Training in the Badlands

So I've spent the last month or better in the Drumheller area doing a bridge project. It really takes me back to when I grew up in Southern Alberta. All the farms, the rolling hills and the ability to see for miles. The smell in the air as the soil is being turned up for seeding, coyotes, oh yeah and WIND!!! That's one thing I don't miss too much for sure especially when they are spreading manure..that's ripe. There is really cool trails around here and the scenery is really nice. I found an area perfect for weapon training and forms. The biggest issue is getting there as the days are long indeed and it's tough to get out there.

My routine hasn't been as efficient as I would like it to be by any stretch but it has been consistent and that's better than nothing. One added bonus is my room I'm staying at is pretty large so I have quite a bit of room for kicks, push ups and sit ups and some weight training. I can also do some of the forms that don't require a lot of room. But overall Dah Mu Hsin is the one that is practiced every day, that's the one that keeps it all moving forward. I'm starting to eat a lot cleaner and more consistently. It's so easy to not eat properly when you become so focused and engaged in what we do, but hours without eating is stupid and pounding convenient junk into yourself is even dumber. It takes it's toll for sure. Now I have a loaded up smoothy every morning, eat several times throughout the day and pound the water and some natural fruit juices and I feel great. Fuel is everything if you want to run like a machine.

Canada Day is coming fast and my Sais form is still in the works and Loa Gar is coming along. It's been tricky going back to two handed lighter weapons as I have trained with heavy weapons for the last 5 years or so but adaptability and versatility is key with any aspect of training so it was good to change it up.

I have about 10 or so journals in my draft that I will get out here over the next while because I need to get those up to date. I really noticed when the journals stay on track, so does the accountability and the discipline as does finding the time to train. It removes the urge to slack off or just give up because the year isn't going the way I want it too. So between this, the I Ho Chuan requirements and using the Code of Ethics as a tool of focus, I think things are going to work out fine, and that's just a whole lot of alright. See you at the Kwoon

Black Belt Code of Ethics Part 2

Training can and should be done no matter where you are or what you are doing. It has been said many times by our teachers as we progress through our training that students cannot possibly maintain or advance our skills if we limit our training to just when we are at the kwoon. When you reach the level of black belt your advancement to degrees is a incremental process that takes time. The accountability to our sworn commitments as black belts is expected to be done on our own. I know speaking from my own experience that it is very easy to let things slip or not make the training such a high priority. I train and then I don't, then I start to get concerned that if I don't, I will lose and forget everything I worked for, so that does tend to help with the motivation to keep my conditioning and skills up. The thing is it doesn't really seem to hit home because at the time, I am accountable to no one but me..... that is until I walk into the kwoon and practice in front of my teachers. Then it's pretty much front and center the lack of discipline, and to me I find it quite embarrassing as it shows just how much I need to practice and how much I need to catch up.

 However, we are provided with a very valuable tool that was meant to be used as a guide and a method to keep us accountable and help us maintain our Kung Fu. I believe this is the whole point of the Code of Ethics. In order to maintain our own training and advancement to not only the standards of the school, but our own floating standards, and to be mindful of what is expected of us as Black Belts. We are asked to swear to an oath that is meant to be used as a guide to keep us engaged and uphold our style. For me and this year, this is my primary focus and tool and the more I use it, the better everything becomes.

All Black Belts of Silent River Kung Fu must promise to;

Set an example by approaching their art with passion, vigor, and vitality.

To approach our art with passion to me means put your heart into it, your intelligence and remain on the quest for perfection. Not necessarily as in perfect, because there is no such thing. We want constantly evolve and have the art become a part of you, like Bruce Lee said, express yourself and be yourself. Good enough or mindlessly training or letting your Kung Fu slip should piss you off and not be part of the program.

To approach the art with vigor to me means excitement and discovery, that spike of energy you feel when you really hit your forms or after hours and trying to perfect a technique it just takes off, pounding out those 100 kicks, 70 push ups in a row, or finally executing a spinning back kick that is graceful and your not scrambling for balance recovery. It's just a whole lot of alright and that's what your Kung Fu should be.

