"The tools for success are universal."
Sifu Freitag, December 19, 2008
Anna Rice is a 29 year-old Canadian women's singles badminton player who is currently ranked number one in Canada and Panamerica. She participated in the 2004 Olympics in Athens, and placed in the top 16 at the Bejiing 2008 Olympics (no other north american woman has placed this high Olympic level in badminton). She trained for the 2008 Olympics whilst completing a B.A. in Political Science and History. She has just completed a Masters degree in Communication for Development. Anna is also a "Right to Play" ambassador. This movement provides equipment for sports in developing countries. This spring, Anna will be travelling to Africa to help bring badminton to developing countries on this continent.
Currently, Anna Rice is in Edmonton for two reasons. The first is to compete in a Badminton Series Tournament being held this weekend. The second reason was to run a training and motivational seminar for the top ranked womens badminton players in Alberta. My daughter was one of the females invited to attend this function, and of course, I was on hand to take pictures and do the taxi driving. Jill tells me that I missed the most awesome part of the day when Anna spoke after dinner about how she was able to pursue a university degree whilst training for the Olympics (I did not attend this partly so that Jill's coach could be at the dinner, and partly because I had a volleyball club managers meeting to attend). I did, however learn alot from what I saw and heard from Anna. Below, I will list the major points, which the reader who also attends classes at Silent River Kung Fu, may find surprisingly familiar.
Intensity: Anna had the girls performing some pretty demanding drills, but midway through one of them, she stopped them. She said its no good if you just turn up at a training session. Every session has to count. So you need to perform the drills with all you have, to the very best of your ability or you will not progress. Anna seemed a little perturbed when she was telling the girls this, and I can understand why; these girls were getting a once in a lifetime opportunity to train for two and half hours with an Olympic athlete, yet Anna must have sensed that they were not giving their all. Perhaps she should have had them do 50 pushups.
Training with a Sense of Purpose: Anna went on to explain how she approached her training. She came to training sessions with a mind to repeat, repeat, repeat a drill over and over again to the best of her ability until she had perfected it. If the the instructor stopped and she had a free moment she would do something; continue the last drill, or do another drill. If she had no partner she would go over to the wall and hit the shuttle against it over and over again because it helps with her long serve. Every moment of her session was utilized. The purpose of every training session was to perfect, to progress, and to reach the next level leading to her ultimate goal of getting to olympic level.
Keeping your centre: I did not hear this one as I was on the other side of a glass partition. I watched her demonstrate this to a girl, and the message was very clear. Badminton requires incredible agility. A player may, in one rally, need to travel to opposite corners of the court many times to return a volley. Having travelled to one end of the court, the player must instantly make a recovery and return to the centre of the court ready to intercept the next volley - where-ever it may go. Anna was drilling the girls for this by sending consecutive shuttles in rapid succession to all four corners of the court. One of the girls was having a little difficulty with the exercise and Anna demonstrated what the girl was doing wrong. As she reached one destination and reached forward to return the shuttle, Anna allowed her torso to learn forward also, and bend over at the hip. With great difficulty Anna then tried to staighten up her torso at the same time as her feet tried to travel back to the centre of the court. It was a cumbersome move, and somtimes when anna leaned forward, her momentum pushed her shoulders so far forward that she had to put her hand on the floor to regain her balance. Anna then demonstrated the right way to perform the exercise. She maintain what I can only describe as a very deep right leading horse stance. Her centre was low, and her torso remained upright at all times. Consequently, she never lost her centre; when she reached forward she lowered her stance to extend the reach; when she needed to change direction she only needed to move her legs, the weight of a forward momentum of her torso did not have to be dragged back to its centre as well.
Strength and Flexibility: We have a picture of Anna executing a smash from the back of the badminton court at the beijing olympics. She has just travelled to the back of the court and the very last backward step has been so deep that her legs are stretched wide apart in a backwards straddle. Her very next step would have propelled her forward to the center of the court. At the very same time she is executing a smash hit which requires that her torso reach side ways and her raised raquet extend that reach and simultaneously she must keep her centre so that her smash can be executed with power and speed. Jill's coach looked at the picture, pointed at Anna's deep straddle and the powerful leg muscles and said, "Power and flexibility - you have to have both". Hasn't Master Brinker said something like this too?
Jill greatly admires Anna as a person, a badminton player, role model and inspiration. She plans to attend some training programs that Anna will be holding this summer in B.C.. I expect that she will learn a great deal and grow a great deal. I also suspect that whatever new things she learns from her experiences will be surprisingly similar to the lessons we need to learn in Kung Fu. In both cases, these tools for success can be applied time and again in other aspects of our lives.
For further info, go to http://www.annarice.org/. Anna also blogs.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Sunday, December 14, 2008
From My Journal
Home training: Last week I crashed and burned, and so this week I had alot of catching up to do. I mentally prepared myself, which seemed to help. When you look ahead and see a mountain, you've got to put yourself in the frame of mind required to ascend. I was required to double the number of nightly round house kicks and squat thrusts this week. Aerobic feats of this nature seem daunting. I made myself rise to the challenge; each night I did 200 round house kicks. So that's out of the way. Squat thrusts didn't do so well. This week is the week for that, and if I can double the round house kicks, then I can easily repeat the task for the squat thrusts.
I'm supposed to do 4 Lao Gars per night, but I can only practice the first part of Lao Gar right now because that's all I can remember. Last week I pledged to fix that problem by finding someone who is willing to work with me on the issue. I approached Sihing Langnor, and she has agreed to work with me on Saturdays. I am excited about this development - it is sure to lead to success. Sihing Langnor KNOWS her stuff, and is very supportive. I wonder if there is anything I can do for her?
Acts of Kindness: We are still journalling. Highlight this week: I've mentioned Jill's badminton coach before. This weekend was the 20th anniversary of the Red Willow badminton club. I decided that I should help with the catering for a couple of hours, and this is why I didn't stay for open training. I learned some more things about Mrs. Folinsbee in the process. I always knew that she was the type of Christian who wore her faith on her sleeve. What I learned was the extent to which the Red Willow Badminton Club was formed on the faith that the endeavor would do good works for the community. It was never about badminton. Badminton was just the vehicle by which the Folinsbee's could help individuals, young and old. Mrs. Folinsbee talked about providing enriching experiences for families and young people. This was God's plan for her and this is what she set out to do by forming the club. My daughter, Jill, has benefited so much as a result. I nearly choked up, so I ran out and got another tray of sandwiches for the buffet. I've also known for a while that the club is up for sale because the Folinsbee's are getting old. They've had several offers from developers who want to tear down the club and build condo's on this prime, prime land. The Folinsbee's WILL NOT sell to these people. They will only sell to someone who is willing, and able to keep the club running. Because of this, the Folinsbee's have continued to run the club several years longer than they really should have. What keeps them going is their faith - that one day, the right coach will present him or herself, and a business plan will be created that will continue the Folinsbee's good works. I had been wondering how the Folinsbees had been able to keep on going this long; today I learned where that tenacity and willpower was coming from. It's weird how each time I've endeavored to give back to the Folinsbee's I've come away feeling like I was the one who benefitted more.
Community Project: Providing opportunities for Physical conditioning for youth in Onoway.
This one is becoming a long and winding road. It has taken me to Morinville and St. Albert. But I believe that I am right on track. Last week I journalled about the lack of opportunities for 14 year old girls who want to play club volleyball. There now exsists a new club volleyball team of 14 14-year old girls. It was started by two mothers, myself and a lady from Morinville. We run under the umbrella club of the Saint Albert Saints. Practices are mostly in Mornville. We have 2 qualified coaches. How can this possibly relate to providing more opportunities to youth in Onoway? What I think will really work for the youth in Onoway, is if a school athletic club was created. Youth would have the opportunity to play recreation league volleyball, and badminton and train for track and field. Physical conditioning would be strongly promoted along with fun and exposure to opportunities such as clinics etc. I can't really plant this in Onoway all at once - its a formidable task. But I can build it bit by bit based on opportunities that present themselves. Through my involvement in the Saints volleyball, I will learn alot about how to make things like this happen, I may even get some certification and experience coaching. Ideas will present themselves, such as tonight. A parent mentioned a teacher in Jasper Place High school who started a "Spring Volleyball League". Forty kids signed up, so 4 teams were formed and they play eachother. There's a start. Anyhow I won't do anything in Onoway for volleyball just yet. I'll just watch, do, and learn in Morinville. Besides, Jill and I have discussed a few things she would like to do for the school badminton team in Jan, Feb, March.
I'm supposed to do 4 Lao Gars per night, but I can only practice the first part of Lao Gar right now because that's all I can remember. Last week I pledged to fix that problem by finding someone who is willing to work with me on the issue. I approached Sihing Langnor, and she has agreed to work with me on Saturdays. I am excited about this development - it is sure to lead to success. Sihing Langnor KNOWS her stuff, and is very supportive. I wonder if there is anything I can do for her?
Acts of Kindness: We are still journalling. Highlight this week: I've mentioned Jill's badminton coach before. This weekend was the 20th anniversary of the Red Willow badminton club. I decided that I should help with the catering for a couple of hours, and this is why I didn't stay for open training. I learned some more things about Mrs. Folinsbee in the process. I always knew that she was the type of Christian who wore her faith on her sleeve. What I learned was the extent to which the Red Willow Badminton Club was formed on the faith that the endeavor would do good works for the community. It was never about badminton. Badminton was just the vehicle by which the Folinsbee's could help individuals, young and old. Mrs. Folinsbee talked about providing enriching experiences for families and young people. This was God's plan for her and this is what she set out to do by forming the club. My daughter, Jill, has benefited so much as a result. I nearly choked up, so I ran out and got another tray of sandwiches for the buffet. I've also known for a while that the club is up for sale because the Folinsbee's are getting old. They've had several offers from developers who want to tear down the club and build condo's on this prime, prime land. The Folinsbee's WILL NOT sell to these people. They will only sell to someone who is willing, and able to keep the club running. Because of this, the Folinsbee's have continued to run the club several years longer than they really should have. What keeps them going is their faith - that one day, the right coach will present him or herself, and a business plan will be created that will continue the Folinsbee's good works. I had been wondering how the Folinsbees had been able to keep on going this long; today I learned where that tenacity and willpower was coming from. It's weird how each time I've endeavored to give back to the Folinsbee's I've come away feeling like I was the one who benefitted more.
Community Project: Providing opportunities for Physical conditioning for youth in Onoway.
This one is becoming a long and winding road. It has taken me to Morinville and St. Albert. But I believe that I am right on track. Last week I journalled about the lack of opportunities for 14 year old girls who want to play club volleyball. There now exsists a new club volleyball team of 14 14-year old girls. It was started by two mothers, myself and a lady from Morinville. We run under the umbrella club of the Saint Albert Saints. Practices are mostly in Mornville. We have 2 qualified coaches. How can this possibly relate to providing more opportunities to youth in Onoway? What I think will really work for the youth in Onoway, is if a school athletic club was created. Youth would have the opportunity to play recreation league volleyball, and badminton and train for track and field. Physical conditioning would be strongly promoted along with fun and exposure to opportunities such as clinics etc. I can't really plant this in Onoway all at once - its a formidable task. But I can build it bit by bit based on opportunities that present themselves. Through my involvement in the Saints volleyball, I will learn alot about how to make things like this happen, I may even get some certification and experience coaching. Ideas will present themselves, such as tonight. A parent mentioned a teacher in Jasper Place High school who started a "Spring Volleyball League". Forty kids signed up, so 4 teams were formed and they play eachother. There's a start. Anyhow I won't do anything in Onoway for volleyball just yet. I'll just watch, do, and learn in Morinville. Besides, Jill and I have discussed a few things she would like to do for the school badminton team in Jan, Feb, March.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Home Training: This week was the first week of home training that incorporated the personal black belt requirements. Each evening, my home training should look like this at a minimum.
1. 150 pushups
2. 100 sit ups (20 regular, 20 crunches, 20 leg raises, 20 bicycle, and 20 side to side with a earthenware plant pot in my hands because it's the nearest think around the house to a medicine ball - luckily the plant pot does not have a plant in it.)
3. 100 round house kicks
4. 20 squat thrusts or the 4 minute TABATA method using squat thrusts
5. 40 cross step kicks
6. 1 dragon breathing
7. 4 Lao gars
I guess I'm ok with the fact that my first week of this new routine was almost a crash and burn. I did not do any round house kicks or squat thrusts or dragon breathing. I also don't know the complete lao gar form so I only did the beginning part 4 times. Never mind, I know what to do for next week - catch up on the stuff I didn't do and make an appointment with someone to learn a bit more of Lao Gar.
