Ps and Qs

    So after many years of shoulder trouble, yesterday (Mar 28,2025) I finally got an MRI done. It has been a long process to get here, mostly because of my procrastination and just living with the pain (stupid stupid stupid). It is actually a relief finally getting to this point, but that is not what this blog is about. It is about the individuals I have dealt with recently. 

    

So a quick little back story of the past 2 weeks. 

- doctors appointment Mar 20 to discuss options about my continued shoulder problems (free!), decided to get an MRI for a deeper dive into the muscles in the joint. Choice of waiting for it to be covered by AHC (free!) or paying for a speedy appointment - my CHOICE but first an x-ray to make sure I have no chunks of metal in my head - again FREE!

- x-ray next day - free!

- letter from AHS Tues March 25th - 5 day turn around - amazing! My scheduled appointment is Nov 7,2025 but there is a number to call to go on the "short list (cancellations)". 

- call the number Thursday Mar 27th - they have a spot March 29th at 1pm!! Amazing luck for me, I snatch this up and go. Again - free free free. Yes I know it is not "free", my taxes pay for it, and I am okay with that.

   So my experience over the past 2ish weeks has been great. I know this isn't the norm, but I can only speak for my experiences and no one elses.

   And now for the people, no scratch that, the professionals I met along the way. Each and every one of them got a smile, a thank you, and a little humor along the way. I treated every single person that I met along the way I wanted to be treated. Sure some were not the "smileest" persons out there, but I can only imagine the crap they have to deal with on a daily/hourly basis. I was not going to give them more grief, I was going to give them a smile. And I got more than my fair share of smiles back, my thank yous even seemed to surprise some people, and that made me ever more determined to give them the respect they deserve for the job they do.

  So a huge shout out to all the Doctors, Nurses, Technicians, Administrators, Support staff, Security Guards, every single one of you, thank you!! You are appreciated.

   Anyways, just wanted to share.

 

Push Ups  4972

Sit Ups  4463

Sparring 240 min  

1609KM   272.60 km

Acts of Kindness  200 recorded

 Hand Form   65

Weapon Form   62

Mastery recited  4

Pondering Me

   I don't remember where and when I heard or read it so I can not give credit where it is due (sorry), but it sure started more wheels turning on a new idea path. It went something like this.... 

How many words do you have to write before you are an author, how many steps do you have to take before you are a hiker, how far do you have to run before you are a runner?

And so to that I add, how many punches/kicks/stances/grapples/forms/pushups do I have to do before I consider myself a Martial Artist? One? One thousand? One million? Zero? 

Here is my quandary...

I have a hard time accepting that I am actually a black belt in the ancient martial art of Kung FU. The sure weight of what that means permeates all my actions and thoughts and I take that rank very seriously. How did I ever possibly achieve this much sought after level of being? Am I adhering to the codes of ethics set forth by my Master instructor? Am I doing everything I need to to honor those before me, and to honor those after me? There are many more questions I struggle with, but I do so willingly because to me THAT is what helps me be a Martial Artist, the struggle with my Spirit. The physical cannot flourish without the mental/spiritual.

A very wise fellow Silent River Kung Fu student (Sihing Jackie Kohut) once wrote a blog about the "partial arts" and this has stuck with me over the years and I constantly asking myself when I train if that was a partial effort or not. Thanks for that Sihing, it motivates me and helps keep me honest to myself. 

So I have no answer for you for the question I ponder because it is different for every single person who practices the martial arts. For myself, yes I consider myself a Martial Artist because I believe in what it represents to me. That belief is a cornerstone in who I am. This belief drives me, hones me, reminds me, inspires me, it just plain old makes me a better person. I wasn't even aware of mediocrity before I became a Martial Artist, now I see it creeping in where it is least wanted or expected and I recognize that as a call to action for me.

So just for funzzies, ask yourself, "am I a Martial Artist"? See where that leads you....

Push Ups  4662

Sit Ups 4523

Sparring min 215

1609KM  241.13 km

Acts of Kindness  150 recorded

 Hand Form  60

Weapon Form  55

Mastery recited  4

Being the Monster and a Little More Stuff

  More fun than I thought I would have. And what a work out. Back story....

