Another Opportunity

I was scheduled to go to another job this coming Saturday for a week in B.C. but I don't know if that is going to happen now. It was announced that B.C. is restricting travelel to essential people only. What i'm doing, they are unsure if it can be classified as essential so I am just waiting for confirmation but it doesn't look good.

I could get angry or upset but what good would it do. It is not going to change anything so I might as well make the most of this opportunity. I have a bunch of work around my house I can do instead and I get to spend some time in my own house. So Yay!

P.S. I am really done with the coronovirus. Like seriously done with it.

Darn Spear.

I am off to a bit of a slow start with my weapons this year as I am not sure which direction to go with them. I have been trying to come up witha drunken spear form which I have been working on for a while now. It is something that I have struggled to formulate a concept in my mind but the good thing is I haven't given up on the idea yet.

I am also trying to come up with 2 weapon forms this year by going back to the Horse bench. this is a wepon I really enjoy and have done it twice in the past. This year I am looking to create something new and unique with this as well so that will also be a challenge.

I will be gone for work for the next while so I will see you all in person in about a month (hopefully).

Good to be Back

Being back at the Kwoon has been a much needed reset for me. Just being back has given me a boost of energy and has added a sense of normality to a crazy year. I am finding that it has not been as difficult to keep the intensity low but the most difficult part has been tryiong to read the class with masks on. You can't see facial expressions and you don't know if people are smiling, crying or wincing in pain. Nevertheless it has been great.

I am going to try to maximize my time here as between spring break and my work, I will not be back to the Kwoon until May 3. Which for me is a normal occurence, hence I try to be there whenever the opportunity arises because you never know when you could be back.

Punched in The Face

I had an interesting and insightful conversation with Sifu Brinker this past week. We discussed a lot of things including the school, teaching and sparring. Silent River Kung Fu has been a huge part of my life for 15 years now but this last year has been tough as I'm sure it was for most of us. The one thing that I want to see is SRKF continue to be here for as long as I can see.

I feel like my Kung Fu has suffered in certain areas because of the lack of teaching opportunities. I find that by teaching, I made great improvements in my own Kung Fu and that has not been the case this last year. There is nothing that could be done about this and I know that but just being able to talk about it was way to feel a sense of relief I guess.

We also talked about sparring and the San Shou class. That was such a great class but it was not sustainable as people lose interest over time. I am hoping we can do another seminar in the future which will be for all experience levels. As he said, sometimes it just feels good to punch or be punched in the facwe. that will be a great day again when that happens.

P.S. We have had 18 of 20 days with high winds and freezing temperatures with 4 whiteout days. I am ready to come home.

The Cold Continues

We have had 4 days straight now of whiteout conditions up here with temperatures hovering around the -75 mark. It's times like these that I ask myself why am I here. I know the reason why, but I question if it is really necessary. The answer is of course yes but sometimes I wonder.

The same can be said about training. I have asked myself why I still train a few times over my Kung Fu journey. And the answer is always because I simply enjoy it. The benefits I get far outweigh any of the negatives there might be.

Speaking of that, the camp has been in standby mode so I have actually got a little extra training in. Bonus

Brrrrrrrrrr!!!

That was my day up here yesterday. Whiteout conditions, you can only see 2 feet in front of you and exposed skin freezes in 2 minutes. Just generally a cold day where even inside has a chill to it.

Why am I posting this? Because I thought it was important to share, that even in these conditions, I was still able to train yesterday. The only thing ever holding you back is yourself.

A New Year

We are officially into the year of the Ox for the I Ho Chuan but it somehow feels different this year. This will be my ninth year in a row on the team and it always felt that there was an end to one year and a start of a new one. But not this time (to me anyway).

I am sure it is due to the extraordinary year we have had last year. With most of my training being done remotely or online, I felt like an outsider observing for most of the year. There were a lot of good things last year and I feel like I actually advanced further in some areas than I normally would have. However with that being said,I am ready to be back at the Kwoon.

Let me be clear that I want to be back but only when it is safe and makes sense. Until that happens I will continue to build on what the year of the Rat gave to me and appreciate the fact that I do have the ability to still train.