Dragon Dance

There is no doubt that the Dragon is a great way to bring a group of people to work together, set goals  and get result. The dance last Saturday is a testament for that. We worked hard and we all contributed to a dance that we were able to execute on the Festival of Trees event. From inside the dragon, the dance seems to have gone smoothly. I really want to see the video of the dance.

There are always challenges with numbers when it comes to the dragon. If there are less than 9 - then you can't even practice. If you have exactly 9  dancers, you are risking not being able to perform or train if someone is sick or can't show up. If you have more than 9, practice is easier as there are always enough dancers but how do you pick who is going to be dancing at the performance? Seniority? Skills? Attendance?

I'm not sure what the answer is. I just hope that everyone knows that a big part of what we gain of the dragon dance is within the practices. When it will be time to figure out who is going to be in the dance for Chinese New Year (the day of?) it is still a group effort of everyone who ever practiced with the dragon this year.

it doesn't matter

So after posting the video last week I've been thinking about it and why I don't really like the video and the message in it. If you haven't seen the video, it is about a group of people that hate other (for example a British guy who claims he is 100 British and he hates the Germans). After participating in DNA test, he realize that he has some German genes in him.

The message is we should not hate others because we also have part of their DNA. This is great but I was thinking - and what if I don't have part of someones DNA? Does that allow me to hate them? We should not hate others just because they are "other".

My dad was a Holocaust survivor and he told me that he even with everything he went through, he did no hate Germans. He resented and hated the individuals who did the atrocities but not Germans just because they are Germans.

We should always accept others and also demand that others accept us. Gender, Religion, Origin, Skin Color, Height, Size, it doesn't matter.

Finally

An important part of the I Ho Chuan is tracking your numbers. How many push-ups, how many acts of kindness, how many repetitions you have done. If you do not track your numbers, how can you tell if your are on track to reach your goal?

Being a techie, I've been looking for an app that will allow me to easily track my numbers. I've looked at a number of apps and most of them were too cluttered, too hard to use, too busy, not user friendly. 4 years ago I gave up on the apps and created my own spreadsheet that allowed me to know where I'm at.

After talking to Mr. Beeler who joined the Rooster (2017) team, he went to explore the apps world. After looking at more than 50, he found one that seems to be working well, user friendly, easy to set up. I've tried this app for few days now and I have to say it is working great. There is a cost but it is small (~4$). I love using it and it motivates me and keeping on track.

If you are interested - it is called Persistence. I can also show you how it works...

Thanks Mr. Beeler!!!

Plank

This challenge is turning to be harder than I thought it would be. I guess if was not hard it would not be a challenge. I find it hard to do the plank in the middle of the day. I need to have my mind set for it. I need to be at the kwoon or at the gym. It is hard for me to do it at home or at work. This requires me to do many of my reps in a limited time and I find it hard to do 10 one minute planks with some rest in between. 

There is no stopping now. I've done 531 minutes so far. I have 469 more to go.