Day One

Day One of my 1000 push ups went well. Had almost half done before I left the house today so it wasn't too bad to finish up when I got home.

On a second note, the tops of my hamstrings are sore. I have to credit Sifu Beckett for that. During the Blackbelt class she had us doing some kicking drills. She really emphasized keeping your supporting leg on the ground, meaning your heel does not lift off the ground as you swing your kick up. Very effective. I am always tight in the hamstrings, especially my left one where my kicks are noticeably different from right to left. I am interested to see what else she has up her sleeve!

Sifu Masterson, Silent River Kung Fu, Alberta ,Canada

Lazy on the Pushups

I have been bad with the pushups this week. I have missed 2 days completely and not completed my 140 on two other days.
Its not that I don't like doing them or I find them difficult, as a matter of fact they have become somewhat easy( in small sets of course). What has happened is I have started to blow them off because they are less of a challenge in my mind and I have focused on other aspects thinking I will do the pushups later. Of course later turns into tomorrow...oh how easy it is to fall back into the old ways!
So to snap myself out of it and put a challenge to myself, starting tomorrow which is Saturday, I will do 1000 a day for a week.( 7days and logging on each day).

Then book a massage!

JC Masterson
Silent River Kung Fu, Alberta, Canada

Conditioning Part Two

Tonight I finished the last class of the "police prep" fitness session.
It was twice a week for 6 weeks in duration.
The results were as follows:
Running/ pushup /lunge course - I shaved 17 seconds off.
Wide grip (palms facing out) chin ups increased by 1
situps - no change

So all in all not bad. If I could keep up the training it would be interesting to see what 3 months and 6 months would do for me. I must say doing it by myself would not be the same. The group of people I trained with had a high sense of comradeship, same as what you would find in any recruit class.
Some things I did learn from the class was the importance of finding your breathing pattern and rhythm for a particular physical task. I also see that some things should be worked on as slow as possible such as push ups and situps for maximum benefit while speed is the goal for sprinting, squat thrusts, stairs, etc.
The unfortunate realization, however, is the human body likes to do nothing. This conditioning class was all about fighting the body and the mind. As you push yourself, your legs and lungs turn to pins of fire and your mind screams at you to stop.
It is pretty cool to see how it does adapt, each week you find you have exceeded your previous limit just a little more.
The last thing we did as a group was a "Pursuit Challenge" One person was the pursuer while the other was the pursuee, then you switch. If you lost your bad guy you had to do 20 pushups, if you caught your bad guy they had to do 20 pushups. Turns out I am faster as a crook then a cop!.. go figure?
Anyways good course..it was fun!
JC Masterson, Silent River Kung fu, Alberta, Canada

Self Agenda

A statement made by someone I know has always bugged me.

"We are all motivated by our own self agenda"

Sounds sad, is that what really drives us? Are we all that selfish and everything we do is just a means to an end...to serve our selves?

I suppose you can apply this to your average day and analyze both yourself and other people and decide if this is true in your mind or not.

The obvious ones are people that show no consideration for their fellow human being and climb to the top without a care of who gets hurt in their wake.

But, what about "giving ", "acts of kindness", acts of charity, setting examples of moralistic values, etc...what about the good things people do? Is there a self agenda? Do they only have their interests at heart?

Can someone carry out an act of kindness without it having any selfish aspect?

I don't think so.

I think the question to ask yourself ...what is my agenda? What drives me? Money, Reward, Ego? Is a favour given a favour expected at a later date?
Is your agenda to rid yourself of guilt, feel righteous, feel peaceful?
If a person takes 2 seconds to be honest with themselves about their motives you may find yourself taking action differently.


Point being, if we are driven by our own agendas so be it, however, if your own agenda is to nourish your soul and feel peace in your heart by doing the right things and making the right choices in life ...then I can live with that.

JC Masterson, Silent River Kung fu, Stony Plain, AB,Canada

The Moment

I would like to touch on the concept of living in the moment. Master Brinker has brought this up lately and it is something I am challenging myself to do.

It will be 10 years this year that I have been walking through the door of the Silent River Kung fu organization. I certainly have not been there from the beginning but I have been around long enough to see alot of people come and go. That being said, over the years I have kept a fairly low profile. Before my son was born I was heavily involved in all the demos and tournaments but kept my interaction with my peers and Sifus "strictly business with light conversation". That, of course, was my own doing as I tend not to be very outgoing.

