Keeping on!

I'm doing lot's of procrastinating, not just about kung fu but other things around the house. I think that I may have too much time on my hands so I am not doing too much of anything. If I have a plan or an appointment, that seems to help my schedule and I get more things done. Otherwise, I am just hanging out, visiting with Jim and Katie, playing with my dogs and my unpredictable cat. I am getting lots done on my knitting projects, I did cane strikes in my back alley this evening and I am eating well. I had hoped to do some painting this week but it is too hot for that (hopefully it won't be as hot on Monday). I will keep keeping on!

Boot Camp

First of all I must say that I am not going to count my vacation days anymore, there may be some negative responses due to there being so many of them. So, I am on vacation until I am not.
Boot Camp.....
What a great day!
As I was driving out to Keephills, I started to relax as soon as I got off the highway and things started to slow down (except the crazy driver but he was going so fast that he wasn't in my world for long !)
Walking meditation was fabulous once I accepted that there was no talking! Every time I saw something cool, I wanted to share with my friends, it's what I do! The walk was very calming and relaxing, I endeavor to do more walking meditation (not just warp speed walking).
Moving meditation was also grand. I love all movement that involves my chi and sharing that passion with others is a rush.
I left to go and help with the lil leopards class and that was fun, helping them figure out relay racing is always very entertaining :)
Being a black belt at boot camp is so cool, not only do you get to participate but you get to hang out with a bunch of cool black belt and students that take this journey on in a similar manner to you. It is inspiring to watch the students push themselves to their limits, have a rest and push themselves some more. It is also cool to continue to learn more about the art and myself each time I attend.
There was much story telling ( I love it!) and lot's of laughs (not just at me!!!) and tons of bonding, it was an amazing day!

Tired, nervous and excited

Today was a busy day - getting ready for boot camp, preparing food, doing laundry, sewing my badges on my new uniform (!!!!)
I am a little nervous about running a seminar tomorrow but mostly excited. And I'm excited about boot camp. I love hanging out with like-minded people all day long, everyone pushing themselves as hard as they can. It will be a great day! Rain or shine!!!!

Day 13 - vacation

I slept in again today, just when I think that I am rested, I sleep some more! I enjoyed my guitar lesson today, a learned a new part of a song that I have been working on (it is sort of like being ready to learn the next part of a form). I had an opportunity to help a friend and attend the advanced Black Dragon class, it was a lot of fun. There were not many students but the ones that were there worked hard and clearly pushed themselves outside of their comfort zone with some gentle guidance from Sifu Playter. I am glad that I attended that class today.
Here's what I did today:
5 miles
200 sit ups
200 kicks
practiced my guitar
Acts of Kindness
- advised a lady in the park on how to keep the numerous mosquitoes off her dog
- let a lady go in front of me
- let someone cross the street in front of my vehicle
- took my dog for a nice long walk and now he is sleeping (and snoring) at my feet

Day 11 - vacation

Today I did not do any requirements, the only thing that I did that was kung fu ish was to drop the clean towels off after supper. I shopped with my daughter all afternoon looking for the ever elusive perfect pair of shorts ( for her not me!), had a nap and dinner with my family. After supper we did some things around the house and that is the whole day. Of course, my activities were interspersed with reading my book and playing my guitar.
Acts of Kindness
- had a great chat with a lady in the line up for the til
- let Katie drive for part of the afternoon
- spent some time with a really good book

Day 10 - vacation

Today was my day off but it doesn't usually work out that way and today was no different. I met my friend and did Tai Chi for an hour. Of course, there was some visiting too! It is so cool to do Tai Chi with another person, especially one that you are comfortable with. It is relaxing and exhilarating all at the same time. You both get your chi flowing and it feels very powerful, the time goes by super fast and you don't even have to think about the movements, you just move. It was a great way to spend some time on a Sunday. This is the second weekend in a row that I have hung out at the kwoon on a Sunday morning, it is starting to feel like a habit :)
Here's what I did today:
- 2 reps of the entire Tai Chi form and some fooling around with some trouble spots
- 3 miles
Acts of Kindness
- helped a lady at a store whose bag broke
- moved out of the way for someone who was clearly in a hurry
- said good bye to our trailer at last, I did this all by myself, met the people, showed the trailer, collected the money, and opened the storage place today so they could pick it up. We have been talking about selling our trailer for a while so I am glad that I was able to do something about it.

