Almost 2014

It's been really nice having all this time off with my family, but it has thrown off the routine which has been hard. Things get back to normal next week. Hard to believe it's almost 2014. Seems like I get used to what year it is and then it changes again. Gotta get geared up for new years pushups and sit-ups. Should be good fun.

Basic numbers: 101 crunches, 204 pushups, 208 kicks, 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword, 2 miles

Acts of kindness: gave the dog and cat treats, played with Julia, made coffee for Mike, made dinner

Today I consumed: a banana, an orange, a bowl of oatmeal, some macaroni with toast, some bread with hummus, ham with salad and baked potato and some chips and salsa. I drank a cup of coffee, 8 glasses of water and a beer.

Blogging

On kwoon talk I've seen the horse team members gearing up for their blogging requirement. I hope they keep up on their blogging. It will be great for them to go back at the end of the year and see how far they've come...how much they've changed. If they are honest and focused on their training, their blogs will be very inspiring and helpful to all of us.

Basic numbers: rest day...3.2 miles, 1 dog walk

Acts of kindness: gave the dog a treat, made a snack for Mike, visited a friend

Today I consumed: a boiled egg, a banana, a veggie burger with some fries, a handful of cheezies and some chips and salsa...shouldn't have eaten the cheezies:( Also ate an english muffin. I drank 2 cups of coffee, 8 glasses of water and a beer.

The tango fits

Had fun today at the kwoon tiling. We got a lot done, but we still have a couple days worth of work left. Sure is fun joking around with people. I like the tango music we used for Sifu Rybak's and Sifu Robinson's thing. Totally fits.

Basic numbers: 202 crunches, 204 pushups, 208 kicks, 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword, 3 miles

Acts of kindness: gave the cat and dogs treats, helped with tiling, made tea for everyone

Today I consumed: an orange, a banana, a boiled egg, half a muffin, one and a half turkey sandwiches, a donair and some onion rings. I drank 2 cups of coffee, 2 cups of herbal tea and 8 glasses of water.

unmotivated

Have a nasty cold...Mike and Julia are sick as well. I have been very unmotivated to train the last few days. Cooked Christmas dinner for the extended family yesterday and today just didn't feel well. I hope I'll feel better tomorrow. Even if I don't I'll have to do some training if I don't want to get to far behind. Only 1 month to go.

Basic numbers: 2 miles

Acts of kindness: let Mike get some extra sleep, cuddled Julia, gave the dog pets, made tea for everyone

Today I consumed: a boiled egg, an orange, half a muffin, half a pastry, 2 turkey sandwiches, a piece of pumpkin pie with whip cream.

Thanks Sihing Donahue!

Thanks for the comment Sihing Donahue...that's good to know. I'll have to start doing some massaging...just feels weird 'cause my arm is numb. What's a rebounder?

Basic numbers: 3 miles

Acts of kindness: made Christmas dinner for everyone, gave the dogs treats, played with Julia, made tea for someone, gave someone a gift

Today I consumed: a boiled egg, some apple slices, half an orange, some chips and salsa, a couple squares, turkey dinner with all the fixin's, 2 glasses of wine, 2 bailey's and coffees and 6 glasses of water

Merry Christmas everyone!

Merry Christmas everyone, and God bless you and your family too!
Hard to maintain the training routine today. I did do a few pushups though. As weird as it sounds, the pushups seem to help my shoulder when it's bothering me...also when my arm swells up. Seems to get everything moving and brings down the swelling.
Looks like tai chi and pushups will have to be daily activities long after my year is up.

Basic numbers: 51 pushups, 2 miles, a dog walk

Acts of kindness: gave the dog treats, helped with dishes after dinner, gave gifts, made Mike some tea

Today I consumed: a boiled egg, 2 muffins, a banana, some turkey dinner (with all the fixins), a cup of coffee with baileys, a cup of tea and 6 glasses of water.

christmas eve

Christmas eve.
Super hectic.
Didn't practice.
Sigh.

Basic numbers: 3.4 miles

Acts of kindness: helped someone pick something up, let someone ahead of me in traffic, gave the pets treats, was kind to a stranger

Today I consumed: 2 cookies, a banana, some instant noodles with toast, a cup of coffee, a cup of hot chocolate and 7 glasses of water.

Mrs. Csillag...I got some pushups and situps for you:)

Got some sparring in during the advanced class tonight. That is one thing I've struggled with this year is to get sparring reps in. If I had advice to give the next year's team it would be to sign up for the San Sou class. Then you would get your reps in no problem. I wish I had done that right off the bat.
The San Sou class is great. I haven't been able to make it very often, but when I have it has been a great learning experience. Everyone there has a great attitude and it is a go-at-your-own-pace class so you don't have to worry about being intimidated by anyone. I think more people should go...especially girls.

Mrs Csillag, for your birthday I did 208 pushups and 202 crunches. I know it's not 1000, but I hope it helps! Happy birthday!

Basic numbers: 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword, 208 kicks, 30 minutes sparring, 3.3 miles

Acts of kindness: gave away some pushups and situps, gave the cat and dogs treats, helped make dinner, took Julia to see Santa, gave out some Christmas cards

Today I consumed: a bowl of oatmeal, some macaroni with beans and corn, some instant noodles with toast and some pork roast with potatoes and gravy. I drank a cup of coffee, 8 glasses of water and a beer.

training by eating

Rested today and took a break from training. One thing I've been thinking about is changing my diet some more. I remember Sifu Prince mentioning a book....the fighter's body or something. I think I might look it up. I don't think my body has been getting everything that it needs. Part of the issue is a lack of knowledge on my part. I should start figuring this stuff out. I'm going to start with that book I think. Try and start training by eating as well as training by doing.  If that makes sense.

Basic numbers: 2 miles

Acts of kindness: helped my sister, helped a friend, gave some people some gifts

Today I consumed: some perogies with sausage, an egg on toast, some onion, some chips and salsa with chicken fingers and some spring rolls. I drank 2 cups of coffee, 8 glasses of water and 2 eggnogs with baileys. 

hope

We had a really great practice today. We got a lot accomplished for the dance and it was a great way to leave off until the holidays. Everyone worked really hard and we had a great turnout, it was nice to see. It gave me hope that the dance will be really cool and have a dragon in it. Thanks to everyone who came out today and made it such a great practice.
Now you all better be there next practice ready to go!
And don't eat too much turkey between now and then:)

Basic numbers: 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword, 204 pushups, 202 crunches, 208 kicks, 4 miles

Acts of kindness: brought Mike a snack, made tea, danced with Julia, gave the dog a treat, cuddled the cat

Today I consumed: a bowl of oatmeal, some buns with cheese on top, a couple pieces of chocolate, a small cinnamon bun and cookie, an egg with a piece of bacon, a sausage, a potato patty and piece of toast. I drank 3 cups of coffee, 3 cups camomile tea and 7 glasses of water.

death throws of a dragon

So tonight we didn't have enough people again for the dragon. We had to get subs. Sifu Brinker said we might not have a dragon dance anymore and I see why.
Trying to get everyone to commit to the practices is like pulling teeth. I find it frustrating because there are a few hard core guys and when Sifu Brinker mentioned cutting the dragon, I saw how devastated they looked. The dragon is important. Not just because it looks cool, but because it brings people together.
I just wish people would say a straight up yay or nay. If you can't commit to the practices, fine...but then you say nay when we are putting together the team. If you say yay...you can't add any buts on there. It's all or nothing at this point.
We have about a month to get things together and we are sucking at it. We haven't even been able to run through the demo in it's entirety yet because no one is around.
This is our last month and this month defines our year because the Chinese new year banquet is what everyone sees in the end. That is what the school judges us by.

I hope our demo will be something we can all be proud of.

Basic numbers: 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword, 202 crunches, 204 pushups, 215 kicks, 3 miles

Acts of kindness: gave the dog and cat pets, made Mike lunch, helped my brother, organized Julia's toys for her

Today I consumed: a bowl of cheerios, an apple, an orange, half a hard boiled egg, some macaroni with chickpeas and corn, a few toquitos and some pork roast with beans and potatoes. I drank 2 cups of coffee, 2 cups of tea, a cup of hot chocolate and 7 glasses of water.

Practice

It was disappointing that we almost didn't have enough people for dragon/lion practice tonight. I hope tomorrow we don't have to wait. It's hard to coordinate this many people and I know it's hard, especially around the holidays too. But it will be worth it. It's going to look awesome.

Basic numbers: 202 crunches/situps, 208 kicks, 204 pushups, 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword, 97 laps rollerblading, a dog walk, 4 miles

Acts of kindness: gave the dog a treat, took Julia for a sleigh ride with the dog, made Mike lunch

Today I consumed: a bowl of oatmeal, a boiled egg, an orange, an apple, some macaroni with chickpeas, some pork roast with gravy and green beans and a small donair. I drank 2 cups of coffee, a can of Dr. Pepper and 8 glasses of water.