Thursday's Young Dragon's classes. Near then end of both classes we played a bit of a game with the students. Basically Sihing Kohut and I were sleeping monsters hoarding our treasure and the students had to sneak over an "steal" our treasure without waking us. To get to us they had to balance a bean bag on their head and approach us in a slide stepping horse stance while being as quiet as possible as to not wake the monsters. Well suffice to say, I think I had as much fun as the students. And man was I tired by the end. Up, down, run, chase, etc.... so much fun, so much sweat. Good times!

 

By the way... last week I started a blog that I never finished, and I don't know if I will anytime soon. It centered around my Spirit (I see Toudai Bauer wrote one at the same time about basically the same topic). This is something I have struggled with for years, ever since I was asked to define my Spirit. This blog may someday be coherent enough to actually publish, but for now it is just chaos and incomplete. Such a simple word, until I look inside myself objectively. 

My cane form. Thursday Sifi Hayes had us do our beta-beta forms in front of the class. Great ice breaker, showed me where I was in my creation of this form. If I was honest about it (what else would I be??), I am way behind were I want to be. So after this blog, I am headed downstairs to add some cohesion to my moves, also explore my cane and let it "tell" me where it wants to go.

Push Ups  4217

Sit Ups  4123

Sparring min  135

1609KM 211.64km

Acts of Kindness 125 recorded

Hand Form  50

Weapon Form  40

Mastery recited  4

Just numbers.

Working on a blog. Turned into more than I expected. So here are numbers for now  

Push Ups   3593

Sit Ups   3526

Sparring  120 min

1609KM  176.17 km

Acts of Kindness  100 recorded

Hand Form  40

Weapon Form   35

Mastery recited  3

#4 Is My Hardest

   The six harmonies. I am not now nor probably am I ever going to claim to fully be a master of any of them. But that doesn't mean I don't consistently try to integrate them into my being. Their importance is integral into my learning and understanding myself. Without them, Kung Fu is just a hobby, with them, Kung Fu is my lifestyle. They are important.

   I'm gonna jump back a few years here to before my grading. Specifically to the five techniques. I will fully admit that this was a train wreck for me. I struggled, HARD. And I will admit I am still struggling with the very the first of the internal six harmonies, Spirit to Intent. That first word, Spirit. Wow, one word, so simple but for me it has turned into a barrier for what I do and why I do it. Confronting what that means to me has caused a lot of turmoil in who I am, or at least who I thought I was. How can I possibly understand my intent if at first I am questioning my own spirit? One must lead to the other or it isn't pure.

   One of the greatest eye openers of self-discovery for me was the I Am project. The depth of who I am that I was discovering by me honestly writing these out was actually starting to shake my very foundations as to who I thought I was. It disturbed me, a lot. As I would write them, I held back, not wanting to "go there". This opened up a means to justify, no that's not right, to quantify (?) my actions in daily life and at the Kwoon (one in the same). I for that I am grateful.

  

Push Ups   3593

Sit Ups   3526

Sparring  120 min

1609KM  176.17 km

Acts of Kindness  100 recorded

Hand Form  40

Weapon Form   35

Mastery recited  3

Too Much Fun

   Thursday night's class was fun, that's the best way I can describe it. For Young Dragons level one and two, Toudai Ferris asked me to run a little mitt work drill and base it on what she had seen me do the previous night. Back story to this is I remember doing this drill six or seven years ago when I was probably a green belt. I remember how much fun it was and how extremely challenging it was. I brought it forward to the level one teen/adult class and oh my the smiles and sweat where everywhere. Now to do this in the Young Dragon's classes.

   The drill is simple, lose a limb then spar. Round one, you can only use your right hand, nothing else. Round two switch that to left, then round three left round house only, now switch partners and so on. It is harder than it sounds once the pressure of sparring rears it beautiful face. Suddenly you can't tell your left from right, leg from hand, up from down.

   So I was asked to adapt this to the Young Dragon's class, and in my humble opinion, it was a smashing success. I think it was as fun and challenging for the instructors as it was for the students. The main difference between the Teen/Adult and the Young Dragons was Teen/Adult it was student facing student and the Young Dragons was one instructor to three/four students, it was HARD to remember my left from right because I had to call it out each time, and it was awesome!! But the best part was the stress of sparring was suddenly turned into fun. My group of students exceeded my every hope and they looked like they could handle anything I could throw at them. The faster I went, the better they did, we didn't correct as we went, we just went. I know I was sweating and grinning ear to ear afterwards.

