Not playing with the Monkey

I have been quite lucky.  Since I began training at SRKF. My body has been quite healthy. A few years ago I had a small tear in my hamstring that took a bit to heal but relatively healthy. That is until the last two months. Something is wrong in my shoulder and in my knee, both on my right side.

Way back when I played hockey and skied daily I was always healthy. Because of the I never had to modify anything in my training. What I am happy about is even though I am compensating for the soreness my training has never been at this level. I feel that because I have to compensate I am thinking more about training and areas that I need work on(by the way it is a lot).

I have to equate this level of training to being fortunate enough to be in I Ho  Chuan. What I have received out of I Ho Chuan cannot be underestimated.

Having said the above, I have made the choice this year not to join the monkey team.  One reason is I will be tied up in a project this summer that will take a great deal of my time.  But the more important reason is;  I want to know that what I have learned in I Ho Chuan, I will continue on in my day to day life. Have I picked up and permanently changed my behaviours so that I am continually working towards mastery? This year will be my test. I am eagerly looking forward too it but know I will miss being on the monkey team

Rest assured I will be back for the Rooster team.

Playing with the pencils

As we were working on the dragon dance on Saturday I personally had  number of moments of confusion  I believe it was due to a few changes that were made to the dance in the past week.  As I was not there for those practices I felt a little lost. 

But I was enjoying what was going on as everyone around me was enjoying themselves as we worked through the dance.  I almost burst out laughing as a line from Alro Guthries song Alice's Restaurant came into my head:

But we had fun filling out the forms and playing with the pencils on the bench there.

Perspective

I have been contemplating. We all have goals in life.  I have discovered in the past year that my main goal is to be happy.  Sounds simple but is is.  Maybe for some it is, but not for me.  It does not take long sometimes to forget my goal and begin worrying about lesser things that don't get me to my goal.

As a team we have been talking about this all year.  How do we stay engaged.  Being happy in my life means I have to be engaged at all times and focused on what i want.  Happiness.


I helped out one of my employees today.  She is a very good natured person who is always a pleasure to be around.  She had some problems with a customer who was treating her quite bad.  She was upset and after she explained to me the situation, I asked her, "If you get upset with what happened are you not the one who looses?"  She immediately got a smile on her face and said "yes".  I was able to put someone else's poor behavior in perspective for her.  (I won't lie,  seeing her smile made my day)

Today's thoughts

We are three and a bit weeks away to the shortest day of the year.  I for one am upbeat about this because then the days start to get longer again.  This year in I Ho Chuan has been challenging.  I have had a harder time this year than last year with the physical requirements we need to accomplish. Having said that, from a mental or spiritual perspective I don't think I have been more alive in my life.

I am spending more time in thought.  And I mean true thought.  Challenging my preconceived view of the world.  Has the body of knowledge I have accumulated over my lifetime served me well?  Am I interpreting things around me from preconceived thoughts or am I critically looking at things and formulating opinions and my thought processes on true knowledge?  I am not sure I have a factual answer, but because I am challenging my own though process, I am headed in the right direction.

I have found that with true deep thinking that i am drawn closer to and stay in the moment. Happiness is believed to be found in the moment, and my overriding goal in life is to be happy, so being in the moment is where I need to be.

Paddle Board the Atlantic?

OK we all look at the world around us and define challenges in our own frame of reference.  That is good but we have to be careful not to limit that challenge to our frame of reference.

The reason I say this is because last week I read a story of something I thought would be impossible.  Nicolas Jarossay is planning on Paddle Boarding across the Atlantic.  He is planning on leaving  Cape Verde in early January and will be aiming to make landfall in the Caribbean.  He expects this to take approximately 3 months.  He has built a specially designed paddle board when he has a cone on the front where he will sleep.  He is doing this crossing unsupported and has to bring all his supplies with him.

Now to me, this raises the bar when I am looking at a challenge.  We are only limited by our thoughts and the constraints that we impose upon ourselves. 

I wish Nicolas a safe journey.

Strength of resolve

At what point does someone simply say I can't figure this out so I an going to stop trying?  Or at what point does someone say I still don't get this so I have to keep trying till I do?

Both ways are looking at a problem but the difference is the outcome and how you see yourself in the world.  Being a grinder and problem solver I have tended to take the second approach.  Many times I have encountered what appeared to be an insurmountable obstacle in front of my progress.  It can be intimidating.  It can be demoralizing.  But it should not be defeating.  Even if I have to stop, walk away from it, then turn back and try, try, try again.  Every time I try I win. Even if I don't succeed and over come the obstacle, by trying, I am able to make my spirit stronger than the obstacle.

Strength of resolve will win out over any obstacle.

What has Kung Fu done for me

I have been thinking hard the past month about what Kung Fu is doing for me.  To me there is the obvious of going to class.  Class provides a point of new knowledge.  There is always something new to learn and to understand.  This is a physical reward, as I am able to apply new techniques to my expanding  repertoire of Kung Fu skills. This is the physical learning of Kung Fu.

What about the mental aspects of the Art?  This is something that is ongoing.  As I train more, mentally I am becoming stronger.  Meaning that as situations come up in life I approach them from a state of calmness and not from a state of aggressiveness.  This to me is one of the great benefits of learning Kung Fu.  Calmness cannot be over rated.  It puts a person in the position of strength.  Decisions are made with a calm mind not and aggressive cluttered mind.

 

Then there is the outward dimension of leaning Kung Fu.  What do others see in me?  My wife commented to me that Kung Fu has changed me.  She said that the training has me more focused, calmer, and more caring about my self and the people around me.  She told me it has made me a better person.  If nothing else, to have someone who I care for immensely to say it has made me a better person is definitely worth the long hours of training.  

