My Old Book of Kung Fu

I have been doing alot of reading this past week. I dug up my Old Book of Kung Fu, as I call it and plopped it on the night stand. This is where I kept all my curriculum sheets, notes, clippings and photos  of years gone by.
It was kind of fun to go back in time. I kept everything, including my very first hand out sheet from 1999 when I started. I went page by page thru all my belts and all the years. There has been lots of changes over the years. The printed requirements changed, the belts had changed to sashes, the way students were striped had changed, some things went back to the way they were and some of the Forms had a major overhaul,(probably a few of you remember the Da Mu Hsing form of earlier years  and the Sashes) it was fun to go back and look at that stuff, like an old photo album.
The Theory questions, however, seemed to always be there in the background. Different formats but always the same theory questions. As a coloured belt, I remember finding the answers writing them up and answering them for my Sifus. Another stripe on the belt.
I looked at them again, those questions, like

• commitment
• the Void
• leadership
• patience, trust and progressing wisely
• truthfulness and purity to the art

They are not words on a page anymore, Instead , in the I Ho Chuan, I have been practicing them.

For me, they no longer are questions you put some thought into then explain it to your Sifu and check it off your list. Those theory questions are now embedded and actioned within the I Ho Chuan. For me, this is where you can explore, experience, demonstrate and put those questions to the test with heart.

Even the Food Blog challenge speaks to our anatomy/physiology theory question. In the I Ho Chuan, after tracking your food, I found myself thinking of the effect it has on your health and your output as a martial artist. How you are fuelling your anatomy.

When it came to  the Void, for me, probably the closest was the Demonstration at the Seniors Facility, something clicked there that day for me, just you and your weapon in that moment.

Of course Commitment, every day in the I Ho Chuan bleeds commitment! but I mean that in a good way. Too often, like a cheezy New Years Resolution, the commitment fades away unnoticed. You live Commitment as a I Ho Chuan member. Commitment to your requirements and commitment to your team.

Leadership for me was in the background , admittedly. I found some creative, ambitious people emerging in the group. Group discussions were vibrant and engaged, I never felt "not included" so I suppose I didn't feel the need to take the reigns so to speak. (speaking to the last part of the year, I don't think anyone got the leadership capacity till then) . As far as Leadership goes, I think we have some real successes this year.
Patience, trust and progressing wisely, that one I did not take advantage of enough. Sometimes I was not patient enough with myself. If my weapon form was not where I wanted it, I lost patience and lost out on creativity as a result. On the other hand , I trusted the insight of my peers and coaches to unlock some  walls I was hitting with my Sai form.
Truthfulness and Purity to the Art- where did that fit in? There were days when I had enough, I had other things piling up and sometimes just tired of being at the Kwoon but the commitment brought me there and I would ask myself "why, why are you doing this? no one is holding a gun to your head, what makes me come here all the time?" What are my reasons for being a student of the martial arts?

Because there is something more, because there is something to the Art.  After the hard work, its like a cleansing, like you can think clearly about other life questions and challenges., like you are recharged again and able to deal with the "outside " world.  Its not about feeding the ego its about nourishing the soul.
So as I read through my binder, these were some of the thoughts I had about the Evolution of the new I Ho Chuan.
 Its only in its infancy but its like it was always there, in the pages of Silent River Kung Fu waiting to sprout.



Sorry for the long blog, for anyone who has made it to the end!

Tiger Challenge

The Tiger Challenge yesterday made me proud and grateful.

Proud of my son and grateful to the wonderful group of people known as the Children's Instructors.

You see, about 5 months ago I was about to pull him out of the Black Dragons. Lack of interest, attention and even respect but he insisted he wanted to stay. I instead, removed myself from the floor and let the other Instructors do their  thing.

Where my son lacks focus and attention he makes up for in energy and personality so I was not sure how he would improve so i would wait and see... but I would have to say that yesterday was a direct product of his Instructors’ hard work.

Yesterday started out rough for my son, he lost out on a competition that brought him to tears as he tried to hide in the corner. A few consoling words from mom brought him back but now he was visibly upset and unsure of himself.

I let him be and he continued on.

Two Divisions later, I saw something in him I had not seen before. He pulled himself together, his determination and focus came from someplace I didn't know he had and he preserved to do his very best for his next competition.

He won a gold.

It came from him and him alone. It was his hard work and it was his focus.

I could not have been more proud, not because he won a medal but because he grew 10 feet tall that moment.

I have been struggling with his ability focus on school work and other skills  for some time now  but these moments of focus and calm seem to come more frequent now and for that I am excited.

Strictly speaking as a mom, as a parent, in only a few short months the lessons taught in his class are starting to emerge. I’m not talking about the kicks and punches but the life skills.

The Tiger Challenge was a great opportunity for me to witness those skills that are blooming within him.           And for that, a thanks to all. 

What is stronger the "will' or the body?
Hopefully the Will.
The body can fail, get injured and sick but the Will is always there.
Nourish the Heart and Mind and the body will follow...or at least you can drag it along:)

Who isn't hurt?

So who isn't hurt right now??
I look around and we have alot of bumps, bruises, sore backs, knees , wrists, shoulders.....
Is it the season of injury?

We are going hard, trying to keep track of and keep on top of practices , training , gradings , tournaments and performances.
Its exciting and exhausting but everyone is digging deep for the final weeks of preparation.

But take care. As we pile on the preparation we tire and sometimes get sloppy with our techniques. Leaving ourselves vunarable to injury. We go home and forget to stretch, ice, heat and rest as required.

I am finally able to do break falls again and I want to keep that ability. I have had to make time for extra stretching and physio drills to get me there. I know I am tempted to bypass that sort of stuff when I don't feel so bad and there is so much on the plate to get after and practice instead.

So take care my friends, make sure after our sessions we are tending to ourselves properly.
Eat well, stretch well, rest well.
Almost there, lets not lose anyone!

The Best Answers dont come from Questions

We are a social animal, interactive, knowledge seeking, inquisitive and curious.

All good of course, but we have lost patience. We want instant answers.

We ask before thinking. We ask before trying. We don’t want to wait for the insight found thru the experience…it just takes too darn long. Tell me what I need to know, answer my questions so I  can shorten my path to the goal I seek.

Sometimes the best answers don’t come from questions.

When the apprentice is shown by the journeyman how to assemble the machine sometimes listening then doing are the best methods of learning. Try before asking, do before questioning. Learn the qualities of trust, patience and focus. The questions that come after the attempts are far more valuable and meaningful. (this comes from my earlier days on the shop floor working under the guidance of an older Japanese mechanic, he spoke very little english, he would only show you once, I had to make sure I paid attention and my questions had to be very pointed- he turned out to be one of the more influential people in my life, still have a friendship with to this day )

Challenge yourself to come up with the answers to your difficulties by doing and trying  then doing again. Absorb yourself in the moment and look for resolve independently.

Once you have taken action the questions that follow have more value to you.