Where am I? What am I doing?

Last blog post for the year 2011

2011-12-31T22:24:00.001-07:00

The UBBT 8 challenge has truly made a change and a difference in my life both with my Kung Fu and with my family around me.
I would definitely participate in it again, and recommend it to everyone.

My goals for the UBBT 8 where;
1. 52 Journal entries
2. 50,000 Push ups
3. 50,000 Sit ups
4. 156 reps of Wudang 5 Animal Qigong
5. 2,080 chin ups
6. 5,200 kicks
7. 1000 acts of kindness
8. 1000 Liters of water consumed
9. 1000 reps of Lao Gar form
10. 365 fruits (I do not eat fruits, so I am challenging my self to eat at lest one fruit a day)
11. 365 days pop free (Quite drinking pop and other soft drinks)
12. Read 3 books on sailing (required reading for ASA Certification)
13. Learn how to sail a boat (take sailing lessons on one of our fresh water lakes)
(Regarding goals 12 and 13 – I have always wanted to sail around the world when I retire so these goals are working towards a longer term goals I have)
14. Grade for Black Belt

My accomplishments and failures are;
1. 42 Journal entries
2. 51050 Push ups
3. 51170 Sit ups
4. 206 reps of Wudang 5 Animal Qigong
5. 2082 Chin ups
6. 7018 Kicks
7. 934 acts of kindness
8. 1092 Liters of water consumed
9. 931 reps of Lao Gar form
10. 365 fruits eaten
11. 365 day pop free
12. 0 books on sailing read
13. 0 sailing lessons taken
14. 1 Black Belt grading completed

Some of the main things that I learned from participating in the 2011 UBBT 8 was that never stop doing your push-ups and sit-ups, 50,000 is not impossible and it will help keep you focused on the other goals that you have set. Don’t set your goals to low, you will be amazed on what you can get accomplished in a year. Never stop journaling, there are great benefits both personally and publicly that comes with journaling.

I will miss being part of the 2012 team next year but I will be following along with their progress.

An End is only but a New Beginning

Continuing On

2011-11-04T09:40:00.000-06:00

As the end UBBT 8 draws closer I am finding it harder and harder to be able to put down in words how my journey is going. I am beginning to sound like a broken record, about injuries or aliments, triumphs, setbacks, and most of all the progress that I have made.

There has been so much going on lately (mentally, physically, and emotionally) that I have not posted a journal lately and I must apologize for this.

Journaling is such a great tool to help organize and sort thru issues and conflicts that are going on in a person’s life.

T.E.S.T

2011-10-13T15:14:00.000-06:00

Technical

Extreme

Standard

Training

Not Doomed

2011-10-07T14:47:00.000-06:00

Last night the Sihings had a practice session and I brought my daughter with me to work on my 5 techniques. Sihing Lindstrom watched and worked with my daughter plus gave her some pointers and instruction. He was able to watch and see what was happening and make corrections. Sihing Gamble also noticed a crucial thing that helped my daughter to be able to performing a shoulder role that was plaguing her on my last technique. With their eyes watching from the outside and giving comments, we came alone way last night and with a lot of practice and patients over the next week I believe she and I will be working together almost as good as Sihing Lindstrom and I.

I am truly grateful to be part of such an amazing team of Sihings.

Thanks Sihings

DOOMED

2011-10-06T10:42:00.000-06:00

When I was informed by Sihing Lindstrom (my training partner) that he will not be able to my partner during our grading when I perform my 5 techniques, I thought “Ok that would not be too much of a problem, I will just get my daughter to fill in”, easier said than done. I now have been working with her for a few days now, and it appears that I may be doomed when it comes to performing my 5 techniques at the grading. At this point I am at an opinion that working with a family member may not be a smart thing to do.

Doomed, Doomed, Doooooooooomed.

Experiences

2011-10-05T11:23:00.000-06:00

Nightmares, confidence, memory gaps, injuries, eureka moments, confusion, success, failure, doubts, etc….

These are just some of the things I have experienced through the year as I prepare for the Black Belt Test.

The Day is Coming!!!

2011-09-29T11:38:00.000-06:00

As the date of the Black Belt grading draws closer I am filled with mixed feelings of dread, excitement, sorrow, and anticipation. I dread all tests of all kinds, but at the same time enjoy them. I am excited to be grading this year with such a great team of candidates, which have all supported each other along the way. I am also filled with a sense of sorrow that this part of my journey is near at an end, but I am also full of anticipation on what will come on the next part of my journey.

Theft

2011-09-18T23:36:00.000-06:00

On Saturday September 17, 2011 in between 16:30 and 19:00 my trust in our fellow men was shattered. Ok I will be the first to admit I am sheltered from the real world (the bad parts of it) by the way I choose to live. I live in the country on enough land that I cannot see or hear any of my neighbors that are adjacent to me. The biggest city I go into on the majority, is Spruce Grove and I am never there very long when I do go there. Yes I may go into Edmonton from time to time to see the chiropractor but I go in and then leave, not spending any more time in Edmonton then I have to.