Books

When I was in my teen years there were two thing that truly terrified me.  One was public speaking and the other was reading books. Public speaking is not that unusual many people have this issue. When I began university and decided I wanted to have a career in business and because of that I made a choice that to be get over my fear of public speaking I had to do public speaking.  I consciously put myself in situations where I would have to talk in front of people.  As time went on the natural fear I had of public speaking became a motivator.  I am not sure the actual feeling I have when I have to public speak is differ from my teen years but the motivation is different. That feeling now registers as excitement.

The other fear, I now realize, was totally irrational. I was a lucky person in school that grades came easy to me but I read as little as possible to get by. To this day I don't understand why I had this fear. I was about 22 when I was about to begin university (I started later than most people because I didn't have the means to go to university out of high school).  Again I realized if I was to succeed at university I had to read.

So I began to read. It was hard at first because I had never just sat for an hour and turned pages. I began by reading Louis Lamour, a western novelist.  Westerns were always an interest for me so I thought this was a great way to start.  Very soon after I branched out and was reading history which to this day is one of my greatest interests.

Both fears in hindsight were both irrational.  They were senseless, I had no bases to be afraid.

The most interesting thing is that nowadays both public speaking and reading give me some of the most pleasure in my life.  I am lucky to have a great partner and Wife that understands this.  My house has books all over the place and there is not a room where there are not books. She understands my passion for books and is supportive.  To the point where she tolerates books everywhere.

What is my point here.  It is a simple lesson.  The next time I have an irrational fear I need to engage that fear and not ignore it.

Blue Jays

I don't have much to say this week.  I have been focused on other things so I will just say:

Congratulations Blue Jays for driving as deep as you did into the playoffs.  Canada is proud.

Perspective

I have heard from people in I Ho Chuan, and with people I work with, about getting angry with things that happen during their day.  Many times when they are driving.  I have had problems with anger in my past (I still do but I think I am able to see it and understand it for what it is) and have had for lack of a better word: tantrums.

I try as hard as I can to keep anger out of my life as it is a very destructive emotion.  I have seen the emotion affect me and those around my very negatively.  Without anger in my life I can see clear, I can assess a situation based on intellect rather than emotion.  Most outcomes are almost always better.

As I wander through life without anger, or at least managing the emotion, I find that I see and pick up thing around me in a more positive light.  The other day I am driving home on highway 16 and someone cut in fairly close in front of me.  This could be a moment of anger; however I let it go.  A few kilometres down the road I was passing an older car quite rusted.  I noticed the window down and a hand came out of the window with a thumbs up.  As I passed I gave a thumbs up back and a younger guy in his early 20's was in the car. My guess is he liked the jeep I was driving and was  acknowledging it.  Because I didn't feel anger earlier my mind was open to seeing something that was cool.

For myself the more I have been able to recognize and control negative emotions in my life, I have found my life has gotten better.  The world is a much more interesting place when negative emotions are limited.

Autumn

As someone who has had the chance to travel throughout the world one of the things that truly amazes me about Canada is the change of the seasons. This is quite unique for the northern climes. I was able to travel the backroads for most of the weekend.  The pallet of colors was truly amazing: orange, yellow, green, red, brown, grey, whites and small patches of black.

The prairies are beautiful at most times of the year.  This is the time of year I always get homesick. I grew up in the mountains of  Jasper.  The autumn was always special in the mountains the air is crisp, there are no bugs, the weather is usually dry and you can see the colors climbing down the mountains on all sides of the valleys.

It is something that people from the mountains always look forward too.  It is the last of the warmth before winter and the universe gives an incredible light show to end the warm days of summer.

My Constant Struggle

In many of my blogs I have had a common theme of working towards being in the moment.  This is still a daily struggle for me.  I  am continually working on the "Do" and forgetting about the "Be".  These are words a mentor of mine uses.  The do is getting out there and doing the things you need to do to reach your goals.  But when your are in the "Do" you also have to consciously be in the "Be".

The "Be" is the moment, to understand what you are doing and why you are doing it.  It seems like a switch that I have to constantly make sure it is on.  I have began meditating in the mornings and have been able to train my mind to stop thinking and to just have a clear head and concentrate on just truly being in the moment.  It is powerful to be able to be in that state.  But then after writing down my thoughts and goals for the day I start "Doing" and my mind shuts off and I am no longer in the moment.

I understand that being in the moment is a learned behavior, or at least for me it is.  Or maybe it is unlearning other behaviors.  The reward for being in the moment is I have a better day, I am more mindful of others, and I think beyond myself.  I just wish I could figure out how to do it all the time.

Little Things

Sometimes in life small things come along and they are incredible. Yesterday I had one of those days. I have log gate entrance into my property.  It had been in place for about six years and it was time to stain the gate.  Because of its height I had to rent a lift to be able to sand and stain the gate.

Now there are few things that make me uncomfortable but heights is one of them anything over about 10 feet I tend to get very uneasy unless I have one hand holding something.  This make doing this job slow and a little tougher.

On Friday when I told my son what we were doing he said he would come by and help. Well he ended working the lift doing all the sanding and then working the lift as we stained.

It was a real proud Dad moment to see him take over the project and get it all done.

Start of the Hockey year

This time of year has always been a new beginning in our family.  It does not mean much to some but for us it is the beginning of hockey for the year.  Not counting the years that I played and refereed the game, our family has been involved in minor hockey for the last 15 years.  For myself, I have been coaching in one capacity or another for the last 12 years with one year off and my wife for as many years as well. 

It is one of those things where I have told myself internally, I would just like to be a spectator this year.  Sit in the crowd and watch the game and cheer on the team.   I was hoping that this year would be like that.  I got a call on Saturday asking if I could help coach again this year.  Of course my answer was yes I would.  I do have some constraints with training but it will work out. 

