Lost Sheep .... Found Monkey

This is more of a story of coincidence than anything. I had to go to Taber to be on a customers site for 9:00 am on Wednesday morning so I drove down the day before. I couldn't find a room I liked in Taber so I decided to stay in Lethbridge at the Holiday Inn. After getting to my room and doing a couple hours of work I decided to go the exercise room and use the treadmill or the bike. As I approached the room, there were 2 people in there using the equipment so I paused and contemplated coming back later. I wanted to leave as I had envisioned riding the exercise bike without an audience. After a couple of minutes at the door, I went in because I knew I was trying to make excuses to not work out as it had been a long day already. This is a lot of random information but it helps set the stage for what happened next (it was such a random encounter). Out of all the hotels in the area at that exact time of day, who do I see on the treadmill. Ian Repay. What are the odds of that happeningÉ Once he finishes, we start chatting and he tells me about all the travelling he has to do and what his next 3 weeks are like. He only gets home for the weekends now and sometimes only for Sundays. I won`t get into any more details as that's something he would need to share. We only talked for about 5 minutes but made plans to get together after I was done to meet for dinner. I was excited about this as we had trained together in the San Shou class and he has been a student of mine. Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, he had to cancel. Even though it was only a few minutes, it was good to see him again. I wish we would have had more time to talk but at least I did get to see him. He did confirm with me that he is on the Monkey team with us this year and I told him I was glad to hear it. He has had a tough schedule this last while but he has made the commitment to be a part of the team. I have decided in my future travels to try and see where he is in the off chance we are in the same city again. I think it is important to him to know that we will always be a part of Silent River Kung Fu. Maybe next time we can get in those form reps together.

Migraines, what a pain in the ......

I wasn't sure what I wanted to write about this week but it started to come to me earlier this morning and now its the only thing I can think about. I don't think many of you know this about me but I usually get a migraine headache at least once per week. Sometimes they last for the day but I have had ones that last for 3 to 4 days. I cant remember when I started to get them but I can remember getting them before my concussion 4 years ago. After my concussion, I have gotten them more often though. I usually get a warning that one is coming on as it starts with a throbbing in the back of the head that slowly migrates to the front. My triggers include bright lights (including sunlight), computer screens, loud sounds and physical exertions. Not very feasible when your job involves plenty of computer work or when you are practicing martial arts. To combat symptoms, I used to take some type of pain medication (usually Tylenol) and carry on. This led to more problems as the more times I used the medication, the more often I would get a migraine. Recently (about 6 months ago) I started to avoid the medication as much as possible. It sucks a lot more while you have the migraine but it usually doesn't last as long so its a better trade off for me as the medication only dulled the pain but you could still feel it in the background waiting to come forward again. The question I am asking myself is why would I write about this now? I think it is an important part of who I am as a person as it affects what I can and cannot do on a weekly basis. The other thing it has taught me is to listen to what my own body is telling me. I do get frustrated and wish I didn't get migraines but it is something that I need to deal with. I am getting better at trying to change things in my life that trigger migraines but the biggest issue is I haven't figured out how to not work yet

What is it about Lions?

Over the last three days, I have had the privilege of performing 4 public lion dances. Why is that so important to me? Lion dancing was the thing that got made me the martial artist I am today. Let me explain. My son joined Kung Fu about a month before I did. I was taking him to classes in Onoway and would then watch the class until he was done. I figured if I was there, I might as well participate. My reason for joining back then were simple, it was something I could do with my son and I figured it was a great way to get some exercise. After about three years, Sifu Ryback brought some lions from Stony Plain and started to teach the Onoway students Lion Dancing. At first, I was not interested in doing this as I didn't want to look foolish or embarrass myself. We all were supposed to try it so I said I would go in the tail. I figured the tail was a little easier and less complicated. After a few classes, we didn't have many people who wanted to be in the head, so I volunteered to give it a try. It was frustrating at first because the head was all over the place and it seemed like I wouldn't be able to figure out how to do it. I don't really know why I stuck with it but I think it was because there didn't seem to be any other volunteers or maybe at this point I was starting to enjoy it and didn't see any other volunteers. Over the next while we practiced a lot more(Sifu Wiebe was the tail) and we became the Onoway team. Our first performance was not a public performance but a performance for Sifu Brinker as he had to okay our proficiency as Lion dancers. That first performance was the most stressful thing I had done in Kung Fu up to that point. We performed and although nerves were a little shaky, we got the okay. As soon as that performance was over, something changed for me. I got a big boost of confidence and I felt that Kung Fu and Lion Dancing were now part of who I was as a person. Every time I did a performance after that, the confidence with the lion kept growing and the connection to the school got stronger. Why do I bring this up? Its quite simple for me. These past 3 days has brought back so many fond memories and has also help reaffirm the importance of Kung Fu in my life. There is nothing like performing a Lion Dance in public and seeing it bring joy (and sometimes fear) to people. It is a hard thing to explain how it feels to me but the best way to describe it is it feels fulfilling. It was great to be out there again (2 years since the last one) and I cant wait for the next one.

Gone but Not Forgotten

Monday was a stressful day for me. Not because of work, not because of something at home but because we were going to practice a lion dance (the we being Sifu Tymchuck and myself). I kept telling myself that you have done a lot of lion dances over the years so why be nervous. I think the reason I was nervous was because I was afraid of failure. It had been 2 years since my last lion dance and I wasn't sure if I would remember how to even do it. This seemed silly and irrational to myself but I couldn't shake the nerves and the closer it got to practice time the worse it got. Monday evening at 8:15, we jump in the lion after a 15 second discussion between Sifu Brinker, Sifu Tymchuck and myself and we go for it. I take a few seconds in the lion to focus my mind and then close the lions eyes, put the head down and get ready to go. The first beat of the drum changes the mindset and I start going through the motions like I had done many times in the past. It all came back to me like I had just done a lion dance yesterday. It felt natural to be in a lion again and especially with a familiar partner. Sifu Tymchuck and I were partners for over two years at one point and it felt natural to be back in a lion with him again. Anxiety and self doubt can be a hard thing to overcome but with the help of your teammates and training partners it is possible.