Travelling The North

I am writing from remote site in Nunavut just south of Bathurst Inlet. It is called the Marine Landing Area for a gold mine that is about 200 Km south of us. They bring in cargo and fuel on ships and then transport to land. Once on land they wait until January and then build an ice road to the mine. During a 10-week period they will move about 45,000,000 million Liters of fuel and 3,500 sea containers. It is an impressive operation especially seeing approximately 100 semi trucks just parked waiting for a short window of work.

My task here is to help them reorganize and label the waste that was sent from the process plant at the Mill that is unidentified. Once this is completed, they can then send this waste for backhaul on the ships where it can be disposed of properly and safely.

This will be my 5th different location I have been at since I left just over a week ago. In that week, I have been to the Yukon, The Northwest territories and now Nunavut. To say, I have seen a lot of the North is definitely an accurate statement.

Training is not ideal and not where I would like it to be, but it still happens. I was also able to get a couple of One-on-0nes in which helps and I am hoping to get some stable internet to book some later this week. I am scheduled to be home on the 11th so hopefully be at Kao Shi on Saturday. Hopefully there are no issues as the weather is very unpredictable up here and the flight last Friday was cancelled due to fog and snow. Fingers crossed I make it out.

One Foot In Front Of The Other.

I am a day behind in posting this week as I ended up in an area with no service for the last couple of days and just got back tonight.

Things have been going a lot sideways for me these past 3 or 4 weeks just due to me be going so much and having some really long work days with no chance to get to the Kwoon at all. It will be about 6 weeks in between by the time I am back which is a crazy long time.

I have now had a bone scan on my hips and my full skeletal system. I have a follow up with my doctor on September 16th (closet I could get to when I am back) and I have a consult with a physiotherapist on the 15th. It has been an extremely long process but I feel progress is being made and at least I have some answers as to what is going on with me. Until then, I just continue doing what I can and keep moving forward.

The Struggle

I am currently in the middle of the Yukon at an exploration camp. It is interesting as there is no service, no washrooms and the lunch room is a shack basically. There is Wi-Fi but it does cut out intermittently so I am pretty much disconnected from the world right now.

I seem to have aggravated my shoulder again this time and it is likely from trying to do too much. I am hopeful it isn’t anything too serious. Training has become a lot more difficult these last couple of weeks due to travel and limited space but I continue to do what I can, when I can because even a little is still progress.

As for work, I will be home on Friday but will be leaving either Tuesday or Wednesday of next week and will then be gone until September 11th. Once again, this will see me travelling to 4 different sites in the Yukon and then a fly in camp in Nunavut. With all the travel I do, you would think I would be used to training away from home but it is never easy and sometimes it feels almost impossible. This year, started out well but it is seeming more and more difficult as the year goes on. It might be the injuries or the inconsistent travel but I need to reset myself and try to refocus on doing what I can. Easier said than done sometimes.

Physical Therapy Next

So the continuing saga with my issues is I now scheduled to do a bone scan on my hips to see how much calcium buildup is in the joints. This procedure will happen on August 25th. From here, I am not sure what the next step will be but at least I am still moving forward. As far as the shoulder goes, I am to start physical therapy to see if I can strengthen the joint and avoid surgery which is a much better option I believe as the recovery can be quite a long time.

As for my training, I have to put off doing push-ups of any type as they may be causing more damage. So, to make up for this, I am doubling my sit-ups. It is not giving me the same benefit as doing push-ups but it is adding an extra challenge as that is a lot of sit-ups in a day. I also have to stop with my bench and will now shift focus to Da Mu Hsing as my second form. This year is definitely forcing me to adapt on the fly.

In between all of this, my work is going crazy right now so I will be away quite a bit for the next month or so. I am scheduled to be back on September 12th for the Kao Shi live class but will miss this week’s live class. This creates a challenge with trying to get in to see a physical therapist but I am home

Tendon Bad

It seems like my blogging in the last bit has been mostly about my injuries and this one will start with an update on my shoulder. I had an ultrasound done on the 31st and I am able to see my results online. It showed the following:

1) Subscapularis: Partial-thickness tear of the superior fibers measuring 10 x 8 mm.

2) Supraspinatus: Full-thickness, partial-width tear of the anterior/mid tendon measuring 17 x 15 mm.

3) Partial-thickness intrasubstance tear of the posterior tendon measuring 9 x 6 mm. Diffuse moderate tendinosis.

What does this mean? I don’t know yet but my doctor’s office phoned me to book an appointment right after the results were available. I am scheduled to meet him on Monday to go over the results and hopefully come up with next steps nit only for my shoulder but also my hip issues.

I am trying to remain positive but it is getting harder to do as it seems like it is one thing after another. I am also at a crossroads as how to accomplish some of my goals without causing more damage. I am going to have to evaluate this more now as I don’t think I have been doing myself any favors these past couple of months.

On a positive note , I may be able to make class on Monday depending on when I fly out out again. My work schedule is a bit crazy right now and I will be away for the next while except a couple of weekends in between. I will not be at the next live class as I will be away for work once again. The only day I know I will be home for sure is Saturday September 12th (the next live class after this one. I will give another update after my doctor’s appointment.

Form Grappling

So much going on and no time to fit it all in. That’s how I am feeling today as I may potentially be gone from this coming Saturday to Mid to late September minus a few Saturdays at home in between. This is not a surprise to me but it always affects so many aspects of my life. My family time, my projects at home and my training are what are at the forefront of my mind.

Working on the grappling sequence these last few days, I noticed that I felt more comfortable than I had in the past. Not comfortable in doing the sequence but applying them and moving between them. I am a big believer that this is due to my form reps that I have been putting in. I noticed this a bout a month ago when we were working with the big belly pads. While demonstrating a shovel punch, I really felt a strong connection with my six harmonies and my connection to the ground. I will have to ask Sihing Bauer how it felt to him.

Anyway, I think I am going to try and take my forms training further and see what affects it has on the other aspects of Kung Fu.

Out of Reach

I have been out of touch this last week and a bit as I have been working at some remote sites in the Yukon with my work days are pushing 15 to 16 hours. There is no service where I am at until I get back to the hotel and it is usually past 8 (9 Alberta time). Hence, I have not been able to view class and trying to keep up with blogs has been tough. I was supposed to be back but I am off to another site right away here and will be out of touch until later tonight again.

So I am working on what I can do which is push-ups (still modified), sit-ups and working through my form (although it is broken up due to space restrictions). I at least feel like I am making some progress and will continue this until I get back.

Speaking of that, I am supposed to be back in Whitehorse tomorrow and will then be driving back to Edmonton so hopefully be back by Saturday. That means I will be back next week so that will be good.