For people who do not volunteer there is usually no understanding of the time and commitment it takes whether it is helping out in a sport or any other volunteer activity.  It is usually a few people doing the majority of the work when it comes to making a year of hockey successful. 


Now,  as I compare what we are doing in I Ho Chuan to Hockey and other volunteering I have done,  I am blown away.  We should never underestimate the high level of commitment we have as a I Ho Chuan team.  It is something I have never seen in my life.  Sifu Brinker has brought together a number of very different  individuals to have a common set of goals.   To see the participation level is, in my mind, extraordinary.  We as a team should never forget this.  This is one of the life changing opportunities, that belonging to the  I Ho Chuan team, gives us.

Education vs Schooling

So the new school year starts.  I was able to see my friends posting pictures of their kids on social media.  Many proud parents.  My youngest son begins grade 10 this year.  But on his first week of school we did something different.  School learning (ie Book Learning) has always come easy to myself and my two boys.  We are fortunate to be able to learn the way schools teach kids.  This is not true of all kids.  Each kid needs different drivers or motivators for them to learn and unfortunately sitting in a classroom and listening to lectures or reading from books does not work for them.

This is why I have always championed education rather than schooling.  Education encompasses much more than what is taught in our schools.  So for my son's first week of school his education was learning to ride in the back country and fish in mountain lakes.  Our experiences are what makes us individuals and our experiences in life are our education.

I've never let my school interfere with my education.

Mark Twain

Just a Short Blog

The last two weeks have not been a great from a training point of view.  I caught a cold and was finding it hard to breath.  Today is the first day that I feel half way normal and have been able to get my requirements done.  Because I haven't been doing much training I have focused on reading.  Increasing my reading was one of my goals for this year in I Ho Chuan.

I can say I am hitting that goal and feel good about it; because of it I have made some fundamental changes in my morning routine.  I am still in the process of making these changes habit but the benefits are incredible in what is going on in my mind and how I approach my day.

Will update later on this when I know that this routine becomes habit.

-1 0 +1

When we get in a new situation or even an existing situation that we are familiar with we are looked at in one of three ways. The first is minus one.  This is someone who is actively harmful to the situation.  An example would be sitting in a meeting at work trying to resolve a problem and all the person does is try to disrupt the meeting  without adding solutions to the problem.

The second is zero; your impact is neutral and does not impact the situation either positively or negatively.  For many this may happen when you are in learning mode.  You sit back, listen and learn.

The third is a plus one.  Someone who actively adds value.  Most people want to be a plus one or perceive themselves to be a plus one.  But it is mostly from your actions whether you are a plus one.

I think it is reasonable to not want to be a minus 1.  This is the person who is disruptive for no other reason other than to  be disruptive.  They have no thoughts of making things better only to cause disruptions.  We all know this type of person.  The sad part is this person many times thinks they are a plus 1.  It is the perception of the people around you that determine which type you are.

Now being a zero in many situations is not a bad thing but it is important to understand that in a learning mode this is ok but in others it can be harmful.  Just for an example if a you see a puppy in a busy street and you sit and watch this is a zero.  However, I think, we can agree that this is not a learning situation and the course of action would be to get the puppy and remove it from a harmful situation. 

Many times the plus 1 type is not the one talking or trying to say the most.  Many times the person that is doing.  Their actions determine that they are a plus 1.  I am sure we can all think of examples of people who are plus 1.  They lead by their actions not their words.  In my case, I have always looked to my parents.  They were always the plus 1 people I had in my life.  I never realized it but watching them as a young person I never tied together their work in the community to the good they were doing.  To this day I attribute all the volunteering I do to simply watching what they did. 

It is Chris Hadfield in his book "An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth" that wrote about this concept of Minus 1 Zero and Plus 1.  I have spent the last week at work and in other surrounds looking at people and how they interact and have seen this concept in action.  

What I have to focus on is am I being a plus 1 when I need to be..............

Coaches

Coaches can have a profound effect on an individual. I know in my case I have been lucky enough to have some incredible coaches; in Hockey, in Business and now in Kung Fu.  A coach can set the tone for an individual or a team and that team or individual can achieve more that was thought possible by themselves or other people looking on.

A coach can make you believe that you can achieve the extraordinary. A coach can throw out a few words and it can change how you perceive what you are doing and go and achieve more.  Coaches can help you break down the mental limits you have in your head and make it seem like there are no limits.  We all know there are no limits but we still limit ourselves when we know it is wrong. 

One Coach I have admired is Herb Brooks.  He was a master of words and just seemed to know how to say the right thing at the right time.  Many of his sayings are not for mixed company, but this is one of my most favorite of his quotes.  I think it is very appropriate for what we are trying to achieve as the Sheep Team.

Mastery vs Life Purpose

For the last two or three months I have found myself not in my usual state of mind.  I believe that I have had depression   I talked about this many times with my wife and I was looking to go get medical treatment.  Over the last month or so I have been able to spend many nights in the mountains and foothills and that has helped out significantly. I believe that I don't need medical treatment as things have shifted in my mind.

I have read a number of books that have brought me some clarity and made me feel better about where I am.  But as with personal growth more questions have come to the forefront.

One of the things I have been challenged with is what is my life purpose or purposes. I have contemplated that and have come up with a few items but still do not know for sure what it is.  Of the things that I do know my life purpose is, it is very unselfish.  One of my life purposes is to make my family the most important thing in my life.  To me this is unselfish as I am putting my boys and my wife ahead of me.

This is where I am finding conflict. As I try to rid my life of mediocracy I am getting better at doing this.  As I try to pursue mastery I am finding this as a selfish motive. It is about me becoming better than I am but it seems to be focused on me internally.  I do understand that if I am better as a person that it should translate to me better for the people around me.

