Friday, May 30, 2014

Bird Watching

Oy how time flies. Halfway through my list of things that need to be done today but running out of time so this will be a short blog.
Off bird watching this weekend. So excited to disconnect. Wishing all those in the parade and demo this weekend best of luck and WEAR sunscreen!!!

 sharidactyl.wordpress.com

Building a Foundation

Saturday was a great day, full of sunshine and like minded people. The Pandamonium is the pinnacle event for Silent River for good reason. Everything the school is about is embodied in this one event, and those who take part are also those who will benefit the most from its lessons.

It was a little disappointing that I didn't see all the faces I expected, but it was great to see all the faces that were there. The teamwork and camaraderie built should be able to carry us through the rest of the year as long as we nurture it from this point on.

This Saturday is another chance to build upon that camaraderie. Being in the parade is always a great experience. Not only do we get to walk in the sun and have some fun, but we get our faces out there for the community to see. The demos we do are not just for us to get our required numbers, but they give a little back as well. They are so important. It's a way to connect with the public, build on the foundation Sifu Brinker had laid and work on that one important lesson we've all been taught- out of the kwoon and into the world.

http://dogsthinking.blogspot.ca

Right Track

Well I think I'm on the right track now with my injury. I went and saw the docter that was refered to me by Sihing Chervenka and he seemed to have a better understanding of what was going on. So thank you Sihing for the advice. Also I have found a docter that is willing to take me on as a patient and I will be seeing him on the 16th of next month. The push ups and sit ups are going well, not as good as they were when I put a halt on them but I can climb that hill again and get back to where I was before.

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Tired

What to say, what to say????
Too tired for words today :)

Sifu Robyn Kichko
http://mantismantle.blogspot.ca/

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Steps

I am not sure what steps forward I made today. I completed tasks, errands, checked things off my list but it all felt like maintenance not forward movement. In these moments, it is hard to remember that a journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step. I didn't stop, I kept on trying, so I guess that is something. Tomorrow looks to be a day of forms and children, sounds like a good way to pass the time.

Sifu Robyn Kichko
http://mantismantle.blogspot.ca/2014/05/steps.html

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Questions

why do you do kung fu? what do you get out of it? are you in it for you? are you doing what you think you should be doing? are you doing it because someone else thinks you should?
what keeps you there? day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year? is it because you love kung fu so much that you can't function without it? is it because you love how you feel when you are doing a form, executing a kick, putting together a combination? is it because you love how you feel when you push yourself further than you ever have before (beyond the arbitrary limits you set for yourself)? is it because you love hanging out with people who love pushing themselves too?
looking for motivation? answer just a few of these questions honestly and you will find the answers!

Sifu Robyn Kichko
http://mantismantle.blogspot.ca/

Giveing into frustration

Well that's it I have had enough. I cant sit and wait and watch my body deteriorate any longer. I am going to start working out again. The risk of kneeling on my knee after a set of push ups is acceptable. I'm not really sure why sit ups seems to hurt my knee but they do,I dont care anymore I'm going to start doing those again any way. I cant let this injury dictate the whole year to me I am going to start doing things in spite of it. Three months in and no improvement is far too much. If I cant do my form so be it I am going to start working on a fight scene to put into a demo, I need to find a partner.

http://michaelplayter.blogspot.ca/

Monday, May 26, 2014

My pets.....again!

I love my dogs! They make me smile everyday, they keep me company when I am alone and they love me unconditionally. They let me do my work out (most days :) ) and they happily follow me to the kitchen for breakfast afterwards. I love my cat too! Some days I'm sure that he thinks that he is a dog. He has never been around other cats, he was separated from his mom at two weeks and he doesn't do regular cat things (like ignore his people). This morning while I was doing my kicks, he jumped up wrapped up his paws around my leg, looked me in the eye, kinda looked like he was thinking Oh-oh and dropped to the floor. It was so funny because he wrapped his paws around at the exact moment that my leg was fully extended and the dogs looked at him like he was crazy for interrupting my kicks. All in all, another fun kung fu moment brought to you by my pet family.

Sifu Robyn Kichko
http://mantismantle.blogspot.ca/

Recap of Last Week

Last week's numbers:


Pushups :
Last Week – 0
Overall – 4240 


Situps:

Last Week –  300
Overall – 2470 
KM:


Last Week – 6
Overall – 34 

Acts of Kindness:
Last Week – 1
Overall – 28

Kicks:
Last Week – 570
Overall – 4700

Da Mu Hsing Reps:
Last Week - 22
Overall - 183 

My numbers were a little low last week. I lost a day to Pandamonium that I didn't make up. Pandamonium was a great experience for me. I didn't really do any forms but I really enjoyed helping out and seeing everything come together was a lot of fun. One of my favorite things about SRKF is the sense of camaraderie and teamwork. I ate a few too many cookies but that's ok.


I should find out about my shoulder this week so I'm looking forward to that. I can't deny that I'm getting pretty sick of watching from the sidelines.


Cory Smid
http://kungfucory.blogspot.ca/


Pandamonium & Engagement

This past Saturday was our annual Pandamonium.  It was a great time to spend at the kwoon with all of the students, Sifu's and Sihings.  I always come away with a renewed sense of purpose and motivation.  It's hard not to when you show up at a place where everyone believes in the cause and wants to make positive change.

I managed to spend 8 hours at the kwoon this year.  This down from previous years commitments but it was for a reason.  I am currently in Vancouver ready to deliver a presentation that I have poured countless days of work into.  I have to balance both commitments and lives.  I would have loved to be there for the full 24 hours.  However I am positive that I would not be on my best for the presentation today.  Do I feel guilty about this?  No, not at all.  In fact I feel extra motivated that I was a part of something very special for as long as I was there.  I was engaged the whole time I was there and I feel that being engaged for 8 hours is better than being there for 24 hours and only partially being engaged. 

To me there is no right or wrong as long we are participating, raising awareness for why we are doing what we are doing and most importantly are engaged in what we are doing.

Mr. Ian Repay
Student of Silent River Kung Fu.
Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada

Finding the path

I have now internalized some things that prior to now have only been words.  To grow and get better I need to immerse myself in what I am doing.  My tendency is to sit on the sidelines and look in rather than getting on the field and getting involved. 

I am analytical and like to make decisions based on fact.  There are some times where facts are not what is needed but a desire to change your self and things around you.  Because of that a decision to do or not do something has to be made at a more primitive level below the consciousness level.  I have read that  this is at  the  primitive level within ones brain.  This is the area of the brain that protects us from danger.  An example would be that if you are crossing a road you would look to see if a car is coming.  One does not consciously make this decision to wait till the car passes but does so at a primitive or instinctual level.  This part of the brain has allowed us as a species to survive.

