Forms

Forms. Probably the base for all your training. Doesn't matter if it's a weapon, your hands, combinations, sparring, techniques, everything is based on your forms and how much you use them is a window to your Kung Fu. Your forms install muscle memory, dynamic stretching, and brings you that much closer to achieving center. They are also the only true way you are going to discover and learn to feel and apply the six harmonies. Your flow and to be able to utilize flow in every thing you do regarding your Kung Fu is going to come from your forms. I haven't been practicing my forms as regularly as I should be with the exception of my weapon form, and I can tell.  I feel it in any application I attempt, my kicks, stances, even throwing a simple punch. So from this point on, my form reps must increase and must be practiced daily. This should help with a lot the issues I have had lately with my Kung Fu.

The excitement of a new day

I learn a lot from my little one. It's really amazing how much your kids can teach you. I learned a valuable lesson from my daughter the other day and a reminder that life is too short. It's your life and there is just so much to be excited and grateful for, every single day.

I had just gotten up and was starting my day with a little zombie mind meditation, as I like to call it. Sipping a cup of coffee and staring at the wall, my daughter came down the stairs and sat down at the island ready to eat her breakfast. Listening to her tell me about what was going on that day with huge smiles and an energy level that was very humbling to say the least. It reminded me of just how much I take things for granted and how important it is to appreciate the little things. How know matter what, everyday is a new day and it should be just that exciting no matter what is going on or what you are doing.
Thanks Eva.

The Challenge of Five

Spending the last while working on five personal techniques. I have a goal to at least complete a rough draft for all five by the end of June, and then tune them from there. A million ideas pour through my mind but piecing this together has been a challenge for sure. During all this time I barely have one. This is a big deal for me. This showcases what you know and you are. Your creativity. Just exactly where you are at with your Kung Fu. Pretty intimidating over all, and probably one of the most important requirements of your grading. I feel like man, I don't know anything and I don't have anything. At the moment. But the clock is ticking....fast. Perhaps I am thinking way too much about it. Maybe I take on too much of the approval of my Sifus, and it just has to be that good. Well it should be that good damn it. I've put a lot of time and effort in my Kung Fu to get this far. People have taken time out of they're lives to teach me these things. Took the time to give me advice on their own time. The creativity is there, the discipline and ethic to work hard is there. It's just my stubborn mindset and relentless internal criticism that continues to hamper my evolution. That and I'm just not one to throw a bunch of crap together with no thought or heart and call it awesome. You only grade once and it means a lot to me. I want to feel like I earned it. I want to feel good about what I did and not look back and say "Yah I threw a bunch of junk together and signed it off as mine, good enough."

 I guess the main thing is to remain positive and accept this as one of my greater challenges. Personally I like being under the gun. It motivates me when someone tells me I won't make it or it's almost too late. And yes it's been hinted or mentioned in a round about way. Some would see this as approval to quit, or accept someone else's opinion as right. Well if I actually lived my life that way, I doubt you would be reading this. Moving forward, once these are pieced together, this will be some of my best work.

Half way

I think that this is a good year! I can feel my kung fu improving, my awareness increasing, my commitment deepening. I have really been struggling and still moving forward every day. I think that spells success. I have talked about quitting, thought about quitting and still have gotten up and completed my requirements each day. I have had such thoughts and feelings before and it has definitely affected my performance. This year, I am continuing to move forward each day, that is the difference. I have shared my struggles more than before so that is also different, I used to suffer in silent and then talk about it after and share my learning. I think that I am growing and learning each day that I get up and improve my quality of life. I see many people on the team doing the same thing, perhaps not exactly what people expected but getting better and better each day. Success!!!!!

Happy Birthday Canada!

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

back on track

Ok big apology to the team. I feel bad for the leave of absence with no excuses. Moving on going forward. I can do better. I had a scare with my sister in law recently. We went camping last week and we had a great time. Except on the last day Tuesday when we were supposed to leave she wanted to stay an extra 2 days. Well when I got up that morning I did my usual routine and sat down to read for a while. Deb was asleep for once like really asleep. Randy got up and started chopping wood for her and I was packing up but she was still sleeping.  By noon we tried waking her up with no response so I ended up going into Hinton to get an ambulance for her thinking we can apologize later if she was fine. Turns out I saved her life by getting help. Her pancreas shut down on her and she didn't regain full consciousness until the Friday night. They brought her to the U of A  hospital and she is doing much better now. This has made me look at my own life with a new perspective. The time to act is now I may have injured my knee but I can still function. So here's to working around it and moving forward. Randy keeps telling me I only fail when I stop trying.
I had fruit smoothie for breakfast then left over steak for lunch with carrots on the side.  will have left over rice and veg with chicken for supper
Cleaned bathroom did dishes cleaned counters, did 5 loads of laundry from the camping.
Sifu Jeannette Langner

Discipline and Respect

We always say that the only two things that Kung-Fu aims to teach is disipline and respect. Working hard to achieve our goals and pushing through when times gets tough are very good signs of disipline. However there are other ways we show disipline. One of the biggest ones I have been watching lightly is the disipline to show up for class but not just that also to show up on time. For long time now I have been a student of the art and a long time I have watched many different students not understand how important it is to show up for their class but also to be there on time. There will always be exceptions some times it becomes extremely dificult to do that which we wish we could but many other times it is just a case of the class is just not a high enough priority and showing up on time is even less of a priority.

What does that say to our selves and our instructors about our disipline and respect. To someone paying attention to such things it says a lot. It says that our class time is not valued very much and the time of our instructors is also not valued very much because we are fine about wasting both. It says even less about how much respect we have for others in our class and our selves. How much respect we show others and our instructors is a clear reflection of how much we respect we have of ourselves and those we mean to instruct. This is also a reflection of how capable we truly are as martial artists because if we choose to exhibit low disipline and respect then we choose to exhibit a low level of understanding for our own Kung-Fu.

There was no one event that has spired this blog but a growing trend I seem to see appearing in the school. We need to be dedicated to the ideals of disipline and respect in order to truly master Kung-Fu. It is often many little things that allow true mastery rather then one big thing and the little things are often what we have the most control over. Im not saying that there will never be a time when I am late or absent what I am saying is I will not let the little things stand in my way to mastery and gaining the respect of my peers through continued disipline.

http://michaelplayter.blogspot.ca

Rain or Shine?

Sun is good. Rain is bad. Why? Why do we feel depressed when it is rainy, cloudy? Why do we feel better when the sun is shining?

Sun light simulates the production of serotonin into our brain. This is why we feel happier when there is sun. I'm just thinking that it would have been great if all the lights in our homes, streets, work would have had the same effect.

My productivity at work will greatly increase if I was feeling good all the time. I would be able to do more stuff at home too. Everyone would have been nicer to each other.

Happy (Sunny) Canada Day everyone!

http://csillag-stars.blogspot.ca/2014/06/rain-or-shine.html

I have hips!

