UBBT

Hey time for blogging again! this is my last semester in this month. I am finishing Bio 30 Prep Physic 30 Prep and  English 30-1. Then in the next semester i will be tackling Physics 30, info pro, and Chemistry 30 prep. Right now in my phys and bio my grade are high enough that i do not have to take the final exam, so happy about that. The only thing i have to worry about is my reading exam, and my essay exam, for English. After i am done the test I will be able to attend more classes and i can't wait. And if weather permits i will also be riding my bike more often. Things for me right now are going good, and getting better. This UBBT program is slowly changing my life, because the program tell you to work out, it tells you to practice. When in reality is what people should already be doing, it is just a better lifestyle. The UBBT may tell you what you have to do, but it does not force you to do it. You have to do it on your own. But it give you a kick in the butt to start and that is what i needed.

The next chapter

My family has officially doubled in size this past week. Nathan Thomas and Samuel Marcel were born late Friday March 23rd and this past week has felt like a blink, maybe a long blink but still. The boys are still in the hospital but doing great, hopefully home this week some time. Now the next chapter in our lives has begun. This was one of those unofficial lists of accomplishments on my list for this year and can now check it off – what else could possibly change in our lives right? This week was what I call the real test for me now. I no longer dictate when I may have time to work on my forms, reps, etc. I will have to be creative to find time for my requirements throughout the days and push ahead. The home nurse must have thought I was nuts this past week pounding out push ups and sit ups in the basement while she attends to my wife upstairs. I can’t wait to see what the next few months have in store for us and live in the excitement that each new moment brings. With the new challenges on the horizon means it will all be more rewarding. Sifu Bryant

Hellloooooooo Winter!

Sihing Jon Robinson

Well, winter is still here! And you all thought it was gone for good! I'm sad to see it go but still really excited to get some dry ground eventually so that summer can come out to play. 

I have had a pretty bad last couple weeks in the motivation department. In class i feel fine, excited to train and pushing myself, but outside of the swoon i have been really bad at staying focused. One thing that i am glad about with the emergence of the sunny weather is that i can ride my bike! Still need to get it out of winter storage but i plan to be riding that thing EVERYWHERE! Time to make up those low KM numbers

Something is missing.....

Last week was a little rough. I was lacking some motivation, direction and drive. I am not really sure what was going on but I have a pretty good idea. I have had to have a very specific training plan for a long time. It consisted of when and how much time to spend on different aspects of my kung fu and consequently myself. I had a really strict schedule that I created in order to accomplish all the things that I wanted to each day. I also needed to consider my work schedule, my family's schedule and my partner's schedule, in order to make my world go around. I kinda liked it, I kinda excelled because of it and I kinda need it in order to feel like I'm doing something.
So now, I have goals, I have a training schedule to adhere to in order to meet my goals and make my world go around but something is missing. I think that I miss the pressure that I put on myself. I believed that there were a certain number of things that I needed to do in order to reach my goals. I needed to seize each opportunity to train, if I felt like sloughing off, my brain would remind me of words often spoken my Sifu Brinker, "Is this an opportunity that I am willing to miss?" and I would go and train. I would also consider, what if I have a crisis at work tonight and I can't train, I better do it now, just in case.
Without this pressure, I have a sense of freedom and I am not really sure what to do with it. I know that I can and will reach my goals for this year because I have proven to myself that I can do it if I keep moving forward. Do I need to crank up the pressure by making my goals harder so that I feel like I am accomplishing something grand? I think that may well be the answer, I just need to figure out what it will be.

The Start of the Second Quarter

My oh my! What a roller coaster ride. Most of everything this
past week seemed very unstable. The biggest player was probably the
weather....snow, sun, melt, motorcycle ride...snow, sun, melt, motorcycle ride!
All of which are good but really seemed to have played with the emotions within
our household.

April fools today! I hope the snow we received today was
just a practical joke and that the sun which poked out later in the day is now
here to stay.