Keep on going

So I'm trying to go hard and push for the last month, but some days, like today I just feel so sore and lazy. I don't feel like doing anything.
Almost took ibuprofen...haven't taken any for over  half a year now. I used to take it everyday for my back. I haven't needed it lately but since I started doing a lot of shoulder rolls with breakfalls and flying kicks, my back's been acting up. I think if I do better stretching that might help. I usually neglect that part of things and it's important.
Working on memorizing Mastery too. It's a good philosophy, I can see why Sifu Brinker wants us to take it to heart.

Basic numbers: 208 kicks, 204 pushups, 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword

Acts of kindness: made MIke lunch and breakfast, set up the Christmas tree, started knitting Julia a scarf

Today I consumed: a boiled egg, an orange, half an apple, some macaroni with green beans, some toquitos and nachos, 3 chocolates, 2 cups of coffee and 8 glasses of water.

Resting

Gave my back a rest tonight. The shoulder rolls and flying kicks were bugging it. I should be able to do some tomorrow.

Basic numbers: 208 kicks, 204 pushups, 202 crunches, 71 laps rollerblading, 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword

Acts of kindness: let someone ahead of me in traffic, gave the cat treats, gave the dogs treats, made Mike lunch and breakfast

Today I consumed: a bowl of oatmeal, some apple slices, some macaroni with tuna and olives, some noodles with a bagel, some spaghetti with meat sauce. I drank 2 cups of coffee, a beer and 7 glasses of water.

awesome bruises

Went over my numbers on the weekend. If I push hard, I'll get most stuff done by the end of January.
I've got to stay focused though.
Wore through the skin on my ankle rollerblading so today I couldn't do as much, but I still did some.
One of the hardest things to get accomplished will be the sparring. Luckily Mike's agreed to go a few rounds with me. We sparred on Saturday. I lasted 5 minutes before he blasted my shin. Got a wicked awesome bruise.
Hopefully tomorrow I'll be healed enough so that he can lay another licken' on me:)

Basic numbers: 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword, 208 kicks, 204 pushups, 202 crunches, 1km rollerblading, 24 flying spinning back kicks, 24 flying side kicks, 36 shoulder rolls, 3.2 miles

Acts of kindness: gave the dogs treats, pet the cat, played with Julia, helped my brother, made Mike lunch and breakfast

Today I consumed: a bagel with cream cheese, half a bagel sandwich with turkey and cheese, some taquitos, 2 coffees, a beer and 7 glasses of water.

Minimalism

I read Sifu Brinker's blog about minimalism...trying to eliminate his belonging to 100 things.
It's funny, when I first moved out on my own, everything I owned could fit in the back of a pickup truck. But the last time we moved, it took a lot of truck loads.
We do live in a consumerist culture for sure. It's hard not to get wrapped up in it.
I'll have to think about this more.

Basic numbers: rest day

Acts of kindness: gave the dogs and cat extra pets, played with Julia, visited a relative,

Today I consumed: a bowl of cheerios, some macaroni with tuna and olives, some strawberry rhubarb pie with ice cream, a couple of chocolates, 2 cups of coffee, 7 glasses of water and a beer.

Roller blading

Today I started roller blading around my house. Mike measured it out for me how many laps I have to do for a km. One of my goals this year was to rollerblade 100km. I tried rollerblading years ago but had a bad fall and was scared to try it again. Today was the first time I've tried it again. I survived! It helped having the walls and furniture to hold onto. Julia liked it too, she ran around the house behind me. So cute.

Basic numbers: 212 crunches, 215 kicks, 204 pushups, 12 shoulder rolls, 24 flying spinning back kicks, 24 flying sidekicks, 5 minutes sparring, 2km rollerblading,

Acts of kindness: gave the dogs treats, gave the cat treats, played with Julia, gave the dogs pets

Today I consumed: a bowl of cheerios, some carrots, broccoli and cauliflower, some leftover pizza, some chicken with kiech. I drank 2 cups of coffee, 7 glasses of water and 2 beers.

form rep extravaganza!

I think this weekend I'm going to go hard on form reps. I want to try and get 100 done over the weekend. The tai chi broadsword will be doable, the tai chi though takes a long time.
 Maybe I'll mix it up, some fast and some slow. The tai chi is really fun to do fast sometimes. I know you're supposed to do it slow but it feels so good to power through it too. At any rate, my goal this weekend is to get in extra form reps.

Basic numbers: 51 pushups, 101 crunches, 51 kicks, 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword, 3.4 miles

Acts of kindness: gave the cat treats, gave the dogs treats, made MIke lunch, helped a lady at work, let a car in front of me

Today I consumed: a bagel with cream cheese, a pastry, a piece of banana bread, an orange, some blueberries, a pastrami and cheese sandwich, 4 pieces of pizza, 2 coffees and 8 glasses of water.

Exciting

Every year when Chinese new years rolls around (usually about Novemberish), things go into high gear and I feel like I live at the kwoon. Practice, practice, practice.
It's a really exiting time though. There is a buzz in the air around the candidates and the lion/dragon dance. I love being involved in it all. It does take a huge commitment though. I hope people realize that it's so worth the effort. The feeling you have after the night is over at the banquet is just incredible.

Basic numbers: 208 kicks, 202 crunches, 204 pushups, 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword, 3.3 miles, 1 doggy walk

Acts of kindness: let a car ahead of me x2, made Mike lunch, gave the cat treats, gave the dogs treats x2, picked the dogs up some toys

Today I consumed: a bagel with cream cheese, a slice of banana bread, an orange, a cheese burger with fries and gravy, 3 chocolates, a slice and a half of chicken pot pie, 3 cups of coffee and 9 glasses of water.

Lost time

The last two classes in the beginner class we've been working on increasing and decreasing distance in a horse stance. We've specifically been working on getting our open-x stances low to the ground. I have to say that the white belts are starting to look pretty good. If they can get this down now, then they will have phenomenal stances later on. I sometimes wish I could turn back the clock. I remember how much time I wasted during my early training. If I had developed good practicing habits early on, I would have been a lot further ahead.
No crying over spilled milk though. Instead I'm trying to warn the next generation of Kung-Fu-ers about making the same mistakes I did and trying to make up for lost time myself.

Basic numbers: 202 crunches, 204 pushups, 208 kicks, 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword, 3.2 miles, 1 doggy walk.

Acts of kindness: let a car ahead of me x3, gave the cat and dogs treats, made Mike lunch

Today I consumed: a bagel with cream cheese, a bowl of cheerios, a ham and cheese sandwich, an orange, a pastry, some perigees with bacon, 2 coffees and 8 glasses of water.

Dogs!

Bah! I hate it when our dog pees on the floor when we're gone. It's seems like we've tried everything and he still does it. So sick of cleaning up after him and having to toss stuff he's ruined. He's a good dog, just a messy one I guess.
I have been neglecting his walks this month which isn't good. One of my goals was to walk him once every day and I was doing great until this last little while. Life just got in the way and I fell out of the habit. Got to get back into it. He loves going for walks.
Time for a dog walk.

Basic numbers: 202 crunches, 156 kicks, 153 pushups, 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword, 3 miles

Acts of kindness: let a car ahead of me, helped someone at work, gave the dogs treats.

Today I consumed: a bowl of cheerios, a brownie, a cookie, a ham and cheese sandwich, some chicken with potatoes and beets, 2 coffees, a beer and 8 glasses of water.

back on track...for now

Got back on track today.
Did some practice this morning before work and that really helped. Had fun shovelling with Mr. Wyndham after the beginner class too. It's so inspiring to see those guys get involved with the school so much. They are definitely on the right track. The blackbelt track.

Basic numbers: 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword, 208 kicks, 202 crunches, 204 pushups, 3 miles

Acts of kindness: pet the dogs, made MIke lunch, made my brother coffee, helped someone

Today I consumed: a boiled egg, a banana, an apple, a ham and cheese sandwich, some perogies with sausage and nachos with cheese. I drank 2 cups of coffee, 8 glasses of water and a beer.

why so early!?!

Bah!
Was totally lazy today.
Sigh.
On the plus side, I went to church today with Julia. One of my goals this year was to go to church every sunday. While I have missed quite a few sundays, this goal has reminded me how important it is. I think it's really important to bring Julia there. I want her to grow up with a knowledge of Christ like I did. That's something that's really important to me.
Unfortunately, sometimes sleep has taken priority. Why does church have to be so early!?!

Basic numbers: 1.5 miles

Acts of kindness: got breakfast for Mike, took Julia to church, complimented someone, congratulated someone,

today I consumed: a tims breakfast sandwich and hash brown, a grilled cheese sandwich with mushroom soup, an apple and a piece of chocolate and some green beans. I drank a cup of coffee, a beer and 7 glasses of water.

meeting

Had the monthly meeting today. It was neat to see some of the Horse Team members there. I wonder what they thought of the whole thing. I know many of them are returning members but some are completely new. I think they will brig a great perspective to the whole thing in the coming year.

