Acceptance

Heyo everyone, this weeks blog is about success and it’s consequences. 

One of the things that I’ve been working towards is the upcoming days of college and the approaching life of adulthood. One of the big things of this was working to obtain acceptance to college. I had only applied to one, so my chances now were fairly slim. However, on Friday, I received my acceptance letter to Lethbridge College. I have strongly mixed feelings about it. On one hand, I’m happy about the success. I made it, I was able to get through. This could set me up for the rest of my life. However, I’m also anxious. Lethbridge is 6 hours away. That separates me from almost everything I have at home. Life is going to be undergoing some huge changes.

I think that when you look at opportunities in life, you have to weigh in the positive and negative outcomes. Life’s about taking risks and taking chances. Sometimes you have to sacrifice something for a larger outcome. 

Update

Heyo everyone, this weeks blog doesn’t have a theme. Life’s been really busy but at this point it sounds like all my life lessons are being reiterated and rewrote every week and I’m saying the same thing in different words. It’s gotten rather difficult to blog based on this, so this weeks blog is going to be a post saying life is going alright. Stress is ever present but I’m keeping my chin up 

Rainbows

Heyo everyone, this weeks blog is going to be about overwhelming amounts of work and looking at the rainbow past the rain

There is like, less then 15 school days till I start writing my diplomas. In the timespan of a few weeks, I have to write 7 different exams, including 4 papers and 3 tests. The pressure is starting to kick in, and anxiety is really beginning to build. Ill be the first to admit that my attention span isn’t really that great, so spending 6.5 hours a day for two days in a row writing straight essays is going to be a two very tough days. I struggle getting through the 84 minutes of class time I get to write, so getting through the 780 minutes isn’t going to be an easy go. And to make that better, my three exams are back to back to back, so I’ll have no rest or study time between them. 

I’m a tad worried about it all. It’s a lot to take all at once, but I’m also anticipating the following semester. It’ll be a lot of fun, because I’ll have my two favourite core subjects, phys ed, and a spare. Plus, once that’s done with, my summer is already starting to look like a fun time. I’m ready for next little bit to unfold, but for now, I’m going to live in the present.

A Small Thank You

Heyo everyone, this weeks blog is going to be about progress, and a short one.

When I look back to my first year of the IHC, I was a blue belt, and far, far from the person I am today. Over the years a lot has happened; I've overcome obstacles, I've fought fights I didn't know I could, I found a home away from home, with a family to go along with it. Every decision I have made has led me a little bit further down this path I walk on, and I don't regret any of them. The distance I've come is more then I ever could have thought I'd be able to. Overall, the progress that has been made has been good, both in general and to me personally. I'm grateful for everything and everyone who has influenced my progress and decisions and to everyone who supports me no matter what happens. Thank you everyone.

Right

Heyo everyone, this weeks blog is very late, due to technical difficulties and a very very busy week, but it’s about what is right, and how we define it.

During a lunch hour within the last week or two, a discussion arose at the table which I was sitting at. It changed topics several times, but followed the same general gist. To what end is human acts acceptable, and what should the repercussions be? The main topic was about the raising of livestock. A point was brought up that there’s two main paths people raise livestock. People who raise with care and tolerance and patience, and those who do not. Several people vouched that it was clear which was the right way, and which was not. I saw that too. However, if one way was so wrong, why do people do it? Stuck on this question, I detached myself from the conversation to mull it over. I came to the conclusion that there is no definitive definition of right when it comes to moral and ethics beliefs. Everyone has their own opinion of what is right, and this is affected by several factors. One is tradition. If a man grows up watching his father raise cows the way his father did it, it will have a certain level of rightness in his mind. When you factor in life experiences and understandings, each one will alter your opinion of right. Overall, a sense of empathy has been established in a large portion of the population. The respect for living creatures, each other, etc. However, there is still a large portion of people who don’t respect anything or anyone that doesn’t immediately impact themselves. These are the people who litter, pay no attention to mishaps in livestock production, pollute without much conscience thought.

A member of the conversation, a vegetarian, produced the argument that there is no reason we should value the life of any animal over our own, because they think and live the same as us, and that the only reason we assume ourselves to be smarter is because we created the system which defines intelligence. With immense bias on the system, intelligence can be seen to be measured through means such as communication, expansion of thought into realms such as political and economic, and that we set ourselves up to succeed in the food chain. Whilst this is all true, I thought, why do people eat meat? Millions of people don’t, so quite obviously we can sustain quite well without it. What ethic or moral law gives us the right to pray off other species? There is none. The only right we have is the same one given to bears and badgers and hedgehogs and other omnivores by nature. We have evolutionary traits which let us consume and benefit from meat, and yet, we can also survive sufficiently without. When it comes down to it, I think that the big thing which matters comes back to ethics and moral. I personally understand taking the life of another creature as a source of food, you see it all the time in nature. However, what truly matters is the respect of the life of all creatures. To me, respect should be a universal “right”; something untouched by tradition and morals and ethics, unconditionally a part of our way of life.

On the topic of universal rights, I don’t think there’s much, aside from values such as respect. As the golden rule is always repeated in school, treat others the way you want to be treated. But from that, go further. Treat others the way they deserve to be treated. There’s not a lot of exceptions to this, aside the ones set in place by nature herself. And I’m not talking about hierarchies over other creatures. Nature has clearly set the line in which we need to pray off of each, however that’s a lot more philosophy I don’t feel like getting into much more.

With that, this is my last post until the grading. My feelings are quite mixed. Anxiety and nervousness are colliding with excitement and anticipation. Overall, it’ll be an experience. 

Motivation and Fear

Heyo everyone, this weeks blog is going to be a messy one about motivation and fear

I really don’t know how I can convert my thoughts to words on this one, or in this case, my feelings to words. I think the main concept I’m looking at is how your fear can affect your motivation both positively and negatively. In some cases, fear can cause you to run from your goal and hide from it, maybe because you’re afraid of failure, afraid of something personal perhaps. It really hampers your motivation to pull through. However, on the contrary, the same thing can boost your motivation. Your fear of what will happen if you don’t reach your goal may motivate you to get there, your fear of failure may drive you to train harder instead of avoiding it all together.

