Frustration

I was at the Second Degree Brown Belt Class on Saturday and something that I observed made me want to write about it. I think that frustration is what has held me back or limited my growth at times. When you are not sure what someone is asking of you or you don’t know how to fix what they are asking you to fix, it can be extremely frustrating. I am not sure, but I believe there was some frustration in the students.

It took me a long time to understand things that were asked of me years ago and at the time I got so angry about it. I now realize that you can’t fix it in a single class, but it may take years to fix it. I guess the point of this is to remind myself that you need to just understand there is something you need to work on and it is something that will take time. You will not fix it immediately but you need to not get frustrated by it. I think I am better at this now but I still think frustration creeps into my training.

The Kwoon

It has been a whirlwind since I got home and it will not stop until mid September I think. One thing I am disappointed about is missing the Kwoon renovations this year again. I have had so many memorable experiences in the past and I enjoyed every moment I spent doing them. I can’t explain why, but you definitely feel more at home in the Kwoon when you literally put your blood and sweat into making it a place for you to train.

Even though I will be gone for most if not all of that week, I am still hoping to contribute somehow or someway as I feel it is important for me to continue to put my time into this project. How, I am not sure yet but I will find a way and so should anyone who is a student of SRKF.

Pictures of the North

Just thought I would share some more pictures from my travels for those who are curious.

This is a picture from Greenland in the Bay by the airport

This is a picture from the minesite I was at there.

This is a picture of a herd of Muskox from the minesite I was at in Nunavut

On the subject of work, I just had three more projects come up which will take me to September 9th. My attendance at the Kwoon from now until August 15th will be hit or miss. From the 15th of August to September 9th, I will be out of the province again and am unsure if I will be able to attend online even again. I will try and get some pictures while I am away and and am hoping to get some practice in on the shores of the Artic Ocean in Paulatuk NWT or maybe the banks of the Mackenzie River in Norman Wells.

Where My Work has Taken Me.

I am still in an area with no WIFI but am once again "borrowing" some from the government building here. I was going to talk about how working away is hindering my training but I then started to think about where this work has taken me and the things that i have got to see and experience. I am going to list some of the places I have been for work and feel free to look them up so you can see where I have been.

In the NWT I have been to Enterprise, Hay River, Kakisa, Fort Providence, Behchoko, Yellowknife, Gameti, Wekweeti, Lutsel K'e (currently), Sambaa K'e, Fort Simpson, Tulita, Norman Wells, Fort Good Hope, Tsiigehtchic, Fort McPherson, Aklavik, Inuvik, Tuktoyaktuk, Ulukhaktok and Sachs Harbour (furthest North). These are the communities that I have spent multiple days working in. I have also been in Deline at the airport and driven to the outskirts of Whati before driving on an ice road for 6 hours to Wekweeti. In these places I have seen Wolves, Black Bears, Bison, Grizzly Bears, Polar Bears and Muskox. I have been on twin prop planes, helicopters and float planes as well as numerous Ferries crossing the Mackenzie River.

I have also worked at a Gold Mine called Hope Bay in Nunavut just south of Cambridge Bay on the mainland coast and I have been in the Kugluktuk for a couple of hours waiting for our plane to offload its cargo. While at the Gold mine, I saw hundreds of Caribou as well as Seals, Narwhals, Wolves, Wolverines, Muskox and Grizzly Bears (14 in one area all at once).

My work has taken me to the Yukon where I have worked in Whitehorse and 3 remote mine sites. Minto mine which is just South West of Pelly Crossing. Hecla which is close to Keno City an old mining Ghost Town (almost as there are a few residents still. And Ketza River, an abandoned gold Mine Soth East of Ross River. In the Yukon I have seen Elk, bears and a Lynx.

My work has taken me to Greenland via Iceland. To be able to see Icebergs and waterfalls and experience the Blue Lagoon is something I may never have done if my work had not taken me there.

So does it suck to be away so much and miss so many things at home? Yes, but if I look at the big picture, my work has allowed me to travel all across Northern Canada as well as Alberta, BC, Saskatchewan and Ontario and I have seen things in the wild that most people will probably never see. Looking at things lately has made working away a lot easier.

I'm Still Here. Kind Of!

I was able to borrow someone’s WIFI as I needed to send a work email so I am taking this opportunity to check in.

This trip has been extremely frustrating for me as everyday there seems to be a problem that is hindering the work. It started on the first day with our vehicle and accommodations. Then it was a problem with equipment, supplies, tools and manpower. I am trying to just go with the flow but it has me in a state I can’t get out off it feels like. I am trying to roll with it but it gets more difficult everyday.

As usual there is no real place to train as it is a house shared with other people and they have no gym in the community so it is a lot of mental training. This is of course hurting my numbers specifically the form reps but I will just work on what I can when I can.

