Happy new year!

   Happy new year to all my new teammates. 

   A great big shout out to all those who made last night so special. 

   Congrats to Sihing Jordan Carreau and Sihing Michele Ward, welcome to the next step in your journey!! 

   I know the little ones won't get to read this but man did they make my night last night. The Tiny Tigers with their dragon dance and the Little Leopards with their lion dance, pure magic!!

   To Todai Mike Kohut, you busted your butt last night behind the scenes, it did not go unnoticed, thank you. To those who unfailingly manned (wo-manned) your stations, I watched you give it your all, you rocked (Todai Kat Thelwall and Todai Shawn Ritter -if I only had your energy!). The list goes on and on, awesome job folks.

   So what does this year bring for me, why the pursuit of Mastery of course! And a new direction in blogs I hope, about progress not stagnation, answers not excuses, digging deep to help unlock Me to you. 

And here are my numbers!!!!!!! I will work to refine this through out the year.

 

 

P/up 200

S/up 200

Spar 0

1609 km 

Aok 41

Hand form 0

Weapon form  0 

Go Team Dragon 

Post

 I had a blog written for today but I wanted to let is stew a bit before I posted it. Glad I did. I am keeping it for me, it is a little to raw for me to be comfortable putting it out there. This is why blogging has become so important to me, it is a release that I can look back on, good or bad, and see where I was and what I was doing. 

Goodbye Rabbit, Hello Dragon

    Tis the end of the Year of the Rabbit and time for some reflection. I do have a bucket full of “hopes” for the Year of the Dragon, but I also had a bucket full for this last year.  Suffice to say, I am not proud of my progress this last year. While it was not a total failure, my commitment to my goals has been dismal. I could cliche the crap out of it, but I won’t. That would be detrimental to my ability to move on. So I will do just that, move on. 

   One of my big, no, biggest obstacles right now is how to accept the vast variety of so called “help” I am being offered by others. I think I can take criticism fairly well, I think, but lately it just seems to be everywhere, suffocating me. I try to turn the other cheek, but I am out of cheeks. I have found myself on the edge of unleashing a fury of “help” directed at the individuals living in glass houses. But that is not who I am, so it makes me turn inward, reflecting on why I am at this junction. And I see I must make some changes because this is not sustainable. So I take a breath, clear my mind and look at the light, not the dark. Negative is too easy, positive takes work, hard work, and that’s what Kung Fu is, Hard Work. Anyways….

   Sorry for that but I needed to get it in print so I can reflect back later in my journey to see if I have succeeded getting back to me or if I am still living a farce. 

   So really looking forward to the Year of the Dragon, bring it on.

Pen to Paper

    I have failed miserably this year when it comes to recording my numbers. Just yesterday I did my push ups, I think. Problem is I didn't write them down so there is no proof. I have a beautiful little book, labeled, divided into categories, ready to go. But for whatever reason, I have not written anything in it in for lets just say a while. I know it is now a requirement to log these with EVERY blog, but there is nothing log, that's one of my problems. I need to address this, ego or not. 

   This year of the Rabbit has been a year of excuses and mediocrity for me. Sore shoulders, new medications, pure laziness, on and on. Instead of adapting, I have been hiding. Just because I can't do my 180 push ups/sit ups does that mean I should do none instead? Of course not, but for some reason that has been my new way of thinking. I have no idea when that crept in, oh wait, yes I do cause that's when I stopped recording my numbers in my book. 

   So I will have a new attachment with me, my book. Hopefully I eventually find a way I like of recording on my phone, but till then, I will eliminate the excuse of having nowhere to write it down by always having somewhere to write it down. This should eliminate one of many problems I face when it comes to my numbers. This tool will be at the top of my tool box, not hiding in a drawer somewhere. 

From October 29th, my last posting of my numbers, yes it has been that long, ouch.

P/up  14582

S/up  14176

Spar  440

1609 km  1907.76km

Aok  549

Hand form  485

Weapon form  425 

   Nothing new to add to those numbers as I didn't record it anywhere, so this is where I am at. Double ouch.

Done for Me or You?