To me, there’s a very direct connection between your fear and your motivation. I don’t like fear, but it’s ever present. We have to learn how to use it. By learning how to “control” our fear so we can use it to boost are motivation, who knows. It’s still a concept I’m working on. But I’m working on it.

Proficiencies

Heyo everyone, this weeks blog is going to be about differences between people, and using what you’re good at to help others who struggle in that field.

 

In 30-1 math, there’s 11 different units to cover throughout the semester. It’s to no surprise that some people will excel in some units and struggle with some, but more people more or less manage to pull through. My best unit so far was Permutations and Combinations, which was all about patterns. The majority of the class struggled with that unit, yet excelled in the previous one, Trig 1.  During lunch on Wednesday, I was helping someone with their Perms and Coms in exchange for help with the Trig 1, which I did not do very well in. Needless to say, I was good at something he wanted to get better at, and vice versa, so we were able to help each other out.

 

When it comes to Kung Fu, the same thing applies. Some people excels in some categories and some in others. If you’re able to figure out what you need the most help with, you can begin to find someone who may be proficient in that field. Heck, they may need some help with the thing you excel in. Overall, understanding that different people are better at different things will help you go forward in what you want to achieve. 

Mind Games

Hey guys. This weeks blog will be about coping with problems from the past.

For anyone who wasn’t at the meeting, I brought up some personal issues of mine that were a huge part of my past, and had a big part in defining who I am today. For some time, I thought everything had gone away. I was thinking straight, I wasn’t relapsing, it was going good. But lately, things have been slipping. Old problems returning worse then before, etc. It’s been harder the usual to deal with lately, and I don’t know if that’s from the stress, the anxiety, or the fact that I’ve been ignoring it, hoping that if I ignored it long enough it would go away again. Long story cut short, that did not work. At all. It’s been worse then ever. And there’s nights where I don’t know who I am anymore and it scares me. It really does.

There was once a time where I believed that I was indestructible. I know now that I am fragile. But I also have nothing to gain from fearing my own fragility. I’ve tried to embrace my difficulties, I’ve tried to fight them, I’ve tried to conform to them, but nothing seems to work. So that leaves me with the problem. How do I overcome them? I’m not quite sure. Maybe I’ll just ride it out. Maybe it’s time to go back to seeking professional help. But I’m not going to let a little bit of mind games hamper my journey. This is my own journey. And it’s gonna be a good one. It’s not His, and so I won’t let Him live it for me. I’m the master of my own mind.

Appreciation

Heyo everyone. This weeks post will be a short appreciation post for everything I have. Sometimes it’s easy to miss things and by writing a blog about it I believe it will help me with understanding the value of each one.

I’ve gotten to where I am now because of many things. The support of others, the challenges put in front of me, the crazy things that altered my life, etc. But out of all of these, I just want to focus on a small group today. I’m thankful for my family. My brother, who, despite our arguments, will always be there if I need him. My sister, who is willing to work harder when I’m not feeling well or I’m away to keep me up to speed, a mom who’s willing to get up early to make a lunch when I don’t feel like eating, and a dad who goes out of his way to make sure my life stays intact and moving forward. I have friends who keep me entertained and look out for me, making sure my back is always spotted. I’ve got all of my training partners at the Kwoon, who help makes it such a positive environment. For my classmates at school for aiding in my learning experience. For my coworkers for watching out for me, the little guy. For my pets, for being fluffy pillows of emotional relief, for everyone who’s affected me in anyway shape or form over the past 17 years. It’s put me where I am today but I wouldn't be even blogging this if it was not for my instructors who have guided and supported me alone this journey.

Crash and Burn

Heyo everyone, this weeks blog will be about burning out

Thursday did not go the way I had it planned. It was supposed to be a busy day full of productivity. Wake up, go to morning class, go to school, float by the first half of the day, pay serious attention in math, write a paper in social, go out with some friends for a little bit after school, go to parent teacher interviews, then go to the IHC class. A busy day, but nothing I haven’t been doing for the last few months. Well, spoiler alert, none of this ended up happening. I ended up sleeping all day in an attempt to actually get out of bed. 

When I woke up at 530 to get ready for the morning class, I couldn’t get out of bed, so I thought, I’ll take the extra hour of sleep today, I need it. When the time came to get up for school, I felt sick and exhausted, and I couldn’t get up then either. I had dad call me in sick, and I ended up sleeping through the majority of the day and still be tired the next morning. I eventually decided that the cause of this was doing too much for too long with too little rest. What I thought was a good balance turned out not to be a good balance. Huh. Damn. I really thought I had it.

I think the lesson I’m taking away from this IHC year is the important of balance. I never really valued it in the past as much as I do now. This year, balance has been a huge challenge for me and definitely has been an eye opener to how balancing life will be in the future. I may as well change my blog name to Simons balancing act because that is what this year is about. Balance. A beautiful thing.

A Little Awesome

Heyo everyone, this weeks blog will be about the little things in life and the positive impact they can have on you.

In English, we began reading excerpts from “The Book of Awesome.” The whole book basically talks about different small events that can make your day that much better. The one that stood out for me was titled “strategic trick or treating”. The author went into very dramatic detail about the art of trick or treating, from choosing the most effective costume based on visibility on movement, having the right partner, the right times, etc. Reading it gave me a lot of joy, and made my day that much better. 

I’ve come to the conclusion that no matter how small something is it still has the capability to change your whole mood. Reading that little bit of Halloween gave me a sense of nostalgia to when that was one of my most anticipated times of the year. For me, looking at my old belts and my old uniforms sorta does the same thing. It takes me back, it makes me smile, it makes the day a little more awesome.

Home in Time for Dinner

Heyo everyone, this weeks blog will be about biting off more then you can chew.

These last few weeks I feel like I’ve been pushing myself farther then what’s logically healthy. I work twenty-three hours a week, I’m at school close to eight hours a day, I’m at the Kwoon up to ten hours a week, and on top of that I’m spending upwards of twenty-four hours a week studying, practicing at home, and fitting in what little time I still have for social activities. There’s days I get up at 5 and I’m not home till nearly midnight. Is this what adulting feels like? If so, I don’t like it. And I haven’t even got to taxes yet wow. 