Yesterday was one of the greatest Kung fu days that I have ever had! I have been feeling disconnected from my hips, most noticibly in Tai Chi. So I was working with Sifu Dennis yesterday and I'm not really sure how it happened, what exact question or direction to try  this or that but I figured it out. I can feel, am aware of, know what it means to line up my hips with my shoulders. It was wicked awesome!!! After I went to open training and worked on my weapon and hand forms and I still managed to harmonize my hips and shoulders, I am so excited that I can't stand it. I finally get it! I want to do my forms every minute of every day! Yeah me!

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

Why am I doing this?

This is a question that has been in my mind for some time.  Why am I training in Kung Fu?  Why am I a part of the I Ho Chuan team?  Lately I'm not sure what the answer is for either one.  I know that I have struggled and continue to struggle with big highs and big lows.  I know exactly when this current "low" started.  It was the day of the demo.  It was exactly the moment when I dropped my chuck so early on in my form.  At that very moment I was devastated...  I never recovered...  The very next day I had to get on a plane and fly to Montreal for the next week.  Being away didn't allow me the opportunity to get right back at it.  I let the time away in Montreal get the best of me.  I allowed myself to let defeat and disappointment take over.  The crazy thing is that it was easy....easy to let it take over and I did nothing to over come it.  The last three weeks have been the same for me.  I have been busy with work and I have been busy avoiding the kwoon.  I have been avoiding the people that I feel I let down.  I was picked to be part of the demo that day and I didn't perform.  I have been struggling with this and I have been way too silent.  I have been hiding and avoiding the people that I need and who need me.

Then I read Sifu Ryback’s latest blog and it sort of shook me up.  She’s absolutely right, our team is almost like a house of cards.  There are some strong cards on the bottom but there are so many cards that can’t support themselves let alone the rest of the house.

I'm not proud this and there is only one thing that I can do and that's get back to class and get back to training.  I have failed miserably personally this year and most disturbing is how badly I have let the team down. 

Mr. Repay
Student Of Silent River Kung Fu
Stony Plain, Alberta
ian.repay@blogspot.com

In the Blink of an Eye

"The blink of an eye in itself is nothing. But the eye that blinks, that is something. A span of life is nothing. But the man who lives that span, he is something. He can fill that tiny span with meaning, so its quality is immeasurable though its quantity may be insignificant."― Chaim Potok, The Chosen

Today is the memorial for my father-in-law: Yosef Csillag. It is the Jewish tradition to light a memorial candle on the evening of the day marking the passing of those that were close to you.

It would be nice to attend synagogue tonight. They will be mentioning his name in remembrance. But I guess he would have understood. He was a very practical and down-to-earth man.

From the first time I met Yosef, he treated me with utmost respect and kindness. He was a quiet man but would never hesitate to reach out with compassion to those in need. He would humbly share the most amazing life stories and journeys that we continue to share with our children. He was a huge resource for me for advise and continual support. And he was a positive influence on my life in so many ways. He was my Aba (father) in Israel and he will remain forever in my heart.

Aba Yosef, we love you and miss you... your memory will always be a blessing...

Are you making the most of this blink that you represent? Make it count. You only get one blink. But a blink can change the world...

sharidactyl.wordpress.com

Lately I've been feeling sad and worried and concerned, and I really don't know what to do about it. Talking and blogging hasn't seemed to solved anything, in fact I think it might be chasing some away. I don't know.

I find myself extremely worried about many people on this team. It seems like this years low it approaching rock bottom and many are dropping off, dropping out or debating quitting all together. Why? What is happening to you all that's making you even consider such a rash action?

I know there are injuries abound, but why would you let them run your life so fully? Yes, shoulders and backs are a huge part of everyday life,but why let it limit you so fully? If you can't to a push up or raise a weapon above your head, then don't. If you can't do one thing then don't do that one thing. But it's like Sifu Brinker says, the point of practice and drills is so you have a bounty of option, one door slams in your face but you always have dozens of windows still open.

Injuries, although they suck, can be viewed as a blessing if you choose to see it that way. If your shoulders are busted up, make it your goal to be the best with your legs. Build up another area of your training that you would have normally let drift. If everyone with a serious injury had just quit, none of us including me would still be around.

I know many of us are going through some very serious, very crippling things in our lives. I'm telling you, so am I. At this very moment, so am I, and although I have yet to share this with you all it does not meant I am not leaning on you all when I need to. Several months ago I needed to and the team had my back (even though few were aware). I'm pleading with you all, I need you now and I'm scared the team is going to crumble with the slightest pressure.

When things get rough, Silent River has been my rock and go to place for comfort and support. This has not changed for me. Not once did it occur to me to quit over something in my life that went horrible wrong, besides when the horribly wrong was my attitude and perspective. Take a breath, all of you, and please, think on this post.

Best I can

I have made no secret of the fact that I am struggling with my requirements daily.....currently I have good days and bad days and you can usually tell by my blog. I completely forgot to blog last night, I was hanging out with my family, watching movies and having fun and I didn't even realize I forgot until this morning. I know that I just have to it done, but some days, it is just not possible. Does that make me not engaged? I don't think so, I am just doing the best I can with the tools that I have.

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

Thursday Thoughts

The last couple of days have been a mixed bag. On one hand, the daily numbers we've been posting have been motivating and it's fun seeing others join in. On the other hand, I'm still find it frustrating being in class. Yesterday we practiced kicks on the heavy bag while holding a medicine ball over our heads and my shoulder is killing me today. I shouldn't have taken part in that but it's even more frustrating seeing everyone with their stripes when I've been missing out, so I don't want to miss out on anything else.

I'm not sure how to stop comparing myself to everyone else. Life is all about competition. You compete for jobs, you compete in sports, you compete in school, and as a child you even compete for the attention of your parents. How do you just turn that off? And how do you know when it's time to walk away? No matter how hard I try, I'm never going to be a pro hockey player. No amount of practice is going to get me there. I know that and I focus on other things. How do I know I'm not cut out for kung fu?

If you extrapolate my current progress out, I estimate it will take me over ten years to get a black belt and if you would have told me that going in, I never would have signed up in the first place. A yellow belt seems so far away to me; I can't even fathom what it will take to get a black belt. I've decided to give it to the end of the summer and see if I've made any more progress. If not, I think I'm going to call it quits. At that point I'll have been in kung fu for a year and I think that's enough time to make a fair assessment.

Food, demo and kids :)

Today I managed to convince a group of small, hot and sweaty young people that we could practice kung fu, no matter what! It was challenging to face a group of kids that looked like they had absolutely no energy left for the day, but we did it together. We pushed ourselves, did some awesome techniques and combinations and felt good about it in the end.
I went to the demo practice tonight and had a good time fooling around with our forms and figuring out how to put them together in a demo. I also had an opportunity to work a little bit with a couple of sihings on their board breaking techniques, I kinda had a flash back to my board breaking experience.
Today I seem to have my old energy back, not exactly sure what I have done differently, I have made some food changes a few months ago and have adjusted that some more this week so all together, I think that I may be on to something. Healthy portion control, balanced food groups and don't cut down on anything if you are working out everyday!

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

How Are You All?

So where is everyone at? There are a handful of y'all that I see and hear from regularly, and there are a handful that I don't usually see and who are awfully quiet out there in cyberspace.