It is this level of the brain that also holds us back when we are wanting to get out of our comfort zone.  To gain mastery one must go above and beyond the ordinary, on a constant basis.  It is the primitive area of our brain that holds us back because the ordinary is comfortable, it is easy and most importantly it is safe.  Most people have self doubt but some know how to quite that self doubt that originates in the primitive part of the brain.  I am working to control the primitive part of my brain and not let it control me.  This way I can move forward on the path to mastery.

Engagement in my study of Kung Fu is what I need to do.  After this past weekend at Pandamonium I now understand the meaning of engagement.  I understand beyond the words and have seen some great examples by students and Sifu's at our Kwoon what engagement really means.

http://jimsand11.blogspot.ca/


Mr Sand

Sunday, May 25, 2014

24 hours of fun, sweat and joy

Pandamonium was great success for me. I stayed up for the full 24 hours and although my eyes were completely red by the end, it was all worth it.

My only regret was that I missed seeing Kung Fu Panda. Everytime he showed up, I was not around. :-(

http://csillag-stars.blogspot.ca/2014/05/24-hours-of-fun-sweat-and-joy.html

Food

Just because I was talking about how well my food plan was working out, I had a terrible food day. I had my smoothie this morning after my workout and that was the last thing that was great of  my food intake. I can't really explain it, I just wanted everything in site. I do okay as far as intake went but it wasn't my best day. For example, I really wanted chips so I had almonds and some goat cheese (nice, normal for me, snack) and then a small bowl of chips. The whole day was like that, not really sure why, hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.
On the bright side, I totally have my motivation back and had no trouble getting up early and doing my workout.

Sifu Robyn Kichko
http://mantismantle.blogspot.ca/

fun fun fun

That was a great Pandamonium for me again. I manged to do 240 forms. Here is the break down: 55 Fan 40 Mu lonKoon 20 of 18 temple motions 20 broadsword 20 Dragon 15 Kempo 15 Lung 10 Da Mu Husing 10 LaoGar 10 Hung 10 spear 10 stick 5 awakening the dragon. And I got in 42 min of sparing. I am so proud of what I did. We started the night off with our traditional Da Mu Husing There was no less than 5 of us at any given time so it went very well. I had a great time with everyone I trained with.
I had chicken with potato salad and some carrots and celery, then a BLT for lunch a bag of fruit a muffin
Did the dishes did laundry took out garbage got recycling ready for Pandamonium.
Sifu Jeannette Langner

Saturday, May 24, 2014

Missing Out

So today have had miss one of our biggest events of the year at Silent River Kung Fu “The Pandamonium 24 hours of Kung Fu. Work as of lately has been preventing me from participating and from being as engaged in Kung Fu as much as I usually am.  This is the first time that I have not been able to participate in the Pandamonium since it began. All day I was wishing I could be there at the Kwoon instead of being at work.

Epic

What a great day! The energy was very high and very positive throughout the day, it was fun to see so many parents hanging out with their kids (some of them participating) and it was great to be around my peeps all day long. I enjoyed doing forms with my kung fu friends, I enjoyed visiting with some people that I don't get to see much of and I enjoyed being apart of our school today. The camaraderie, the joking, the support, the encouragement, it was all there and I loved it!!!!
On a more practical side, I completely forgot to take my book! So here it is, I started the day with some warm up forms: da ma hsing, lung, kempo - nice and slow - getting the body and muscles moving (no idea how many reps). Then my friend and I worked on a couple of forms together, picking some pieces apart and trying to do them better - starting and stopping many, many times (no idea how many reps). I moved on to Tai Chi where I did not stop doing the form for approximately one hour ( no idea how many reps). After that there was an amazing fitness - many kicks were done, sit ups, break falls, and all kinds of grappling exercises ( no idea how many kicks or sit ups). The kids game was organized chaos that I totally loved and then more forms with my partner for about an hour (no idea how many reps). I had a great day and I have a few sore muscles to remind over the next few days and I am off to bed with a smile on my face.

Sifu Robyn Kichko
http://mantismantle.blogspot.ca/

Kung Fu Dreams

So tonight is one of those nights in which I find myself wondering if I am me, dreaming of being a kung fu fighter - or if I am a kung fu fighter dreaming about being a me? (and apologies to Lao Tzu)

2 in the morning and I dragged myself out of bed to support the SRKF Pandamonium in a very small way - just a quick pop in to make sure they are alright, (drop off an ice-cap for my baby) and whip out a few reps of my forms.

Totally weird sensation. Half asleep. Muscle memory kicking in. Forms completely mixed up in every way - jumping around within the forms, orientation completely whacked and moving though a mind fog. I just kept thinking, I hope M. Brinker is not watching this mess. But it was also really insightful.

Sifu Denis talks about letting your body do what it wants to do in Tai Chi and that it is OK to just flow in a non-linear path through a form but I never experienced it in my Kung Fu forms before. It was totally weird and totally mind blowing. It allowed me to see the way the moves can actually be applied and the realism of the form. Very enjoyable. Wish I could have stayed longer... PLUS I was totally inspired by those that are there for the long haul tonight. GO TEAM!!!

http://sharidactyl.wordpress.com/ 

Friday, May 23, 2014

Pandamonium

I am really excited that tomorrow is Pandamonium. I think that we have all worked really hard to make tomorrow happen and tomorrow we will work together to show everyone who comes over a great time. It will be an epic day! As I write this my friends have begun their forms, I hope that they have a good few hours while I sleep, see you soon :)

Sifu Robyn Kichko
http://mantismantle.blogspot.ca/

Thursday, May 22, 2014

anticipation

Pandamonium is upon us once more. I'm giddy with excitement.The event is a lot of fun for me. I get to see so many new people and interact with them all. I know my reps will go through the roof. Constant motion for 8 straight hours. I'll bring lots of fruit and some veggies. Maybe a sandwich or 2. Got my sponsor sheet going. Talking about our charities at work. It's been a great week. I have my replacement for work already so it's a 100% go time.
Had calamari and salad  for supper then  a BLT for lunch with another baggie of fruits and veggies for snacks.
Did dishes, got more laundry done. took out garbage, cleaned up the back yard.
Sifu Jeannette Langner

Blocks

I usually blog earlier in the week but technology is not on my side this week.  The blog site I am using is down so I can't do my blog on the site.  It says it will be up shortly, but we will see. I may have to begin my blog somewhere else.  But that is not the reason for my post.