Sometimes I feel like I need to slow down and digest what I have going on now before I try and take on another part of life. But then the rambunctious teenager in me goes “I can take it” and there I go again, taking on more responsibility. It’s shown me that part of being human is having a limit. Nobody can take on everything. Hence, the importance of that precious balance. Sooner or later, I understand that I may have to cut something back (most likely my work hours) in an attempt to regain my slipping balance, something I don’t want to do, however, mandatory if I want to be successful.

Teacher/Student

Heyo everyone, this weeks blog is going to be about understanding students as a teacher.

I’m going to start this blog by saying I’m not doing the best in math this year. Not awful, but not the best. I could probably think of several excuses to why this is the case but that’s all they are. Excuses. However, I do believe that the root cause would be that I’m not really learning anything from my teacher. To put it simply, he doesn’t teach the way I learn. So far, I’ve learnt everything from another teacher I spend my lunch times seeing, and my textbook. Every single teacher will teach a different way, just as every single student will learn a different way. It’s the responsibility of both to make sure that the student will find someone who can teach to them in a way that they’re best suited to learn. Sometimes you do have to be adaptable, but it’s really hard to adapt to something completely out of your natural way of thinking. 

The Kwoon is no different. It’s a school; people teach, people practice, people learn, people perfect, etc. And with that comes the natural balance and conflict of teachers and learners. Even though the quality of teacher varies from person to person, everybody will connect with someone when teaching. Learning from my own difficulties at school, I’ve begun to apply this to my own methods of teaching, in an attempt to make myself more aware of the gap that may exist between myself and whomever I may be teaching, and adapting my methods to their own as best as possible.

Cookies of Kindness

Heyo everyone, this weeks blog is kinda messy and short but it’s about AoK. 

Last Thursday, during the height of Tim Hortons smile cookie sales, I ended up buying a total of 25 (I didn’t eat them all myself, don’t worry). It was hard not to buy so many, knowing the money went to a good cause. Anyways, I bought five before school even started, and handed them out to the first five kids I saw at school. Whilst 4/5 cookies I handed out started off someone’s day good, the last one took someone’s day, which was off to a crappy start, and turned it around, and they ended up riding that good mood throughout the day. All from one smiling cookie. I thought, wow, this is awesome. So awesome I went with friends after school to buy twenty more. Smiles went around that day, quite literally.

Looking back on it, it’s interesting to see what one itty bitty one dollar cookie can do. Someone could have had a really bad day all because it got off to a bad start, but instead, they were able to enjoy it. I’ve always understood the value of the AoK, but I don’t think you can truly understand the significance in it until you directly see the impact it has on someone. Doing the AoK, knowing it makes the world a better place is one thing, but understanding that each one has the potential to make a specific individuals life that much better. I see a lot more value behind the acts of kindness then I did previously, which I didn’t realize was possible I guess it was. Overall, realizing that I was able to improve someone’s day with one small deed was enough to make my day better, and for me, that’s a win win. 

Long Since Lost

Heyo everyone, this weeks blog is going to be about the forever changing elements of life.

So far, 30-1 social studies is a lot of philosophy. One of the things we’ve discussed is human nature, and several different views of human nature from several different philosophers. One of them that stood out to me was the view of Thomas Hobbes, which was very similar to that of William Golding. In both of their books, respectively Leviathan and Lord of the Flies, they illustrate how the human nature is one that, if left ungoverned and unattended, will proceed in a direction of violence, a desire for power, and never having enough; always wanting more. I thought about this for a long time. If you took an environment like the Kwoon and removed all senses of government and consequence, I believe it would prosper opposed to falling apart, out of pre-existing bonds of respect and discipline. If you took a random group of people off the street, the tension may be a bit more shaky but all the same, I don’t think everything would collapse because we have millennia of behavioural traits programmed into us. It is nearly impossible to find someone who is 100% base human. They would lack communication, manners, charisma, even the standard level of intelligence today. Even if you isolated a child from the moment it was born, it would still turn out better then it would at the start of time. That’s the result of ages of human programming.

When I took this idea of a base human nature being forever lost and tried applying the concept to my Kung Fu and looking for links between the two, two big things stood out. The concept of studying a martial art that’s thousands of years old, and the concept of all knowledge dying with its bearer. These three concepts go hand in hand. Over the thousands of years, knowledge has been passed through thousands of people. Every time someone died, they took so much knowledge with them. To compensate, people would have to begin to create their own techniques and forms to fill in the gaps. Over the generations, what we have now is so different from what original Kung Fu would look like we can’t even imagine it. Just as how true, 100% base human is lost forever, so is the original versions of Kung Fu.

However, this isn’t a bad thing. Evolution exists for a reason. There’s a reason we no longer use sticks and stones for weapons or tools. We evolved passed that, because not evolving wasn’t really an option. As time proceeds so does technology and ideology, slowly improving, with an occasional hiccup here or there. But overall, as everything moves forward, it’s easy to leave the old behind. It’s best to remember as much as you can, and pass on as much as you can, in an attempt to preserve both the old whilst fostering the new.

The Last Hoorah

Heyo everyone, this weeks blog is about the nearing end of one journey and the preparation of a new one.

One of the biggest journeys in every child’s lifetime is school. It’s something you start when you’re four and finish at eighteen. Looking back, I have few remaining memories of grade school, but the one thing I remember is looking at all the older kids thinking “Wow. They’re so big”. Overtime, as you go up a grade, you slowly rise the pole of school hierarchy. I remember being in grade three and thinking “I’m the big fish of this division.” And then reaching grade six and thinking “I’m the biggest fish in these whole two divisions” then grade nine and thinking “I’m the biggest fish in the whole school.” But every time I had those thoughts, I knew there was still a higher grade, a bigger fish. But now, there is no “bigger fish”. This is as big as you get for primary schooling. The senior year. The last step before the big wide world of adulthood and taxes and rent and mortgages. So much to look forward to. 

