Fall

It's really feeling like fall these last few weeks. I'm not a winter lover so this time of year makes me dread winter but I still can't help but love fall for itself. I like my autumn garden- harvesting and doing all the canning and pickling, although sometimes the overabundance of vegetables needing something done with them can be overwhelming- I have over a hundred pounds of tomatoes in my house right now! Really can't complain about that though when there are food shortages around the world.

I feel like a broke through a wall with my cane these last couple of months. I am not a creative person and I have struggled to come up with a form to showcase this weapon. I think what finally happened was I just started playing with it, twirling it around, hitting stuff- I don't know, it just worked. I really like the cane as it is practical so I'm glad this is finally coming together. Dragon dance is fun as always. I like working on the new stuff, even if it's a little scary sometimes, but I do feel bad for Sifu Wetter having to carry me around on his shoulders PLUS the dragon head!

Fun week at work so far also- an injured hawk was brought in and we did radiographs for the wildlife rescue group, really cool.

4th draft

I've been thinking a lot about the I Ho Chuan year and some of the conversations we've been having after class- and of course Sihing Lowry leaving kung fu, (hopefully just temporarily). I wrote at least 3 different blog posts and deleted them all, they ended up just being my opinion on the subject of sacrifices, what it takes etc, basically a lot of blah blah blah. We are all different in our own ways and we will each have our own unique highs and lows through this year. I hope though, that we can utilize the fact that in some ways we are all the same, we are all struggling at times no matter how it may seem on the outside. It is easy to feel alone and frustrated, I know we all want to keep things positive but sometimes just being able to talk to someone about having a crap day makes all the difference. So if you ever want to talk about your crap day (or your awesome day) I'd love to listen.

Heart

Someone I know posted a video with this commentary on it, It is geared towards a competitor, but I felt like it has relevance for a lot of us in what we do, or anything your trying to accomplish in life. I can't think of anyone who hasn't felt beaten and knocked around by life a few times. The best accomplishments in life are the ones that we struggled to finish or the ones we thought there was no way we could do and then doing it. Anyway, it spoke to me.

"Here's the thing that makes life so interesting. The theory of evolution claims only the strong shall survive. Maybe so, maybe so. But the Theory of Competition says just because they're the strong doesn't mean they can't get their butts kicked. That's right. See, what every long shot, come- from- behind underdog will tell you is this: The other guy may, in fact,be the favorite, the odds may be stacked against you. Fair enough. But what the odds don't know is this isn't a math test. This is a completely different kind of test. One where passion has a funny way of trumping logic. So, before you step up to the starting line, before the whistle blows, and the clock starts ticking, just remember out here, the results don't always add up. No matter what the stats may say, and the experts may think, and the commentators may have predicted, when the race is on, all bets are off. Don't be surprised if somebody decides to flip the script and take a pass on yelling "uncle!" And then suddenly as the old saying goes, "We got ourselves a game.""

Intensive care

It's been a really busy week (as always I guess) but seemed more so this time. It is the season for Parvo puppies at work. I work in at a clinic that serves a lot of rural clients and the incidence of parvo is much higher than other places I've worked. People who choose to treat their dogs pay a lot of money and my job is a lot of intensive care to support their bodies in the struggle to fight off this virus. It's a lot of work and it's hard not to get attached to these little guys for the time they are with us. A few weeks ago someone brought in a bin of 5 pups about 8 weeks old they found on the road, all 5 parvo positive. One died while we examined them and another had no blink reflex left and was euthanized. I put so much hope in to those remaining little guys, I put IV catheters into all 3, gave meds, cleaned up and wrapped in blankets with warm water bottles and left for the night. Anyway- long story short they all slowly drifted away over the next few days despite my best efforts. I know there was nothing more we could do but give supportive care but I still felt so useless and angry too, that someone left them, that they didn't vaccinate the mother, that the only one to care they were gone was me. Really this blog has nothing to do with kung fu, just needed to empty my head somewhere. I know all you SRKF guys are responsible pet owners but pass on the education- spay and neuter your animals, and for heavens sake VACCINATE! If you can't afford at a vet clinic go to G&E pharmacy and do it yourself. Sorry, needed to get that out!

Before and After

I'm late! I forgot to post before we left on vacation! It was good to get out of the city and go to the mountains with the kids. The highlight of the trip was definitely Mud Heroes, we had a blast. Watching some team mates come through the final obstacle looking like a bog monster (Sifu Prince, Sihing Csillag and Mr. Donahue especially!) was something I will never forget.  It was challenging but really fun, especially if you like to get dirty, which I happen to love. We had a great group and I would love to see even more students from SRKF go next year. I'm pretty sure we have a 100% yes from everyone who went this time. Congrats to Sifu Darcy Regier and Brandon Regier for placing 126th and 128th (or somewhere very close to there) out of roughly nine thousand participants, and Brandon is 15! It was great to hang out with everyone casually as well, we really have a great group of people at Silent River.
      Back to school is right around the corner and I'm back to work Monday. It feels like I haven't been at the kwoon forever. I apologize for the missed practices, but I'm excited to get going on Dragon Dance again. Summer can be tough when everyone comes and goes, trying to take advantage of such a short season, when we need every team member to fulfill the dream of 2 dragons. I know that we will get back into our routine and pull together as a team as we always do... how can we not with such a great group.

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.