Only two people responded to my last post, which kind of saddened me. But, to the two of you who did contact me, I have not forgotten my promise and I will give you as much time as I can and as much help as you want from me. Not that I'm an expert in your weapons or forms, but I've been around the block and can at least give you some guidance, if you two want it. Thanks you two you're helping me stay engaged as well. It's what I need.

Ms. Gibbons, Mr. Smid, Mr. Sand and Sihing Chervenka; where have you four been hiding my entire I Ho Chuan life? Well done to the three of you! I know you guys feel frustrated and feel like everything is a struggle, but the whole point of this mastery project is to hit roadblocks and hardships and find your way slowly though them. You guys have spoken up about them AND are publicly doing something about it. Be it post your numbers or encourage others to get together and get stuff done. Thank you guys.

http://dogsthinking.blogspot.ca

Injury and Progress Update.

I was approached by Sifu Rybak with the suggestion to post the numbers that I am at with the push up and sit up requirement that I have, so here it is (As of yesterday 34 470 Push ups compleate of 50k and 34 390 sit ups complete out of 50k) This requirement is still my major focus but I have been met with a minor set back due to re injuring my knee. I think that it is only minor because it is healing quickly and I think it will be ready for Canada day and for Fridays class. I may not be able to really efficiently practice my forms until Friday however I remain hopeful that they will be up to par however that is not for me to decide. I went through and read all the blogs last week and have noticed that many of us are heavily behind in our blogging requirement. I have been guilty of the same but I would like to point out that being far behind in that requirement says a lot about our mental engagement and that the mental seriously effects the physical. It is therefor easy to believe that how fare we are behind in our blogging is in relation to how far behind we are in everything. If we really mean to be the core in the school we need to take care of this because no one takes the words of a hypocrite very seriously. We can never hope to lead others if we cant even succeed in leading ourselves. If we really want to be considered a successful I Ho Chuan team we need to take it seriously and realize that every individual failure is a failure of the team. We succeed and fail together, If I am sucessful in meeting my push up and sit up requirement it is a success for the team, If those of us that are behind in blogging fail to get caught up then their failure is also ours. We have the choice to either be a positive a force for the progress of our team or a negative force for the team. Action as always speaks louder then words.

http://michaelplayter.blogspot.ca/

Normality

Today I am having trouble coming up with something to blog about. My training is going good and I have been able to keep up on my requirements, without to many obstacles getting in the way. I did have a fairly hectic last two months that I was struggling finding enough time and could have benefitted by have 28 hour days instead of just 24 hours. It’s starting to look like things are settling back to normal for me.

Where am I? What am I doing?

Diet Update

All of my recent posts have been pretty negative so I’ve tried really hard to think of something positive to write about. A few posts back I talked about the importance of diet and how I wanted to do better in this area. This is something that I have definitely improved on. In the last few weeks I have made a few small changes and I have been able to stick with them. I’ve been keeping my fast food consumption to one day per week. My fridge has been full of fruit (and some vegetables), and I’ve cut my processed sugar consumption down significantly, mostly in the form of liquid calories like pop and slurpees.

I’m finding that it’s a lot easier to eat well when it’s warm and sunny out. As soon as it cools down and the rain starts, I want to go to Wendy’s and lay around on the couch. It’s also easier to eat fruit and vegetables in the summer when everything is in season and it’s cheaper and of better quality. I’m hoping that the habits I develop now will be sustained when the season changes.


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

What Next?

I had one of those once in a life time experiences yesterday.  My older son came up to me and said dad tomorrow is the last day I will ever go to High School.  I though for something profound to say to him and could only come up with "congratulations, how do you feel about it?"  I think he saw if for what it is a new start on where his journey in life will take him.  He is looking forward to a trip to Cuba next week and starting out to go and work for a year before he goes to post secondary.

Endings and new beginnings are good for a person.  It gives a sense of accomplishment and the excitement of something new and  unknown.  It open up possibilities in ones mind.

As a father all I can do at this point is to hope his mother and I did all we could to give him the skills to go forth and become successful in the terms that are important to him. I know what I believe success to be but he will have to determine that on his own.


https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3619186576514605530#editor/target=post;postID=5020305570808460611

Mr. Sand

Today

I feel like I am catching a cold, sore throat, aches, tired, small headache, etc.... I have been sleeping, like going to be super early, and trying to take care of myself. I am eating lots of fruit and veggies, taking my vitamins and trying not to over-extend. Hopefully, this will do the trick!
I got to spend the morning with Katie today, something we haven't been able to do in a while, and we had a good time. I love when she doesn't have to go to school and is available for hanging out during the day :)
I have been struggling with my meditation for many years but I have recently discovered that by doing tai chi everyday and walking early in the morning when no one else is around, it is a form of moving meditation. It is really helping me stay grounded and able to relax my brain a little bit. I am hoping as we cruise into summer that I will get to spend more time at the kwoon but for right now, it is what it is!

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

Demo?

We are less than 10 days away from Canada Day. The time is passing so fast? Are we ready for the demo?

Last year we were doing a lion dance with a dragon dance and then forms demo and board breaking. I feel that we are a little behind in preparing for the demo. I'm hoping we can pull it off.

http://csillag-stars.blogspot.ca/2014/06/demo.html

Today I realized I need a new way of logging my numbers. Currently I write them on my chalkboard during they day then input them into a .txt file. Because of human error I have missed days of logs but accept the consequences. Later this evening I will be looking through various apps for my Android tomorrow will be transferring all my numbers.

Today I was also curious at my progress of my pushups and situps. After doing the math I find myself much further than I thought I was. However my other numbers are pitiful. This next week looks promising for my health, I have an appointment with my GP on Tuesday and I think some questions will finally be answered.

I know my blogs have been lacking, and that I have to change my attitude about them. I have many ideas that I will hopefully be implementing in a few months if not earlier.

Totals:

Pushups: 13350
Situps: 13230
KM: 45
Kempo: 76
Jian Form: 177
Acts of Kindness: 160
Rounds of Sparring: 13

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

Summer Solstice

Making the most of the longest day of the year...

We were all exhausted today. By the time afternoon hit, everyone was tired and grumpy. Then my son reminded me that it was the longest day of the year and suddenly we decided to do something special. 

We quickly ate our supper and loaded up the car and drove out to Wabanum from a dessert camp-fire in celebration of this special day.

It was such a good decision. Once there, everyone's energy level returned and seeing the joy in everyone was a blessing indeed.

