Time?

The past week I did not attend any KF classes due to the holidays. This means that I should have had an extra 10-12 hours this week. Well it didn't seem that way. Time is like money, you always spend what you have... Use your time wisely.
Happy New Year!!!

Eating Battle

I need to figure out how to take control of what I eat. I love eating and I love most foods (excluding green jelly salad and such). If I did not exercise daily I would weigh 300lb already. But if I want to be at my target weight I need to double my exercise time.

How do I control what I eat? Especially during the holidays?

In the past I followed few rules:
Eating breakfast
Eating smaller portions
Drinking lots of water
Not eating after 8pm
Eliminating pop

Wish me good luck. The battle begins...

I Am Generalizer

I am a generalizer. What is it? It is the opposite of a specialist. While being a generalizer has its merits, I am always wondering how it will be to specialize in something very specific.

2 problems -
The first one is what to specialize in? What will be the right niche for me to be better than others.
The second one is - am I going to be good enough?

I think that even if I was able to decide what I want to specialize in, I would have my doubts that I can actually be the go-to person. I lack the confidence to be that.

I got to a point in my life that I would like to become an expert at home, work and in Kung Fu.

It starts with hello

One of the I Ho Chuan requirements is to perform and track RAK - Random Acts of Kindness. One of the easiest acts of kindness is to acknowledge others and to say hello. I find it strange that there are still people around that will not greet others. It is a simple act that makes both sides feel better but sometimes we too caught up with ourselves that we forget.

If I missed greeting you today then Hello!!!

Personal Goals

Thinking about the next IHC year and what personal goals I want to set for myself. It need to be hard enough or else what is the point of it. On the other hand it needs to be something that is attainable. I had few goals set in the past that were not attainable. Maybe if that was the only thing I'm focusing on but not as part of a demanding program as the IHC. It should also be something I want to achieve and that I will be proud of myself when I complete it.

This year I want to focus on my endurance and my creativity. These are 2 areas I was never good at. The shorter the better - that used to be my motto. I'm also very realistic which mean creativity, although I know I'm capable of, is not one of strongest characters.

I'm also hoping to make my goals more public and post updates on my progress. I'm sure this will keep me motivated throughout the year.

Re-engage

Since August I've been struggling with my engagement. It's not like I stopped practising completely but it definitely was not at the level I was at before. The first year of my IHC was one incline all the way to the black belt ceremony. This year it was the first time I hit a plateau.

In the last couple weeks it changes back and I was visiting the gym (or Yoga class) every weekday morning and attending the black- belt / sihing / IHC / TaiChi / Fitness classes. Now I have mapped out a new schedule and I have some short goals in mind that will lead me into next year's goals.

I have great expectations from myself and the team. I know that we can pull it off.

Lest We Forget

Back in Israel Remembrance Day is a day before Independence Day. As much as it hard to make the switch from sadness to happiness, it is a great reminder of sacrifice people have made in order to keep our lives safe and free.

Tiger Challenge aftermath

Tiger Challenge is one of the best days for me. It is also one of the hardest one.

This day is filled with emotions. Stress, pride, friendship, emptiness.

The stress level is high. I'm nervous about my performance, my kids' performance (are they going to get a medal?), the kids I teach performance (are they doing good?), is the event going to run smoothly?

Then pride sips in when my kids and wife are competing (although being very nervous) and are winning and getting some medals, I'm doing good with my forms (next year I might steal the gold from sifu Playter :-)), the Advanced Black Dragons are looking pretty good and very creative (I was so happy to see that) and all the events are running smoothly - this was the earliest we finished.

There was even one moment that almost ruined the whole day for me - but I will leave that for a future blog.

Talking with fellow friends and having the pizza at the end was very nice and I hope I was not too short towards anyone because of me trying to see what is happening (and need to happen) in all 3 rinks.

Then coming back home - there was a crash. The adrenaline was gone. This happens when you prepare so much for something and then it is gone. There is nothing more to do... I don't like this feeling.

Looking back at the Tiger Challenge this year - I think it was a success for me personally. Not without struggles and not without frustrations but overall the good overcomes the ugly...

Goal Achieving with Dopamine

There are 4 "happy" chemicals in our body. 2 are selfish - Endorphins and Dopamine - they help us get thing done. 2 are selfless - Serotonin and Oxytocin - they help strengthen our social connections.