To approach the art with vitality from my perspective is longevity and conditioning. You can't execute Kung Fu properly or effectively if your physical fitness and conditioning is not maintained. So it's very important aspect of it. Stretching, making those muscles burn, ramping up the heart rate and driving yourself to puking is key. If don't keep these things up next thing you know you have injuries or you can't maintain or evolve your training, then everything goes down hill real quick. Keeping in mind we all age, so again to maintain the longevity of your Kung Fu, warming up those muscles is important, stretching is important and cardio is very important. This promotes a healthy body and mind, boosts metabolism and keeps you young. It promotes a proper diet and inspires a person to find those needs our body requires such as supplements or vitamins. You have to train smart but not use age as an excuse, but a tool to train better. The thing is if you keep telling yourself you can't do something, then you won't because your body and mind will listen to you.

So that's my take on this paraphrase of our Code of Ethics. See you at the Kwoon.

 

Quadrants

We are taught through our training that the body, yours and your opponents, are broken up into quadrants and all things are based off of the center line. If this is not practiced mindfully it can effect a number of factors involving stances, execution of techniques with full body power to definite completion, and of course the channeling of power through grounded execution. This will also hinder the first three parts of the six harmonies because the required alignment to achieve full definition is impossible. You cannot engage the three efficiently because they are basically fighting each other. What I mean by this is some parts of the body are just loading up, some are already at full extension, and others are only halfway there which throws the trajectory and grounded power right out the window. Not to mention at this point your feel like a piled up gearbox.The timing is completely off and makes for very awkward transitions and this will translate throughout the whole form making it very difficult to not only maintain your center, but actually use it to its fullest potential. I have found that a lot of awkward areas of my form work and areas where I just don't feel any power at all, stumble during transitions, are a result of me not being mindful of the four quadrants and my center line.....and that pesky angled back foot.

I have discovered lately when practicing my forms that I am applying my techniques off center and my back foot is angled away from my center line as well which throws the power right past my opponent instead of through them. Not to say the foot should point to the center line, but it should run parallel. My punches for example are slightly to the inside of my lead leg, instead of following my center line. The result is an over extension of my arm, which leaves my elbow vulnerable, and my hip is not even part of it because it isn't even engaged or it's completely extended because of the angle of my back foot. During transitions the technique is leading the hips instead of the hips leading the technique, so by the time I have finished full rotation, there's not really much there. Also when making a transition, because the back foot wasn't lined up correctly in the first place, my back foot is nowhere near where it should be because its a technique behind making the next one come solely from the shoulders instead of the whole body. This will definitely remove any flow at all and makes it seem like I am starting each technique from the start because I feel continuously jammed and not working towards the center removes the timing and grounding required to actually apply what I am doing.

So I have been mindful of these things while practicing and I'm finding much smoother flow and transitions and I feel like the whole body is more involved. My forms feel really good actually and this should translate very well into the rest of my Kung Fu. My punches are not overextended and my stances have shortened up slightly. This makes me feel more grounded and the whole body is involved when I snap those hips and complete rotation with the heel planted and that back foot forward. Now I just have to re program that muscle memory through 1 MILLION repetitions and keep in mind to get good, before I get fast. See you at the Kwoon.

Vicious Virus

I was invaded by a virus from hell the past 2 weeks or better that was a real piece of work indeed. It would come in waves and each one would almost knock you to the ground, and then you seemed fine and then, just kidding!, wham again. I don't usually get sick too often and when I do I can usually shed it fairly quick, not so much with this viral spawn of satan but the immune system stomped it into oblivion so end of story there.

This down time cost me a bunch of training time and long days laboring through work but as far as I can tell it's over and it's time to crank up the dial. Trying to follow the discipline of always moving forward no matter what isn't always easy but if we keep the mind in check and focus on all options anything is progress. For example I did still continue to work through some training with smaller reps and complete my beta version. I also continued with working on some less laboring aspects of training such as stretching and reviewing my plans and goals and applying what I could. I wasn't able to perform at last class because I still wasn't well and didn't want to bring this evil into the Kwoon and share it with others because that's just not cool. It sucks though because it's always great to see everyone's forms and meet the deadline together with the team. I also missed a couple of black belt classes which bothered me even more because I want to take advantage of every single one I can before I head out of town some time this month. That's how it goes sometimes though and all you can do is deal with it and look ahead. I think though if I keep the plan in front of me and stay away from pulling a shift in the excuse factory or guzzling a big mug of resentment with a shot of pissed off...I'll pull off my best year yet.

Well that's all I really have this week and I hope everyone is doing well and basking in their own rays of awesomeness!! See you at the Kwoon.

