Stiff

 So after last class or rather during I found myself feeling very stiff. Even after warm up my muscles were still not stretched out enough. After I stayed for some open training I really stretched my cavlves and shin area. I found after really stretching I was able to achieve better forms. 

  It is a very basic step, but shows me my training in my room is not sufficient space. I shorten my stances and not really committing to many moves, because space is limited. 

  I would also say it was the first time I was actually happy with how my form felt after some stretching and what I was trying t focus on. 

  I was just trying to focus on stance and how deep I was in them. I would say I need to build strength in my legs still, but also do more stretching. 

  I have been very light on myself as far as physicality goes. The push ups and sit ups have helped, but turns out I have just been turning out numbers for forms rather than quality. I know it is sometimes still important to get something on rather than zero.

 Doing zero is worse than doing 1 ok form. I think doing to many just get the numbers in forms can hurt me for the quality of forms I will produce, but it does serve a purpose of keeping how the form works and still connected to kung fu.

  I have done some more purposeful training with my forms and it feels way better. I still need to now bring stretches back into my life as well. I also noticed how being overweight really affects my movement and how I execute myself. I always knew being heavier plays into everything it just hit me harder for the class.

  So I have lots to reinforce and reinstate into my physical and mental being. I am always on the re learning cycle about who I am and how I work. So a road is before me to go on and I will certainly try to succeed on this path.

 Thank you for taking the time to read my blog and looking forward to seeing what else will come my way. Anyways here are some numbers

Acts of kindness: 90

Km: 80

Sit ups: 200

Push ups: 160

Da mu hsing: 20

Drum stick form: 20

Spar: 0

Elliptical(minutes):300

Social outings:0

Family or Friends contacted:1

Just A Small Update

 It has been quite the adjusting week for me. With this new job and now having the prospects of continuous work. It is a weird work schedule, but it set up to me having 6 months out of the year off. It’s all because of how the schedule is set up. I’m never working more than 4 days a week unless I do overtime. Every shift is a 12 hour shift, but not to bad.

  I figure I would run down on my personal requirements. I realized I did not give much info on them for last time so here are some bits.

  I am trying to achieve 13050 mins on my elliptical. I think it is a goal I am capable of doing and I know it will help with my cardio and weight. I have been struggling to get my time, but that is just me adjusting to my new schedule. I know I will do better for next week.

  I am trying to go to at least 20 outings in a social environment. These are the place I fear most and would rather stay home. Pushing myself out will help not be so timid to the outside world. I’m not expecting to become the master of social outings, but I would like to see progress in myself. The social outings also cannot contain my parents I see them normally every Friday and Saturday if available to me. It has to be with either other friends or just an opportunity to meet new friends 

  I will increase the number if it becomes to easy, but so far I’m still at 0 so will see.

One of the numbers I’m also keeping track of is keeping in touch with friends or family. I keep to myself and never think how is so and so doing. It never crosses my mind. So I will be attempting to contact others at least 50 times. Sounds like a small number , but when my number is still zero it’s another taunting task for me. If this also becomes to easy I will increase this number as well. 

  My kung fu was actually so far better. At least at me practicing or doing it. I still am not at the best numbers, but these are definitely not bad number for me so far. Once I realized I’m really lacking for how much practicing I do compared to others, I realized I had a lot to work on. Now this is not me taking it in a bad way, but as a way to do better for myself.

Thank you for reading my blog today, have a good day or night whenever you’re reading this.

 The numbers I have here are ok, but always looking for progress and better numbers: 

Acts of kindness: 50

Km: 30

Sit ups: 120

Push ups: 100

Da mu hsing: 10

Drum stick form: 10

Spar: 0

Elliptical(minutes):150

Social outings:0

Family or Friends contacted:0

2 Paths

 I really liked our first class. It was a real eye opener for me. It was a message for me to see so many high level teammates. I saw 2 paths I could take that class for me. The first path was doubt and fear and thinking that maybe I don’t belong here. The other path is to see an aw inspiring group of people and using their commitment to strive for success and striving for always doing better as inspiration for myself.

  I thought long and hard about these 2 paths before me. I was actually happy to find myself leaning towards the second path. I know I am very out of shape and it showed me even more about where I am in my training. I was actually happy I did 15 push ups. I did think about how pathetic of me, but it was not the ruling thought. 

