Boot camp

Boot Camp was great yesterday. We were able to stay the whole day and got to participate in a lot of the seminars when there was enough room. It was good to see the wide range of students out there, everyone pushing themselves. It's an exhausting day, not just physically, and it was inspiring to see everyone keep going. At first we thought there was going to be no boot camp this year because of booking issues etc. but I'm so glad it worked out, there is no way to replicate that day and the bonding that happens with your training mates. Awesome job to all those who came out, can't wait for next year.

This week

I couldn't come with any real topic to blog about this week. I've been trying to get a lot more running into my routine lately in preparation for Mud Heroes in August, I'm really excited about going as a group and getting really dirty! Dragon Dance was a total blast on Friday- tons of fun and working on a lot of fun, challenging stuff. I've been really cursing my wrists and shoulders this last few days. I couldn't pull off a move during dragon dance because my hands just won't hang on tight enough, it is so strange to feel strong and then get such a watered down response from my hands/wrists. I was working on a throw today with Adrien and just couldn't pull it off because of my shoulder stuff. Experimented with a couple different arm positions etc. to take some pressure off and it just felt like my shoulder was going to rip apart no matter what. I am feeling frustrated with this stuff rearing it's head again this weekend. Someone recommended a book to me that has a lot of different stretches and exercises to help correct problems like mine so I will be working on those and see if it helps. Have a good week everyone.

Helios

Last week was tough. Our dogs one back leg had started to deteriorate very quickly in the last few weeks. He had signs of a partial tear of his cranial cruciate ligament- kind of like a ACL in people and we are pretty sure he tore it completely just after Canada Day. With no back up leg we had to make a tough decision. We said goodbye on Tuesday and though it's a relief not to see him struggle to move or know he is in constant pain, it's been a really tough week. We knew his life would be shorter than most, just not this short. He never slowed down because he was 3 legged- just a normal goofy dog, loved chasing rabbits and birds and wrestling at the dog park. I think he was the most happy just as he is in this picture- off leash, wet, muddy and just finished chasing some poor bird.
He was a pretty great dog, he was a big part of our family. I'm glad we got to have him in our lives even if it was for a short time.

nothing to say

I started writing my post today and it was so horrible and negative I deleted it twice. I have stuff unrelated to kung fu that is clouding my view of everything right now. For now I will try and focus on getting some studying done and do some mindless training, maybe some running. See you all on the mats.

Final push

I am writing my national certification exam this month, the 16th to be exact. I forgot how much I hate studying for tests! One of my goals was to get at least 85% on this exam. I've been studying on my lunch break but I know I need to put more time in than that. With the demo performance tomorrow I will be able to put studying as my new short term goal. 

School is out and I couldn't be more proud of my girls report cards and awards at the end of the year. They both got leadership awards this year, really cool to see my kids putting into practice what we talk about and teach at kung fu. There have been times when doing the right thing has been extremely hard for them, especially Chantal in grade 7. She is one of the only people I know that will do the right thing every time. She  has stood up to people in defense of others and it has cost her a lot sometimes. She doesn't have a very thick skin, so many nights at bedtime I've sat with her and tried to make sense of why people do the things they do while she cried. Anyone with kids knows what I mean. I hope that I can live up to her example if I was in a similar situation, it's tough to take the high road and it's often a lonely one. 

Can't wait for the demo tomorrow, think of the hours of hard work we've put into this thing, not to mention the literal buckets of sweat! See you all tomorrow.

Progress

I feel like we had a breakthrough as far as practices go this week. Mr. Donahue has adapted his cane form and we are making it work with one attacker. It's fun and I think I finally stopped bumbling around and it's looking a lot better. My acting needs work, hopefully that will come. I also made progress with my cane form, it's almost done! It needs a few more moves, and it's not that smooth yet but that will come with practice. Hurray! Progress!

I am trying to be more mindful of my free time so I can actually enjoy it instead of wishing there was more of it or it was at a different time. I only had Sunday off this week but making sure I wasn't getting stressed about all the stuff I had to get done in one day makes a big difference. Spending an hour this Sunday with my feet up outside, having a coffee with my dear sister and my adorable niece set a more relaxed mindset for the day.

blocked

I'm trying to write a quick blog before work but inspiration is not hitting me this morning. I had to miss class Friday, and emergency came in and I was on anesthesia...the good news is the dog made it even though I left Mr. Donahue without a partner. I'm finding practices a bit frustrating right now, we are working on a 3 attacker sequence with only 1 attacker. I am the first to admit that I have no imagination, my 5 techniques for black belt grading was excruciating for me to come up with. I'm trying to work on my cane form but I'm stuck, I recorded myself doing what I have and I look like a pansy waving a cane around. So bottom line is there is more work to do. See you on the mats!