In December I had a small tear in my right ham string.  I went to physio and by the end of January it appeared all was well.  However, I am finding that my right ham string is constantly tight.  I am doing all the stretching my physiotherapist recommended but I am finding that it tightens up right after I finish exercising.

I am hoping I could get some tips on any type of stretching or exercise I could do to help me get it stretched out.  Because my blog is down,  you could get a hold of me at jimsand11@gmail.com.

Mr Sand

Motivation Found!

Today I met a young man who's life is immersed in devastation. His community has suffered many loses as has his family. It is so difficult to help a young person find reasons for living that has such deeply entrenched feelings of hopelessness and helplessness. This young man has asked for a better life, one where he can get an education and, for a time, live separate from his family and community. What courage, what bravery, what a humbling experience that I had today. I am truly blessed to have the opportunity to be in the presence of such determination. I feel like if he can talk steps each day to survive then I can get up in the morning and complete my requirements!!! In case you missed it....motivation found!

Sifu Robyn Kichko
http://mantismantle.blogspot.ca/

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Cookie Marathon

So the cookie baking marathon is on, we are at 96 and we still have about 60 more to go!  Dean & I are bringing a roaster full of his famous ( in the Beckett family) monster cookies for the bake sale.  I am pretty excited about the pandemonium, got about $400 raised for the charities so far and trying for more.  Bringing my escrima sticks so I can get caught up on form reps!  Let's hope the weather stays nice.

sick

Being sick is never fun. So why does the cold have to start on the last day of work then continue until you have to go back. Then it just becomes annoying. Alas this just happened to me. Almost called in sick then went and toughed it out and now it's a scratchy throat and an occasional nose drip. At least I can make it to class tonight. looking forward to that.
Had chicken for supper then bag of fruit and veggie for snacks then had a sandwich for lunch.
Did dishes, took out the garbage made the bed.
Sifu Jeannette Langner

Hard Work

Last week's numbers:


Pushups :
Last Week – 0
Overall – 4240 
Situps:

Last Week –  300
Overall – 2220 

KM:
Last Week – 6
Overall – 27 

Acts of Kindness:
Last Week – 1
Overall – 27

Kicks:
Last Week – 570
Overall – 4160

Da Mu Hsing Reps:


Last Week - 29
Overall - 161 


I'm a little late posting numbers for last week. Long weekends have that effect I guess. Still struggling a bit with recording my acts of kindness.


I had a bit of an epiphany over the weekend. I didn't do any training on Sunday or Monday as I was busy working on my yard and visiting friends. When Monday night rolled around I wasn't upset with myself for not training at all; I was happy with everything I accomplished. It made me think about the meaning of kung fu: hard work. This is probably old news to many of you, but I had never really thought about things this way before. Hard work produces results in all facets of your life. Around the house, in your relationships, and obviously in your training too. I have noticed that as long as I am working hard and doing something productive, it carries over to the rest of my life.


Cory Smid
http://kungfucory.blogspot.ca/

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Teamwork

I have been thinking a lot about team work today and how we get people to work together. I think that I may have an idea! We need to get everybody working so hard and being so passionate about a common goal that they forget about their ego. I think that ego gets in the way, it makes us wonder - how come I didn't get noticed, how come I didn't get picked. We need to put that aside and worry about getting the job done and not compare ourselves to the next guy. Each one of us is very capable of being The One, we just have to look around, see what needs to be done and figure out how to get it done. It doesn't mean we won't ask lots of questions or get advise from someone who has done it before, it just means that we will do what it takes it get it done and not worry about the next guy. I believe the next guy, if he is looking with his eyes open, will see the leadership and follow along, become a leader themselves in the process.

Sifu Robyn Kichko
http://mantismantle.blogspot.ca/

Watching From the Sidelines

Watching from the sidelines has given me a different perspective on things. I've always been a people watcher. I notice when people are struggling and it's always been in my nature to want to help, but I don't always know how. I notice when people finally have their "ah-ha" moments when they figure out how to do something they've been struggling to do. I notice when people feel insecure about trying something new when people are around. I notice when people work really hard to get what they want. I notice so many things about the people I train with and whether I'm right or not in my observations, I admire all of my team mates on many different levels. You've all taught me things that you don't even realize and I thank you for it. Now it makes me wonder about how other's see me...Right now I'm just the girl on the bench...I really have to fix that. Believe me when I say, I'm working on it.

Monday, May 19, 2014

Tough Week

I had a lot of problems this week getting in time to train. It's just one of those times life kicks you around. I didn't get in the reps I wanted to or get to the kwoon. I had full intention to get to the kwoon on Saturday to make up for the time I lost on Friday. Unfortunately I received news of a death in the family and it knocked the wind right out my sails.

I had a cousin that was killed. A young man with a young family. I haven't seen him in about 8 years but when we were younger, we were fairly close. I don't understand as we age or whatever the circumstances might be, how we always take our family members for granted. Is it really that hard to pick up a phone or take one lousy hour if we're in the neighborhood to stop and visit. Is it really that hard to remove your ego or swallow your pride and make peace over something stupid. Why does it take a death for us to realize how fragile life really is or how selfish we can be. It seems when this happens all of a sudden we have this revelation to call our parents or tell ourselves how we are going to call our relatives once a month. We are going to visit everyone we can and plan trips to see them. Then a month or two later we get wound up in our own lives and the whole plan goes out the window. Don't get me wrong there are circumstances and people we are just not going to get along with. Some people insist on closing the doors on others. I think really though if we can make some sort of peace or balance with our family that we clash with, there will be no regrets when they suddenly are gone. I am grateful that this wasn't the case with my cousin, but it could be with some of the others in my family. Rest in peace cousin.

So due to the circumstances I won't be able to complete my goal of doing 24 hours of Kung Fu as the funeral is this weekend. However I will be able to get in 6 hours on Saturday morning before I depart. From what I understand Sifu Masterson has $100 burning a hole in her pocket. See you at the kwoon.

Numbers for the week;
  • Push ups  8325/ 50,000
  • Ab work 8250/ 50,000
  • Distance 95/ 1600
  • School forms 330/ 8000
  • Kicks 3250/ 50,000
  • Sparring 253/ 1000
  • Qi Gong 53/ 365
  • Random Acts of Kindness 70/ 1000
  • Weapon form 94/ 1000
  • Hand form 0/ 1000


How To Make Me Awesome


Try surrounding yourself with friends who ask more of you than you do” It’s a part of the philosophy of mastery we are familiar with. For the last couple weeks I have been away for work, and as always the biggest adjustment is being away from the team atmosphere of the I Ho Chuan, the students, and Sifu’s of Silent River.