Personal Black Belt Requirement: 1000 Acts of Kindness through myself, Jill and Janet. We have a little diary to record this and we are sort of on track. A couple of hightlights. The first was at 7am on Saturday morning on the way to Janet's club volleyball tryouts. We paid for the order of the people in the truck behind us in the Tim Horton's drive thru. Someone did this to me last June. Janet got quite a thrill out of the act and told one of her friends at volleyball who thought the act was awesome. She told her dad . . . The second act didn't work out very well, but its the thought that counts. Driving to another volleyball tryout on sunday morning, we spotted a man struggling to keep his balance on the icy sidewalk as he made his way to church. Unfortunately, as I attempted to manouvre to the side of the road so that we could park and then help him to his destination, the car started to skid. We narrowly missed a well dressed female church goer attempting to cross the road. The car behind us lost control also but only momentarily. I decided that attempting a full stop would only make matters worse for everyone in the vicinity, so I continued on down the road. As Sifu Davies would say, "It seemed like a good idea at the time."
Personal Black Belt Requirement: The community project - help promote lifelong physical activity at Onoway High School.
I've put alot of energy into the planning of this one this week. Its significant that my experience this week has been that everywhere I turn, there is a huge need for adults that will support girls who want to be active. I found out that parents in St. Albert identified a huge need for opportunities for girls to play club volleyball. So three parents started a club with the intention of forming a team of 10 girls in the under 15 age category. Twenty six girls tried out. They came from Onoway, Edmonton, Morinville, and St. Albert. ALL of them were high calibre players - the coach said that they all deserved a place on a club team but there are not enough adults who will step forward to help coach more teams. Same story in Spruce Grove; one team of 10 players - 50 girls tried out. The numbers in Edmonton are not much better - more clubs, even more girls who will not get on a team. Its phenomenal how many 14 year old girls want to be active, and how few opportunities are provided to them through the community of adults in their lives. The rural population seems to be at a distinct disadvantage. I know of some girls whose parents refuse to do the driving involved in getting their daughters to gymnasiums in Onoway, Stony Plain and Spruce Grove.
As parents, we tell our children that physical activity, healthy lifestyle and good nutrition are important. But do we actually mean it?
1. 150 pushups
2. 100 sit ups (20 regular, 20 crunches, 20 leg raises, 20 bicycle, and 20 side to side with a earthenware plant pot in my hands because it's the nearest think around the house to a medicine ball - luckily the plant pot does not have a plant in it.)
3. 100 round house kicks
4. 20 squat thrusts or the 4 minute TABATA method using squat thrusts
5. 40 cross step kicks
6. 1 dragon breathing
7. 4 Lao gars
I guess I'm ok with the fact that my first week of this new routine was almost a crash and burn. I did not do any round house kicks or squat thrusts or dragon breathing. I also don't know the complete lao gar form so I only did the beginning part 4 times. Never mind, I know what to do for next week - catch up on the stuff I didn't do and make an appointment with someone to learn a bit more of Lao Gar.
Personal Black Belt Requirement: 1000 Acts of Kindness through myself, Jill and Janet. We have a little diary to record this and we are sort of on track. A couple of hightlights. The first was at 7am on Saturday morning on the way to Janet's club volleyball tryouts. We paid for the order of the people in the truck behind us in the Tim Horton's drive thru. Someone did this to me last June. Janet got quite a thrill out of the act and told one of her friends at volleyball who thought the act was awesome. She told her dad . . . The second act didn't work out very well, but its the thought that counts. Driving to another volleyball tryout on sunday morning, we spotted a man struggling to keep his balance on the icy sidewalk as he made his way to church. Unfortunately, as I attempted to manouvre to the side of the road so that we could park and then help him to his destination, the car started to skid. We narrowly missed a well dressed female church goer attempting to cross the road. The car behind us lost control also but only momentarily. I decided that attempting a full stop would only make matters worse for everyone in the vicinity, so I continued on down the road. As Sifu Davies would say, "It seemed like a good idea at the time."
Personal Black Belt Requirement: The community project - help promote lifelong physical activity at Onoway High School.
I've put alot of energy into the planning of this one this week. Its significant that my experience this week has been that everywhere I turn, there is a huge need for adults that will support girls who want to be active. I found out that parents in St. Albert identified a huge need for opportunities for girls to play club volleyball. So three parents started a club with the intention of forming a team of 10 girls in the under 15 age category. Twenty six girls tried out. They came from Onoway, Edmonton, Morinville, and St. Albert. ALL of them were high calibre players - the coach said that they all deserved a place on a club team but there are not enough adults who will step forward to help coach more teams. Same story in Spruce Grove; one team of 10 players - 50 girls tried out. The numbers in Edmonton are not much better - more clubs, even more girls who will not get on a team. Its phenomenal how many 14 year old girls want to be active, and how few opportunities are provided to them through the community of adults in their lives. The rural population seems to be at a distinct disadvantage. I know of some girls whose parents refuse to do the driving involved in getting their daughters to gymnasiums in Onoway, Stony Plain and Spruce Grove.
As parents, we tell our children that physical activity, healthy lifestyle and good nutrition are important. But do we actually mean it?
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Not from my journal at all
What a crazy week - job interviews, offers, teacher interviews, excellent report cards, nasty report cards, volleyball, badminton, presentations, submissions, sickness. I barely had enough time to keep up my home training, and this weekend I was in Okotoks for Jill's Badminton tournament. I think I will write about that.
Jill had a struggle because she was so sick. But she dug deep, put her body in competition mode, and won her first two matches on Friday night. The fellow sitting beside me, was the father of Jill's second opponent. He did not like it when I encouraged Jill to stay in the zone (Long story to that, but in a nutshell it's about allowing the adrenaline to kick in, letting the body forget about how sick it feels, and focusing all energy on winning the next point). The other girl's father jabbed me in the ribs and told me "no coaching allowed!" Oops, he was right; coaching is only allowed if the match goes to a third game. I tried to calm him by explaining that I'm not really her coach, I am her mother. Still, he frowned very hard at me and repeated his admonition. Jill won against this man's daughter easily. The next day, he sat beside me as Jill played her semi final match. I figured he was keeping an eye on me so I stayed quiet. When Jill won that match, the man leaned over and said "Your daughter is very good, I'm happy for her". So we got to talking and I apologized for upsetting him and explained that Jill is quite sick. He figured out which badminton club Jill plays at, and I asked him what club his daughter is at. He said "Ging Wu club of Calgary". I said, "but isn't that a Kung Fu style?". Yes, he said, Martial Arts and Badminton Club. His brother runs the martial arts, and he coaches the badminton - they have one court at the Ging Wu club and they also do Lion dance. Oh!, I said, I do lion dance, but I'm not very good. At this point the man got very excited. His accent thickened, he talked faster, and I practically lost all track of what he was saying. I was forced to nod and smile, and agree. He was happy with our conversation, and when we parted I encouraged him to look up Silent River Kung Fu on the internet.
Jill came in second place in the tournament. Exactly where she should have ended up if she hadn't been sick. She learned so much about herself this weekend. As her 'not really a coach-just her mom', I don't think I could have told her what I did, had I not spent the last 8 years listening to Master Brinker go on and on about pushing oneself against arbitrary limits, and then having to test his theory with exercises like the pushups and other testing requirements. Through Kung fu, I am a better mom/coach, and Jill can learn more about herself. There's also the possibility that the Ging Wu Club of Calgary might check out Silent River Kung Fu.
Jill had a struggle because she was so sick. But she dug deep, put her body in competition mode, and won her first two matches on Friday night. The fellow sitting beside me, was the father of Jill's second opponent. He did not like it when I encouraged Jill to stay in the zone (Long story to that, but in a nutshell it's about allowing the adrenaline to kick in, letting the body forget about how sick it feels, and focusing all energy on winning the next point). The other girl's father jabbed me in the ribs and told me "no coaching allowed!" Oops, he was right; coaching is only allowed if the match goes to a third game. I tried to calm him by explaining that I'm not really her coach, I am her mother. Still, he frowned very hard at me and repeated his admonition. Jill won against this man's daughter easily. The next day, he sat beside me as Jill played her semi final match. I figured he was keeping an eye on me so I stayed quiet. When Jill won that match, the man leaned over and said "Your daughter is very good, I'm happy for her". So we got to talking and I apologized for upsetting him and explained that Jill is quite sick. He figured out which badminton club Jill plays at, and I asked him what club his daughter is at. He said "Ging Wu club of Calgary". I said, "but isn't that a Kung Fu style?". Yes, he said, Martial Arts and Badminton Club. His brother runs the martial arts, and he coaches the badminton - they have one court at the Ging Wu club and they also do Lion dance. Oh!, I said, I do lion dance, but I'm not very good. At this point the man got very excited. His accent thickened, he talked faster, and I practically lost all track of what he was saying. I was forced to nod and smile, and agree. He was happy with our conversation, and when we parted I encouraged him to look up Silent River Kung Fu on the internet.
Jill came in second place in the tournament. Exactly where she should have ended up if she hadn't been sick. She learned so much about herself this weekend. As her 'not really a coach-just her mom', I don't think I could have told her what I did, had I not spent the last 8 years listening to Master Brinker go on and on about pushing oneself against arbitrary limits, and then having to test his theory with exercises like the pushups and other testing requirements. Through Kung fu, I am a better mom/coach, and Jill can learn more about herself. There's also the possibility that the Ging Wu Club of Calgary might check out Silent River Kung Fu.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
From My Journal November 16-22, 2008
Home Training:
I did alot of falling behind and catching up this week. This would be at least the second week in a row. Saturday, for instance, I had to do 300 pushups, 200 round house kicks, 160 cross stepping kicks, 40 squat thrusts; each of them a double dose. I noticed something positive about this though. 300 pushups is a bit of a challenge and left me a bit sore the following morning - but today, 150 pushups was a lot easier that it had been before. 200 round house kicks is easily achievable, not a daunting task as it may have been in the past. I may even prefer to go the route of 200 every other day because the first 100 serve as a limbering up of my legs, and of concentrating on form. The second 100, I am able to concentrate on increasing my speed and power and I am finding that progress in this area is more rapid. 160 cross stepping kicks is still an onerous task, but I've noticed an increase in progress in speed of recovery from kick back to crane stance. Interesting.
I didn't do any other home training than the 100 day challenge components. This bothers me. I had planned to work on Say shen and Long. Sifu laurie assigned us plank and narrow pushups, multiple round house kicks for balance, and further work on the side heel thrust. I didn't do any of it. The reasons for this are the same as my down turn in training this time last year, and I did anticipate it but had hoped it wouldn't drop so low. I did, however, tell myself that what I have done this week is alot more than I did last year. Last year was no attendance, no home training, no journal to relfect and reassess, no little black book where I promply write down what I learned in class so that I would not forget about it, no Kwoon talk where Sihing Langnor could report on the Shaolin class I missed, and I can do some home training based on that. I must pat myself on the back for improving on last year, and I must treat next week as a clean slate. I will, indeed practice the breathing exercises described by Sihing Langnor. I will work on the wrist grab in Long, the flying kick in Say Shen and the crane stance and little buddha pose in 18 temple motions - all of which were things discussed in Friday's class.
I don't think I have one particular training partner. But my home training partner is my dog. She really pushes me to do more than the ordinary. Sometimes she really gets concerned when I am doing my pushups and sticks her head against mine, tries to lick my face, tries to place her paw on my shoulder. Lesser folk would have stopped, and let the dog out. I remain calm, focus, and continue my pushups. Its a bit of a challenge, because I never know what Roxy is going to do next and we are both moving targets, but eventually she backs off and lays down in a corner. Roxy also forces me to keep my centre when I do my cross step kicks because she gets worried when I do those too. She gets underfoot and I have to avoid tripping or stepping on her. Roxy has taught me to try to welcome unexpected challenges, rather than to try to control them.
Personal Black Belt Requirement: 1000 Acts of Kindness
I have included my daughters (Jill - 16, and Janet - 13) in this requirement. Between the three of us, we have to perform 1000 acts of kindness between December 1, 2008 and September 1, 2009. Thats 4 acts per day. I have to start now by educating my daughters about what entails a true act of kindness and why it is important to them.
On Friday, I announced the requirement to Jill, as we ate our dinner at Boston Pizza. Jill was overcome by the enormity of the task, feeling it was not possible for her to achieve this. She didn't really want to do it, asked what would happen if she didn't succeed in her part. I told her I wouldn't get my black belt. Jill is a dutiful daughter. She new she had to help me now. She asked me what kinds of things she would have to do. Just then, a waitress walked by with a tray of food. A fork dropped off the tray. I leaned over and picked it up. The waitress thanked me. I looked at Jilly. She rolled her eyes. I said: " and we have to keep a journal.
I informed Janet of the requirement on Saturday after her volleyball tournament. She said 'nice hair mom; there's one!'. Luckily we could talk about the volleyball tournament as an example.
