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.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
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.
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