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)