There were two teams at the tournament that were worse than Onoway. They were worse by a long shot. The other 3 teams at the tournament were better than Onoway - by a long shot. Onoway was destroyed by the 3 better teams, and then they played one of the 2 worst teams. Onoway won; the girls clobbered their opponents. At a certain point the opposing team started just standing there, looking dejected as one after the other service came sailing towards them. I called to McKenna to serve underhand but she thought I was mad. After the game, the girls gathered for a meeting and the lead acting coach asked the girls to each summarize what they did right to win the game and what they still need to work on. The girls felt that their playing was flawless. Later, I said to the lead acting coach, "I wonder how the other team felt?". She got it. Janet, however, did not. Her first response was 'Huh?'. Over lunch she insisted that it was ok to continue serving overhand, and ok to continue using the first string players, because the other team needed to learn that they 'suck' and they need to work harder. The next game was against an equally weak team as the last. When this became apparent, the lead coach switched in the the weaker players. Onoway still won the first game. But the lead coach started the next game with the weak players. They did very well, and the boost in confidence to these players that usually sit the side lines was apparent. The mothers of the weaker players were elated and could barely sit in their seats as they watched their girls achieve more than the ordinary. Jennifer did her first ever dive and saved the ball, which went over the net and scored onoway a spectacular point. Sara did the most amazing overhand serve - it was unbelievable. Everyone was shocked, even the parents of other teams. Jessica actually got a serve over the net, and it scored a point. She couldn't wipe the grin off her face. Morgan actually maintained her focus and more consistently than ever, covered the front line. Her serves were more consistent, and she scorred 3 points in a row. As the game progressed, though, the Onoway team gradually lost their lead. The opposing team came to life. Suddenly, the Onoway girls got nervous. The opposing team was leading 17-15. The first string players were gritting their teeth but shouting words of encouragement to the players on the court. The lead coach started subbing in the stronger players, but it was too late - we lost by one point. The opposing team screamed with joy - it was probably the ONLY game they had ever won. So, with a win for each team, we had to go to a third game to break the tie. The lead coach started with a mixture of the strongest and the weakest players. Onoway won the the tie breaker.
After Janet told me that my hair was nice, I reminded her of the her last gave at the volleyball tournament. I asked her how being kinder to the weaker team and the weaker players on her team was better than just pummelling the opposing team to the ground. I reviewed my oberservations with her. Then I asked her how being kinder made her feel. She said 'BAD!'. But Janet always has to win her arguements.
I did alot of falling behind and catching up this week. This would be at least the second week in a row. Saturday, for instance, I had to do 300 pushups, 200 round house kicks, 160 cross stepping kicks, 40 squat thrusts; each of them a double dose. I noticed something positive about this though. 300 pushups is a bit of a challenge and left me a bit sore the following morning - but today, 150 pushups was a lot easier that it had been before. 200 round house kicks is easily achievable, not a daunting task as it may have been in the past. I may even prefer to go the route of 200 every other day because the first 100 serve as a limbering up of my legs, and of concentrating on form. The second 100, I am able to concentrate on increasing my speed and power and I am finding that progress in this area is more rapid. 160 cross stepping kicks is still an onerous task, but I've noticed an increase in progress in speed of recovery from kick back to crane stance. Interesting.
I didn't do any other home training than the 100 day challenge components. This bothers me. I had planned to work on Say shen and Long. Sifu laurie assigned us plank and narrow pushups, multiple round house kicks for balance, and further work on the side heel thrust. I didn't do any of it. The reasons for this are the same as my down turn in training this time last year, and I did anticipate it but had hoped it wouldn't drop so low. I did, however, tell myself that what I have done this week is alot more than I did last year. Last year was no attendance, no home training, no journal to relfect and reassess, no little black book where I promply write down what I learned in class so that I would not forget about it, no Kwoon talk where Sihing Langnor could report on the Shaolin class I missed, and I can do some home training based on that. I must pat myself on the back for improving on last year, and I must treat next week as a clean slate. I will, indeed practice the breathing exercises described by Sihing Langnor. I will work on the wrist grab in Long, the flying kick in Say Shen and the crane stance and little buddha pose in 18 temple motions - all of which were things discussed in Friday's class.
I don't think I have one particular training partner. But my home training partner is my dog. She really pushes me to do more than the ordinary. Sometimes she really gets concerned when I am doing my pushups and sticks her head against mine, tries to lick my face, tries to place her paw on my shoulder. Lesser folk would have stopped, and let the dog out. I remain calm, focus, and continue my pushups. Its a bit of a challenge, because I never know what Roxy is going to do next and we are both moving targets, but eventually she backs off and lays down in a corner. Roxy also forces me to keep my centre when I do my cross step kicks because she gets worried when I do those too. She gets underfoot and I have to avoid tripping or stepping on her. Roxy has taught me to try to welcome unexpected challenges, rather than to try to control them.
Personal Black Belt Requirement: 1000 Acts of Kindness
I have included my daughters (Jill - 16, and Janet - 13) in this requirement. Between the three of us, we have to perform 1000 acts of kindness between December 1, 2008 and September 1, 2009. Thats 4 acts per day. I have to start now by educating my daughters about what entails a true act of kindness and why it is important to them.
On Friday, I announced the requirement to Jill, as we ate our dinner at Boston Pizza. Jill was overcome by the enormity of the task, feeling it was not possible for her to achieve this. She didn't really want to do it, asked what would happen if she didn't succeed in her part. I told her I wouldn't get my black belt. Jill is a dutiful daughter. She new she had to help me now. She asked me what kinds of things she would have to do. Just then, a waitress walked by with a tray of food. A fork dropped off the tray. I leaned over and picked it up. The waitress thanked me. I looked at Jilly. She rolled her eyes. I said: " and we have to keep a journal.
I informed Janet of the requirement on Saturday after her volleyball tournament. She said 'nice hair mom; there's one!'. Luckily we could talk about the volleyball tournament as an example.
There were two teams at the tournament that were worse than Onoway. They were worse by a long shot. The other 3 teams at the tournament were better than Onoway - by a long shot. Onoway was destroyed by the 3 better teams, and then they played one of the 2 worst teams. Onoway won; the girls clobbered their opponents. At a certain point the opposing team started just standing there, looking dejected as one after the other service came sailing towards them. I called to McKenna to serve underhand but she thought I was mad. After the game, the girls gathered for a meeting and the lead acting coach asked the girls to each summarize what they did right to win the game and what they still need to work on. The girls felt that their playing was flawless. Later, I said to the lead acting coach, "I wonder how the other team felt?". She got it. Janet, however, did not. Her first response was 'Huh?'. Over lunch she insisted that it was ok to continue serving overhand, and ok to continue using the first string players, because the other team needed to learn that they 'suck' and they need to work harder. The next game was against an equally weak team as the last. When this became apparent, the lead coach switched in the the weaker players. Onoway still won the first game. But the lead coach started the next game with the weak players. They did very well, and the boost in confidence to these players that usually sit the side lines was apparent. The mothers of the weaker players were elated and could barely sit in their seats as they watched their girls achieve more than the ordinary. Jennifer did her first ever dive and saved the ball, which went over the net and scored onoway a spectacular point. Sara did the most amazing overhand serve - it was unbelievable. Everyone was shocked, even the parents of other teams. Jessica actually got a serve over the net, and it scored a point. She couldn't wipe the grin off her face. Morgan actually maintained her focus and more consistently than ever, covered the front line. Her serves were more consistent, and she scorred 3 points in a row. As the game progressed, though, the Onoway team gradually lost their lead. The opposing team came to life. Suddenly, the Onoway girls got nervous. The opposing team was leading 17-15. The first string players were gritting their teeth but shouting words of encouragement to the players on the court. The lead coach started subbing in the stronger players, but it was too late - we lost by one point. The opposing team screamed with joy - it was probably the ONLY game they had ever won. So, with a win for each team, we had to go to a third game to break the tie. The lead coach started with a mixture of the strongest and the weakest players. Onoway won the the tie breaker.
After Janet told me that my hair was nice, I reminded her of the her last gave at the volleyball tournament. I asked her how being kinder to the weaker team and the weaker players on her team was better than just pummelling the opposing team to the ground. I reviewed my oberservations with her. Then I asked her how being kinder made her feel. She said 'BAD!'. But Janet always has to win her arguements.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
From my Journal November 9 - 15, 2008
My problem this week is that if I actually sat down to write about everything that is worth writing about, I wouldn't have any time left for the other important things I need to accomplish. I'll have to go to point form, to save time.
1. I am way behind on my training commitment of 2.5 hours per week, and this also means that I am way behind on my committment to the 100 day challenge on Kwoon talk. I will document my numbers on the 100 day Kwoon talk thread because I will need the encouragement from others to catch up, and the others will benefit from witnessing my struggle. I fell behind because of the next 3 points.
2. My career, or lack thereof. It was ironic that one of the 100 day challenge participants mentioned that he was struggling with his challenge committment because he had been focused on his career goals. I had been thinking for the last few months, 'If I applied the same sort of focus that I am putting into the black belt test, into my career, then my life wouldn't be such a mess. In a nutshell, I'm in a transition period. My kids are becoming independent, and its time for me to start thinking about what I need. Until last week, I had been flip-flopping. Was it too early to make a change, or pursue the schooling, or was I making the needs of my daughters an excuse rather than a reason? Then suddenly last week, a friend got me going and on Thursday I was revamping my resume, applying to a job, and preparing for the career fair in Edmonton. As a result, I got behind on my training that day also.
3. The challenges of being a mother. So on thursday I decided that it was indeed time for me to focus on changing my career and attending to my own needs for the future. Then on Friday Janet's math teacher called. I remember when she was and infant and I was rocking her to sleep in my arms. My mother, noting that janet had been asleep for a good 1/2 hour already, said 'Janet is an easy baby for you'. I said, 'its almost as if she comforts me'. Jilly and I had struggled through all this stuff, but Janet was indeed an easy baby. Then, my mother said, 'she'll probably make up for it when she's a teenager'. Prophetic words. Silly of me, on thursday, to believe that I was on the home stretch with Janet. Anyhow, all spare time on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, was spent dealing with the janet issue. Training moved way down the list of priorities.
4. Giving back. One of the best teachers that Jill has ever had is her badminton coach, Mrs. Folinsbee. She is 63 years old. She and her husband (who is 79 years old and in poor health) singlehandedly run the Red Willow Badminton Club. They do it, not just because of their love of the sport, but because of their belief in what it does for the lives of the people in the community. For Jilly, badminton has taught her many things about life in general, and given her many skills for her future. The club has been a place where Jilly socializes with other like-minded kids, and gets the support, advise, and encouragment from many adults from all walks of life. Mrs. Folinsbee has acted as a surrogate grandmother, knowing what to talk about, and how to encourage her in matters of friendship, life goals, dissappointments, struggles, school, boys, difficult decisions, self respect and much more. This month and next month, Mrs. Folinsbee is hosting two major events at the club. The first was this weekend - a masters tournament. The second is next month - the 20th anniversary of the club's existence. Both events are long, huge endeavors. Mr. Folinsbee is frail, and Mrs. Folinsbee compensates for that. It was time for Jill and I to give back. So we committed to 5 hours each on Friday and Saturday of helping at the tournament. Jill ran the draws, the shuttles, sold the snacks, answered queries and phones and anything else. Later on, when another lady and myself were running dishes for the banquet up and down the stairs, Jilly helped with that too.
5. It's ironic that the UBBT challenge was presented to us this weekend. I read up on the Acts of Kindness requirement. At first I thought, well I do that stuff anyway, I don't need to log it. Then I thought about the challenges of this week. Janet had not been very kind to her math teacher, and my challenge is to teach her why this is a problem and why she needs to redeem herself. Jill had been hesitant to commit her friday and saturday night to helping her coach: my challenge is to teach her to see the importance of recognizing and honoring people who are important in her life. Last night I wrote down my first tailored black belt requirement - I will use the Acts of Kindness challenge to teach my daughters - they will witness, and sometimes participate in this challenge. It turns our that nearly everything on that list of requirements has relevance to my current struggles in life.
Well, I must finish here. I have so much to do yet.
1. I am way behind on my training commitment of 2.5 hours per week, and this also means that I am way behind on my committment to the 100 day challenge on Kwoon talk. I will document my numbers on the 100 day Kwoon talk thread because I will need the encouragement from others to catch up, and the others will benefit from witnessing my struggle. I fell behind because of the next 3 points.
2. My career, or lack thereof. It was ironic that one of the 100 day challenge participants mentioned that he was struggling with his challenge committment because he had been focused on his career goals. I had been thinking for the last few months, 'If I applied the same sort of focus that I am putting into the black belt test, into my career, then my life wouldn't be such a mess. In a nutshell, I'm in a transition period. My kids are becoming independent, and its time for me to start thinking about what I need. Until last week, I had been flip-flopping. Was it too early to make a change, or pursue the schooling, or was I making the needs of my daughters an excuse rather than a reason? Then suddenly last week, a friend got me going and on Thursday I was revamping my resume, applying to a job, and preparing for the career fair in Edmonton. As a result, I got behind on my training that day also.
