Courage is doing something even though you are afraid.

I have come quite a ways with my sparring, but have a long ways to go.  I am not quite as scared as I used to be, but still don't feel really comfortable with it.  I don't think I ever will.  I think my sparring days are nearing an end, as I get older.  I don't quite have the passion for it that I did 15 years ago, and that is OK with me.

I still force myself to attend the Tues night sparring class, and the guys in that class are really good with me.  They help me to progress forward, without feeling in a panic to defend myself. Some of them still make me a bit nervous, but more than anything, it is good because it makes me stay on my toes; guards up, at all times.

Last night I sparred with Mr. Wilson for the first time.  He is a great guy to spar with. His control is amazing, and he helped me out a lot with my sparring skills, without even saying anything.  There was even one point when his technique made me start to go down.  I say start, because somehow, Mr. Wilson did this amazing fast spin, and caught me before I hit the ground.  As one with arthritic hips, I was very grateful that he did.

Someone is always watching or listening...

A few days ago, Alana and I took in our refundable bottles. As I was waiting for the refund, a noticed a small but resourceful elderly man reaching into the box of his truck with a grub hoe pulling closed boxes of bottles towards the tailgate of his truck, so that he could grab them and forward them on for counting. I had to smile inside as I watched how this elderly man had adapted to complete his task. He was as content as could be, he didn't ask for assistance or even look like he expected help. I couldn't standby... I had to ask if I could help, when I did, he so pleasantly said, "that would be nice!" What was so uplifting for me was his disposition, he was calm, kind, smiling and not upset at all with his physical limitation.

This was a profound moment for me. I'm not sure why it has stuck with me to this degree. Well, I'm glad it did, because its a reminder to me about perception (two way street...) and how there is always someone watching and listening. There will always be a consequence to my every action.




http://darcyregier.blogspot.com/

Sifu Regier

Blog Challenge

Blog Challenge from Sifu Wonsiak

Narrative on one Basic requirement and one Personal requirement

Sparring requirement – this requirement is way off from reaching the 1000 mark for the year. Its unfortunate because even from the numbers I did accumulate I noticed a difference in my approach from the beginning of the year. The more often you are on the mat to spar, the more familiar you are with the situation. The more familiar you are, the more comfortable you get. When you are comfortable in your surroundings that’s when the magic begins. You recognize and react better. You find time to try new things. I love sparring even though I am far from proficient at it. This years I Ho Chuan program has shown me the math. Mat time is proportional to your comfort level. Comfortable = Improvement. It s not a difficult concept but sometimes the obvious is overlooked.

Personal requirement – one of my goals was to encourage the female students to embrace the grappling skills from a self-defence perspective. My plan was to try and get the message across through classes and the boot camp seminars. You see, from a female point of view being pinned on the ground is your worst nightmare. I have focused on grappling this past year to build the basics of escaping and fending off an attack from the ground. I am not sure that I was so successful in spreading my passion, my point of view and my opinion of the importance of the grappling techniques but something else interesting is happening instead. I am starting to recognize the commonalities between stand-up techniques, ground techniques and everything in between. It’s the body mechanics that are essential no matter what name you put on the technique or martial art you are training in. Its made me realize how connected the martial arts community is or at least should be.

No matter, the discipline, the fundamentals will always be the same. The human body is the human body and all human bodies move and react the same way, more or less…(there are those gifted rubber people).

I guess what started off as trying something new has in actual fact made me revisit lessons taught to me back in 1999 (that’s not a song, its when I was a white belt).

So both of these requirements will no longer be requirements when my I Ho Chuan time is up but both will be permanent and valuable components to my ongoing training.

I Ho Chuan Benefits

In the beginning of the year, as I looked at the list of requirements I saw them as that, a list.  I felt overwhelmed and hadn’t really taken the time to think about what the purpose was for each one.  It wasn’t until I started working to meet them that I looked closer and saw that they were picked very deliberately, each with its own purpose, to help us advance in our training and to help better us as individuals. These challenges, both the ‘listed’ and those I chose for myself, were no longer just a list written on paper but rather requirements and challenges that were important to me and that I was going to be held accountable for by an entire team of people. 

The one’ listed’ requirement that has benefited me hugely, is the logging.  It has made me AWARE in black and white.  Logging of sit ups, push ups, km’s, random acts of kindness, diet log, numbers for sparring and repetitions of forms has all helped make me aware of what I am doing and of exactly how engaged I am.  I look at the numbers and what seemed like an impossible number to meet at the beginning of the year, is now a number I’m trying to see if I can beat.  I can see where I am doing well and where I need to pull up my socks.   The benefit of this requirement to me is awareness, motivation and accountability.  Logging has helped me to keep on track towards the goals I have set out for myself and helped me to move forward, sometimes the long way (1 step forward, 2 back). 

As for personal challenges, those I chose with the focus being on what was important to me in my life.    In some way they were all related to bettering my relationships.  I have found that the mending a relationship requirement for I Ho Chuan, complimented my own personal challenges.  I had a hard time in choosing a relationship to mend.  After a lot of thought, the one I chose happened to better all other relationships in my life as well as keep me sane and mentally at peace. 