Basic numbers: rested

Acts of kindness: gave the dog treats, pet the cat, gave the dogs belly rubs

Today I consumed: a tims breakfast sandwich and hash brown, a bowl of tomato soup and some chicken with cabbage and pasta. I also had a piece of chocolate cake. I drank 4 cups of coffee and 8 glasses of water.

Kempo-fying

This week has seemed so long. Need more sleep.
So much stuff to get done before the year is over. People's stuff is coming along. I saw some neat tricks today and Sifu's Rybak and Robinson's thing is looking pretty cool.
My broadsword isn't feeling so great though. It's really hard to do a tai chi form fast. I've been to kempofy it, but so far it's been challenging. Need to get it sorted out before chinese new year.

Basic numbers: 5 reps tai chi, 3 reps broadsword, 202 crunches, 153 pushups, 208 kicks, 3 miles

Acts of kindness: let a car in front of me, gave the dogs a treat, made Mike's lunch

Today I consumed: a breakfast sandwich, a turkey and cheese sandwich, some instant noodles with toast, 3 pieces of leftover pizza, I drank a cup of coffee, a glass of pop, a beer and 7 glasses of water.

tai chi

One of the great things I've gotten out of tai chi this year is feeling my chi more. When I do my form now my hands get all tingly and I feel my body moving as one fluid unit. It's so cool. This doesn't happen all the time, but I get glimpses of it once in a while and those glimpses inspire me to keep practicing so I can feel that feeling again. That's what drives me to keep practicing tai chi, that and the whole no-more-aches-and-pains thing.

Basic numbers: 208 kicks, 204 pushups, 202 kicks, 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword, 3 miles

Acts of kindness: gave the dogs treats, gave the dogs extra pets, helped my brother, made Mike lunch

Today I consumed: a bowl of cheerios, a tomato and cheese sandwich, a chocolate, a bite of sausage, some pizza with a wing and a slice of chocolate cake and some noodles and toast. I drank 2 cups of coffee and 8 glasses of water.

Time is going fast

Long day. Car trouble.
Oh well, life goes on I guess.
I can't believe it's December already. I remember thinking, "man, I still have so far to go." And now it's like "BAM!" your already on the home stretch. It is a relief but sad too. I'm running out of time.

Basic numbers: 153 pushups, 101 crunches, 102 kicks, 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword, 2 miles

Acts of kindness: gave the dog a treat, made MIke's lunch, helped a family member, played with Julia

Today I consumed: a bowl of cheerios, some noodles with sausage and olives and some spaghetti with meat sauce and 2 chocolates. I drank 2 cups of coffee, a beer and 9 glasses of water.

Basic numbers

Last day of working late! Hopefully for a long time.
Got some practice in tho: consumedugh which was nice.

Basic numbers: 101 crunches, 204 pushups, 208 kicks, 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword

Acts of kindness: gave the dog a treat, made Mike lunch, pet the dog, gave Julia a treat

Today I consumed: 2 pieces of carrot cake, some perigees with chicken sticks and corn, some instant noodles with toast and a cookie. I drank 2 cups of coffee, a beer and 8 glasses of water.

Practiced hard

Practiced hard tonight. It was fun. Threw on some music after Julia went to bed and got to work. I feel really pumped now. I think yesterday was a good reset for me. Having a rest day is really important. It gives you a day to rest your muscles and to do other things that you don't have time for during the week (like fiddlin'!). The trick is that you have to keep it the same day every week; I picked Sundays.
 It gives me a day to reset before going hard for the rest of the week.

Basic numbers: 204 pushups, 202 crunches, 208 kicks, 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword, 3 reps of chucks, 4 reps of cane (striking and blocking sequences), a dog walk and 3.5 miles

Acts of kindness: gave the cat and dog treats, made Mike lunch, gave Julia a treat, helped some people in lab

Today I consumed: a piece of carrot cake, a breakfast sandwich and hashbrown from tims, an apple, some spaghetti with meat sauce, 2 coffees, 9 glasses of water

still strummin'

Still practicing the violin. I've been learning a polka. I can't play it very fast yet, but it's coming. Not watching T.V anymore has definitely given me more time for other things.
It's neat doing things you always thought of doing but never actually did. I wonder what kind of things the Horse team members are going to accomplish next year. From what I've heard, some of the goals are pretty amazing.

Basic numbers: rest day

Acts of kindness: helped someone move something, did some cleaning for someone, made a nice dinner

Today I consumed: a bowl of cheerios, a piece of carrot cake, some macaroni with green beens and olives and some spaghetti with meat sauce. I drank a cup of coffee, a beer and 7 glasses of water.

sword fun

I've been learning some new tricks with my broadsword. Trying to do more floppy type stuff. It's fun playing around with it. It gives you new inspiration to keep practicing. I'm working on around the neck and also over the shoulder. It's difficult but looks cool. Next I want to work on the behind the back toss.  Hopefully I don't kill my self....maybe it's time to break out the old wooden practice sword for a bit.

Basic numbers: 1 rep tai chi, 153 pushups, 3.5 miles, 15 kicks

Acts of kindness: complimented someone, helped someone, made Mike's lunch, gave the cat some snuggles

Today I consumed: 2 pieces of nuttella toast, 2 oranges, some beans with toast, a saigon sub with veg and fries, a handful of popcorn and a few skittles. I drank a cup of coffee, 7 glasses of water and 2 beer.

cane

Classes were great tonight. Got to go over cane stuff which was incredibly helpful. Cane is something that I need to work on so it was nice to get the extra feedback. I've never really been drawn to the cane. It's always felt clumsy in my hands and I've never really had an affinity for it. Practice will change that though. It will get better with practice and eventually I'll feel confident with it. Just got to work on it is all.

Basic numbers: 101 crunches, 153 pushups, 156 kicks, 5 reps tai chi, 3 reps broadsword, 3 miles

Acts of kindness: visited someone, drove someone around, complimented someone, made Mike lunch

Today I consumed: a bowl of cheerios, a breakfast sandwich from tims with a hash brown, some chicken fingers with perigees and beans, 2 coffees, 6 glasses of water and 2 beer.

procrastination

My numbers have been low this week. I find myself making excuses all of the time not to do stuff. I put it off until evening and then I try to cram in an hour or two of training. Laziness and procrastination...2 of my biggest enemies. I enjoy training at night the best. Years of night classes has instilled that in me. But between work, meetings, teaching and Julia, my evenings often aren't my own.
I feel like I've blogged about this before....probably many times. The age old problem I guess.

Basic numbers: 3 reps tai chi, 3 reps broadsword, 102 pushups, 101 crunches, 102 kicks, 3 miles

Acts of kindness: smiled at someone, made Mike lunch and breakfast, brought Mike a coffee

Today I consumed: a bowl of cheerios, some macaroni with tomatoes, a piece of bread, 2 oranges, some chicken strips with perigees and green beans. I drank 2 cups of coffee and 8 glasses of water.

Aaaahhh! The big mac is coming!

Had a bad dream last night.
I dreamt that I had a big mac meal from MacDonalds and I ate the whole thing before I realized what I was doing. After, I felt so disappointed and let down. I was also surprised. I woke up and was so thankful that it was only a dream. I didn't actually do it.
The funny thing is that I don't even crave it anymore. I haven't for a long time. I haven't even thought about it in a while. I wonder where the dream came from.
It's funny too that dreaming about eating MacDonalds would stress me out as if I was being chased by some monster or something. A black belt scared of a big mac...too funny.

Basic numbers: 152 crunches, 156 kicks, 153 pushups, 3 reps tai chi, 3 reps broadsword, 3 miles

Acts of kindness: let a car ahead of me in traffic, thanked someone, made Mike lunch and breakfast

Today I consumed: a bagel with cream cheese, half a bowl of cheerios, 2 oranges, 2 cupcakes, 3 pieces of pizza and a cheese and tomato sandwich. I drank 2 cups of coffee and 8 glasses of water.

Long day

Long day at work. Thankfully next week is the last week of working late.
So tired.
It was hard to do any practicing after I finally got home. But at least I got some in. It can be so hard to motivate yourself after a long day of work. I wonder how other people do it. I know lots of other people have way crazier schedules. I wonder what they do to push themselves.


Basic numbers: 3 reps tai chi, 3 reps broadsword, 51 pushups, 3 miles

Acts of kindness: let a car ahead of me in traffic, helped people in lab, let someone ahead of me in line

Today I consumed: a bagel with cream cheese, an apple, an orange, a turkey and cheese sandwich, a brownie, a chicken wrap, some poutine, 2 coffees, 7 glasses of water and half a glass of wine

Conquering fear

Had a good day training wise today. Tonight I was able to demonstrate shoulder rolls to my class which was cool. I've struggled with shoulder rolls in recent years do to injuries and then fear of injuries. But tonight, I didn't think I just did. It was awesome! I did them properly...although I do have a headache now, but whatever! One step closer to conquering a fear...a fear of injury.

Now to start doing the standing up ones again and the backwards ones. Tonight gave me some confidence to move forward. Take that shoulder rolls!

