Renos part 2

So I was a little dissapointed by the turnout for the renos this week.

At first I was optomistic...people were showing up and working hard, but by the end of the week, we were down to just a couple people a shift.

Sifu Freitag, Sifu M. Playter and myself were at the kwoon until 10/11 at night on Sunday finishing up. I'm not complaining, I'm simply trying to point out that this year, we could have used more help.

I'm so thankful to those who did show up this week, it was great to see you guys out.

This week bothered me a little, because we have over 250 people at this school and only a handful (under 20), came to help out.

What does this say about us as a school? What does this say about us as people?

I understand this was a horrible week to have renos...kids back to school, last long weekend, etc., but sometimes that's the way it goes.

I think what really bothered me was that I always see posts on kwoon talk about challenges and bettering yourselves and becoming better people, but when everyone is provided with an opportunity to actually DO something...no one shows up.

Bettering yourself isn't always accomplished by reading a book or adding something new to your routine. Sometimes you get the most out of giving something for nothing...by humbling yourself and getting down on your hands and knees and scrubbing for hours because you know it needs to be done. You become a better person when you recognize a need and try to fill the void. It takes a lot to give up your Friday night movie night, or to come after a long days work, but it does build on your character.

The majority of the school missed out on a big opportunity this year. You guys had the chance to change something, to build something, to be a part of something...and you missed it.

One of my favorite memories this year was of Sifu Masterson's little boy standing on a pile of mats exclaiming how tall he was to us all....he is such a funny little kid. I'll also cherish the memories of all of us scrubbing the floors together. Nothing brings people together like the mutual hatred of dirt:)

So I hope next year more people will come and we can all build our character and memories together.