People who strive to be exceptional are addicting to be around.  This is probably because they produce a synergy that helps challenge, support, and holds us accountable in our development of mastery. But what do you do when circumstances are such that the support is vacant, or at least not at arm’s length?

Mostly I have been looking internally when approaching the I Ho Chuan this year.  Equally important, however, is to make everyone around me……Awesome. If everyone around me is awesome, than I have no other option but what to work towards awesomeness also! Forget about making lemonade out of lemons, I am talking about growing a lemon tree so I can produce a lemonade factory!

So, one thing I have been doing lately is getting pushy. Not in the negative sense however.  Rather, challenging the people I work with to stretch themselves beyond limits.  This has two results, it is somewhat self-serving in the fact that it has generated that missing energy that I am used to from training partners, and secondly it produces an exceptional work product.  Rather than making exceptions for my workers, I am trying to help my co-workers become exceptional so that I will have no excuses for being mediocre.

I figure this will help with my I Ho Chuan year, or I will have a mutiny.  Let’s see how this pans out.

vincekrebs@blogspot.com

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Progress or not?

Today was much quieter than I thought that it would be. I was very tired today and needed to rest and relax for part of the day, well, mostly the morning. I got some things done this afternoon, not much but not nothing. I made a nice supper for my husband (Katie was at work) and spent some time working on one of my knitting projects. I feel like I am moving forward and starting to see a difference in some of my movements. I hope that I am improving :) Some days it feels like I'm standing still and other days it feels like I going forward in leaps and bounds. I wonder if everyone else is feeling the same sense of roller coastering!

Sifu Robyn Kichko
http://mantismantle.blogspot.ca/

Opportunities

Doing anything in a mastery level is not an easy task. Grading for your black belt is one of the hardest paths I had to go through. What made it easier for me is taking any opportunity I had along the way.

These opportunities present themeselfs and you can either take them or ignore them. Some of these opportunities for me were going to the fitness class, trying to make every sihing class I could attend (and changing other commitments to make it work), going to as many classes as I could and participate in the class, teaching the kids classes...

Going for you black belt this year on the next? take as many opportunities as you can!

http://csillag-stars.blogspot.ca/2014/05/opportunities.html

Saturday, May 17, 2014

Two days worth

Yesterday was a day fraught with forcing myself to stay on task and do some work that I would have rather avoided. Then I got home from work 20 minutes before class, no time to relax and transition to my homo life. It was all worth it when I went to black belt class and had a great time. We did some cool exercises to improve our kicks and did some even cooler stick moves, so worth the push to get there. Playing the Pandamonium game with my team mates was also a good time and interesting to see how other grown ups play. I spent the rest of the evening with Jim and stayed up too late but I had a good time :)
Today was a fairly mellow day at work, the kids were low key and the sun was shining. We had an opportunity spend some time outside this afternoon and that is always a new avenue to reach the unreachable. I have spent a mellow evening with my family, feeling like I am ready to charge into my days off and get some stuff done! Starting with a nice walk in the morning to feed some beautiful cats that I love :)

Sifu Robyn Kichko
 http://mantismantle.blogspot.ca/

Losing Time

With work demanding more of my time lately, I am finding it hard to get in a bare minimum of practice time. Even the few minutes here and there that a person finds during the day between tasks at work or in the evening are getting fewer and fewer. This year is definitely going to test my time management skills.

Friday, May 16, 2014

Sleepy

I have stayed up way passed my bedtime and I nearly forgot to blog, talk to you all tomorrow when I tell you about my today :)

Sifu Robyn Kichko
http://mantismantle.blogspot.ca/

Challenge of Chaos

This Pandamonium game is SO out of my comfort level. I know I volunteered to help run it, but, ick.... it is so not my thing. I love order and structure and routine. This game is utter chaos. And for me it feels like the worse type of torture.

Trying to think positive...

I am challenging myself. Right? If it doesn't kill me it makes me stronger. Right?

Trying to keep my game face on... but if you see me with a pained look on my face next weekend during the game, you will know why...

:-)

http://sharidactyl.wordpress.com/

Thursday, May 15, 2014

I have been hacked!

I feel like I should dramatically but my hand over my heart and fall to the ground! I get up this morning and check my mail on my phone and I have 256 new emails, all of them saying Mail Delivery Failure. I had never seen anything like it! It was my more computer smart family that suggested that I was hacked, I couldn't do anything about it because I was also locked out. I called my server and reset my password and spent 20 minutes deleting all the garbage. If you received an email today from me (time stamped between 5 and 5:30 am), it was not me, I was otherwise occupied at that time. I don't understand why people would get any pleasure out of hacking into someone's elses account, but they must get something out of it!?!

Sifu Robyn Kichko
http://mantismantle.blogspot.ca/

Cant wait forever

Will I'm decided, Time to switch doctors. Two months now and I'm no better off then I was when I started. I get results back tomorrow but they will have no results I'm sure. So its time to take a new action to try to get a different result. On an up note I think I'm going to continue my push ups and sit ups again. I can loop one leg over the other now for the push ups and I will just have to adapt to a different sit up excersize. Motivation is low but I'm still in the fight.

http://michaelplayter.blogspot.ca

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

I love my pets!

My pet family decided to help me with my workout this morning! First of all, while the dogs were outside, the cat (the usually loving Rascal) decided to grab as much of my yoga matt as he could in his paws (about half for the record), when I called him on it, he took off at the speed of light and tore around the living room and dining room. One set of weights and 50 sit ups done and the dogs are ready to come in! There was a little cat chasing that went on, narrowly missing me while I layed on the floor on my yoga matt!!! Another set done of weights and 50 sit ups. Next each one of the dogs had to come and clean my face while I was still laying on the floor of course. And on it went..... with all that help I managed 300 sit ups, 240 kicks, my weight routine which I have increased to three sets of 10 with 10lbs and Tai Chi. Thank you my pet my family :)

Sifu Robyn Kichko
http://mantismantle.blogspot.ca/

Thanks to a fellow team member!

