Parade,demo, kids class WOW!

What an amazing weekend!  The parade was a ton of fun and I spent most of it starring at the ground and hunched over!  My quads are stil sore and it has been three days after. I now totally understand Sifu Lindstrom when he tells me that lion dancing will improve my stances, no kidding!!!!  Also I now understand when he's says "your pretty much blind in the lion head" he wasn't kidding as I almost ran over numerous kids along the parade route.  I loved the lion and I can't wait to do it again in Onoway this weekend with Sifu Lindstrom.

I thought the demo went pretty well but I feel my Lao Gar sucked pretty bad. I have lots of work to do but this demo has helped narrow my focus a lot.  My double chuck form is a long away from being any good but I am happy I didn't drop any or accidently have fly in anyones direction.  Great job team and let's do it again this weekend!

Mr.Repay

News Flash: Weight Reducing Fudge!

I have noticed that my pants are getting looser, and just confirmed with the scale. Since starting a steady and significant diet of Sihing Donohue’s incredible fudge, my weight has dropped by five pounds and the smallest hole on my belt is too large. I am so impressed that I am off to have another piece. And no, I doubt that joining the dragon dance in last weekend’s parade could have had any bearing on the results. Fudge Rocks!   

Dennis Donohue       

Ok next week I'll come to San Sou

There I told everyone, so I'd better go.

On another note, I'm sitting here blogging and noticing all of the disarray that has taken over my house.

My house seems like it's constantly messy. I can't say that I'm a neat freak, but over the years I've come to realize that a calm house makes for a calm mind. A calm house is one with not too much clutter, fairly tidy and easy to move around in. Since the tiny one and the dog have come, our house is always messy. I'm finding that a little overwhelming sometimes. It seems like I'm struggling to keep up with my requirement, the babe, family, classes, work and life in general and house cleaning seems to always fall low on the list. Thankfully Mike has been stepping up a lot. When it's his year I'll have to do the same.

I don't think both of us could do the program in the same year...it would just be too much. 

Although when I say that part of me thinks " that's not true, the I Ho Chuan is meant to make us better people and we could both work on that the same time....we'd just have to make our family one of the requirements." I respect the Csillags for taking this on both in the same year.....but it must be difficult. The more I think about it though, the more I think it would be a good kind of difficult.

For acts of kindness I held the door for someone, I helped put away field gear and I gave a friend of mine a fossil I brought back from field work for her.

Today I consumed: a bagel with cream cheese, an apple, a piece of chocolate cake, a boiled egg,  a bran muffin, some steak, home-made macaroni salad and beans and I drank 6 glasses of water, 3 cups of tea and 1 coffee.

Pets need Pets

This week was my turn to choose a challenge for the I Ho Chuan team to participate in. The challenge that I can up with though seemingly very simple and easy to accomplish every day, was not designed to challenge a person in a physical or mental way. It was to help develop an awareness and appreciation to all of the animals we as humans keep as pets. There are some pets that go through life unappreciated or even unwanted. There are also some people that go through their life without even knowing the joy of having a pet in their life. My hopes are that at the end of this week that more people will develop a greater appreciation towards their pets, and for those that don’t or are unable to have a pet in their lives are able to share in the enjoy and warmth that a pet owner knows.

Where am I? What am I doing?

Free Food

Now that I have your attention, keep reading for details. We had our first demo of the year on Saturday and it as always, was a lot of fun. Even though I only had a small part in the demo, you still feel like you are a part of something special. We have another demo coming this weekend in Onoway and I hope everyone can make it out for this one as well. Even if you are not comfortable with your form there are always self-defense techniques that can be done. On a side note, my work is having a Bar-B-Q after the parade on Saturday so everyone that is at the demo in Onoway is welcome to come by for a burger or two or more. Hope to see you all. Kevin Lindstrom

Parade/Demo

I thought everyone did fantastic during the parade and demo.  Honestly, personally, I did not like being in the parade.  If anyone else asked me to do this, the answer would've been no.  Too many people watching and it made me very uncomfortable but one of my goals was to try the dragon in front of the crowd and I did.  It was only for a little while, my cardio couldn't handle it and I think between that and my nerves I could only handle the short stint.  So, I apologize for not filling in more.  I did however look after Ms. Csillags littlest one (who I adore) so she could fill in.  I don't know how you all lasted so long jogging so far, boy am I ever in poor shape.  I'm going to find something to do to get my cardio better.  I don't enjoy running and don't feel you should do it unless someone is chasing you.  I'm sure there are other things out there I'd like that would help.

Lion Dance

     When I first tried Lion Dance it was in a boot camp the first year I started kung fu and I did not like it. Me and the word dance don't really go together on any level , and I did not see any actual value to it . Things have changed tho. I was asked to be in a lion for the Chinese New Year and I thought what better way to get out of my comfort zone. The fact that it is a requirement for the I Ho Chuan team may have  helped a little. I am really enjoying doing it now , it is a ton of fun especially in the parade and I have found a lot of value in it.

     Physically it is extremely intense , whether you are in the head or as a tail. It is like doing a fitness class only you are holding a lion head and covered with a blanket. You must have good balance and be able to hold several low stances off and on for at least 20 minutes while not being able to see anything.

     I am glad it is a requirement because I may not have tried it again and now I can't wait for the next dance.

Scott Fuhr