Hopefully I can borrow the WIFI again next week. Just so you know, we are on a #G network here that is extremely slow, so I can see blogs but it takes forever to download the websites and uploading is impossible. That’s why I can still react to blogs.

Sundays and Training

I am really enjoying our Sunday morning coffee talks as I am learning things about the team that I probably would not get the chance too. I have not been able to attend the last few due to work but I did on Sunday. There were only 4 of us but the 40 minutes went by so fast. I am hoping to attend this Sunday but it is also the day I fly out for work again so not sure yet.

Speaking of work, I will be gone form the 14th to August 3rd and then there is a chance I will be gone for six weeks starting in August. I am torn on this because it is a great opportunity for me but it is also a long time to be away. I can say I am at 50% for wanting and not wanting to go.

I am doing fairly well with my requirements but still need to work on my forms of course. I am planning to take a sword with me this time. It will be a practice one and I will put it in my checked bag so hopefully it will make it through security. I have been focussing a lot of my time lately on the grappling syllabus along with the Sanda syllabus. This has taken some time form my other Kung Fu practice but I feel this is almost to a place I am happy with it and this will allow me to shift my focus a bit.

The Heat

Again just a quick update from me. I am getting closer to being back even if it will only be for a week and a half. I am looking forward to being back at the Kwoon as it is a place that somehow just makes me feel like I belong.

This has been a tough work trip due to the heat being in the high 20’s for most of it and the fact the sun doesn’t go down. This means the heat never really goes away until about 3 in the morning. My training was non existent physically but I did mentally go through my forms and some techniques I am working on. I did train physically but that was due to the nature of my work but I think it still counts for something

Here, Just Not There

I must apologize for being so out of touch these past few days but that is my current situation. Our work days are very long so I am unable to even attend class via zoom and this will continue until the end of next week. This is not an ideal situation but one I am used to after so many years of travelling for work.

I am really looking forward to being back but that won’t be until after the long weekend. I don’t have much else to report so I will end this here.

My Struggles

At the meeting on Thursday, we talked a lot about struggling and being honest with yourself. This got me thinking about where I am at this year and my own struggles. Overall, I am fairly happy with where I am at but I know I could do better. The thing most troubling about this, is it will be harder to devote more time to my training with my work schedule.

When I am away for work, I usually end up in a hotel or camp or sometimes a house where you end up in a bedroom. There is no place to really train as the rooms are quite small or you end up sharing the space with other people. The work days are also very long and range from 14 to 16 hours depending on travel times. This does not allow for a lot of personal time let alone training time.

I do enjoy what I do for work but it can feel like a burden or even a regret sometimes. This is mostly because of what I end up missing out on because I am not home and not able to do the things I want to do. It also does not allow me to work on some of the things I want to work on and there is always this disconnect.

So my struggle is knowing I should have done more with the time I have had at home and knowing that it will get harder for the next few months.

Back For???

I just got back from a short but very busy trip that did not allow me for a lot of time to do much. They were long days and short nights back at camp before repeating the next day. I am scheduled to leave again on June 15th but there is a chance I may leave earlier hence the title of my blog.

I wish I could have made Farmers Days but it just didn’t work out this year and I know I am gone Canada Day so another event that I will be missing. I am scheduled to cut back starting In October but it could be pretty hectic for me up until then.

I should be at class this week and am hoping to start working on my weapon forms a lot more. I am able to get through the Broadsword form and am just working on smoothing it out. I am going to start focusing on Butterfly Swords now> I also need to start working on my Lion Dance drumming as that is a personal requirement that I really want to see some progress on.

A Good Day

This years Tiger Challenge was a good one in my opinion. We were able to get through our team form and it went pretty well. Was it as good as it could have been? Probably not but my goal was to perform it and get it out there for people to see. Congratulations to not only the winners, but to everyone who participated. It takes a lot to put yourself out there.

As many of you are aware, I left for Yellowknife the day after and am not home until Sunday so I was/will not be able to help with the float or the parade. I am then back until the 15th and do not return until the 27th and immediately leave on the 28th for a short family trip. It also looks like I will also be gone for Canada Day but this is the busy time of year for me at work. I will hopefully be at class from June 2nd to 14th but even that could change.

Team Form Progress

We have been making good progress on our team form for the Tiger Challenge. I am a little nervous about presenting it as it is something I have put a lot of effort in and it is one of my I Ho Chuan goals. There are quite a few moves but the main goal is the fluidity between them. I am optomistic it will go well and I can't wait to perform it.

Tiger Challenge

I have found a partner for the Tiger Challenge and we have started working on the team form. It will be interesting to see how it comes together and if it will translate how I hope it will. I want to say thank you to Sihing Simon Kohut for stepping up and it has been great working with you so far.

My other forms are starting to slip as I have been focussing on the tiger Challenge this last little bit so I need to step up my repetitions again. I am planning to get in some reps on Saturday during open training and hopefully adding to the Butterfly Swords.