So I have had some help in my stick form from Sifu R Langner, he has been helping me learn this totally cool move from his hook sword form that works awesome for escrima sticks as well.  Two weeks ago we started with a basic which I practiced and now we have added the turns and a cool finish.   I will keep practicing to get it all smooth and flowy.  This has been a real challenge learning a totally new weapon and I have a new appreciation of the difficulty of learning from utube videos and books.  A huge thanks to a team member who took the time to help me out.  This is one of the totally great aspects of the I Ho Chuan team and why I love being part of it.   Thank you Sifu Langer!   Who says and old dog can't learn new tricks :)

tattoo done

Well I did it. I now have a tattoo on my shin. It hurt so much to get. I'm wondering if my phobia to the needle is about the pain factor. After getting  my tattoo it seems my fear is more about the aversion to pain. People say that a needle doesn't hurt however my mind has made it far worse than it actually is. The pain endured to get the tattoo was annoying and really irritating. Now   I look at getting my blood tests done in July and it doesn't scare me as much anymore. I feels like I've made progress with my fears. I will keep you all posted on this.
I did laundry 3 loads and put it all away then took out garbage and did dishes then put it away.
I had a chicken sandwich for supper the a BLT for lunch with fruit for snacks.
Sifu Jeannette Langner

Bear Dreams

I had a dream last night, in it I was yondering in the mountians.  I kept encountering bears, both black bears and grizzlies.  There we parts of the dreams where the bears would see me and walk away with little notice.  Others would run from me in fear.  But there were some that would chase after me and I would run until exhausted to keep away from them.

In the dream this seemed to go on for hours.  At the end of the dream I walked out of the forest and there were no longer any  bears.


What does this mean?  I have no idea but maybe it was just because I ate some pizza and had a beer before I went to sleep. 

Or many be it meant that the bears represented fears in myself.  Some I have completely conquered; the bears running away.  Some fears are so distant that I don't even remember them as fears; the bears taking no notice of me.  The bears chasing me;  my current fears.   Again I don't  know just trying to make sense of it.  The weird thing is during the dream I did see a Panda, all I could think about is why is there a Panda in the Rockies.



http://jimsand11.blog.com/2014/05/14/bear-dreams/




Mr Sand

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Warmth

I noticed today that not only was the sun shining, it was warm out. Until today the air remained cold, maybe chilly is a better description. I was out on Sunday afternoon walking on the trails and my sensitive lungs let me know that the air had still not warmed up much. Today I was out hanging with my work kids outside and I could totally tell that the air had finally warmed up. This means that I can do my forms outside, especially Tai Chi, and walk more outside which will really increase my mileage. I am secretly hoping to increase my daily steps from 10,000 to 15,000!

Sifu Robyn Kichko
http://mantismantle.blogspot.ca/

Monday, May 12, 2014

sit ups

I think that I need to change/improve my sit ups. Today I was doing my routine and it didn't seem as hard or challenging as it used to. Which, of course, makes sense! If you do the same exercise every day, you are bound to make some muscles and therefore the exercises are easier. Now, I know that the purpose of the whole thing isn't to make it harder/more challenging. But I'm thinking, if I'm going to do it anyways, I might as well make some killer abs while I'm at it! Any ideas anyone? I'm thinking of adding weights, as in, holding the weight while I sit up?

Sifu Robyn Kichko
http://mantismantle.blogspot.ca/

A New Tool

So things are rolling along pretty good so far. There is always room for improvement of course. I have been working on my weapon form quite a bit last week and I have achieved a solid base. I still have work to do with the flying spinning back kick but I am confident it should come together soon. Now that I have the base laid out and most of the glitch's removed I can work on good solid stances and work on the six harmonies with every strike, block, and directional transitions. I feel really good about the form and enjoy this weapon immensely. As long as I keep this focus and discipline I should be way ahead of the Canada Day demo.

Moving along with the rest of my training I didn't get the amount of reps in as I wanted to but I still have something to show for the week. I worked on forms mostly. The new tool I speak of is my tablet. I started to use it to film myself while doing forms. It has been very helpful in exposing certain areas that I cannot feel or see while doing the form. Which in turn gives me that much more information and I can make improvements and witness them first hand as continue with filming repetitions. For example I have been missing a block in kempo for sometime now. I never realized it until I watched myself doing the form. I am going to start filming my kicks as well. Something I am struggling with, but hopefully this tool will help me here as well. I have been riding my bike and doing my best to finish the day with a walk at night. Soon I want to start running once or twice a week. This one will take a little bit since I don't really like running which is all the more reason I should do it.

One last note it was really good to be able to be at the kwoon this weekend and also help out with the rotary park clean up. My decision to discontinue week end work has already improved my mindset and balance towards my journey this year. See you at the kwoon.

Numbers from last week;
  • Push ups 7825/ 50,000
  • Ab work 7750/ 50,000
  • Distance 90 kms/ 1600
  • School forms 310/ 8000
  • Kicks 3100/ 50,000
  • Sparring 253/ 1000
  • Qi Gong 49/ 365
  • Random acts of kindness 70/ 1000
  • Weapon form 74/ 1000
  • Hand form 0/ 1000

Weekly Recap

Last week's numbers:

Pushups :
Last Week – 0
Overall – 4240 

Situps:

Last Week –  300
Overall – 1920 

KM:
Last Week – 6
Overall – 21 

Acts of Kindness:
Last Week – 0
Overall – 26

Kicks:
Last Week – 550
Overall – 3590

Da Mu Hsing Reps:


Last Week - 25
Overall - 132 

I'm not able to do any pushups at  this point because of my shoulder. I have an MRI scheduled for tomorrow so I'm really hoping for good news that I don't need surgery. 

I'm still having a hard time logging my acts of kindness. I think I'm also having a hard time performing them too. My efforts to be a more courteous driver have not been sufficient. I just have a hard time with the way most people drive. I wish more people had sense of urgency behind the wheel. I'll keep trying I guess.

Last Monday's class consisted of a lot of Da Mu Hsing, which was exactly what I needed. I had a couple of major corrections so I tried to get in a lot of reps last week to reinforce the changes.


Cory Smid
http://kungfucory.blogspot.ca/

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Shift work switch

Throughout my career I have changed holiday celebrations to different days many, many times. If one of us was working on a holiday, we would just celebrate on an alternate day. It has worked for us. This weekend I was off, not preplanned just my turn to be off for the weekend, and I figured it would be nice to be home for Mother's Day. I didn't take into account the youngest member of our family joining the shift work force. Katie has another job that requires her to work weekends and evenings, she still has her old job that is usually one of the weekend days. So today, she worked her day job and then worked the evening shift at her new job. We had to switch Mother's Day to yesterday. It was cool but different, and there were still presents which was good. Since it wasn't me that caused the switch it was a little odd, but I still had a lovely day. I got some things done around the house, had tea with my friend and had a nice walk with my dog. All in all, a good day!