My training has been okay, but not where it needs to be.
Instability in my life is the norm but doesn’t really get any easier to deal
with. Spring meetings with the company that I work for fire up this week...I
hope that some light is shed on this year’s work schedule. A work schedule laid
out in front me may put a certain part of life on a straighter path and give me
some mental guidance for the rest.

I’m looking forward to this next week for some mental
soothing and the strength to get my carcass working as hard as it needs to be.

Darcy Regier, Silent River Kung Fu, Stony Plain, Alberta.

Going Home to Simplicity.

Last weekend I went home. I have lived in Alberta for 14 years now, but for me B.C. is still my home. I love the mountains, clear lakes, and the absolute feeling of self that I get when I am there. My foster parents have a big house on Lake Windermere. It is the house my foster mom was born in some 70 or so years ago. There have been major renovations to make it bigger and more modern, but the foundations and other features are still a part of the house. Here, life is as simple as it comes. That's what I like the most.

As I sit reading my electronic reader with my cell phone close by in case my kids need me, I feel out of place in this land of wonderful peace and serenity. There is appreciation for the little things everywhere. Their yard is full of bird houses and feeders. My foster mom counts and records every bird that comes to visit; Flickers, Red Poles, Pileated Wood Peckers, and even the simple Robin. She has done this for about 13 years now. Her and her eldest son often go on expeditions to count birds, butterflies and moths. They are as passionate about these things as they are about the land and other creatures in their area. The deer, however, can be annoying, as they cause a lot of issues in the community. I can't scare them easily from the yard. They look at me as if I am the one intruding. I suppose, if you really look at it, I am. They were here first. The 20 or so wild turkeys visiting the yard, don't scare at all. My foster dad goes out and "gobble, gobbles" right along with them, and they gather to him as chicks to a mother hen.

I eat a lot in the 3 days I am there as my foster mom insists. She thinks I work too hard, and work out too often, and eat too little. She fills me with home made jams, jellies, soups, pies, (made with berries we picked up in the mountains on my last visit) bread, and many other yummy desserts, and snacks. I eat three full meals a day compared to the one I am used to. They care for me and love me, and I for them as well.

I spent two of the 3 mornings I was there out with my foster brother. We have the same birthday, but I am a year older. On the first day, he takes me out in the bush for about 5 hours and we track a cougar and 2 wolves, moving in the same direction. There were signs of a kill close by, but we never saw it. I am constantly drilled on things of nature. What kind of tracks are these. . . and these? How many are in the group, and which way are they moving? Which way back to the truck? Which way back to town? We had 2 of his 4 cougar hounds with us, and the big question of the day was, "if you needed to kill and eat one of the dogs to survive, which one would you kill?" I chose the more chunky female, with the tumor of fat on her chest. To my foster brother, his dogs are as dear to him as my kids are to me. When asked the question, he says he would choose to kill and eat me, and save the dogs. He is a funny man!

Through all this I learned that wolves often walk in each others tracks when traveling in snow to conserve energy. When it looked like only one wolf at times, there were actually 2. To tell a cougar track from that of a wolf, look for the claws. Cougar's claws retract and don't show in the track, where a wolves claws stick out and so are noticeable in the track. A bear is lazy and drags his feet, and this is very easy to see in the snow. Coyotes tracks are tiny like a house cat. I messed up on the direction the rabbits were traveling, forgetting that their back feet come in front of the front feet when they hop. I love all this stuff and soak up every bit I can.

On the way back, we stopped by a small cabin to rest, and enjoy the absolute quiet. I love it here and don't want to leave.

The next morning we walked down into a canyon to look at some falls. The way down was slippery, and hard work going back up. The falls were beautiful, and very noisy. Then we walked in to see a small cave. I wanted so bad to go all the way in but it was dark and from the smell, we could tell that critters were in there. Next time I will bring a flashlight.