Looking at all the time I’ve spent over the last few years, it makes me realize how precious time truly is. I look back to my first year of the I Ho Chuan and I think wow. This last Thursday and Saturday I made a point to try and review all of my forms I’ve ever done, including my self made weapons forms for the IHC. Doing my first sword form, I thought “man this is really basic” and it was. All I did was spin my sword in a circle a bunch of times, really. At the time, that form was my most prized possession. Now, it’s something I look back on and think “did I really actually do that as a form?” Overall, I’m proud of that form and of where I was at then. The fact that I look back now and think “oh man” is a good sign, because it shows that with time came growth, and growth is good.

Overall, the whole of my life has been relatively the same. School changes from year to year but the structure is relatively similar. Kung Fu has changed since I first started but still, the structure is relatively similar. Now, as I prepare myself to jump into the new world, I’m leaving behind that school structure I’m so used to, and with that, the way I view my Kung Fu will be affected. Understanding that, and that no matter what happens, Kung Fu will always be a part of me, is something I’ll be working towards, hoping it will help my in the future. Who knows that will happen after this year. But first things first: let’s get through this year.

Qualities I Don’t Have

Heyo everyone, this is the part two of last weeks blog, and will be focusing on the second half of the topic. For anyone who missed my blog last week, I talked and explained about the five qualities of a black belt I believe I have. Now, I’ll talk about the five I believe I lack.

1. Confidence/Fearless of Failure. Over the last few years, I’ve been struggling with a problem I had once received professional help on. This problem, of course, is anxiety. I find that, when faced with any form of negative plausible outcome, the stress and pressure cause me to fear failure, which cause me to freak out. For me, this is something I have to overcome. A black belt should be willingly and ready to learn in any circumstance, and one of the best ways to learn is through failure. A mindset that is stronger in the beginner classes and weakens as you move up is that failure is a bad thing. Nobody likes to fail, that’s a given. But being able to accept your failure and use it to propel yourself forward is a very mature concept in my opinion, and is something I see in a black belt. 

2. Control. Being able to channel your properly whilst keeping it in complete control is by far one of the biggest qualities a black belt should have. I find I can control myself using small quantities of power, but the moment I have the increase it, my control starts to lower at an alarming rate. This is something that greatly concerns me because in my eyes control is one of the, if not the most important qualities a black belt should have. The big thing for me is mainly in sparring when I get backed into a corner, or when I feel “outgunned”, for lack of better term. I have a tendency to start lashing out and giving it my all, which usually ends up being all power and little control. This is something I’ve been working on over the last little hi and I think it’s coming along, but it still doesn’t feel like where I want it to be. 

3. Beginner sets the place/leadership. One thing I struggle with when doing a warm up or working one on one with someone is doing everything at their pace. I have a tendency to do things at my own pace and sometimes I forget that the people I’m leading don’t go quite at my pace. If I take everything I’ve learnt in the past 8 years and try to teach it to one person in 30 minutes, it’s overall a waste of time. When working with someone who has lesser experience then you, you have to understand what they know, and what the best step for them is. And that’s what’s I forget. The best STEP, not STEPS. Learning takes time, so it’s best to make sure you don’t over-teach and give out more then they can handle.

4. Technique > Realism. Yes, I’m one of those people who like to jump straight to realism. This is a bad habit that has developed over the years and it’s finally come back to bite me. When jumping straight from learning something to realism and bypassing speed, power, accuracy and technique, what you’re learning ends up not looking very good. At all. Overtime, I’ve slowly been working on trying to get everything order, and I’ve been able to get my speed/power and accuracy someone in line, but I’m still struggling with the very first step. Technique. A lot of my technique is not in a good place, and I’ve been working like crazy the last few months trying to get everything in line. Now it’s a balancing game. I want to try and get my technique more level and where it should be but I also don’t want to sacrifice too much of my speed/power, accuracy or realism to do so. 

5. Courage. This is one I wasn’t sure I should put or not, but I decided I should. I’ll have to explain this one a bit in depth because it makes sense in my mind but I don’t know if it’ll come off in words well. When I think of a black belt, I think of someone who is capable of breaking through mental and physical boundaries to reach their goals, among things. This isn’t easy to do. Nothing is, really. They all take a tremendous amount of work to achieve, and with that, tremendous amounts of courage. When trailblazing into unknown territory, you never know what may go wrong. For me, a quality of a black belt is being able to overcome the “this will go wrong” attitude and attempting anyways. This takes a huge amount of courage, something I find myself lacking in. As someone who has struggled in the past with dealing with fear, it’s hard for me. I think being able to keep my chin up and trek forward despite how intimidating it may be is something I definitely need to work on, but I don’t even know where to start. This is a messy idea, I couldn’t put it in writing as well as I was hoping but that’s the gist of it.

Overall I have a lot to work on, and whilst this list may change these are the 5 big ones in my opinion, as of right now.

Qualities I Have

Heyo everyone, it was brought up at the last Sihing Class that it would be wise to blog about five qualities a black belt we have and five we don’t. This topic has been touched on in a few blogs already, so I’ll try to make mine a tad different. This week, I will only be writing about the five qualities I believe I already have, along with why I believe they’re a black belt quality, why I believe I have them and why I value them/why I have them. So without further ado, let’s begin.

1. Being spontaneous. At one of the classes this last week, Sifu Brinker mentioned that if someone attacks you, you don’t think about what you’re going to do and then do it, you do it then you think about it. All in all, you have to be spontaneous. I don’t think I’m the most spontaneous person out there, but I find myself comfortable in coming up with things on the fly, whether it be in the warm up, performing techniques or engaging in conversation. Sometimes I think the reason I can come up with something usable on the fly is because I’ve been doing it for quite some time, and practice makes perfect. I’ve always had a mind that moves faster then I can keep up usually, and quite often I trip over my speech. However, it helps me when it comes to doing without actually thinking. I think the reason I value this is because there are times where it’s better not to think, and just to do. Sometimes if you take the time to think, you miss a golden opportunity. 

2. Intent. When striking and blocking, one thing is usually brought up. You can have all the power in the world behind it, but if there’s no intent, that power isn’t living up to any of its potential. However, the whole idea of intent is applied during our time as a green belt. What makes this a black belt concept in my mind is the idea behind the intent. If your intent is to purely to smack through an opponent, that gets the job done, however, it lacks a certain mindset. I try to incorporate my intent with the thought of “I don’t want to smack through someone, but I will if I have to.” I don’t know how much that makes sense written down because it came out better in my head, but all in all intent grows as your understanding of it does.