Sifu Robyn Kichko
http://mantismantle.blogspot.ca/

Leadership

Last Friday I attended a leadership conference. It was very insperational but lacked something. I did not feel connected to all the speakers as they used a one sided story to illustrate their points.

I don't consider myself as natural leader. Being in front of people is hard for me. Talking in front of a gorup is even harder. Leading a group? 

While training for my black belt, we discuss the types of leaders - the one that leads by charisma and the one that leads by example. I always tend to be the one that leads by example. For some reason (read on to find out) I don't have the required charisma to lead a group of people. I think I'm afraid of failure. What if I tell a group of people to do one thing and it turns to be a bad idea? What if I say something and no one listens?

I see the say charasteristics of my self in my son and girls. I want them to be better than I was. I want to lead by example and show them that I can also lead with charisma. Something to work on and grow.

Lion Dance

Fridays class was the first time I've been in a lion. It was pretty cool, I'm sure I had a big grin on my face. I was quite surprised at how little I could see as a tail. I was trying not to be Casper but bending over as far as I was I couldn't really see the feet of the head, which meant I had no idea what was going on. I'm guessing I just need to try and bend over but keep my head up. I tweaked my lower back and it was bothering me most of the week. Hunching over as a tail was a bit painful. It was neat playing around in the head, it was bit more awkward to hold up than I was expecting. Its pretty hot under the lion. I'm already a pretty sweaty guy once I start moving. I can only imaging how much I'd be sweating after a lion dance. Might have to waterproof the inside of one!

Sifu Jesse Wetter

http://liveforeverordieintheattempt.blogspot.ca/

Attitude

I have come to the realization that attitude is everything.  I'm pretty sure that I have know this for a long time, however I never really understood this.  Attitude is a very powerful thing, it can enable or disable a persons willingness to do things.  Your mind controls your body and as a result the frame of mind that you are in will have a huge impact on how your body responds.

I have had an ongoing struggle with attitude as long as I can remember.  My parents struggled with me when I was growing up.  My teachers would always say to them things like "he has so much potential if only he would apply himself".  This statement has never left me, and is a direct response to my attitude.  I can't explain why I'm like this?  I wish I could put a finger on something solid that I could grasp and hold onto.  However this isn't something that I can physically touch rather it's something abstract.  It's something that I need to constantly work on as when I have the right attitude there isn't much that I can't accomplish.

This past week, I looked myself in the mirror and realized that I needed to stop making excuses for myself.  My attitude and Kung Fu have sucked since last year.  I was on a very big high when I left for South Carolina.  My requirements were ahead, my training was going so good and I had three demo's in the bag by mid July.  I was on track to have a phenomenal I Ho Chuan year.  However I couldn't keep the pace going while I was gone.  My training came to a skidding halt and with that along went my attitude.  I was so upset with myself for letting all of my hard work go to pot.  I had gained a significant amount of weight along the way and I became out of shape.  I had to work so hard to get in great shape and to lose it in a matter of three months was devastating to me.  As a result of all of this, I got upset and angry with the process.  I surmised that the program was the issue and all it was, was a bunch of hoops to jump through. I didn't bother to look at myself and questions myself as what the real issue was.  The real issue wasn't the program as much as it was my attitude toward the process.


I still struggle and will always struggle with attitude.  There are many times when I prioritize things in the wrong order.  Not because because I'm lazy  or disorganized.  I just don't see them as important as other things.  This is a result of where my attitude is at that moment. 


Mr. Ian Repay
Student Of Silent River Kung Fu
Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada






Saturday, May 10, 2014

May 9th


Friday was May 9th. Which is a day of remembrance for our family.  A day for the past five years where we spend it together. Work and Kung Fu will have to wait until after we take in the sunshine of the mountains.  It will wait until after we walk the trails and explore the Maligne River gorge. It will wait until we balance on logs and climb rocks. It will wait until we throw rocks in the emerald green pools of the river. It will wait until trees are climbed and a boy falls up to his waist in the river.  For this day….it can all be put off until tomorrow.

 



              Can you find the forester?

vincekrebs@blogspot.com

Fun

What a fun day! The usual small children that always make me smile and laugh to start the day :) Followed by a lovely Tai Chi class, it was so relaxing today! Some errands and lunch and it was time to hang out with my peeps, oh yeah, and do a little cleaning. It is so fun to hang out with the team and work on a project and I think the place looks great! It was also fun to have the advanced black dragons to hang with. :)

Sifu Robyn Kichko
http://mantismantle.blogspot.ca/

Pulled Apart

This week has been one of the busiest weeks that I have had in my life time. Work, home and Kung Fu all have demanding more of my time then is normal. Unfortunately I am having to miss the Tai Chi class and the Kwoon clean up today. But I due a sense of accomplishment of this week, that being as busy as I have been that I have been able to maintain all aspects of my life and not let any part suffer. The sad part about it is that this pace that I am currently at to be able to do everything this week that is required of me is not sustainable and I am going to have to cut back before I burn my self out and then everything is going to suffer. Or I could get my self cloned.

Friday, May 9, 2014

Tai Chi

My world has tilted slightly and I am not really sure what to make of it. I noticed and so did Sifu Hayes, that when my world is not okay, I carry my center in my shoulders and upper chest. This causes the turtle effect and some really awkward movements on my part. The cool part? I could feel it. The not cool part? I really struggled to stop it. I did my Tai Chi form and that really helped to settle me down but didn't make it go away. When things are happening, I get in my head (think too much) and I have a difficult time getting out. I know Tai Chi will help, I just have to remind myself to stop and do it. Feel free to help me remember!

Sifu Robyn Kichko
 http://mantismantle.blogspot.ca/

Busy Busy Busy

It was a very busy week for me with work this week. In fact, this is the beginning of the busiest time of the year for my family so I guess I have to get used to it. From now till the fall almost every minute seems to be scheduled as I try to make the most out of the favorable tilt of the Earth's axis... it is my time to recharge and store up a bunch of great memories that will fuel me through the next winter.

This year my family is planning to do something that has been on my bucket list for a long long time - we are travelling to the Yukon!

I am so excited. It is amazing when a far-away dream finally actualized itself.  So for the last two weeks of summer holidays we will be knee-deep in fresh Yukon streams panning for that Klondike gold (if we don't come back, you can guess that we struck it rich!).

Also every single weekend between now and then seems to be planned and full of activities. I love summer but it does make my head spin a bit. Our first camping trip is in 20 days... Slave Lake Annual Bird Festival!
And Running season starts tomorrow too! I miss the trails and can't wait to hit them tomorrow.
Ahhhh summer...

http://sharidactyl.wordpress.com/

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Under Armor

I bought a new pair of shoes yesterday, you guessed it, they are Under Armor!  I love them! They are light weight, comfortable and pretty :) I wore them all day today and they felt like they have been mine forever. There is nothing like a good pair of shoes.