   My take away from this was to change my individual sparring. I now do rounds of just left, or right or a leg. It really highlight the challenges of lets say a front hand upper cut or how fast I can throw a  combative round house, fun stuff. 

Thank Toudai Ferris, you just made me peal another layer of my onion.

 

Push Ups  3193

Sit Ups  3123

Sparring  110min

1609KM  140.47 km

Acts of Kindness  85 recorded

Hand Form  35

Weapon Form   30

Mastery recited 2

Cane

   There was a post out earlier this year about naming your weapon choice and why, with maybe a neat fact about the weapon. 

   This year I have decided the best thing for me would be the cane. At first my ego said "do a double cane form, it will be cool". I have quickly shut that down and told my ego to shut up. One of the deciding factors in choosing the cane is that it is primarily a single handed form with "support" from the second hand, and it is also very light compared to my previous years choices. This allows me to use predominately my right arm and not worry about the limitations my left shoulder causes. This is kinda fun for a couple reasons, mainly is that I am left handed and it forces me to put the other side of my brain in a lead role (hello six harmonies!). 

   In the initial stages of creating my own form. I am finding this combination very powerful. By allowing my left side to flow without the burden of a weapon, Shazam! My blocks and strikes with both arms working independently but together seems way more connected and powerful. And when they do come together, it's like to life long friends meeting to show why they are so great together. 

   So I am really enjoying this choice, it feels good, it doesn't feel limiting, I am more excited about this choice than I thought I would be. Master Sifu Hayes has already added some great insights for me so that I can connect one move to the other and this gets me excited for where this is heading. 

 

Push Ups  2243

Sit Ups  2255

Sparring  75

1609KM  106.62km

Acts of Kindness  60 recorded

Hand Form  20

Weapon Form Got a good start figured out, did 20 reps

Mastery recited 2 

 

 

Some trivia

Ancient Roots

The origins of the walking cane date back to primitive human society, possibly as early as the invention of tools. Early humans used sticks and staffs to assist with walking, hunting, and as protective devices. Over time, the humble walking stick began to evolve, acquiring more specific forms and functions.

In Ancient Egypt, for example, the staff took on a more symbolic role. Pharaohs and high-ranking officials carried staffs as symbols of their power and authority. These staffs were often decorated with elaborate carvings and precious gems, reflecting the wealth and stature of their owners.

The Middle Ages: More Than Just Mobility

Fast forward to the Middle Ages in Europe, where the walking cane evolved into a necessary tool for pilgrims embarking on long and strenuous journeys to holy sites. These canes served as practical aids for the physically demanding travels, and were also seen as a symbol of faith and devotion.

During this period, another incarnation of the cane emerged: the scepter. Royalty and high-ranking officials carried scepters as symbols of their authority and power. Much like the Egyptian staffs, scepters were often ornate, decorated with jewels, and had symbolic designs.

The Renaissance: A Fashion Statement

The Renaissance period marked a shift in the role of walking canes, moving from a practical tool and symbol of authority to a fashionable accessory. It was during this time that the term "cane" (derived from the Italian "canna," meaning a reed or cane) came into common usage.

Cane-carrying became a form of art, a symbol of one's social standing and style. These fashionable canes were often made from exotic and valuable materials like ivory, ebony, and whalebone, and were adorned with detailed carvings and jeweled handles.

The Victorian Era: Peak Popularity and Regulations

The Victorian era, particularly the 19th century, is often considered the golden age of the walking cane. In this period, canes were an essential part of a gentleman's attire. It was also in this era that the systematic production of canes began, leading to a diverse range of styles, materials, and designs.

The popularity of the cane was so high that it led to the "Cane Act" in 1822 in the UK, where men under the age of 50 were required to pay a tax if they carried a cane or umbrella, with exceptions made for individuals with physical impairments.

Modern Times: A Return to Function

The advent of the 20th century marked a shift in the use of canes from a fashionable accessory back to a tool for mobility. This was in part due to two world wars, which resulted in many veterans needing canes as a mobility aid.

The introduction of social security systems and disability rights also changed the perception of the cane. It was no longer a symbol of weakness, but rather an important tool for independence and accessibility. Innovations in design and materials made modern canes more functional and durable, meeting the varied needs of their users.

Today, walking canes continue to serve a dual purpose. While they remain a crucial mobility aid for many, they also hold a place in the world of fashion and luxury.

 

 

P.S. my cane's name is Winston