Find your Fit

When one starts any martial art, you learn a move, an application or a technique. You should absolutely respect the information pasted to you by the Instructor but do not blindly accept it.

Practice, analyze, experiment and respectfully question. This is the true path to find your personal style of martial art...(I speak of the self defence physical component specifically).
Kung fu by nature offers a large spectrum of applications from Forms, weapons, self defence, take downs, ground work and on and on....but find your fit.
What works for your peer or mentor may not work for you, or may not be your first choice of application and self defence.
Be open minded. Be present and engaged when instructed. This mindset assists you in true application of the lesson. Avoid the easy way of replicating what you just saw or mindlessly applying a move. This does not serve you and essentially will have no value.
What I have learnt over the years, is to value my Instructors but take responsibility for my own short-comings and offer answers to myself in the detail.
For those moments I do feel like I have earned my Black Belt.

The ones that Inspire me

Who are the Martial Artists that inspire me....

Those that show up, the committed, the consistent, the tenacious and the tireless.

The students that are always there, putting the time in.
There may be nothing spectacular, no flying backwards sparkling manouevers, no feats of elite physical skill, nothing that catches your eye, until you look a little closer and notice a Lions share of "will" to keep working!
They inspire me to work just as hard, they motivate me to keep at it and they make me feel embarrassed when I cant hold the same work ethic they do.

Time and Time again, those are the battle hardy individuals that you one day notice, even before its offically put around their waist,...yes, yes indeed, this is the heart and the mind of a Black Belt ...

Throwin it out there

Challenges....little call outs to the group to help motivate, inspire ,engage, bond or just strike up conversation but most of all they make the unfun conditioning drills and excersizes fun!
You don't have to be a super elite athlete, you just need to commit to the group and try...easy,peasy!

Let's face it, sometimes that fitness stuff is a drag. Trying to condition yourself and get stronger can have little appeal when it becomes repetitive and the same old thing, however, working at being in the best shape you can be in is the foundation for any martial artists...not to be bypassed!
To me, it's an essential component...and if I come across anything that makes fitness more interesting, I grasp onto it!

That's why, if someone throws out a challenge,, no matter how small, simple or out of my comfort zone it may be, I'm in...I have to at least try and if nothing else, I can laugh at myself and be happy with myself for a least movin my butt!
It's a win win for you and your peers and your school pride and school friendship!

Connected!

I can remember back to the days of the UBBT (prior to I Ho Chuan), in its infancy of the team concept it was a little challenging for those out of town workers or shift workers to stay connected to the Kwoon.
Our ways of staying connected to the school have vastly changed in my mind and I think it's great.
Our blogs have been our first and most important way of sharing, but as time went on routine meetings were adopted, then virtual attendance to the meetings became possible for those in special situations, and now  Google Plus communities.
I find distance is not a setback like it used to feel.

I am in Whitehorse right now, but I don't feel the distance.
A good representation of why I feel connected would have to be attributed to the on line challenge Sihing Choy initiated with push ups. Simple but effective. I tune in every night to post my numbers, catch up on discussions and read the blogs of my peers.
I might not be in town for awhile but the connection, motivation and inspiration are all at my finger tips!
Good stuff, I think!

"Abscence  of evidence is not evidence of absence"

I don't know where this quote originated from, it is a philosphy, a principle of law and science and a statement of rebuttle in argument.
That being said, I believe you can apply the quote to your own daily life.
It makes me think before I speak.
 It helps me keep an open mind.

Love the Gadget!

Gadgets, gimmicks, trends or Fads...whatever you want to call it...

The latest is the Fitbit, or at least its the latest for me. I seen a few people sporting the wrist band and finally curiosity got the best of me, I bought one and have been having great fun with it so far.

At work we have a tendency to stay at our desks when we are in the office and just sit and work till its time to leave. Not good, not at all, the human body was not meant to sit in a chair constantly and I pay for it later with tight muscle and joint problems.

Anyways, a few of us at the office have picked up the little gadget and "friended" each other.

The result has been fantastic. 

We set challenges between us , we encourage each other to go for walks in the river valley during lunch and at the end of the day, you just feel better mentally.

Of course,  I have to give a high five to those kung fu people I have spotted with the wrist bands as well!

so yeah, maybe its a fad and the novelty will wear off but the fact that it gets you off your butt and thinking about your physical condition is great.

So nice work "Fitbit" people!

and Breathe!

Sanshou and the Shaolin Fitness classes.
Two very different classes but with a connection.

