Feeling a Little Guilty

It so happens, the exact same time that the Alabama event was happening my family was booked to fly to Las Vegas for a Motorsports event.
My son is a huge Monster Truck fan and my husband had cheap airfare to Vegas through work so off we went.
It was fun and the boys enjoyed themselves, I just could not help but feel bad about spending time and money in Vegas of all places while maybe I should be elsewhere helping.














To top it off, walking around the Las Vegas strip, I had forgotten how depressing, ugly and superficial it was. People smoking, drinking and gambling at 9am in the morning. None of them looked happy . Walking down the strip was full of advertising and glitz living the millionaire life!
You only had to walk a block east to see the reality of poverty and the two extreme lifestyles within the same neighborhood. You seen the worst of the worst .
Thankfully, the Monster Truck show was on the east edge of town and it was a two day event full of activities for the kids. Lots of families from around the county and elsewhere.
I met a fantastic family from Oregon, who drive every year with their 3 kids. They were so helpful and kind to show us all the amenities and attractions that Raymond would like.
I guess I seen the worst of society but also seen the best...still feel guilty, I think its time to start thinking of ways to incorporate charity and generosity in our family holidays, it can't be that hard.

JC Masterson
Silent River Kung Fu, Alberta, Canada

North of 60...on the Moon

I periodically have to go up to the Territories for work. Last week was another visit. Most times its a busy trip, off the airplane, go to work then back on the airplane, usually 10 to 14 hour days. This leaves little time to explore my surroundings but I have been making a point to change that little by little.

Each visit gives me a chance to accumulate a little more experience into the incredible culture that exists up there.

It is different then going up to towns like Fort McMurray, High Level, Fort Nelson,etc.

When you are in Yellowknife or Norman Wells you sense the battle to keep heritage alive amidst an Industry driven town.

The heritage is rich, coming from several different Aborginal peoples as the Inuit, Deh Cho, Dogrib and many others. Some of the buildings in the towns are still orginal and you can't help but ask questions.

So now, I cut some time out, visit outside the business sectors to observe, listen and experience the other side of the Arctic. Its like stepping on to the Moon.

What hit me most this last visit was listening to a couple of older Inuit women chatting to one another.

I had no idea what they were saying to one another(they could have been talking about parallel parking for all I know) but it was the way they dialogued that had me mesmerized.

Its hard to explain but the tone of their voices..., it made you feel safe. They spoke softly with wisdom. They spoke calmly and sometimes sadly taking long pauses in between sentences. The silence seemed full of thoughts before they spoke again.

I wanted to know what they knew. These women I am sure have seen hardships that would make me buckle but yet they seemed to be peaceful and wise but most of all content with themselves.

These women were a refection of their lifestyles. Aboriginal arctic settlements still hold family as their first priority. Life is more about what you need rather than what you want.

I find it a drastic difference from the "modern" world I live in. Back in Alberta its a frantic pace of "get things done !" the "to do" list is never ending, the pressure to do more, faster, cheaper, blah blah blah.

My theory... the Inuit peoples take time to reflect,contemplate and maybe it is their isolation that affords them this.( although the isolation is becoming a thing of the past with satellite and internet)

To stay grounded,I believe a person must take time to reflect in the same manner. I just wish I didn't have to travel so far to remind myself of this all the time.

I could go on about other aspects of the North...politics, environment, injustices and triumphs with the new youth but I will leave that for another blog when I go back up again.

JC Masterson, Silent River Kung Fu, Alberta ,Canada

Membership Not Required

I have learnt a few things over the past couple of months.
Between the Physical Conditioning Course I took, the 7 day pushup experiment I finished and the Internet, I have determined I really do not need a gym membership.
I have belonged to a gym for as long as I can remember. No matter where I lived it was the first thing I did, join the local gym, so this is a huge change of habit or should I say philosophy.

First thing is time management. Recognize any opportunity to train even if its 3 minutes here and there of pushups,squats,a form, whatever. It all counts and it all adds up at the end of the day.

Secondly, you don't need fancy equipment to tax yourself. I discovered body weight strength training is very effective. Body strength training can come from an endless variety of drills and exercises that can be found on the Internet and some websites have even gone to the extent of grouping them to enhance your particular sport or martial art that you are involved in.(keep in mind its the Internet and be wise to what expertise is offered).
As an example, Sifu Prince introduced me to some excellent Hindu squats from a website that are very effective for strength training. They take up no space at all and doing a set of 200 can be carried out in the time frame of about 10 minutes or less.

