Running to stand still....

The dog house
So I really only have some random thoughts this week.
First Oliver has had a few issues the last two weeks he is five and never really been an aggressive child. In the last two weeks he has had two separate incidents where he was aggressive with two different kids. Both times the punishment fit the crime. I would hate to use kung fu as a punishment but he does hold it dear. The thought of him missing a class as penalty sends him into a fit of frenzy. So we will have to really put our heads together and come up with a plan. This afternoon he wanted to play on the computer and I said no that his privileges had been revoked. He pushed the issue and I said hey little man your already in the dog house. HUH DOG HOUSE and then proceed to laugh at me. I guess the term is beyond this generation’s tech savvy culture. I may have to refer to it as, In the Dog Kennel.
I just figured out with Kwoon Reno’s and then the holiday Monday we will miss three classes in Sept. But then quickly thought I will make it up attending the forms seminar. See where there is a will there is away. I really need to set some assertive goals for September.
Fitness test today in class I felt pretty good I am close to achieving the next belts levels for fitness testing. I did half in my current level (20’s in 60 seconds) and a few I moved to 30 which is the next belts level squat thrusts was not one of the thirties.
I have a thought I am trying to work out for UBBT 7 that would have me seek out a sihing to mentor under in their year leading up to their black belt test. I need to make it measurable; I am thinking a pass could be 40 hours it could be time spent moving through curriculum and whatever else the sihing need to work on. It would have to be time spent outside regular class. I think this would help myself immensely and the sihing as well.
Just thinking out loud
Brady

Bread Crumbs
My real reason for blogging that I have stated before is to leave a trail of bread crumbs to follow if I get lost. So the last few weeks have been a challenge. My motivation stays strong but I have found myself confused and frustrated. I think I am working my way out of it but need to stay focused. I hit a plateau in my fitness which happened to coincide with a circuit malfunction in my brain. Left and right started to haunt me and my frustration mounted and compounded all my problems. Last Tuesday Fran pushed me to go to San Shou class and my mind set changed. I still had a frustrating wed. Class but then took two days off complete not thinking much about anything at all. Sunday I started my review from white to green. My forms where lost but now are found that is a little scary when they just go away and all of a sudden you don’t know you’re left from right. I was concentrating on green belt combinations for almost four weeks exclusively and messed myself up completely. Today I had a much better class and feel much better. I still continue to plateau and need to re focus body for life commitments. I set a goal in March for Sept 17th. And am still 17 pounds from there it will be very close.
My meditation is coming along very slowly. I really feel I can fully meditate for about three to five minutes. I constantly think about meditation and find myself not talking as much as normal. I don’t just engage in conversation just for the sake of conversation. I am very aware of my breathing and find myself thinking about breathing habitually. I am not able to clear my mind completely by any means but the biggest change is I can clear out over half of my thoughts. This is huge for me I have a very busy mind nothing really important or profound in there just busy. The only bad thing like I said is I am starting to be able to shut down and cut people out at work and at home. I will have to play with this a bit to find a very happy medium.
I hope I have left a marker for myself, so in the future I can re visit and say oh ya that’s what I should do or shouldn’t do. Always remember it is better to step back take a look then proceed. One step back two steps forward.

So I have really held off blogging about my interest in participating in next year’s Ultimate black belt test. One of my apprehensions that I was most concerned about was overcoming adversity. An example would be limitations or injury. Well over the last four weeks I have worked through a few injuries. First I jammed my pinky finger sparring. Then I strained my neck/shoulder moving my pushups 100 a day to 130. This was a real eye opener because that is a basic daily challenge for the UBBT (Ultimate black belt test).
There are currently two non black belt’s participating in the test. I really admire their drive when at times they are questioning themselves personally. I have watched both of them work through a series of injuries and other challenges. They both still show a commitment beyond the average. This motivates me and really gives me no excuses but to put myself in a position mentally and physically to take on this challenge. Ms. Prince and Mr.Tymchuk continue to inspire your over half way there. These two take away my excuses.
This is where blogging really becomes paramount for challenging others and leading the way. I read blogs to help me understand questions I have but don’t ask. I am sure there are many of us in the same boat. Sifu Brinker blogs religiously of Sunday’s it is the highlight of my day. I always find motivation or something to think about. When a peer or Sifu reads a book and recommends it I want to read it. Without blogging all we would have is class to try and figure all this out. Blogging is an amazing tool to guide and lead. Thank you to all the great journals.
One challenge I would like to write into my test would be family involvement. I am not sure how I will set this goal but I do feel the importance of the family. I see many people struggle with this so if I write it in it will become just as important as all other commitments.
I have already talked to Sifu Brinker about UBBT 7 and still have a lot of work to do to get ready but I am defiantly moving in the right direction. Even if I was not going to participate I think we all could learn from this test. It would give us a chance to set yearly goals and daily work to achieve them. By achieving these goals our bodies, minds, Kwoon and community will all become stronger. I am so humbled to be a part of such an amazing group of people.

Brady