Build Up and Let Down

Heyo everyone, this weeks post is about how sometimes the stress and suspense of an event in the future can cause far more troubles then it should.

This week sucked. There's no other way to put it. This was one of my busiest weeks of highschool yet, flooding with tons of essays, lab reports, assignments, homework, everything a teacher could possibly assign. With that, Thursday was booked with tests or summative papers all day. I had spent my whole week freaking out trying to prep while getting everything else done, and when Thursday finally rolled around, everything had been moved to Friday. Yea, more time to study, but that doesn't help me! I wanted to go to Kung Fu tonight, not get stuck writing a lab report on the change in solubility of a sodium chloride solution as direct heat increases. Then, Friday comes around. And everything gets moved to Monday! It's almost like they planned it. Hmmm. Teacher vs Student conspiracy? Maybe a talk for another day.

So anyways, this whole week was an emotional wreck. And it was all due to the pressure of a single date, bearing down on my shoulders like a half-ton rock. I ended up losing my mind because I was all work and no play. I was too busy worrying about the finish line I forgot to enjoy myself on the way there. If I'm going to have to work, I might as well make a darn good time out of it. As we know... all work and no play, makes Simon a dull boy (ooooh movie references in a blog? Isn't that exciting) And dull is boring. And boring is... well... boring. No one likes boring. So I was thinking about this and I realized that this week is basically this IHC year.

I'll be honest, I'm already super nervous about everything. There's so much to pay work on, and in what seems like so little time. Even talking about it I start to panic. It's like, if my mind was a big office building, theres a whole level dedicated to people who hit the panic button whenever they can. And I don't want to be too laid back about the situation either because then I won't succeed. Looks like I'm looking for another happy medium. Not too paranoid, yet not too carefree. But this time, I don't think I have to look too hard. On the mats, I enjoy training and practicing. I got a good thing going right now, good group of partners, and right now, I feel like I'm getting close to that happy middle. Now just to get there and hold it.

How much is too much

Heyo everyone, this weeks post will be about pushing yourself, and understanding how far you should be pushing yourself

One thing I find as I walk down my path of life is a specific tendency I have. One thing about me is that I don't like losing or giving in, especially when competing against other people. If someone else starts to run faster, I subconsciously run faster. If someone else starts to push harder, I subconsciously start to push harder. Yea, it's good to push ourselves, because we should always strive to be better then we were the previous day, yet there reaches a point where it gets to be unhealthy to either yourself, or even the people or things around you.

One of the things I fear is my inability to understand where that line is. It's a lot easier to notice when you're looking at it the day after, or if you're watching from the outside, but when you're in the heat of the moment, blood pumping, sweat dripping, breathing heavily, you're judgement starts to get a little clouded.
You don't wanna give in too early, yet it's sooooo easy to push yourself too far. I'm afraid that when a time comes where being pushed to the line is necessary, such as the black belt grading, I'm going to fail to see the line and end up damaging myself early on through my blinded ambitions.

This also leads to one of my biggest challenges, which is training to be able to see the line where it most pays off. Practice makes perfect, you know. Right now, my goal is to be able to find the line, to be able to push myself as far as I can go, and to refrain from throwing myself too far into the deep end.

Stressed Out

Heyo everyone, this weeks blogs is going to be short, due to a few reasons, but the overall theme this week will be about having to deal with stress

So the reason todays blog is a day late is because when I was writing my blog yesterday, my app crashed near the end and deleted it, causing me great frustration. So after piecing it together again, I posted it, only to find out this morning that only the opening paragraph had saved and posted, and my 5-6 other paragraphs I had written were lost in cyberspace. Again. Ugh.

So when school came around, it was going good right up to second block, where I was required to write up 5 paragraphs about the Quebecois independence and its significance along with finishing a a reading and sheet about something else,(I'll be honest, I haven't even had the chance to look at it, so I dont even know what its about). Third block gave more notes and I found out fourth block that I have a test tomorrow that I'm not prepared for, and a lab report I got to finish up. And I was really hoping I could go to Kung Fu tonight. Damn.