I am truly conflicted with these two concepts.  Both should make me a better person but it is the motive that is causing the conflict?

I would really appreciate any feedback on this.  If you think I am out to lunch on this tell me.  Just looking for some straight thoughts on this.

My Therapist

I spent one day this weekend with my therapist.  It was in a group and most voices had their own agenda and characteristics.  There was the pessimist guy who could only express negative things.  There was the party guy that only had having a good time.  There was the confused guy who wasn't sure what was happening at all.  There was the focused guy that knew what he wanted and how he was going to get what he wanted. There was the coward who didn't want to deal with anything. There was the adventurer who was not interested in the mundane things in his life and only wanted to pursue new adventures at the expense of everything else.   There was the spiritual guy who was  interested in a higher level of thought and mastery and how to achieve it. 

The problem was all these guys were talking at the same time.  It was very confusing because these thoughts were going in separate directions. None of the guys had the same goals.  There was a lot of  arguing and someone was always trying to win out with their point of view. 

The therapist did not say anything, just was there to be a support for all the guys. The point of the session was for one of the guys to convince the others that what he wanted was what was best for all of them.  No one voice won out but every time I am in a therapy session the spiritual guy becomes more and more convincing.

The Therapist

Why am I at SRKF

About 5 or 6 years ago I was thinking of starting a martial art for conditioning.  My thoughts were the discipline of a regular class would be good for me.  When I was younger I practiced Judo for a few years but hockey took over and I ended up discontinuing Judo.

I asked my older son if he would like to try a martial arts with me and he said yes. I though this would be a great activity for us both to do outside of the hockey season.   I didn't know which Martial Art I wanted to do so I went online and called a few schools.  One was Taekwondo, the other was Chinese boxing and Silent river.  The phone wasn't answered at any of the schools, so I left a message for each of the schools.  The interesting part of it was I only got a call back from one of the schools.  It was Silent River Kung Fu.  After having a short conversation with Sifu Brinker my son and I joined in April right after hockey season ended.  It was interesting that a simple return phone call has brought me to this point.

We trained through the summer and we both earned our yellow belts then hockey started up and my son decided to not continue.  I decided to continue as I liked the discipline of working out two times a week.  At that point it was simply a hobby for me. 

I believe it was the following summer I went to my first boot camp.  It was this experience where I saw higher level belts and the effort they were putting into their training;  I began to understand what it would take for me to become a martial artist.  The mental and the physical aspects of the art now had me hooked.  Things changed, I no longer saw Kung Fu as a hobby and saw it as an art.  Something that I had to commit to physically and mentally get the most benefit out of the time I spent training.

Giving Credit

We don't always give credit where credit is due.  A few times a year my wife goes on trips with her friends.  She is currently in the Okanagan.  That means it is up to me to make sure things go well at home. 

It is at these times when she is away that I am reminded of how much she does for our family.  When I have to take over and do all the house, acreage and animal chores; it is a lot of work.  Put on top of that taking my kid to his job and then getting to mine and ensuring I am getting all my requirements in. 

Add on top of that cleaning up from the storm we had last week.  We always have a few trees come down and I have to clean that up and usually fix some fences. 

I have spent much of my career in positions where I have had to travel..  There have been times when I was gone for long stretches.  It is when  it is switched around and I am at home that I truly understand the amount of work it takes to keep our place looking as good as it does.

I will definitely have to say a special "Thank You" when she gets home.

My Old Man

I wrote this a number of months back and it was more for me than anything.  But I thought I would post it as I see some healing for myself in making this public.

I have been struggling with the loss of my Dad.  He passed away last year at he beginning of June.  My dad and I had a great relationship from the time I was a kid.  I can't ever recall us ever having a harsh word between us.  I was not able to spend much time with him in the last few years of his life but was able to spend a significant amount of time with him in his last 8 months.

We got to spend a lot of time talking about my kids, growing up in the mountains, hiking, fishing and all the things I was able to do as a kid.  My dad taught me how to take care of myself and be reliant on myself in the bush. He was so confidant in my abilities that he allowed me to go back packing on my own when I was 12 years old.   I asked if I could head up the Moose River to go fishing and he told me ok.  He drove me out of town about 30 km to the start of the Moose and said he would be back in 4 days.  Now a day's it would be unheard of to allow a 12 year old to go out in the bush on his own.  I have taught my kids the lessons my Dad taught me,  I have confidence in their abilities but I still would not feel comfortable in allowing them to do a trip like that on their own.  My Dad told me that his Dad was letting him do trips on his own in the fourties when he was 8 and 9 in Northern Ontario.

That self reliance has translated into my adult life and  I have always taken pride in my ability to take care of myself and eventually my family.  It is tough for most everyone when they lose a parent. I continued to do fishing trips with my dad as an adult.  Some of my best memories as an adult are me and him on a hot train in the middle of the summer  going from Edmonton to Sioux Lookout in northern Ontario.  Then spending 3 or 4 days  fishing from sun up till sun down. 

Being able to learn from my Dad and spend time with him has kept me very humble over the years.  A simple camp fire can be an amazing way to spend a few hours and keep one grounded and focused on what truly is important in life.  Ones relationships with other people are what is important. 

Simple Message

I read a blog about 4 months ago that has stuck with me because of its intense but simple message.  The lady who wrote the blog has been living in Hawaii for the last 10 years.  I havn't been able to get her message out of my head.  She very graciously discussed a change in the way she has began to live and has simplified the message into 5 thoughts:

Slow Down
Flow with Nature
Care for one Another
Live with Less
Work to live, Don't Live to Work
 

 

For me this message is something that I have began to embrace in my own life. 

 

Candy Crush

We live in an age where we are constantly able to communicate instantaneously and over long distances.  Many times this is a blessing and other times not so much.  I am one of those people that try to plan some of my time off in places where there is no communication. I do this because my work requires me to be available almost all the time. I don't mind as I choose this career and it is part of the deal.