3. The challenges of being a mother. So on thursday I decided that it was indeed time for me to focus on changing my career and attending to my own needs for the future. Then on Friday Janet's math teacher called. I remember when she was and infant and I was rocking her to sleep in my arms. My mother, noting that janet had been asleep for a good 1/2 hour already, said 'Janet is an easy baby for you'. I said, 'its almost as if she comforts me'. Jilly and I had struggled through all this stuff, but Janet was indeed an easy baby. Then, my mother said, 'she'll probably make up for it when she's a teenager'. Prophetic words. Silly of me, on thursday, to believe that I was on the home stretch with Janet. Anyhow, all spare time on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, was spent dealing with the janet issue. Training moved way down the list of priorities.
4. Giving back. One of the best teachers that Jill has ever had is her badminton coach, Mrs. Folinsbee. She is 63 years old. She and her husband (who is 79 years old and in poor health) singlehandedly run the Red Willow Badminton Club. They do it, not just because of their love of the sport, but because of their belief in what it does for the lives of the people in the community. For Jilly, badminton has taught her many things about life in general, and given her many skills for her future. The club has been a place where Jilly socializes with other like-minded kids, and gets the support, advise, and encouragment from many adults from all walks of life. Mrs. Folinsbee has acted as a surrogate grandmother, knowing what to talk about, and how to encourage her in matters of friendship, life goals, dissappointments, struggles, school, boys, difficult decisions, self respect and much more. This month and next month, Mrs. Folinsbee is hosting two major events at the club. The first was this weekend - a masters tournament. The second is next month - the 20th anniversary of the club's existence. Both events are long, huge endeavors. Mr. Folinsbee is frail, and Mrs. Folinsbee compensates for that. It was time for Jill and I to give back. So we committed to 5 hours each on Friday and Saturday of helping at the tournament. Jill ran the draws, the shuttles, sold the snacks, answered queries and phones and anything else. Later on, when another lady and myself were running dishes for the banquet up and down the stairs, Jilly helped with that too.
5. It's ironic that the UBBT challenge was presented to us this weekend. I read up on the Acts of Kindness requirement. At first I thought, well I do that stuff anyway, I don't need to log it. Then I thought about the challenges of this week. Janet had not been very kind to her math teacher, and my challenge is to teach her why this is a problem and why she needs to redeem herself. Jill had been hesitant to commit her friday and saturday night to helping her coach: my challenge is to teach her to see the importance of recognizing and honoring people who are important in her life. Last night I wrote down my first tailored black belt requirement - I will use the Acts of Kindness challenge to teach my daughters - they will witness, and sometimes participate in this challenge. It turns our that nearly everything on that list of requirements has relevance to my current struggles in life.
Well, I must finish here. I have so much to do yet.
Monday, November 10, 2008
From My Journal November 1 -8, 2008
Home Training:
Drop kick back shoulder roll - 60
Say shen - 10
Long I&II - 10
Sit ups - 140
Pushups - 1050
Squat thrusts - 140
Cross stepping kicks - 560
Round House kicks - 700
Side heel kick concentrating on speed, above waist, and no bounce - 304
Shaolin Class with Sifu Laurie: We worked mainly on the side heel kick and also the flexed arm hang. For side heel, we started with dynamic stretching and I would like to continue this to improve the height of my side heel thrust. We worked on each component of the side heel; getting the technique right and then focusing on doing each component of the kick with speed. Each of us in the class notcied something that was wrong with how we execute our kick. For me, it was that from horse stance, I had eliminated having to pivot my foot and this is incorrect. Finally, we did the fitness test for side heel kicks. I was disappointed with my performance as I only got 32 on each side (though I did notice that I usually score at least 5 kicks less on my weak leg and this is not the case now). I was aiming for 40. Sifue Laurie wants us to remember our scores (mine was 4) so that we can compare our results in four weeks. In the meantime, she has assigned some home work for us that will help progress in our kicks. We must do 20 kicks per side each night, focusing on proper technique. We reviewed 10 things that need to be perfect and she wants us to write these 10 things down so that we can focus on them when we do our nightly kicks. Sihing Lilienskold and I wrote them down right after class, as we knew we would forget. They are:
1. pivot on the ball of the foot when executing the kick
2. start and end in proper horse stance
3. 2 crane stances should be evident in the complete kick
4. Power
5. Look at the target
6. Keep arm guards up
7. Kick should be waist high
8. The hip, knee joint and heel should be in alignment when the kick is at full extention
9. Kick with the heel, and the toe should be pointing down, the foot properly bladed
10. Chamber properly
Everyone seems to be improving for the flexed arm hang, especially Jon and sihing Langnor. Sifu Laurie assigned us home work for this week to help improve our progress. We have to do a modified plank (arms in narrow pushup position and body low to the ground) for one minute and the do 10 narrow pushups each night. We will test again for flexed arm hang next week.
Home Reading: I read something in the Edmonton Journal this week that caused my Luddite heart to race. The article, "Exergaming Touted for Getting Kids Moving: All Limbs used in New Video Games", begins by stating that 'after years of being blamed for contributing to obesity in children, video games are now being used to promote physical activity.' Linda Carson, a professor of physical education at some university in the united states states that exergaming (thats things like dance revolution and Wii sports) is a wholesome activity and should be recognized as an exciting alternative to traditional physical education. Someone has even done a study, that shows that obese and overweight children who play exergames don't gain weight and improve their physiological funtion.
There's alot I can say about that, but I will focus on one aspect - which is how readily the masses will 'embrace technology' to the extent of expecting it to solve the problems caused by technology. What a crazy vicious circle we are in! Let's just focus on physical fitness for a moment and its relation to the looming energy crisis. I'll try to be breif here. Technology, which has made possible such things as cars, labour saving devices in the home, central heating, and home entertainment, has caused two problems in our society.
The first, is that we have all become increasingly reliant on fossil fuels to produce energy (oil for our cars and homes, and coal to produce electrical energy). We all know what that is doing to the environment and that if the other half of the world began to live the same way as we do, our planet could not support it, due to the lack of sustainable resources, and the environmental dammage it would do to our planet. We all know that we must seriously consider alternative forms of energy production and reduce our present levels of energy consuption. Instead, we are happy to stick our heads in the sand, and 'embrace technology'; technology will solve our problems. Indeed, it will, if we focus on having it do just that. Albertans in particular don't want to focus on solving the energy crisis, or even reducing the damage we are doing to the planet. Oil is king here- we just want to keep producing it to make our money and maintain our lifestyles, no matter how it affects the boreal forest, water fowl, the air quality, global warming, sustainability of resources and our own physical health. While European countries support the installation of wind power and solar power systems in buildings, and the concept of credits for unused energy, Alberta practically bans alternate energy producing infrastructures.
The second problem that technology has caused in our society is our physical fitness. Technology has caused us to become inactive. Our kids have become obese, overweight, and muscularly under-developed. We battle weight issues because our jobs are sedentary, and free time is taken up operating labour saving machines such as cars, and filling the saved time operating machines for our entertainment such as tv's, computers, and cell phones. What's craziest about this whole picture is that we expend even more energy produced by fossil fuels as we attempt to battle our fitness and wieght issues. Go to the local gym for example. Hundreds of us, who wish to reverse the effects on our bodies produced from a technologically driven, energy consuming, inactive lifestyle at home, school, and work, drive to the gym which is in a very large building requiring massive climate control and lighting systems, to operate machines such as the treadmill. It takes energy to operate the treadmill, so that we can expend our own surplus energy stored in our fatty tissue. Now we are expanding this whole crazy concept to include our kids - get them exergaming.
Where does all this energy from us operating treadmills and exergaming etc go? It goes into thin air. When you think about all those treadmills at the gym - 20 of them going most of the time - you would think that the energy expended by the people operating them, if captured, might be converted to the energy required to light the room, run the little tv attached to the treadmill, or chill the water in the water fountain. And the kids at home, exergaming - could their expended energy be stored up to operate a 2 hr movie? Like I said before - technology will solve our problems if we focus on having it do just that.
"If we keep on doing what we're doing, we'll end up where we're heading".
Drop kick back shoulder roll - 60
Say shen - 10
Long I&II - 10
Sit ups - 140
Pushups - 1050
Squat thrusts - 140
Cross stepping kicks - 560
Round House kicks - 700
Side heel kick concentrating on speed, above waist, and no bounce - 304
Shaolin Class with Sifu Laurie: We worked mainly on the side heel kick and also the flexed arm hang. For side heel, we started with dynamic stretching and I would like to continue this to improve the height of my side heel thrust. We worked on each component of the side heel; getting the technique right and then focusing on doing each component of the kick with speed. Each of us in the class notcied something that was wrong with how we execute our kick. For me, it was that from horse stance, I had eliminated having to pivot my foot and this is incorrect. Finally, we did the fitness test for side heel kicks. I was disappointed with my performance as I only got 32 on each side (though I did notice that I usually score at least 5 kicks less on my weak leg and this is not the case now). I was aiming for 40. Sifue Laurie wants us to remember our scores (mine was 4) so that we can compare our results in four weeks. In the meantime, she has assigned some home work for us that will help progress in our kicks. We must do 20 kicks per side each night, focusing on proper technique. We reviewed 10 things that need to be perfect and she wants us to write these 10 things down so that we can focus on them when we do our nightly kicks. Sihing Lilienskold and I wrote them down right after class, as we knew we would forget. They are:
1. pivot on the ball of the foot when executing the kick
2. start and end in proper horse stance
3. 2 crane stances should be evident in the complete kick
4. Power
5. Look at the target
6. Keep arm guards up
7. Kick should be waist high
8. The hip, knee joint and heel should be in alignment when the kick is at full extention
9. Kick with the heel, and the toe should be pointing down, the foot properly bladed
10. Chamber properly
Everyone seems to be improving for the flexed arm hang, especially Jon and sihing Langnor. Sifu Laurie assigned us home work for this week to help improve our progress. We have to do a modified plank (arms in narrow pushup position and body low to the ground) for one minute and the do 10 narrow pushups each night. We will test again for flexed arm hang next week.
Home Reading: I read something in the Edmonton Journal this week that caused my Luddite heart to race. The article, "Exergaming Touted for Getting Kids Moving: All Limbs used in New Video Games", begins by stating that 'after years of being blamed for contributing to obesity in children, video games are now being used to promote physical activity.' Linda Carson, a professor of physical education at some university in the united states states that exergaming (thats things like dance revolution and Wii sports) is a wholesome activity and should be recognized as an exciting alternative to traditional physical education. Someone has even done a study, that shows that obese and overweight children who play exergames don't gain weight and improve their physiological funtion.
There's alot I can say about that, but I will focus on one aspect - which is how readily the masses will 'embrace technology' to the extent of expecting it to solve the problems caused by technology. What a crazy vicious circle we are in! Let's just focus on physical fitness for a moment and its relation to the looming energy crisis. I'll try to be breif here. Technology, which has made possible such things as cars, labour saving devices in the home, central heating, and home entertainment, has caused two problems in our society.
The first, is that we have all become increasingly reliant on fossil fuels to produce energy (oil for our cars and homes, and coal to produce electrical energy). We all know what that is doing to the environment and that if the other half of the world began to live the same way as we do, our planet could not support it, due to the lack of sustainable resources, and the environmental dammage it would do to our planet. We all know that we must seriously consider alternative forms of energy production and reduce our present levels of energy consuption. Instead, we are happy to stick our heads in the sand, and 'embrace technology'; technology will solve our problems. Indeed, it will, if we focus on having it do just that. Albertans in particular don't want to focus on solving the energy crisis, or even reducing the damage we are doing to the planet. Oil is king here- we just want to keep producing it to make our money and maintain our lifestyles, no matter how it affects the boreal forest, water fowl, the air quality, global warming, sustainability of resources and our own physical health. While European countries support the installation of wind power and solar power systems in buildings, and the concept of credits for unused energy, Alberta practically bans alternate energy producing infrastructures.
The second problem that technology has caused in our society is our physical fitness. Technology has caused us to become inactive. Our kids have become obese, overweight, and muscularly under-developed. We battle weight issues because our jobs are sedentary, and free time is taken up operating labour saving machines such as cars, and filling the saved time operating machines for our entertainment such as tv's, computers, and cell phones. What's craziest about this whole picture is that we expend even more energy produced by fossil fuels as we attempt to battle our fitness and wieght issues. Go to the local gym for example. Hundreds of us, who wish to reverse the effects on our bodies produced from a technologically driven, energy consuming, inactive lifestyle at home, school, and work, drive to the gym which is in a very large building requiring massive climate control and lighting systems, to operate machines such as the treadmill. It takes energy to operate the treadmill, so that we can expend our own surplus energy stored in our fatty tissue. Now we are expanding this whole crazy concept to include our kids - get them exergaming.
Where does all this energy from us operating treadmills and exergaming etc go? It goes into thin air. When you think about all those treadmills at the gym - 20 of them going most of the time - you would think that the energy expended by the people operating them, if captured, might be converted to the energy required to light the room, run the little tv attached to the treadmill, or chill the water in the water fountain. And the kids at home, exergaming - could their expended energy be stored up to operate a 2 hr movie? Like I said before - technology will solve our problems if we focus on having it do just that.
