Thankful

Lucky enough to spend Thanksgiving weekend in Campbell River , BC.

Great weather, lots of friends, fishing and celebrating. In the early morning you could catch a spectacular sunrise while looking over the Ocean water at the mountains in the distance. Nothing but nature to wake you up...well,.. the float planes and a 8 year old son were minutes behind with their own method to break the silence!

 It was a nice break and I did get a chance to slow down and be thoughtful and thankful.

To health and and contentment.

Training Partners

Learning any Martial Arts means practice...lots and lots of practice. and with that,  practicing with a training partner is critical. But how do you find a good training partner? 
First , you have to know how to be one yourself...

Good training partner
listens to the instruction and demo  then goes slow with intent to ensure both have the right idea

Bad training partner
comments during instruction, becomes a distraction, then full of ego, speeds through technique.

Good training partner
allows for repetition and analysis of technique before stopping drill to ask questions

Bad training partner
quick to critique and find fault in the technique without thought

Good training partner
gives feedback when asked

Bad training partner
constantly corrects their partner regardless of their own mistakes

Good training partner
keeps their uniform clean, nails trimmed, removes jewellery and knows what a shower is!

Bad training partner

well ...you know...


Pretty lucky with Silent River Kung Fu, over the years I have had great partners and still do. The higher ranking colored belts are good to set an example and it makes for a great learning environment. For that I am thankful.

If we all show consideration for one another and work to have our partners succeed along with ourselves, it becomes a "'win win" situation!
See you on the Mats!

And yet another day passes by

I find myself without any clear direction these days. even when I sit down to Blog I have incomplete topics and thoughts to share.
Part of this scattered direction is too much on the plate without a plan of attack. Trying to accomplish too much at once. This is not Mastery..it is the practice of trying to be a Jack of all trades(before November) and of course, how the saying goes...you become a master of none.
People always say...if I just get this out of the way, I will be able to go back to that. With the exception of a life crisis, this way of living becomes unsustainable.

Maybe a goal or an achievement was not meant to happen in a short period of time , maybe the slow methodical process of incorporating bite-size pieces in your life is the way to sustain, manage and balance so everything you do has quality in it.  Everything.

 If its rushed, if its a panic, something must be compromised.

Maybe Mastery is not achievable but getting closer to it is.

A mentor of mine from years back always used to say '...You have to be Flexible and Versatile...".
We used to laugh at him all the time because that was his answer to everything.
Another one he always used "...Don't forget the basics...".
Again, his reply to complex problems. He laughed at himself for all his sayings too, and we would jokingly call him Mr. Motto.
Years later, I have not seen him, but his words come back to me almost every day. There was truth to his Words, in how you think and how you act out.

Haven't forgotten you old friend!

A Weekend with Crazy People!

This weekend was Awesome!

I was invited to be a part of the Krebs/Regier Death Racing team some time ago, and I will not lie, I have been anxious for months about it. I am not a runner and this race put me way out of my comfort zone!

Anyways, I managed not to throw up, pass out, fall down or injure myself…actually I did fall down, 50ft from the finish line coming out of the woods after staying upright for 18.9999kms! Ms Krebs was good enough to catch it on camera too!

I was certainly not fast but I was very happy to finish and not let my teammates down.

This Canadian Death Race is something else…full of crazy people, but the good kind of crazy. The “why not, lets try it! Kind of crazy!  You push yourself and you look for a personal best with support from friends, family and strangers.

Each leg of the race had its own excitement..

Sifu Darcy Regier took up Leg 2 with the sun shining only to find himself battling a freak thunderstorm that pelted hail and then ice cold rain down on his run(some runners were brought down off the mountain due to threat of hypothermia) he continued on and made his way to the exchange hardly looking battered at all! His white shorts were still white…or maybe that was the hail that battered the mud off! Anyways,  Sifu Leitz was on his way after snacking on many hotdogs while waiting for Sifu Regier. Thankfully Leg 3 was not too long because by the time Sifu Leitz had made his way into the exchange finish line he was down to his last snack in his pack!(I have never seen anyone eat a meal as  they ran a relay race...where does that boy put it!). Then there was the Machine! Sihing Krebs…he  took off up Mount Hamel,Leg 4, 36km, like he was going out for some milk at the corner store…this man has run the race solo in the past! Science should study him…. Last but best…Sifu Alana Regier was off into the night for Leg 5. A black trail full of rocks, mud, bears, rivers and one mouse! I think the mouse is why she came in an hour earlier than we were expecting her!

What a great time, a  personal accomplishment for me and I got to hang out with some really great  people - even if they are a little crazy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Starting to get why people run so long and so far. For the first while its just you and your thoughts. Moving mediation. Until your muscles remind you they are still there and interrupt the calmness.
So, I think , the more you train, the more the muscles allow your mind to relax...maybe...work in progress.
 9.5km in 66 minutes ( still not a marathoner!)

Happy Canada Day!

Nice Work Guys!