I had to share this as my son sent this too me and is a good reminder that we shouldn't stay plugged in all the time.

Decisions

As I look out over the world tonight I find myself looking inward and wondering why am I here.  A multitude of decisions I have made in my lifetime have got me to this very time, where I am sitting at this exact spot, at this point in time.

The question comes up: have all these decisions been the right ones?   If I had made different decisions would I be in a place that is better or more enjoyable for myself? 

These are all great questions but then I shake my head.  I am thinking in the past.  I need to be in the present and focus on that.  This is where I will gain the most out of life.

Finding Chi

I have had a few very special moments in my life most of them were when I saw things in nature.  Glaciers in Alaska, grizzlies in the Rockies, the stars on a mountain top in Montana, a scuba dive in Majuro in the Marshall Islands, waterfalls in Honduras.  I felt something's that I couldn't explain, a sense of wonder a connection with nature.  I am not sure what it is but there was something that was more than myself.

I had an experience like that yesterday but the feeling I had was something that was very different than anything I have ever experienced. I was at Silent River Kung Fu's annual boot camp.  The boot camp in itself is an experience that is amazing.  This is the third year that I was able to attend and each year the experience is life changing.

This year something incredible happened.  I was able to feel my Chi.  Until yesterday Chi was an abstract concept that I understand intellectually. I have heard others describe it and was able to watch others experience Chi on my travels to Taipei. But for me it was such an advanced concept and a state of being that I could only understand it at the intellectual level and not at a spiritual level.

We started the day with a meditation walk and I was able to get myself into the moment.  I was truly just with the birds the trees and the dog barking. We were then put through numerous exercises to try and cultivate our Chi.  I was able to stay in the moment and then it happened. I felt my Chi.

I am not sure I can truly describe it but I felt that I had incredible power in my fingers and it was extending beyond my body.  I could feel it moving through my body. There was such an energy it had to have come from the earth as Chi has been described to me.  That kind of power could not have possibly come from me.

If I never learn anything more from my Kung Fu training I was able to experience a state that I think will be hard to match.  I am going to focus and train hard to get back to that feeling and state of being.

Summer Warmth

Summer is upon us and I do like the long days and the warm weather.   The time I get to spend outside is good for my thoughts.   I got home last night after training and was able to go out on my deck and just listen to the birds as the dogs laid in the sun as it was going down. 

I think there is something special about  living this far north.  My place is about 54 degrees north.  To have the sun out for such a long period of time at this time of year is something that many people never get to experience.  I have spent some time further north and it is even more impressive.

It is almost as we forget about the winter at this time of year as the weather is so nice.  I know that in the winter all I can usually think about is summer.  Sometimes to the point of doing ridiculous things.  This canoeing trip was done at minus 25  but a good time was had by all. (and yes I was wearing flip flops)

Happiness?

I was contemplating a lot of things over the last month.  I have been trying to get to what it  is that makes me happy.  Is it my family? Yes.  Is it  the people I get to spend time with each day? Yes.  Is it the places I get to go and the things I get to see? Yes.

Then I think, why am I not happy every moment of everyday.  What is it that creeps into my head and takes my focus away from these things that make me happy?  I am not sure what it is.  I am going through scenario after scenario in my head wondering and thinking why I can't be at a constant state of happiness.  Is it maybe unachievable?  Is a human not able to remain in a state of happiness?  I look at my dogs, they seem to always be happy.  If they can be happy all the time then why not me.

Are the transmitters in my head not firing correctly or do I need to not be happy sometimes in order to understand happiness.  I know that sounds weird but maybe that is the way it has to be.  But until I can figure it out I am going to have the goal of complete happiness.  I just hope it is something I can achieve someday.

back again

I just got back from vacation and just getting back into the swing of things.  I had a great time with my wife and saw some great things.  Thought I would post a few of my push up pics.


Crookedest Street in the World Lombard Street San Francisco

Golden Gate Bridge San Francisco

Kilauea Crater Rim. Hawaii

Lava Fields at base of Kilauea, Hawaii

Thurston Lava Tube Kilauea, Hawaii

Who gets me there?

How do we end up where we are?  Some will believe that it is forces,

people and circumstances around them that get them to where they are be it good bad or indifferent.  Or are we are where we are at because of many decisions make each and everyday.  I think the latter.

Every time we make a decision or don't make a decision we are going in a direction that only one person has control over and that is me.  If I want to be somewhere that I am not either emotionally, personally, financially, ethically or any where else;  it is only my decisions that can get me there.  There is no one else that I burden with where or how things are for me. Me and only me is the creator of where I am.  If I am not where I want to be; me and only me can get me there

Gone for a short time

I will be away from the Kwoon for a few weeks.  I am heading out on a vacation with my wife on a trip we have been planning for two years.  I am looking forward to spending time in the mountains and by the ocean and hope to come back reinvigorated  and with a clear head.  I am sorry I will be missing Pandamonium,  but rest-assured I will be doing push ups and forms that day.

As they say in the islands

‘A’OHE PU’U KI’EKI’E KE HO’A’O ‘IA E PI’I   "No cliff is so tall it cannot be climbed"

What does it mean to be a martial artist?

What does it mean to be a martial artist?  I am not sure I know what this means.  For the first 4 years of training in Kung Fu I could never see myself as a martial artist.  I think this is because I would go to class and learn but after class I would leave and not think much about Kung Fu until the next class.  Yes I would do some training at home but not where I thought that I was a martial artist.

