Dew Drop

A wet dew drop on a leaf 

Slide down the leaf and into a fall

Hit the ground, but do not break

Melt down into the ground

Feel the dry soil become wet from the touch

We are one

Feel the warmth from above

Lighter I become

Pulled from the ground into the air 

The warmth permeates through my whole

I am now light and bold

Higher and higher I rise until I meet some fluffy friends of mine

Become filled with serenity and peace

Dive back down to earth 

The wind flow passed me as I fall

Greeting me back home

Landing on a leaf

Renewed and ready to begin it all  

Sifu Langner

Phenomenal Day

 The Bootcamp was a great success. I was able to have so many great experiences. I got to do so many of my passions that day. I got to attend a bootcamp, I got to hold a seminar on drumming, and I got to see two of my great friends give a fantastic leadership seminar. The best part about the day was getting to see new students see the miracle that day was. I love bootcamp day so much, everyone is a new and exciting experience. This year was the absolute best for sure.

I will treasure this memory forever. Thank you all for wanting to be apart of this experience. Thank you Sifu Brinker for giving me and all that participated this golden opportunity.

Sifu Langner     

Respect

I have always heard that respect is earned and not given. I always thought that had some value and truth to those words, but I have been seeing in our current world it has become demanded and entitled to be respected. If I don't agree with their thought process I become less than filth. If I don't respect people the way they want me to portray respect, then I have a screw loose. Having my own thoughts and feeling are no longer allowed. I must bend to everything around me and it is my fault if things go wrong.

  I have become more aware in these past few years in how I give respect. I always start the stranger with 100% respect and their words and actions from there on will decide if I respect them more or less. So I give respect immediately and they earn to keep it. I try to conduct myself in the same manner and I strive to maintain the privilege of respect earned from others. 

 I try to make the best choices I can to not strive for respect from people that hurt my life and those around me. I start with seeing the best and wanting to immolate the people I truly respect and admire. 

  People now a days will degrade others if you don't agree with them. Rather than having a productive conversation about opposing ideas then respecting their point of view. Even as I finish that last sentence I thought our current world would say "but how can I respect their point if it is in my opinion hurtful" This is where I see people start to put them down; it accomplishes nothing, other then boosting ones ego. 

  Some people no longer respect others decisions. When in our society did it become our personal problem to make sure everyone does exactly what you think is right no questions ask? If there is any then degrade them. No one can control what other people do. What I can do is control how I respect people and those around me. If someone in my life becomes hurtful in my opinion, then I will talk with them and see if we can come to an agreement to what I believe to be an issue. If we cannot come to an agreement then I respect their decision because it is theirs. I might not see them anymore, but I hope their life ends up amazing. 

  I believe as well people have been losing respect for themselves. I know I have a hard time with having any shred of respect for myself, but I have been working on it for most of my life. I have been told I should disown myself for simply having a slightly better life than others, for looking a certain way. I am not allowed to be happy because I have a loving family and amazing friends. I need to struggle and feel like I am worthless. 

 I would say the one place where I see and have learned the best way to respect was at kung fu. I was treated as a human who had potential and was not forced to think in any particular way. I was giving the respect to make that choice to be better and learn from my mistakes. Opportunity to learn how to be a respectable person and how to give others respect. I Learned ways to help respect myself and I learned to show gratitude for earning respect. 

  

Sifu Langner 

Going Back To School Project

 Last week was a great experience. I have done the going back to school project at the kwoon a fair amount of  times. For the most part I have a lot of fun every time, but this time was different for me. I decided to try and take on a leadership role for the project. I took it as an opportunity to strengthen the bond with my I Ho Chaun team and meet new people from other classes as well. Also I used this opportunity as a test to see how well I could last doing a job again. I managed to get to 5 to 6 hours and when I got home I was super tired and fell asleep for 1 to 2 hours. The last day was the hardest for me because the great physio opportunity had to end. Also that day was very difficult physically and mentally. Since I push myself to the absolute limits to make it to the fabled potato bake. When I got home I immediately fell asleep. 

 The amount leadership I saw at the project was absolutely amazing. The best part about the leadership was there was so many that took the role of leader. This project was not just a success because of one person who lead; it was a team effort of leaders. The mere thought of that many amazing people being there that week to achieve our goal just blows my mind away. I want to thank all of you that stepped up and made all of this possible . I especially want to thank Malinda Ferris who made my part of the job seem like a breeze. Thank you all for giving me an experience that was beyond the extraordinary.

Sifu Langner