Ok back to what happened, I had went into Edmonton after our UBBT meeting on that day feeling good about the positive things that had come out of the meeting. The reason I went into Edmonton was to take in my son’s Ipad for repair, it was not charging and would not hook up to the computer. So I ended up at West Edmonton Mall at the Apple Store (they were great) to see what could be done with his Ipad. I came out of the mall with a properly working Ipad feeling pretty good and ready to go home, but when I got to my vehicle I had found that it had been broken into and anything of value (to a thief) was gone. I was shocked and disappointed that this could have happened. But what upset me the most was that the thief/s had taken my Kung Fu bag with all my equipment in it. I commented on this to the Police, why they would take my bag on not my sons that was right beside it, while they were looking for any evidence that forensics would need to be involved in (blood on the shattered glass, they found none). All they did was ask “Was it closed, was it heavy?” and I had my answer. Yes my bag was closed and my sons was open easy to see what was in it and take what was of value. Mine on the other hand was closed and felt heavy so they took it, and would go though it later the police told me.

I now have had a day to reflected on what had happened, and what had been stolen, and my only regret was that the thief/s had taken my 2nd degree Brown belt when they had taken my bag. And they wont care about all the the blood and sweat that went into getting that belt or that the belt had given to me by Sifu Brinker and the two black stripes on it was given to me by Sifu Rybak (most likely it will end up in some dumpster or back ally)

I did learn a lot yesterday but the most important thing I did learn was, if you are going to leave a bag in your vehicle leave it open, if thieves are going to break into your vehicle they will most likely take what is of value to them and leave the rest if they can see that it is of no value, which may be worth more to you then anything that they had taken.

Lost! If Found Please Return

2011-09-09T12:31:00.000-06:00

In August my routine had been turned upside down and sideways, since then I have been fighting to get back the motivation and drive that I had towards my training and conditioning. It is becoming a battle that I fear I may not win. I seem to be just going through the motions now and my spirit is not in it. I have wondered off my path. I am hoping that by writing this down and admitting it to myself that it will give me the push I need to win this battle and find the path that will allow me to continue on in my journey. Without the spirit the body can only go so far.

Acts Of kindness 2

2011-09-02T10:43:00.000-06:00

Tracking Acts of Kindness has been hard for me as I have mentioned in past blog posts. This week I wanted to mention that this is still a problem for me. I do recognize the acts I do for others but I still struggle with counting them.

I do want to mention that for the past week I have been drive around with a slow leak in my passenger side rear tire and four people have come up to me and let me know that I have a low tire, and two others have left notes on my windshield to let me know to.

It is nice to recognize and receive an act of kindness.

Back at Last

2011-08-19T14:13:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow my kids arrive home after their two week stay in Nova Scotia. Yes I am excited to see my kids again, and have been spending a lot of time thinking about them. So to say the least, my mind has been more on how they are and what they have been up to instead of been focused on my training, like I wanted to be while they were gone.

At our last UBBT meeting I had mention that my kids had left on their vacation and I found that my motivation was lacking. Sifu Brinker had commented on this and said that even a little thing like my kids leaving for could disrupt my routine enough that it would affect my motivation. I spent some time on this concept and realized that a person’s body/mind is always looking for an easy way out, from doing anything hard, it seems to a nature instinct or a lazy instinct. I have maintained doing pushups and sit-ups and my forms even though I did feel like doing them. I am hoping that when they get home and we back into our regular routine, things will get back to normal and my motivation will come back.

Alone

2011-08-12T13:12:00.000-06:00

After getting back from vacation it was a whirl wind of 4 days of unpacking the trailer, washing cloths and get the kids repacked so that they would be ready to fly out east to visit their Grandmother and Grandfather in Nova Scotia on Saturday August 6th. So now it has been a week since my kids left and the house is empty and quite. Staying engaged in my training has been tough this past week.

Vacation is over, back to the grind.

2011-08-05T09:29:00.001-06:00

The past week I was on vacation with my family, our vacation may not be like most people now a days think a vacation should be (sand, sun, a tropical ocean breeze, a beautiful resort). We did have the sun and the sand, but also the rain, mud and mosquitoes that come with the Alberta weather, and the beautiful resort was a mud filled clearing that was filled with trailers, campers, and RV’s.
Vacations are fun no matter where you go as long as you’re with family and friends, and every year that is exactly what we do. We go to the same mud filled clearing up at the Brazeau Reservoir to enjoy time with friends and family, to do some water sports and ATVing.

The only thing I find hard on vacations is to keep up on my training in Kung Fu and Blogging (no internet). So back to the grind.

Vacation

2011-07-23T11:37:00.000-06:00

It’s been a whirlwind around here lately. Getting ready to go on vacation, driving kids over to friends houses and back, work get a new operating system and then reconfiguring the new computer that they gave me while trying to learn my way around Windows 7, and meet dead lines before I leave on vacation. Whew glad that is over.