I am now in my second year of I Ho Chuan and things feel a lot  different for me.  The daily requirements have become a normal part of life.  I would not say that is as routine as say eating or brushing my teeth, but it is always front and centre.  Not like  a chore, but more of like, I need to do this to make my day better.  When I played hockey running and doing push-ups was like torture to me.  Now it is more like a stress reliever.  It is becoming something that I need in my day.

I Ho Chuan has made me more aware of my surroundings.  I am more aware of how I train and am more able to realize when I am making mistakes or when something does not feel right.  I am more aware of the world around me and how I interact with people and the environment.  I now look at things a lot more critically and question more why things are as they are.

I am not sure this is what being a Martial Artist is but, I am more comfortable seeing myself as a Martial Artist.  I expect that the was I see myself will change as I move forward in my training but for now  I like where I am going.

Brakes

I have been thinking a lot lately about how I can get my body relaxed when I begin training.  I have constantly had an issue with my shoulders tightening up when I begin training.  If I am told to relax or tell myself to relax, I consciously loosen up my shoulders and arms.  This week I was reading about training and this passage really turned on a light bulb in my head.

"Overall tension and unnecessary muscular contractions act as brakes, reducing speed and dissipating energy"


I never though about it in those terms.  The muscles get tight and restrict the speed at which the arm or leg can move.  To me this is brilliant.  I hope going forward that I keep this concept front and centre in my thought's.  Nothing worse than having the brakes on when you want to move forward.

Mental relief weekend

I took off this weekend for what I call a mental relief weekend. I need time by myself in order to shake the thoughts in my head that I call the little mind. That junk that keeps putting negative things in the thought process.

I have also been having some physically issues mostly in my shoulders, tightness and tension, and in my right leg, It just won't do what I want it too do and it keeps tightening up.

I was able to do some walking in the Bragg creek and Canmore area.  I didn't do any of my requirements for two days.  This was on purpose.  I wanted to rest my body.  As I write this on Sunday evening my body feels strong and more importantly I came back from this weekend with a renewed purpose and a clear head.   No junk bouncing around in my cranium.

So was it resting my body or clearing my mind in the mountains that I feel so much better?  Not sure but probably both. Either way I have clarity again.

Thanks

Today I had so many things go wrong.  My knee gave out in class this morning, I have a cold I can't breath right, tonight I went on a bike ride and I could barely walk after I got home after doing 20 k

It is I Ho Chuan and my team mates to Thank

Thoughts

I was listening and watching on the news about the earthquake in Nepal. It is a devastating situation.  My thoughts are going out to the people in Nepal.

Hockey and the path we travel

Hockey has been a big part of my life ever since I had consciousness.  I have played, coached, refereed and have been a spectator.  I think because of me being a student of the game my kids have taken a liking to the game as well.  They both have played refereed  and have volunteered in our minor hockey association to mentor younger players.  My younger son wants to become a sports announcer and at 14 none of us will argue with him about hockey, he understands the game better than most, and is a master statistician.

I am a believer in nurturing kids and people and this will put them on the right path in life. I have never pushed my kids into anything in life.  I have always encouraged them to do what they feel is right for them.   So far I have been proud of their decisions.

I am now in my second year of I Ho Chuan and the effort I am putting in is starting to be recognized by my kids. They are asking me more questions and are paying more attention to the training I am doing at home. Additionally they are asking more about what class I am going too.  I don't know if this path that I am on is for them, but maybe at some point they may see the same value as I do and may choose to travel this path.

Self Doubt

 

There are times when self doubt can be a motivator or can totally strip your ability to make rational choices to improve yourself. When self doubt rears its head and starts making the decisions in your life one has to recognize this and not allow this self doubt to dictate your actions.

We all make choices on what we want to focus on and what we want to accomplish:  be it playing video games, partying every night or becoming an Olympic athlete.  Whatever it is we chose to focus our life on, we will have times of self doubt. We must remember that what we chose to do is a journey and not a destination.  A journey can have many failures along the way but they have to be looked as part of the process to get to your ultimate goal. Therefore, we need to look at the journey in smaller time increments:  instead of looking at what you want in terms of years, look at it in terms of days.  If what I do tomorrow is better than what I did today then I am getting to my destination and I am succeeding.

Understand that self doubt will be part of the journey and recognize it as such.  Then stomp on it and don't let it stop you from doing what you want.

The reason for the quote is that person who says it cannot be done is the same person who is doing it.

Weekend in the mountians

I got a chance to spend the week end back home in the mountains.  I am always renewed when I get home.  The mountains do something for me.  I am not sure what it is, but it is an energy that I can't really describe.

It is as if the thoughts that are scrambling up my head are pushed out of my consciousness.  Tightness and soreness that I have in my muscles are stripped away. 

I either have to move back to the mountains or figure out how to have this energy all the time.

Update

Just thought I would put out an update on my numbers

Push-ups 9,130
Sit ups. 9,995
Kicks 8,877
Sparing 210
Hand form 169
Weapon form 200
Km 608.3 (I have taken up biking this year both stationary and peddle bike)

I am feeling real good about this year. I feel the goals I took on are a challenge and I am working towards these goals

What I am more happy about is where I am mentally.  I am working hard to keep my mind in the moment.  When I am training I am forcing myself to stay in the moment.  This concentration is helping me each time I do a form. I am truly starting to find the errors in my stances and in my movements. I am sure there is a lot of things I am not seeing or feeling but I am seeing and feeling many things.  This is what I am most liking about where I am at.

Get Comfortable being Uncomfortable

I have had the pleasure and opportunity to meet some incredible people in my life.  A few years ago I was fortunate enough to be able to work with a gentleman named Bob Molle.  What was great about Bob is he is a natural motivator and is incredible learn from.

Bob was more than just a motivator he has done some exceptional things in his life .  A winner of a silver metal in wrestling at the 1984 Olympics.  Incredible in itself, but more so that he had surgery on a ruptured disk in his back 21 days before the games started.  If that wasn't enough he went on after amateur wrestling to win two Grey cups with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 1988 and in 1990.  (He was team Captain in 1990).

