Pushin the Numbers to Keep Sane

    Pad my numbers. I know the reasoning behind it, injury, lack of opportunities, life's little obstacles, but it is hard to do sometimes. Padding numbers at work can be dangerous, acid from batteries on the floor, broken glass from windshields, you know, hazards. Plus we have been unnecessarily busy at work with the owners latest "Project". My staff is constantly being pulled away from their actual job to cater to the whims of the owner of the business, forcing me to do their jobs instead of mine and I am powerless to do anything about it because in his opinion (and he has told me this!), working in parts is easy, anyone can do it. It is incredibly frustrating, and it affects me outside of work and that frustrates me even more. It is a cycle that is hard to break because I know it will all begin again Monday morning, grrrrr. 

   But... I am comfortable there because and I am 9 minutes from my home so travel is easy (I get to see my Pup everyday for lunch!), the hours are ideal for me to help out at Kung Fu (6:30ish am to 3:30ish pm) and like it or not, I have been there 24 years and I am only a few years away from semi-retirement (I hope). So making a change in career right now isn't really worth it. 

   So this brings up Mastery. I used to be proud of my pristinely organized parts department. Inventory every year was bang on, shelves were clean and meticulously organized, my staff tried their best to uphold my standard. Now with our daily, no scratch that, hourly interruptions in our jobs, that is gone. Not just from them, but from me as well. I have tried to talk to my boss (Tom) about it and he freely admits he is powerless as well but understands my frustration. I count that as a minor victory, VERY minor.

   Unfortunately this has snaked its way into my Kung Fu. I find myself "good enough-ing" many many things. Proof to me was my Beta forms and my acceptance of "Meh - that will do". What the Hell!! And that made me even madder at myself. That is not who I want to be. 

   So that brings me all the way back around to my numbers. I think channeling my frustration into upping my numbers is something I can control (at home) for now, going back to the basic requirements of the IHC that I commited too could very well be the key for me to get through this poop storm I am currently trying to navigate. Reconnecting by disconnecting if you will. 

   Thanks for letting me rant.... and here are my no-padded numbers.

 P/up -4907

S/up -4845

Spar -35

1609 km -213.41km

Aok -145

Hand form - 35

Weapon form - 60

 Mastery -2

Beta

 I usually only do posts on Sunday mornings. It’s kinda a thing with me. It’s usually the only time I touch a computer at home. But I’ll do a quick one about my Beta form tonight. 

It went well. Not perfect, not good, but well. I had concerns about my shoulder and hip/knee holding me back but thanks to some great physio and an awesome massage it wasn’t to bad. I missed some transitions between moves, I hesitated to do a couple of move cause they just weren’t there yet,  but all in all not terrible. Naked skeleton, that’s what I’ll call it. Now to put sone meat on the bones. 

Why Am I Here?

    That was the question asked by Sifu Rybak. My answer could turn into an epic story but I will summarize it in eight words, "because it is where I need to be".

   Sounds simple but let me shed a little light on that (sorry, I lied, it is much more that eight words).

   Kung Fu grounds me. It is a constant reset of my values and intentions. It is an ever expanding bubble of positive influence, centering at the Kwoon and expanding outwards with me every where I go. When I find  have gone to the edges of that influence, it allows me to push just a little bit beyond it without rupturing. Kung Fu allows me the privilege of confidence, the exultation of inner peace, and the ability to live and love without fear. It challenges me, it holds me accountable to my actions, it shows me the "way" without forcing me to follow. It is the cornerstone in who I am and who I strive to be.

   So as you can see, those eight words, "because it is where I need to be", summarize an epic novel that is my life.

P/up - 4082

S/up - 4020

Spar - 30

1609 km - 174.19

Aok - 133

Hand form - 25

Weapon form - 52

 Mastery -1

Inspire Through Actions

   Do as I say, not as I do. Probably the worst way to inspire someone into action. I say this because I got a glowing example of this this previous week. I don't remember the exact day or what class but here is the scene. 

   During class warmup, whomever was at the front leading the warm up (sorry - don't remember who it was) was getting the class to do some push ups. The instructor was doing push ups with them but some were only putting in, at best, half an effort. In jumps Master Brinker in the last row and starts blasting out push ups like a man possessed. The look on the kids faces was priceless! And their effort increased ten fold!! That was leading by example right there! It even woke me up and I jumped in as well, showing me I was not participating at a Black Belt level. My bad, lesson learned.

    So how can I expect fellow students to listen to me and give it their all if I don't? How can I give half an effort but expect others around me to step up and give it 100%? 

   Anyways, it always amazes me where and when lessons suddenly appear as if by cosmic necessity, showing me that I am slipping into mediocrity without even knowing it. Awesome...