I will post numbers update in a separate blog soon.

Tiger Challenge is Coming

So I mentioned in my last blog that I was planning to do something unique at the Tiger Challenge and after discussing with Sifu Rybak, I am going ahead with it. What I need to do now, is find a partner that would like to join me (has to be a black belt). I will be reaching out to team members to see who is interested and let them know what my plan is.

My foot/ankle is still a little stiff so it is hampering some things slightly but hopefully it will get better soon. As far as everything else is going, I am able to get through the broadsword completely now and am almost halfway through the butterfly swords. I do need to spend more time on them both but I hope to at least know the Butterfly sword completely by the end of June so I can start correcting things in it.

Update

Things have been going okay for the last bit. My ankle is getting better but it is not at 100% yet and there is still some stiffness in the top of my foot.

My work schedule is starting to take shape and I know I will be gone starting tomorrow for the weekend but I will be back on Monday. After that, I know I am gone May 30th for at least 2 weeks but likely longer and there is a good chance I will be gone before then. This means, I may miss out on the tiger challenge but I am hoping to be there for this.

If I am there for the Tiger Challenge, I am planning to do something unique in the team forms but will have to discuss and plan it out. Hopefully I can provide an update on this soon as I will need a partner.

On a side note, I was able to lead the Black Belt class on Tuesday and we worked on grappling. Specifically, the start of a sequence where I was able to cover proper body position and why we need these positions (what happens if we have poor position). It was great to do and it showed me how much there is to this aspect of my training and how much more I continue to learn as I do it.

Injury (Slight)

I have been home for almost a week now and was able to attend class on Monday and again last night. I fell a little behind as I stated in last weeks blog and that was due to many factors including an injury. I twisted my ankle slightly while I was away and it limited my ability to put some weight on it. It is on the mend now and so I am hopeful to be back to 100% soon so I can start to work on the things that have slipped.

Not much else to report except that I am hopefully around until the later part of May but there is a strong chance that I will miss the Tiger Challenge as I am schedule to leave around May 22nd. If I am not gone, I will be there though.

Update

It has been a long few days of work and travel so not much training has happened. The communities I am in are only accessible by ice road from 10:00pm to 10:00am and they are about an 8 or 9 hour drive. I have not been getting a lot of sleep between travel, working and then travelling again. I am hoping to be leaving tomorrow night as the road is closing on Thursday morning.

Here are my numbers to date

1) Pushups -9,100

2) Situps -9,100

3) 480 Sparring Rounds

4) 460 Kms

5) 290 AOKs

6) 9 Blogs

7) 85 Reps of Broadsword

8) 40 Reps of Broadsword

The sparring is taking a huge bump as it is a big part of my strength and conditioning training that I am doing. The form reps include partial reps as I did not know the whole forms at the beginning. I am now doing the full broadsword form but am still only part way through the Butterfly Swords.

Sparring

We did some sparring in Black Belt class a couple of weeks ago and after Sifu Ryback asked us if our egos were involved. I thought to myself that mine is definitely not. I can assure you that for many years before it most certainly was. I didn’t want to get hit and I was always trying to get the upper hand and be dominate. Now I have changed my focus.

My main focuses in sparring are:

1) I try and recognize what my opponent is going to do before they do it.

2)I work on sparring form a right lead instead of the dominant lead.

3)I try and incorporate new combinations and see which ones work or don’t work and why.

I recognize that there are people that are way better at sparring than I am and I am okay with this. I am working on things that will hopefully make other people better at sparring or even better than they are now.

After all this, is there some ego in here. I would say yes as but it is a lot different that it was before

Travel Time

I am getting closer to my busy season for work which means I will be away from the Kwoon quite a lot coming up. I have been travelling for work since 2018 so it is something I am used too but it is still not an easy thing to do. No matter how well I plan, I am not able to get in the training I want and sometimes there is literally no place to train. The one thing I have been able to do thanks to Zoom is to stay connected with the Kwoon. This helps me stay motivated and allows me to keep focus on my goals.

In past years, it was a lot more difficult because Zoom was not a thing so when you were away, you were away. You had no idea what was happening in classes or what changes were being made. It was hard to come back and keep up with everything. I have stated in the past and I will repeat it again, Zoom has really helped me. So, although it is not ideal and the training does suffer while I am away, it is better than it used to be.

Hitting A Wall

I hit a bit of a wall this week where I just felt done. I was sore, exhausted and had no energy. I think I had been pushing too hard and not taking enough time to properly recover. It was only for a day but I do need to be aware of this going forward.

I need to start pushing harder on my forms however as I feel like I am not progressing as much on these as I need to. I am going to start putting some extra time in on these over the next little while to get back up to where I feel I need to be.

