First blog of the new year. I am so excited about this year, alot of changes but still the same in many ways. There are alot more requirements for me this year compared to last year, but I am going into this year with a much greater awareness of what I am facing. There are alot of new faces and names that I don't know very well at the moment. Names for some reason always give me trouble, yet faces I can remember for ages.
I have started the year a bit behind the eight ball as they say. I have one heck of a headcold that is very draining and peristant. It has gone from a stuffy nose to pressure on my right ear. Its like I need it to pop like when you are in an airplane, but no matter what I do, I can't seem to releave the pressure. No matter your size, a tiny microscopic organism can bring you down. Very humbling when you think about it.
This year I will be doing Stick 1,2 and 3 and at least Kempo 1,2 and I hope to work in 3 if possible.
It's going to be a big learning curve to start, but I am looking forward to the challenge.
Mr. Hamilton
First blog of the new year. I am so excited about this year, alot of changes but still the same in many ways. There are alot more requirements for me this year compared to last year, but I am going into this year with a much greater awareness of what I am facing. There are alot of new faces and names that I don't know very well at the moment. Names for some reason always give me trouble, yet faces I can remember for ages.
I have started the year a bit behind the eight ball as they say. I have one heck of a headcold that is very draining and peristant. It has gone from a stuffy nose to pressure on my right ear. Its like I need it to pop like when you are in an airplane, but no matter what I do, I can't seem to releave the pressure. No matter your size, a tiny microscopic organism can bring you down. Very humbling when you think about it.
This year I will be doing Stick 1,2 and 3 and at least Kempo 1,2 and I hope to work in 3 if possible.
Silent River Kung Fu
Stony Plain, Alberta
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Monday, January 9, 2012
Slow and steady week
I have been nursing toe and shoulder injuries this last week. I jammed my toe while slipping on the ice christmas week. I sure have been hard on my feet this year. I expect that is quite normal in martial arts. My shoulder I hurt skiing. A young girl came out of the trees directly in front of me. I'm still not sure how I missed her but I managed a spectacular crash onto my right shoulder and hip. It has made doing push-ups a bit tougher but I find by doing the so called ladies pushups, the strain doesn't hurt to much to do them. I'm just glad I didn't run over her. 200 pounds crashing into a little 40 pound munchkin would not have been good.
It feels so good to be back in the kwoon. I like practises at home, but I find I am more focused and at ease in the kwoon. It has become a second home. There is an excitement and anticipation growing as the chinese new year banquet looms ever closer. I am really proud and honoured to be a part of the dragon dance team this year. To be able to give back to the school and everyone there is so amazing. Today I was thinking about how long Silent River has been teaching Kung Fu in the area and all the people that have come before me. I can see why so many people who achieve their black belt stay to teach and help out as they can at the school. The sense of family, tradition and of being part of something larger then oneself is very moving and humbling to me.
I am slowly working out a better training schedule, so that I make better and more productive use of my time. It is definately something I need to work on and refine more.
Here are my personal goals that i wish to achieve on top of the I Ho Chuan ones.
1) Read at least 12 books like "Peace Is Every Step"
2) Work on gaining flexibility and more movement in my joints and body.
3) Continue to be more aware of what and how I eat. I will Track my food intake every second month.
4) Complete 10 minutes of walking meditation a day through Tai Chi or simular movement.
5) Work on a better training schedule and give myself one day off a week for my body to recover from the stresses I am putting it through.
I turned 46 this past summer and some days I feel it more then others. I was very active and fit during high school put when I graduated I started smoking which I did for 12 years and I havent been nearly active enough the last 6 years since I stopped dancing competively. I have definately struggled at times to train every day and get my pushups and situps in daily. I have a pretty good base started now I need to continue to build upon it and try to achieve the effortless effort that Sifu Brinker has talked about.
It feels so good to be back in the kwoon. I like practises at home, but I find I am more focused and at ease in the kwoon. It has become a second home. There is an excitement and anticipation growing as the chinese new year banquet looms ever closer. I am really proud and honoured to be a part of the dragon dance team this year. To be able to give back to the school and everyone there is so amazing. Today I was thinking about how long Silent River has been teaching Kung Fu in the area and all the people that have come before me. I can see why so many people who achieve their black belt stay to teach and help out as they can at the school. The sense of family, tradition and of being part of something larger then oneself is very moving and humbling to me.
I am slowly working out a better training schedule, so that I make better and more productive use of my time. It is definately something I need to work on and refine more.
Here are my personal goals that i wish to achieve on top of the I Ho Chuan ones.
1) Read at least 12 books like "Peace Is Every Step"
2) Work on gaining flexibility and more movement in my joints and body.
3) Continue to be more aware of what and how I eat. I will Track my food intake every second month.
4) Complete 10 minutes of walking meditation a day through Tai Chi or simular movement.
5) Work on a better training schedule and give myself one day off a week for my body to recover from the stresses I am putting it through.
I turned 46 this past summer and some days I feel it more then others. I was very active and fit during high school put when I graduated I started smoking which I did for 12 years and I havent been nearly active enough the last 6 years since I stopped dancing competively. I have definately struggled at times to train every day and get my pushups and situps in daily. I have a pretty good base started now I need to continue to build upon it and try to achieve the effortless effort that Sifu Brinker has talked about.