My foster brother is extremely passionate about the mountains here. He knows the area better than anyone, and he knows all about the animals that live here. The town consisting of only one street light is still too busy for my foster brother. He visits it as little as possible. He prefers the solitude of his house in the mountains. For me, this would be the life I desire. I don't like being in town either. When I am in the mountains, everything about me and who I am is crystal clear. I see myself for who I really am. Not sure why that is, but in the mountains I feel most like my real true natural self. The mountains scream at me, "this is who you really are!" In the mountains, I don't have to worry about the perception of others. The mountains accept me for who I really am.

I don't want to be here in Alberta, away from the mountains much longer. Soon, I think, it will be time for a change. Life away from the city is simpler. Through simplicity comes clarity; a clarity of thought, self, actions and direction. My other blog says I am a "seeker of tranquility and truth". In the mountains I find both. It is easy to find tranquility in peace and thought. It is easy to find truth. Not only of myself, but of God as well.

Wallpaper to inspire

Saturday, 31 March 2012

After a week plus of our computer being down I can get caught up on my weekly blogs. There has been mention of a lack of motivation and mindfulness in training for people, including myself. I know from personal experience its not hard to lose focus or simply not want too. Doing push ups over and over and situps become terribly boring. Yes you can challenge yourself by increasing your numbers per sets or different configurations, adding weights etc., but it still gets old fast when you are training everyday. Every individual needs something to motivate and challenge both physically and mentally, its a must. We also need inspiration from what we perceive as great or stimulating, a mentor of sort. Whether it be an individual, place, time, literature, technique, form, or a great memory, we need it like fuel. Fuel for a martial arts engine that requires constant rebuild or modifications or a complete change out for something that suits the duty, if you will. I came up with something recently that I hope will do at least some of these things.

Our basement where I train is a little cluttered and lacks room because of the current lay out and obstacles that need moving. Nothing worse than stubbing a toe or almost wiping something out with a kick or punch practising a combination. So I started to make room, throwing away stuff that we are never going to use or relocating it to a shelf or crawl space. Repositioning the fridge, deep freeze, treadmill to make a small gym. I have some spare mirrors that I have hung and will probably see about purchasing some mats. Okay now we are getting some where but I need character, motivation, and maybe a touch of cool factor to make it my own. So I hung up our curriculum, all if it. This way I feel more disciplined and efficient. If I want to practice something its right there in front of me, it should also help me accumlate more questions to ask at the end of class.( I hate not having a question or at least an answer when asked by a Sifu) So this should help. I have put up pictures of Bruce Lee, Joe Lewis, Chuck Norris all great martial artists, and i'll probably put up others that I just dont know or haven't heard of yet. I have tunes to crank up and annoy the hell out of my wife or just simply to set the atmosphere for self induced pain. I have different literature to review and use, and also hung up Mastery that we are to memorize. I'm also thinking of putting up several quotes that I enjoy from these books and others I will run into or read about. One book in particular that I really enjoy and refer to  when I need that boost or a good smack upside the head, is Walking a Tigers Path by Master Margitte Hilbig. This book covers ultimate challenges, amazing accomplishments, and a deep look into how it all started in Canada and especially the hard work, dedication and extreme sacrifices it took to start up in Calgary and Edmonton. Master Hilbigs account is one of the few perspectives that you can actually read about and learn how our lineage began and those that worked hard to continue the art we all practice today. I hope I will be lucky enough to meet her one day, that would be way cool. I really like these words from Master Hilbig

'' A true martial artist is not concerned with belts or ranks, with which style is better than which, or even how many techniques they know. The true martial artist is only concerned with one thing: learning. To learn is to become disciplined, to gain knowledge, to become self- reliant and ultimately leads to the road of self actualization. This knowledge is the ultimate equalizer in any confrontation, either on the street or in ones mind."

These words will definitely be put up, if thats not motivational, then I don't know what is.

Brian Chervenka