Last night at the Blackbelt promotion ceremony I realized how many people were going to be moving on this year. Nothing really new, however, some of these individuals are key players at Silent River. My first thought is they will truly be missed and regret not getting to know them better as people. My second thought is change is in the wind again, for their positions will be filled by up and coming talents.

This is where living in the moment becomes important to me. So many times in the past I have been guilty of hearing people talk to me but for one reason or another I am not really listening. I get caught up in the "things I need to do" and start thinking about my agenda in the back of my head and how this person is taking up more of my time then I had scheduled for! Terrible and shame on me!

I need to recognize that every conversation, every interaction is an opportunity to get to know the people around me. There is alot of wisdom, experiences, adversities overcome by others and just plain good humor that is past by when the moments you share with one another are only superficial.

What good are short term goals and long term goals if you don't savour the moments along the way. I think part of UBBT underlying goal is to overfill your plate that it forces you to interact with your colleagues for support and network with others and you finally get the picture that there is strength in numbers and strength for the individual through those numbers.

Anyways , I getting off on a tangent, the point is live in the moment when dealing with one another, you will find you will walk away with more than you bargained for.

As for changes in Silent River Kung fu school. If it was the same as it was the first year I was there I guarantee I would have left long time ago. The fact that the school is so dynamic is what keeps you coming back for more, growth, new faces,old faces, new community challenges and new personal challenges.

JC Masterson, Silent River Kung Fu, Stony Plain, Canada

Two Kinds of Conditioning

GSP vs BJ
It was a beating most would not endure. As GSP came out you could not deny the obvious perfect physical shape the man was in. As the match went on it became apparent that GSP had the physical conditioning to go along with the chiseled body. Near the end of the fourth round it occurred to me , look at BJ, this guy is not giving up, you have to admire the mental fortitude this man possesses. It just was crystal clear the difference between physical conditioning and mental conditioning. I am sure GSP has plenty of mental conditioning as well, however, he did not need to tap into that reservoir as much.
It makes you realize what extraordinary athletes these people are, thank goodness for rules, judges and a brother who cares about you.
Just my thoughts on the UFC fight.
JC Masterson
Silent River Kung fu, Stony Plain, Alberta

A Busy Week(s)

It's been a very busy couple of weeks. It felt like I was barely keeping ahead of everything. I am sure many can relate as we all seem to add more and more to our plates.

This week was my son's fourth birthday. He is pretty proud of the fact that he is four now. He told me in four more years he will have a job too and he will drive me around in his car!(sounds good to me)

It made me think about his future and about how I raise him now.

There has been a lot of coffee talk and social discussion about the country's economic situation lately. Some say we are in crisis, some in recession others not worried about it at all. I believe we are in a stabilization phase. Anyways, this is not about debating economics or politics, its about the effect it has on people.

Not too long ago the province was going gangbusters and labourers, trades and professions were crying out in desperation for people. Signing bonuses were offered, all traveling expenses were paid, company vehicles, standards were lowered, etc. Don't get me wrong that is still going on, however, its not just everybody and anybody with a pulse that is getting hired now...and I think that is a good thing.

When things are too plentiful and handed to us without effort the appreciation is lost. Work ethic suffers or becomes non-existent.

I work in the Aviation industry and the biggest complaint of many Employers last year was the "whats in it for me?" attitude. People not showing up for shifts, dictating what their job description was going to be, forget about overtime and there is no way they were sweeping the floor.

Here I go, sounding like my grandmother but its true... I remember graduating from SAIT in 91'. There were 5 people for every 1 position available in the industry you chose. Very competitive.

I remember offering to work for free for a week just to get my foot in the door. You took all the crappy jobs and cleaned up after everyone because you were "low man on the pole" and maybe after that you would actually get to touch an aircraft.

This builds character and gives you an appreciation for what you have and what you can achieve through hard work.

So now I come back to the present day, my son is 4 and before I know it he will have his first job (maybe not at 8 years old like he plans).Since he is an only child I worry about handing him too much. He will always get what he needs but he needs to work for what he wants.

Sifu Masterson

Silent River Kung Fu, Stony Plain, Alberta