Acts of Kindness

2011-07-23T11:32:00.000-06:00

I am still struggling with the Acts of Kindness. I do know when I do them but most of them I right off as not worth recording since it is something I would normal do anyway without thinking. I also do notice missed chances when I could have done an Act of Kindness, and have started to kick myself for not acting faster or for being in to much of a hurry to stop and take the time to do something nice for a fellow person. By the end of this years UBBT I hope I am recording all the Acts of Kindness and I stop missing opportunities to do an Act of Kindness, so I can stop kicking myself.

Family Time

2011-07-07T11:04:00.000-06:00

July 1 was Canada Day and for the long weekend I took my two kids out to the Cadomin area to do some camping, quading and also to visit with their Aunt (my sister) and her husband. We were also camping with other family members and friends. It was a great weekend spent with the family with a lot of great scenery viewed and appreciated.

I am guilty of not keeping up on my UBBT requirements over the weekend and now I am working on making up for those lost days, but I don’t regret any of it.

It was great to get out and be with my family.

Schools Out !!!

2011-06-29T14:51:00.000-06:00

Tuesday June 28 was the last day of school for the students in the town of Onoway and with that as of Monday June 27 was also the last day of classes at the Onoway Silent River Kung Fu School for the summer. I know that classes will resume again in September when school starts again but as always it is still a sad time for me. As a Sihing and an instructor at the Onoway School I have been given the privilege to be able to guide and watched as each of the student’s progress in the martial arts, and I am thankful to be part of there journey. We have a great group of students out at Onoway and they all have made excellent progress this year. I wish them a happy and safe summer and will await their return in the fall. In the meantime while I wait for the Onoway classes to start up again, I will be spending my new found free time out at the Stony Plain Kwoon helping out and continuing my training there. (I hope to see some of the Onoway students training there also)

Boot Camp

2011-06-28T11:56:00.000-06:00

By now, if you have been reading any of the other Silent River UBBT members that have blogged about the wonderful day they had at Boot Camp 2011, you will have noticed a centralized theme. That we all had a great time pushing our selves too and beyond our limits, and are very grateful, thankful to all the Sifu’s and our teammates that made such a great day possible.

Thanks everyone.

Renovations

2011-06-19T20:34:00.000-06:00

This weekend marked the start of our annual Kwoon Renovations. We started the renovations early this year because of the massive amount of tiling work that we want to get done, so we are doing what we can on the weekends when Sihing Lindstrom (our tiling expert and leader of this years renovations) is available to be able complete them on time.

I look forward to these renovations every year. It is a time when I can renew my sense of belonging to Silent River Kung Fu not just as a student but as a family member. When I am there working in the Kwoon, I don’t look at it as I am fixing up a building, I look at it as making my home better. It is just the feeling I get when I am there doing something to make it better for everyone. It allows me to reconnect with myself and with my Kung Fu.

I would like to thank Sifu Brinker for allowing us to have this opportunity again this year, and implore everyone from Silent River not to let this opportunity slip past them.

Training is not just about punches and kicks

Have you ever wanted to climb a mountain?

2011-06-11T20:55:00.000-06:00

My answer would be NO. I have a fear of heights; I don’t like the cold much and it seem like to much work, and I am to busy. That would have been my answer before, but not now. Through my training in the martial arts I have learned that all things can be accomplished if you put your mind to it and break it down using incremental progression. So I still don’t want to climb an actual mountain but I am going to climb the equivalent in vertical feet of the highest mountain in Alberta. I know Alberta does not have the highest mountains but since I am an Albertan I thought I should start there and then work my way up. So my goal is to climb Mount Columbia which is 12,294ft high before I grade for black belt on Oct. 8, 2011. I am not sure why I thought of this, I just wanted to add a short time goal to challenge myself a little more. Just something a little extra above what I am already doing.

Where am I?

2011-06-02T14:46:00.000-06:00

Lately I am finding that I am having trouble staying in focus on what I am doing, mostly this happens when I am doing my forms. When I start a form all is well then about 3 or 4 moves into it my mind seams to disengage and starts analyzing that last move, (foot, hands positions, hips, center and so on) while my body keeps going. By the time I pull my mind back into the here and now I’m usually at the end of the form, its like a time warp one minute I am starting the form and the next I am at the end. When this happens my forms go out the window, I am aware of this and have also been told that it is happening.
I had picked the title of my BlogSpot “Where am I? What am I doing?” to remind me to stay focused on my training and to keep me in the moment. I am not sure what happened but I am having trouble staying in the moment and staying focused. My mind wants to pick apart the little things. They are like “Butterflies” and I would like to ring their little necks.

Follow up and the Fall Out!

2011-05-27T07:30:00.000-06:00

Ok last weekend my goal was to get caught up on my chin up goals and incorporate them into my daily work out routine. All was going as planed in the beginning until the last day of the weekend; I developed a sharp pain in my left shoulder that nagged at me when ever I pulled my arm toward me or lifted it up. I did not want to continue injuring it any farther, I believe I just strained it, so I eased up on the chin ups to give my shoulder a break and only accomplished 101 chin ups instead of the 119 that I had planed to do on the weekend. So now I have a sore shoulder and a few more chin ups to go, on the bright side of this is it does not hurt when I do push ups.

