I Love Kung Fu

Why do we do what we do?

I love that feeling when I am trying really hard, concentrating, to perfect a move or a technique. I love that feeling when it feels just right. I love the feeling after practicing my kicks for an hour or so in the basement. I love that feeling when I finish my push ups everyday. I love when I notice that I need to make a change in my form and then I can do it. I love that feeling in class when you are working with a partner on a technique and I am so focused and so intense that I don't really notice anything around me. I love that feeling when I'm doing Kung Fu. I enjoy Kung Fu so much that sometimes I want to laugh out loud when practicing ( this is not an appropriate response in class).

This week, I had the pleasure and pain of trying to explain to someone why Kung Fu is so important. What do we get from it? Well, the above paragraph is just the tip of the ice berg. There is so much that I get from being a part of Silent River Kung Fu that it is hard to put into words and hard to explain the passion. I feel like I belong to a great big extended family. I think that there is an answer to anything that I could ask, right here in our family. (Yesterday, in the change room, I found the answer to one of my struggles with pull ups.) I think that if I did not belong to Silent River, I would still be yearning for a way to give back to the community and still not really know how. I think that I would still be searching to find a way to use something I enjoy(knitting) to give back to the community. I think that I would still be looking in awe at people who can set goals and reach them. ( I always used to think that was something only other people could do). I always wanted to be a leader and I was never sure how, now I think that I am getting the picture.

What do we give to it? Well, that one seems easier to answer. We give our passion and dedication. Our desire to do better, be better, achieve more. We give our time and ourselves, we strive to be accomplished martial artists.

I wasn't really sure how to write down all that has been happening in my head this week. I decided to start writing and see what happened. Looking back at it, it seems a bit rambling, but I am not sure how to do it any other way. To put some structure to it, would seem to muddy the process. So here it is......my love for Kung Fu.

Challenge for the Soul

The first time I saw this challenge, I picked out the things that were outside my comfort zone and I dismissed it. I didn't give it another thought until someone mentioned it and said that I would benefit from it. So, I took another look and decided that challenges were for going outside our comfort zones.

The first day turned out to easier that I thought. It was Saturday and I spent most of the day at Kung Fu, so giving out authentic compliments seemed natural. The fact that I had to be aware of them was a bit different.
The second day, acts of kindness, was another one that was inside my zone and something that I have been working on for a while now. I committed many different kinds of acts; kindness to mother earth by collecting litter, kindness through words of encouragement, kindness to strangers and kindness to my friends and family. The whole day left me feeling warm inside and thinking that I had a positive impact on my world.
On the third day, I pored my feelings into a couple of letters to my family. They were both touched by the sentiment. At first, I felt kinda cheap because I only did it because of the challenge. Then I really paid attention to the impact it had on them and the reason I wrote the letters seemed irrelevant.
Day 4, make a list of all that I'm grateful for. I thought about it all day and then made my list before bed. It was a good positive way to end my day.
Day 5, the hug day, hug a least 10 different people. I consider myself a touchy person, I hug, I touch when I talk, I punch, I grapple, I comfort with my hands.... Anyways, it was awkward having to reach outside my circle and ask for hugs. I even hugged a team mate that I have never hugged before. I think that it was okay as long as it was spontaneous but once it was planned and thought out, it didn't seem comfortable anymore. But enough about me, the people I hugged seemed to really appreciate the gesture. They didn't know it was pre-planned, they just appreciated it for what it was. It was a good day to pay attention to how I was received compared to how I was feeling.
On the sixth day, I had to turn all my negative thought into positive ones. It turned out to be more difficult than I anticipated. My work day consisted of dealing with a staff member's mistake and how others were reacting to it. My struggle was with the other people's reaction and how negative they were and then my negative thoughts as a reaction to them. What a nasty circle. It is disturbing how easy and quickly things can go in a negative direction. It left me wondering why isn't it as easy to be positive? Why is it more comfortable to say disparaging remarks than to speak up and re-direct the comments in a positive direction? Yet, if the person in question is in front of us, we avoid the truth (our true thoughts and feelings) and lie in an attempt to protect their feelings. Is this learned behavior? This day made my realize how hard I work to stay positive and be honest. Does this mean that I am a naturally negative person? I sure hope not!
Day 7 - Me day! Sounds easy, be nice to myself and make a list of all the qualities that make me unique. I struggled with the list, it was way outside my comfort zone. I didn't know what to write, it took a lot of searching to figure out how I see myself, I am not sure that I know yet. I did do one thing for me, it was not as easy as I thought either. The whole time, I had to keep saying, 'I do not feel guilty'. I did manage but it was a challenge.

So, what did I learn this week?
I think that being a good person and having a positive impact on my world is something that I need to work on everyday. I don't think that I will ever be done, goal achieved! I think that each day I will improve but never be finished trying to get better.