3. 6 Physical Harmonies. I definitely have a way to go with my harmonies. I would necessarily say this a trait I have down pat because it takes a long time to get these down pat. But I think it’s definitely coming along. One of the big things I’ve been working on over the last few years is making sure my hands are in sync with my feet, my elbows to my knees and my shoulders to my hips. I find a lot of value in this because keeping the body unified is a fundamental in driving power from the earth, through you. The more unified your body is, the better everything flows.

4. Intensity. Something I’ve been commented on over the years is my level of intensity. I find I’m very effective at channeling my energy into something my technique and creating that level of intensity, yet sometimes I can take it a step too far and it effects my technique. Now I’m working making sure my technique and intensity remain balanced: one doesn’t tip the other out of proportion. For me balance has always proven to be a valuable aspect in my life and it’s important to me to make sure everything remains balanced, and so me working on my intensity/technique balance and being able to somewhat get it balanced is big for me.

5. Pulling everything back into proportion. I wasn’t sure exactly how to phrase this one, but what I mean is the ability to be able to consciously see when things are getting out of sorts and your heart is racing and everything is going really fast, and being able to take a few deep breathes and bring everything back down to where it should be. This is something I consciously try to do before my forms and whenever I get stressed and I find it helps me a lot. For me, this is a black belt quality  because it’s something we all need to be able to do, and yet it’s still so difficult yet so easy to do.

I don’t know how many of these made sense to everyone but part two of this will be coming next week.

Backpack of the Mind

Heyo everyone, this weeks lesson is going to be about retaining certain information and using it to prepare yourself for what the future may hold.

Every time I leave my household for any reasons besides school and Kung Fu, I bring along a small green hiking backpack. This is the backpack I use for everything: spending the night at a friends, going for a hike, going to work, etc. Every time I go somewhere, I bring the backpack. For most, bringing a backpack places would seem practical. It’s an efficient way to hold a change of clothes, a water bottle, valuables, etc. And for the same people, if they brought a backpack somewhere, it would hold only what would seem relevant to them for that exact situation. And yet I like to think my backpack is a bit different. There are things in my backpack that never get removed unless it’s for immediate use, and after it’s been used, it goes back into the bag. These items include a 50ft spoil of rope, a pocket knife, a flashlight, some duck tape and electrical tape, and a change of socks (because wet socks are the worst). The thing about these objects is that not all of them were put in the bag all at once. Overtime, I add a new haul of items for a new occasion, and when I go to clear them out for the next day, I look at an object and think “yeah, I may need these later” and back into the bag it goes.

The few objects I keep in the bag are all practical tools if you ever find yourself in a pinch. They all serve a multitude of purposes (even the socks) and can prove to be very useful in a situation where you never would have thought it would have even been applicable. With that, I want to now use my bag as a comparison to the human mind. Just like how for every time I go out I’ll add a few objects with a designate purpose to what I plan on doing, during every second our brain retrieves a certain amount of information relevant to that second. And the same way I empty my bag after my day is over to make room for the new stuff coming up, our brain will empty all that little information it doesn’t need anymore to make room for the next second. And just like how my bag has a few items which are considered practical and reasonable to carry around, our brains will deem some lessons or information practical and reasonable to retain.

I like to think of my brain now as something similar to my bag. There will always be things going in and things going out. Just like how a bag cannot carry everything, a brain can’t hold everything. Yet every once in a while something is important enough to get placed in the bag and in the mind for a long time. These pieces of information and knowledge don’t always stick automatically and it’s up to us to make sure we take it all in properly. Having a large array of knowledge and experience to be able to fall back on is something that helps us get ready for what’s to come in the future. Right now, preparing for grading feels like packing for a big trip. You’re trying to fit as much as you can into your bag, and it doesn’t seem like it will all fit. Lucky for us, we don’t need to get a bigger bag to fit more things when it comes to our minds. We just need to practice more frequently and wisely. By doing so, it’s easy to add more and more effective tools to the backpack of the mind, which means when a time comes where you need to know something, you know it. 

Consistency

Heyo everyone, this weeks blog is going to be about practice, and the importance of practicing properly.

When looking at the amount of classes I attended this week, it was really bad, in comparison to my what I used to be getting. I was only able to get to 3 classes this week, which includes the Wednesday and Thursday morning classes and the IHC class on Thursday. But even though my classes weren’t as good as I’d like, I’d still consider this one of my more successful weeks, because I was finally able to get something off of my plate that was starting to weigh down on my mind; breaking my boards. 

I didn’t want to blog about breaking my boards at first, but I realized there is a lesson in it, so here I am. When I first attempted on Canada Day, I had two major red flags. I failed to break all four in a row and my side heel kick failed to meet the required technique. My kicks have proven to be rather below the level I want them to be, and that was an eye opener for me. Over the past month and a bit since Canada day, one of the big things I’ve been working on is the flexibility in my hip. After a small incident a few years ago I lost a fair bit of the flexibility in a few of my joints. At the time, I thought “no, I’m as good as I was before hand” and with that, I’m pretty sure I’ve been practicing some bad technique for the last few years as a result. 

I ended up slowing down my side heels and practicing them at 25% speed to make sure the toes stayed down, and I’ve slowly begun to speed them up. However, as Sifu Brinker mentioned on Thursday, there are times where my toes do rise above my heel. Despite these flaws, I feel my kicks have come a long ways in a short time, yet they still have long ways to go. With that, I have to work on my other kicks just as equally, because they too have a lot of room to improve. It reminds me that I have a lot of things I still have yet to achieve and everyday I get better.

It reminds me that all we can do is get better. As long as we can identify and create a plan for a problem, we can figure out how to get around it.

The Sun Will Set

Heyo everyone, this weeks blog is going to be about adapting and accepting when things don’t go your way 

For those who weren’t aware, I recently got a job at Canadian Tire. I rather enjoy it, too. It’s helping me build my people person skills, I’ve been getting tons of steps, I’m making a little bit of cash, there’s a lot of pros. However, anything with pros comes with cons. Over the next two weeks, my hours line up so that instead of getting my usual 20+ hours per two weeks of mat time, I’m getting 3. I’ve already begun submitting some schedule changes so I can attend some of the more pressing classes and events. It would be nice to attend them all, but it all comes down now to that precious balance. This job is really good for me and I don’t want to blow it by being so committed to Kung Fu, but I also don’t want to sacrifice my Kung Fu because I’m so focused on doing well in this job.