One class focuses on sparring and the other on your conditioning.

As a martial artist your conditioning and endurance should be your foundation from which you build your martial arts skills upon.
Imagine if you honed your skill and knowledge to perfection. Knowing every leverage point and placement of footwork to deflect and attack your opponent. Fantastic!
...not so fantastic if you find yourself winded and gasping for breathe in mere minutes of engagement.

Let us not forget about our fitness level, the basic conditioning of our heart, lungs and muscles. The internal workings and health of our body will serve us that much better in our pursuit of physical skill if we look after the basics.

To achieve this, we don't need to join a gym or spend 2hours a day running we simply need some cardio exertion at least 3 times a week to maintain a basic level of conditioning. Utilizing our martial arts as a source is perfect. Ramp up the reps of Forms, speed up a set of kicks, drop down for some push ups and you are on your way!

Don't have time for extra cardio with your focus on kung fu training?...no problem..add the Saturday morning Shaolin fitness class, add the Tuesday evening Sanshou class and make sure you put in 110 percent during your class warm ups... now you are maintaining a level of conditioning not to mention the extra kung fu training embedded in those classes!
and for those ambitious people looking to improve their cardio - add a couple of early morning runs and watch yourself emerge into that finely tuned breathing machine!

Girl talk

The dreaded pull up!

For us ladies this is like climbing Mount Everest!
Typically the female body type is not blessed with the upper body strength that our male counterparts are endowed with....and typically we are blessed with the heavy hips. This again, makes lifting our own body weight a challenge, so whats a girl to do?

First off, know the muscle groups that actually work the pull up...

For me, my weakness was engaging the whole back, I found my arms were strong enough but my back worked as independent muscles, quivering in and out! I was good for about 1 or 1 and a half pull ups. 

Ladies we have to strengthen our backs in my opinion. Watch how you do your push ups as well. The upper back should be fully engaged from the shoulders, scapula, rhomboid area, etc. and down thru your lats. Full back engagement also translates , or it should, into an engaged core. So bottom line, the whole upper body group of muscles are locked together (like Lego pieces) to lift as one unit. The lower body is basically dead weight.

So how do I strengthen my back?

 Tonnes of exercises  out there to choose from but I found this particular dumbbell set, for my weak area, was very focused in strengthening my back for the purpose of pull ups. Use a weight size that challenges you, these tiny weights in the picture wont cut it. (no offence random girl in diagram!).

There are plenty of other weight training exercises for the back and plenty on the Internet to introduce you to them. I just found this one helped me a lot.

This Saturday, I'm going to bring in my pull up assist cable for fun...if you would like to try it let me know!

Happy reps and see you on the mats!

Acupuncture

 My hamstring has been a problem for sometime. I have been stretching and heating and icing and massaging but it never really goes away.
I finally got up enough nerve to try acupuncture!...after the treatment he told me to try a short run on the weekend and see how it feels. I am excited to see if there is a difference, but I can understand now, how the acupunture penetrates into deep tissue, have a feeling I should have tried this much earlier!

Sunrise

                      My photography skills don't do it justice...but pretty cool sunrise this morning!

Work Life Balance

Do you ever wish you could quit your job and someone would pay you to train in the martial arts?

Kinda one of those in the clouds thoughts, like "if I could just win the lottery, everything would be better!"....

We have been short staffed this year and its taking its toll on me. Going to work early, staying late and taking work home just to keep up. As, I sit here typing, I realize no one has been forcing me to take on extra, its my own work ethic and it bothers me to be overloaded and disorganized, however at what sacrifice?
If you are lucky enough to have a career that includes your friends, family and something you love to do, life is good.
I like my job, I have worked hard in my career but it doesn't include my family and it  doesn't   include kung fu!
So, its up to me to make changes, I need to reset the balance and put harmony back in my life.
The reality is , work will have to adjust to me, not the other way around.
Easier said than done , of course!

So long summer...

Fall is coming and it signifies different things to different people. Back to school, back to work, preparing for winter and maybe preparing to leave because of winter!

Summer is definitely my favourite season. I love being outside, love water sports and try to be away as much as work will allow!
I do look forward to getting back into a routine and the sense of accomplishment it brings but I also know , come January, I have had enough of being indoors and enough of the cold miserable weather...so...this year, its time to make an effort to enjoy the many months of snow we seem to be unable to escape and make an effort to enjoy winter as much as summer.
This winter my goal is to get my son involved in skiing and snowboarding and mom is going to take a crack at the snowboarding thing! Should be fun, makes me almost excited for snow...almost!