  After the push ups and sit ups I was slowly feeling more and more like throwing up, but it never happened yay! My numbers are nothing to be of aww, but I also have not been going super hard either. I have been doing wall push ups and knee push ups, but toe push ups are the ones I tend to stay away from, because they can mess with my shoulders and cause continuous pain if I am not careful.

  I am still going to do toe push ups, I just need to be smart about it and not beat myself up if I have to go back to do some wall push ups to maintain my shoulders. I know I can achieve the goal of doing more toe push ups and sit ups. 

  I have lofty goals for myself this year and I want to make the team proud of what I accomplished and make myself happier in the process as well.  

  Thank you for reading my blog today and wish you best on your journey as well. Anyways here are some numbers:

Acts of kindness: 30

Km: 15

Sit ups: 80

Push ups: 60

Da mu hsing: 4

Drum stick form: 4

Spar: 0

Elliptical(minutes):100

Social outings:0

Family or Friends contacted:0

A New Start

  So I am looking forward to this year and how well it can develop me and help me more physically and mentally. I really enjoyed getting to participate in the banquet. It was already required for me to do so, but for me it has been a few years since I have been able to go. I enjoyed the set up and kitchen service and even the take down. I really enjoyed the opportunity to drum again. I have not really drummed for a few years. It was amazing. All the demos and candidates were a real joy to watch. 

  So now looking at this new start. I am starting a little bumpy with the blog already being late. I was celebrating with my parents for my Mom’s birthday/ Anniversary. It is not a good excuse for why the blog is late, but I should have been on top of this. 

  I will be trying again to achieve weight loss and try to achieving become more comfortable with being social. I can do well in situations where I need to be social, but I usually avoid it like the plague. I will try and create more opportunities for myself to be social because I created the opportunity, not just wait for something magical to happen.

  I am also trying to be in more contact with friends and family. I am so used to never contacting anyone I have become friends with or they’re my direct family. I just stay content on my small bubble and think of only me. I am trying to reconnect you could say with friends and family.

  I am also looking forward to starting my new job, that will be consistent with the hours available. They still might be some over time, but I have never had a schedule where I can see everyday I will be working for the year. The job is still electrical.

  I am grateful for those that are about to embark on this new journey with me and thank you for reading this blog of mine. I do have some number to put, but you will get to see a few things I have added for myself to accomplish.

Acts of kindness: 5

Km: 2

Sit ups: 20

Push ups: 20

Da mu hsing: 0

Drum stick form: 0

Spar: 0

Elliptical(minutes):0

Social outings:0

Family or Friends contacted:0

   

OMG

 Holy moly I can’t believe I missed my day for blogging. I was good for almost the whole year and then literally the last blog for the year I missed the day. I was having the strangest feeling like I forgot something and I could not put my finger on it till just now. 

  This year has had so many up and downs with my kung fu and a lot of it has been tied to my poor decision making, and the stress of working or not working.

  I would not say this year was a failure, but it also not an outstanding success. I have made some better choices in life for sure and still making plenty of mistakes, but I am moving forwards.

   I have a lot of what I have this year thanks to blogging. Even if I was not practicing kung fu physically, I was practicing some aspects of it mentally. 

  What I have failed for me personally was not going to as many classes as I would like to. I know sometimes work happens and ot shows up, but last year I had most of the year off and chose to stay home. I did not do as good as I could have on the physical side of kung fu. I was not able to lose weight. 

   I will say what I have accomplished. Kung fu is back in my life again instead of not at all. I have accomplished more tools to help me stay out of the negative save in my head. I have reached a better place with my drum stick form. I have learned a new time to practice kung fu is after bathroom times. I have wrote all the blogs technically, but I did miss my day. I did not give up on blogging which was my life line.

  What I plan to do moving forward is to take more accountability for what I do and how I move forwards. I have learned a lot about myself this year and what I want. I have a better more thought out plan for a better success for me next year. 

  Right now I am in the I can do this mode. The end of this year is actually just the beginning for me. I am going to strive and keep this momentum going for myself a long as I can and when I fall off I will try and find a way to get back on back quicker. I will fail in the future, but I will be way stronger because of it.

  Just in case I’m not trying to fail, I am trying to succeed. I’m just know who I am and I have been developing more and more tools to get me back to the success side faster. I have periods where I get super motivated, but then something happens and I fall off and never get back again. I am tying to develop way of staying on the better path in my life. It will always be a struggle, but I can always make it a little easier.

  Anyways for my last blog for this year I want to say the biggest of thank you to all of you who have read all or even just some of my blogs. I will always be very grateful for the time you gave me for reading my blogs. I do have some numbers to end the year off. 