Dopamine is a dangerous chemical as it is highly addictive. It provides us with instant gratification/pleasure. The body is releasing Dopamine when we have a sense of completion - achieving goals, completing tasks, getting things done.

Dopamine was put into place by Mother Nature to incentivize us to move forward with what we've committed tourselves to doing by giving us little bursts or "hits" of the dopamine chemical whenever we take a small step towards achieving a desired outcome.

This is why setting goals and then following through is an important part of a black belt journey. We need our body to release dopamine to keep us moving and we do that by attaining our goals - big and small.

Thanks for what?

It is Thanksgiving now and like everyone else I should probably write about how thankful I am... Thankful for what?

6 weeks ago my cousin was killed from a rocket attack in Israel. I was not really close to him as he was few years older than me and rarely spent any time with him as a kid. I did not even know how many kids he had until after. He had 2 girls and one boy, older than my kids.

I cannot imaging leaving my family behind. It can happen anywhere. Car accidents, disease, etc.

I need to be thankful every moment of my life that I am still alive, that I am healthy (mostly :-) and that my family is doing well. I can forget all the things that don't make me happy (there are many of these) and all the things I want and can't have.

I have a lot and I want to keep it this way.

Struggling

How can I tell if someone is struggling? Attendance? Blogging? 

How can I tell when I'm struggling? Motivation to get up is down, there is no drive to continue practicing. 

Routine has been a key for me. It keeps me engaged and connected. Last year we were working hard for July 1 and then I was working hard preparing for my grading. The engagement continued all the way to the ceremony with countless hours of practice. 

This year there was a void after July 1. August was hard with few weeks of vacation followed by a week away from home for business. And then was the big change in my routine - I stopped going to the early morning class. With 3 Sifus and only 3-4 students I didn't feel I'm getting what I need from being there. 

The problem is that I did not find my routine yet. I'm occasionally going to the gym and did some yoga classes but I'm lacking the consistency. Changes at work are definitely not helping as I'm trying to find my place again. 

So what should I do? I would like to hear what you have to say. I'm hoping to be able to find my routine again. 

Forgiveness

A man was on a train sitting next to a young man in his twenties. The young man seemed stressed and was constantly looking out the window.

After about an hour the old man ask the young man "where are you going?". The young man answered that he is going to Janesville. After a little pause, the young man told the older man that he is going back home after not seeing his dad for 5 years. "I did something really bad and knowing that my dad will be very angry at me, I left without saying goodbye."

The old man ask if the dad knew his son is coming back. The young man said "I sent him a letter few weeks ago telling him I'm coming back today. I told him to put a white rag on the big maple tree in the field before the train station if he wants me to come back home. If there is no flag, I will know he did not forgive me and I will keep on going."

When they got close to Janesville the young man asked the older man if he can spot the maple tree as he is too nervous. The older man agreed and exchange seats with the young man. Looking for the tree, he was astound not see any tree in the field. He told the young man "I think your dad forgives you. The tree is covered with rags.

Lions in the house

This last Friday was the first time I enjoyed the lion dance. I think I'm getting used to it and although my back is hurting, I'm enjoying it. 

I think that I can see the purpose of the lion dance training and knowing how great it could be having 8 lions dancing around... 

Blogging

Hoping to get back to the kwoon after being out for 3 weeks. After 2 weeks vacation and one week away for work, one of the things that keep me engaged and connected are the blogs. Unfortunately there are not too many of these. Most of the team is not blogging on a regular basis.

I want to encourage everyone to use this on a regular basis and share what is happening in your training and in general.

My Name is Earl

On our trip I was helping an elderly couple to drain water from their boat and then to drug it up next to their RV. 30 minutes after we got a big salmon as a thank you.

If you do good things, good things will happen to you!

Appreciation

Last week we walked into a show-home in our neighbourhood. It looks so nice - clean, tidy, high end. I could dream living in house like that... Then after we got back home I started seeing my home in a different view. Behind the clutter and the kids' stuff I was able to see hoe great my house is. When you get used to something you tend to lose your appreciation to it. Sometime you need to have something different to open your eyes and realize that what you have is great and that you don't need something new.

