May long polar dipping

I don't really have much this week. Although I did get some more kms under my belt this weekend on our first camping trip of the season and some outdoor push ups, so that was good. I also shocked the system well with a full run into the lake that was like jumping into a ice cube tray. I couldn't possibly chicken out on my eight year old since she ran right in like it was nothing, then said, " Your turn"
What can you do, except go for it.

Birthday of reflection

Birthdays. To some a birthday is a celebration of ones existance, to age another year and to be that much wiser and reflect on what you have accomplished in your life. To others its a day to be miserable because you are aging. For me its the greatest day of the year. I love birthdays, to celebrate you with many people you hold dear. A time to look back and remember the good and the bad and how far you have come and take inventory of what you have done and what you are going to do the next year to improve your life and what kind of preventive maintanance will be required to live a long and healthy life.
Yesturday was a really special day for me. It was my birthday and mothers day all in the same package. I had a really deep connection with my family that woke up a long over due sensation that I can't really explain, but it hit home hard. It started with waking up to my little one yelling "Happy Birthday Dad!", and my wonderful wife standing behind her saying something along the same. I looked out the window and witnessed a bright warm sunny day. Shortly after my oldest called me with a Birthday wish with similiar gusto. I felt very grateful to have that kind of warmth and to be loved so much.
My wife and I took the little one to swimming lessons, then grabbed some food and went to the park for a picinic. After fueling up the girls took me to buy a new bike and I rode it home. As I was riding home I took in the warmth and the different smells of spring and everything around us that we all seem too busy at times to apreciate. I also thought wow, these are really cool kms to be logging, I should try to put this kind of awareness into all my distance requirements. Easy to say, but i'll try too anyway.
Once the girls came home we just kinda hung out and then went on a really long bike ride and grabbed some steaks for supper and came home. Before supper I did a few reps of Da Muh Singh and cranked out some push ups and a few kicks. After supper I just spent time with my daughter, she wanted to watch a movie so I said sure, what was a little much is that she picked the sound of music! Oh well, as a father, sometimes you got to bite the bullet. But the sound of music! Oh well it was such a great birthday that I will remember for a long time and it was the greatest gift that I will cherish forever, My family.
Brian Chervenka 

Road thoughts

Well had a very busy weekend and a lot of  miles covered, from here to Calgary yesturday, Calgary to Fernie and back to Spruce Grove today, too bad driving doesn't count, I would have completed my distance requirement in a day! But overall had a great weekend being able to participate in pandamonium and help out at the kwoon was very fulfilling. Had a great opportunity to visit with my family and take my father in law with me on the road trip to Fernie. It has been a while since I was in that neck of the woods, rich with early history and awesome natural beauty. It was a nice change of pace, a well overdue breath of fresh air.
While I was driving home with our new to us trailer it gave me a lot of time to reflect and do some revision work to my training and how I am approaching my requirements. I have to concentrate on completing one at a time instead trying to do a piece of everything at once, it is not working and a lot of time is being used inefficiently and frustration tends to arise. So we'll see how it goes and hopefully I'll be doing some of my requirements on mountain trails and in nature alot this summer with a whole bunch of camping trips and a new bicycle.
Brian Chervenka

Another day

Pretty much at a loss for words this week although I did have a chance to recollect and get my thoughts and training back on track. The large load I was once carrying, and dropping things all over the place, is substantially lower and much more managable with of course that bit of difficult to keep the challenge up. I have managed to spend some really cool times with my wife and my daughter which have been really lacking and it felt so good to get caught up. Outside of family other things are now alot more managable and running smooth. It has worked out quite well actually because I am able to help out at Silent River and still get my training in and all things outside of it all. I don't know but I find the closer in touch I am with the kwoon the more motivated and focused I am in my training, I just feel better about everything and everything around me. Work is pretty cool as of late, I am on the tools and connecting steel at a quick pace, which is where I sort all my problems 8" flange to work off of , 40' in the air, and a fast crane. Life is good and Kung Fu rules. Later.
Mr.Chervenka 

Caught in the middle

Log onto Kwoon talk and there is a need for help, checking calender Nope, supposed to have the weekend off  but imparative phase at work  needs to be done and your the foreman. Another request put out to the students for help. Can't, daughters competition and wife has weekend conference. Next request, nope relatives coming to stay or have to head out of town. Monthly I Ho Chuan meeting coming up and have to miss due to repeat situations as stated earlier. I haven't been able to attend a meeting yet this year and I feel like I am letting our team down and not pulling my weight. I am really starting to feel bummed and don't feel like I am connected to the team or our school that I really want to help. I guess what I'm trying to get at is I would like to appologize to the team for my absence and for not being to help our school when help is needed, after all it is one of our requirements as a UBBT member. I would be lying to all of you if I said my requirements are coming along good as of late, they are not and I am falling behind, barely getting push ups in, although it's at least something each day. Anyway I just felt obligated to at least explain myself and push on with the hopes things will start to slow down a bit and I too can sit down with the team and share and listen and learn and get caught up on my requirements. Until next time.
Brian Chervenka