Open Training & Progress

Saturday was a good day at open training as it was pretty quiet so I was able to focus on a few things myself. I was also a bit dissapointed as there were not many adults or black belts there so I didn't get to work on some of the things I wanted to. In the end, it was still a good day though.

I am making some good progress in the Broadsword form and I will then start focusing on the Butterfly Swords. I will still be working on the Snake form as well but am prioritizing the school forms first as I feel they are more important to my growth.

1 Month In

We are a month in to the year and I am pretty happy with most things so far. My fitness training has been going well and I am on week 8 and have not missed a workout yet. My core requirements are also on track (thanks in part to my fitness training).

There are areas that I need to work on especially when it comes to my forms. I have the sequence (mostly) for the broadsword form and just need to start repeating it. The butterfly swords, I have the beginning and that is all. And the snake form I have even less of. I will be reaching out and asking for assisatnce from people on the team and other instructors to help with these.

My personal requirements are also going well and I feel like these are where I am excelling as they were chosen specifically to improve myself as a martial artist

Priorities This Year

I am approaching this year with the specific goal of improving my skill as an instructor. At first I didnt know how to really accomplish this but I realized it was ridiculosly easy. The best way to accomplish this is by just improving my own skill. Below is a list of areas I will be focussing on.

1) Strength and Conditioning - I am doing a workout program at home and I am also participating in class warmups and lessons as much as I am able to.

2) Sparring - My workout at home consists of sparring drills and I am also researching and learning new drills on a weekly basis (minimum 1 hour per week on this).

3) Grappling - My workout at home consists of grappling drills and I am also researching and learning new drills on a weekly basis (minimum 1 hour per week on this).

4) Sanda- My workout at home consists of Sanda drills and I am also researching and learning new drills on a weekly basis (minimum 1 hour per week on this).

5) Lion Dancing - This will include my strength and conditioning training but will also include working on my drumming as well as working on my own lion dancing. I will also be booking one on ones with Sifu Brinker on a regular basis for guidance and assistance.

6) Broadsword Form - My weapon form for this year will be the School Broadsword form as I need to focus on it so I can teach it to the students. I will also be working on the Butterfly Swords as a secondary Weapon. My hand form will be the Snake Form to help with my mobility.

It looks like a long list to me but I was already doing most of it before this year started but now I have goals and objextives to meet weekly.

Kindness Project

I wanted to talk about Todai Bauers kindness project sooner but I wanted to do it justice and truly express how much it has affected me. I came to realize that I wouldn’t really be able to do this as its something I don’t think mere words express.

I am truly humbled by what everyone wrote and I wish I knew who wrote what. Everyone of them meant a lot to me and I would want to thank them personally. I know that is not possible so I would like to thank everyone on the team personally. It is amazing to be surrounded by such a great group of people.

One more thought on this. I will be honest that there have been times in the past where I have thought about not continuing with my training. I have been gone for long stretches and there was no zoom before so when I was gone, I was gone. Even after zoom, I felt like I had lost my purpose at the Kwoon. I was no longer instructing any classes and I would show up every so often but not really be there. Instead of quitting though, I found something that I was passionate about and that got me engaged again. As most, if not all of you are aware, this was grappling, sparring, Sanda and the Lion Dance. The point of this is when I read the comments, there was a lot about these aspects of my training there. And this has only fueled my passion to continue to expand and hone my skills to better help pass them on to my training mates. So again, thank you all, truly from the bottom of my heart.

I Missed Lion Dancing

The Wednesday before the banquet, I got the opportunity to perform in a Lion Dance at the Onoway Elementary School. For reference, it has been at least 4 years since I have performed in a lion and I felt it. I had forgotten just how hard it was and how much conditioning you need to have.

As a funny coincidence, it just so happens that a couple of my personal goals this year are directly related to Lion Dancing and this dance in Onoway just confirmed with myself why I chose them. I will be working on my own lion dancing skills this year. Not only to become a better dancer but to also work more on the technical side of things. And as an added bonus, it will help with my strength, conditioning and Kung Fu.

I also have even more respect for the Lion Dancers we have at SRKF. It is a lot of hard work and I now have a better understanding of just how hard it is.

New Year, New Focus (not quite yet however).

This past year has had some challenges along the way and I definitely have some areas that I need to focus on more. I let some of my requirements slip and then I never went back to them. This is not how a thought the year would go but I still think it has been a good year for me regardless.

Here is where the not quite yet part comes in.

My main focus for the past couple of months has been the Lion Dance for the Chinese New Years banquet which is coming up this weekend. I know it has been challenging for not only for the Lion Dancers but also the drummers and the Budha as well. I recognize thisbut I also recognize that we have an amazing group st SRKF and I am extremely proud of what they have been able to accomplish so far and what they will be able to accomplish on Saturday. I just want to end this by saying thank you all for helping make the vision come to life.