UBBT7 - The year of solutions.

As I was driving down to Calgary this evening, I had time to reflect on my UBBT7 progresst thus far. I came to the conclusion that this UBBT thing is giving me a vehicle for coming up with solution to problems I had developed over the last year and a half. Without fully realizing it, I had designed my UBBT program to lead me down the path of developing solutions.

My chi kung requirement, for one, was a recognition that my body was screaming for a more internal practice of martial arts. I couldn't go on trying to cope with the injuries I was accruing with the external focus on martial arts. At 49, with osteoarthritis and other issues, I needed to ensure I took a step back and worked on alignment, corrections, stance, mobility, and flexibility. So good goal - and though it is not going well at the moment, I will hang on to it. There have been some stumbling blocks with the Chi Kung - first of all, I am the type of person that requires external motivation such as classes or periodic workshops; and these things are not as available to me as I had anticipated. I am presently working on finding a solution to that problem.

Another requirement - my daily meditation through knitting requirement was also a recognition that my life was unbalanced, crazy busy like. I needed to slow things down, in fact, I craved getting back in touch with simpler spaces in my life. The meditation is not going as I expected, but I am happy to say, I am on track in that I am sticking to the daily 20 minutes of knitting meditation - though I haven't really mastered the meditation end that well, but I'm just letting it happen how its going to happen.

Now, pushups are interesting. For all intents and purposes, it could be construed that my push-up requirement is not progressing well. But had a revelation somewhere between Airdrie, and Calgary. I AM PROGRESSING IN PUSHUPS!!! Here is my progress. Sometime in February I went to the doctor about incredible pain in my neck and numbness in my hands and what is termed 'neuropathic' pain in my arms. It turns out that I've got that osteo arthritis in several vertabrae down my spine, a number of 'bulging' discs, and a bunch of pinched nerves. I was pretty certain that the push ups aggravated this condition, and so I guiltily struggled away with the fact that I had stopped doing them during my treatment. You see, I was improving, and I felt so good for once in a long time, and I didn't want to ruin it by doing the pushups. Last week I noticed that for the first time in over a year, I could pull my t-shirt off over my head with both arms rather than one, and I could reach behind my back and unhook my bra. I could lie on my stomach and rest my chin on my arms. I reach forward and pick up a 7 pound object without shooting pain around my collar bone and down the left side of my neck. I could lift up a tea cup with my left arm and drink from it without pain in my shoulder and neck. This was so great, and when I started realizing that I was close to 80% improved from 2 months ago, I decided to ask my doctor about my UBBT7 push up requirement. He's going to monitor me and I will start with the ladies ones, and I have been advised to purchase those bars so that I don't dammage my wrists, and I've done that. I'm thinking, now, that the pushup path was not what I had envisioned for the UBBT7, but what I had envisioned - to just keep on doing it - would have eventually led to failure anyway. What I have done is taken alot of steps backward in order for healing to take place, and I am taking a wiser approach. No, I won't complete the numbers, but I will not give up. My only mistake on this front was, in planning my program, I had not been realistic.

Another requirement that is helping me find solutions, is the tai chi sword requirement. I have to do a few public performances of this form this summer. Thank goodness I put this one in, because it is forcing me to address the problem of 'balance'. Over the last year, as I prepared for black belt grading, my life got increasingly out of balance. It was all kung fu, kung fu, kung fu. Family and balance fell by the wayside. As soon as the chinese new year celebration was over, I raced out the door, totally focused on reclaiming the balance. As a result, I have been 'MIA'from Silent River Kung Fu. Well that's not balance either. Now the Tiger Challenge approaches, and the performance of the Tai Chi sword is calling my name - causing me to reflect on my current 'balance'. Yes, I've gone too far the other way; while its been fun, I stand to lose everything I have gained by being in kung fu.

I also have another very good requirement, and it is actually going well. In recognition of the fact that my osteoarthritis limits my running, I have to find another way to work my cardio/aerobic conditioning. I chose to commit to a certain amount of cycle/walk/kayak/spin for the year, and most of that will be occuring in the summer in the form of charity cycles, and other activities. The spin part of course is happening now for the training for the summer. I've joined a brutal spin class in St. Albert, run my a crazy British guy - one could say 'Hell on Wheels'. And its great.


Now, the journalling requirement was a surprise for me. Journalling once a week was easy peasy for me. So what happened? I think there is some logical reason for me not journalling - maybe it was an opposite reaction to last year of total focus on kung fu. Who knows, but it happened, and is an indication of something probably rather temporary. Unfortunately, this puts me in the FAILURE category for UBBT7. Fortunately, there is the NEVER GIVE UP requirement, the value of which is that this UBBT will be a year of solutions.

Claire Finnamore
Silent River Kung Fu