Yellow Bridge

Sometimes I'm  thinking what is the purpose of the I Ho Chuan team. Their are many individual goals and their are some team targets. When I try to analyse what will be considered a success I'm wondering what is more important - team outcome or individual glory. As an individual I think I can set an example, empower, encourage others to follow me and to do better but I cannot do it for them. I cannot write their blogs, I cannot do their pushups. This means that I do not have full control of the success of the team.

Today we were painting a community bridge and I was happy to see few I Ho Chuan members show up and we all did this as a group. I thought it was amazing. The only downside for today was that this was not organized by a I Ho Chuan member. None of us took the leadership and we missed another opportunity as a group. Cudos to Sifu Vantuil for making this happen. She will be a great asset in the team next year!

Vacation Time

Blogging from out of nowhere is not an easy task. My cell phone was completely out of batteries and there is no electricity around here. 

The last few days we were enjoying at the beach, hiking in the woods, kayaking, etc. Everything we did was done as a family. There are stories about people that wish they spent more time with there loved ones before they died. I'm hoping I'm doing it right now so I won't have to regret not doing it in the future. 

Doing what is important for you with the people that are important to you. This is what life is all about.

Planning

I love planning. I can spend so much time planning that sometimes I can neglect the doing. There are few things in my life that I feel that I just need to do it, rather than plan and think it through. I don't even know if I can do it... when I'm out of my routine I'm so lost. Next week we are going on vacation. It is good because I will be able to plan ahead but at the same time I will be out of my routine.

Summer, finally

Summer is here. It is hot. Blue skies. This weekend seemed to be like a roller-coaster.

Friday after work, black belt class, sihing class (bruised my forearm really good), I Ho Chuan class (hurt my back really bad being in the back of the lion), playing outside with the neighbourhood kids (twisted my ankle really bad).

Then I thought I will be in bed all of Saturday but still dragged my self to fitness class (did what I could) and open training. Helped Mr. Smid with wrist escapes (I love teaching because I learn so much when I need to explain what I'm doing). Then off to Wabamun lake with our kayaks and then relaxing with a camp fire and nice supper. Got back home after 10pm.

Sunday we spent most of the day at the Kids Festival - hours of fun playing laser tag, huge bouncy houses, seeing a magic show and more. Then doing yard work and doing some renovations prep in the house.

I was struggling with my schedule in the last couple months. I find it hard to wake up early when I go to sleep too late (it is 10pm now and I still have stuff to do...), I also find it hard to stay active in the early morning class. This is why I'm going to skip and go to the gym in the mornings. I'm also hoping to achieve one of my personal goals and start going to a Yoga class. I hope it will workout.

Summer. How can we make it last longer?

Morning Change

Many times I find myself paralysed when I have too many things on my to-do list. It is hard to decide what I should do and it results in doing nothing. Needless to say this is the wrong approach and doing one thing will be better than doing nothing. However I get into this state especially when the tasks I have cannot be completed fast. If it requires work for more than few hours, I find it hard to start and commit.

I used to have a morning routine that I am not happy with right now. I think a change is due.

Rain or Shine?

Sun is good. Rain is bad. Why? Why do we feel depressed when it is rainy, cloudy? Why do we feel better when the sun is shining?

Sun light simulates the production of serotonin into our brain. This is why we feel happier when there is sun. I'm just thinking that it would have been great if all the lights in our homes, streets, work would have had the same effect.

My productivity at work will greatly increase if I was feeling good all the time. I would be able to do more stuff at home too. Everyone would have been nicer to each other.

Happy (Sunny) Canada Day everyone!

Demo?

We are less than 10 days away from Canada Day. The time is passing so fast? Are we ready for the demo?

Last year we were doing a lion dance with a dragon dance and then forms demo and board breaking. I feel that we are a little behind in preparing for the demo. I'm hoping we can pull it off.

Who's day is it?

Busy weekend. Again. You would think that if there is nothing big planned for the weekend and it is also father's day, that I will be able to relax and enjoy some down time. Not in my house.

Rushing home from work Friday evening, going to Black Belt class, Sihing class, I Ho Chuan class, sparring class. Saturday morning taking the kids to the River Festival while Sharida is at TaiChi, then open training (opps I forgot my KF pants), I Ho Chuan meeting, back home framing a wall. Sunday I walk up and got my father's day present - waffle maker. Then back to work. Getting the garage cleared to get the trailer out, buying drywall, hauling it to the basement, mowing the lawn, drywalling, getting the kayaks ready, going kayaking (first time this year), going to walmart with one of the girls to buy a necklace, moving furnitures back into the semi-finished room. Writing a blog...