Ball of confusion

My training and numbers are coming along, but I am in a haze right now regarding my surroundings. Just a little frustrated with the way we are becoming now a days. Self entitlement and all about money and image. Who cares about anything except what your wearing, what your driving and taking absolutely no responsibility for anything and demanding that the government should do everything for you. Honestly I am quite concerned with the well being of hundreds of people that live in this fantasy, with the mentality that natural disasters and food shortages only happen else where, or a word I am completely sick of the economy completely crashed. If you think about it how many people actually have water, flashlights, food ,blankets, alternative power sources to survive on stand by if needed. Better yet how many people would have the knowledge or ability to survive and take care of their families. Surviving would be easy, just go to your food bank right? Sure you and about a million people all demanding they get food now because their entitled to it and WE as in ME am hungry. How about the amount of skills that have been lost and the complete disconnection people have now with Internet and those little mobile computers that every one and their dog is completely entranced in called what used to be a phone. All that free information and complete effortless convenience. Now shut the power off across the board. What now? So many things and people rely on technology and all these great things , which really evolution is always a great thing, but I think it is massively abused and is washing away the creativity and the potency that people once had. If it is not mindless and effortless very few people want anything to do with it. That really saddens me. So I try to do the best I can to teach my family or anybody for that matter any life skill or manual ability's that my father and others have passed to me. At least I can say I tried and put somebody else first before myself and just knowing that it made a difference kind of balances I guess. I won't deny some I really don't want to help. I'd rather slap them silly, so I guess thats where the challenge of random acts of kindness comes in. Anyway thats enough of my random rants for now.

Brian Chervenka

Wallpaper to inspire

After a week plus of our computer being down I can get caught up on my weekly blogs. There has been mention of a lack of motivation and mindfulness in training for people, including myself. I know from personal experience its not hard to lose focus or simply not want too. Doing push ups over and over and situps become terribly boring. Yes you can challenge yourself by increasing your numbers per sets or different configurations, adding weights etc., but it still gets old fast when you are training everyday. Every individual needs something to motivate and challenge both physically and mentally, its a must. We also need inspiration from what we perceive as great or stimulating, a mentor of sort. Whether it be an individual, place, time, literature, technique, form, or a great memory, we need it like fuel. Fuel for a martial arts engine that requires constant rebuild or modifications or a complete change out for something that suits the duty, if you will. I came up with something recently that I hope will do at least some of these things.

Our basement where I train is a little cluttered and lacks room because of the current lay out and obstacles that need moving. Nothing worse than stubbing a toe or almost wiping something out with a kick or punch practising a combination. So I started to make room, throwing away stuff that we are never going to use or relocating it to a shelf or crawl space. Repositioning the fridge, deep freeze, treadmill to make a small gym. I have some spare mirrors that I have hung and will probably see about purchasing some mats. Okay now we are getting some where but I need character, motivation, and maybe a touch of cool factor to make it my own. So I hung up our curriculum, all if it. This way I feel more disciplined and efficient. If I want to practice something its right there in front of me, it should also help me accumulate more questions to ask at the end of class.( I hate not having a question or at least an answer when asked by a Sifu) So this should help. I have put up pictures of Bruce Lee, Joe Lewis, Chuck Norris all great martial artists, and i'll probably put up others that I just dont know or haven't heard of yet. I have tunes to crank up and annoy the hell out of my wife or just simply to set the atmosphere for self induced pain. I have different literature to review and use, and also hung up Mastery that we are to memorize. I'm also thinking of putting up several quotes that I enjoy from these books and others I will run into or read about. One book in particular that I really enjoy and refer to when I need that boost or a good smack upside the head, is Walking a Tigers Path by Master Margitte Hilbig. This book covers ultimate challenges, amazing accomplishments, and a deep look into how it all started in Canada and especially the hard work, dedication and extreme sacrifices it took to start up in Calgary and Edmonton. Master Hilbigs account is one of the few perspectives that you can actually read about and learn how our lineage began and those that worked hard to continue the art we all practice today. I hope I will be lucky enough to meet her one day, that would be way cool. I really like these words from Master Hilbig

'' A true martial artist is not concerned with belts or ranks, with which style is better than which, or even how many techniques they know. The true martial artist is only concerned with one thing: learning. To learn is to become disciplined, to gain knowledge, to become self- reliant and ultimately leads to the road of self actualization. This knowledge is the ultimate equalizer in any confrontation, either on the street or in ones mind."

These words will definitely be put up, if thats not motivational, then I don't know what is.

Brain Chervenka