When I first saw that all my shifts were evenings on Kung Fu days, I was really upset, not going to lie. Some days I work 5-9. That’s literally the Kung Fu time zone! However, I made it clear in my interview that I would be needing to change up some evenings to make room for my Kung Fu and the lady in charge of scheduling said that would be all good, so I’m confident that my change requests will be approved. However, should they get denied, it’s important to keep in mind that, just because I lose the convenience of the evening classes doesn’t mean I lose my ability to train. I can increase the amount I train at home, and I can try to attend the morning classes as much as possible. Just because what I’m used to isn’t there anymore doesn’t mean what I want to do can’t be done.

With that, it’s important to apply this to every aspect of life. You can’t always change the universe to best suit you. Things won’t always go your way. It’s what you do when things go foul that counts. At the end of the day, the sun will set. It will rise again in eight or so hours, and then set again. If things don’t work out immediately, it’s not the end of the world. Earth will keep spinning. So we have to move on, and adapt ourselves to overcome these challenges. I find that if we can do that, the balance will become easier.

At Long Last

Hey guys, This weeks post will be a reflection, and an understanding.

When it comes down to it, everybody is different. Not one of us are the same. We all have different “strengths”, different “weakness”, something that makes us unique. When we break down what “strengthens” us and what “weakens” us, we can usually determine where our “weak” points are, and figure out the best ways to get rid of them. And yet, it doesn’t always work. We all have different “weaknesses”, and different perspectives on what qualifies to be a “weakness”. What we may consider to be a “weakness” may be considered a “strength” by someone else. Despite what we may consider to be a “weakness” being one of our most defining attributes, it’s also one of the most vital.

Nobody is perfect. It’s okay to have “weaknesses”. I met someone the other day who was completely distraught by their own personal flaws, and it made me realize how perfect it is, not to be perfect. Humans are naturally flawed. Some of them should be fixed, yes, but it’s natural for a reason. We live with our own struggles and challenges for a reason. A perfect human with no weakness would have no flaws and hence no struggles or challenges. To some, that may sound ideal. Yet I see that as one of the most boring ways to live life, on top of it dulling the most beautiful aspect of the human nature. See, humans have come as far as we have because we adapt and learn. We encounter an issue, and it becomes our mission to find out how to overcome that issue. 

What I could consider to be my “big weaknesses” are not in my control. Some of the small things I can change, and I may. But each and every single characteristic of mine helps make me who I am. I’m not perfect, nor will I ever be. I have things which make me human, and that’s the beauty behind it. I am, just human. I’m just like everyone else, but at the same time I’m not. We all have to go through our own journey and discover our own path. I can’t judge anyone else based on their “weakness” or their “strength” because I am no different. I can only acknowledge my own flaws, and choose whether or not they should be fixed. Some of you may be thinking “all flaws should be fixed.” Greed and jealousy and anger are all flaws which can be fixed and by doing so may increase your quality of life, and make you happier, but when we live with a physical injury or mental flaw, it’s hard to fix. We can try as much as we can, but some things just can’t go away.

Over the last few years I’ve been very conflicted with my mental health. It has impacted me greater then any physical injury ever has, and I’ve always wanted it to go away. This is my “flaw” that I now find most beautiful. Because it’s not a “flaw”. It’s one of my greatest strengths. Who I am isn’t defined by my ability to lift weights or solve equations. Who I am is defined by who I think I am. As broken as I am, I am still a rock. Life will always throw something to break us, and as humans it’s up to us to continue to be our own rocks. Not a rock made of our “strengths”, but a rock composed of everything. And with that, I conclude we do not have “strengths” or “weaknesses” or flaws or attributes, hence them being in quotation. We have different characteristics, none positive or negative, which make us into the people we are today. We are all different, but we are all human, and we all struggle. Overcoming a struggle is just one more step on the journey to mastery.

By definition, some people assume mastery to mean perfection. That’s an understandable assumption, yet also wrong. Mastery, by definition, is to hold “comprehensive knowledge or skill in a subject or accomplishment.” To master something is to reach one of the best points you’re physically and mentally capable of achieving. Which means, despite our human-ness and our “flaws”, mastery is still achievable. I understand now that mastery is about improving yourself as far as you can reasonably go, and from there, understanding you tried as hard as you can. The moment you understand you’ve reached the limits of your physical and mental ability, and you can reflect and respect and take a moment to smile about it, is the moment that I believe you have mastered something. With that, I have done what I have been looking to do for the last 3 years. I have mastered my own mind. I’ve finally come to a peace with what goes on inside my head because I have done what I can and I can only live with with it now. And that’s what counts. My mind is my own, and whilst it still may be shrouded in some illusion, it is my own. And it always will be.

24H Clock

Heyo everyone, the main topic in this weeks post will be about the purposes of the little things in life.

There’s dozens of small things in life that are easy to miss, and until they’re gone, we hardly notice they’re there at all. And there’s also things that we notice are there, and we sometimes think “why is this a thing” and then there comes a point where you need it and you think “that’s why this exists”. In both cases, you end up not appreciating either until it’s gone. When it comes down to it, every little thing in our lives has a purpose, no matter how small. The tiniest things in our lives are the glue that holds together the larger pieces, and if you take away all the little things you don’t notice, you begin to fall apart.

I’ve always been one to say “why do 24 hours clocks exist”. When I look at a clock and it says 6 o’clock, I can usually tell if it means 6am or 6pm based on common sense. There’s never been much of a need to express the am or the pm in my opinion, as it’s always been something you can just easily determine yourself. This weekend we did our hiking trip, and let me tell you, 24 hours and 25+ km of straight rain is something that not only drains a lot of energy, but isn’t the most enjoyable. When we decided to turn in to our sleeping bags at 5:30, I fell asleep almost immediately. When I woke at 9:30, I thought I had slept for 14 hours, and was slowly starting to get up. It wasn’t till Nate pulled out his phone and noticed that it was still Friday that I realized I hadn’t gotten 14 hours of sleep, I had only gotten 2.