Basic numbers: 204 crunches/situps, 204 pushups, 208 kicks, 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword, 3 miles

Acts of kindness: made Mike lunch and breakfast, let a car ahead of me x2, gave the cat and dog extra loving, congratulated someone

Today I consumed: an apple, a bagel with cream cheese, a doughnut, half a turkey and cheese sandwich, an orange, 2 bananas, a few nachos with cheese and 3 chicken wings. I drank 3 cups of coffee and 7 glasses of water.

Sore

Rested today. My body was pretty sore from Friday and Saturday.
It is very satisfying to be sore and stiff from training hard. Although it makes you want to take a couple of days off to rest. That's the down side.

Basic numbers: 2 miles

Acts of kindness: gave Julia a treat, gave the cat lovin', waved at someone in thanks while driving

Today I consumed: 4 pieces of toast with nuttella, some mini pizzas and some icecream. I drank 2 cups of coffee and 8 glasses of water.

2 dragons

Dragon dance was really fun today. I think our dance this year is going to be great! The 2 dragons look so cool. We'll be able to do so many neat tricks. The chinese new year dance is always so much fun. Even though it is a lot of work. I have such great memories of lion dance practices. So many good times.

Basic numbers: 51 pushups, 3.5 miles

Acts of kindness: gave the cat a treat, played ball with Julia, gave the dog a belly rub

Today I consumed: a bowl of cheerios, some mini pizzas, some chicken sticks with perogies and some apple slices. I drank 2 cups of coffee, 8 glasses of water and a beer.

Sparring!

Had a great black belt class tonight. We sparred which was awesome. It's so cool to go against so many different black belts. Everyone has their own specialty and it's a great opportunity to learn. Got some awesome bruises and cut my face too which was great. So cool.

Basic numbers: 200 kicks, 202 crunches, 204 pushups, 5 reps broadsword, 5 reps tai chi, 30 minutes sparring and 3 miles

Acts of kindness: made Mike lunch and breakfast, made tea for us, wished someone a happy birthday, gave the cat and dog treats

Today I consumed: a bowl of cheerios, a yogurt cup, half a chocolate, some popcorn, some noodles with sausage and broccoli, some baked sausage with perogies and broccoli. I drank 2 cups of coffee, a cup of herbal tea and 9 glasses of water.

Giddy up

Things are getting geared up for the Horse Team now. I'm excited for them. I think they'll learn a lot and get a lot done. Part of me is sad that my year is almost done, but part of me is happy that the end is near. I think I've built some good habits though, so the end of this year isn't really the end of my I Ho Chuan as far as I see it. I'm going to keep on trying and working hard. The trick will be to keep motivated without the group atmosphere and accountability that goes along with that. But I have a few ideas.

Basic numbers: 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword, 202 crunches, 204 pushups, 208 kicks, 3 miles

Acts of kindness: gave the cat and dog treats, made Mike lunch and breakfast, did a favour for a friend

Today I consumed: a yogurt, a bagel with cream cheese, a bowl of cheerios, some macaroni with peas and some instant noodles with toast and 2 pieces of nuttella toast. I drank 2 cups of coffee and 8 glasses of water.

Sparring funness

Got a chance to spar tonight in the advanced class which was great. Those guys are developing great skills. I learned a lot. Got some wicked shin bruises too. Thanks guys!

Basic numbers: 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps, 202 crunches, 204 pushups, 208 kicks, 30 minutes sparring, 3 miles

Acts of kindness: held the door for someone, invited lab mates for coffee, helped someone organize and event.

Today I consumed: a bowl of cheerios, a turkey and cheese sandwich, some carrots, a brownie and some chinese food. I drank 2 cups of coffee and 8 glasses of water.

Making some progress....but not enough

Long day....didn't get much practicing in.
At it again tomorrow. Gotta get it together. I still have so far to go.
On the up side, made some progress on a personal goal of mine today. One of my goals is to get a paper published and this last week I've started seriously working on it again which is good. Editing is just so tedious....

Basic numbers: 1 rep tai chi, 51 pushups, 3 miles

Acts of kindness: let a truck pull out ahead of me, held the door for someone, helped people in lab

Today I consumed: half a blueberry muffin, a turkey and cheese sandwich, a pastry, and apple, some pot roast with mashed potatoes and veggies. I drank 2 coffees and 7 glasses of water and a cup of tea.

I do miss san sou:(

I miss San Sou now that I can't go. I work Tues nights now (only for a couple more weeks though!) so I haven't been able to attend. I will be able to come again in December.
On the upside, my morning schedule has become more consistent again so I should be able to do some morning training once more.
Scheduling is such a constant struggle. It seems that I get a rhythm going and then something changes and I have to get things back on track. Just the way life is I guess. God's trying to keep me on my toes:)

Basic numbers: 153 pushups, 202 crunches, 3 reps tai chi, 4 miles

Acts of kindness: let someone ahead of me in traffic, helped people in the lab, encouraged someone

Today I consumed: a bagel with cream cheese, a big blueberry muffin, a turkey and cheese sandwich, a bowl of stew with bread, a cup of coffee, 8 glasses of water and some chocolate milk.

And the week begins!

Had a rest day today. Tomorrow I go hard again. Gotta get those numbers up.
Hard work.....and discipline. Just got to get it done.

Basic numbers: 1.5 miles

Acts of kindness: drove my nieces home, made them breakfast and lunch, let Mike sleep in.

Today I consumed:  a pastry, some strawberries, half a bagel with cream cheese, some macaroni with veggies, a grilled cheese sandwich with mushroom soup and some bread with hummas. I drank 2 cups of coffee and 7 glasses of water.

Grading day!

Today was the black belt grading. I remember my grading. It was one of the longest, hardest days of my life. The only day that was more difficult was the day Julia was born.
But that day was also one of the best. That was the day I proved to myself that no matter what, I'm a tryer. Even if I failed my test, even if I tried my hardest and didn't make it, at least I had tried.
The moment I found out that I had passed....it was like a wave of relief washing over me. All the stress of the past 6 months had melted away and I just was.
Granted, after the grading is when the real work started. Getting ready for the Chinese new year banquet is no small feat. It's over that time that you transform from a Sihing to a black belt. But that was such an exciting time. That was one of the only time in my training that I received so much focused, personal feedback from the high-ups. It was hard, but great.

Anyway, I hope today proves to be as memorable for this years participants as it was for me.
Sleep well guys! This will be one of the soundest sleeps of your lives I'll bet:)

Basic numbers: 102 pushups, 51 situps, 2.5 miles

Acts of kindness: held the door for someone x4, shovelled the walk for someone, complimented someone's super awesome socks.

Today I consumed: half a breakfast sandwich, half a cheeseburger with fries and gravy, 2 pieces of pizza and a muffin. I drank 2 cups of coffee, a cup of tea and 7 glasses of water.

Things looking up

Good news!
The store called me today and someone had found my wallet! I'm so grateful! It was nice of them to phone. Thank you so much whoever you are!

We had really great black belt class tonight too. We did a bunch of shield work and it was a lot of fun. And I didn't feel sick at all after.....yahoo!

Also did some practicing....on my way back up.

Thanks for the comments everyone:)

Basic numbers: 5 reps broadsword, 2 reps tai chi, 204 pushups, 214 sit-ups/crunches, 258 kicks

Acts of kindness: made Mike lunch, danced with Julia, let someone ahead of me in traffic

Today I consumed: a large muffin, a bowl of cheerios, half an apple, some veggies, a tomato and cheese sandwich, half a sausage with perigees and veggies. I drank a cup of coffee, 8 glasses of water and a glass of wine.

Ugh

No luck finding my wallet so far:(

Spent the day going around getting new documentation.
Need to get back on the horse in regards to practicing. Since I got sick, my numbers have been crappy and my routine got all messed up. Tomorrow I got to get things sorted out.
Stupid illnesses!

At least I'm starting to feel better. I was a little nervous, I have to admit. I had to go get a physical the beginning of this week for my job and I told them about being sick the last week....dizzy, nauseous, etc. The doctor looked at me and said that if it doesn't clear up in a few weeks to go get checked for a brain tumour. The doc sees you for all of five minutes (without even examining you) and thinks she has a clue what's going on. Nice.
You get cancer and forever after everyone is always telling you whenever you are sick or have some sort of anything that it could be cancer. Hard on the nerves.
It's not like I don't worry about it enough already.

But, I'm not feeling dizzy anymore so I guess I must be in the clear.
Thanks doc.

Basic numbers: 3 miles

Acts of kindness: took Julia to the library, gave the dog a treat, made Mike lunch

Today I consumed: a piece of carrot cake, a Lara bar, some macaroni with veggies, a piece of chicken pot pie, a brownie and some french bread. I drank half a glass of wine, a cup of coffee and 8 glasses of water.

Crumby day

Frustrating day today.

Lost my wallet at a store and I spent tonight looking for it. No luck. Pretty sure it's gone. I wish that someone had done me an act of kindness and returned it. If I ever find someone else's wallet, I'm going to make the effort now for sure. 