Right now, I'm almost glad I have medications that assist me with sleeping, because sleeping alone is a struggle. With the amount of work and stress I have on my plate, life seems to be taking more then it's giving. Sigh. But what can we do. Life has its way, so I guess all we can do is tough it out.

I would also like to mention that Parker Tobin, someone I hadn't known personally , yet knew his name from around the halls at school, was one of the students who passed away in the accident in Saskatchewan. Prayers go out to his family and friends, along with those of the other victims of the crash.

Freeze Frame

Heyo everyone, this weeks blog is about how we don't realize the value of stepping back and evaluating our life, and the decisions it is made of, until we get stuck in a situation where we are forced to take a second to step back and evaluate our life decisions.

For those unfamiliar with the term, a "freeze-frame" is a cinematic/theatrical practice which involves time stopping, and everyone is at a standstill, with the exception of one individual, typically the protagonist or narrator of the story. This method is often used for comedic purposes, or to establish a moment for the narrator or protagonist to develop the events leading up the freeze-frame. This is moment is typically found at the start of a film/play and provides the main character with the ability to evaluate the scenario. And with that, now that everyone knows what a freeze-frame is, I'm going to turn the last few days of my life into a freeze-frame styled post.

Now, imagine you're near the peak of a mountain, in the middle of a light snow storm, visibility reduced to about 10-15 feet in front of you. You're waist deep in snow, unable to move your legs due to the weight of the snow surrounding them, and the weight of skis on your feet. On top of that, there's few skiers on the mountain in comparison to the usual crowd on account of the snow, cold temperature and wind, and even fewer who are willing to brave the top of the mountain in one of the thickest powders that Marmot Basin has seen in a long time, so you can't count on anyone coming by to help dig you out. With that, your partner is already down that stretch of the hill, and in a similar situation farther down. And finally, you're battling the fatigue you feel in your legs that you get on your second last run of the day, after a full day of skiing. Now that I got that scenario in everyones minds... freeze-frame!

Yup. That was me a couple of days ago. On top of a mountain, waist deep in snow (no exaggeration on this one, the snow was just past my ski pants), low visibility and quite exhausted. As far as modern day civilian freeze-frame scenarios go, thats not too bad, if I may say so myself. So lets time travel about 8 hours prior(ish), to the start of the day, and see how many silly decisions I made to land myself in the scenario.

Firstly, the weather. Due to it being a fairly cold day, I decided to double up on my gloves, wearing both magic mitts and my usual ski mitts. This resulted in a decreased in mobility in my fingers, and helped fuel the decision of leaving my ski poles behind. As a skier who prefers using poles, yet is still proficient without them, sacrificing them to improve the warmth of my hands is a common decision. However, skiing in such harsh conditions without the extra balance and propulsion through the thick areas of snow that the poles provided was certainly a costly mistake, as the my gloves were successful in holding out the temperature, and I didn't feel any of the cold in my fingers, and I would have been  better off with the poles.

Another mistake was the over-exertion of my energy. One problem I tend to have, not only with skiing but even with things such as Kung Fu, is that I fail to see the necessity and importance of taking a break to rest muscles and catch breath. My legs were screaming by the third run of the day, and they continued to get worse, even on the easy green runs. So, on the seventh run, doing one of the most difficult tracks on the hill probably wasn't my brightest idea. Or even remotely close to being on the better half of all of my ideas. Part of the reason I ended up sinking so far into the snow was my inability to turn as much as I should have been doing due to the fatigue, and I ended up sinking deep as a result.

I could contiue with all the little mistakes I made that day, but I think I got my point across already (and if I'm not going to pit you poor souls into reading a novel). However, while my life freeze-framed and I was too tired to try and dig my way out, I took that moment to reflect on the glories and mistakes of my life, some of which I mentioned in the last few paragraphs. Being able to look at those past moments, I was able to decide that who we are as a person is shown in the contrast between our past actions and the ones we make on a daily basis. Life is about improving ourselves by looking at our past and our mistakes, and changing our approach to overcome the obstacles that once slowed us down. Life is a big jumble of activity and excitement, and we constantly lose sight of the past focusing on the future. Yet the best way into a more successful future often lies in the past. So sometimes, looking back might actually just help you on your walk forward. (Metaphorically of course. Walking backwards isn't really ideal.)