Catch Ups

2011-05-20T13:46:00.000-06:00

I have no insights or deep thought, fears, injuries, or triumphs to share with you this week. Instead I have a confession.
In my UBBT goals I have fallen behind in two goals right from the start and have not made much of an effort to catch up on them; one of them is my Chin Ups and the other is Acts of Kindness. I am not behind so much that either of the goals is beyond achieving but I am behind in them. So during this weekend I am going to get caught up on my chin ups and also make them part of my daily work out, so that I will not fall behind in the future.

I will continue on with the Acts of Kindness as I have been, as I do not fall further behind, but have been make small gains each week and I don’t believe it is something that a person can get caught up on like chin ups.

If you want to know I am only behind 119 Chin Ups and 65 Acts of Kindness to date.

Dreams

2011-05-13T11:32:00.000-06:00

(I almost didn’t post this)

Before I started this blog I was thinking about this reoccurring dream or nightmare that I have been having. (I’m not sure which one it is yet) I have this same dream/nightmare at least once or twice a week. Not every aspect of the dream is identical but it is of the same theme, just some parts are more active or vivid. The last time I had this dream/nightmare the more detailed part was the “written test part” where everything I would write down would be wrong, it did not mater if I knew the right answer it would be wrong when I put it down on paper, sometimes it is the “physical fitness” part and I wake up, sweat socked and panting for breath, or sometimes it’s the “forms part” where I am trapped in a perpetual loop doing all of the forms that I know all at once at the same time, so the forms are all jumbled up into one. Sometimes it’s not like anything that I have described or could even come close to describing in words.

If you haven’t guessed it yet, this reoccurring dream/nightmare is about the up and coming Black Belt Test that I will be taking in October.

After writing this I have decided that this dream is defiantly a NIGHTMARE.

Past Due

2011-05-11T15:05:00.000-06:00

Last week I did not want to write a blog, since I had nothing to write about, other then the same boring thing that is written over and over again. “Training is going good, keeping up on my numbers, and so on and so on.”
I knew last week that not writing a blog was just putting off the inevitable, because I would have to write one sooner or later. Now I have to write two this week.

I know this seems like a copout but this is the first one for this week.

Whew it’s gone

2011-04-29T09:52:00.000-06:00

Last night we had our first decent rain and with it went most of the nasty snow mold. When I was traveling to work this morning I noticed that I could breath in deep without the constant resistant’s, and rattling and wheezing in my lungs that I have been experiencing for the last month or so since it started to warm up and melt around here. Of lately I have been finding myself unusually out of breath, worse then most days, even climbing a short flight of stairs I would be a little out of breath, and I was finding that I was using my inhalers more then normal lately.

Today I can breathe deep so it is a good day!

What’s Planed May Not Be What Happens?

2011-04-26T11:25:00.001-06:00

All last week I could not wait for the weekend to come, not because it was Easter and with that a few extra day off. No I was looking forward to my Saturday classes, start off with a nice class of Tai Chi (which I’m really enjoying), then ramp it up with the Shaolin Fitness class (which Sifu Regier was filling in and he had posted that we would be doing some running that class), and then to end the day off with some open training with my peers. Now this is what my typical Saturday looks like anyway but for some reason I was really looking forward to this one, maybe it was because there was no classes on Friday due to the holiday, or maybe because I enjoy those classes so much. But in either case come Saturday I was not going to get my way, due to circumstances beyond my control I was not able to make it to Saturday’s classes. Oh I still found some time to train throughout the day but for some reason I was feeling unbalanced in my life. I guess I have become so accustomed to these types of Saturdays that it feels unnatural when I can’t do it.

What to Write About?

2011-04-15T11:24:00.000-06:00

Yet another week with very little to write about. My training is progressing, I am staying up on the UBBT goals I set for myself, and I am not hitting any major road blocks. (knock on wood)

I must say that I am happy with last Sunday, (April 10) that is when three of us Sihings met and went through the entire physical fitness test that we have to do when we grade for black belt. It was a great opportunity to become familiar with the entire test as a whole, yes we have all went through it before but it has always been done in chunks since you just can’t fit the entire test in a one hour class. Our run through on Sunday took us about 3.5 hours from start to finish, I suspect that it will take less time when we do the actual test at our grading, and due to the fact we won’t be asking each other which one we should do next, or which way it is best done. We did a little bit of analyzing on last Sunday, but there should be less or none the next time we go thru it. My goals for the next time we meet on a Sunday is to run thru the fitness test are to improve on all of my scores and to complete the test in less time.

I must say that doing something like this regarding the fitness test has eased my mind and also released some of the stress I’ve been having about grading for black belt this year. I would also like to thank the Sifu that came to the Kwoon on a Sunday so that we could do this, and I would like to thank all of the rest of the Sifus that will also give up their Sundays so we can continue to test our selves each month.