Acts of kindness: 2200

Km: 1820

Sit ups: 8100

Push ups: 8100

Da mu hsing: 170

Drum stick form: 285

Spar: 108

Blogs:50

Change

 I have had Multiple times gone through change. Good and bad. Change is something in life that is a guaranteed. I have reacted multiple times in my life very negatively towards change. The best examples I have is Kung fu.

 When I joined Kung fu it was all for the wrong reasons and I stayed in it for the wrong ones as well. I started with a different school than Master Brinker’s. I started with another teacher that had connections to Master Brinker. My first instructor eventually sent me to Master Brinker’s school as a permanent. I was now in a new environment.

 I was an orange belt with 4 green stripes which meant at the time in the different school that I was almost ready for green belt. I just came to the new school and right away they cut off my green stripes and I had to start orange belt over.

  As a kid I was furious and resentful for them throwing away my “hard work”, but in reality they were making me apart of their school and had to re evaluate me to learn silent river kung fu way and go from there. 

 I was ignorant and kept that new attitude for the rest of my stay until 2nd degree brown belt. I took everything they did to me as an attack an unfair and making me try and jump through hoops to get what I want.

 They made Lao Gar (sorry if misspelled) now a new requirement to get your black belt. Before the only taught that form in a special class you could sign up for, but I did not and became even more resistant to them now forcing me to learn a new form I don’t know to get my black belt.

  I took the change as another negative and hoop, when it was designed to help me become a better martial artist. I took everything they through at me as “how dare they hold me back for my promotion to blue or green belt. How dare they. I know I am better and ready”I was not 

  All the instructors had nothing but my best interest for me and were offering me more tools to become better, not hoops. I eventually quit kung fu for 3 years. I thought of it as a scam and thought my life was better. It was mediocre.

  My mom was also a part of kung fu and I thought every year she failed the black belt test proved me right. I thought she would never get it because they rigged the system. Then one year she finally got it. She failed multiple times, but never gave up. She was sad, Sure when she failed, but it made her try even harder. It always made her reevaluate and try again.

  I finally saw what silent river kung fu was doing they made my mom not only a black belt, but a better person too. It’s not like she was horrible before, but she had better skills at coping with failure and taught me how to get back up.

 I came back to kung fu a changed person and saw now all the changes they made and continue doing so has always been them offering more tools at my disposal to become a better martial artist and a better human being. It was my choice to use the tools they offered and my choice to not use them. 

 I found using the tools offered helped me greatly and my goals changed in life and kung fu. I learned to evaluate change more often as an opportunity to improve or learn why the change was made. Most of the time change at kung fu is made to make all of us better martial artist or people in the long run. Kung fu has lots of repetition, but is also a living organism that grows and adapts with us as time goes on.

  Change can suck sometimes, but its not the end of the world. Maybe some change in the world or work, might be the wrong direction, but sometimes you got to ride the process out and see what the results might be, could be positive and so much better.

  In life change can be chaotic, but sometimes change is good and for all my experiences at kung fu I have yet to have a truly negative change at kung fu. If anything was negative it was because I had the wrong attitude and was closed off to new beginnings. Changes at the kung fu have always been better for the long run of things.

  Kung fu will change again and more tools will be given or altered to help us all. Change can be scary, but in reality it’s one of the few absolutes we have in life. 

 Anyways a really long blog today. Thank you for reading it. I do have numbers today.

Acts of kindness: 2150

Km: 1800

Sit ups: 8000

Push ups: 8000

Da mu hsing: 165

Drum stick form: 280

Spar: 108

Inevitable

 So I have been struggling with practicing kung fu, but it has gotten better. Simply put whenever I go to the bathroom I do a little bit of kung fu. 

  Now I will say it’s not like I’m doing full forms in the bathroom, but after I go I practice some forms or do some push ups or sit ups. The bathroom is simply an alarm for me to remind me of practice. 

No matter what, everyday I will be going to the bathroom; it’s inevitable. So I took the advice given to me and made the bathroom time also a little bit of kung fu time. Making my practice some kung fu inevitable.

 Now the bathroom trick mainly only works at home, but doing more kung fu again is always a good path for me. 

A short blog today, but I like this one. Thank you for reading my blog and I have numbers.

Acts of kindness: 2100

Km: 1700

Sit ups: 7800

Push ups: 7800

Da mu hsing: 163

Drum stick form: 275

Spar: 108