Constantly Examined

Heyo everyone, this weeks blog is about how things won't always go the way we want, and sometimes we have to compromise where we can, other times we just gotta keep out heads high and do what's more mandatory over what we would rather do.

Now, I've mentioned this several times in my previous blogs, but for anyone who hasn't read them, my course load this semester contains four core subjects (yes, another post about Simons school work.) So far, 2 months into the sem, I'm doing rather well, all things considered. I'm sitting at about a 90 in my social, marine bio and chem, and my English is, uh, slightly lower then a 90 (cough 70 cough). But with that aside, I'm happy with where I'm at so far. Theres only one thing I don't quite like. The frequency of homework and tests.

With the four cores comes a steady flow of homework, and a test every few days. Even though I'm doing well, one of my personal requirements is to improve my study habits, so I have been commiting time into reviewing and gaining a stronger understanding of my material. However, as a result of this, my time to train in Kung Fu has been getting cut short to make up for the extra studying and homework. I've chosen to stay home and study over attending Monday/Wednesday advanced adult classes several times, a class I had decided that I would keep attending even after my promotion to Sihing.

Now, you can ask me under any circumstance. My answer will always be the same. If I had to choose between the mats and the books, I would take the mats. Every time. However, one thing that gets emphasized at the Kwoon is that the necessities to life (family, education, etc) should take priority. I value my education, and therefore I continue with my studying. Yet having a test everyday or two, it starts to become an irritating reason that seems to be consciously holding me back from attending classes. On Wednesday, I was going to sit down and study for a unit test in Marine Biology and an evaluation on the first two acts of Macbeth, yet I had already missed Monday's class and the whole week before, so I decided to put the studying aside and go to class instead. The result? Paranoid me was studying till past midnight, but I still felt better after going to class.

It's hard to admit sometimes, but every once in a while we have to acknowledge that we're going to have to sacrifice the much more preferred option for the much more mandatory option. However, we can't get carried away, and proceed to neglect either. It's a fine balance between necessary and preferred, and about compromising to keep the balance

Sorry this weeks blog was so messy everyone, I couldn't quite figure out how to say what I was trying to. I think everyone gets the general gist though.

The Science of a Dragon

Heyo everyone, this weeks blog is about how sometimes all of the answers aren't  in the same place or where we expect them to be, and we have to go outside the box to find what we are looking for.

As I've mentioned in previous blogs, one of my classes this semester is Marine Biology. Now, despite popular belief, Marine Bio isn't all about dolphins and whales and turtles. Its mostly about the classification of animals (specifically marine animals) and the evolutionary developments each animal has experienced to evolve into what it is today. Our teacher gave us a project last Thursday to help strengthen our understanding of these concepts, and its quite an interesting one. We get to create or reuse a non-existent, mythical creature, and from there, classify it based on its structures, and explain the evolutionary reasons for each of the said structures. While several groups came up with their own species, my group went with a less original but equally awesome pick, a dragon.

Now, explaing all of the features of the dragon wasn't toooo difficult. A lot of them were rather basic features that could be explained through other species. A dragon would be categorized under the phylum Chordata, and then the class Reptilia. Most people are familiar with the base classes (Reptilia, Mammalia, Aves (birds), Insecta and Amphibia). Based on this, it was easy to explain features like wings, where species from Mammalia, Aves and Insecta were all capable of growing wings, so why couldn't something from the Reptilia? They would be useful for diving into water, looking for large fish, in which the gills of the dragon played part, and the sensitivity of the eye was developed so it could see its prey from a distance. All of these were rather easy to explain. Then we reached the difficult part. The fire breath.

