'In gathering saskatoons, and washing berries; therein lies the Tao.'
Claire Finnamore - August 30, 2009

Last night I submitted the last of my requirements to be eligible to test for Black Belt. It was a summary of my Personal Black Belt Requirements which I had established in December, and was due Sept 1. I had chosen nine goals for myself, and below, I will include exerpts from last nights report.

2. 41,100 pushups, 27,400 situps, 27,400 kicks.

Pushups = 34,765
Situps = 20,731
Kicks = 17,528

Two things interfered with my success on this front.

The first was the Winter Blues. Motivation to keep up the training routine ebbed in December, January and February. This is reflected in my numbers: I fell behind on 5509 pushups in Dec/Jan, and 6990 situps and 7050 kicks in Dec/Jan/Feb. Winter happens every year, and though I worked hard to pull myself out of the blues, I now see how much this hurt my success, and perhaps this will help me for the future.

The second interference was injury, in my case, osteoarthritis. In April and May, I was forced to take it easy on my knees and ankles to allow healing. I fell behind by 3405 kicks at this time. I could not control the effect injury had on my numbers: I could have done a better job controlling the effect motivation had on my numbers earlier in the year. It would have been better to have had a greater sense of urgency during the winter months.

3. 1000 repetitions of forms

I completed 828 forms. Again, the Winter Blues interfered with this one. However, the things that helped were; participation in the forms marathon, participation in the demo team, and actively teaching the form of Lao Gar, and Stick to fellow I Ho Chuan members.


6. Acts of Kindness:

d) Research Acts of Kindness guidelines and give each girls a book to read to get them thinking more about this.

I put up the poster on the fridge, and then Sifu Simpson’s poem from Kwoon talk. I didn’t find appropriate books. Instead, the girls read the book ‘They poured fire on us from the sky’ which is about some Sudanese boys who were orphaned by war, and became refugees in their own counry. The book is written in their own words, and they now live in America and travel the continent giving speeches about their ordeal and getting support for those still in Sudan. I thought the book would expand the girls sense of empathy for those who experience hunger, war, etc. Jill has finished the book and she says it was very impactful. Now I have to go into her room and find the book so that Janet can read it.

e) Pursue opportunities, small and formal, that the girls can participate in that will allow them to reflect on and perform acts of kindness throughout the year.

I took Janet to the Malawi Girls presentation. When Sifu Laurie went back to Malawi this year, she helped put together the medical supplies we donated, and she expressed an interest in having the school girls write letters to her and she write back. I’m not sure what came of this, because I forgot to ask Sifu Laurie about the letter we sent with the first aid supplies. Janet remains interested in this project; she asked after the letter writing idea last week. And earlier this month, Janet agreed to the idea of selling her old hoodies and tshirts so the proceeds could go to the benevolent fund, and she got the clothes, washed them, and hung the hoodies on the hangers, and was pleased with the estimate of money raised (about $90).

9. Daily Meditation: learn dragon breathing and perform it daily.

Instead of dragon breathing, I am learning the Chi Kung forms which put a heavy emphasis on breathing, and there is the standing meditation of 3 minutes, to be done 3 times daily. So, though I started late on this requirement (August), I feel it is much better than the original goal because it is so much more comprehensive, and the teacher is so qualified and experienced.

Conclusion:

I am surprised at how much I actually got done. The last requirement was the most surprising, because up until July, I had made no progress. Then the opportunity to take Sifu Olsvik’s Chi Kung classes came up, and the results were so much better than what I had aimed for. When it boils down to a common theme, I’d have to say, that once you set goals, don’t pass up opportunities. Even when you don’t think those opportunities apply to the goals, there you are achieving them. It’s like the spirit goes on auto pilot once the goal is set – and you gravitate towards the opportunities that help you fulfill them. The Chi Kung classes, the Lion Dance, I Ho Chuan, Malawi Girls, blogging, reading journeys, health set backs, kwoon talk challenges, forms marathons, and your own family’s interests and development, all provided the opportunities that made reaching my goals, or nearly reaching them, possible.

Well, I hope this long entry is helpful to anyone hoping to achieve a black belt in the future. This morning I recieved notification that my application to test for Black Belt has been approved. So I went out and picked the abundant crop of saskatoons. What I think I will need over the next 4 weeks, is Peace of Mind.