I just wish more of the Sihings would take this opportunity to that is given to them to do this extra practice once a month to help them prepare for their up and coming black belt test whether it is this year or the following years ahead.

I guess I had more then just a little to write about this week then I first thought

Reflections

2011-04-09T18:46:00.000-06:00

So its the end of the week and I now I write my blog or fall behind in one of my goals. So as you read this, you must have guessed that I am not about to fall behind in this goal. No I find this goal to be one of the more important ones.This is where I reflect on what has happened and where I am and where I am going. I may not write every time about what has been going in my journey along the path of the UBBT every week but I do reflect upon it before, during, and after I write my blog.

So to everyone I say “Keep Blogging”

What’s to eat?

2011-03-31T11:48:00.000-06:00

Well March is over and with it our monthly challenge is over as well.
Though the month of March, the UBBT team members at Silent River have been tracking what we have been eating every day and posting it on a blog site for others to read. Taking part of this challenge has opened my eyes on my eating habits and has encouraged me to make healthier choices on what I eat. I have come to relies that I am an “Opportunist Garburator” I mainly survive on leftovers and I eat only when I have the time. So during the week I eat fairly regularly since at work there is a scheduled time set a side for lunch and breaks and also the evening meals at home (this is were I get my leftovers for the next day or days to come). But when the weekend arrives (starting Friday afternoon) I find there is not enough time eat, or just not the right time to eat. By the time things slow down during the weekend days it’s just too late in the evening to eat, it is almost bed time, so I just don’t eat. At times it seams that I am surviving on a diet of air, water and Kung Fu. Some of my UBBT team mates have noticed this and have brought it to my attention, and also have given me some excellent advice and suggestions on how I can quickly squeeze in a healthy meal on the go to keep my body fueled up.

Thanks everyone.

Tracking

2011-03-23T14:59:00.000-06:00

Tracking, tracking, tracking it feels like all I am ever doing now is tracking. Tracking what I eat, tracking how many sit ups and push ups I do, along with the number of reps I do of a certain form. I am even tracking how much water I have been drinking each day.

I know tracking all of this stuff has great benefits on my training, and I have been seeing the results already. Tracking helps you stick with it, because when you can see your numbers increase it is a sense of accomplishment. Especially on those days when you are just sick of push ups and would not mind just skipping that day, but you don’t because you know you will be angry with yourself since you won’t be adding to your total you will actually be taking away from it.

I believe so much in the benefits of tracking that we are doing that I introduced a fellow employee that had just started taking a martial art to the idea of tracking the number of times he does something. He now tracks every push up he does in a day and adds that to his total. He has said that it is a very excellent motivator and he is enjoying it, he never thought he would enjoy push ups.

So let’s keep on track (sick pun I know)

I Have It !!!

2011-03-20T22:39:00.000-06:00

Commitment, drive, passion, want, fulfillment, need, dedication, resolution, motivation, enthusiasm, spirit, energy, single-mindedness, desire, mania, fascination, obsession, compulsion, addiction, fervor, resolve, diligence, conscientiousness, perseverance, persistence, effort, determination, purpose, stubbornness.

I have also heard it called a illness, sickness, disease, infection, affliction, bug, virus.

It does not matter what it is called or by which way it its referred to we all have it, we all share it. Its what keeps us all going on the path towards MASTERY.

My Mind is Blank

2011-03-12T19:59:00.001-07:00

All week I have been trying to write my weekly blog but I have had no success. I have started a number of different topics to no end, but they all end up being gibberish.

Maybe next week I will have something to write about.

Thoughts

2011-03-04T15:06:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been wondering if I’m going in the right direction with my training. Since the beginning of UBBT 8, each day my focus is to do a set amount of reps (the minimum plus some extra) to meet my goals and to add a buffer for times of injury or sickness. But lately I have become obsessed with numbers, I must do more, I must keep increasing my numbers.

Yesterday as I was doing rep after rep of a form to add numbers to my UBBT goals, I started thinking. Am I doing this for the right reasons? Am I happy? To both of those questions I have to honesty say the answer is no.

No I am not doing these repetitions of this form for the right reason. I have been doing it for the numbers. I have been mindful on how I have been doing the form and have been improving so it has not been a total waste.

No I am not happy. I have been doing a form that I use to do because I loved doing it and now I am doing it just for numbers, also I have been so focused on doing this one form for the numbers that I have not been practicing any of the other forms that I know. (I miss those old friends)

I always practiced forms because I enjoyed them, I elated on how each move flowed into the next, the power and peacefulness of being part of the form. It is like being part of a dance, a dance for life and death.

At the end of the day I have to stop obsessing about the numbers and just start doing and let the numbers fall into place, also get reacquainted with some old friends (forms) and start enjoying what I do before I head down a path that I won’t be able to turn away from.

How much practice is too much?