Sometimes it is the last-minute decision, in which you have to will yourself to do, fighting the urge to just crawl under the covers, that really makes you see the good in life. Feeling refreshed. Good call on my son's part.

sharidactyl.wordpress.com

first day of summer

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

Aboriginal Days

today i spent the day with my work kids at our annual aboriginal days celebration. we had a great time, it was nice to be outside all day, meeting new people, greeting ones we already knew. we spent some time talking to some of the elders and that was educational and entertaining. it was an action packed day for all of us. consequently i worked late, came home and promptly fell asleep = too late to attend classes. i am glad that i did my daily reps at 4:45 before my work day began or i would be trying to figure out how to fit it in and i just want to  go to bed :)

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

Camping with some fun meditation

Camping yay I'm going camping in a few days and really looking forward to it. My goal for the trip is to do push ups in awesome looking places also doing my forms. I'm also gonna do a mediation I'm actually looking forward to it. For me mediation is where the intensity starts. First you clear your mind then slowly count to ten(or down) each with a big breath and as you get closer to the end of counting I can start to control my heart beat. It's the weirdest thing but I will consciously slow my heart down and feel every beat. Then I start feeling everything that my body is doing. My blood being pumped to every limb, the sensation of my lungs moving my body. After all this then I start to move out of my body and then i feel what my skin feels warm , cold, wet, windy, hot and all this information is going to my brain telling me how I feel. Also I feel the hairs on my arms and legs and head how all of them are growing just a little bit( that one make me feel itchy). Then the next part for me is hearing everything that is happening around me, the birds, the rustle of the forest, my breathing, sound of a thunder storm, a gentle breeze of gust of wind, insects flying moving around, and if I'm lucky a running river and water fall. All of these noise come rushing into my mind and I create my own world from it. Finally I decide sometimes to open my eyes and see everything all these feelings and sound now come together and pop. I see the luscious green leaves and then the cool blue water and the birds( if there was any) the moist soil beneath my feet, tall strong trees everywhere. Everything around me exist the leaves photosynthesize, the birds collecting food, the insects surviving, and the earth moving. In the end I count down from ten (or up) and come back to myself a let nature and myself go back to it all. To tell you the truth I maybe only explained 2 mins or less worth of mediation; just as you start. I do longer ones then that for sure, but to explain absolutely everything would be way longer. Meditation is like a grand adventure yet you moved no where. How many times can you say you experienced everything in your environment once? most likely we haven't cause it takes awhile to do it. To absorb everything in what your environment offered you is pretty intense especially if you think about how every little thing was made to be possible for you to see, hear or feel it. Well that's ll for now and remember stay extraordinary.

Difficult Task

Well my knee has had a lot of improvement in the last little while and I am now re focusing on completing some of my yearly goals. The one at the top of the list is to accomplish 50k push ups and sit ups by the time we hit the halfway mark in the I Ho Chuan year. This means I have to accomplish about 20k more by sometime in the end of July or some time in the beginning of August depending on our end date this year. loosing a month due to the injury really effected the amount of the goals I will be able to accomplish by that time however I feel that the push up and sit up goal can be accomplished. You guys are going to see me do a lot more of them on the mats because in order to accomplish the goal I am going to be doing them almost constantly whenever I get a chance. If you see me doing them I invite you to join me and help the students of the school recognize the I Ho Chuan team.

http://michaelplayter.blogspot.ca/

Lion Dancing

How do you even talk about lion dancing? How do you describe what it is like inside the head? Being a tail is quite extraordinary, you are alone but not, completely connected to the head! I love being inside the head, it is like you are following a set pattern but at the same time, totally doing your own thing. You move the head around in a way that feels right to you but follow the drum and the steps that you have been taught. Last Saturday, when we were practicing, there was a moment where I was totally one with the lion, moving to the beat of the drum, completely unaware of anyone or anything else. When it was over, I was not sure how much time had passed! What a cool feeling! I want to do that again and again.
I certainly hope I can talk some folks into lion dancing for a bit tomorrow night :)

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

Change

Why is change so difficult? There are so many things that I want to change about myself but I struggle to make even the most minor ones. Is it because in order to change, you first need to admit that what you’re currently doing isn’t working? That’s really what you’re doing when you decide to make a change – admitting that you were wrong. It’s as if I don’t trust myself to decide what’s best for me, so when I want to do things differently, I argue with myself and I dig my heels in. I’m not sure if that made sense at all, but that’s how I feel. I continually let myself down and take the path of least resistance.

For example – I didn’t go to class on Monday or last night, simply because I didn’t want to. There was nothing keeping me from going. Some team members have spoken about their positive connection to the kwoon. I don’t have that. For me, it’s a place I go to fail. It’s easier for me to stay away than it is to go and overcome my feelings of failure. I know that I can change how I feel if I change my attitude. But knowing I can do something is different than actually doing it.  

Cory Smid

http://kungfucory.blogspot.ca/

Suicide Prevention

I taught my suicide prevention refresher workshop today and I must say, I'm a bit tired. I love teaching, facilitating, leading a group of people and I find that it takes a lot of energy. I believe it is especially important that we teach people to talk openly about thoughts of suicide and feelings of hopelessness and helplessness. For some reason, we have created a society that doesn't reach out to anyone when they are in trouble, don't share with anyone when they are down and believe that they can handle everything on their own. Well, some things are for sharing and getting help with and thinking about ending your life is one of them. There are many resources available if you don't have anyone in your life that you can talk to, hot lines, crisis, hospitals, all you have to do is ask. I realize that it is a really hard thing to talk about but it does actually feel better to get it out and talk about it. It is nothing to be ashamed of or embarrassed about, many, many people have considered suicide as an option during trying times in their lives. I believe that people don't necessarily want to die, they just want the pain that they are living with in the moment to go away. If we can help someone get past that moment then we can help them to live and not end their life. If you know someone who is down and out, ask them if they are ok and if they need someone to talk to. It doesn't have to be you, you can assist them in finding someone (like a professional). Many businesses offer opportunities to seek counseling, some health insurance policies cover the cost, if you need information, for yourself or anyone else, just ask.
What does this have to do with kung fu? I am very passionate about helping people who are feeling helpless and hopeless and that is a very big part of me. Kung fu has helped give me the confidence to talk in front of groups of people about something that I feel strongly about.

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

Failing Forward

After my last post about failure, Sifu Csillag recommended a book to me called "Failing Forward". I'm about a third of the way through it now and one of the things the author, John C. Maxwell, talks about is the concept of taking action. He says that you can't wait until you feel good to take action; you have to first take action to feel good. 

This is one of the things that I'm struggling with right now. Most days I question why I'm trying to learn kung fu, let alone why I joined the I Ho Chuan. The sense of failure I have is much stronger than the feeling of accomplishment. I feel bad more often than I feel good. I accept that that is all on me. The more work I put in, the more progress I'll make and, in turn, the better I'll feel about myself. The funny things is that, before kung fu, I was content with my mediocrity. I wasn't happy all the time, but I was as happy then as I am now. 

I guess what I'm trying to say is that, at this point in time, I don't yet feel like kung fu has provided much value to me. That being said, I'm trying to push forward on blind faith. I'm going to continue to try to take action in hopes that I'll feel better.

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

Work and forms

It is going to be a bit of different week this week, it only happens every nine weeks. I work Tues, Wed. and Thurs evening and then day shift on Fri, Sat and Sun. That means that I am lucky that I had an opportunity to help with the advanced black dragons today because the next class that I am available for is Friday evening and then that is it. I am looking forward to a busy work week and some nice walks with my puppy and with my work kids. I don't like being away from the kwoon so much but it can't be helped as my chosen profession keeps me away at times.
I am putting into practice some very valuable advice that I got for my hand form and my weapon form and it seems to be working. I think that I know what I am doing with my weapon form, or at least I can fix the obvious spots and hope that the rest will fall into place. I am working on not pushing my weapon into place but allowing it to go there based on my body movements. So I think that I know what I am doing but I am not really sure. I am working on not trying so hard and letting the movements speak for themselves, I am finding it hard to let go and just be. I will keep trying.

