Art is a Science

Just been to a volleyball seminar run by some amazing coaches, athletes, and Sports Medicine experts. We really have to have this guy, Bruce Craven, from Saskatoon come and speak at our school. He's a scientist, and just explained to me the six harmonies - though he's never heard of it. Who said Kung Fu was an ART? Who says the anatomy of training is a SCIENCE? I had this eerie feeling that the only difference between Sifu Brinker, and this guy from Saskatoon, was the words they were using. So it turns out that if Janet really wants to get that powerful hit, a higher jump, more speed and precision in her volleyball game, she needs to start training in the six harmonies. She starts July 11th.

Got some inspirational stuff too from this session.

'We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not the act, but a habit.'
Aristotle

'Success is . . . not an accident, but rather the product of a thoughtful and well executed plan' Bruce Craven

The Power of One is above all things the power to believe in yourself, often far beyond any latent ability you may have previously demonstrated. The mind is the athlete; the body is simply the means it uses to jump higher or longer, run faster, shoot straighter, kick better, swim further, hit harder, or box better. The dictum to me ‘First with the head and then with the heart’ means more than simply mixing brains with guts. It means thinking well beyond the powers of normal concentration and then daring your courage to follow your thoughts. Bryce Courtenay “The Power of One”

Claire Finnamore
Student Member, Silent River Kung Fu

To The Book Club

Just had a quick conversation with Sihing Kichko about some books that I have read recently. I explained to her, that I often go on "Reading Jags", which I define as a mini-journey through one particular topic. Right now, I'm on a jag about the recent history of human suffering that occurs in war. Sounds dreary, but what urges me on is the fact that I was enjoying myself in the 1970's, 80's, 90's and now, oblivious to the fact that millions of people were suffering in other parts of the world. How was it that we failed to fully understand the atrocity that occured in Rwanda, Cambodia, Sudan? How did the world get to a place where we could accept the displacement of Palestinians, Afghans? Do we expect these people who survived to treat us and our future generations as friends or complacent purpetrators? Sometimes I feel that the education system has let us down. My daughter is being force fed the grade 10 curriculum, which covers topics such as Human Rights, Globalization. How can she really understand this stuff unless she reads individual personal accounts of people who have survived? If I were teaching, this would be her reading list.

RWANDA:
An Imperfect Offering, by James Orbinski
Shake Hands With the Devil, by James Dallaire

PALESTINE:
In Search of Fatima, by Ghada Karmi
Ambivalence, by Jonathan Garfinkel

CAMBODIA:
Stay Alive My Son, by Pin Yathay
First They Shot My Father, by Loung Ung
Pol Pot: Anatomy of A Nightmare, by Philip Short

SUDAN:
They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky; The True Story of The Lost Boys of Sudan, by Benson Deng, Alphonsion Deng, Benjamin Ajak

AFGHANISTAN:A Woman Among Warlords: The Extraordinary Story of an Afghan Woman Who Dared to Raise Her Voice, by Malaila Joya

Claire Finnamore
Student Member
Silent River Kung Fu

Empty Nest

Time is ticking by so slowly tonight. I'm home alone for the first time in 18 years. Janet and Bert are in Calgary for a weekend volleyball tournament. I really wanted to go to that, but Jill needs me here. But not tonight. She's out with friends and promises to be home by one or two. Its ten thirty. Worse is yet to come. In a few months Jill will have moved into residence. UGH.

Well there's lots of things I've put on the shelf, so now I can start to work on them. But not tonight. I'd rather wallow in my misery, and sense of impending doom.

The UBBT7, is actually helping me with this terrible transition though. Some of the goals I picked, are pointing me towards the things that I had left sitting on the shelf until I was finished parenting. My cycling interest is going awesomely well. (I keep on meaning to update that on the tracker.) Today, my legs ache in places they haven't in a long time. I might just develop those lean shapely cyclists legs yet! We've been doing lots of hills, and it reminds me of the all the hills I used to cycle in West Vancouver. My brother and I used to cycle the hills and winding narrow roads from Ambleside to Horshoe Bay just for fun. I cycled the Salt Spring Islands with my college buddies. And I cycled to work every day in the summer, from West Vancouver to North Vancouver - feeling my legs get stronger and stronger as the summer of tackling ridiculous inclines progressed. But back to the future. Jill and I cycled the fifth meridian last week, and its very nice now that the wide shoulders are there. We are planning a much longer trip on Monday (which will supposedly be dry with sunny periods). Oh, there's trips galore to be cycled this summer. And!!! This is the surprise; I almost took a job as a bike assembler but it was part time and I really wanted 'bike mechanic'. But, I spoke to a fellow at River Valley Cycle who's been a bike mechanic all his life - and he will be doing a couple of courses this summer. And Bert might let me quit my job, and then go to the States for a week at a highly reputable bicycle mechanic school.

Hey, and Lance Armstrong is coming to town. Topic: ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE! Tickets are $200. Maybe I'll keep that job a bit longer.

It's Not About the Belt

The more I read the more I come to appreciate what kung fu has done for me. Anyone who has done anything amazing, miraculous, or worthwhile has travelled the very same journey that we have travelled along to achieve the black belt. Lance Armstrong, Mike Magnuson (author of Heft on Wheels,who turned his life around from couch potato to amazingly healthy, fit, and a better person, and wrote about it), Lebron James, and his 5'3" team-mate, Little Dru, and his dad, Coach Dru, of basketball: I've just finished reading books written by all of them. In all of their journey's, they've had to have the focus, discipline, the intensity, willingness to overcome obstacles, belief in themselves, and trust in their mentors, striving for mastery, battles with our own egos and demons, the humility, and so much more that was required of us in our journey's to black belt. In reading about such inspirational people, I can recognize and identify with many parts of their journey. In achieving a black belt, I recieved a gift of such great value, it overshadows, what was achieved in the small arena of kung fu.

Sihing Bachand's daughter told me that she plans to rejoin kung fu soon. This young girl will graduate from high school this year, as will my own daughter. I can't think of anything more worthwhile for her to do, than continue on her kung fu journey. It's a road map to personal success. No matter what she chooses to do. You just don't get this type of learning at school, or by reading books, or being told. You have to experience it. And then apply it to everything else you choose to do. Why do so many successful athletes go on to further success in life? Willie de Wit; a successful lawyer in Calgary. Nancy Green; spokesperson, inspiration, ambassador to generations of people. Muhammad Ali, whose book on his spiritual life journey I am reading just now. Rick Hansen. Sifu Becket in China, Sifu Edge in Vancouver. There were lessons that they learned and they recognized that those lessons they learned in sport, adversity, and personal growth, must be applied as they continued on in life. Muhammad Ali said, in his book "The Soul of a Butterfly"

"Everyone has his or her own lessons to learn and obstacles to overcome. The experiences should not be weighed against eachother because they are all equally important in the end. Each time I thought I had achieved my life's purpose, I discovered it was only another step in my journey. I thought boxing would help me be that public Black role model who was missing while I was growing up. I thought my purpose was to be that hero who shoed children that Black is beautiful. I thought my purpose was to be that champion who showed White people they couldn't treat Blacks like second class citizens. I learned that all of these accomplishments were important, but even more important, I gained a platform that allowed me to carry out my real mission, which has been to encourage all people to respect eachother and live in peace. I am still discovering God's purpose for me."