Bob was always able to lift me up if I was having a down day and I still read his thoughts to this day.  He wrote a book that I still keep close to me called "Get Comfortable being Uncomfortable".  It is always a motivator for me. 

I saw this on his twitter feed the other day and thought it to be relevant for myself.

a lot of questions

Do we live our lives with a desire to do good in the world.  I have been thinking about this lately.  Is my day focused on making things around me better or focused on my on selfish needs?  I constantly have to contemplate this.

We all get busy.  We focus on getting up rushing out of the house getting to work. Keeping busy and trying to make our businesses and ourself successful.  This can be a very focused and  makes us put the blinders on.

Because of this do we forget see what is going on around us. Do we miss holding the door for a lady at the grocery store? Do we forget to tell our kids how proud we are of them?  Do we forget to tell the people in our lives how much they mean to us?

I know I think about these things but do I keep it at the front of my mind? I like to think I do but I am not always sure. Could I be doing more to make the world around me better?  Do I focus on others as much as I should?  I don't really know but it is something I need to constantly evaluate and assess.  The world can be better than it is but I have to participate more and ensure I think of others ahead of my own selfish ambitions.

Yes I am weird

The tightness in the shoulders.   Abs are screaming for a rest. Right knee is not right and may be a sign of bad things to come.  Physically drained.

The day starts with sit ups and push-ups. On to the Kwoon  for class and after an hour and a half and 350 kicks off to get on the bike and then home to finish off with push ups and sit ups.

It has been most of my life where I knew I was weird and different from other people. It has only been in the last year and a bit being part of I Ho Chuan that I understood this weirdness. Why would some one do this?  Seems like a lot of work.  But what is the alternative?  Mediocrity.

I guess I am embracing my inner weirdness and have found what I have been looking for all my life.  It is this weirdness that helps us throw off the "Terminal Normality" that surrounds every day.

Everyone go out and do something epic tomorrow

Challenges

Challenges hit us from all over the place: work, health, family, financial and many other places.  It can be difficult especially when the challenges compound one on another.  We can choose to handle these challenges by feeling sorry for ourselves, turtle and ignore the problem or hit them head on and overcome the challenge.


I think a a large part of how one approaches these problems is a product of who we have in our lives.  Are we surrounding ourselves with negative and cynical peoples or positive and forward looking people? It is my experience that the more we focus on what type of people we have in our lives then better lives we have.  If we have positive people around us we will tend to approach challenges in a positive manner.

Many years ago I looked at how I dealt with challenges and I looked at who I surround yourself with. I changed many of the people in my life.  Many were difficult decisions but in hind sight it was right as I found other people to be in my life who were much more positive to my well being and mental state.  And I hope I make their live a little better as well.

Emotional Low

Before I start my blog I have to say it is always a good day when the discussion lasts for 15 minutes on slapping people with a fish

The other day a friend of mine was having an issue.   She was feeling down because she felt that her emotions and her spirit were not understood by the people around her.  My take on her situation was she was focused on the past with lost opportunities and nervous that the future was not what she wanted it to be. She seemed to be in a dark place.  I told her to forget the past and future and concentrate on the now.

To get her to understand I told her to go on a walk and just think about everything going on around her and just focus on that. After that she told me that she enjoyed herself and it had been a long time that she felt enjoyment. She thanked me.  I asked her to try that everyday and try and stay in the moment.  I hope this helps her get out the the emotional low she is in.

Living in the moment is an easy concept to understand intellectually:  being there every moment Is the difficult part.

Emotions

This weekend the hockey team I help coach won their first round of playoffs.  After the game I talked to the boys about emotions.  I explained to them that emotions in sport and in life can be either good or bad. If they take good emotions and channel then correctly they can have a very positive influence. However if they focus on bad or negative emotions it can be very destructive.

I hope someone in the room was able to get something out of this discussion. Understanding this can make the difference between having an average life or having a great life.

Lion dance opportunity

I have to say I was physically drained today. The last number of months have been such a huge learning curve.  I was very indifferent when I began learning to do the lion dance. I didn't discuss this with anyone because we were a team and I was needed to do my part.  I am not sure where my indifference came from. I have seen lion dances a number of times since I began learning Kung Fu: every time I was impressed by the skill and the effort that went into the dance.

There was a point in the training that I realized I was going to be in the lion dance for Chinese New Years. First there was panic. I shouldn't be doing this I don't have the skill set.  My thinking was this should be for people more senior than me who had much more training.

That thought then left my head and I focused on not letting my team mates down. Many times during the practices I felt I was doing a terrible job.  I was not at the level I needed to be.  I had to get my skill level up to theirs and ensure that I wouldn't disappoint my team with my performance. 

I hope I accomplished this for my team mates.

Where am I now.  In a short period of time I went from not wanting to do the Lion dance to wanting to continue to Lion dance and to learn more about this part of Kung Fu. I have watched 5 or 6 Lion  dances online today and I have been very impressed at how some dancers can really show personality in a Lion. That is where I want to go and what I want to do.

Opportunity is not always there but when it is take it.

Da mu hsing

http://michaelplayter.blogspot.ca/2012/08/da-mu-hsing.html


For review

Be empathitic but dont offer advice

Ten years ago my son was not feeling well.  He was not eating much and he was constantly thirsty and going to the washroom.  This went on for 5 days.  My wife did some research and the symptoms appeared to be consistent with Diabetes.  We took him into the Stony Plain Hospital.  They immediately checked his blood glucose level and rushed him into the Diabetes Centre at the Stollery Hospital in Edmonton.  He was immediately diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes.

