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!

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!