 

   This picture is a single point in time. It cannot be repeated. It will never happen again. But to me it is forever. It is a cornerstone in my own personal foundation. The journey to get to this single point in time took fifty-two years of my life. The fabric of time that was weaved by me to be there at that point in time is a Gordian knot, and it cannot be easily undone. 

   We (2nd degree Brown Belt and company) had a discussion in class Saturday morning that reinforced the importance of that moment. A simple question was asked about the importance of a requirement (to be named at a later date), and the enlightenment that followed was monumental. I will not try to pretend that I can even come close to duplicating the passion that was expressed to us by Master Brinker on this, but suffice to say, I was in awe. 

   My limited perception of the reality of what I thought I understood about being a Black Belt was put to task. Past, present but most important, the future. What am I doing with my Kung Fu? I know for a fact I do not want to be an orphaned black belt, that is get my black belt then just vanish thinking I have achieved what I came for. Nope, no sir, no way!

   As I had said earlier, my Black belt is a cornerstone and cornerstones are meant to be built on, not stand alone. My Kung Fu will be a palace, a fortress, a monument of light, never ending. My Kung Fu will be shared with others, it will be a cherished companion throughout my life, it will forever be part of who I am. The lesson I still need to learn are beyond my scope of awareness, but I am here and ready and willing to learn.

   So I am going to redo my requirement that we talked about, and see where I am now versus before. Have I grown, am I stagnant, where am I am what am I doing?

 

 As a side thought......

Am I a Super Nova or a Black Hole? Am I a blinding bright light that consumes all around it as it explodes outward till it fizzles out and dies or a silent invisible force that isn't seen but effects all around it by the sheer power of it's attraction? Now I am paraphrasing here when I ask that question but boy it got me to thinking.

Dragon Practice

    It was definitely Kung Fu (hard work) yesterday. Jogging/walking/poses for the better part of 45 min. Awesome. I was juicy with sweat (sorry, kinda gross I know), but it was worth every drop. Getting the chance to practice uninterrupted like that doesn't happen very often. The interaction between myself and fellow Dragoneers was much needed. I was getting feedback from people who are usually quiet, suggestions and insights that I don't usually get from being the head all the time. I feel that we as a team made great progress yesterday. 

   While it is unfortunate that a couple of the poses are not good enough yet to be in the sequence, I still want to practice them so next time we get a chance we can include them in the dance because I think they will be spectacular. Farmer's day or Canada Day maybe? We will see.

   So thank you to those of you who managed to make it in with the temperature being in the -40c range, I think it was well worth it. By all of you showing up, you as a group made my Kung Fu better. Thanks!

As a side note, I am looking for a SIMPLE  online way to record my numbers. Right now I write everything down in a book and would really like a way to do it with my phone (Apple). Remember, it needs to be simple as I am not a techy computer guy, anyways, any suggestions?

Silent Auction Time!

    It's that time of year again, Silent auction time. Every year at the Chinese New Year banquet we have a silent auction to raise awareness and support for our charities through the Silent river Benevolent Foundation. More info about the charities below. First, donations, we need you and your generosity. New items, hand made crafts, local business donations, but please no used items. Every penny goes directly to our charities.

   This year the auction will be in a online format only. This is to ensure everyone gets to enjoy the banquet equally. We will be sending out details on how to view/bid a few days before the banquet, it is actually really easy to view and bid on items so don't worry. 

   If you would like to donate, bring your items to be donated to the Kwoon with details as to what it is, what it is worth (value), who made it (artist/tradesperson if applicable), dimensions if needed, and who donated it. This info is crucial so when we post everything up for auction all the details are clear. If special arrangements need to be made to drop off donations, I can be reached on my cell phone during the day as well at 780-970-3590 (Don). 

2024 is a year of the Wood Dragon, starting from February 10th, 2024 (Chinese New Year) and ending on January 28th, 2025 (Chinese New Year's Eve). The Dragon symbolizes power, nobleness, honor, luck, and success in traditional Chinese culture. The Dragon is a supernatural being with no parallel for talent and excellence.

Lets bring in the year of the Dragon with a bang!! 

https://www.silentriverkungfu.ca/silentriverbenevolentfoundation

https://northernlightswildlife.com/

https://www.scarscare.ca/animals/