My family has now been dealing with this disease for over 10 years.  My son has to constantly check his blood glucose levels: 5 to 7 times a day.  He has to take Insulin injections: 3 to 5 times a day.  This is an ongoing vigilant process managing this disease.  Whenever his blood glucose either spikes (high glucose level) or crashes (low glucose level) it is causing damage to his body.

Type 1 diabetes occurs when the immune system mistakenly attacks and kills the beta cells of the pancreas. No, or very little, insulin is released into the body. As a result, glucose builds up in the blood instead of being used as energy.

The reason I bring this up is I have had many conversations with people over the years who do not know about this disease but think they can offer advice.  I might have been the same way if I didn't live with it day in and day out.  I guess my point is what I can learn from my encounters with other people with a disease or issue they are dealing with, it is best to be empathetic but don't offer advice on something I don't know anything about.

Makes sense

i guess this sums it up quite well

My Year of the Horse

I began logging last year for year of the horse  on February 1. This gives me a full year to January 31. They're were some requirements that I did not make they as follows.:

I did not memorize Mastery I read it many times and have recorded it and listen to it but did not memorize it

Tiger challenge. I did not participate in the tournament but I did score keep.  This was a fail

1000 rounds of sparing. I only recorded 779 this was a fail

Perform an act of kindness for a fellow team mate.  I worked hard on this and tried everything I could to do a certain act of kindness after I found out what this team mate was hoping to do.  I was not able to do this so a fail

One of my personal goals was to do an hour a week of exercise with my wife.  I failed on this one as we missed many weeks due to other commitments.  A fail. ( I think in the future a goal has to be something totally in my control.). Having said that is was not my wife that failed it was me.

Things that I did achieve


1009 acts of kindness logged. This is one I suggest you log everyday. It is difficult to remember these after a few days

52210 push-ups

52290 sit ups

1004 reps of long

1015 reps of stick 1 and 2

2244.9 km

I met or exceeded  4 of the personal goals I setfor myself


I was able to mend a very important relationship in my life. I fell the best about this accomplishment

The rest of the requirements is up to the team to decide if I met them

What did I learn

I learned this year that I have always had limiting thoughts in my head.  I have turned these thoughts around. I am at a point where Physically I know I can do more that I thought I just have to work consistently to achieve what I want.

I have a better concept about living in the moment means. I am continually working at actually living in the moment.   I think this will be an ongoing work in progress.

Characteristics of a great team

I was doing some research tonight and came across this article   It talks about what makes a great team.  One is equal contribution by all team members and emotional intelligence by the team members.

http://tomtunguz.com/emotional_intelligence/?utm_source=FullContact%20Weekly%20Playbook&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=FullContact%20Weekly%20Playbook

The first, as the article stats makes sense: if all members contribute relatively equal then you should have a strong team. The second needs a little explanation.

Here is a definition of emotional intelligence

1. Emotional intelligence (EI) is the ability to monitor one's own and other people's emotions, to discriminate between different emotions and label them appropriately, and to useemotional information to guide thinking and behavior.
   
   
   I think, putting this in perspective, it is understanding your own emotions while understanding those of your team mates and to use that understanding to help guide your team mates and your own.
   
   
   
   
   Make sense to me 
   
   

Quote of the day

We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.

Ernest Hemingway

Just a quote from one of my favourite authors.  This means to me that mastery is the goal but we can not ever truly achieve it but we always strive for it.

Year of the horse posts

As I am ending the year of the horse I spent some time looking over my blogs from this year.  It was interesting to me some of the constant blogs themes that I saw.   One was talking about living in the moment.  This is hard for me, as a business person I focus on goals and the future is where I am looking.   Also in my nature I have always been looking into the future to get to the next place.

Because of this I have never focused on the journey and where I am at in a point in time. I.E. Living in the moment.  I have had numerous discussions with my wife over the last year and told her to give me a good slap if I wasn't focused in the moment.   She is way too nice to have slapped me the few hundred times she should have slapped me.

I am still not living in the moment but I am thinking about it and in time I should get there

Powerful

I heard something today that really made sense to me.  A young lady said" A day where you don't help someone is a day waisted. A day where you help someone is a day well spent."

Very powerful words from such a young soul.

Just a thought

Late night last night at a hockey game in Legal.  The boys did well and pulled off a win against the first place team in the league.  Always good to be there when there is a win.

We can learn when we win but usually more learning in a loss.  Critical analysis is what helps us get better at whatever we do.

Challenge

Where does ones mind go when confronted with challenge after challenge. Evolution gives us typically two responses fight or flight.   Does one turtle and begin to give up in the conscious and unconscious mind. Or is the response to fight and beat the challenge?

Or maybe the right response is to take the time to understand the challenge and formulate a response to the challenge.  Implement a plan to overcome the challenge and at an intellectual level defeat or concur the challenge

When the challenge is people I typically do not flight. My instinct is to fight.  I have always had the best results with implementing a plan to overcome the challenge.  I need to remember to not think emotionally and go straight to the fight mode.

I am the only one who can decide what kind of day to have. I plan on having good days.

January

I always like this time of year.  Not because I like winter but because I can mentally and physically feel the days getting longer.  It is a expectation that spring and warmer weather is on the way.  I always appreciate that anticipation.  But it also reminds me that when I think like this I am not living in the moment. 

Living in the moment is where I will produce the best results for myself and those around me.  Enjoy the journey and the destination will happen. 

This is a paradox for me.  This is something I will have to think a lot more about.

Shihing Choy's challenge

I am really glad that I accepted Shihing Choy's challenge to do 6,000 sit  ups and push ups in January.  It lit a fire under me and I feel more invigorated because of it.  Not sure it is because I am doing more in the morning or that I am publicly posting my numbers.  Probably a combination of both.  Either way a great motivator.