"If we keep on doing what we're doing, we'll end up where we're heading".
Monday, November 3, 2008
From My Journal: October 26 - November 1, 2008
Home Training: I was unable to go to shaolin class or open training this week, though I had planned to go. On Saturday morning I realized that I was stretching myself too thin and trying to be everywhere at once. So I took priority number one and two (Get Jill to training with her coach, feed her a healthy lunch for recovery and brain power, get her back home to complete a major essay assignment, speed off to Janet's volleyball tournament and watch her afternoon games) and ditched priority number three (myself; that would be my training, and a lovely cup of coffee with Julie).
I took the opportunity during Jill's training session at Servus place to do my training and run another 3km. I saw a triathalon club member training there too - really nice guy. I got to thinking how my participation in the triathalon club last fall and winter, though short-lived, really pushed me. The people at the club were highly scientific and intense about their training. It rubbed off on me a bit by redefining what intensity is: the component of pushing the body's capacity in a scientific and methodical way was added. Losing the weight started there becauseby being around these guys I felt more motivated to get the darn weight off.
Now this guy reminds me of the transformation I have made since I last trained with him last March. I'm down 45 pounds, I have a set of pipes due to all the pushups and home training and
100 day challenge, my core strength is way up. And I can run for longer distances and faster. So as not to feel too proud of all these acheivements, I did happen to notice how this club member was doing. Nice as ever. All cyclists have the nicest looking legs - his are shapely but for aero and hydro dynamics he shaves his legs and I find that kind of freaky in a guy. Ididn't think he was running all that fast compared to me - he was faster but not amazingly faster. And then I noticed that he went missing for a period of time at 1k intervals. I soon figured out that he was doing 5 minutes of stairs, then running a km, then stairs, then running and so on. I think he did that about ten times, and still managed to say hi to me as he passed - not only that but he remembered my name, and I can't remember his. Really nice guy all the same.
Back to having to miss the Saturday class and open training. I'm not as disappointed as I thought I would be when I anticipated this time of year. The last two years I was completely abscent from kung fu at this time (October and November) with no home training and no Kwoon talk or diary or sifu and sihing journals to read. Kwoon talk keeps me connected; the journal keeps me focused and assessing; home training keeps me on track for physical conditioning and progressing on techniques; and reatding the journals of fellow students and sifus keeps me motivated. Missing class and open training causes me to lose ground but I am trying not to let my attendance drop as badly as it has in the past.
My journal has to be short and less thoughtful at this time due to volleyball and badminton season. And I'm having more difficulty finding the time to get to a computer to enter the blog, so I'm actually trying to squeeze it in during my lunch break at work. I am officially 10 minutes over by allotted break time so I'll have to sneak away now.
I took the opportunity during Jill's training session at Servus place to do my training and run another 3km. I saw a triathalon club member training there too - really nice guy. I got to thinking how my participation in the triathalon club last fall and winter, though short-lived, really pushed me. The people at the club were highly scientific and intense about their training. It rubbed off on me a bit by redefining what intensity is: the component of pushing the body's capacity in a scientific and methodical way was added. Losing the weight started there becauseby being around these guys I felt more motivated to get the darn weight off.
Now this guy reminds me of the transformation I have made since I last trained with him last March. I'm down 45 pounds, I have a set of pipes due to all the pushups and home training and
100 day challenge, my core strength is way up. And I can run for longer distances and faster. So as not to feel too proud of all these acheivements, I did happen to notice how this club member was doing. Nice as ever. All cyclists have the nicest looking legs - his are shapely but for aero and hydro dynamics he shaves his legs and I find that kind of freaky in a guy. Ididn't think he was running all that fast compared to me - he was faster but not amazingly faster. And then I noticed that he went missing for a period of time at 1k intervals. I soon figured out that he was doing 5 minutes of stairs, then running a km, then stairs, then running and so on. I think he did that about ten times, and still managed to say hi to me as he passed - not only that but he remembered my name, and I can't remember his. Really nice guy all the same.
Back to having to miss the Saturday class and open training. I'm not as disappointed as I thought I would be when I anticipated this time of year. The last two years I was completely abscent from kung fu at this time (October and November) with no home training and no Kwoon talk or diary or sifu and sihing journals to read. Kwoon talk keeps me connected; the journal keeps me focused and assessing; home training keeps me on track for physical conditioning and progressing on techniques; and reatding the journals of fellow students and sifus keeps me motivated. Missing class and open training causes me to lose ground but I am trying not to let my attendance drop as badly as it has in the past.
My journal has to be short and less thoughtful at this time due to volleyball and badminton season. And I'm having more difficulty finding the time to get to a computer to enter the blog, so I'm actually trying to squeeze it in during my lunch break at work. I am officially 10 minutes over by allotted break time so I'll have to sneak away now.
Monday, October 27, 2008
From My Journal: October 19-25, 2008
Home training:
Weekly totals
Drop Kick, back shoulder roll: 92
Sit ups: 140
Pushups: 1050
Squat Thrusts: 140
Cross stepping back kicks: 560
Round House kicks: 700
Inner quad repetitions from sifu Laurie's Shaolin fitness: 12 sets of 8
Slide stepping stretches from sifu Frietag's Friday night class: 100
2.5 km run: 1
As I perform my nightly kicks, I find myself analyzing what I'm doing. Thoughts this week were:
1. Board breaks: I'm thinking that for the test, a plain old side heel kick is an easy shot. But its not my most spectacular kick. Why should I not try to break the boards with my most spectacular kicks? By aiming to do this, then I am forcing myself to work on my strengths with same intensity as I work on my weaknesses. So I'm thinking that I should start home training in January with the reverse round house and spinning back kick: by doing 100 of these kicks per night, and then later I should start breaking a few boards.
2. Perfecting the kicks: I feel myself improving alot of techniques that go into each kick. But I also wonder whether I'm starting to incorporate some bad habits into my nightly repetitions. Is my timing correct on the roundhouse, what should a high rising kick really look like, what should I be doing with my guard as I move in and then move out from a cross stepping back kick? I need to get a reality check by having a sifu watch me perform 10 repetitions of the kicks in question. Then I can be told what I need to correct. I also had one crazy thought - cross stepping kicks performed on the balance beam: I wonder if there's any advantage to be gained by doing this?
3. Drop kick back should roll: This is a struggle. I know the repetitions are improving my ability to perform this technique - but so far, my progress is marginal. There must be something fundamentally wrong. I'll need to demo this kick to a sifu as well.
It was hard this week because I was unable to attend any of the classes. I managed to keep up my nightly training, but it led to alot of introspection and no input from outside. I can see that it would be very easy to get off track, or go in circles.
Home reading: I've made my boss my reading mentor right now. He doesn't know this, and, eerily, he is sitting right behind me as I type this in the St. Albert Library. So I'm in the middle of reading '3 nights in Havanna' which is about Fidel Castro's and Trudeau's relationship leading up to and following Pierre's historic diplomatic visit to Cuba in 1976. There's another book about Castro that Alex highly reccomends, and it will be next. Its hard keeping up to my boss - he's reading Gwynn Dyer's most recent book, "Environmental Wars" and I want to read that too.
Weekly totals
Drop Kick, back shoulder roll: 92
Sit ups: 140
Pushups: 1050
Squat Thrusts: 140
Cross stepping back kicks: 560
Round House kicks: 700
Inner quad repetitions from sifu Laurie's Shaolin fitness: 12 sets of 8
Slide stepping stretches from sifu Frietag's Friday night class: 100
2.5 km run: 1
As I perform my nightly kicks, I find myself analyzing what I'm doing. Thoughts this week were:
1. Board breaks: I'm thinking that for the test, a plain old side heel kick is an easy shot. But its not my most spectacular kick. Why should I not try to break the boards with my most spectacular kicks? By aiming to do this, then I am forcing myself to work on my strengths with same intensity as I work on my weaknesses. So I'm thinking that I should start home training in January with the reverse round house and spinning back kick: by doing 100 of these kicks per night, and then later I should start breaking a few boards.
2. Perfecting the kicks: I feel myself improving alot of techniques that go into each kick. But I also wonder whether I'm starting to incorporate some bad habits into my nightly repetitions. Is my timing correct on the roundhouse, what should a high rising kick really look like, what should I be doing with my guard as I move in and then move out from a cross stepping back kick? I need to get a reality check by having a sifu watch me perform 10 repetitions of the kicks in question. Then I can be told what I need to correct. I also had one crazy thought - cross stepping kicks performed on the balance beam: I wonder if there's any advantage to be gained by doing this?
3. Drop kick back should roll: This is a struggle. I know the repetitions are improving my ability to perform this technique - but so far, my progress is marginal. There must be something fundamentally wrong. I'll need to demo this kick to a sifu as well.
It was hard this week because I was unable to attend any of the classes. I managed to keep up my nightly training, but it led to alot of introspection and no input from outside. I can see that it would be very easy to get off track, or go in circles.
Home reading: I've made my boss my reading mentor right now. He doesn't know this, and, eerily, he is sitting right behind me as I type this in the St. Albert Library. So I'm in the middle of reading '3 nights in Havanna' which is about Fidel Castro's and Trudeau's relationship leading up to and following Pierre's historic diplomatic visit to Cuba in 1976. There's another book about Castro that Alex highly reccomends, and it will be next. Its hard keeping up to my boss - he's reading Gwynn Dyer's most recent book, "Environmental Wars" and I want to read that too.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
From My Journal: Oct 11-18, 2008
Home Training, Thursday October 16, 2008: Today I got home at 9:30pm, knowing that I had my regular nightly training to do, and that I was behind in my round house kicks for the 100 day Kwoon talk challenge. I needed to do 150 push ups, 20 sit ups, 20 squat thrusts, 80 cross stepping back kicks, 200 round house kicks, and 20 drop kicks. I also needed to throw a load of laundry in, see about the girls' homework, start the dishwasher, pack the girls off to bed, and chit chat with the husband. But I also wanted to be in bed and reading by a decent time, because I get up to go to work at 5:30am. There were so many reasons not to train, and I was tired, but I said to myself, "I will do this", and I got started as soon as I got in. Two things surprised me. "First, that I was confident that I could get my training done within the hour, when only a year ago, it would have been a struggle to get 150 push ups done within the waking hours of my day. The second thing that surprised me was the level of intensity that I achieved during my training. I pushed myself to get everything done in good time, so when I was catching my breath from the kicks, I was doing my push ups. My kicks had power, and I did them at a good pace. I got to wondering, "Does intensity take care of itself: is it a natural result of prolonged, focused, disciplined training with a purpose?". Furthermore, "If I am able to apply some of my energy to thinking about this question, whilst doing the round house kicks and the squat thrusts, is this really intensity?".
I think I got everything done within a half hour and this got me worrying - it's an achievement worth posting, but I run the risk of sounding full of myself, and so those I would hope to encourage by posting my observations may not even appreciate the message - it may even alienate the readers. I remember when Mr. Prince posted his 1000 push ups challenge - he stated that he got them done in 15 minutes. I thought, "Whatever". Unfortunately, his message was the exact opposite of inspiring or encouraging for me. One is tempted to think that he was exaggerating, he was only doing ladies push ups, he was born with special talents, or that his youth or maleness made it easier to do the push ups than for the rest of us. I'm sure that Mr. Prince was just trying to raise the bar, and push his fellow students but his message did not do that for me. Now I find myself in the difficult position of falling into the same category as I put Mr. Prince into.
My parents taught me, that people who achieve amazing things in life such as in sports, music, academics, career, or leadership, are talented. The rest of us can only hope to achieve mediocre results. I started to rebel against their message in high school by expecting to place high in academics and sports and by setting goals like going to university. As a parent now, I teach my girls that the difference between average, and amazing is merely the work, discipline, and dedication you put into your achievements. I taught this through their piano, homework, badminton, and volleyball. As the girls get older (14 & 16 yrs), and their goals become more long term and complex, I find that I often have to point to my current actions and achievements to make the message believable to them. The girls are both at an age where immediate gratification is the driving force. How to keep them focused, disciplined, and continuing to work towards their long term goals? I'm finding a measure of success in the fact the Jill and Janet see me in the basement, doing my kicks and push ups, they watch the progress that I am making, they join me when I run and train at Servus place, they ask for pointers and tips on training, nutrition, staying motivated, self discipline, and they apply what they see to achieving their own goals, in sports, school, and life.
This is why the 100 day challenge is so important. Different students at different stages and with different goals and hurdles share the details of their current struggles as they unfold. By witnessing each others' methods, pitfalls, progress and achievements, and by asking each other for pointers, support and motivation, we will all get a lot further than if we remained ignorant of the details of each others' endeavors.