I'm very tired now but I feel I have done so much in the past few days. It feels good to accomplish so much.

Canada Day parade / demo

What can we do to make the Canada Day parade / demo successful? First of all, all the I Ho Chuan team should be there, which means we should be able to utilize the dragon. With the lions, the dragon has such a big affect on spectator.

We should also encourage ALL members of SRKF to join us at the parade and support us in the demo. Having a big group walking in the parade is also very impressive. Let's start a buzz in the school so everyone will want to come. Maybe even Po will show up...

Migration

This weekendm we spent time at the bird festival in Slave Lake. The first thing I could see in there is that there are not a lot of people. Although I enjoyed the quiet campground and the extra pancakes at the Pancake breakfast, I could not stop thinking about what people are missing and why there are not more people enjoying nature and learning about the migrating birds.

I am also guilty spending too much with electronics. This is my work, fun and communication with family. But this weekend was a great reminder of the balance we need to have in life. We all need to appreciate nature and to do whatever we can to preserve it to our children and their children.

24 hours of fun, sweat and joy

Pandamonium was great success for me. I stayed up for the full 24 hours and although my eyes were completely red by the end, it was all worth it.

My only regret was that I missed seeing Kung Fu Panda. Everytime he showed up, I was not around. :-(

Opportunities

Doing anything in a mastery level is not an easy task. Grading for your black belt is one of the hardest paths I had to go through. What made it easier for me is taking any opportunity I had along the way.

These opportunities present themeselfs and you can either take them or ignore them. Some of these opportunities for me were going to the fitness class, trying to make every sihing class I could attend (and changing other commitments to make it work), going to as many classes as I could and participate in the class, teaching the kids classes...

Going for you black belt this year on the next? take as many opportunities as you can!

Leadership

Last Friday I attended a leadership conference. It was very insperational but lacked something. I did not feel connected to all the speakers as they used a one sided story to illustrate their points.

I don't consider myself as natural leader. Being in front of people is hard for me. Talking in front of a gorup is even harder. Leading a group? 

While training for my black belt, we discuss the types of leaders - the one that leads by charisma and the one that leads by example. I always tend to be the one that leads by example. For some reason (read on to find out) I don't have the required charisma to lead a group of people. I think I'm afraid of failure. What if I tell a group of people to do one thing and it turns to be a bad idea? What if I say something and no one listens?

I see the say charasteristics of my self in my son and girls. I want them to be better than I was. I want to lead by example and show them that I can also lead with charisma. Something to work on and grow.

Look Up

When you are too busy looking down you don’t see the chances you miss.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7dLU6fk9QY

Appreciation

This week I had 2 topics I wanted to blog about. I didn’t want to leave one of them to next week and I was going to blog twice. Then I figured both are different but the same.

I was a single parent this weekend. Starting Thursday I was on my own. Taking the kids to their classes and teaching in the kids classes, sending them to school, meals, birthday party, more Kung Fu classes, working in the garden, bike rides, building forts, more meals, more classes, even managed to complete a project I had on my list for few months (when the kids were at school).

When I had some time to think about all I was doing I had appreciation to single parents, managing to juggle life by themselves. I also appreciate my wife who is doing the lion share of this work on a regular basis.

Today is also the Holocaust Memorial Day in Israel. I remember stories my dad used to tell me about days without food. The fear of being taken to the death camps. All these memories came back today and I am so thankful to be living were I am. Having a house, food, security.

We really need to appreciate all that is around us. The people that surround us and the environment we live in.

168 hours

Most of us complain about the lack of time. We have 168 hours a week to do everything we want. It all depends on our priorities. What is most important for us? If it is important we will find the time for it. Of course we have to sleep, eat, work…

Considering 7 hours of sleep (every night), 46 hours at work (including commuting), about 5 hours for eating – that leaves 68 hours. Now it doesn’t look so good but this is almost full 3 days!!!

Trying to avoid the down time when I’m staring at the computer not understanding what I’m doing and why I’m not doing what is important to me. Well, step one is to determine what is important. Step two is to plan what you do and step three is to act on it.

Can I plan my week to the minute? Is it overkill? Probably it is but if I keep reminding myself what is important to me, I’m sure I will find the time to do it.