Fun in the Mud!

Weekend with some Kung Fu friends at Mud Heros in Red Deer...

                                                                         BEFORE...

                                                                            AFTER...

                   and don't forget Sifu Lindstrom..thought we lost him!

2 Boys and a Bike

August long weekend was the Canadian Death Race.
We had 3 relay teams put together between all of us and it was a lot of fun. Many racers from our Silent River kung fu clan along with their friends, family and spouses ( including my spouse who ran). Although I couldn't run this year I wouldn't have missed it for the world. I managed to help out and support where I could  and that turned out to be rewarding in itself.

I hope these two young men don't mind me posting their picture...but I think what they accomplished this last weekend was pretty fantastic!..running several kilometers through the heat and hills battling exhaustion!
I had many pictures but I guess I was a little biased as theses fine folks are regular Shaolin Fitness students and I see them every Saturday, I was especially excited for them!
So great job Boys!...and nice Bike!

Spinning Wheels

Feeling like you got too much on your plate?
Overwhelmed, pulled in different directions and everything and everyone seems to need a piece of you?
We all feel like that from time to time and most of the time we just push through till we get to calmer waters...but what if this seems like it's been going on for a long time with no relief in sight.
Burn out can be the result, straining our relationships, making hasty decisions and simply getting tired and sick.
If your plate feels like it is overloaded, it's time to take stock. I believe taking stock of ourselves everyday is important. I haven't mastered mediation yet but I can appreciate how a few minutes set aside in your day(maybe at the beginning or before you go to sleep) could go along ways to calm the waters no matter of the size of challenges placed before you. I think we all could benefit from thoughtful reflection to really see clearly what are the important tasks in our lives, how to prioritize and how to drop excess baggage from our plates that really hold us back from accomplishing the things that really matter the most.

Thoughts that are going through my head as I get too caught up in the daily "to do" lists that seem to prevent me from breaking free of the"spinning my wheels" feeling...

Field Trip

Vacation time for a week.
Off to Drumheller for our annual Dinosaur visit. My son has not outgrown Dinosaurs and insists we visit the museum as a vacation spot. His passion for dinosaurs and the science of paleontology lights him up. It really becomes a field trip for his parents and he is the guide!
I don't mind really, the museum is full of interesting things and I seem to always find something new to learn, not to mention the kids. Its amazing how kids are so fascinated and excited by something that doesn't exist anymore. The last time I was that excited by something that didn't exist anymore ...was the last payment on my vehicle!

Anyways, glad to have the time away from work,  and ending off the vacation week with Bootcamp!

Day 16 - Frustration Disappointment and Defeat

3 Kms this morning...came home beaten.
I made the decision to withdraw from the Death Race.

This is going to hang in the back of my mind now....

My hamstring pain has not subsided. I'm good for about 2km then it becomes unbearable. I walk for half a kilometer then I can go a little bit more. Massage, Active release, ice, stretching have all been good but it's going to take time...the race is in three weeks.

If it was just me, no problem, I would drag my dying body across the line but there are cut off times to meet and I would feel really crappy if I disqualified the team.

It leaves me wondering why? Why now? Trying to figure out what I did or didn't do.

I didn't injure myself, it just seemed to come on gradually. The Physio guy said sometimes repetitive training will expose injuries, scarred muscles or problem areas that we were not aware of. If that's true then I guess I can look at it as a good thing. My kicks on the left side have always been lacking and maybe this is why, so if I can fix the hamstring/abductor problem, I would be excited about improving those kicks.

I have to say the running has done wonders for my stamina, my sparring,rolling and overall cardio have improved noticeably. I have also enjoyed the alone time running has brought. I don't want to stop.

So , apart from feeling frustrated, having great anxiety over standing down or sucking it up ..not to mention I  have to swallow my pride and publicly announce my failing with embarrassment, the toughest part right now is to overcome the feeling of "doing nothing".  The feeling of defeat is powerful. It makes me want to stop running, actually stop training of any sort and just lay on the couch and feel sorry for myself.

I know that's how I feel today,

I'm hopeful later this week I will get my old mojo back and figure out how to fix this....till then...


Big Thanks to Sifu Darcy Regier for taking my spot!...I plan on being the best water boy/cheerleader ever for you guys!

Day 15

5.5 km after fitness class

Day 14

Short 5 km run thru Chickakoo. Watched the Great White North triathlon athletes run through our neighborhood, some pretty amazing looking people!