2011-02-24T15:11:00.000-07:00

As I continue on my journey being part of UBBT 8. I have been noticing a change in how I have been doing one of my forms. At the beginning of UBBT one of my goals that I choose is to do 1000 reps of a form called Lao Gar. Now that is approximately 3 repetitions min per day for 365 days. To date I am happy to say that I am on track of meeting that goal. But as I continue to do these reps and strive to improve, it seems or feels to me that the more I do the worse I seem to be getting. Or is it that I am just starting to notice the other things that I have been doing incorrectly, like a hand position not quite right, a stance slightly off, or the flow of a technique feeling a little out of sync. As I continue on practicing this form daily and make corrections I wonder. Am I developing an eye for detail or am I just becoming so sloppy in my forms that it has become blatantly obvious that a blind man could see my mistakes?

Can you ever practice enough?

Have you ever had one of those weeks??

2011-02-18T10:06:00.000-07:00

Sunday I must admit was a good day but when Monday rolled around let me tell you it was not pretty. I will not go into any graphic details other then I was sick, really sick.

I did manage to keep up on my UBBT goals and even dragged myself off to Monday’s class in Onoway. Tuesday I was no better, I struggled to keep up with my goals and I even force myself to go and put in extra practice time on my forms in the evening. When Wednesday arrived I was bond and determined to go back to work no matter how bad I felt, but instead when I woke up in the morning I discovered that my furnace was not working and the house temperature was at 15ºC (59ºF) with the outside temperature of -22ºC (-7.5ºF). Through out the day as I checked, tested, retested the furnace, called a repair man to check, test and retest my furnace. I did push ups and sit ups to offset my frustration on why my furnace would not run and also to try and stay warm, it had dropped another 5ºC. In the end the culprit was found. It happened to be the gas meter and the gas company had to come out to replace it. The heat was back on and the house was warming up, but I was not doing so well by then. Either I had over done it or it was the cold, but I was defiantly not doing so well. That evening I did not go to class or even continued working on any of my goals. I just crashed in my cozy bed in my warm house.

A person must rest and let the body recover sometimes.

Thursday I woke up feeling better, went to work finally. I think my week is back on track.

Working Together

2011-02-08T15:01:00.000-07:00

Like some I also have been having a tough time, trying to write something this week. Most times I just let the weeks events since the last time I have written dictate what I write about. But I hate repeating what my fellow team mates have already spoken about. Yes you most likely guessed it; it would be about our Chinese New Year celebration. The celebrations, the demos, the food, the speeches, the awards, and the Lion Dance were all excellent as a person has come to expect from Silent River Kung Fu. But what a lot of the other students didn’t see or have experienced yet is the sense of team work and family camaraderie that you get from helping out with set up preparations before and the clean up afterwards. This is my third year helping out with the banquette preparations and I wouldn’t miss it for anything. I implore those of Silent River Kung Fu that haven’t experienced this before to step up next year and be part an experience that you won’t regret or forget. It will cement in you a sense of family and team work, which a lot of us at Silent River have come to know and cherish.

Ok this may not have had anything to do with my UBBT 8 journey but I had to write it.

Until next week

A Pebble in the Pond

2011-02-02T13:24:00.000-07:00

When I chose to become a student member of the UBBT, I did not realize at that time that what I was doing would affect those around me.
A few of the goals that I set for myself was concerned with a change to my diet, one of them is to consume 1000 liters of water in a year, the other is to eat a fruit a day, and also to top it off I will cut out all soft drink consumption for the year. For the last month I have been finding while I have be following these goals that my eating habits have been changing. I am becoming more conscious of what I am eating and feeding my family. There is now fresh fruit in the house for lunches and snaking on instead of prepackaged fruit that the kids took in their lunches to school. I am preparing meals using fresh vegetables instead of frozen or caned; I also have been cutting down on the amount of processed meats/meals (the quick dinners) that enter the house.

I must remember that as I make changes in my life, these changes will also affect the people around me.

I Need Space!!

2011-01-26T14:41:00.000-07:00

Middle of week 4 of the UBBT and most of my goals are progressing; I am falling behind on three of them. Them being Chin ups, reps of Qigong, and reps of Lao Gar. I have finally installed my chip up bar so I should start clime out of that hole soon. I don’t understand my lacking in Lao Gar, I love doing forms. I would prefer to do any form over and over before doing any push ups, but I am ahead on push ups and behind on my forms. I am thinking it might have something to do with the lacking of square footage to practice a form in the warmth of a building during our winter months. Currently I am in the process of looking for a place that I can work on forms and other Kung Fu stuff after work out of the elements that should be the fix I need. As for Qigong I am still trying to fit it into my daily routine and it is like trying to force a square peg into a round hole. (I’m going to need a bigger hammer)

Until next week if it doesn’t fit hit it harder.

The mind is empty, the body is full.

2011-01-19T11:46:00.000-07:00

Week 3 of being a student member of UBBT team 8, and I am finding it hard to write about something, but here it goes.

In my last post I mentioned that I needed to fit some of my new goals into a routine or I would fall so far behind. Well I did manage to work some of them in, not all yet unfortunately but there is hope.