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

Moment in time

The feeling is totally back! All I had to do was get up and do it.....
Of course, when I was in the middle of my slump, I couldn't see the forest for the trees and didn't consider just getting up and getting stuff done. Today, it took no effort at all, I just did it. I'm curious about the human mind and how it works, how does one day make a difference? one conversation? one moment in time? It kind of makes you pay more attention to each moment 'cause it could be the one that changes everything.
I had a great day and didn't stop moving forward all day, it was nice to have that back. I did some work outside and inside, I spent some time with my husband, I spent some time with me, finished a book and practiced my guitar. My guitar lessons just had a moment, my teacher said something to me that stayed with me all week and it seems to be changing how I am approaching my practice; just keep strumming and the magic will happen. It seems to be working.
I also got some interesting advice about my form on the weekend, by trying so hard to make it flow, I'm ruining the flow. The weirdest part is that I totally get it. I have been struggling with my hand form forever, it feels like. It feels clunky and not flowy, so I asked my sifu and it has totally changed how I am approaching my practice. I think I know exactly how to fix it, it will take some time but I now know what to do.
I feel like I have been walking around in a grey fog for months and suddenly the lights have been turned on and everything makes sense. It was that moment yesterday that changed everything, I'm glad that I was paying attention. :)

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

Who's day is it?

Busy weekend. Again. You would think that if there is nothing big planned for the weekend and it is also father's day, that I will be able to relax and enjoy some down time. Not in my house.

Rushing home from work Friday evening, going to Black Belt class, Sihing class, I Ho Chuan class, sparring class. Saturday morning taking the kids to the River Festival while Sharida is at TaiChi, then open training (opps I forgot my KF pants), I Ho Chuan meeting, back home framing a wall. Sunday I walk up and got my father's day present - waffle maker. Then back to work. Getting the garage cleared to get the trailer out, buying drywall, hauling it to the basement, mowing the lawn, drywalling, getting the kayaks ready, going kayaking (first time this year), going to walmart with one of the girls to buy a necklace, moving furnitures back into the semi-finished room. Writing a blog...

I'm very tired now but I feel I have done so much in the past few days. It feels good to accomplish so much.

http://csillag-stars.blogspot.ca/2014/06/whos-day-is-it.html

No excuse

     No excuses for not blogging , head not on right lately.

      I have been trying to organize and schedule a baseball tournament for with little luck ,but it's over now . Not having done anything like this before it's been tough. I asked for some help and all I heard was crickets except for a few.

    All this being done through volunteering and as much as I like helping out it has been way too much for me. It's definitely not one of my strengths ,I found out the hard way. I have learned a lot and will pass this valued information on but have no desire to ever do again. Going to stick with coaching the kids and hopefully someone else better suited to the organizational aspect will step up and do so.

    It seems like no matter where I am or what I'm doing the 80/20 rule is there. 20% of the people doing 80 % of the work. It's frustrating and unacceptable but I'm at a loss on how to change it. (At Work is not like that because if you're not pulling your weight I send you packing).

     Back to coaching : I've spent countless hours over the years learning to coach and coaching kids hockey and ball. I'm am far from the best coach but I really do have fun with the kids. This year has been has been the worst I've experienced to date and we're only halfway. It's not the kids it's the parents , three of them I believe are seriously delusional(I hope they read this the know who they are). Their attitude transmits through their child and is poisonous to the rest of the team. There is so much more to say about that subject but this blog would be more like a novel in length.

 Scott Fuhr

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

Quitting? Who Me?

No quitting.The I Ho Chuan is a major commitment to yourself and to your team. Even though failure is a possibility, quitting is not an option. Remember, failure is only final if you stop trying. Pass or fail, you will evolve as a person by challenging the journey.
 
These words have been resonating in my brain for about a month now. I have vacillated between varying degrees of quitting, full on quit (who cares about the consequences) to finishing the year (poorly - on my own - no team). I totally could not get these thoughts where they belonged - in the trash! The other day, I was reminded that I may be suffering from cranal/rectal inversion, it was true I was. So I stopped wearing my butt as a hat and got back to the business of living my life. I was so busy trying to make a decision about what to do with my life, I forgot to put one foot in front of the other and move forward, no matter what. I was struggling to find reasons to stay on track, I am busy, I have a lot on my plate, I have stressors, I have no time. Sound familiar? Today, Sifu Brinker said something that made me think Yes! Exactly! You have the tools, use them!!!(it may not be those exact words, but it is what I heard) One of our teammates was talking about struggling and  I distinctly remember thinking I had very similar thoughts and lack of action, and that was quickly followed by, just get up and do it. Stop struggling, stop talking about how tough it is and do it, you can do it, you did it before, you can do it again. You had a good thing going, so do it again, nothing is in your way but yourself! 
So I am officially back on track, getting up everyday and taking steps towards being amazing.

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

Lessons from the Lion's Head

I am really enjoying learning the lion dance. It is a bit intimidating and somewhat embarrassing as I am a bit uncoordinated and somewhat claustrophobic but despite all that I am really enjoying it. 

Things I am learning:

Go doesn't necessarily mean go.

Beats come in 3s and 8s. Listen to this beat with your feet.

Stop fast.

Sometimes you have to open your eyes (meaning don't keep your eyes closed all the time).

Don't let your mouth hang open, unless you are trying to hide something (like your face).

And sometimes you need need to just hang out and be the butt.

Fun.

sharidactyl.wordpress.com

The last Philosophical blog for awhile

As we get older some of the constants in our lives change, go away or sometime simply don't mean anything to us.  Is this good or bad?  I don't think so it is just life and has been happening for tens of thousands of years.  But when these changes happen it can feel like we have nothing and nowhere to go.

We strive to find meaning and hope eventually we can understand these changes. Some of us handle it on our own and some look out to the people around us.  All we can hope is we were taught the tools in our life to be able to deal with this change.

I guess I can feel confidant that I had the guidance in my life to be able to deal with most things.  I thank those that gave me the the right moral compass.

http://jimsand11.blogspot.c


Mr Sand

Kaput

Ok I think I have done it. With the extra work load I have taken on and maintaining a home life (not much of one any more) and keeping up with the mandatory requirements set out as part of the I Ho Chuan. I can say that I am exhausted.

Where am I? What am I doing?

My mind today.

I am at a loss as to what to write this week. So I have compiled this list of random thoughts. 1) Saturday’s demo was rained out. Dissapointing as it was looking pretty good. 2) Learned a couple of new tricks with the chain whip. Exciting. 3) Shoulder still not right. Frustrating. 4) Shoulder is better. Encouraging. 5) Trying to learn so untested tricks with the chain whip. Scary (it hurts). 6) Going to Kung Fu. Rejuvinating Sifu Lindstrom

Back To The Drawing Board

Tonight was a bit disappointing for me. It was the first time I participated in class in quite a while. The warmup was pretty taxing for me as I hadn't been pushing myself that much while I was off. 