Sifu Robyn Kichko
http://mantismantle.blogspot.ca/

Diet

I've come to the realization (admitted to myself is probably more correct) that my diet is not where it needs to be and it's having an adverse affect on my life. I'm healthy and all, but the reality is that if I'm going to expect my body to perform at a high level, I need to eat well.

I have no excuse not to. I've eaten well in the past and I'm an excellent cook. I just need to put forth the effort to plan and prepare food ahead of time while also making sure I have room for balance. 

Miss Gibbons and I had a conversation on Friday about how it helps when the team is accountable to one another. I like this idea and so I'm asking anyone that reads this to follow up with me on occasion and ask how my diet is going. Feel free to offer advice or maybe even recipes.

The kinds of changes I'm making are simple:

Refined sugar to a minimum
Make healthier snack choices
Include healthier vegetables in my diet (spinach, kale, broccoli, etc, not just lettuce)
Whole grains more often

If I take care of these 4 items I should do well and it doesn't feel too restrictive. I already do some things well - I drink a lot of water, I control my portions, I don't eat red meat a lot. I just need some tweaks and the discipline to make the changes permanent. A healthy diet is sustainable but it's not easy.

Cory Smid
http://kungfucory.blogspot.ca/

Injury update

Well my knee has gotten worse I can no longer fully extend it and things are very frustrating for me right now. It has put a halt on my physical requirements and all i have left is mental type of things to work on. I have been run around in circles by doctors and am getting tired of the time it has taken to get any kind of real action by them. At this point I have to go for one more test and if action is not taken when it is completed  I am going to switch doctors.

http://michaelplayter.blogspot.ca/

Watching From The Sidelines

I was forced to watch class last night instead of participating because of my shoulder. I had watched a few classes before but last night was the first time that I really found it be as beneficial as being on the mats. We had a brand new student going through his first class and Sihing Tymchuk was going through some of the curriculum with him right in front of me. He was explaining stability in stances, cat leaping, and other techniques, and I was happy to realize that I understood everything that he was explaining. I might not be very good at demonstrating those techniques, but that's ok; that will come with practice.

Something else I noticed and really thought about is how great it is that everyone gives their time to help instruct class. Last night our class had two Sifus, two Sihings, as well as Mr Repay and Mr Hamilton.

The benefits of watching class are not new to anyone that's been with SRKF for a while. Sifus talk about it. It's mentioned on Kwoon Talk. The Kwoon really is the best place to be, even if you can't be on the mats. There are things that you can see that you wouldn't normally see. And you can pick up little things along the way that you may have missed. It's a great experience.

Cory Smid
http://kungfucory.blogspot.ca/

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

More Change?

I may have grown a bit more today! I had a very challenging day and I chose to be true to myself and not react to all that was happening around me. It was very hard to not to give in and be visible upset, complain about how it was affecting me but I did it! It feels awesome!!!!! I stayed positive, I stayed me, and I stayed on task and I am so glad that I pushed through and didn't give in to the easy way.

Sifu Robyn Kichko
http://mantismantle.blogspot.ca/

Sleet on the Beach

Monday was not exactly what I call beach friendly weather. It was the second night we've played volleyball. It was cold, windy and halfway through the first game sleet started to fall. It didn't last very long though and the sun eventually came out for a bit. I played in sweat pants, a fleece jacket and wool socks with no shoes. It was weird. Even with the bad weather we had a great time.  Our team is going to win the award for most laughter by the end of the season, I guarantee it. The first night we played I think we baffled the other team with our joking around and laughing fits. I've really been enjoying it.

My hands are blistered up pretty good from practising the meteor hammer. The index finger on my right hand just got a new one in a different spot as another one was healing. I am going to have to start taping up my hands or something so I can continue practising without losing all my skin. I've got to pick up some medical or athletic tape. I slowly feel like I am making progress. I'm still not very consistent with pulling off moves but I am getting better. I still don't have a complete form yet but I finally have some pieces. I feel comfortable enough now with the basics that its time to start putting the pieces together. Still a long way to go until I'm demo ready but I will get there.

I have a meeting with my realtor this Sunday. House hunting is about to get serious. I'm excited but also not looking forward to the extra stress. It's been a bit chaotic lately, I could use a vacation..

Sifu Jesse Wetter

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Sleeplessness

Many of you have heard me talk about short change before, my struggle to cope/function when extremely tired continues. Usually, I come home from work at 11:30, get ready for bed and go to sleep. Now that is not enough sleep for me but I am surviving if not thriving. That has not always been the case, before I discovered more about me, I used to spend countless hours laying awake fretting about my life, making short change unmanageable. Since joining Kung Fu and especially the I Ho Chuan, I have not experienced that. I have discovered that as long as I complete my daily requirements, do my very best to be a better person and record my results, I don't fret at night. That was not the case last night, I couldn't sleep! Plain and simple! No worries, day looked good, I am grateful for all that I have in my life, and there I lay, half the night, awake! Needless to say, today was a long day!!!! Now it is bed time, requirements done and logged, I am a better person than I was when I got up this morning and I have counted my blessings. Good Night :)

Sifu Robyn Kichko
 http://mantismantle.blogspot.ca/

Week 12

I feel like I say a lot of the same things in my blog every week, so now, trying not to be repetitive, I have nothing to say.
It seems like as it is with many other team members, work is crazy. Yesterday was the first bad day I've had in a year working where I am. There was a lot going on but part of it is that I'm back in isolation with sick calves. There is a line up of farmers with calves, all with the raging poos. I find I am getting angry because I'm anxious about getting sick again. I am taking all the precautions I can but I'm not finding peace of mind with that. I can't convey the sinking/ overwhelming feeling of dealing with so much poo. I know this is a terrible thing to blog about but seriously, I wanted to cry.
I went to my first Tai Chi class on Saturday and I enjoyed it more than I thought. Thanks to Sifu Kichko for helping me out! I will miss this Saturday, I'm seeing my mom for mothers day out of town. Have a good week!
Sifu Prince

Struggle

Last night was the first time I attended a class other then my own in a very long time. For so long I have wanted to do nothing, but staying stagnant will accomplish nothing. I was asked to work with the yellow belts on Kempo and put focus on the open-x - snap punch transitions. It's a part that I have had beaten into my form and knew it was something that we could all work together on. I felt involved in my Kung Fu and had a buzz that lasted until I went to bed.