I think it was at that moment I found a new appreciation for the am/pm indicators on clocks, because I may have gotten up, started packing my tent and getting ready to go at 21:30. And then I would have had to set everything back up, all whilst tired, cold and soaked. Something I viewed as one of the most impractical things we have in todays technological society ended up being something I never knew I needed. The purpose behind those little numbers that determines the evening from morning is just that; for when you’re confused or disoriented and you can’t tell it on your own. Knowing this, I know that almost everything in life has a purpose now. Nothing is there just because someone wanted it to be there.

When I take this concept of everything having a purpose and I apply it to my Kung Fu, it widens and expands my understanding of what Kung Fu is and what it does for me. Every small thing we do in Kung Fu leads us on our path to mastery and serves a larger purpose. Things which we originally consider of lesser importance are slowly understood to be worth a greater value. Something as small as keeping your toes in line in a bow stance seems like a small, irrelevant detail from the outside, but when you begin to understand your bodies mechanics and how your toes being 60 degrees off centre results in your vectors and your path of force being 60 degrees off centre. 

This leads you to understand the purpose behind Kung Fu itself. Kung Fu isn’t about the kicks and the punches. The purpose behind Kung Fu is to take you, and make you better. Not necessarily physically, but mentally as well. Understanding the purpose behind everything we see and experience is important when trying to see life the way it is. There’s purpose behind everything, and everything we do we put purpose behind. 

Archives

Heyo everyone. This weeks blog is going to be about the past, the present and the future.

I spent my Friday evening reading every blog I wrote this year, and all the comments along with it. This was extremely valuable to me because not every lesson we learn sticks to us right away. When we blog, I don’t see it as sharing the journey and lessons with others as much as it is recording it for me in the future. I was able to recollect some of the smaller lessons and perspectives I wrote about earlier in the year, and to reassess them. I came to the conclusion that without these blogs, I wouldn’t have the same values as I do today. Without those blogs, I would be a different person. For me, a character of a person can be evaluated by values. Someone who values things only relevant to themselves and which make their lives easier at the expense of others is not someone I’d find myself associating with. By reviewing my past lessons, I can use them to try and make myself a more situationally aware person, and be able to focus more on how I can help the people around me opposed to acting for my own interests. By using my past lessons to better my present self, I can build myself a happier, better future. 

The whole concept of an archive is a really interesting topic. An archive shows you all the lessons and achievements and moments from the past that are important to today. Our blog sites are archives. A library and a museum is an archive. And the most interesting one in my opinion is the hardware store. In the words of my biology teacher, a hardware store is like a museum of the evolution of the human mind and abilities. All these tools and machines here were made to do a job that we could not originally do. We as people knew what needed to be used and the best way to do it, and made a machine specialized in performing a task we couldn’t do on our own. This concept can be applied to both Kung Fu and every day life. We reach an obstacle. We struggle to overcome the obstacle. We evaluate the obstacle. We come up with a plan to overcome the obstacle. We get the tools to beat the obstacle. We approach the obstacle. We overcome the obstacle. This is the basis of moving forward. 

The past is only good if it is properly utilized. When we find an obstacle we can’t immediately overcome, the first place we should look for answers is the past. Lots of times we have the answer we need to the question that hasn’t been asked yet. As we gain experience, we learn more, and the more we can overcome on our own. Making sure we do learn however is important because that’s the only way we can begin to overcome on our own. If you want a happy future you have to work for a happy future. It’s not easy but nothing worth having comes easy. The easiest way to get a happy future is to have a good background of wisdom. A good background of wisdom can help you make the right choices which can lead to success and overall happiness. Yet, like anything, wisdom can only be obtained through experience. 

Overall, understanding the lessons we have learnt in the past and making sure we follow them up and practice them is fundamental in keeping them with us. Many of the lessons we learn will prove to be beneficial down the line of life, so it is important to constantly review and practice them. 

Weights, Pools and Mastery

Heyo everyone. This weeks blog is not a new lesson, but rather my own understanding and take on a lesson that Sifu Brinker teaches us.

One of the main purposes of the I Ho Chuan team is to produce mastery over mediocrity. And the only way to obtain mastery is through constant dedication, commitment and effort towards our goal. The analogy Sifu Brinker uses for this is the weight lifter, and how a weight lifter can build all this muscle yet if he doesnt lift any weights for a year, he won't be able to lift the same amount he could before. Despite his previous ability, he lost it through his absence in the activity. Even though one may be able to come close to mastery, you must keep working towards it because youll lose twice the amount of your progress in half the time.

I've never been one to lift weights frequently, so even though I understood the message coming across, it didn't resonate with me as much as it would someone who lifts weights. Now, for those who don't know, our yard contains a rather decent sized pool (I don't know the measurements off the top of my head but its something like 15×32 feet). Today I was cleaning the surface of the pool, thinking about what to write for a blog, when I realized that the maintenance of a pool is very similar to the concept of mastery and the weight lifter comparison Sifu Brinker uses. There is probably more weight lifters then there are pool owners, so I don't expect this to reach everyone the same way as it does me, but here's how I see. Our pool is too large to be completely covered and protected by the elements, so it is covered by a large tarp. The tarp keeps most of the stuff out of the pool yet a lot of stuff still gets in. Now, getting a perfectly algae free, foreign object free outdoor pool is nearly impossible. It would takes hours upon hours upon hours of diligent care, cleaning and treatment every day. However, if you leave the pool, the chlorine starts to dilute and the algae begins to bloom, the leaves, bugs and fuzz start to collect, and it begins to look more like a swamp then a pool. However, if you apply enough care, you can bring the pool back up to the standards you want.

In this way I see the maintenance of a pool similar to the process of obtaining mastery. Even though my analogy is nearly identical to the weight lifters, I understand the pool better through experience. Mastery cannot be obtained if something is left to sit for any extended amount of time. Mastery can only be obtained if constant care is being applied. Otherwise, just as the chlorine loses its potency over time, we begin to lose our technique and edge. Recognizing that the only way to maintain improvment is to keep striving to improve is vital in every aspect of life. It is important to apply this concept to Kung Fu as well as our personal lives, as sacrifing one thing for the mastery of another is not the right way to do it.