I can see the value in each and every requirement.  Looking back over the year so far is encouraging to me, to see how much positive change and growth there has been (a lot, not visible on the outside).  The challenges I chose at the beginning have been altered a little here or there, or new ones added as circumstances have changed in life but always with the movement being forward.

Alana Regier

http://alanaregier.blogspot.ca

 

Sorry I didn't get this posted before leaving for a few days!  Out of service area.

 

 

  

 

I Can't Think of a Witty Title

So, to address last weeks challenge-

To begin with I had a hard time wrapping my head around the mend a relationship requirement. I understood the potential benefit of it, but my problem was that any of my relationships that went sour went sour for a reason. I have a few that definitely were left on a bad note, but these were people who were out of my life for a good reason and by my decision. As its always said, surround yourself with only good, honest people who ask more of you than you do yourself. Hence, I didn't want to mend those relationships.
But I realized I had blinders on. Those were not the only relationships that could use some work, and not the only relationships that were rocky. I've had friends that have moved away, some who made poor decisions and some where I made poor decisions. Everyone does, and if you don't think so look harder. Some relationships were good, but could be better. Some people could use a phone call and a hey, how are ya? or I love you. Those never hurt.
This summer I mended a relationship with an old friend who can be difficult at times, and who I had not seen in two years. We had dinner together, I met her new daughter and caught up on the times. If I hadn't I would have missed out. There are amazing people out there who has so much to offer, and if you don't take that step you can miss the chance at something amazing, knowing someone amazing.

As for my personal goals, gaining my third degree was a no brainer, but maybe not for obvious reasons. For progression, well yes, but I don't like to judge or be judged based on the number of pretty stripes on a belt. They may give some indication of knowledge, but they can't give you a full scope of that individual. However, as Sifu Brinker mentioned, if my students don't see me progress, what will they think? They can't see me in my own class or in my back yard, they only see me in their classes with their curriculum. Will they trust me if they don't see my own progression? Good point, I say.

http://dogsthinking.blogspot.ca/

thanksgiving

Thanksgiving--and I skipped alot of classes. Anybody miss me?:) Of course I had a reason--my 12 yr old daughter came back from her dads for the weekend, arriving just as class started on friday. I was not skipping a moment I could have with her! I did go to dragon dance--as I committed to that--but spent the rest of the weekend with her. She is doing well, and I'm proud of her for the most part. Forgetting to pack more than 1 pr of socks and only 2 undies for a long weekend....ok we still have work to do. But she's doing ok without me--bittersweet, but good. I am thankful for all we shared this weekend. Which includes a totally awesome time at the laser quest on the west-end! Next time the team HAS to come! Other things lately--doing this course with Ms Donahue, my latest aha was that I dont necessarily need to make more money (although that would be nice...) I would be happy making the same with way more time to myself. I want time to train in the day, when I'm fresh and gungho; I want to do crossfit and wall climbing on the west end. (Our latest thing has been learning to allow ourselves to want--so many of us edit ourselves so bad we've forgotten how.) I want time, flexibility, fun, adventure! And then theres my adventures in gluten free and dairy free cooking...so glad that field is being plowed by those ahead of me. I tried a pizza recipe that was pretty good for no grain, no dairy. Hallelujah! Normal food! (Relatively) One of the websites for this type of food had a great blog that I want to share. Enjoy my plagerism! This is a post about time. Some days I feel as if I am slave to the calendar, an unwitting cog in the wheel of the year with Sundays and holidays appointed by proxy, designated by some superior force that rules my random wandering nature with an unforgiving fist, demanding obedience. Charting the course of my life. Then I remember the truth. Time is an invention born of the Big Bang. Debris hurtling through space- at increasing velocity. And here we are, hurtling along with it. Stuck to a rock spinning its own orbital logic. Logic so tiny in the fantastical face of infinity, the depth and breadth of vast, hollow, endless space. In the beyond-comprehension scheme of things, we are all walking talking miracles. It is truly beyond extraordinary that we are here at all, with all the subatomic quantum level things that could go wrong. With all the near misses. And all that never was. Life is breathtakingly rare, intricately fragile, and so surprising. Perhaps that's why we set apart a season to ponder the harvest, to cultivate gratitude. I'm all for it. I'm all for it because of all the petty, surface level annoyances we endure, all the itches and aches and heartbreaks and mundane difficulties, all the tricks and rationalizations we serve ourselves to distract ourselves, just to survive. To get through the day. To endure until tomorrow. To re-imagine what is possible. Or ignore the inevitable. To flirt with meaning. To invite love in. To create a connection. To let go of something toxic. To embrace something raw or something tender. To risk something wonderful. Or scary. Because the risk gleams with promise. Read more: http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2011/11/gluten-free-pumpkin-streusel-muffins.html#ixzz28lQ971jr Happy Thanksgiving!