That morning I had seen my doctor, the results from the MRI I had were in and didn't provide any answers. It showed there is nothing wrong with my alignment, and my doctor had little idea where to go from there. He has prescribed a sleeping aid to try and help with one of my symptoms, but it didn't have much affect on me the first night.

This morning I found myself unwilling to leave my bed until noon again. With the time that I had I worked on repetitions of Kempo and breaking down my techniques, looking for how they should feel. I have been struggling to stay on the path, but I won't give up without a fight.

http://lairdchris.blogspot.ca/
http://lairdchris.flavors.me/

Mayhem

I've had a very full, very interesting week. I'm getting run down but I can tell you that it has nothing to do with my Kung Fu schedule and everything to do with everything else. I've managed I don't know how many firsts this week, all of which have been beneficial in one way or another. I'm making progress on one of my personal goals, not sure if it'll be a success but I'll just have to wait and see.

Thanks guys, those of you who fed me a cinnamon bun and sang to me Thursday. Sometimes its nice to be spoiled.

I'm struggling to find an ending for my chain whip. I had one ending together, but ditched the whole thing after a couple of days. It just wasn't going to work. I'm not very good at putting sequences together, I get hung up on one aspect and struggle to make things flow around it.

We bought a new bed and my back has improved huge. Didn't fix it but at least it's not being aggravated every time I sleep. Also had a MRI last night. Waiting for results.

May is panning out to be a very interesting, very full month.

http://dogsthinking.blogspot.ca

Monday, May 5, 2014

Because I have Kung Fu

Lot's of changes are occurring as of late. I am directing my front wheel on a different path. Since I have trained at our school I have been able to balance things fairly well overall. It's never easy but anything worth it never is. Last year I focused my attention to mastery more towards my career than anything else. An opportunity and a intense challenge was dropped on my lap to better myself and proceed further down the path of mastery in regards to my passion. My work. So I jumped on it. As I have said before I didn't choose a career to remain stagnant or mediocre. I was also supposed to grade last year for black belt and focus more towards my kung fu, my other passion, but that went to the way side with the amount of attention and focus that was needed for my work. Between that, a family that missed me, and a lot of personal challenges I honestly thought I would never have to face. My training took a back seat and balancing became very difficult.

Fast forward to this year. I had a plan to work only on the tools and only Monday to Friday. I was going to put a huge focus towards my Kung Fu  and everything else would travel along side of me with Kung Fu in the lead. My girl's and friends were behind me, I referred to a friend to have a look at my plan I laid out for critique, and it was all good. I discovered a different perspective towards my Kung Fu mentally. The ability to train using Wu Wei was a tool that I wanted to install in my training and do my best to have a better handle on it by the time grading day arrived. It was rolling along pretty good until I set foot on the job I am at now. Here I am again working 7 days a week and very little time to do anything. Missing classes and open training is going to guarantee me a fail. It has to change.

The I Ho Chuan program is put out in front of you to emphasize your weaker and stronger points and to help you improve and balance. To help you make better decisions. Well I made a decision last Friday at work and then another on Saturday at the meeting, and I followed through today. I told my boss that I am no longer working Saturdays or Sundays. I may have to leave 10 minutes early on Fridays so I can make my Sihing class. He asked why, and I simply told him, " Because I have Kung Fu and I have a goal." I asked if this was a problem and I was told no. If it becomes an issue I will move onto another job. No big deal. I am not owned by anyone and this is a level of mastery that requires my full attention and focus. Sacrifices will be made in order to succeed and I am no stranger to this. I have been there in other aspects of my life in order to achieve mastery and this is something very special and I will see it through.

I have a few goals this month that I am working towards. I want to do the full 24 hrs of Kung Fu at the pandemonium. I want to have all my push ups and sittups caught up by the end of the month. I want to learn the full Loa Gar form so I can start tracking reps. See you at the Kwoon.

Numbers from last week:
  • Push ups 6775 /50,000
  • Ab work 6700 /50,000
  • Dist. 70 kms / 1600
  • School forms 270 /8000
  • Kicks 2900 /50,000
  • Sparring 223 /1000
  • Qi Gong 44 /365
  • Random acts of kindness 68 /1000
  • Weapon form 44 /1000
  • Hand form 0 /1000


    Struggling ?

         
            I sit here trying to write something , that is clear and makes sense , but as I write it I can hardly understand what is going on and I'm the one writing it. Maybe next year one of my goals should be a writing class.

         So I would like to use the word struggle here but I honestly doesn't fit. I'm not struggling , my results are there , some show hard word and others show where more more work needs to be done. It isn't easy is finding the time to do it all. Not just my goals , but all my commitments. No record setting going on yet , but the year is not over.


     Scott Fuhr
    http://ihochuan.blogspot.ca
    http://scottfuhr.blogspot.ca
    http://flavors.me/scottfuhr
    http://www.silentriverkungfu.com

    Vacation

    I am leaving on vacation tonight and I have mixed feelings about it. The demo is coming along nicely but there are some things I would like to adjust. I am leaving it with Sifu Ryback and Sifu Playter to continue on with and I am confident in their abilities it just would have been nice to be able to be a part of it from start to finish. I will see you all in 2 weeks. Sifu Lindstrom

    Not flip flop weather

    It was nice to get the spring snow storm out of the way this past weekend.  Hopefully that's the last of the snow until the fall.  I was thinking positive all weekend, but by sunday, I realized it was still too cold for flipflops and had to put shoes on.

    Hopefully this weekend will be flip flop weather.


    I plan to focus this week and next on my stick form.  I want to specifically focus on my breathing.  I am finding that on some reps I am loosing my focus on my breathing and then I mess it up.


    http://jimsand11.blog.com/2014/05/05/not-flip-flop-weather/



    Mr. Sand

    Numbers for Last Week

    Pushups (Modified):
    Last Week –1080
    Overall – 4240

    Situps:
    Last Week – 270
    Overall – 1620

    KM:
    Last Week – 6
    Overall – 15

    Acts of Kindness:
    Last Week – 3
    Overall – 26
    Kicks:
    Last Week – 540
    Overall – 3040
    Da Mu Hsing Reps:
    Last Week - 18
    Overall - 107
    I found some consistency last week, which felt really good. All my out of town work this week is for day trips only so I'm looking forward to being in class all week for the first time in months. I went for physiotherapy on my shoulder and was told I have one torn rotator cuff for sure and probably two. I need MRIs now to see how bad the tears are; hopefully I won't need surgery.

    Cory Smid
    http://kungfucory.blogspot.ca/