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. :-)