We worked on forms for the first part of class and I was really sure that I would be able to get my white stripe but unfortunately I wasn't quite good enough. I don't have anyone but myself to blame. Forms are one of the few things that I've practiced consistently while I was off but practicing at home doesn't do much if nobody corrects your form. I've had days where I did 8 or 10 reps and I feel like I wasted them all.

I know that there are people that get motivated by failure. You knock them down and they get up stronger. I'm not like that, although I wish I was. Failure doesn't motivate me; it make me want to quit. I recall a conversation that I had with Ms. Gibbons and she told me that one of the biggest reasons that she keeps coming around is the people. I think I feel the same way. I really enjoy everyone at SRKF and it always amazes me how helpful and encouraging everyone is.

I think I need to be able to train my brain to treat failure differently. Right now it always feels like the end of the world to me but I need to view it differently.

http://kungfucory.blogspot.ca/

Expectations

So far it has been a very difficult year. Difficulty is good it helps us grow and mature into better stronger people but only if we work through it and get to the other side. I started the year with expectations, expectations for my self, expectations for this team, and expectations for the I Ho Chuan program. I have not yet lived up to my own expectations in fact I have let myself down. Not keeping up with the blogging and the push up requirements is a far cry away from what I expect from myself. The team does not seem to ever really come together to accomplish any common goals. It seems as if everyone is far to busy to put the common good ahead of their own personal needs. And so the team suffers due to everyones personal agendas getting in the way. The old saying of there is no I in team holds true. We seem to be finding the word "me" in team far too easily and so we never really come together properly. So the expectation I have of the team truly coming together and becoming the righteous and harmonious fist of our name sake is completely lost and it is all of our fault. So the team falls short of my expectations. The program falls short of my expectations as well, I see a huge potential in this program but it requires full commitment from its members and so far it has yet to obtain this. Their is a growing problem in the martial arts and my hope for this problem is the I Ho Chuan. If everything came together it would work great but so far this has not really happened. I know how to solve my own issues but not the team issues, Get back up and try again and again, and eventually I will accomplish what I set my mind to, but for the team I'm at a bit of a loss. If we can humble ourselves and work towards a common good then we can succeed but if we proceed with huge egos then we can not even accept where the issues are even if they are given to us on a silver platter. I want to start working towards a more open door policy. Where we can accept criticism from one another without the word but or an excuse entering into the conversation. Those two thing are an easy way out and we decide to not take the criticism seriously. I think we need to thicken our skins a little and be able to accept criticism without the dismissal we give afterwords. I am going to work towards being more critical with myself as well as my team mates. I want to be an inspirational and exceptional team member but as it stands I am just mediocre, this must change. The same goes for the team in my opinion.

http://michaelplayter.blogspot.ca

Making a comeback

Hello it's been awhile I have been neglecting my blogging again. I guess more apology's from me are useless now. What will say more for me now is action. What I mean by that is writing my blogs again, there was never a good excuse to why I have not been blogging, it was simply laziness. I actually enjoy blogging, it lets me refresh my head. Well now that's said let get to my blog.

I have been having an awesome time lately with the parades we been having. Both of those parades made me smile and grow closer to more of my friends at kung fu. I really wish we had more there and I missed the dragon, but all in all it was a great time. This I Ho Chuan year for me seems to be another special one for me. I seem to grow and change and learn new things about myself every year. The way I think also seems to change from year to year. This is why I should blog more often I have so much in my mind I want to say but can't translate everything I want to say. My mind just goes fuzzy on me when I try to think about how to write it all down.(lol) Anyways in our I Ho Chuan team this year I saw a lot of people do amazing forms and I am seeing how there weapon forms are changing them as well. It is just so amazing. Also I will give an update on the girlfriend thing I'm doing, still no luck all the woman I seem to find all have boyfriends. I'm starting to think that no one left is single but me (lol)I'm obviously still trying. Well I will leave this for now so remember everyone stay extraordinary.

Sifu R Langner

It's been a while

Well it's been almost a month since I've blogged. Honestly no real reason why, I have fallen off the wagon I guess. I haven't been doing my requirements, except acts of kindness and my kms. I suppose it started with being frustrated with my spear, it has been incredibly hard on my shoulders and I can't do it anymore. I've been thinking of going back to my cane but that's as far as it's gone.

I have been doing a lot of thinking about my training and my place at Silent River. It's been tough. I haven't come to any realizations, just more dead ends. It's hard to make it to any classes so I feel like an outsider when I'm there, it's in no way due to how others treat me, just my own feelings. I guess this ended up sounding like a really negative blog posting, but I'm not sure what else to write about. See you all at the meeting Saturday.
Andrea Prince

Life Is Hard

I believe that a person can exist or they can live. And there's a big difference between the two. Someone that merely exists does not strive to be a better person today than they were yesterday. They probably don't want to achieve great things and if they do, they are not willing to do what it takes to achieve them.

I've spent long periods of my life existing and not living, and it's a terrible feeling. The path of least resistance is what most people take, myself included. I've come to the realization that life is hard. 

Life is hard because it's a never-ending challenge to overcome negative thought patterns and the inherent laziness of humans. There's no quick fix where you can make a few changes to your life and then just coast the rest of the way. You have to be relentless in your desire to be a better person every day. 

I've been committed to self-improvement for many years but it's only been in the last 6 months that I've been able to grasp the importance of incremental progress; the idea that consistent effort over a long period of time adds up to great things. I used to be in the habit of giving up when things got rough. The last few months have been frustrating at times for me but I've tried to continue to come to class even if I can't participate, and keep up with my training, even if it's just a few form reps and nothing else. This has made me realize two things: 1) I'm probably never going to be satisfied with my progress, but more importantly, 2) the consistent effort has produced results. 

I think I'm finally starting to appreciate the journey that I'm on and focus less on the destination.

http://kungfucory.blogspot.ca/

Tech BooBoo & the Elderly

So apparently while I was setting up all my I Ho Chuan stuff on my Ipad I misplaced or modifed some important links to my blog pages,  I could see previous blogs at my blog site but could not log in and get anything to display on my dashboard.  Fortunately they have help topics on google, apparently others have done this as well, so I got it all worked out.

I am sorry to have missed so much with the I Ho Chuan this last couple of months it has not been a lack of interest or engagement.  It has all been personal stuff that I put off last winter and had piled up into a marathon of packing, donating, hauling away to the dump, painting, repairs, cleaning and yard work that had to be done so we can sell my Mom's house for her. She is not in the best of health and cannot do this for herself any more.  It is truly amazing how much stuff a 75 year old woman can accumulate and  how run down a property can get in 5 years.  On Saturday night / Sunday morning we got back from Sylvan Lake at 1:30 am and it is done!  The house is listed and they start showing it on June 9th (Monday).   This is a huge responsibility off my shoulders and I am very thankful it is done.  

Canada Day parade / demo

What can we do to make the Canada Day parade / demo successful? First of all, all the I Ho Chuan team should be there, which means we should be able to utilize the dragon. With the lions, the dragon has such a big affect on spectator.

