The Colour Blue

This week I had the pleasure of watching some students receive their Blue belt. They worked hard for it and I am happy for them.

The blue belt rank has and always will me something extra to me. For me, it is when I realized I was in a martial arts school.

Where was I before that...coasting. I admit it. I was telling a student last night how I admired this group because I could tell they practiced and put thought into their curriculum.

I, on the other hand, don't recall much before my Blue belt. I was good at memorizing and got by on just that. It was Blue belt when my eyes were opened to my own potential. I attended every class just to make up for lost time and lack of understanding of what I was really doing or even answer what I was trying to achieve.

Of course everyones journey through the coloured belts is different but for me,the Blue Belt was always the one where the rubber hit the pavement.

My only thoughts to offer, don't wait until your Blue belt to really apply yourself but if that's not the case then there is no time better than now.

JC Masterson, Silent River Kung Fu, Alberta, Canada

I have been reading a book about Zen. Actually it’s a comic book series, this one is called “Zen for Beginners” and I think this is my third attempt to read through the whole thing.(I would have never made it through University).

Anyways, one chapter had a piece in it that spoke to me. Essentially the message was as follows:
“Human Distortion of reality arise from 3 main habits

1.) Greed 2.) Anger 3.) Ignorance”
Further to that, “All beings are inherently enlightened, we just don’t know it. Only our own confusion veils us from our natural wisdom and goodness”
Pretty powerful stuff when you sit and think about it.

So why the “Zen”, at first it was just pure curiosity. Different religions and philosophies have always intrigued me but now I find I need a reminder and a source of stability to ground me and I need this everyday. I’m not saying a book on Zen is the answer but the more sources I have to keep me on the rails the better.
I find myself in a position of witnessing corruption both on a local level and a political federal level. Far more complex than I could have imagined. Truth and right conduct become mangled and distorted for the gain of a few while the perception of integrity is displayed to the majority.
Indifference and looking the other way is easy. Becoming desensitised is a way of coping with the stress of inaction or action.
I have faith in myself by way of keeping my mind, body and spirit in tact with that I can make the right decisions.

Sorry, if this resembles a babbling mess but it helps me deal with myself.
Where is a Zen Master when you need one!

JC Masterson, Silent River Kung Fu, Alberta, Canada

The Mighty Hamstring

My hamstrings have been giving me trouble for a few weeks now. Usually a tight muscle is worked out and back to normal for me in a short time. No doubt aging is a factor but should not be something that slows you down, you just need to approach things differently.

Preventative maintenance is key to keeping yourself off the injured list. Reality is, not many people take the time for muscle maintenance, ironically the older you get the more important this is but the older you get the less spare time you seem to have.

A muscle like the hamstring( which in fact is a combination of muscle groups that attach from the hip to the knee) is like an elastic band at the back of your leg. If its tight it will shorten the range or extension and prevent you from throwing high or effective kicks.

First, stretching. Don't skip the stretching. Not only does it warm up muscles but it tells you if something isn't quite right. You can have any injury and not know it for days until you make that one movement that says"ouch". You don't want to discover that in the middle of a full out committed kick..tends to be more than just "ouch" at that point!

Second, dynamic movement, kicks. Want to improve the height of the kick. After warming up and stretching the hamstring, start throwing the kicks that will stretch the hamstring further.(Cyclone, high roundhouse, dragons whip, etc.)

Third, try and fit in a massage session every 4 to 6 weeks.

Sadly, not enough people visit a massage therapist until something is bothering them or into the realm of injury. Time is always a factor for people and unfortunately so is our health care system.We seem to throw millions of dollars into reactive health care and little to no priority is given to preventive maintenance when it comes to our health.

Coverage for massage therapy ranges from none to a required doctors note to give you a token few visits for the year. I think we would be far better off to invest more of our dollars into the "before" instead of the "after".

In the meantime I have discovered the use of the foam roller to try and soften and work the knots out of my hamstring (see picture below). Another handy gadget that is not too expensive.

You can even watch a movie while spending some time on your muscles and not feel so guilty. Oh, and its really hard to eat popcorn while rolling on your hamstrings!

JC Masterson, Silent River Kung Fu, Alberta, Canada