To cover your aerobic training is as simple as going outside for a run. Remember there is no such thing as bad weather...only bad gear(sorry, thats a motorcycle phrase but still applies!)
If you don't like running, find some stairs..oh the dreaded stairs (try 3 flights with 20 pushups at the top 3 times..again, can be done over a lunch hour, preferably before you eat!)

Thirdly, set a daily goal of something, first thing you should do in the morning is have a game plan for your day. If you know there is no way to cut an hour out to train make a goal for yourself to achieve something. For example, 300 situps, pushups, 100 squat thrusts, 50 roundhouse kicks. Somewhere at sometime during your day you will find opportunities to slip those numbers in but you won't if you did not set a goal for yourself in the first place.
Also, learn to roll with the punches and adapt, if your day gets upset, don't get upset, think on the fly of how to re-adapt your goals.
An example of this is Sihing Bachand,... found herself without her car and used her alternate means of transportation as a way to enhance her training( walking to bus, reading on bus)..Kudos!

Last, mix it up. Never let your body get use to a routine of training. That goes for the mental aspect as well. If you are constantly switching how you train you don't get bored and you don't plateau physically.

That sums up my thoughts on fitness for the past couple of months.

However, I won't be giving up my gym membership because the good thing about the membership is the sense of purpose and focus it offers. When you go to the gym you are there with others that have the same intent as you. No distractions, you are there to train.
The same can be said for the challenges that are posted on the schools chat site. These challenges give you focus and support which is invaluable and will help you get through the "slug" moments.

JC Masterson, Silent River Kung Fu, Alberta, Canada

1000 Push Ups Day Seven

7000 in 7 days...done (yeah!)
Sifu Masterson, Silent River Kung Fu, Alberta, Canada

1000 Push Ups Day Six

Finished push ups for today.
It went well, I have started to try and increase my number in each set.
I don't have any muscle aggravation anymore but I am careful to carry out the pushups with the best form possible and not too fast. I keep thinking if I try and go through a set as fast as possible I am leaving myself open for pulling something or injury.
I have to say I am a little surprised! I was not sure I would get this far and I did not expect my muscles to adapt so quickly. Muscles are sore and tired but I can still go.
Last day tomorrow, however, its a full day with little time for push ups.

Sifu Masterson, Silent River Kung Fu, Alberta, Canada

1000 Push Ups Day Five

Push ups done for today. The heating pad helped with muscle aggravation quite a bit.
See how tomorrow goes, its late now so keeping it short.
Sifu Masterson, Silent River Kung Fu, Alberta , Canada

1000 Push Ups Day Four

Today was rough.
It appears I can do three days in a row and the fourth day should be a rest day.
Anyways, thats just an observation. I am now experiencing muscle fatigue and local aggravation in my left arm, specifically the left bicep and the heel of my left palm. Sorry to go into such detail but I am journaling for my benefit and for the next time(not any time soon mind you).
I have to think something to do with my alignment is out if the left arm is giving me trouble. Not sure.
I did solve the palm heel problem by rolling up a sock and supporting my hand with it! Whatever works.
I think I will be firing up the heating pad tonite.
The muscle aggravation is not bad enough that I need to quit, it is just bad enough to suck the enthusiasm out of the challenge! Once again it is the battle of mind over body.
Sifu Masterson, Silent River Kung Fu, Alberta ,Canada

1000 Push Ups Day Three

I finished all my pushups by 7pm. Most of it was done at the gym today. The past three days have been relatively easy only because they have been days off, the challenge is going to be later on this week when I have to go back to work.
The upper body strength is hanging in there, however, I noticed my left arm bothering me near the end of today.
I think changing up the hand positions have helped alot in preventing total muscle exhaustion.
All for now,
Sifu Masterson, Silent River Kung Fu, Alberta, Canada

1000 Push Ups Day Two

Today was better than I expected. I thought for sure I would be extremely sore but maybe it has not kicked in yet.
It was a weight training day, so this morning I did pushups after every set. I had company for dinner so I had to finish up after they left but fortunately it was only 90 push ups to go.
Hopefully I won't be too sore tomorrow.
Sifu Masterson, Silent River Kung Fu, Alberta, Canada