Didn't practice either. 

Crumby.

Basic numbers: 3 miles

Acts of kindness: let a car ahead of me in traffic x2, gave the dog some pets, pointed out to someone that their backpack was open.

Today I consumed: a Lara bar (no I haven't tried Luna bars yet Sihing Donahue....I'll have to do that!), a piece of carrot cake, a turkey and cheese sandwich, some veggies, 2 pieces of chicken pot pie. I drank 2 coffees and 9 glasses of water. 

Inspiring a black belt

How do you motivate people? I find this question especially hard and I've been thinking about it lately. It's easier to motivate colour belts I think if you can give them a good ideal to strive for, if you can impress them and inspire them with what it is to be a black belt. But for that to work, us black belts have to work harder than them. We can't just coast on our past successes. We need to constantly be working harder than the cue belts.
We can only inspire them if we can do things they can't do.

This is where I've been struggling. One of my goals this year has been to become a better kicker. I know what it takes to be good at kicking....I can describe the steps, talk someone through it and point out areas for improvement in others. But something I haven't been good at is demonstrating and that's the most important part. How are white belts going to believe that they have to achieve a certain position or kick height if I can't do it. That's what I want to fix.
That's what we all have to fix.
As black belts it's easy to ride the rank. Part of this stems from the fact that when you get your black belt, you are somewhat on your own when it comes to training. You get one class a week and, if your like me, most of your time at the kwoon is spent teaching, not training.
In order to maintain and exceed our currant level, we need to train outside of the kwoon on our own time. Just coming to class isn't enough.

It is easy to just sit back though and say, "I've achieved my black belt.....the student's should respect my rank." But they won't anymore if we all suck.

We need to take pride in what it is we do. We need to hold ourselves to a higher standard and realize that what we do define's what a black belt is to the new generation of students. I know no one sits there and says, "I want to make the rank look like it's nothing special." But the truth is that we've been saying that anyway through our lack of action.
Student's can tell who trains hard and who doesn't, it doesn't take a genius to tell.

I guess what I'm trying to say is each of us needs to be someone who is physically inspiring. Being a great human being isn't enough if you want to inspire the students. The question we should be asking ourselves when we tell a student to do something is...can I do that?
If not....why not?.....and then fix it.


Basic numbers: 102 pushups, 101 crunches, 102 kicks, 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword, 3 miles

Acts of kindness: complimented someone, brought someone a drink, gave the dog some pets

Today I consumed: a bowl of cheerios, some vegetables, half a turkey and cheese sandwich, an orange, a Lara bar, a grilled cheese sandwich with a bowl of soup, a beer, a cup of coffee, 2 cookies and 9 glasses of water.

Black belt grading coming

I'm feeling better. I took it easy tonight though to ease myself back into the swing of things. I don't want to push it hard right off the bat and get sick again.

I wonder how the candidates are doing. The black belt grading is less than a week away. So much stress, so much pressure. But that day was one of the best of my life. I hope it is for them as well.

Basic numbers: 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword, 51 pushups, 51 situps, 52 kicks, 3 miles.

Acts of kindness: gave the cat and dog a treat, made small talk with a stranger, picked up a gift for someone

Today I consumed: 2 pieces of toast with jam, half a yogurt cup, a chicken wrap from tims, 2 pieces of pizza, a piece of candy, and some leftover pasta with toast. I drank a cup of coffee, a beer and a half and 9 glasses of water and a cup of neocitron.

Dabbling

I have been training in Kung-Fu for most of my life....almost 20 years now. When I was a child, I remember going to classes and being in awe of the blackbelts. Over the years my life has changed, I've faced challenges, I've moved away, gone to university, got married, got my degrees, got cancer, had a baby, but through it all I've always trained. Even when I was gone.

I hear people say that the biggest thing that comes out of their Kung-Fu experience is the friendships made and the social aspect of the kwoon, but the hard-core training part isn't for them. When I hear this, when I hear people talk about not being into the whole training thing, I don't know what to say. To me that's the same as saying you enjoy the taste of apples, but don't want to chew.
Ok, maybe a bad analogy, but my point is that Kung-Fu for me isn't something you can dabble in....how do you dabble in becoming a better person...a better wife, better mother, better employee, better everything? Kung-Fu isn't just the the kicking and punching, it's more than that, but at the same time, it is kicking and punching. The philosophies behind Kung-Fu, the real life lesson stuff is learned through doing, not through hanging out with people.

 I hear, "Kung-Fu does nothing for me, just makes more work", and I say, "you haven't done the work to know what Kung-Fu can do for you".

So many people are missing out on something wonderful. And yes, that wonderful comes through hard work. But everything worth doing is hard work. If you want to sit around like a vegetable and not do anything, go ahead. But I'm hear to tell you that you are missing out.

Double dragon dance!

Bah....this sickness is killing me!
Wasn't able to spar or really practice at all, but I did get to help with tiling which was fun.
Dragon practice was fun today. We were able to put together 2 dragons and try some tricks we've been considering for the dance. Sifu Lindstrum, Sifu Rybak and I have been coming up with a story line for the dance and we should have that worked out by next practice. The story is the most important part of the dance....it's what makes it relevant. We have some pretty cool ideas so far. Stay tuned!

Basic numbers: 3 miles

Acts of kindness: helped tile, made a timies run, got supplies

Today I consumed: 2 pieces of toast with jam, a bagel with cream cheese, some doritos (so bad, I know!), 3 pieces of pizza, a pop (again, not supposed to!), a coffee and 6 glasses of water.

Congrats Miss Gibbons and Mrs Csillag!

Feeling better....not dizzy and nautious anymore...just feel weak and slightly light-headed. I think it's a blood-pressure thing. Sifu Rybak brought up a good point about anemia too...my docter had given me some pills for that but I haven't taken them in a long time. I'll try some tonight and see if that helps.

Didn't feel very on the ball for demo practice tonight. It was cool to see Miss Gibbons practicing and it was nice that Mrs Csillag joined us as well. It shows that she has been working hard. And I'm glad she's having success in her training. I know that Miss Gibbons made a huge step tonight too and it was difficult for her. I'm super proud of her!
Well done both of you!

Oh and thanks Sifu Kitchko for reading my blogs:) Good luck if you decide to join the horse team!

Basic numbers: 5 reps broadsword, 3 miles

Acts of kindness: let a car ahead of me in traffic, cleaned up a gross mess so others didn't have to, complimented someone

Today I consumed: half a breakfast sandwich with half a hash brown from tims, a bite of doughnut, a greek wrap, some pasta with pasta sauce and 2 pieces of toast. I also had 3 pieces of halloween candy. I drank 2 cups of coffee and 8 glasses of water.

still bleh

Feeling a bit better....tried to do some tai chi but started feeling sick again.
At least I think I'm on the mend.
I hope the candidates will be in good health for their grading. I wish them good health in the coming week!

Basic numbers: 1 rep tai chi, 1.5 miles

Acts of kindness: made Mike a sandwich, took Julia to the library, gave the dog a special treat

Today I consumed: a piece of toast with butter, some pasta, some broccoli and a little bit ogham. i drank 2 cups of coffee, a cup of tea and 8 glasses of water

Still sick

Feel awful.
I hope I'll be better for class on Friday and everything on Saturday.
Ugh.

Basic number: 2 miles

Acts of kindness: let a car in front of me x3

Today I consumed: an apple, some chicken noodle soup with bread, some leftover supper (lamb, potatoes and mushrooms) and 2 puddings. I drank half a cup of coffee, a cup of tea and 8 glasses of water.

Bleh

Still under the weather. Didn't work out tonight. I thought it might be better to rest and hopefully tomorrow I will feel better.
Health is one of the most important things, maybe the most important thing. If you are sick or badly injured, it affects your whole life. Health is one of those things though that we all seem to take for granted until we get sick. Then you miss it so much.
I hope I'll feel better tomorrow.

Basic numbers: 1.5 miles

Acts of kindness: gave the cat and dog treats, made Mike's lunch, let someone ahead of me in traffic

Today I consumed: 2 chicken wraps, an apple, a few corn chips, some mashed potatoes with pepper salad and lamb. I drank a glass of wine, a cup of tea and 7 glasses of water.

Sick

Really not feeling well. Just as I was finishing my crunches, got really dizzy and nauseous. I hope I don't have the 24hr flu...trying not to think about puking.
Although I didn't eat much tonight...hopefully it's just a bloodsugar thing. Trying to force down an apple.

Moan:(

Basic numbers: 208 kicks, 194 crunches, 204 pushups, 5 reps tai chi, 5reps broadsword, 4 miles

Acts of kindess: gave the dog extra pets, made Mike's lunch, let a car ahead of me in traffic

Today I consumed: a peice of peanut butter and jam toast, 2 apples, some peas and carrots, a danish, a cheese sandwich. I drank 3 cups of coffee and 7 glasses of water.

What I've learned...thanks Sifu Bryant!