We should also encourage ALL members of SRKF to join us at the parade and support us in the demo. Having a big group walking in the parade is also very impressive. Let's start a buzz in the school so everyone will want to come. Maybe even Po will show up...

http://csillag-stars.blogspot.ca/2014/06/canada-day-parade-demo.html

Many Questions

As we travel through life do we stop to ask ourselves the bigger questions?  Do we focus on the business of our lives and accomplishing or doing things rather than trying to understand what is it all about.

Are we here due to some cosmic chain of events that have no real meaning or is there a guiding force?  Is this force based on a set of universal laws or is there a divine guide that has created all that is around us.

There are times in my life where I ask these questions and am perplexed with the overwhelming possibilities.  Is there one right answer?  Or is the understanding of the universe and all that is around us beyond the capacity for a single human to comprehend?

I have struggled with these questions my whole life.  At times religion has been a focus for me.  At other times science.  Then there are times that I think it truly is just a big cosmic coincidence.  The beauty of the world and the people around me will keeping me struggling with this.

We just had the 70 anniversary of the d day invasion. That was a time in the world where there was a lot of evil and many of us had our family members go and do horrific duties to try and rid the world of  this evil. Many of us lost these members of our families to help others out.

Have our forefathers been able to get rid of the evil in our world, or has our generation been able to rid the world of evil?  Sadly I conclude that we have not been able to.   Evil comes in many forms: In people, in institutions, in disease, in nature and in thought ideologies.  Should we throw up our hands and say it can't be done.  I believe that the more evil we see the more we need to go and try and rid the world of that evil. Will we always succeed? Unfortunately not, but we need to continue to work
on getting rid of evil.

At some point in my life I hope I get to a comfortable understanding of why I have consciousnesses but in the mean time I will focus on being a good person to my family my community and the world around me.

http://jimsand11.blogspot.ca
Mr. sand

Happiness

I have reflected on this for some time.  What is happiness?  What really makes me happy?  Other than the obvious which is my family this is a hard one for me to nail down.

Does kung Fu make me happy?  Yes it does but it also makes me sad, angry, jubilant and most every other emotion that I can think of.  

So what makes me happy?  The answer to this has changed considerably as the years pass.  What once did it for me is no longer.  My perspective has changed and with it what makes me happy.  Now some of the most simplest things seem have the greatest effect on my happiness.  Talking time to rest and "smell the roses" is having the most impact on me.  No longer am looking to things that I don't have to bring me happiness.  In taking the time to enjoy the little things and not get down on my self for the "small things".

I'm happy and I can't really tell you why :)

Mr. Ian Repay
Student of Silent River Kung Fu.

Am I on the Path?

I will admit I knew about my problem with blogging. It's something that I find reluctant in thought but once it's actually done I feel better. My life was in a very low spot, and I felt the only thing that could help me was to focus on what I was doing or what I wasn't doing, not what I could do. At the same time how ever I find myself thinking about the plan of action I will need to take to have a successful year.

I believe I have already failed one of my personal requirements. I had planned to have Scott Rodell teach a swordsmanship seminar for the kwoon, but I find myself in a place where I can not make it a reality this year. However at the Horse Team meeting on Saturday I will present my plan to try and not fail it in it's entirety.

Another problem that I have been encountering are the dated requirements. I know I did not learn Mastery by Stewart Emery with in the time I was supposed to but I have only a few sentences left. I will have it memorized by the meeting on Saturday.

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

I need my team

Hey Team,
I had a great weekend! That is saying alot since I was sick last night!!!! Even though I was on the bench, I felt like part of the team, I got to visit with some people that I wouldn't have been able to if I was on the matts. Today was more of the same, walking in the parade is a great opportunity to get to know your teammates better (okay so is trapping them in a vehicle for 40 minutes and peppering them with questions!) and lunch was a blast (good food is always better with good company!). The rain didn't dampen our spirits, we continued on in our happy place all the way home. Thank you team for hanging out with me this weekend, I needed it :)

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

Parade, Work, Roofing

Today has been just a whirl wind day for me. I went from going to the parade in Onoway, to being rained out for the Lion Dance and Demo after the parade, then getting home and getting a call to from work and having to drop everything and head in there. After spending 7 hours at work then I was able to steer myself in the direction of cousins house to help him reroof his house. It has been quite a day.

I sure do miss the days where I could come home and just do a little Kung Fu to quiet my mind a body down.

Where am I? What am I doing?

Own it. Love it. Do it.

My inspiration this week was a blog I recently stumbled upon: 25 Simply Beautiful Ways to Show Someone You Care by Melissa Gorzelanczyk.

Life is too complicated. Many of us put way to much stuff on ourselves. Stuff that really isn't important. And we often forget (or take for granted) the things which we really should be focusing on. Like letting those we love know they are loved through simple meaningful messages of love. Forget material stuff. Simply love. Focused and real.

As I was reading the above blog, I was collecting a whole bunch of ideas for more meaningful connection with those I love. And then it hit me. I need to do this with me too!

This year, my goal was to make time for the things that are really important and to simplify my life to focus on that which I deem important, that which I love - including myself (because I am amazing!). (BTW, you should all be telling yourself how amazing you are EVERY day!)

Less than half way through the year, but I am getting there. I feel more focused, happier and healthier (most days).

In reading Melissa's blog, I was also really hit with this statement: "Truly do things out of love, instead of obligation."  And immediately I am hit with memories of my last year's I-Ho-Chuan journey. This simple thought was what turned things around for me last year when I was hitting bottom with feeling of guilt and inadequacy.

I found that I was approaching everything completely wrong. I needed to change the way I thought about everything. I needed to love what I was doing. Not just do it because I "had" to.

And it was so simple to do. I just own it. Change my perspective. It is MY choice. No body can MAKE me do anything. Do it or not, but own it and love it if I do choose to do it. After all, it's my life. 

Ultimately, we all make our own choices in life. But often, we resent these choices and try to blame or deflect on others. 

Everything we do in our lives, was done by choice. We need to take responsibility for it and own it. Love it. Do it. It is really that simple. If you don't love something you are doing. Change it and don't do it or change the way you think about it. Focus on what you love and then what you do do will be really really awesome. And you will be awesome too; just like me - I am so awesome! ;-)

So this week, I am back to focusing on keeping it simple sweetie (KISS) and kissing my sweeties.

http://sharidactyl.wordpress.com/

My girl needs me!

Today I had to take my little girl dog to the vet, she had a growth on her paw that needed to be removed. I was a little anxious as we have not had the best of luck in the vet department. The guy is a friend of my brother and his vet, he is really down to earth and easy to talk to. He let me stay with her the whole time and talked to me and her like a normal person. My pup is recovering nicely but of course doesn't want me to leave her side. I don't mind a little couch time with my girl, she has cuddled me back to health many times, the least I can do is return the favor. :)

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

Demo - personal dissapointment.