Friday night Kung fu Class: led by sifu frietag. It was about lowering our centre. Slide stepping, horse stance slide stepping, pushed in horse stance, and low back stance with an exaggerated wide stance. This worked the flexibility a lot, and sifu frietag talked about having flexibility with strength. Moving from one low stance to the next should not require a rock or lean to get there; instead it should be smooth and a low centre should be maintained. This can be achieved by working on flexibility with strength, and the exercises we did in class will help us achieve just that. She also mentioned that flexibility with strength is required in Lung I and II. So next week I will practice all this at home.
Saturday morning Shaolin Fitness: led by Sifu Laurie. As promised to the 100 day challenge Kwoon talkers, we worked on exercises that will help prevent and heal knee injuries. Unfortunately, the Kwoon talkers were not at the class, so I will post my summary on Kwoon talk.
Saturday Open Training: Thank goodness Sihing Lilienskold made it this week. She helps me alot, as does Sihing Maitland. And I hope they think the same of me. We worked on Say Shen, in particular, the drop kick back shoulder roll, as my drop kick is abysmal. A lively debate was had over which shoulder we roll over, but Sihing Lilienskold ended the matter by dragging out Master Brinker. It turns out that most of us had it all wrong, and so there is a lot of work to be done here - because my back shoulder roll over the left shoulder is worse than abysmal. So next week I will continue to practice this at home. Sihing Kichko mentioned that she read my kwoon talk post about 'being on track' for the 100 day challenge. She said that she thought to herself, "Whatever".
Home reading: My boss at work is 82 years old and has a pacemaker. He exercises every morning on his stationary bike for 50 minutes, eats grits and a banana for breakfast, and swims once a week. He is an engineer, with a double PHD in economics and political science also. He reads alot (exclusively non-fiction), and so do I, so we are always exchanging our reading lists. He got me onto his favorite prime minister - Mackenzie King. Now he's talking about Fidel Castro. So I will have to get a book out about him - I've only read about Che. I'm in between book lists now. It happens regularly. I'll find a subject and go great guns - can't stop reading and exploring the subject. And then I'm done with subject for a while and there's this gap where I cast about looking at various subjects until something gets me going. Mackenzie King was OK. Fidel might be more interesting, but soon enough I'll chance upon a subject that generates a whole new list of 'must reads'.
I think I got everything done within a half hour and this got me worrying - it's an achievement worth posting, but I run the risk of sounding full of myself, and so those I would hope to encourage by posting my observations may not even appreciate the message - it may even alienate the readers. I remember when Mr. Prince posted his 1000 push ups challenge - he stated that he got them done in 15 minutes. I thought, "Whatever". Unfortunately, his message was the exact opposite of inspiring or encouraging for me. One is tempted to think that he was exaggerating, he was only doing ladies push ups, he was born with special talents, or that his youth or maleness made it easier to do the push ups than for the rest of us. I'm sure that Mr. Prince was just trying to raise the bar, and push his fellow students but his message did not do that for me. Now I find myself in the difficult position of falling into the same category as I put Mr. Prince into.
My parents taught me, that people who achieve amazing things in life such as in sports, music, academics, career, or leadership, are talented. The rest of us can only hope to achieve mediocre results. I started to rebel against their message in high school by expecting to place high in academics and sports and by setting goals like going to university. As a parent now, I teach my girls that the difference between average, and amazing is merely the work, discipline, and dedication you put into your achievements. I taught this through their piano, homework, badminton, and volleyball. As the girls get older (14 & 16 yrs), and their goals become more long term and complex, I find that I often have to point to my current actions and achievements to make the message believable to them. The girls are both at an age where immediate gratification is the driving force. How to keep them focused, disciplined, and continuing to work towards their long term goals? I'm finding a measure of success in the fact the Jill and Janet see me in the basement, doing my kicks and push ups, they watch the progress that I am making, they join me when I run and train at Servus place, they ask for pointers and tips on training, nutrition, staying motivated, self discipline, and they apply what they see to achieving their own goals, in sports, school, and life.
This is why the 100 day challenge is so important. Different students at different stages and with different goals and hurdles share the details of their current struggles as they unfold. By witnessing each others' methods, pitfalls, progress and achievements, and by asking each other for pointers, support and motivation, we will all get a lot further than if we remained ignorant of the details of each others' endeavors.
Friday night Kung fu Class: led by sifu frietag. It was about lowering our centre. Slide stepping, horse stance slide stepping, pushed in horse stance, and low back stance with an exaggerated wide stance. This worked the flexibility a lot, and sifu frietag talked about having flexibility with strength. Moving from one low stance to the next should not require a rock or lean to get there; instead it should be smooth and a low centre should be maintained. This can be achieved by working on flexibility with strength, and the exercises we did in class will help us achieve just that. She also mentioned that flexibility with strength is required in Lung I and II. So next week I will practice all this at home.
Saturday morning Shaolin Fitness: led by Sifu Laurie. As promised to the 100 day challenge Kwoon talkers, we worked on exercises that will help prevent and heal knee injuries. Unfortunately, the Kwoon talkers were not at the class, so I will post my summary on Kwoon talk.
Saturday Open Training: Thank goodness Sihing Lilienskold made it this week. She helps me alot, as does Sihing Maitland. And I hope they think the same of me. We worked on Say Shen, in particular, the drop kick back shoulder roll, as my drop kick is abysmal. A lively debate was had over which shoulder we roll over, but Sihing Lilienskold ended the matter by dragging out Master Brinker. It turns out that most of us had it all wrong, and so there is a lot of work to be done here - because my back shoulder roll over the left shoulder is worse than abysmal. So next week I will continue to practice this at home. Sihing Kichko mentioned that she read my kwoon talk post about 'being on track' for the 100 day challenge. She said that she thought to herself, "Whatever".
Home reading: My boss at work is 82 years old and has a pacemaker. He exercises every morning on his stationary bike for 50 minutes, eats grits and a banana for breakfast, and swims once a week. He is an engineer, with a double PHD in economics and political science also. He reads alot (exclusively non-fiction), and so do I, so we are always exchanging our reading lists. He got me onto his favorite prime minister - Mackenzie King. Now he's talking about Fidel Castro. So I will have to get a book out about him - I've only read about Che. I'm in between book lists now. It happens regularly. I'll find a subject and go great guns - can't stop reading and exploring the subject. And then I'm done with subject for a while and there's this gap where I cast about looking at various subjects until something gets me going. Mackenzie King was OK. Fidel might be more interesting, but soon enough I'll chance upon a subject that generates a whole new list of 'must reads'.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
From my Journal Sepetember 27- October 3, 2008
Saturday Shaolin Fitness Class: with Sifu Laurie. 13 fitness stations at 1.5 minutes each and then we did the agility fitness drill several times. My time was 6.3, 6.4, and 6.2 seconds. This is a rating of 4.
Early this summer, Sihing Langnor suffered a serious injury to her leg and was not able to walk for weeks. She still came to shaolin class and participated where she could, which was mostly by watching or by sitting down on the the floor and doing what we were doing or adaptations of it. Over the next few months, she began to participate on her feet, leaning on one leg at first, limping next, and now I thing she looks normal when she walks. She is even running. At first, when we ran the timed wind sprints, we all politely waited while Sihing Langnor gritted her teeth or pursed her lips and walk/ran the entire exercise. Her times slowly improved. A few weeks ago, we started the agility drill, and though she has to be careful, she has perfected her technique in pacing so well that her times are moving up the rating scale. This week I witness what has to be an even more inspiring achievement of hers. Sihing Langnor has the most beautiful and powerful round house kicks. Students in the shaolin class, as they were sweating and panting away at one of the 13 fitness stations, could not help but notice the power of Sihing Langnor's round house kicks as she worked the bags with intensity for the entire segment. Her kicks have to be better that they were before she had her injury. She told us that since her accident, she was forced to work on technique alone, without power or intensity. By taking several steps back in her training, she made amazing progress. This has to be the most inspiring thing I've witnessed in a long time. It's made me look at my weekly training and refocus on taking a step back to work on technique. And its given me confidence that the greatest results will come from practicing technique over and over.
Open Training: None because of Janet's volleyball tournament.
Home training: I decided to dedicate October to practicing all the Yellow/Orange belt techniques. This week, I picked 4 combinations, a sticky hands, and 4 warm up things. I also continued the Kwoon talk challenge of pushups, sit ups, squat thrusts, cross stepping kicks and round house kicks. I also practiced the 2k run twice this week by running 2.25 km. By the end of the week, I completed all the Kwoon talk challenge stuff, but only did 3 of the 4 yellow/orange combinations on two occasions. I felt bad about this, and wondered if my training plan this week is too heavy on the fitness and not enough on technique or bag work.
Friday Kung Fu Class: led by Master Brinker: we did round house, spinning back kick, reverse round house, straight pushing back kick alone, in combinations, with and without a partner holding a shield. And pushups in between. He talked to the class about making sure that our techniques look at least better than a green belt level. This is something to keep in mind at home training as I tackle each of the techniques in the curriculum. Then we had question period, and we did push ups in between questions. There were some very good questions but I forgot them all because I didn't bother to write them down in my book right away. My loss.
Home reading: Still reading about MacKenzie King's mother. What a dreary life of bourgeouise poverty she led! I've been thinking alot about my own life, and what I want it to look like after my daughters become more independent. Sometimes I think I want a little house in the country, with a woodworking shop for me and my husband, and my dog. I want to get rid of all the encumbrances I've collected during my parenting years, like the big house to clean, with lots of clutter in it. I want to move towards doing more, and having less. Or having more time, and less things. There's a lovely quote I've kept from a book I read last summer. It's a coffee table picture book about Clayoquot Sound and the people who live there. One old fellow who died recently lived in a shack on the beach for years, and people came from all round to take lessons from him on hand wood carving. His shack had a wood stove and a bed. He had a dog. He is quoted as saying something like: "You get a carpet, and then you need a vaccum cleaner. And then the dog can't come in."
Early this summer, Sihing Langnor suffered a serious injury to her leg and was not able to walk for weeks. She still came to shaolin class and participated where she could, which was mostly by watching or by sitting down on the the floor and doing what we were doing or adaptations of it. Over the next few months, she began to participate on her feet, leaning on one leg at first, limping next, and now I thing she looks normal when she walks. She is even running. At first, when we ran the timed wind sprints, we all politely waited while Sihing Langnor gritted her teeth or pursed her lips and walk/ran the entire exercise. Her times slowly improved. A few weeks ago, we started the agility drill, and though she has to be careful, she has perfected her technique in pacing so well that her times are moving up the rating scale. This week I witness what has to be an even more inspiring achievement of hers. Sihing Langnor has the most beautiful and powerful round house kicks. Students in the shaolin class, as they were sweating and panting away at one of the 13 fitness stations, could not help but notice the power of Sihing Langnor's round house kicks as she worked the bags with intensity for the entire segment. Her kicks have to be better that they were before she had her injury. She told us that since her accident, she was forced to work on technique alone, without power or intensity. By taking several steps back in her training, she made amazing progress. This has to be the most inspiring thing I've witnessed in a long time. It's made me look at my weekly training and refocus on taking a step back to work on technique. And its given me confidence that the greatest results will come from practicing technique over and over.
Open Training: None because of Janet's volleyball tournament.
Home training: I decided to dedicate October to practicing all the Yellow/Orange belt techniques. This week, I picked 4 combinations, a sticky hands, and 4 warm up things. I also continued the Kwoon talk challenge of pushups, sit ups, squat thrusts, cross stepping kicks and round house kicks. I also practiced the 2k run twice this week by running 2.25 km. By the end of the week, I completed all the Kwoon talk challenge stuff, but only did 3 of the 4 yellow/orange combinations on two occasions. I felt bad about this, and wondered if my training plan this week is too heavy on the fitness and not enough on technique or bag work.
Friday Kung Fu Class: led by Master Brinker: we did round house, spinning back kick, reverse round house, straight pushing back kick alone, in combinations, with and without a partner holding a shield. And pushups in between. He talked to the class about making sure that our techniques look at least better than a green belt level. This is something to keep in mind at home training as I tackle each of the techniques in the curriculum. Then we had question period, and we did push ups in between questions. There were some very good questions but I forgot them all because I didn't bother to write them down in my book right away. My loss.
Home reading: Still reading about MacKenzie King's mother. What a dreary life of bourgeouise poverty she led! I've been thinking alot about my own life, and what I want it to look like after my daughters become more independent. Sometimes I think I want a little house in the country, with a woodworking shop for me and my husband, and my dog. I want to get rid of all the encumbrances I've collected during my parenting years, like the big house to clean, with lots of clutter in it. I want to move towards doing more, and having less. Or having more time, and less things. There's a lovely quote I've kept from a book I read last summer. It's a coffee table picture book about Clayoquot Sound and the people who live there. One old fellow who died recently lived in a shack on the beach for years, and people came from all round to take lessons from him on hand wood carving. His shack had a wood stove and a bed. He had a dog. He is quoted as saying something like: "You get a carpet, and then you need a vaccum cleaner. And then the dog can't come in."