I think one of the things I've learned this year is the value of honest comment. The biggest motivator to fulfil your commitments in the I Ho Chuan is being held publicly accountable. This can only happen if we give honest comment to each other. For example, the other day I was doing pushups during practice when Sifu Bryant approached me. He dropped down and asked me why I was doing such shallow pushups. Now in my mind I have a thousand reasons why...the biggest being my injured shoulder, but at the end of the day, the truth is that my pushups suck. Sifu Bryant asking me about it tells me that my student's probably think the same thing...everyone in the school who sees me do pushups has the same perception. When you walk around the school with an injury that isn't blatant (like a limp or whatever), people don't know your injured and all they see is your poor pushups. That is the perception.
So what Sifu Bryant's honesty left me with was a choice. I can choose to keep doing poor pushups because of my injury (and sometimes to heal you have to choose this option) or I can work on changing my pushups and thus changing the perception of the people around me. If I choose option 1 (whether I have a choice or not), I do it knowing that it affects my reputation.

That's another thing I've learned. Reputation in the martial arts is largely based on physical skill. That is what you are largely judged by by students and others. If you have an injury and can't perform physically, you will lose some credibility. I think that's something that people don't realize. I see some people get injured and they breath a sigh of relief because now they don't have to do some things they don't like doing anymore (like pushups). But you should view an injury as a potential detriment to your reputation. I say potential because coming back from a huge injury can earn you a lot of respect, but you have to come back from it. You can't ride on the tails of your horrific injury 5 years ago and have any credibility. Part of being a martial artist is managing your injuries. Part of that is learning to shift your training focus to compensate. For me, for example, with my shoulder injury I'm having difficulty with upper body stuff, however I can work on kicks no problem. All people need to see is that you are trying to progress on a physical level. You can't only focus on your mental growth or spiritual growth and expect students or peers to see you as a great martial artist. Yes, your mental and spiritual growth are just as important, but without the physical skill, no one will take you seriously.
That's been one of my struggles this year....getting back to a good place physically. It's hard. And I'm not there yet. But pushing each other and holding each other accountable (like Sifu Bryant did for me) can help get us where we need to be.

But we need to recognize that honest comment does not equal negativity. One of the other things I've learned this year is that when people feel guilty about their lack of progress and that lack of progress is pointed out, they get defensive. One of the biggest ways this is expressed is by calling the feedback negative or saying that the atmosphere is negative. That is only a half truth. The whole truth is that yes, the atmosphere is negative, but not because of any comments made, but because of lack of action, because of mediocrity. When Sifu Bryant commented on my pushups, initially I was a little hurt. I felt like I was trying my hardest and couldn't he see that? But at the end of the day he was telling me the truth and I have to give him credit because it can be hard to tell people their shortcomings. How can I get better if I don't see my weaknesses? That was what he was saying. He wasn't trying to be a jerk. He was trying to help me by  saying, "You know what, I see your pushups, they suck, but I know you can do better".
That's the key point. When someone gives you honest comment and it isn't what you want to hear, realize that by saying it they are telling you that they know you can do better. They believe in you.
If they thought there was no hope for you they wouldn't say anything at all and let you continue to be mediocre.

The point I want to leave off with is this. Don't accept mediocrity in yourself and don't accept it in your teammates. The I Ho Chuan isn't meant to be a sit-around, talk about your feelings and make some friends group; it's a work, sweat, cry and yell group. The true friendships come by sweating together and encouraging each other through honesty. Don't hold each others hands. Be strong and don't give up. At the end of the day, if we expect more from each other, we can do great things.

Basic numbers; 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword

Acts of kindness: chatted with a sales clerk, let Mike sleep in, gave the dog extra pets

Today I consumed: 2 breakfast sandwiches, 2 hash browns, some veggies, some instant noodles with toast, 4 pieces of candy, a cup of coffee, a cup of tea, 7 glasses of water

need to think about it

Had a good meeting today.
Sifu Brinker suggested we write about what we've learned this year...what worked and what didn't. I think I'm going to have to think about it. This year has been amazing even though I haven't fulfilled all of my goals. But I don't know if I have any real advice for the next team because I feel like I haven't figured it out yet. I feel like I'm just starting to get a handle on things, but there's always the worry that a week from now I'll be in a slump and things will get hard. I have a routine but truth be told everyday I have to make myself do stuff. It doesn't get easy. I see the benefits everyday from my training...my health, my strength, my flow,etc...but when it comes to doing my form reps, my pushups, etc., it can be so easy to put it off and hard to do. Sometimes doing my forms is really fun and I feel like I've come so far....but then the next day my forms seem to take forever and I feel like a scarecrow trying to do Kung-Fu.
The one thing I've been able to do consistently every day is blog. They aren't always the best blogs...I don't always put in a good effort or have something meaningful to say....but it is something easy to do so at least every day I'm doing something. Blogging is the thread that's kept me going.

I don't know.....everyone's journey is different.
I'll have to think about it more.

Basic numbers: 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword, 202 crunches, 208 kicks, 204 pushups, 3 miles

Acts of kindness: gave the cat and dog treats, made a nice dinner, helped someone

Today I consumed: a danish, half a banana, some fries, some tortilla chips, fish with potatoes and beats and a peice of chocolate cake. I drank a cup of coffee, a cup of tea and 8 glasses of water.

dragon dance practice tomorrow!

It was inspiring to see Sihing Dunning working out at practice today. He's still hurting, you can tell, but he's trying and that takes will.
I wonder how many people we'll have for dragon practice tomorrow....

Basic numbers: 202 crunches, 208 kicks, 204 pushups, 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword, 3.5 miles

Acts of kindness: made Mike lunch, played with Julia, had lunch with a relative

Today I consumed: some toast with jam, a burger with cheese and fries, a tomato and cucumber sandwich with cheese, a danish and some apple, 2 cups of coffee and a cup of tea. I drank 7 glasses of water.

Happy Halloween!

Julia's first halloween. She had a great time, we all did. It did mess up the routine I've been building for the past couple of weeks though....have to go hard-core tomorrow.

Basic numbers: 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword, 4 miles

Acts of kindness; invited my family along for Julias trick-or-treating, made Mike lunch and breakfast, helped someone

Today I consumed: a breakfast sandwich and hashbrown from tims, an apple, some leftover tuna casserole, some tortilla chips with salsa, a cup of coffee and 8 glasses of water and a cup of tea.

The way of the future

In the beginner class tonight Sifu Brinker talked about how the future of Kung-Fu resides with the white belts. I completely agree. It's amazing to think that among those students is the next great grand master, the next chief instructor, the next instructor of the beginner class. It is so exciting to see them progress and to see their passion for the martial arts develop. I can't wait to see what they are doing 10 years from now when they are telling the newest beginners that they are the future.

Basic numbers: 202 crunches, 204 pushups, 208 kicks, 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword, 3.5 miles

Act of kindness: let someone ahead of me in traffic, said thank you to someone, made Mike lunch and breakfast, gave the dog a belly rub

Today I consumed: some toast with jam and butter, half an apple, a lara bar, some peas, a cheese and tomato sandwich, some tuna casserole and a piece of chocolate cake. I drank 2 cups of tea and 8 glasses of water.

Adopt a driveway

I'm excited about the adopt-a-driveway program this year. We seem to have so many people involved, it's going to be great. I have many fond memories of shovelling with training mates, some of which are gone now. Cherish the opportunities you have to spend time with your fellow-Kung-Fu-ers while you can. People invariably move away or what-have-you. It's nice to have fun memories to look back on.

Basic numbers: 202 crunches, 204 pushups, 208 kicks, 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword, 4 miles

Acts of kindness: made Mike lunch and breakfast, gave Julia a treat, gave the dog a belly rub

Today I consumed: an apple and a half, some toast with butter and jam, some veggies with pasta, a boiled egg, half a Lara bar and some poutine. I drank a cup of coffee, 2 cups of tea and 7 glasses of water.

The Vaseline saga continues

Julia's hair is still shiny...even tried corn starch....I have to say she looked pretty funny covered in white with her hair spiked out in all directions.
Someone suggested lemon juice.
The shampoo seems to be helping, albeit gradually. Oddly enough, this reminds me a bit about Kung-Fu. You need patience to progress and it can take time to see the effects of multiple efforts. I know eventually her hair will be nice after a lot of washings, just like I know my form will be better after lots of practice.

Basic numbers: 202 crunches, 204 pushups, 208 kicks, 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword, 3.5 miles

Acts of kindness: helped some students, gave the dog a belly rub, gave the cat and dog a special treat, made Mike lunch and breakfast

Today I consumed: a bagel with cream cheese, half a Lara bar, some instant noodles with bread and veggies. I drank 2 cups of coffee, 8 glasses of water.

Sparring

Going hard on my form reps. If I keep to my schedule, I'll have my form reps done by the end of December. While that may be on track, my sparring reps sure aren't. Got to get on that. I work late on Tuesdays so I haven't been able to come to san sou. I should have went during the summer when I had the chance. Missed opportunity for sure.