Back pain - again?

Today I bought my personal massage therapist. The one the is always there for you. Although limited to the back, I think it will be a great companion to my chiro visits.

This weekend was lots of fun - on Friday we had Dragon practice, Lion dance practice, presentation of our demo forms. Then for my anniverssary date we went on for a nice vietnamese restaurant. Saturday we spent some more time at the kwoon and in afternoon we went swimming. Today we went bike riding and later in the evening we went for an early Easter meal.

Now time to go, relax and get my back massage....

To sleep or not to sleep

The obvious answer is to sleep. The past week I was soooo tired.

Going to bed in a decent hour is becoming harder as there are so many things to do. I hardly drag myself out of bed and go to work, to the gym. I think it might be dangerous to drive in this state. I thought need to take a day off and catch up with some sleep but now I realize that this wont help. I need to go to bed on time no matter what and get 7-8 hours of sleep.

Speed

On Friday we had a sparring class and we focused on speed. If you have good foot work and you are fast, you can hit like a lightning and avoid being hit. But you have to have the endurance to do so. Last year I watched a video of a Karate black belt fighting with a "street fighter". I remembered how fast she was and wanted to watch that video again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3OgpLmtQuE

Snapshot:
Push-ups - 1,500 (8,000/50,000)
Sit-ups - 1,500 (8,000/50,000)
Nunchucks - 22 this week - 182 out of 1,000
Staff - 32 this week - 132 out of 1,000
Acts of Kindness 23 -  this week - 186 out of 1,000
Plank - 16 this week - 86 out of 1,000 minutes
Horse Stance - 19 this week - 95 out of 1,000 minutes
Qi Gong - 0 this week - 7 out of 365

Passion

I have to admit that as a kid I was never passionate about anything. Just do what you need and that is about it. My friends loved motorcycles (and could name them by sound), basketball (and were part of a team), partying (and were drunk...). I was average with everything. Never sticking to something or committing to anything. Maybe because I was scared of letting someone down or not being good enough.

Kung Fu was the first activity I was passionate about. I wish I had more time to learn and practice. Being passionate about Kung Fu is something that comes from within. You cannot be told "show your passion in class". You can develop passion in time but you either going to have it or not. You cannot fake it.

At the same time being passionate about Kung Fu doesn't mean you have to stand in the middle of the kwoon and scream all the time. Passion is internal.

Just some thoughts about my passion.


Snapshot:
Push-ups - 710 (6,500/50,000)
Sit-ups - 700 (6,500/50,000)
Nunchucks - 18 this week - 160 out of 1,000
Staff - 21 this week - 100 out of 1,000
Acts of Kindness 27 -  this week - 163 out of 1,000
Plank - 6 this week - 70 out of 1,000 minutes
Horse Stance - 9 this week - 76 out of 1,000 minutes
Qi Gong - 0 this week - 7 out of 365

Ahhh - I need to get a Qi Gong routine

Spring

Days are getting longer, warmer and sunnier. It feels good.

I completed my staff form (for now) and I need a lot of practice. It is hard to practice at the kwoon as it requires space and the ceiling is not high enough. Few more weeks and I will be able to practice outside. :-)

What a week

I've been sick most of the week. Not able to do most of my routine. I did go to some of the classes and I found it really hard to exercise. Especially the fitness class on Saturday when I thought I'm all healed up.

Anyway - a new week is ahead and it is also warming up.

Snapshot:
Push-ups - 200 (4,500/50,000)
Sit-ups - 200 (4,500/50,000)
Nunchucks - 15 this week - 139 out of 1,000
Staff - 12 this week - 55 out of 1,000
Acts of Kindness 26 -  this week - 109 out of 1,000
Plank - 0 this week - 53 out of 1,000 minutes
Horse Stance - 2 this week - 63 out of 1,000 minutes
Qi Gong - 0 this week - 7 out of 365

What am I doing?

At our last meeting I was looking at the bench. My son was sitting their and watching us. I kind of feel bad that he has to spend so much time at the kwoon watching us. It is more so true for the younger girls who usually don't join us on the mats for open training. When we got home and we were discussing some of the stuff from the meeting, he was repeating Sifu Brinker's words. I guess he is getting something from sitting and watching us :-)

We all struggle with schedule and priorities. I'm learning 2 new forms and I focused on one. The second one was neglected. Sometimes you need to focus on what is more important at the moment. You cannot focus at everything at the same time unless you have no work/school to deal with.