Current Status

The last little while has been going well in regards to my quest for Year of the Pig awesomeness, with a couple things that needed to be addressed of course as it is never perfect and never will be. I've still just been coasting along doing my daily thing and not putting too much thought into it really, less self yack, more smack. Well completely no thought is impossible, but just more less paying attention to detail. I'm posting another quick journal because I missed a week....and I didn't even realize it, mostly because I caught some wack job virus that has really knocked the crap out of me but I continued on with priorities at work and I was out of town breifly.

Now this was and is a good thing because I caught myself slipping into my old habits of not keeping my Kung Fu moving along with me. Yes I was busy and not feeling well but I am working towards not allowing the justification of excuses or the distractions that seem to come along and take over my journey this time around. I realized at the beginning of the year that things needed to change and in order to achieve change, you have to maintain control of your plans. But you still allow yourself the ability to steer around those obstacles and leave the emotions out. For me at this time, it's all business. I can basque in the glory once I get the wheels of excellence rolling in the most basic format I can that suits me and my situations. That's the goal anyway, I just want to train and enjoy it no matter the circumstances and prioritize my training in a manageable way because I really don't want to lose it.

Physically things are coming along nicely, adding a little more day by day and resting accordingly. Mindless effort has done wonders really in regards to my forms and the neat fact is, the less I think about it, the more of those little things I seem to catch because I can feel them as I go. Stop, do a little adjustment and apply it through a few reps and the issue seems to go away. My weapon form is coming along in pieces basically. Trying to mold it all together to flow well and make it practical is always a challenge but I'm not that far off and have a version 1.0 ready to go. Loa Gar is well...Loa Gar....I really like this style and at the moment we are working on it quite a bit in Black Belt class so that's an unexpected bonus for sure. I'm doing school form reps fairly consistently which is very important as there is so much there that applies to all of our Kung Fu that can be lost if you don't keep it up.

 Mentally I'm feeling pretty good and training in a more valuable approach which has done me a lot of good. The only thing that concerns me a bit is my work schedule is about to go into hyper drive which usually kicks me off of my plan. Mainly because I let it, and make all kinds of justifications as to why I can't or how the system doesn't work for me. Honestly though my work schedules do pose a serious challenge, it's so hit and miss, long hours and unpredictable days seem to be a huge part of it as well. But this is my jungle and nobody is forcing me to do it. Adapting is key, which isn't really a problem for me when my hearts in it and the focus is there...I take care of business and take care of it with my signature of quality, no matter what it may take. But this is where things can and do go to absolute crap for me. Suddenly imperative task focus takes precedence over everything until it's done, but everything else that is supposed to move along with that focus and other personal benefits become less important. When this happens I have to start all over again or pick up where I left off and that isn't always so easy. I think when your intensity and focus get jumped around so much, you begin to lose the things that are a important component to you. You have this misconception that just because you can do things well and see them through, respect them, they will always be there. To a strong degree that's probably true if it really is part of us, it never leaves. But if you don't maintain those important things they can break down and disappear. Without the focus and discipline they will disappear and you don't even realize it. I don't want to go there, so that's why I'm here and the focus is mainly self improvement and restoration to what's important to me and my well being, my Kung Fu. I need to put my heart into everything, not just what's bright and shiny in front of me. See you at the Kwoon.

Good Pain

One would think pain is never a good thing or sign, but I think this depends on the source or cause. Perhaps even the perspective. Pain can be a tool for our physical and mental well being, because as a law of physics states, for every action there is a reaction. What I mean by this is a broken heart will make you stronger and wiser mentally, and a damaged joint or broken bone will make you stronger and wiser physically. They will both hurt big time, but at the same time teach us how to adapt and progress and provide us with the ability to find the resources within ourselves to succeed no matter the challenge or situation. But the thing is, if you don't use pain as a tool, and perhaps a source of inspiration, it can remove so much of who you are and what you are. The point I'm trying to make here is never let pain win. This is from my own perspective in regards to training and how I deal with it, but I know people in my life that are in chronic pain and suffer a lot. The thing is they don't give up. They continue to push and fight and adapt and never use it as an excuse to stop, this inspires me so much to never give up and never let anything mess you around. I am humbled and inspired by these people, and excuses have no place, unless you let them.

Lately when I have been training I feel pain from sore muscles and parts of my body that have lost their flexibility due to my own neglect of discipline. Now right there I could just say, ah there's no point to this and I really shouldn't push myself like that anyway. I can't do this so perhaps I'll just go sit down and pound some unhealthy food into me and watch something stupid on TV.