Day 9 - vacation

I love Saturdays, it is by far my favorite day of the week. I remember when I was a kid, I looked forward to Saturday every week. Now I am a taller kid, I still do the same thing but for slightly different reasons. Now it is all about kung fu! I totally enjoy spending 5 hours of my day at the kwoon,  each and every week that I can. And it still gives me enough of my day left to do other things, hang out with my family, take care of  my yard or do a few chores or errands. It is the perfect day each week! I am completely looking forward to next Saturday already :)
Here's what I did:
300 kicks
150 sit ups
15 Da Ma Hsing
12 Tai Chi Broad Sword
4 miles
Acts of Kindness
-  worked with my husband to find a home for all of our camping equipment
- chatted with lovely people in the health food store
- asked for help when my hands were full
- helped with the fitness class and consequently worked my butt off :)

Day 7 - vacation

Last night I slept for 10 hours, that is something that I usually only do when I am sick. I felt really rested when I got up but a little off my game. I usually get up between 7 and 8 each morning and today I got up shortly after 11! None of my pets woke me for their breakfast but they certainly let me know that they had waited long enough when we finally started our day together. I decided to follow my routine to the best of my ability so I could get back on track.
I had a great day, spent some time with Katie and Jim, attended my kid's classes and had dinner with my family. The kid's class was amazing, I started out doing the warm up and had a great plan for a fun class. I ended up going from the warm up to stances to a spontaneous relay to the end the class. It was totally fun and it seems like the kids were having a good time too. They worked really hard on their kicks and stances and smiled the whole time. That in my mind is a successful class :)
Here's what I did:
100 sit ups
100 kick
3 miles
Acts of Kindness
- took Katie driving for 90 minutes (that is not easy! and it should count as ten acts of kindness)
- made lunch for Jim
- shared friendliness with an elderly gentleman at the grocery store

Day 6 - vacation

This morning when I did my workout, it seems like all I did was tighten up all the muscles. I lifted weights today and throughout my workout my neck and shoulders got tighter and tighter. Any of  you experienced lifters have any thoughts on this? I started lifting 2 lb weights at the beginning of the I Ho Chuan year to strengthen my shoulders for push ups and I continue to lift every other day and I am up to 10 lb weights doing 3 reps of 12. Today was the first day that I have experienced this muscle tightening thing.
What I did:
300 sit ups
180 kicks
weights
tai chi
practiced my guitar
3 miles
Acts of Kindness
- chatted with another guitar student's mom
- helped my husband with his sore leg
- gathered some information for my husband

Day 5 - vacation

Yesterday's rest was just what the doctor ordered! I feel great today, I have my energy back and accomplished many more things than I expected. I did my requirements and did some yard work before it got too hot. I also attended the kid's classes and was surprised and impressed by the number of dedicated students and how hard they worked despite the heat.
today i did:
150 sit ups
150 kicks
4 miles
tai chi
tai chi broad sword
mu long koon
practiced my guitar
blogged
Acts of Kindness
- finished an oven mitt in time for a birthday :)
- let someone in front of me at the feeds store
- let someone in traffic
- friendly to folks who stopped their car so I could cross the street
-  a waved to a guy who let me onto the road when I couldn't very well

Day 4 - vacation

Today was all about looking after me. I had tea and read with my pet family laying on me. I watched movies with my husband. I ate all my favorite comfort foods. I knitted a lot. I had a nap. And I feel rejuvenated. I needed a day like today :)

Day 3 - vacation

I may be starting to slow down a bit. I declared today a rest day! and then forgot and started doing sit ups. I finally got to begin to pay back for all the help that I received from everyone when I was getting ready to grade. Today I opened the kwoon for someone to practice the fitness test, the year before I tested, several different black belts opened the kwoon so that we could practice the test. It is important to me that I get to return the favor to other people getting ready to grade.
Today I did:
50 sit ups
Acts of Kindness
- opened up the kwoon today
- chatted with two super nice people at Superstore
- made supper this morning so I wouldn't heat up the house
- made lunch for my husband

Day 2 - vacation

I am extremely tired, in a can't get enough rest kind of way. I managed to attend all my classes at kung fu today and pushed through open training until 1:30. When I came home, I went out again to help my husband with some stuff and then totally crashed on the couch when we returned home again. I don't want to stop everything and rest, I am hoping to do my requirements and meet my commitments and rest. I had a great time at the kwoon today, I learned more about how to move with my tai chi move (since finding my hips, it is a whole new world), worked super hard in the fitness class but it didn't feel like hard work (probably 'cause my partner was there and it was fun) and discovered some amazing moves for my tai chi broad sword thanks to Sifu Playter. Good day at the kwoon!
Here is what I did:
300 sit ups
200 kicks
6 tai chi broad sword
3 miles
tai chi
blog (obviously)
practiced my guitar
Acts of Kindness
- friendly to people at Safeway
- let car in traffic
- helped Mr. Smid with wrist escapes
- waved at my neighbors
- helped my husband

Day 1 - vacation

Today was a good day! My first day of holidays and I slept until almost 6 am! I truly enjoyed my workout this morning, I really concentrated on my movements, ensuring that I had good position. I slowed down my kicks in an attempt to work a different muscle group and my legs are a little sore so it may be something to incorporate more often. I didn't go for a walk this morning as I had some appointments so I had to chose between walking and work out.
What I did:
300 sit ups
200 kicks
tai chi
3 tai chi broad sword
3 lau gar
2 kempo
guitar practice
lion dancing
I am still trying to feel what is right for my tai chi sword, hopefully I can finish with that this weekend and get to practicing it over and over and over. I loved being in the lion, it is fun, hard, sweaty and a little bit scarey ('cause you don't really know where you are). I hope that I can practice again tomorrow.