This past Saturday we did the Stony parade and then a demo performance.  The parade was awesome and the demo looked great except for my part.  I dropped one of my chucks early on in the form and I was devestated.  I have been working hard on the form and have made it all the way through many times at the kwoon and on my own.  But when it comes time to represent the team and school I mess up.  I am going to admit that my confidence is shaken.  I know that I have to push through it and keep going.  I just have this feeling like I am dissapointing my sifu's the team and the school.  I was chosen to perform in the demo based on what the form looked like.  Yet when its time to show the public I choked.

So very frustrating and dissapointing.

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

My forms

I love Tai Chi and I have been working on my form for several years. It feels like each time I fix something, then I notice something else that needs my attention. At first, I really struggled with always fixing something, I sort of had that I'll never get this right feeling. As I have grown with the form and in my kung fu, I realized that I will always be working on something in all of my forms, just not always the same thing. In the beginning, I needed to learn the moves and the stances and then I needed to learn the form (it takes some time) and after that I needed to get in touch with how it felt to do it right and now I am focusing on my Chi and how it moves. I think that if I could apply this same focus and concentration to all my forms they would vastly improve.
I chose the Tai Chi Broad Sword form this year because the movements are similar to the Tai Chi form that I love. I am really enjoying doing Tai Chi with a weapon, it feels flowy and elegant. I can't really say how it looks when I do it but I know that I like how I feel when I do it. I can feel my Chi moving around, I feel in control of the movements by letting them happen instead of making them happen and I feel good when I do it.
I also chose a hand form that is very different from our usual forms and very different from Tai Chi and I am struggling to make it mine (even after all this time), it still feels like it doesn't belong to me. I think that I will try doing it slow like Tai Chi and see if I can get a sense of it. I know that I keep repeating the same mistake but I am not really sure how to stop it. Perhaps the Tai Chi idea will work, any thoughts from my team will help. I know a few of you have struggled with forms before!

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

Demo Ringmaster

Trying to piece a demo together is very difficult to do. We have had a lot of people unable to make practices and some people were unsure of where they stand. I just read Sifu Freitag’s post and I couldn’t agree more. It’s been a struggle to build the demo due to injuries and some team members work schedules. You start to build and then it changes for some reason or another. My goal is to have everyone on the demo team by July 1st. Will that happen? It depends on all of us to make it happen. We all need to practice and continue to improve our forms. For this reason, I do need as many people as possible to show up on Friday’s and Saturday’s so we can continue to grow and evolve the demo. I too am not a fan of having more practices besides those two but as far as this Saturday’s demo goes, we are still a long ways away from a presentable demo. Therefore, we need to practice on Thursday as this gives us one more day to get ready. If you are not there on Thursday, that’s okay as we can still see where you are and fit you in during the normal practices (if you are ready). I hope you guys understand what I’m saying and where I hope we can go with this. Sifu Lindstrom

Together we conquer, Divided we fall

I've been thinking a lot about preparing for black belt over the last while, long while. I really think that those of us that want to grade this year really need to get together, wherever, whenever. we can.
 What I have seen in the last few years is people training on their own and then in the last few months before grading or preparing for the promotion ceremony they get together. Stressed out and tired from all the extra training they have to put in in order to prepare for it all and get used to each other. Yes I have trained on my own for quite some time. It's easier to train on your own because the only person you are accountable to is yourself. Therefore it's so easy to back up your excuses or not do a requirement. What are you going to do, beat yourself up? Yell at yourself? If you give a shit then that's exactly what your going to do. So what do you gain? Very little. How do you properly prepare for anything whether it be your own personal techniques, gauging your progress or fitness levels if you have no one to work with that is training and working towards the same goal. It's time for me to break that cycle. It's time for all the candidates to break this cycle.
The appreciation and discipline of working towards and achieving a goal is much more full filling and meaningful when you are challenged and have the presence of someone else. A balance is created. If someone is failing, there are many hands to pick them up. As unit I firmly believe that we will all succeed to achieving black belt. Everyone is very awesome in their own way. Everyone also completely sucks in other ways. This is why I feel that unification will not only prepare us for success, but install strong motivation, create honesty in ourselves, and tame the egos by learning from each other and supporting each other instead of comparing ourselves to what others are or aren't doing. We will also have someone to give us a nice swift kick in the ass that we all need from time to time.

I understand people work out of town or have whatever going on, but if we come up with a plan and communicate with each other and let people know what we are working on this will work no matter where you are. So I am asking whoever is going to grade this year to get a hold of me by phone, email, or approach me at the kwoon and let's start training together hardcore. The Silent River way. I need and want the help. I also want to see a bunch of us preparing and working hard together, so when it comes time to grade, we will be known as a group that was ready to grade. Let's wake up the dragon shall we! See you at the kwoon

Removed

I seem to be really struggling to find something to write about over the last little bit. I am working on my forms, completing my requirements and recording my progress and I feel a little removed from it all. Not really sure what is going on.

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

"With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility" - Uncle Ben

This post is not going to be about me or my progress or my struggles or my dogs. I want to use this post as a way to reach out to all of you. I know that some of us are struggling, some of us are frustrated and some of us feel in a rut due to work or injury or schedule. I know this, so don't try to deny it.

If you are any of the above please contact me. I want to extend my services such as they are to you. Use my knowledge or my ear or my great smile, whatever I have I offer to you. I don't know if I have the solution or the answer but I know I can help even if it's in the teensiest way. My cell number is (780)446-9625. My email is khona@silentriverkungfu.com. My facebook profile is under Khona Rybak, there aren't that many Khonas so I should be easy to find. I live at Sandy Lake. Contact me, find me, text me, phone me.

If you don't I will assume it's because of one of the following reasons;
1. You don't read my blog, in which case I'm hurt. I thought I was somewhat entertaining.
2. You know you're in the above group but are content with it. In which case... I don't know what to say.

So whatever you need, please ask it of me. Long email, chat over coffee (or tea, or water), quick text. I want to help.

http://dogsthinking.blogspot.ca

Keeping on Track

I am caught up in an extremely busy week with work family and doing volunteer work.  I cant remember being this busy in a long time.

What is keeping me on track is my training.  It is good to know that with everything else training is a refuge and a place to calm the mind.

I am glad I have discovered this and have learned the importance of consistency.

http://jimsand11.blogspot.ca/

Mr. Sand

Changes

I received the results from my MRI and I need surgery. I have a torn rotator cuff and a torn labrum.

The bad news is that even under the best circumstances, I'm likely not going to get surgery in 2014. My doctor seems to think that I'd be a good candidate for surgery and I shouldn't have much problem other than the long wait.

The good news is that I can return to training (sort of). I don't have to worry about damaging my shoulder since it is already pretty damaged, although there are still some things that I can't do just because of the pain (shoulder rolls, punches with any kind of power). I'm going to try to start doing pushups again and see what happens.

I'm going to try and use this change as an opportunity to work on my kicks and stances. I should also be able to do forms without much trouble as long as I take it easy.

Another change I have upcoming is that I will be working out of town again, starting in the next couple of months. I have some trepidation about this but I will be able to come to one class each week and I will be in town for every other Friday and Saturday. Sifu Brinker has said that morning kung fu may be an option for me as well. Life is throwing an obstacle in front of me but it's up to me to choose how to deal with it.

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