's a new excitement and it's thrilling. So next year what's my weapon? My fans and they will be partnered with a weapon that has been waiting patiently but sending signals that he wants to come out and play.
Sherri Donohue
Hot Torch, Room Full of Glass, and a Kung Fu Kwoon

Ask and Be Prepared

I am now sitting here with a shiny new piece of tooth jewelry and for some reason my mouth is saying "aaahhhh." Last Thursday it wasn't fun after the Novocaine wore off however today after the tooth nerve settled down after being assaulted for one last time, things are pretty peachy. Fantasizing about a bowl of popcorn with "butter" and Frank's Hot Sauce.....

As I have blogged before I am quasi pulling the lampshade over my head in regards to stepping out with my goodie/chocolate venture, Goodies On Tap. It seems that every where I turn there is a sign, a symbol that is saying "MOVE ALREADY!!!" However it's the most obvious steps that are the hardest to take, are the most risky and will reap the most rewards. For the stock of useless, I have ordered my biz cards, and I will be setting up a blog where I will write about recipes, books, neat stuff I test, review and whatnot. I love  when new recipes are blog posted, but am tired of reading "ohh that looks delish" or "I so can't wait to try that", blah, blah. I want to read feedback from someone who's done it. So here I am.

Of course there's the how to start so that my words of wisdom aren't floating around in the proverbial sea of cyberspace. I took a chance and asked a lady (her husband is a glass client of mine) who is a professional blogger with a 5-digit following of how to get started and avoid the pitfalls. Her name is Pam from momdoesreviews.com and her site is about reviewing and giveaways of all sorts of products . To my surprise, not only did Pam respond with an "I'd love to help", she also wants to review my hummingbird feeder when I get them invented. Talk about a double-whammy! Eeekkk!!

Basically here I am standing here thinking do I leap or do I retreat? I've hit the "terror barrier". The truth is if I retreat, I'd be miserable and mediocre. I'll be leaping and looking to see if the wings have grown and how I can fly from there. I do have to thank the support I have. All of the hints, "shoves", nags, questions and etc are appreciated and are confirmation for me to continue.

Even though this blog piece is about Goodies on Tap and my glass, it can be easily folded over into Kung Fu as I am close to testing for Sihing and in lies another "terror barrier".  Oh right, tournament this Saturday and need I say more? Big breath, let's step forward and have fun.

Sherri Donohue
Hot Torch, Room Full of Glass, and a Kung Fu Kwoon

Tai He? More Like Tai Huh?

So my parents and by brother left for Jamaica early this morning, which means I've inherited a couple dogs for the next two weeks. Needless to say, no one got any sleep last night- poor puppies were just waiting by the door all night, hoping my parents would come back for them. It'll get better, they're with family and its not the first time they get to stay away from home.

I've been practicing mastery, reciting it to my mom and typing it out when she's not around. Except my mom was more interested in what Stewart Emery had to stay than if I was correct, but thats a good thing too.

Ma's really been a huge help lately. And my dad too, who drops everything to drive her over when I call her in a panic saying I need help with Tai Chi. They know my schedule, they know the pressure I'm putting on myself and they're doing what they can to help me along. And they forgive me when I start talking gibberish or my brain goes blank. Thanks ma & pa! Have a good time in Jamaica!

After practicing Tai He yesterday in the back shop, oi! I can see what difference 8 hrs a day can make. Sifu and Sihing Beckett are amazing, and my jaw almost dropped when Sifu Beckett thought one of her forms wouldn't be good enough for the tournament. I just want to watch them all day, and then practice my butt off. And then go to China.

http://dogsthinking.blogspot.ca/

Two wheel training

When the weather gets like this in the month of January, I can't help but become frustrated because its a tease for spring. Warm weather means get on my bike and ride. Its very similar to the state of euphoria that we feel when we set foot in the kwoon and train. So many different senses are awakened and yes even with a motorcycle there is still the quest for center. I spend whatever time I can performing regular maintenance and check fluids, revamp or replace certain parts. Researching and checking out new parts and deciding what upgrade will make it go faster, handle better, and impose constant and concrete reliability. Observe and ponder the mechanics of it all and use every moment I can to educate myself on all aspects . Honing the skills I know and diving into the unknown, the challenge of taking worn out or expired components apart and putting it all back together to make it perform like new or beyond. The importance of recording in a maintenance journal of all I have done and what I have learnt so the option to always look back and have the reference of mistakes I made and ended up pushing my bike home or just before bringing the beast alive to look down and see a leak or return from a ride and discovering a bolt I may have missed. To track all the different fluids that have gone in and when its time to change a filter. After all the trial and error is experienced and the understanding of the mechanics is understood, I can now become one with the void of riding. Smelling the different scents of nature, being sensitive to the different temperature changes, and of course the risk of it all. You and a space of less than a foot from the asphalt at speeds much faster than we're meant to be. Steering the bike with your hips and not just from your shoulders but basing all off your center. navigating a corner and just when to let off and set up and when to gun it. The calm and then the immediate reaction it takes to steer around a deer, or head butting a sea gull at about 120. ( that almost knocked me out). Some times its just a casual ride on a back country road and then next thing you know someone doesn't see you and rolls out of a drive way right in front of you. You experience an incredible adrenalin dump but deep down you know, if you don't stay cool and in control, you are going down or you might freak out and seize up and ride straight into a tree. Not panicking are the only way to not lay down your bike. But there may come a time when the only way to survive is to lay the bike down and hope for the best.
What does this have to do with Kung Fu?To some, not a damn thing, to others, if you change some of the words too training, forms, kicks, journalling, techniques, sparring, diet, stretching, break falls, confrontation, triumphs and let downs, it may be deciphered as a code of relation to Kung Fu.
Brian Chervenka

Eat well and prosper

Its getting down to the wire...and the pressures on! Its cool to be training like crazy for the tiger challenge, demo and chinese new year, but crazy too! I feel the 'rush, rush rush' beat already-- its almost worse than christmas rush:) I have been learning a few things too. I was reading an older post of Sifu Brinkers about black belt grading--how on that day, everything we've done since our first step on the mats has helped prepare us for this day. And the part that twigged was everything we have put in our body(food wise) has also prepared us. I've been doing a TON of reading, research, seeing naturopath....its been the year of chasing health I think. Lately I've been doing a sugar cleanse kinda diet, to try and balance out my system (see if thats an issue) and its very low carb. As in no fruit, no grain, no sugar, barely allowed vinegar, and yes it SUCKS. What have I noticed? That as I try and train hard for these events, I'm drained, takes me alot longer to recover, can barely get into the stances in my forms without my quads screaming, and even my pushups are suffering. So...may not be staying this low any longer! But it came at a good time as I train for the Tiger Challenge, as I can get some hints as to whats not going to work. Now I can play abit and see what works for my body under this kind of stress--hopefully I will learn some things that will help me when I grade for black belt--how to have my body nutritionally ready as best I can, to recover, to have the staying power that I will need. Only time will tell...and the next challenge. Mud Race!