One of the goals that I have chosen to do (1000 reps of a form) I am truly enjoying, and am very glad that I did not let the number “1000” scare me away form doing it. I have been thinking that I should video tape myself now doing this form and then at the end of UBBT 8 to see how much I have improved, it should prove rewarding.

Routine…Routine

2011-01-12T15:08:00.000-07:00

Into week 2 of the UBBT and I am finding it difficult to keep up my numbers on all of my goals. I have been noticing that the ones I am having trouble with are some of the new things that I do not normally do on a regular bases. I must learn to work these into my regular routine or I am going to fall so far behind I will think I am ahead.

On a home front note it is warm inside and cold outside, push ups are invigorating when you do them outside at -23ºC (-9.4ºF), forms on the other hand are rather interesting to do when you are all bundled up against the cold, (hey I had to try) there is a lack of flow, balance, and movement.

Until next week.

Out of my Comfort Zone and Into the World

2011-01-05T09:45:00.001-07:00

I am very excited and uncomfortable about this year. I have joined the Silent River Kung Fu UBBT Team 8, and it my first year doing the UBBT. Now I am out of my comfort zone.

The instructors and students here a Silent River Kung Fu have a tradition by doing 1000 push ups and sit ups on Jan 1, it is a great way to start the year off and a good motivator for the rest of the year.

I want to formally publish my goals that I have set out for myself, some are self explanatory and some are not, I will expand on the ones that are not.
1. 52 Journal entries
2. 50,000 Push ups
3. 50,000 Sit ups
4. 156 reps of Wudang 5 Animal Qigong
5. 2,080 chin ups
6. 5,200 kicks
7. 1000 acts of kindness
8. 1000 Liters of water consumed
9. 1000 reps of Lao Gar form
10. 365 fruits (I do not eat fruits, so I am challenging my self to eat at lest one fruit a day)
11. 365 days pop free (Quite drinking pop and other soft drinks)
12. Read 3 books on sailing (required reading for ASA Certification)
13. Learn how to sail a boat (take sailing lessons on one of our fresh water lakes)
(Regarding goals 12 and 13 – I have always wanted to sail around the world when I retire so these goals are working towards a longer term goals I have)
14. Grade for Black Belt

I have set my goals and have been pushing a head ever since January 1.

Wish me luck
Happy New Year Everyone

To Start A New

2010-12-22T21:55:00.000-07:00

With the New Year upon us, most everyone will be setting down a few “New Year Resolutions” that most will fail or get left on the wayside as the year moves on.
Now I have never been one to make a “New Year Resolution” nor will I start, but this year is a little different.
I have joined Silent River Kung Fu UBBT Team 8 and by doing so, have had to set down some goals that I will be following thru for the entire year of 2011.
I invite you to follow me on my journey. I will be posting my goals for UBBT 8 on my fist posting in the new year.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Doubts

2010-07-22T15:38:00.001-06:00

Ok there is only 40 days left before the black belt grading and 40 days before today if asked if I was grading this year I would have answered confidently “Yes”. Now I am not sure, I am seriously having a lot of doubts on my ability to be able to pass. Physically I think I am not in good enough shape, I still get winded easily and have to resort to using an inhaler more often then not just to catch my breath, and at times I feel as if I am going to black out. I am also having doubts on my abilities to be able do the forms and techniques correctly when ask to do them. It seams that the closer the grading gets the more befuddled I get.
I think this is going to be the greatest challenge I may have to face on the road to being a black belt (I thought memorizing “Mastery by Stewart Emery” was tough) but now I have to master my anxiety and fears about testing and regain my confidence in my self.
40 days is such a short time!

Summer Time

2010-07-08T15:15:00.001-06:00

Well its summer time and the weather is nice, not to hot and with a bit of rain here and there. With summer comes the end of training in Onoway until school starts up in the fall again. This is the first year that I have continued my training during the summer months at the Stony Plain Kwoon not wanting to slack off during these nice summer months.
So far it has been great training with a bunch of new people, helping out different Sifu’s that I have only seen once or twice and never while they where teaching their classes. It is a new perspective quite different then the mixed classes that we have in Onoway.
Something that I have been noticing for awhile in the Sihing class and now in the Teen and Adults classes is the some of the techniques that we have learned at the Onoway Kwoon are not quite like the ones taught at the Stony Plain Kwoon. I don’t know if it is just that these techniques have progressed farther here in Stony and the progression has made it out to Onoway yet, or what? It is a little frustrating and unnerving, and my confidence in my knowledge of the curriculum has plunged down the sewer, I have been finding my self standing back waiting to see how things are done first instead of just jumping in and doing them. The bright side of this is that each day that I am there I learn something new or the proper way to do it and I will be able to take that back with me to Onoway in the fall.

Sit ups, Sit ups When is there time?