Sickness, injuries, changes in life / work are all an obstacle (or a ladder) to being in the I Ho Chuan. It all depends on how you approach it. I was thinking what would have happen I had to be in a wheelchair. Would I stop being part of the I Ho Chuan or would I use the group support and do what I can in my condition. I can't really tell what would have happen but I would like to think I will stay engaged.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX9FSZJu448

Snapshot:
Push-ups - 1,070 (4,300/50,000)
Sit-ups - 1,040 (4,300/50,000)
Nunchucks - 44 this week - 124 out of 1,000
Staff - 5 this week - 43 out of 1,000
Acts of Kindness 23 -  this week - 83 out of 1,000
Plank - 16 this week - 53 out of 1,000 minutes
Horse Stance - 17 this week - 61 out of 1,000 minutes
Qi Gong - 0 this week - 7 out of 365

Numbers

Numbers do not lie. It doesn't matter which angle you look at it. I've been training lots but I'm neglecting some of my goals.

Specifically the QiGong exercises but also the Horse Stance, the Plank and the staff form. I'm practicing lots with the staff but not working enough on the form itself. The numbers are a reminder to focus on what I need to focus on this year.




Snapshot:
Push-ups - 1,060 (3,230/50,000)
Sit-ups - 1,060 (3,150/50,000)
Nunchucks - 15 this week - 77 out of 1,000
Staff - 8 this week - 38 out of 1,000
Acts of Kindness 25 -  this week - 63 out of 1,000
Plank - 15 this week - 37 out of 1,000 minutes
Horse Stance - 16 this week - 44 out of 1,000 minutes
Qi Gong - 1 this week - 7 out of 365

Long Weekend

Lots of things happened this weekend already. Work is extremely busy and I had hopes to catch up with some work during the weekend. I doubt it will happen...

Friday night I spent 4 hours at the kwoon. It was great being back at the Sparring class. On Saturday we did form repetitions in fitness class. That is a great way to get your heart going. Then open training. I finally remember the Nunchuck form. Now I need to learn my Staff form and to get the Nunchuck form to look good. At open training I also hit my face with the staff. Then it hit the ceiling (or the other way around). I felt good with the staff but now my nose hurts.

Today we had some progress with the tiling and I hope the rest of the team will finish most of it tomorrow. It will be great to get this project done. Today I also went, for the first time this year, to the dog park. This is one of my personal goals and I hope it will get warmer soon as I don't enjoy going there when it is cold. Tomorrow I plan to learn the rest of my Staff form. I want to know it by the end of next weekend.

Snapshot:
Push-ups - 910 this week - 2,170 out of 50,000
Sit-ups - 890 this week - 2,090 out of 50,000
Nunchucks - 34 this week - 61 out of 1,000
Staff - 10 this week - 30 out of 1,000
Acts of Kindness - 17 this week - 38 out of 1,000
Plank - 14 this week - 22 out of 1,000 minutes
Horse Stance - 14 this week - 28 out of 1,000 minutes
Qi Gong - 2 this week - 6 out of 365

Acts of Kindness

In our first meeting we decided to do an anonymous act of kindness towards one of our team members. This is going to be a great way to know the person I picked better. I hope I will find the opportunity to act and to make a difference in his/her year.

Tracking my acts of kindness (AOK) is one of the requirements I struggle the most. What qualifies as an AOK? Is making breakfast for my kids an AOK? I don't have to feed them, right? Giving treats to my dogs? There are some acts of kindness that I see as duties I've taking upon me. When I brought a dog into the house, I committed to take care of that dog. On the other hand, I don't have to.

Letting a car merge in traffic seems like an act of kindness but if the guy merging is one that changed lanes in order to sneak in front, is it still an act of kindness? Is it kind to the guy behind me that is not going to make it on time because of all the cars I'm letting merge in front of me?

Is saying hello to a friend, co-worker, or a stranger on the street is an act of kindness? If this is the case I can probably track an average of 12 a day. That is going to be over 4,000 AOKs just for saying hello.

Should the AOKs be more meaningful? Should I track only one type AOKs everyday? How are you approaching it?