Monday, January 2, 2012
First blog of 2012
First off I want to apologize for not completing my blogs on a strong note for UBBT 8. Alot of crazy life issues and work issues, then my old computer crashing all deverted my attention from blogging. No matter what is going on in my life I know I need to make time to get my blogs in. 10 minutes less sleep is never going to kill me.
Sifu Brinker asked us to talk about what we learned from our successes and especially from our failures this year. It is something I have been thinking about alot the last month. When I first got into the UBBT 8 last year I had no idea what I was getting myself truly into. For someone who had become basically a couch potatoe and was very inactive as opposed to active I had my work cut out for me. I remember vividly struggling to do 10 pushups or situps when I first started kung fu in november of 2010. Bending down to stretch was truly sad to see me barely touch my knees. But I learned to keep trying even on the days I hurt like heck and could barely catch my breath in warmup.
I can't thank everyone in the fitness class enough for incouraging me and most definately inspiring me in becoming a less round person and more in shape. The class was never brought down to my level, I had to work hard to achieve a level where I could keep up with the rest of the class. Somedays I felt great some not so much. But I learned to keep going even if it was at half speed. I still have a long ways to go to be truly fit but I get better bit by bit, day by day.
The one thing this year I didnt accomplish was to get my 5k run in. I ran every day in high school and somehow had myself convinced that getting back into running shape would be a piece of cake. Man was I disheartened when I started running in the spring. 11 years of smoking and another 15 of no where near an active enough lifestyle have put me alot further behind the old 8 ball as the saying goes then I wanted to realize. I lose my breath and find it very difficult to get back when I'm running. I am going to have to really work on a more gradual aproach to my running and see if I cant do a whole lot better this year then last.
I am so happy that my son convinced me to start kung fu. I have become part of something so much bigger then just myself. I'm part of a group of people who are trying to better themselves and the world around them. I am constantly amazed at what a truly fortunate person I am. I get inspiration from Sifu Brinker right down to the smallest of the tiny tigers everyday that I am in the kwoon. A year ago I was a negative, sarcastic thinker. Now my crew at work says I'm more relaxed, and positive. I look forward to the challenges each day instead of with dread. I just do the best I can. There is no such thing as perfect, just the road to mastery and hopefully discovery that life is truly incredible along the way.
I am by no means the best father, husband, colleage or human being that I can be. There is alot of work to do and old habits to correct before I can even say I'm pretty good. But at least now there is a small light at the end of the tunnel and a path to start on to get me there. The path is gonna have lots of branches and twists and turns on it and most likely some fallbacks. But if I can just keep focused on the outcome then I know the journey will be well worth it.
Thank you so much for allowing me the opportunity to fail Sifu Brinker. It has taught me more about myself then I am probably even aware of. But I will work on becoming more aware, so that I can grow and learn even more.
Sifu Brinker asked us to talk about what we learned from our successes and especially from our failures this year. It is something I have been thinking about alot the last month. When I first got into the UBBT 8 last year I had no idea what I was getting myself truly into. For someone who had become basically a couch potatoe and was very inactive as opposed to active I had my work cut out for me. I remember vividly struggling to do 10 pushups or situps when I first started kung fu in november of 2010. Bending down to stretch was truly sad to see me barely touch my knees. But I learned to keep trying even on the days I hurt like heck and could barely catch my breath in warmup.
I can't thank everyone in the fitness class enough for incouraging me and most definately inspiring me in becoming a less round person and more in shape. The class was never brought down to my level, I had to work hard to achieve a level where I could keep up with the rest of the class. Somedays I felt great some not so much. But I learned to keep going even if it was at half speed. I still have a long ways to go to be truly fit but I get better bit by bit, day by day.
The one thing this year I didnt accomplish was to get my 5k run in. I ran every day in high school and somehow had myself convinced that getting back into running shape would be a piece of cake. Man was I disheartened when I started running in the spring. 11 years of smoking and another 15 of no where near an active enough lifestyle have put me alot further behind the old 8 ball as the saying goes then I wanted to realize. I lose my breath and find it very difficult to get back when I'm running. I am going to have to really work on a more gradual aproach to my running and see if I cant do a whole lot better this year then last.
I am so happy that my son convinced me to start kung fu. I have become part of something so much bigger then just myself. I'm part of a group of people who are trying to better themselves and the world around them. I am constantly amazed at what a truly fortunate person I am. I get inspiration from Sifu Brinker right down to the smallest of the tiny tigers everyday that I am in the kwoon. A year ago I was a negative, sarcastic thinker. Now my crew at work says I'm more relaxed, and positive. I look forward to the challenges each day instead of with dread. I just do the best I can. There is no such thing as perfect, just the road to mastery and hopefully discovery that life is truly incredible along the way.
I am by no means the best father, husband, colleage or human being that I can be. There is alot of work to do and old habits to correct before I can even say I'm pretty good. But at least now there is a small light at the end of the tunnel and a path to start on to get me there. The path is gonna have lots of branches and twists and turns on it and most likely some fallbacks. But if I can just keep focused on the outcome then I know the journey will be well worth it.
Thank you so much for allowing me the opportunity to fail Sifu Brinker. It has taught me more about myself then I am probably even aware of. But I will work on becoming more aware, so that I can grow and learn even more.
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