Or I could be very excited about the fact that my muscles and joints are sore because that's progressing towards machine like awesomeness. I can teach my self that in order to overcome this pain, I need to discipline myself to stretch after my work outs and warm up properly beforehand to insure I don't blow out a joint or tear a muscle. I can eat certain foods, take vitamins and supplements, and hydrate properly to help keep that sore away and keep the equipment running smooth. Sure things still hurt at times, but sometimes it's better, for me anyway, to work through the pain and not use it to stop completely. Other times I have no choice, I have to stop. But when this happens, I use that disadvantage to heal properly and figure out another way to train because when you stop everything, you lose everything you worked through the pain for. It inspires me to educate myself on the bodies workings and push myself to get back on the horse and drive those spurs in. I just look at all of things I have accomplished in my Kung Fu, and to me a little pain goes a long way. I get excited when I feel that sore muscle pain and wise up quick when I feel those joints talking to me, because it's progress not a reason to quit or slack off. See you at the Kwoon.

 

Black Belt Code of Ethics Part 1

I had laid out a plan for last years personal requirements to visit each paraphrase in the Black Belt Code of Ethics. The intent was to dive deep into the meaning, understand it and apply it to the level I swore to. I did a post a while back on the whole point and purpose of swearing to an oath and from my own perspective, how important it is to have a code of conduct. How important it is to not only have the discipline to apply it, but give it the respect it deserves and promote that through example.

 I never did see this through but I wanted to make it so this year and use it for what it is meant to be. To me this will be a very valuable tool of guidance and the step by step discipline I really need to get an accurate account of it's meaning and purpose. To apply it's values to my training and use them to get back on track and possibly make me feel better about the fact that I haven't really followed through on something I swore to.  When I swear to something I mean it, it's not something I just mumble away to be accepted and then forget about. So when I do forget about what I swore to and not live up to the discipline, it bothers me. When I see how I have not given it the respect it deserves and failed to recognize how valuable of a tool it is, that bothers me too. So rather than ponder on it, best make the change and apply it.

All Silent River Kung Fu Black Belts must promise to;

Hold paramount the well being of Silent River Kung Fu , their students, their art, their community, and it's citizens.

So I have started with the first one and what it means to me and how I should go about living up to it. From the time we walk into the Kwoon to the second we leave, we become different people. We are training in a 2000 thousand year old art that has vast effects on us as individuals. We are taught a standard that is to be met in order to advance not just in rank, but within ourselves. We are taught to put our own signature on the art and live by it's example through humility. Humility and empathy, confidence and character, every form, every technique, and every example that our Sifu's teach us will change us as individuals. We must constantly build that change and promote it through example by how we carry ourselves amongst others outside the walls of the Kwoon.

 We are to take our training out of the Kwoon and into society. This is the example of taking something powerful and using to better our lives and the lives of those around us by applying the benefits for the common good of others, not just ourselves. What we don't want to do is be respectful and growing students in the Kwoon and the second we walk out the door, switch into a complete %$##^%. Like throw on our belts or some SRKF swag, switch into the jerk-a-tron and go punch someone in the face because we can or give false perspective to the overall benefits of the art through ego and arrogance. We are to be the position of understanding and tolerance, not ignorance of differences or pass unsolicited judgement. This kind of mentality hurts the art, the school, and our past masters along with everything else that is mentioned in the very first paraphrase. So this is how I perceive the first paraphrase and what it's meaning holds to me and how I should live by it. The bottom line? Be cool to everybody and live a happy and prosperous life, live through your training and share it as it was meant to be shared. 100% pure awesomeness. See you at the Kwoon.,

Until it's Gone

Sometimes perhaps, you don't really realize the benefits of something or recognize it's value until you neglect it or walk away from it. Taking things for granted or just assuming it will always be there, although not always intentional, is a habit everybody seems to have from time to time. The surprising thing is that most of the time the things we tend to take for granted or neglect was some of the most difficult things to accomplish and the most work to obtain in the first place. Even if it is not part of your character or ethics or morals. The thing is if you don't respect yourself and your journey and keep those things close, sometimes you never get them back. For me it was coming back to training that made me realize this and I feel more focused and engaged than I have for some time, it feels like I never left, but my Kung Fu at the moment might say something else. That being said, I was very lucky.