LEADERSHIP SEMINAR

I wasn't exactly sure what to expect from the leadership seminars but I wanted an opportunity to learn and so there I was.

The first week was a bit of a surprise (okay, bombshell would be a better word), at the end of the workshops, we (the students) were to do a presentation. We could do it in groups or alone, it had to be about the leadership project that we are working on. In the seminars, we were going to learn the tools we needed for the presentations and for our projects. I learned so much in the past month that I am not sure that I can do it justice in my journal. I learned so much about being a presenter by watching and listening to the different presenters.

Sifu Brinker talked about public speaking, he taught us about paying attention to your surroundings; BE a listener, KNOW your audience and your subject matter and DO follow up on what you say you are going to do(take responsibility). He talked about the three tools of empowerment; enlightenment(Who am I? What do I want?),empathy(Who are you? What do you want?) and accountability(Be 100% responsible for your success or failure). Throughout his presentation, Sifu Brinker shared with us how he lets his passion shine through and how he knows all the facts about his subject before he embarks on a presentation. I really enjoy listening to Sifu Brinker talk about anything and I felt like he gave us an inner glimpse into how he captures the interest of his audience by being authentic and letting his emotions and passions shine through. He is a public speaker that we could all aspire to be.

Sifu T.Playter taught us about research, she promised that it would be dull and boring but it had to be done. I was completely entranced by her presentation, at the end, I couldn't believe that it was over. She has a unique way of speaking and teaching that assures you that the thing you dread the most (research) is not that bad and if you just keep at it, with patience, you will succeed. Sifu Playter shared a calm confidence in me that gave me the push to try new and old techniques of gathering data. She also taught us step by step instructions on how to do research, keep track of where we found it and how to format it to give credit where it is due, and all kinds of tips on how to navigate through tonnes on information to find what we are looking for. It was definitely not boring and she definitely showed me that it was doable.

Sifu M.Playter talked about goal setting and planning your time effectively. I could have listened to him all night. His passion for Kung Fu was there in every word he spoke and in every story he told. He taught us about not wasting any time, making each work out, each repetition count, each one should be perfect. He talked about the 100x theory and how if each technique is not perfect then you are actually going backwards in your training and will have to work that much harder to gain back the progress that you were making. He talked about not taking on too much, know your limitations and if you take on too much then you can't give your all to everything. That doesn't mean you shouldn't push yourself to do more and to try harder, it means know where your wall is. He taught us about prioritizing by making a list of what is important and keep them in the forefront of you mind when organizing yourself. Sifu Playter talked about dedication and never quitting. He stated "Quitting is the only way to truly fail." I think everyone should put that on their fridges as a daily reminder to not give up, not matter what the obstacles are. As he was wrapping up, Sifu Playter gave us tips for the black belt test, one statement says it all. "The test is like knife fighting, their will be a lot of blood and it will all be yours." I was surprised by all that I learned from Sifu Playter, I had not heard him speak publicly before and I was really glad that I had.

Last but not least was Sifu Freitag. She taught us about teaching and gave us some insight into what they don't teach you about teaching. Sifu talked about knowing your resources before you start; What you need to know, What you should know and What is nice to know. She taught us how to teach a technique, show the whole technique, break it down and then show the whole technique again. She also talked about how to have the student do part of the technique, then do another part and then put it all together for the whole. It really gave me some insight as to how the classes are run at Silent River from the teacher's perspective, which is valuable to me as I attempt to shift from a student role to that of a teacher. Sifu Freitag also taught us about lesson plans and what needs to be included in them; Goals, Training Aids, and Main Teaching Points. She talked about Preparation, Presentation , Application, Feedback and Positive Reinforcement.
She gave us tonnes of tips on how to teach a class, signs to watch out for, ways to make each class fun. The biggest lesson of the day for me was that you can book learn how to teach as much as you want but the rubber meets the road when you step in front of a group of students and you can keep them all interested, be sensitive to each person's learning style and follow a lesson plan, all at the same time. My hat is off to Sifu Freitag and all the instructors at Silent River for doing an amazing job every day.

That brings me to the presentations by the students (that's us). I felt pretty good as I prepared for my presentation, I was confident that the seminars had given me the tools I needed to succeed. That didn't take away the serious case of nerves that attacked me as I began my presentation. My voice reduced to a whisper, kinda shook a bit and some nervous pacing and I was off and running. I think I was nervous because I was sharing some personal information at the beginning of my talk and I was worried about being too emotional ( I think). I didn't really need to worry about it because I was so quiet, not everyone could hear me. I think that once I got past that part, I began to feel more comfortable and relaxed and enjoyed it. I was first to present, so then I got to relax and enjoy the rest of the presentations. It was very cool to listen to all the different people's ideas and you could see what each person had learned throughout the seminars. I can't wait to participate in the projects that were presented. Each one is about giving back to our community, it will be fun.

Thank you Sifu T.Playter for organizing the seminars.