Sunday, September 28, 2008
From my Journal Sept. 20-26, 2008
Shaolin Fitness: led by Sifu Edge, who has just begun a career in personal training. She had us doing a full body workout. We used those balls, weights and other things. We all noticed that while it did not seem like an aerobic class, we were all sweating and puffing away. I could also feel that the core stability and balance were being worked.
Open Training: Did not happen this week. Between Janets volleyball tournaments, and Jills badminton tournaments, there are only a couple of weekends in October and November that I can fit in Open training. I have been struggling with the conflict all week, but have decided that being at the girls events is more important that Open training. I had foreseen this, which is why I had looked to the Kwoon talk challenge, led by Sherri Donohue, for a way to keep the training committment going without open training time.
Home Training: The reason I committed to the 4 cross stepping back kicks (20 of each per evening for a total of 8,000 kicks before the end of December), is because of something sifu Frietag said on Kwoon Talk on August 14. She said, quotes (because this machine is doing this È when I hit the quote button), Perfecting the Open X Stance will corrrect your angles of attack, increase your range and balance, and provide proper alignment to skeleton. All of these corrections will increase your flow while lowering your centre, speed and power of your kicks, over all leg strength, as well as your flexibility and give you a much better foot position. These benefits are not limited to your kicks. The Open X Stance is a major transitional stance for our style of Kung Fu. The accuracy you will achieve will also translate into learning your distance, and will help you to better understand the concepts of under and over stepping. The progress you can make by correcting this stance is endless. Make it one of your favorite stances. End Quote. This seemed like sage advice, so I decided to take it to heart. I checked my stances , stationary and walking, and felt that they were good. The next logical step seemed to be to practice the open x stance as it is used in our kicks. I have been practicing the cross stepping kicks at home since mid august and noticed great improvements in form, balance and power already. As Sifu Frietag promises so much more from correcting the Open X stance, I will keep this in my nightly training routine.
I am on track for the Kwoon talk challenge of pushups, sit ups, squat thrusts, cross stepping kicks and round house kicks. I also practiced round house, spining reverse roundhouse kicks, Kempo with open hands, and 2 combinations from the green belt level. Though I missed open training last Saturday, I was able to put in a total of 2 hours and 6 minutes of training at home. It looks like this challenge is what will keep me on track for black belt training for the months of October and November.
Friday class: led by Sifu Frietag - who had us doing the following 4 combinations
1. Knee block to inside of opposite leg and closing off opponent with double bl0ck with hands (chi sao style), the vertical punch to head.
2. As above and ading a step down with the blocking leg in front of opponent and turning 90 degrees in, then tigers tail to knee followed by forearm elbow break.
3. Knee block to outside of same knee and opening up opponent with double hand block (chi sao style).
4. As above and adding a stepping down on the knee and trapping top of punching arm with second hand in double block, elbow to head and switch the arms, bring elbow arm under the punch in a snake and trapping that forearm and doing a forearm lick by pulling arm against chest and twisting.
I doubt anyone reading this will understand, except for those who were at the class. But hopefully this will help us attendees remember it, practice it, and explain it to the ones who were absent.
During question period, Sihing Prince clarified that the downward hammer fist is two motions, ensuring that the first motion has a snap at the end. When fellow students highlight such details, I find it useful to incorporate the move into home training for the week following - which is why I practiced the round house, spinning reverse round house last week; Sihing Bryant had asked for clarification on this and so I practiced it so as not to forget what was learned from his question.
Home reading: I am still reading about MacKenzie Kings mother. She had a hard life, what with her dad, and then her husband. I am appalled at how controlling the men in her life were over her and her daughters. If their (the females) ambitions did not promise to reflect well on the males reputation, ambition, or career, they squashed the females endeavors. They had the power to do it. I would not have survived in such an era.
But here is a thought provoking tale:
A Sufi once established himself at a cross-roads. At night he set up a very bright lamp. Not far away he lit a candle. Beside the candle he sat and read his books. . . . curious citizens asked the Sufi why he had two forms of illumination and why he had placed them in such a manner. Look, he said, at the lamp. It is surrounded, every night, by thousands of moths. By providing that light for the moths I am left in peace by them, to read by my candle. I please the moths - and keep them away from me.
Thus it is with humanity. If everyone knew where real knowledge was, life would be chaos. As it is, people even become frenzied whenever they imagine, like the moths, that there is something which they should surround, especially if that thing is attractive to them.
From A Perfumed Scorpion by Idries Shah.
Open Training: Did not happen this week. Between Janets volleyball tournaments, and Jills badminton tournaments, there are only a couple of weekends in October and November that I can fit in Open training. I have been struggling with the conflict all week, but have decided that being at the girls events is more important that Open training. I had foreseen this, which is why I had looked to the Kwoon talk challenge, led by Sherri Donohue, for a way to keep the training committment going without open training time.
Home Training: The reason I committed to the 4 cross stepping back kicks (20 of each per evening for a total of 8,000 kicks before the end of December), is because of something sifu Frietag said on Kwoon Talk on August 14. She said, quotes (because this machine is doing this È when I hit the quote button), Perfecting the Open X Stance will corrrect your angles of attack, increase your range and balance, and provide proper alignment to skeleton. All of these corrections will increase your flow while lowering your centre, speed and power of your kicks, over all leg strength, as well as your flexibility and give you a much better foot position. These benefits are not limited to your kicks. The Open X Stance is a major transitional stance for our style of Kung Fu. The accuracy you will achieve will also translate into learning your distance, and will help you to better understand the concepts of under and over stepping. The progress you can make by correcting this stance is endless. Make it one of your favorite stances. End Quote. This seemed like sage advice, so I decided to take it to heart. I checked my stances , stationary and walking, and felt that they were good. The next logical step seemed to be to practice the open x stance as it is used in our kicks. I have been practicing the cross stepping kicks at home since mid august and noticed great improvements in form, balance and power already. As Sifu Frietag promises so much more from correcting the Open X stance, I will keep this in my nightly training routine.
I am on track for the Kwoon talk challenge of pushups, sit ups, squat thrusts, cross stepping kicks and round house kicks. I also practiced round house, spining reverse roundhouse kicks, Kempo with open hands, and 2 combinations from the green belt level. Though I missed open training last Saturday, I was able to put in a total of 2 hours and 6 minutes of training at home. It looks like this challenge is what will keep me on track for black belt training for the months of October and November.
Friday class: led by Sifu Frietag - who had us doing the following 4 combinations
1. Knee block to inside of opposite leg and closing off opponent with double bl0ck with hands (chi sao style), the vertical punch to head.
2. As above and ading a step down with the blocking leg in front of opponent and turning 90 degrees in, then tigers tail to knee followed by forearm elbow break.
3. Knee block to outside of same knee and opening up opponent with double hand block (chi sao style).
4. As above and adding a stepping down on the knee and trapping top of punching arm with second hand in double block, elbow to head and switch the arms, bring elbow arm under the punch in a snake and trapping that forearm and doing a forearm lick by pulling arm against chest and twisting.
I doubt anyone reading this will understand, except for those who were at the class. But hopefully this will help us attendees remember it, practice it, and explain it to the ones who were absent.
During question period, Sihing Prince clarified that the downward hammer fist is two motions, ensuring that the first motion has a snap at the end. When fellow students highlight such details, I find it useful to incorporate the move into home training for the week following - which is why I practiced the round house, spinning reverse round house last week; Sihing Bryant had asked for clarification on this and so I practiced it so as not to forget what was learned from his question.
Home reading: I am still reading about MacKenzie Kings mother. She had a hard life, what with her dad, and then her husband. I am appalled at how controlling the men in her life were over her and her daughters. If their (the females) ambitions did not promise to reflect well on the males reputation, ambition, or career, they squashed the females endeavors. They had the power to do it. I would not have survived in such an era.
But here is a thought provoking tale:
A Sufi once established himself at a cross-roads. At night he set up a very bright lamp. Not far away he lit a candle. Beside the candle he sat and read his books. . . . curious citizens asked the Sufi why he had two forms of illumination and why he had placed them in such a manner. Look, he said, at the lamp. It is surrounded, every night, by thousands of moths. By providing that light for the moths I am left in peace by them, to read by my candle. I please the moths - and keep them away from me.
Thus it is with humanity. If everyone knew where real knowledge was, life would be chaos. As it is, people even become frenzied whenever they imagine, like the moths, that there is something which they should surround, especially if that thing is attractive to them.
From A Perfumed Scorpion by Idries Shah.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
From my journal September 13-19, 2008
Saturday Shaolin Class with Sifu Laurie: continued work on agility focusing on pacing only. Turned my push-off around so that it is always from the strong side. 3 steps. Got my time down to below 6 seconds, which puts me at a rating of 6. We also did flexed arm hang-I do not have trouble in this area; 63 seconds and 57 seconds - both double a rating of 10. Others watched my technique and improved their times by doing a few things that I do.
No open training due to forms seminar. Sifu Brinker is right; excuses of time and money just mean that the commitment isn't there. Its really quite reasonable to set aside the money in advance of all the things that will come up in this next year of preparation for black belt testing. The difficulty will be saying that I am more committed to this than to Janet's volleyball - but next year she will be on the senior team, and like Jill, will suddenly not want parents around.
Lion dances and memorial for Travis at the Moon Festival: Lion dance done by Sifus Clements and Playter absolutely beautiful.
A delay this week in finding out about those 2 combos as everyone was busy with forms seminar, lion dances, memorial/moon festival.
Home training: I've been beating myself up all week, as I can't get motivated to put in the 2 1/2 hours weekly commitment to training. So far, not including Friday, I have done 34 mins. (320 cross step kicks; timed horse stance). (I'm not counting the 1050 pushups, or the 2k run as I don't think Sifu Brinker considers that 'training'. Which means I need to train for 2 hours between now and Friday night. All I had to do was put in a lalf hour each eve. Sun-Thu.
I looked at the Kwoon talk challenge led by Sherri Donohue and I know this group can help me with my own challenge. I need to design in my own pledge that will help me to form the habit of training daily at home.
Went to weight watchers meeting on Wed. Some ladies are having a hard time sticking to their personal challenges. Our leader, Norma, said that negative thoughts like "I know I'll just gain the weight back anyway so what's the point?" or "I've blown it today, so I might as well give up for this week" etc are to be replaced with positive thoughts. Norma is very funny. She said that we should tell ourselves things that we would tell our friends to encourage them. "I mean, you wouldn't say to your friend. . .", and she began shaking her finger at an imaginary friend, "'Oh you're fat and ugly, you should just give up"'. When everyone stopped laughing she contin ued. We should remind ourselves of what we've accomplished so far, how good we feel, and that we can accomplish more if we keep working on forming positive thoughts and habits.
Made a committment to the yellow/orange belt group led by Sherri Donohue. By the end of dec. do:
15,000 push ups
5,000 sit ups
2,000 squat thrusts
5,000 round house kicks
2,000 straight pushing back kicks
2,000 stiff swinging kicks
2,000 high rising back kicks
2,000 low hooking back kicks
Friday Kung Fu class: Shield work; round house, spinning back round house. Sihing Bryant asked about whether the leg should swing out for spinning reverse round house. Sifu Brinker advised that the leg should stay close in and not swing wide as it is hard to adjust distance when leg swings wide. Need to practice this. Also did tigers tail. We should be hitting the target in shield work with top of our foot or the bottom of our shin. I asked the question about the combo techiniques, so will have to practice these next week also.
Home reading: I'm reading about MacKenzie-Kings mother's life, so no good quotes from here, just history. Here's something from a book I read a while back; "The Knowing Heart: A Sufi Path of Transformation" by Kabir Heminski.
The Premises of Sufi Education:
1. The soul itself needs to be educated and trained. The soul needs knowledge and practice in areas such as self awareness, attention, will, relationship, service and worship.
2. This education and training is best conducted together with others - not just for the sake of convenience, but because of the opportunities to know ourselves through relationship and because the quality of energy that is generated and shared in a group.
3. There are people who have experience and knowledge in this area and who may be empowered through a spiritual lineage to provide wisdom, guidance, and inspiration. We resist the idea of such a relationship because relationships demand something of us; honesty, commitment, change. Even if we consider ourselves on a spiritual path, we would rather commit to a technique, such as meditation, which preserves our imagined autonomy and freedom, than to a relationship and a spiritual family.
No open training due to forms seminar. Sifu Brinker is right; excuses of time and money just mean that the commitment isn't there. Its really quite reasonable to set aside the money in advance of all the things that will come up in this next year of preparation for black belt testing. The difficulty will be saying that I am more committed to this than to Janet's volleyball - but next year she will be on the senior team, and like Jill, will suddenly not want parents around.
Lion dances and memorial for Travis at the Moon Festival: Lion dance done by Sifus Clements and Playter absolutely beautiful.
A delay this week in finding out about those 2 combos as everyone was busy with forms seminar, lion dances, memorial/moon festival.
