Goals

So I started school again this Monday...it was really, really hard to get out of bed. I am finally taking Animal Health, something I've said I was going to do since I was about 10, although I wonder sometimes about how wise it was to take on 10 courses and my black belt grading at the same time. I was thinking back to some of the goals I had set for myself in the past few years and it was pretty cool actually. I had made a list of 43 things I wanted to do during my first go around of the UBBT and the coming years, this was UBBT 6 so a few years ago. I actually did a lot of them. I got my motorcycle license, got good at kempo 2, did at least one pull up, held my horse stance for 5 minutes, and a lot of my personal goals too.

In the last few years I have gotten a lot done and made big changes in my life. I will give all the credit to being a part of the UBBT. I had never set actual goals for myself, always vague things I thought I might do someday. I have learned how to set a goal and follow through and in doing so I have gotten a lot less afraid of failure- I can't say I enjoy it but I have learned that failing isn't the worst thing that can happen. I have really learned to put myself out there and fail over and over and publicly too. It's been good for me.

Looking over my goals of 3 years ago was really good for me, sometimes I feel like I haven't progressed in my training or personal life and it was fun to see how many things I have accomplished and the ways I've changed and taken another path. Happy training everyone.

tweak

We are heading to Jasper in the morning for one last family get away before the summer is over. I'll have a lot to think about on the way and during practice. Sifu T. Playter helped me tweak my front thrust and side heel kicks tonight and I feel such a difference in power and center. Isn't it funny, you practice something so often and a difference of a few degrees in a foot position makes such a dramatic change. School starts for me a week from today, I am excited to finally start the animal health program but I'm worried that my training will suffer. I'm going to have fuller days I guess. There is so little time until grading! Have a good week everyone!

Hi Sam!

This week has been a big week already. I finally broke some boards! I had a really powerful "skidoosh" moment (I just watched Kung Fu Panda 2) when I turned and saw that last board and it broke so perfectly. The entire blue brown class applauded me and my daughter ran over and hugged me...Adrien was there smiling and so was Sifu Brinker. At that point I actually felt a little like Kung Fu Panda myself! I realize I'm really playing this up, but it felt pretty awesome and as most of you know I've been agonizing over the boards for a few months now.

At the UBBT meeting this week I talked about my struggle with the boards to all of my team mates. Sifu Brinker pointed out what a great learning experience this has been for me, yes, including not breaking my boards and then bringing them home to stomp on, and then burn, and instead bouncing off "like a raisin off an Oldsmobile". Those board would have made excellent construction material.

I do need to break again but I feel that my mental block is gone, and it has been quite the learning experience. I feel confident that I can repeat my breaks successfully again. OK, I'm officially done talking about boards!

same old

I've been really wishy washy with what I wanted to write about this week, it feels like I'm always writing about the same things. But kung fu is on my mind 24/7 right now. Every day there is ups and downs and always the anxiety about being ready to grade in October, and whether I will even be eligible to grade if I don't break my boards one day soon. One good thing about NOT breaking boards in front of a whole bunch of people is that it really gets rid of any ego you may have been harboring. I feel like a brand new white belt. It has also been a very good wake up call about my technique- the boards don't allow anything less than perfect, and it's humbling.

Today I got some much needed perspective after reading a blog post. Suddenly all of the things that feel insurmountable seem so small in comparison to the hurdles some people face. There is a lot to be learned from others about how to face adversity with strength and positivity rather than buckling and admitting defeat.

Time flies

August is off to a busy start. In less than a month I'll be back in school and we'll only be about a month from grading. Where did the summer go? Although I have put a lot of work into my kung fu it seems like there is always tons to work on.

This week has been a tough personal week, there has been a lot going on unrelated and also related to kung fu. As always my training mates have been super supportive and inspiring, what would I do without this place?

I've seen a huge difference in my older daughter's attitude towards kung fu lately. Something really clicked for her last week during class when the benefits of having a training partner were discussed. She found a training buddy (my training partners daughter) and also asked me to train with her. She has been practicing at home and taking initiative in class- asking Sifus questions etc. Tonight she got a stripe for the stick basics she's been working on, the timing couldn't have been more perfect to reinforce what some hard work can do. It's awesome to see the fire in her eyes, she's already planning her next goal, and I have another training buddy.