Flip....Fall

Thursday has come and gone and it felt great to perform my bench form. It has been a few years since I have truly felt part of the I Ho Chuan team. This was solely my own doing and I have accepted the responsibility for it. This year is different and I can feel it. The team is supportive of each other and I believe we all felt everyone did extremely well on Thursday. My next step is to continue to work on my bench form but to also work on my second bench form. Form 1 is all about techniques and stances. The focus being on striking with the stepping. Form 2 is more flashy and the bench is more active. My biggest struggle is the opening as I have the form movements down but I need to flip over the bench and land on my feet while bringing the bench over with me. If you see me falling over a lot fog the next while you will know why.

Thursday

It's seems that a few people are feeling the pressure about showing there form this coming Thursday. I understand where they are coming from as I have been there before. It can seem overwhelming and like you are going to be judged. For the last while I have used this an excuse to avoid class or just not perform and this has been the wrong approach. This year I am preparing to the best of my ability knowing that I have put the effort in. My mindset and attitude this year are more positive and no matter what happens Thursday, I will show my form.

Alabama.

Yesterday I made the commitment to go to Alabama with 7 other members of Silent River Kung Fu. In the days leading up to this decision I kept asking myself why would I go? The following is a list of some of the reasons I came up with. These are not rational or thought out but the first thoughts that came into my head. 1) Its a long way from home. 2) You will be surrounded by strangers (except for 7 other people). 3) You don't even know what you will be doing there. 4) How do you explain to your family that you are going away to help strangers. 5) What will you get out of it? The hardest one to overcome was number four. The day we leave is the same day as my son's 21st birthday. That is one of the main reasons why I struggled so much with deciding whether or not to go. There is a sense of guilt over putting a strangers needs ahead of your families but I have determined that I can make it up to my son. Now to answer the question "Why would I go?". Why not. All the reasons I listed are excuses and not reasons. Life is about new experiences and new people. The difference that you can make in a persons day by just giving them a smile or talking to them about their day for a few minutes can have an incredible impact on them. If you read Mrs. Tomie's latest blog you will see what impact such a simple act can have on a person. Now just imagine the difference you can make over 4 days. I have also determined that I have been lacking in my benevolence lately. I was more involved with events/projects done through Silent River Kung Fu in the past (food bank drive, silent auction, lion dances, Kwoon renovations, Pandamonium, etc.). This year, one of the things I am working towards is to take a bigger leadership/participation role in these events and projects. Going to Alabama is the first step in the right direction.

Engaged

There has been a lot of people talking about engagement and what kind of a teammate they are this year. I decide to analyze myself. Over the past 3 years, I have struggled with my engagement culminating with me missing the 2015 banquet (due to work). I felt like I was justified in why I couldn't participate in the demos or why I didn't have my form ready. I wasn't going to be here anyway, I have an injury, I don't feel comfortable performing etc. They sounded good in my head at the time but now I realize it was all just excuses. These "excuses" were the cause of my lack of engagement and not vice versa. This year I feel more engaged and excited than I have ever in the past. Why is this? I don't know if I could have answered that question last week as I hadn't thought about it until recently. One reason, is I am excited about my weapon of choice for this year. My past weapons were the 3 section staff which led to a shoulder injury along with the push-ups. Followed up by two years of the chain whip. I went to the chain whip as I needed a lighter weapon and something I never felt comfortable with either of these so I never put the effort in that I should have. I regret this now as I failed myself and the whole process of the I Ho Chuan. Another reason is I ended last year on a high note. The beginning of year of the Sheep was one of the worst and I ended up missing almost all classes and meetings until September. Some of this was due to work and again some of it was due to me not prioritizing things in my life. It became easier to stay away than make the effort to go back. once work slowed down, I was able to make more classes and the engagement level started to increase. Being able to be part of the dragon dance team brought me back full steam ahead. It's amazing to me that a small thing can have such a huge impact. The main reason though is my teammates this year. Everyone is so much more involved than I have seen in a long time. I can tell because of the amount of comments people are receiving on their blogs. We have had some people share some very difficult details of their lives and people are responding with support and encouragement. I think this is going to be the best I Ho Chuan team yet.