Basic numbers: 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword, 2 miles

Acts of kindness: let someone ahead of me in traffic, gave the cat and dog treats, played with Julia

Today I consumed: 3 waffles, some apple slices, some macaroni with vegetables, half a cookie, 3 slices of pizza, a small piece of cake. I drank a cup of coffee, a cup of tea and 8 glasses of water.

Sifu Prince...you'll never guess what happened

The tournament went really well. I was really proud of everyone. What an amazing group of people to be around. The dragon/lion dance was great (thanks everyone involved! and extra kudos for the heads...Sifu Lindstrum and Sifu Wetter!) I saw new students compete for the first time...so inspiring; I saw people try breaking boards even though they were afraid of failure; I saw an amazing group of blackbelts perform....the camaraderie and friendship I saw during the sparring only amplified the skill (Sifu Rybak and Sifu Robinson...you guys are awesomely funny!). We had a great bunch of score keepers and helpers too. Everything was organized  beautifully and the day ran smoothly (thanks Sihing Csillag).

Getting together at the end of the day with everyone was a great way to end the day (Thanks Mrs Csillag and Sihing Donahue!).

Thanks everyone for making it a memorable day!

Oh...and by the way Sifu Prince, you'll be happy to know that this evening, after putting Julia to bed, she came down a while later covered in vasaline! She had gotten into the jar and put it all in her hair and on her pyjamas! At least she didn't put it on the walls!

Thought it would make you laugh.

Basic numbers: 202 crunches, 208 kicks, 204 pushups, 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword, 2.5 miles

Acts of kindness: complimented someone, brought some veggies for the get-together, gave the dog a treat, encouraged someone

Today I consumed: a breakfast sandwich from tims with a hash brown, a ham and cheese sandwich with veg, 2 pieces of pizza, some veggies, fudge and carrot cake. I drank 2 cups of coffee, 7 glasses of water and a glass of wine.

May the force be with us all tomorrow...

I have a couple of things I wanted to blog about but I think I'll leave it for tomorrow or Sunday. The tournament is tomorrow so I'm trying to clear my mind in preparation for that. I am always so nervous to perform in front of everyone. I hate it. The only reason I do it is to inspire my students. How can I push them to compete if I don't myself. I do see the value in it. Over the years of competing it has become easier. This is partly because I've made so many mistakes over the years during performances that really, how bad could it possibly be this year? Worst ever....busted my wrist the night before while working on my board breaks. I still competed with a bandaged wrist but boy did it hurt. Shouldn't have been experimenting the night before....probably shouldn't have competed either in hind sight.

So what's the point? The value in competing is pushing ourselves out of our comfort zone and giving us all a deadline to practice for. I hope by competing that my students see the value in it as well.

Basic numbers: 202 crunches, 204 pushups, 208 kicks, 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword, 3.5 miles

Acts of kindness: gave the cat and dog treats, complimented a stranger, let someone ahead of me in traffic, supported a friend

Today I consumed: a bagel with cream cheese, half a cookie, some veggies and dip with pasta, some pear, some noodles with toast, a candy, 2 coffees and 8 glasses of water.

Dragon hope

Tonights practice was great. It was awesome having so many people. It gives me hope that we can have 2 dragons for chinese new year.

Basic numbers: 202 crunches, 208 kicks, 204 pushups, 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword, 3 miles

Acts of kindness: offered to hold the door for someone, let someone ahead of me in traffic, gave the cat and dog treats, made Mike lunch

Today I consumed: a bagel with cream cheese, some pear, one and a half coconut Lara bars, a tomato and cheese sandwich with snap peas, some fish with potatoes and brussle sprouts, a piece of chocolate cake and some cheese and crackers. I drank 2 cups of coffee, 2 cups of tea and 7 glasses of water.

Reminds me

Fall time always reminds me now of being sick. I love fall, but 2 years ago at this time I was still undergoing chemo and it sucked. Today I was reminded how far I've come since then. I hope next fall I'm not reminded of being sick but instead reminded of my Kung-Fu. This year I've been trying to focus on my training and it's impacted my whole life. I feel strong and when I go to teach, I have confidence.

I wonder if other people will look back on their year as something great, or just another year. I know for me, it's been life-changeing. My evenings are now filled with training, not t.v.. So different. I feel like Ms Gibbons in a way...I can totally relate to the diet change thing. I've changed my entire lifestyle and I plan to carry it on after this year is over.

Basic numbers: 202 crunches, 204 pushups, 208 kicks, 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword, 3 miles

Acts of kindness: gave the cat and dog treats, let someone in font of me in traffic, made Mike lunch

Today I consumed: some oatmeal, a peanut butter and jam sandwich, a hotdog, some broccoli and carrots, a cheeses and tomato sandwich. I drank 2 cups of tea, 1 pop and 8 glasses of water.

Basic numbers

Basic numbers: 208 kicks, 202 crunches, 204 pushups, 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword, 3 miles

Acts of kindness: let a car in front of me in traffic, gave the cat some treats, made Mike lunch and breakfast

Today I consumed: a bowl of oatmeal, and apple, a doughnut, a peanut butter and jam sandwich, some instant noodles with toast. I drank 2 cups of coffee and 8 glasses of water.

Please watch

I wanted to write something, but I think this person explains it better.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZxyKuTLQHI

We have the power to do great things.....if we hold ourselves, and each other accountable for what we do or don't do.
We need to support each other, but we also need to be honest with ourselves and our teammates. If we aren't honest, accountability is impossible. We can't change what we don't acknowledge (I think Dr. Phil said that)...but often we don't want to acknowledge our mistakes or weaknesses. It makes us feel bad and it's easier to make excuses than confront that mistake or weakness.

If we aren't doing what we said we'd do, we need someone to tell us and be unhappy about it. That's motivation to get it done. I know all of us set goals this year that are important to us....I want all of us to succeed. Calling people out when they don't fulfill their commitment isn't a mean thing, it's a helpful thing. It's a tool to help push you to fulfill your goals.

If you aren't doing something you said you'd do (for instance me and my rollerblading...hasn't happened yet), you probably fell guilty about it and your first instinct when someone points out that your not doing it is to lash out, place blame and make excuses. But the truth is I haven't rollerbladed and if one of you cornered me in a back room and said, "Hey, you said you were going to rollerblade 1000km this year and you haven't started yet?!? What gives?!?" I would be embarrassed, ashamed and I would feel bad about letting you down. I wouldn't want to feel that way again so I'd get off my butt and start rollerblading so next time you asked me I could look you in the eye and say, "I've rollerbladed 10km just today." and I would feel great after.
That's what we need to do for each other. We don't need pats on the back for just existing, that's not what this is about. We need to push each other and expect more from each other so when we do pat each other on the back it actually means something.

Basic numbers: 202 crunches, 208 pushups, 203 pushups, 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword, 4 miles

Acts of kindness: made Mike lunch and breakfast, helped a coworker, gave the cat and dog treats

Today I consumed: a ham and cheese sandwich with some tomato soup and a bun, a brownie, a turkey sandwich with peas and rice and a bowl of ice cream. I drank a cup of coffee, 9 glasses of water.

Basic numbers

Basic numbers: 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword

Acts of kindness: took Julia and the dog for a long walk, let Mike sleep in, played ball with Julia

Today I consumed: 3 waffles, 3 slices of pizza, some raw carrots and broccoli, some apple slices,  a piece of candy, a cup of coffee, 8 glasses of water and a glass of wine.

Basic numbers

Basic numbers: 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword, 101 pushups, 101 crunches, 3 miles

Acts of kindness: helped tile, held the door for someone, fixed something for someone

Today I consumed: 3 waffles, a ham and swiss sandwich, a turkey sandwich, 2 pieces of pizza, a cup of coffee, half a can a pop, 7 glasses of water

Leadership opportunities

I don't think people are taking advantage of the opportunities for leadership within the team.
Part of joining the I Ho Chuan was to better our leadership skills and you can't do that unless you lead stuff.
Some people have stepped up and I've seen them grow in confidence and they understand things from a new perspective. But so many other people could be taking advantage of this as well instead of sitting on the sidelines and waiting to be told what to do.
We all have busy lives, but when no one steps up, it falls to the same people to get stuff done.

I don't know if there are going to be any more opportunities this year. The tournament is being handled, the adopt a driveway is underway....but we still need to get these renos done.

So....the heart of my rant...when something needs to get done don't wait for someone else to organize it,  you should be jumping at the chance and when someone is trying to get stuff organized, make sure you are supporting their efforts.

 But as I said, I think the list of opportunities is growing short.
Have all of you gotten all your demos in yet? That would be an opportunity right there.


Basic numbers: 202 crunches, 204 pushups, 208 kicks, 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword, 2.5 miles

Acts of kindness: babysat for someone, played ball with Julia, gave the dog and cat treats, made Mike lunch

Today I consumed: 3 waffles, a peice of candy, some macaroni with beans and tuna, some potato chips (bah! Second day of it!), grilled chicken with salad, 2 cups of coffee, a cup of tea and 7 glasses of water.