We haven't worked out the evolutionary aspect of the fire breath yet, mostly as we are still trying to figure out the function part of it yet. How could we secrete an extremely combustable and oxidizing chemical inside a 10ft, half ton flying reptile? Well, turns out if you search that on Google, you don't get a lot of answers. So we went to our teacher about it, who had no idea. In a place where answers exist everywhere, we were running out of places to look. After several Google searches and even looking through a book (yes, a book) of biologically produced chemicals, we nearly decided to scrap the fire breath. Then it donned on me that the answer wasn't in the biology classroom, but next door, in the chemistry classroom (hm. Who would have guessed.) Next block, I consulted my chemistry teacher about the matter and turns out there was several possibilities, and boom. We were smooth sailing again.

Looking at Kung Fu, no one person does it exactly the same. We all have different styles and methods, different ways of moving and different ways thinking. We know the Kwoon is a school, but from the outside it resembles more of one of those old one roomed schools from way back when. What someone from the outside doesn't see is that the Kwoon is actually like  a several roomed facility, with everyone in it having a different lesson to share, a different thing we can teach. The best way to learn is to learn from different people, to receive a variety of knowledge. This is a big thing to remember when making a form, or even learning a form. Next time you reach a block in the road, remember, ask around. Sometimes the most valuable knowledge can be found in the most unexpected place.

Blind Super-Vision

Heyo everyone, this weeks blog is about time and progress, and how we can use the past to help the future.

Time. Its a funny thing that has sparked several conspiracies and arguments throughout its existance, but thats not what I'm here to talk about. Time is what marks our journey, and not just Kung Fu. It can be a milestone, a marker, a due date, every little thing in our life revolves around time. Yet we can only experience so little of it at a time. I'm on the younger end of the stick of the IHC team, and yet I've still lived over 16 full years. In each of those 16 years, 51 weeks. In each of those 51 weeks, 7 days. 24 hours in a day. 60 minutes in an hour. 60 seconds in a minute. That calculates (look at me go, doing math two blogs in a row) to approximately 493,516,800 seconds that I have experienced, existed in, used up. I can look back on all of them, through recordings and photos and memories, and learn from them. Use them to improve. I can see 493,516,800 seconds into the past. But I can't even begin to comprehend 1 second into the future.

Thats just it. Time is blind super-vision. We all walk the same time based journey. We can take a few seconds to turn around and look at this vast road that winds and turns and dips and rises, that crosses oceans and climbs over mountains, that travels through canyons and trails between forests. A vast journey in which we have already walked. And after those few seconds of looking so far back, youre already a few steps farther down the trail. When you look ahead, its fog, right in front of you. No way you can see past it. And with every step you take, it inches back, and so our journey continues. Now, if I gave you the opportunity to walk blindly into a dangerous world where anything can happen, not knowing what lies right in front of you, you may think it seems ridiculous and crazy. But thats what life is. We can't anticipate a car accident that claims the life of a loved one, or tripping over a rock and breaking an ankle, or a surprise visit from a friend you havent seen since highschool, or winning the lottery. What comes out of that fog is uncertain. It can be good or it can be bad. Some of it we're just going to shrug off. Some of it will shape who we are for the rest of our lives.  So we gotta be ready for anything.

We can take this concept, and use it to look at our Kung Fu. When my martial arts journey began about 7/8 years ago, I was in a large class. My physique was small, I was much different. When we look at that, no one put any thought into where we would be in 8 years. We were a class full of small kids, sparking with energy, happy to do Kung Fu, raring to go. And I was the new guy at the back. The person who looked around and thought "wow. Look at all these kids, all with the same interest as me." And us as small children would talk about everyone getting their black belts and being cool and great. That was our expectation. But when I peer back now, I don't recall anybody from that are class still attending the Kwoon. I didn't anticipate being the only person to keep going. But here I am. All the way down the path. Where my fellow kids class companions went, I couldnt tell you. Our paths split long ago. But with that, my path joined with others. And so it will continue. The everlasting path, where it will take us, who knows? As the band AJR states in one of their songs; "Who are we to wonder where we're going?"