Snapshot:
Push-ups - 1,260 this week - 1,260 out of 50,000
Sit-ups - 1,200 this week - 1,200 out of 50,000
Nunchucks - 27 this week - 27 out of 1,000
Staff - 20 this week - 20 out of 1,000
Acts of Kindness - 18 this week - 21 out of 1,000
Plank - 10 this week - 10 out of 1,000 minutes
Horse Stance - 14 this week - 14 out of 1,000 minutes
Qi Gong - 4 this week - 4 out of 365

New Year

I can't believe what have happened yesterday. It all went so fast. The Dragon/Lion dance was awesome. Then came the kids demo and I was so happy to see my kids doing so well and also my class, the Advanced BD, performing (great job everyone!). I was also exited to present the awards for the Advanced BD - way to go Miss Deluca and Mr. MacKay!

After the awards presentations, we did the I Ho Chuan demo. I think it went pretty well. I think I finally got comfortable with my Twin Hooks. Then we had the candidates demo. What a rush of adrenaline. I was nervous about the Twin Hooks fight choreography but it was done without a glitch. Finishing with the multiple opponents applications was the peak for me. I don't think I would be able to do another demo after that.

I got my black belt. What an excitement. And I will never forget what Sifu Brinker told me. Because of what he said, this is one of the best moments I ever had.

So after taking today for resting (yeah right resting with 4 kids...), I had to put some thoughts into my schedule for the coming year.

I'm going to switch my blogging day from Wednesday to Sunday. I'm also going to include a snapshot of where I am with my I Ho Chuan requirements and my personal goals. This is to keep me accountable.

I'm happy to continue with the team and also seeing some new faces in the team. It will be great to meet everyone next Saturday for out first meeting (Feb 8 at 2pm if you did not know).

Snapshot:
(this week includes today only...)
Push-ups - 0 this week - 0 out of 50,000
Sit-ups - 0 this week - 0 out of 50,000
Nunchucks - 0 this week - 0 out of 1,000
Staff - 0 this week - 0 out of 1,000
Acts of Kindness - 3 this week - 3 out of 1,000
Plank - 0 this week - 0 out of 1,000 minutes
Horse Stance - 0 this week - 0 out of 1,000 minutes
Qi Gong - 0 this week - 0 out of 365

Year in Review

Last week of the Snake I Ho Chuan team. This was an amazing year. I accomplished so many things, I learnt so much and realized I have so much more to learn.

I managed to accomplish most of my goals. What I'm most happy about are the changes I've made that will be there for life.

I'm looking forward to next year. More challenges, more fun. One of my reasons to join the I Ho Chuan again was to improve as a team as well as an individual. I hope we will end the snake year strong and keep the momentum into the Horse year.

Being Safe

I want to be healthy and in one piece, ready for the demo. Getting hurt last week was a scary experience. What if it happens the day before? What if it happens during the demo.

At the same time I can't wrap my self with bubble wrap (although I'm sure it might be fun).

Watch my back

Seriously - watch my back. I'm not sure if it is over training, the cold/warm weather or the shoveling I've done in the last week but my back is hurting.

I feel like I should get a massage and I should pay my chiro a visit. Probably should drink more water. This is one of the things I struggle the most. Keeping myself hydrated. Although I like drinking water once in a while, it is not enough. How do you convince yourself to drink more water???

Preparing for the demo

Today I was working with the blue/brown kids and their form for the demo. I find it is very easy to find imperfections in their forms especially when they are doing it 5 at the same time and not the conventional form. I was correcting them over and over knowing that the more they do it the better they will get.

Then I took a step back and watched it as a parent at the banquet. I was proud. They looked awesome. Not perfect but awesome.

I hope that at the end of the (Chinese) year they will remember that. How awesome they are and how hard work equates to being remarkable.

Happy New Year

I don't know what to think about New Years. It is an arbitrary day when people make resolutions. From now on I will...

On the radio they were saying that 25% of fitness resolutions fail in the first 7 days. On January 7, one of every four people who made a resolution regarding their fitness will stop.

In the black belt success cycle (kids curriculum) we say as a side note for the "set a plan" step - "and get a success coach". This is such an important part of being able to succeed. Someone to help you make your plan and hold you accountable to your promise.

There is no need to wait for a specific day to start doing something that will benefit you and the people around you. Start today! and if today is January 1, then I guess it will be your New Years resolution. :-)