I'm sure everyone has their own analogies when it comes to mastery, but for any pool owners out there, I hope that brings a better understanding to the table.

Lessons Learnt at 151

Heyo everyone, this weeks blog is about what happened at Canada day  today because a lot happened and if I write it down now I'll be able to remember it better later. Plus I may throw in a quick lesson I learnt about leadership if I can think of a good way to turn it to words.

Today was certainly an enjoyable day. The big ol 151. I still remember Canada day from last year, in a crowd of hundreds of thousands of people trying to catch a glimpse of all the royalty and big names who were attending the ceremony on parliament hill. Despite the crowd there today, it was still remarkably better. Spending a day with everyone from the Kwoon is also enjoyable, even when it was as hectic as today. Overall, no matter how sore I am now, today was a really good day. I enjoyed it. I learnt quite a few things, and I've begun to discover that I have indeed changed as a person over the last few years.

The first thing is the dragon. I lost track of how many demos we did but I think it was around 6 or 7. But man, theres no better time to get practice then that. My big thing is still working on my attitude and approach of the head in comparison to the tail. I transitioned from the lighter, quicker piece from the heavier, slower one. After three years of the tail, I still sometimes run at the same speed as I would as the tail and now I'm pulling everyone through the wind at a sprint. Another thing being the tail was that the only person I had to worry about in terms of spacing and speed was me. I had no one behind me I had drag, all I had to do was keep up to number 8, stay out of the way, and look flashy. Now, especially in the barrell roll, I have to figure out the spacing for all 9 pieces on the fly. I messed this up the first few times and I ended up squishing some people and whacking the lion, because I was paying attention to myself, and not number 2, 3, 4, etc. However, as the Sifus begun to point out what I was doing wrong, I slowly became more cautious about the responsibly of the head as not just the first piece, but as the leader. There's much more I have to learn and polish, but I think I got a good start so far.

Another thing was the wind! Most times it felt like I was dragging the dragon through water, there was so much resistance. Every single time we coiled I felt like I was going to be blown right out of the middle. By far the worst one was the Stony Plain demo. I'm pretty sure we gave the Malaysian lion dancers a run for their money on that one. My biggest fear in that demo was being too fast, too unpredictable or too risky for the rest of the dragon. Yet at the same time I had to focus on keeping my own piece in my hands, the wind was so bad. There was one point, leaving the barrell roll in which I was unable to walk forward until that gust of wind had died down a few seconds later, it was so strong. Overall, I count that as another valuable learning experience.

And my board breaks. Despite the fact I have to redo them, I'm still happy with the progress I have made. There was a time where I couldn't break through a board for the life of me, and this time I was able to get through 75% of them first try. It also serves as an important learning opportunity. I now know that I need to fix, and I already have a game plan on how to fix it. Overall, I see that not as something I messed up, yet rather an insight into what I can improve and do better.

I think the biggest surprise for myself today was some of the things I had said. When some of the other kids had went to go do the big ball tackle game, I wanted to do it, yet there was a voice in my head that told me not too. Despite the chance of serious injury being rather low, I didn't want to take any chances. A few years ago, I would have said what the heck and done it anyways. That little voice didn't stop me from playing archery dodgeball however. Man that was actually quite fun.
I mean, the only person I hit was someone in the crowd (casualties of war I guess), yet it was still a fun experience. I'm also proud to say I was never shot. I got stabbed a few times by Mr. Sollinger by an arrow but hey. I didn't get shot. (FYI if anyone can get some bows and marshmallow arrows I think it would a lot more fun playing in our backyard forest. Wink wink, nudge nudge)

Stand down, Anxiety

Heyo everyone, this weeks blog is about the dangers of over-thinking and unnecessary stress.

So much has happened lately, and so much is happening. I'm at a transition period in my life and right now there is a lot to be stressed about. For me, the biggest things are school, Kung Fu, and my life outside of those. Which isn't much not gonna lie. But yea, I'm pretty much stressing over everything. When you take a step back for a minute, you can look at all the problems you're dealing with and track them down to the source. When looking at my stress levels, everything is caused by my tendency to over-think every scenario, to fear failure, and to worry about it, even if there's no reason to worry.

School. Tomorrow I'm writing my last exam, for arguably my best and yet most difficult subject. I shouldn't be worried about school at this moment, but instead be excited for the two months I have off till next year. But nahhh. I'm still worried about my exam, which I shouldn't be, but I'm more worried about next year. My first semester is going to be a heavy workload, consisting of math, English and social, each a heavy course at the diploma level. I guess I'm also nervous because out of all of my 13 years of schooling, this is the year that counts the most. All of these pressures begin to add up and soon it's rather frightening even to think about.

Kung Fu. Just like school this is one of my biggest years. There's a lot of pressures right now and sometimes it becomes difficult to handle. I tend to panic thinking about everything I still have to do, and how unprepared I think I am. I know that I still have a ways to go, but sometimes I get into the mindset that my Kung Fu is farther behind then everyone says it is, and I begin to panic because I don't have a lot of time to make everything reach my own expectations. This is by far one the worst attitudes I can have. I know that deadlines aren't good and that I should have a more "I'll train as hard as I can and if I'm ready, I'm ready. If I'm not, I am now" mindset. Despite me knowing that the approach I'm taking right now is not the best one, I can't seem to turn it around. Yet.

My outside life. Despite 90% of my time being split between school work and Kung Fu, that little bit of time I have left over is weighing heavily on me as well.
I have to make sure to commit time to friends and family, and on top of that, the stresses of needing to find a job for the summer, something I should have done months ago. Even with more time in the summer, properly dividing my time so I can properly commit to everything I have to is a stresser on its own. I don't want to sever ties or miss opportunities this early in my life because I was too focused on something else, and that thought is an acting pressure on me.

Overall, I'm finding even the tiniest things
stressful right now. That's just natural at this point in life I guess. I have to focus on learning how to cope and tolerate stressers, and how to work my way around them. Somewhere down the line I'll be able to look at this moment and think "Wow. I was such a worry wart."