2010-06-22T14:32:00.001-06:00

Last week June 14th to the 17th I spent four days in San Jose California at a conference on a software application that the company I work for uses. Now California is a nice place and the conference was very informative and I came back with a lot of good ideas and a fresh outlook on how to better use the software that I work with on a daily bases. But while I was a way I was finding it hard to find the time to do my push ups and sit ups let alone practice Kung Fu. There was always something happening. I would get up in the morning and nock off a few push ups and sit ups before having a shower and then it was off to breakfast, then off to the conference room, at lunch I would eat something small then race off to my hotel room and do some more push ups and sit ups, then back down to the conference room. Then it was supper and after we’d head off on some activity. The company that put on the conference was very good at not leaving us much free time; we were either in a conference room or off at an activity that they had planed. I must admit it was fun and I enjoyed it all. I knew my push ups and sit ups were suffering and there were times where I could have made up for them, but I just could not get enough courage screwed up to do the in front of a bunch of people. I will give it those people that can do their push ups out in public, they have courage and confidence in themselves.
I felt a little out of sorts when I went the Sihing class on Friday, because that was the last class that I had attended before leaving to San Jose. I hade missed the Monday and Wednesdays classes that I go to in Onoway, so I felt like I had missing something, like a missed opportunity I was disconjointed, I hate missing a class any class. The bright side of all of this is that on Monday I tallied up my push ups and sit ups from my iPod and entered them into a daily calendar I use for hard storage of my numbers, and I found my numbers weren’t as bad as I thought they were going to be, they were still low but not to bad. Nothing that is going to prevent me from reaching my goal of 26,000 by September 1, also Monday night’s class in Onoway brought back that feeling of unity that I was missing.

Demos and the Silent River way

2010-06-08T12:51:00.000-06:00

Heritage Days are over in Onoway for another year and again the Onoway students performed excellent. I think this year we had best turn out of the number of students that came and participated in the parade and demo. Nearly the entire school attended.

Things that are needed for next year; a portable stereo for demo music, schedule the Lion Dance and Demo with the Heritage Day committee so that it will be advertised in the schedule for the events of the day and then we will have a set time and place.

Things I would like to change for next year; put in sets of self defense techniques in between forms, start preparing for the demo earlier and try to break the tradition of doing it last minute (The Silent River Way).

In all every one performed excellent with minimal preparation and should be proud of them selves.

One Injury after another.

2010-06-01T11:35:00.000-06:00

Week three of blogging;
I do not know if continuing to write down my thoughts, trials and revelations and than publishing them on the web are going to do me any good in the future. But with most things that I do I will continue on without giving up. I know that Sifu Brinker would not be asking us to document our journey in the martial arts if there was no value in doing it. One day I hope to be able to see the wisdom in this blogging thing, but only through time and patients will I gain wisdom.

Last night I was reminded of a statement that Sifu Brinker had said to all of us. “At this level in you training you will find that as one injury is healing you will most likely injure something else. Don’t stop in your training but modify it to allow those injured parts to heal.” Why I was reminded of this statement last night was my wrist that I had injured about a month ago was starting to feel better and I was able to get a decent amount of rotation in it without a lot of pain, so I was practicing double reticulation with my spear and it was feeling really good. I was concentrating on maintaining a firm grip with both hands as is needed and all of the sudden out of no where my right shoulder is in a lot of pain. I think I may have strained the muscles in it do to the fact of the lack of flexibility in my wrists, I hope it is not to severe and it heals quickly.

Where am I? What am I doing?

2010-05-25T11:28:00.000-06:00

I find that ever since I heard Sifu Brinker say the phrase "Where am I? What am I doing?" and ask us to keep this in our mind during our training. I seem to be asking myself that, all of the time in everything I do. I have become more mindful of what I am doing in my life and in my training as a martial artist.
I am becoming more efficient in the tasks that I do. I am constantly taking a look at my surrounding and saying in my mind “Where am I?” and then actually answering myself, then I ask “What am I doing” and I answer myself again. Then I set out and complete the task, not spending needless time thinking about what else I should be doing.
Since I keep asking myself that simple phrase, I have been finding more and more time to be practicing Kung Fu either physically or mentally. Especially when I am doing something in my day to day life, it is amazing how many forms, techniques, or combinations you can do while waiting for that steak, or eggs to cook. A chicken is a whole other work out on its own.
I have been finding that a person has a lot of free time in a day; you just have to know how to look for it. It is just as Sifu Brinker has been saying; we all have few minutes here and there of free time in our busy days, we just have to recognize them and use them wisely.

To Blog or Not To Blog ?

2010-05-17T11:09:00.000-06:00

During last Fridays Sihing class Sifu Brinker informed all of us that it is now a requirement that we all start blogging, if we haven't already started. To me doing something like blogging is like going to the dentist and saying "No thanks to the freezing" before having that cavity filled. It is just not something that I feel comfortable doing. (Publishing my thoughts on the web “eeek!!”)
I spent all weekend worrying about doing this, having nightmares on blogging when I did sleep, most of the time I was just in a state of panic. To me this is a very large obstacle to get over and I'm not over it yet, not in the least. But this has been a big step; hopefully the next one will be easier, if I am not in a major state of panic.