Today

I am not really sure that I was totally awake when I threw my first kick this morning but it was a fun way to wake up. My cat helped me with my sit ups by sitting on my tummy and giving me kisses or at least trying to :) I think that we should write a book (as a group) titled 'how I survived I Ho Chuan with the help of my pet family'. We have a lot of great stories that we make some people smile (well, me anyways).
What I did:
150 sit ups
180 kicks
tai chi
mu long koon
tai chi broad sword (without the sword)
practiced my guitar and went to my lesson
3 miles ( no dog walk due to working at the crack of dawn)
Acts of Kindness
I slowed down and let someone in traffic
made dinner even though I wanted to put my head down and sleep
sent Katie an advertisement for a writing contest that she may be interested in
gave my husband a small present that he really liked
read and responded to as many blogs as I could

My Day

It is a pretty good time at the children's classes when the numbers are low due to the beautiful weather and vacations. We can concentrate on specific things with specific kids and really get some great work done. In one class today, we did noodle sword fighting and were able to concentrate on combinations and blocking and countering. Something we can't always do when the class is full and we have to concentrate on making sure everyone has a turn. In the beginners class we worked a lot on kicks and were able to spend some serious one to one time with our students and really help them in the areas that they were struggling in. It was a good kung fu day :)

I did:
300 sit ups
230 kicks
weights
tai chi
6 miles
no reps today - I had a little trouble with my vehicle and fixing it took my forms time
Acts of Kindness
let a lady go in front of me in line at the grocery store
let someone in traffic when I saw their non-verbal need for my lane (I learned that at the meeting on Saturday)
checked in with a couple of friends to see if they are okay
congratulated someone on their new position

getting their money's worth

 Work has been brutal the last couple of days, I guess that is the price I pay for a lengthy holiday. I will enjoy my time with my family and my time at the kwoon while I am off and recharge my work person for another six months of intensity.
On days like today I am very glad that I have my routine and structure of my daily workouts. I guarantee that tomorrow's will not be very  early in the morning, perhaps a little closer to mid-morning :)

Forms

I worked on my Tai Chi Broad Sword this evening, trying to modify it so that I don't hurt my shoulder each time. I have two different versions that may work but I am not really sure what the finished produce will look like. I think that I am going to video them and decide which one to keep and which one to toss or maybe even a combination of the two. I got a little frustrated and sore so I switched to Tai Chi and settled myself down. It was a good day at the kwoon today.

Acts of Kindness

Our wonderful team decided that we would do random acts of kindness for each other. We chose names, and are to do unanimous acts of kindness for that person throughout the year. Today I received one such act! What a great surprise! Thank you kind person, Katie and I had a great evening together and are planning what we can do together next week. You definitely made my day better.
My kind acts for the day;
1. Stopped to let an elderly lady cross the street
2. Held open the door for an elderly lady with a cane at the library
3. Helped someone at the grocery store
4. Shared my happiness and made people smile at the movie theater
5. Chatted with a man and his dog at the park
6. I said good morning to everyone I saw on my walk this morning
 
An act of kindness in defined by the recipient, when I make people smile, I think - I was just kind to that person.

One person....

What happens when one person works against the grain of all the other people on the team? They talk a good talk but in reality they are doing whatever they want when no one is looking. They seem to get along well with everyone, laugh and joke and fool around but definitely have their own agenda. What can be done?
I am not talking about our team at kung fu, I am talking about my work team. I seriously don't know what to do, each new initiative is put in place with safe guards so this person doesn't sabotage it. So far we have talked and talked, involved the management team and are very blunt when discussing how we would like things to be run. This person keeps on smiling and nodding and agreeing with everything and then does not stick to the plan. I guess you can really only lead a horse to water, you can't make them drink.

Canada'a Birthday

Being around a group of people who have made great sacrifices and commitment to be a part of our country was a very humbling experience today. I love that I am a Canadian and I am very proud of our country and I am glad that we make room for folks from other countries to come here and prosper. I had never been to a citizenship ceremony before and I am likely to attend more in the future, it was an awe-inspiring event.
Hanging out with the Horse team today was also very humbling. It is easy to forget that there is a whole group of people working just as hard as you are to be amazing until you spend several hours together and then it becomes glaringly apparent that you are not alone and some surprising people share some of the same struggles.  What a great day!
I know that many of us set out to do 1000 push ups (kicks) and sit ups, I didn't make it. I had some stuff to do after we were done at the park and I totally lost my momentum. The rest of the day seemed to entail recovering from the lengthy time spent outside. I will definitely be more focused tomorrow :)
We didn't quite make it to the fireworks, Katie is taking a summer school course and needed to do some school work in order to stay on her schedule. That young lady has more discipline that anyone else I have ever met, she is determined that she is going to be successful and she works hard every day to ensure that it happens. I know that she will succeed at everything that she puts her mind to!