P/up - 3292

S/up - 3260

Spar - 20

1609 km - 133.45

Aok -  125

Hand form - 19

Weapon form - 42 (beta close - I think) 

 Mastery - 1

Lots of Questions

   Again I am going to praise open training. This Saturday is no different. Started doing my thing (workin on my beta weapon form), got some advice from fellow students on the "look" on certain moves, either applied or adapted, moved on. Excellent, making progress. Took a bit of a break after almost one hour of this (time flies when your swingin weapons!), took a peek around to see what everyone else was up to. Cool, Kung Fu everywhere. I observed a few things that opened up some questions about how I would do the same move, neat, questions I didn't know I had, one of the many benefits of open training. 

   One of the questions asked by Todai Voght about a certain move in Lao Gar stopped my brain and forced it to ponder. I knew the answer but her way had merit and value, plus it really worked for her. So was I wrong? Ahh intent, you poke your head in at the best of times. I hope I didn't add confusion to her question instead of answers but such is Kung Fu. Two different ways of achieving the same result, two different intents but with similar results. So home I went to try both ways until my thoughts are clearer on this, and I still find value in both ways depending on which intent I use, awesome. 

   The move, incase you wanted to know, was in part two when you are in your horse stance with the right hand on your right hip and the left hand cradled in your palm, are you stepping in to the next stance (right leg steps out to the right to a bow) or are you "kicking (bad word but you get it)" out your left leg and pivoting your right to a bow stance? This is just a sprinkle of the discussion we had. I tried it her way, she tried it my way, we each explained our intent (mostly), and so on. So there you go, try both, figure out the difference.

   So this was one of a few questions I found just floating around, waiting to be asked, waiting to be discovered, hidden in plain site. 

   I love open training. 

P/up - 2377

S/up - 2360

Spar - 20

1609 km - 93.62km

Aok -  125

Hand form - 23

Weapon form - got weapon 5 days ago, making form (25 reps of imagination)

 Mastery - 1

Value

    I don't usually write two blogs in a week as there is already so much to keep up with in our daily lives, but this one excited the crap out of me so much I just had to share it's value to me.

   13 Black Belts (1 on zoom) all together at one time. The reason for this mass gathering of Martial Artists? Tai Chi. That's right, Tai Chi. 13 Black Belts, 2 of them master level instructors. When I realized what I was looking at last night in class, I was awestruck! I had to take a moment and actually fully appreciate where I was and what I was doing, and with whom. 13 Black Belts! Even writing this blog gives me goosebumps just thinking about what I was so incredibly privileged to be a part of. The mastery in that room was mind-blowing. 

   So if you are ever doubting the value of Tai Chi, remember one thing, 13 Black Belts will gladly tell the value, me being one of them. 

P.S, I also personally know of 5 more Black Belts who would have loved to have been there but circumstances didn't allow them to be. 

Spreadin the Kung Fu

   Out of the Kwoon and into the world. 

   This is one of our many ideals that I hold dear to me. If not passed on, everything I learn is for not. Case in point, Lion Dancing. I love to partake in any event that includes the chance of me seeing or participating in a Lion Dance, even if my body now rejects the idea of "tailing it" for 15-20 minutes. The freedom of movement you get to enjoy, the workout, the creativity of bringing the Lion to life, the comradery, all things I find amazing to be a part of. But it is all wasted if not shared with the outside world. And here is where today's story comes in.......

   While I didn't get to be a part of this Saturday's Lion Dance at the hospital, I actually decided to make my own Lion Dance. True, I was really really freestyling this one and it was very short, but nonetheless, I think it was spectacular.

   Deb and I were going over to the Grandkids house to babysit and were thinking of things they could do with Grandma and Grandpa. Coloring, meh, stickers, ehh, how about, wait for it........ a Lion Dance! Why not! Maisy loves to dance and Sadie does everything her older sister does. So off to the Kwoon to grab the Lions head Grandma(Deb) made for the Little Leopards for the banquet. Bonus point because it is predominantly purple, both Deb and Maisy's favorite color. Walking into their house was sooo cute, their eyes immediately went to the Lion, WHAT'S THAT?? What is this purple fuzzy googly eyed THING that Grandpa just brought into our house?? I knew immediately this was going to be fun. 

   After some "orientation" about how the mouth moves, where the handles are, etc, is was "movie" time. Maisy is incredibly creative, so after some playing around with the Lion, it was time to get serious. I was the Lion, Grandma was the camera crew, and Maisy and Sadie were guards who were sent to stop the Lion. The next half hour was priceless, laughing, "acting", revising the story, re-takes and so on. I thing an oscar is forthcoming for my "death scene", emote emote emote, and cut! Only problem was my "acting" was so good (😅 ) Sadie thought I was actually hurt and this upset her, so I dialed it back a bit. 

   So to summarize, not only did I have an incredible bonding experience with my grand kids, I secretly go to spread a little Kung Fu around, do some acts of kindness and I got to do a little Lion Dancing, what a sly old fox I can be (tee hee). 

P/up - 960

S/up - 960

Spar - 20

1609 km - 54.67km

Aok - 111 (acts of kindness week really helped that #!)

Hand form - 9

Weapon form -still haven't received my weapon from overseas but using a substitute for now, creating form 9X

 Mastery - 1