In the eyes of a young girl

This weekend some history was made, a precedent was set and in my mind, another step towards positive role models for young women.
You see, this weekend was the first ever women's match in the UFC and it was the main event.
As well, in the NASCAR circuit, was the first time a woman took the pole position in the Daytona 500.
It was refreshing to see crowds on their feet cheering in support and excitement for the first time events.


Now whether you are a fan of the particular sport or of the individual ladies, or not, that discussion is irrelevant. It is overshadowed by the fact that these ladies in the sports spot light have taken an important position and responsibility as inspiration for women to follow.

My hope , is that they will continue to hold themselves to a higher standard and realize the positive impact they can have.

The responsibility is to hold yourself to your professionalism, skill and quality in what you do.
Too often, a sexual spin is the overtone for women role models, whether is self-initiated or promoted  for marketing reasons, this always takes away from the hard work they have put into their chosen craft. Our  society seems to allow, encourage and expect this too often.
It bothers me and worries me for the upcoming generation of young ladies whose majority of role models seem to continuously be pop/film stars of both scandalous, demeaning and ever lowering standards of conduct, dress and image.

We speak of 3rd world countries or the middle east where young girls struggle for an education but here we are, the "civilized" world setting up young women to aspire to nothing more than shallow, plastic  throw away dolls.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for looking good and having all the feminine qualities but we have lost the important part for any human being. Self esteem and character that goes beyond our youth. Building strong, moral, confident leaders for the future and that can be said for both genders.

If we lack leaders in the future who posses quality character its because we continue to idolize the wrong role models for our children, girl or boy.
Its time to become more aware of the true accomplishments in our society and hold that in the forefront of our children to aspire to.

Kudos, to these women that have made history this weekend. I  applaud their accomplishments.
I encourage us all to look for those people , men and women, who have made positive accomplishments in our society (sports, medicine, politics, whatever) and bring that to the attention of the youth around us.

Silent Reflection

where did the year go?
I am sitting in a hotel room in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan wondering what just happened?
I'm supposed to be focusing on tomorrows work plan and how I am going to deal with an aviation company in the morning but my heads just not in it.
Instead, I find myself reflecting on the past years worth of work in the I Ho Chuan.
It seems surreal, it seems lonely now... but its just the silent reflection.

I now have to shift my focus, I have a plan to accomplish and learn some specific skills this year or at least esatablish a solid base.
I plan to stay near the I Ho Chuan group in hopes that their positive energy keeps me on track, inspired and motivated.

I wish the team great success for the year of the Snake and look forward to supporting them anyway I can.

Foot Work and Flow

We have heard this many times before from Sifu Brinker, the importance of foot work. Basically, putting you in the right place at the right time.

  Footwork…we practice this in our forms and our applications relentlessly but sometimes we overlook how critical our base is and the location of our base. I am guilty of getting caught up with the flashy hand application of the form or technique and forget where my feet are. Is my base assisting me or resisting me?

If our base is off (our stances) then we find ourselves disconnected from the hand application, this can translate into not being in the right place to attack our opponent or a balance issue in our forms.

If we are off balance , out of range or unable to execute the first technique efficiently our flow becomes non-existent.

Enter Tai Chi – the perfect tool to slow it down, observe your body alignment, work on 6 harmonies and allow yourself to move as one continuous body of water.

Now that’s Flow…and as Sifu Dennis says “Relaxed Flow”.

This is in the forefront of my focus now, as I have realized with the help of my Instructors how badly my body alignment (speaking from a skeletal perspective) is interfering with flow and harmonization in forms and application.

The good news is..once you discover a fault, an oversight, a problem  you have now  identified the problem and can challenge yourself to resolve the issue.

On the path to improvement and mastery…(words that grow more meaningful to me as time passes)

I'm glad I'm not a zebra

There I was , all four legs knee deep in mud and unable to get out. I could see the rest of the herd leaving off in the distance and as hard as I tried I was losing site of them. If the heat didn't get me , the jackals would!

Gladly, I am not a zebra on the African Savannah, I have two legs, I'm human and surrounded by support.

January has been a dismal month for me.  Plagued by injury then viral infection, I cant say good-bye to the month fast enough. There is no denying it has set me back,  however, before I start feeling too sorry for myself, one only needs to take a moment and realize things can always be worse. There is nothing that can't be fixed, or changed for the better, so long as you give it time and your perseverance.

The great part about being on a team, being part of a group of human people who are little extra special, when you drop the ball, someone else is close by to pick it up for you. Although you might not feel the best about not being able to do your part, the reassuring and relieving part is knowing that all is not lost.

Thank you Sifu Dennis and what a terrific job by everyone at the Horizon Stage!