I 'm so pumped now to come to class and see my teachers and others I have trained with over the years, but there is much more to this and the ripple effect this kind of realization can have. I started making regular appointments with my reflexologist, I started to be more conscious of my fuel intake, making time for training is more of a priority than anything right now. This is all a great start to taking back what is mine and removing the things that swayed me in the first place. These things can be sneaky and other times attitude plays a huge role in all of this. I'll be the first to admit, I'm stubborn as hell, I don't really embrace change sometimes, and some people I just flat out don't like..period. This is who I am but I find the more I train, the more my Kung Fu is a larger priority in my life, the easier it is to be more understanding of change and seeing the other side of people. I become a much more balanced and empathetic person towards situations and others, but most importantly myself. So long answer short, if I'm not training I become a major %$hole..period.

So my weapon form is moving along well, I'm in the process right now of building the sequence and piecing together a battle in my head. I have have incorporated a Tiger kick which has been become a task in itself, but once I get this down and add in a couple of techniques I was taught during a boot camp years ago, my version 1.0 should be completed by the 28th. Loa Gar is giving me some grief as I have been using the wrong stance in some areas for quite some time now and muscle memory is never easy to rewrite. Regular routine isn't one of my stronger points either but so far it's coming along well as I am not trying to layout someone else's challenge to my liking, just doing it how it is laid out and adapting along the way one day at a time. See you at the Kwoon.

In The Presence of Masters

Last nights Black Belt class was pretty amazing for me, like platinum awesomeness! I seen some faces I hadn't seen in a while and it was great to see and hear they are doing so well. I also had the opportunity to see a Sifu that was one of my teachers from white belt and I also was fortunate enough to be partnered up with him as well, so that was cool. Then Master MacDonald led the class, that's a pretty big deal and I'm very grateful to have been able to learn from him and hear his insights. Then we were applying the lessons that the class was shown and I was working together on the heavy bag with the Sifu I had mentioned, Sifu Hayes, and Sifu Dennis. Now to some this might not be such a big deal but to me it was a golden opportunity. One that I am also grateful for and I will cherish very much as these things don't line up very often.  It's so good to be back in class again.

Things are moving along well for me as I am letting the requirements do the driving, not thinking too much and just trying to get those tight muscles loose again and get my conditioning and form work back up to speed. The only thing I am going to do is change up a lot of the ways I do my push ups and ab work, there's a lot of muscle groups there to balance out and I was was never one for just concentrating on one. So things are moving along there well.

 I dusted off my Sais and went through the motions of familiarizing with them again and only stuck my foot a couple of times. I'm trying to recall my original form and most of it has come back so I will revise and build it from there by adding some different kicks and transitions.

That's about all I have this week, see you at the Kwoon.

Returning to the Path

It's easy to assume the infamous thought of "That won't happen to me". Anything can throw a person off no matter how solid or how committed we think we are. If you begin to take the situation for granted and fail to uphold the discipline, next thing you know your standing there like a jerk on the side of your path wondering what just happened and a key component has dissipated. A few weeks turns into a few months, a few months turn into a year etc.

This has happened to me and I never thought it would, but it did, and now I need to do something about it. I recognized that a big part of my life took a back seat to priorities that came about and for some reason I was okay with that...at the time anyway. Now I'm not okay with it because my Kung Fu is a big part of my mental and physical well being that gives me that escape, to turn all the other stuff off and take that time for me. I'm not as efficient as I usually am and my patience and tolerance is challenged, as is my physical abilities. This effect has become obvious to myself and others close to me, it's time for a restoration and a quest for balance.

That being said I need to remind myself that it can't be all or nothing. It can't be some intricate plan laid out that spikes and drops and fails to coincide with whatever comes at me. As it's always mentioned sustainability is critical. All or nothing or hammer the drive solely on the plan doesn't work and is not sustainable especially with how my work schedules tend to work out. One day at a time and keep it simple stupid will be my plan for the year of the pig and restore a very important piece of me that has been neglected, but not forgotten.

I can't even really describe how good it felt being back on the mats and working towards the restoration of Kung Fu awesomeness.  I woke up really happy and really surprised I'm not as stiff today as I thought I might be but there is no denying the gears of excellence are a bit rusty and I need a performance upgrade and a good solid review of my forms. This is a good thing.

It can very intimidating walking into the kwoon after a long absence but fortunately for me I was met with warm greetings and a lot of smiling faces, and that was really cool as it humbled me quite a bit to know I was missed and the influence my presence has on people. For that I am very grateful and wish you all a successful year. See you at the kwoon.