My Auntie

My Aunt is back from Mexico, her and my Uncle normally go every year for 3 months but this year is different. She had to come back for cancer treatments.
Around November she was diagnosed with lung cancer and it had spread to other areas of her body. She never smoked in her life but developed a cough last fall.
Her cancer is terminal but you would never know it.
She does not work anymore but spends every day with grandchildren, family and friends. She never dwells on her situation but will share her experience freely if you ask. She is quick to tell you not to waste your time sweating the small stuff.
She has two more treatments left and the doctors will cut her loose. In their words, there is no more point after that , go and enjoy the rest of your life.
To me she has the strenght of 1000 men, she does not despair but has chosen to do just what they said, enjoy her family which she as cared for all her life.
To me , she is a women who must have true inner peace and she has led a life that would deserve such inner peace.
She is truly a role model to me.
I know I have a sense of panic when I imagine being in her shoes. I am not the person I need to be yet, I have not done all that I can do for the people in my life.
I watch her and I hang on every word she says these days.

JC Masterson, Silent River Kung Fu, Alberta, Canada

The Trouble with Blogging

I was about to post my blog when I read it again and scrapped it.
Reading it over…, it sounded like a lecture in my head.
“Delete”
This is one of those weeks where journalling (blogging ) is painful, so I will share my pain.
The problem I have always had with blogging is the lack of conversation.
I have no end of things to say or opinions (just ask my husband) but I seem to need that initiation of the topic brought up through conversation.
There is nothing like good old fashion round table debate. Uncensored, no research, no time to pause, unscripted off the cuff wit, sometimes even made up but fun just the same.
Where did that go?
I know this obviously isn’t the platform for what I describe but some days it seems odd to be having a conversation with myself to convey to the blogging ecosystem.


On the other hand, if I didn’t blog about blogging I would not have taken the time to appreciate the art of conversation or the fact that this is not a conversation.
I’ll stop now before I confuse myself!

Sifu Masterson, Silent River Kung Fu, Alberta, Canada

Clear as Mud

Yesterday I wrote a blog speaking to the principles of techniques and applications in the martial arts.
Last night I had a frustrating class where the simplest concept eluded me. I was so focused on the right hand I did nothing with my left hand. Too focused on a small section, I missed the big picture, thanks to Sifu Freitag who pointed out the obvious and I was back on track. Simply put, the concepts of equal and opposite action, working to apply leverage and the result is a lock.
Once again, kung fu is ever humbling.

Sifu Masterson, Silent River Kung Fu, Alberta, Canada

Becoming a Student of Principle

Trying to be a student of principle. Sometimes its easy sometimes it takes a little more brain power.
In the beginning we tend to be students of memorization. Learning a technique or application in a very perscriptive manner. If bad guy does this we must respond with movement A then B then C.
I would ask tonnes of detail and try and practice exactly the same way every time.
Which is good, the body needs correct repetition for the correct execution of the application. Somewhere along the way I realized our curriculum is loaded with Principles in the applications and techniques that can be plucked out and adapted to other scenarios. Its recognizing them and applying them appropriately that has been fun and continues to be challenging.

Sfiu Masterson, Silent River Kung Fu, Alberta, Canada

Courage

If we could see inside people we could see the true measure of their courage.
Often we do not even realize what someone is dealing with inside, we just see their actions.Something that may seem courageous to us may in fact just be another day in the life of a well trained individual.

The difference or the true measure of courage is the size or extent of fear. Fear, anxiety, stress.
The larger the fear, the more courage is required to go where you don't want to go, sometimes at all costs.
From the outside we usually cant see this, mostly because people are pretty good at hiding their fears.

The fear of not succeeding, the fear of getting hurt(physical or emotional) the fear of rejection or not belonging, the fear of not being the right fit. The fear of embarrassment or humiliation, the fear of being alone.

There are many courageous people we encounter everyday, I think we really have no idea what some people go through, sometimes when we realize their fears by listening, taking the time to get to know them and their challenges we may be more than just surprised at their courage but inspired as well.

JC Masterson, Silent River Kung Fu, Alberta, Canada

Gracie Girl

I'm out of town again, but this time its worth it.

Right now I am in Torrance, California on a helicopter course. Thats the boring part.

I am a big fan of the Gracie family, their lineage and pioneering in the marital arts.
I know the headquaters for the Gracie Jiu jitsu Academy is here, so last night I thought I would find it and check it out (they have a museum to visit) and buy myself a T-shirt.
So, I walk in, at the front desk is Rener Gracie (like no way!..that is the actual teenage phrase that went through my head )... I try and act all cool and ask if I could get a size in this shirt, blah, blah . I can hear classes going on in the back hall, so I boldly ask if it would be OK to watch?
He(Rener) asks me what my background is with the marital arts, so I let him know about Silent River Kung fu and my interest and novice experience with grappling(emphasis on novice).
He said, and I quote"..this is the best night of ever any nights of all time to walk in my friend, I will do you one better, you can gear up and participate with the next class and the following specialty class."
Next thing you know, I have been given a Gi to borrow and I am lining up with the Gracie Jiu Jitsu Combatives class...(most excellent!).
Ryron Gracie spends 10 minutes with me to assess my grappling then pairs me up with a blue belt.(Sweet!)
The next class is the Women Empowered class, basically a self defense class only everything is on the ground, that too was super awesome!

The thing that really blew me away is after the class, They brought me up front and introduced me as "an extended student family member from Canada" to all the regular students, I received hand shakes after class and some friendly chat.
All this was free of charge, and this is the Los Angeles area, not what I expected, still a little shocked.
They deal with hundreds of students a week, I was impressed how they took the time at no cost, and I am not sure if they knew how much it meant to me but it was something else to be treated so kindly.

Anyways, that is my bragging story ,I am like a kid grinning Christmas morning. 24 hours later!

JC Masterson, Silent River Kung Fu, Alberta, Canada

The Focus Skill

Focus is a pretty simple word and a simple concept but there is no question it is a moving target for me.
I think when are lives become consumed with busyness and a lack of balance, focus becomes overtaken by distraction and quality suffers.
As part of the I Ho Chuan , with teammates to follow as examples,my, hope is for a improvement in my ability to focus on any given goal, person or moment.
Trying to do many things at once has become a way of life but only to my disappointment sometimes.
The ability to truly focus is a skill I hope to achieve through, of course, practice.



JC Masterson, Silent River Kung Fu, Alberta, Canada