Home training: I've been beating myself up all week, as I can't get motivated to put in the 2 1/2 hours weekly commitment to training. So far, not including Friday, I have done 34 mins. (320 cross step kicks; timed horse stance). (I'm not counting the 1050 pushups, or the 2k run as I don't think Sifu Brinker considers that 'training'. Which means I need to train for 2 hours between now and Friday night. All I had to do was put in a lalf hour each eve. Sun-Thu.
I looked at the Kwoon talk challenge led by Sherri Donohue and I know this group can help me with my own challenge. I need to design in my own pledge that will help me to form the habit of training daily at home.
Went to weight watchers meeting on Wed. Some ladies are having a hard time sticking to their personal challenges. Our leader, Norma, said that negative thoughts like "I know I'll just gain the weight back anyway so what's the point?" or "I've blown it today, so I might as well give up for this week" etc are to be replaced with positive thoughts. Norma is very funny. She said that we should tell ourselves things that we would tell our friends to encourage them. "I mean, you wouldn't say to your friend. . .", and she began shaking her finger at an imaginary friend, "'Oh you're fat and ugly, you should just give up"'. When everyone stopped laughing she contin ued. We should remind ourselves of what we've accomplished so far, how good we feel, and that we can accomplish more if we keep working on forming positive thoughts and habits.
Made a committment to the yellow/orange belt group led by Sherri Donohue. By the end of dec. do:
15,000 push ups
5,000 sit ups
2,000 squat thrusts
5,000 round house kicks
2,000 straight pushing back kicks
2,000 stiff swinging kicks
2,000 high rising back kicks
2,000 low hooking back kicks
Friday Kung Fu class: Shield work; round house, spinning back round house. Sihing Bryant asked about whether the leg should swing out for spinning reverse round house. Sifu Brinker advised that the leg should stay close in and not swing wide as it is hard to adjust distance when leg swings wide. Need to practice this. Also did tigers tail. We should be hitting the target in shield work with top of our foot or the bottom of our shin. I asked the question about the combo techiniques, so will have to practice these next week also.
Home reading: I'm reading about MacKenzie-Kings mother's life, so no good quotes from here, just history. Here's something from a book I read a while back; "The Knowing Heart: A Sufi Path of Transformation" by Kabir Heminski.
The Premises of Sufi Education:
1. The soul itself needs to be educated and trained. The soul needs knowledge and practice in areas such as self awareness, attention, will, relationship, service and worship.
2. This education and training is best conducted together with others - not just for the sake of convenience, but because of the opportunities to know ourselves through relationship and because the quality of energy that is generated and shared in a group.
3. There are people who have experience and knowledge in this area and who may be empowered through a spiritual lineage to provide wisdom, guidance, and inspiration. We resist the idea of such a relationship because relationships demand something of us; honesty, commitment, change. Even if we consider ourselves on a spiritual path, we would rather commit to a technique, such as meditation, which preserves our imagined autonomy and freedom, than to a relationship and a spiritual family.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
From my journal entries Saturday September 6 - Friday September 12, 2008 (51 weeks until applying to grade for black belt).
Saturday Shaolin class with Sifu Laurie. Worked on upper body for chin-ups - lots of work with all the arm muscles and upper back using weights. Also worked on the 20 meter agility drill. This is alot harder than it looks. Land speed and will power alone are not the key to this test. Lots of practice required to get the pacing right to hit the targets and change directions without losing too much time. I averaged 6.3 seconds; that's a 4 rating. Mr. Timchuck was able to shave off 2 seconds from his time by correcting some things we observed. We all need to shave off at least 9 seconds to get to a passing rating of 7. So many students and so few take Shaolin Fitness class. There is so much work to be done to pass the fitness portion of the black belt test. Mr. Timchuck is bluebelt or something and he's taking it. Mr. Panasiuk was taking it. Several of us Sihings have taken the class for a number of years. The amount of progress that has occurred for all of us in this class can be measured in how we progress as we monitor our fitness ratings and the number of comments we recieve from other students who notice our improvements in our regular kung fu classes. I don't understand why this class is not jam-packed with students.
Saturday Open Training: I worked with Sihing Maitland. We really pushed eachother. I had planned to spend time on low hooking back kick, high rising back kick, stiff swing back kick and straight pushing back kick. Sihing Maitland had planned on working on Kempo. If we had worked alone, we each would have put in between 30 and 40 minutes of training. We decided to combine our two training plans. I pushed her to do more kicks than she wanted to. And she pushed me to practice kempo more times that I wanted to. We critiqued eachother's techniques so that we could focus on these things at home during the week. An awesome training session which lasted one and one half hours!
On Kwoon talk on Aug. 8, Sifu Tiffany Playter had responded to Mr. Panasiuk's request for training tips and advice. She told him that one the things that help keep her on track was to work with a a training partner. In her case, her training partner is her husband and she said that they push eachother to get their goals accomplished. I think Sihing Maitland and I did just that and we look forward to more sihings and other belts joining in on Saturday Open Training. Sihing Lilienskold agreed - the more training partners the better, and if one person is absent one week, we have others to keep things going - pushing eachother to get our goals accomplished.
On Fri. Aug 15 at sihing class, Master Brinker urged those of us who plan to challenge black belt one year from now to commit to two and a half hours of training per week.
Home Training:
Saturday: 150 pushups
Sunday: 150 pushups; Janet and I went for a 4km walk and then practiced volleyball
Monday: Went to Servus Place with Janet. Idid 2k run and some of Janets agility exercises for volleyball. I did 20 kicks each of low hooking back kick, High rising back kick, straight pushing back kick and stiff swinging back kick. I also did my 150 pushups.
Tuesday: 150 pushups
Wednesday: 150 pushups
Thursday: 150 pushups, 20 kicks each of low hooking back kick, high rising back kick, straight pushing back kick and stiff swinging back kick.
Friday: 150 pushups
Note: I need to find out what counts for the 2 and 1/2 hours of weekly training. Just techniques? or fitness training as well. If I only include techniques and forms practice then my total training time for the week was 1 hr. 45 mins. So I missed off the target of 2 and 1/2 hours for this week. Next week there are 50 weeks left before applying to grade. Good habits take time to form and it will be harder to get the time in next week because open training is cancelled.
Friday Sihing Class: led by Master Brinker; practiced kempo and he urged us to have a sense of purpose. Wanted bigger circles with arms to release chi and have a tail to our punches and blocks. Wanted more flow and to achieve that we should practice kempo with open hands. Question period was detailed: a few things of note; kick before hhelmet crusher is side heel; should practice kicks and punches with bag and strengthen wrists with fis pushups. Sihing Kichko asked about 2 green/blue combinations that involve double hammer fist vs. double punch. I need to follow up on this and find out the difference between the two combinations.
Training plan and questions for next week:
1. Have a black belt demo green/blue combination of tiger's hip-spinning back kick-low hooking back kick-double hammer fist(high/low) turning through. Then practice this combination.
2. Have a black belt demo green/blue belt combination of double punch-pivot outside hammer fist to groin-spin with outside hammer fist to leg. Then practice this combination.
3. Find out what training is to be counted in the 2 and 1/2 hour weekly commitment.
4. Continue practicing the 4 cross step kicks from last week because I'm starting to feel some improvements and I want to keep that going.
5. Practice kempo with open hands.
6. Practice agility run when possible or if not, do a timed horse stance.
Nightly reading: 'The Perfumed Scorpion" by Idries Shah (1978)
". . . the ability to acto or not to act, in accordance with what one knows by experience to be a required mode of action. This is the stage of action stemming from unconcern for superficialities. It is the condistion of doing something, or nothing, not because it is expected of you, but because it is the real thing to do or to avoid. . . . To be at the stage of unconcern for appearances is not the same as the deliberate adoption of untoward behaviour. But the 'contrary to expectation' conduct and words . . indicates the absence of hampering assumption. Inwardly, this condition is that of the sovereign individual, whose perceptions and understanding, not rules or dogma, motivate him or her. . . the student is always encouraged to act in accordance with social norms, but also to practise 'listening' to his intuitive sense in the attempt to perceive whether this or that word or action was indeed correct in a wider context."
Saturday Shaolin class with Sifu Laurie. Worked on upper body for chin-ups - lots of work with all the arm muscles and upper back using weights. Also worked on the 20 meter agility drill. This is alot harder than it looks. Land speed and will power alone are not the key to this test. Lots of practice required to get the pacing right to hit the targets and change directions without losing too much time. I averaged 6.3 seconds; that's a 4 rating. Mr. Timchuck was able to shave off 2 seconds from his time by correcting some things we observed. We all need to shave off at least 9 seconds to get to a passing rating of 7. So many students and so few take Shaolin Fitness class. There is so much work to be done to pass the fitness portion of the black belt test. Mr. Timchuck is bluebelt or something and he's taking it. Mr. Panasiuk was taking it. Several of us Sihings have taken the class for a number of years. The amount of progress that has occurred for all of us in this class can be measured in how we progress as we monitor our fitness ratings and the number of comments we recieve from other students who notice our improvements in our regular kung fu classes. I don't understand why this class is not jam-packed with students.
Saturday Open Training: I worked with Sihing Maitland. We really pushed eachother. I had planned to spend time on low hooking back kick, high rising back kick, stiff swing back kick and straight pushing back kick. Sihing Maitland had planned on working on Kempo. If we had worked alone, we each would have put in between 30 and 40 minutes of training. We decided to combine our two training plans. I pushed her to do more kicks than she wanted to. And she pushed me to practice kempo more times that I wanted to. We critiqued eachother's techniques so that we could focus on these things at home during the week. An awesome training session which lasted one and one half hours!
On Kwoon talk on Aug. 8, Sifu Tiffany Playter had responded to Mr. Panasiuk's request for training tips and advice. She told him that one the things that help keep her on track was to work with a a training partner. In her case, her training partner is her husband and she said that they push eachother to get their goals accomplished. I think Sihing Maitland and I did just that and we look forward to more sihings and other belts joining in on Saturday Open Training. Sihing Lilienskold agreed - the more training partners the better, and if one person is absent one week, we have others to keep things going - pushing eachother to get our goals accomplished.
On Fri. Aug 15 at sihing class, Master Brinker urged those of us who plan to challenge black belt one year from now to commit to two and a half hours of training per week.
Home Training:
Saturday: 150 pushups
Sunday: 150 pushups; Janet and I went for a 4km walk and then practiced volleyball
Monday: Went to Servus Place with Janet. Idid 2k run and some of Janets agility exercises for volleyball. I did 20 kicks each of low hooking back kick, High rising back kick, straight pushing back kick and stiff swinging back kick. I also did my 150 pushups.
Tuesday: 150 pushups
Wednesday: 150 pushups
Thursday: 150 pushups, 20 kicks each of low hooking back kick, high rising back kick, straight pushing back kick and stiff swinging back kick.
Friday: 150 pushups
Note: I need to find out what counts for the 2 and 1/2 hours of weekly training. Just techniques? or fitness training as well. If I only include techniques and forms practice then my total training time for the week was 1 hr. 45 mins. So I missed off the target of 2 and 1/2 hours for this week. Next week there are 50 weeks left before applying to grade. Good habits take time to form and it will be harder to get the time in next week because open training is cancelled.
Friday Sihing Class: led by Master Brinker; practiced kempo and he urged us to have a sense of purpose. Wanted bigger circles with arms to release chi and have a tail to our punches and blocks. Wanted more flow and to achieve that we should practice kempo with open hands. Question period was detailed: a few things of note; kick before hhelmet crusher is side heel; should practice kicks and punches with bag and strengthen wrists with fis pushups. Sihing Kichko asked about 2 green/blue combinations that involve double hammer fist vs. double punch. I need to follow up on this and find out the difference between the two combinations.
Training plan and questions for next week:
1. Have a black belt demo green/blue combination of tiger's hip-spinning back kick-low hooking back kick-double hammer fist(high/low) turning through. Then practice this combination.
2. Have a black belt demo green/blue belt combination of double punch-pivot outside hammer fist to groin-spin with outside hammer fist to leg. Then practice this combination.
3. Find out what training is to be counted in the 2 and 1/2 hour weekly commitment.
4. Continue practicing the 4 cross step kicks from last week because I'm starting to feel some improvements and I want to keep that going.
5. Practice kempo with open hands.
6. Practice agility run when possible or if not, do a timed horse stance.
Nightly reading: 'The Perfumed Scorpion" by Idries Shah (1978)
". . . the ability to acto or not to act, in accordance with what one knows by experience to be a required mode of action. This is the stage of action stemming from unconcern for superficialities. It is the condistion of doing something, or nothing, not because it is expected of you, but because it is the real thing to do or to avoid. . . . To be at the stage of unconcern for appearances is not the same as the deliberate adoption of untoward behaviour. But the 'contrary to expectation' conduct and words . . indicates the absence of hampering assumption. Inwardly, this condition is that of the sovereign individual, whose perceptions and understanding, not rules or dogma, motivate him or her. . . the student is always encouraged to act in accordance with social norms, but also to practise 'listening' to his intuitive sense in the attempt to perceive whether this or that word or action was indeed correct in a wider context."
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