Evil potato chips!

Basic numbers: 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword, 202 crunches, 203 pushups, 208 kicks, 4 miles

Acts of kindness: held the door for someone, gave someone a compliment, made Mike lunch

Today I consumed: 3 waffles, an apple, a few potato chips (first time in I don't know how long....bad I know), half a quisidilla and fries and a piece of candy. I drank 2 coffees and 9 glasses of water.

Rhythm

I've started practicing at night time and it's working pretty good. I can get a lot done after Julia goes to bed. Think I'm finally finding my rhythm. I like Ms Csillag's blog idea. We do have a lot to be thankful for. It's been a great year surrounded by great people. Can't ask for more than that.

Basic numbers: 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword, 202 crunches, 202 pushups, 208 kicks, 3 miles

Acts of kindness: held the door for someone, complimented someone, shared my cake with Julia, made Mike lunch

Today I consumed: a peice of peanut butter and jam toast, an apple, half a peanut butter and jam sandwich, 2 hamburgers, some hummas and bread, a piece of chocolate cake, 2 coffees, 1 tea, half a pop and 7 glasses of water.

Thanks!

Going hard, been feeling driven this week. I really want to push hard these last few months.

Thanks Ms Gibbons for loaning me the cd! It's really great. I've been listening to it all week.
I've also been thinking about Sihing Donahue's idea about doing acts of kindness for other members of the team. I have a couple of ideas....stay tuned!

Basic numbers: 202 pushups, 202 crunches, 208 kicks, 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword, 3.5 miles

Acts of kindness: gave the cat treats, cuddled the dog and cat, made Mike breakfast and lunch, chased Julia around the house

Today I consumed: a piece of peanut butter and jam toast, a peanut butter and jam sandwich, an apple, some leftover turkey dinner and a piece of pie and a brownie. I drank 2 cups of coffee, a cup of tea and 8 glasses of water.

Chucks

Practicing is going well. I've been working with the chucks this weekend and it has been really fun. 

Whacked myself a couple of times, but luckily I was practicing with the foam ones. So fun.

Basic numbers: 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword, 202 pushups, 202 crunches, 208 kicks, 3 miles

Acts of kindness: helped my sister in law clean up after dinner, made tea for Mike, got up with Julia so Mike could sleep in

Today I consumed: 3 waffles with syrup, some leftover turkey dinner with pie, turkey dinner at my sister-in-laws...so much food! I drank a cup of coffee, a cup of tea, a glass of wine and 8 glasses of water. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving....so much to be thankful for. Great family...home....enough to eat....nice job...and Kung-fu. I'm really thankful that I participated in the I Ho Chuan this year. My lifestyle has changed so much. When I started this year I was watching t.v. all the time, eating fast food and was in horrible physical shape. Now I feel strong, I don't watch t.v. and don't eat fast food. I practice everyday and I'm setting a better example for Julia. I'm really thankful for everyone else that is on the team...even the ones I don't see that often. I've had the privilege to see others grow this year and I've been inspired by everyone. I'm really proud to be a part of this team. What a great bunch.

Thanks everyone for making this a great year!

Basic numbers: 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword, 2.5 miles

Acts of kindness: made dinner for everyone, gave the dog a treat, chased Julia

Today I consumed: 3 waffles with syrup, some veggies and bread with hummus, a cookie, turkey dinner with all the trimmings, a piece of pie and half a piece of cake. I drank a cup of coffee, a cup of tea, a glass of wine, a can of coke and 6 glasses of water.

Good practice

Dragon dance practice went really well today. We are sure we can pull off 2 dragons. We have some cool tricks we want to do, but we need 2 dragons. Stay tuned on kwoon talk, I'll be posting out a list of people we need for the second dragon.

It would be so cool!

Basic numbers: 5 reps tai chi, 5 reps broadsword, 202 crunches, 202 pushups, 208 kicks, 4 miles

Acts of kindness; complimented someone, made lunch for Mike, read Julia an extra story, gave the cat a nice treat

Today I consumed: 3 waffles with syrup, a bowl of macaroni, a yogurt, 3 pieces of pizza, a cookie, a cup of coffee and 8 glasses of water.

Push on!

Tonight in class Sifu Brinker reminded us to push forward. We only have a few months left. Even if the year hasn't gone great, we can still turn it around.
I'm going to try and push....not much longer to go.

Basic numbers: 208 kicks, 202 crunches, 204 pushups, 6 reps broadsword, 1 rep tai chi, 4 miles

Acts of kindness: gave the dog a treat, made Mike lunch and breakfast, stopped for a pedestrian who wanted to cross.

Today I consumed: 3 waffles with syrup, an apple, a banana, half a granola bar, some leftover pasta, some macaroni with ham and broccoli, a cookie, 2 peices of buttered toast, 2 cups of coffee, a cup of tea and 7 glasses of water

Destress

Exhausted! I seem to be saying that a lot. Have a lot going on right now...good, but stressful stuff. I've been finding that practicing has been helping to destress me. Doing some good old physical stuff helps to calm me.

Basic numbers: 102 pushups, 101 crunches

Acts of kindness: held the door x2, was polite to someone, made Mike lunch and breakfast.

Inspiring

Had an inspiring time in the beginner class tonight. I always enjoy it when Sifu Brinker comes to talk to the class. Tonight I especially found it resonating. He was talking about centering and his passion while speaking really fired me up about a generally mundane subject. Got me inspired.

Basic numbers: 208 kicks, 202 crunches, 204 pushups, 4 reps tai chi, 4 reps broadsword, 3 miles

Acts of kindness: held the door for someone x2, gave the dog a treat, made Mike lunch and breakfast

Today I consumed: a bagel with cream cheese, half a ham and cheese sandwich, an apple, some ham with mashed potatos and beans, 3 cups of coffee and 7 glasses of water.

Basic numbers

Basic numbers: 152 pushups, 153 crunches

Acts of kindness: held the door for someone, gave the dog a treat, made Mike lunch and breakfast

Today I consumed: a bagel with cream cheese, a peanut butter and jam sandwich, some ham with mashed potatoes and beans, some bread and hummus and some candies with ice-cream.

I drank 2 coffees, a cup of tea and 7 glasses of water. 

Trying to build a habit

Got my workout done tonight. I think I might try to switch my routine....my mornings are always so different depending whether I go to work or not that day and at what time. The evenings seem to be the most consistent time for me. After Julia goes to bed I'm able to get my practicing in. The only hard part is that I want to go to bed, but in the morning I struggle with the same issue....

You would think that after how many months trying to figure this out that I would have it down, but instead I find myself going day by day. One thing I've noticed though is that if you do a set of pushups in the morning like Sifu Brinker suggests, your mind is on your requirements right off the bat and you are more likely to find opportunities to get things done. 

Basic numbers: 208 kicks, 202 crunches, 4 reps tai chi, 4 reps broadsword, 4 miles

Acts of kindness: held the door for someone, got a coffee for my boss, made Mike lunch and breakfast, gave the dog a treat

Today I consumed: half a bagel with cream cheese, half a piece of banana bread, half a ham and cheese sandwich, a banana, some leftover biscuit casserole and half a piece of pecan pie. I drank a cup of coffee, a cup of tea and 7 glasses of water. 

Amazing tai chi

Had a nice day of rest. My shoulder is a little stiff from yesterday but it's muscle pain so it's all good. I'm so glad I've been doing the tai chi and the pushups. I think that has really made a difference for my shoulder. Although I don't have a full range of motion yet, my shoulder is strong and doesn't hurt. Can't ask for more than that. Tai chi is the key to the injury universe I think.

Basic numbers: Rest day

Acts of kindness: gave the dog a treat, took Julia for a walk, made Mike some tea

Today I consumed: 3 waffles with syrup, a doughnut, some leftover carrot cake, some hummas with bread, some biscuit casserole, a cup of coffee, a cup of tea and 8 glasses of water.

Good day

Accomplished a lot today. Got my 1000 pushups and situps done, had a great meeting and had a nice visit with the team members.
Something mentioned in the meeting really resonated with me. Sifu Playter brought up that we have been neglecting to help each other on projects and tasks. Definitely true! Focussing on our individual journeys more so than our group. Something I plan to change. I'm glad it was brought up.
Good day overall.
Another cool thing...Sifu Beckett is doing the 1000 pushups too. Nice to see. It's very inspiring to see people move out of their comfort zone.

Basic numbers: 1028 pushups, 1014 crunches, 500 kicks, 1 rep tai chi, 1 rep broadsword, 1.5 miles.

Acts of kindness: gave the cat and dog treats, gave a couple some movie tickets, made Mike some tea

Today I consumed: some toast with peanut butter and jam, some jam toast, a bowl of soup with cheese toast, some prime rib with mushroom sauce, mashed potato and carrot cake. I drank 2 cups of coffee, a cup of tea and 7 glasses of water

1000 pushups and situps tomorrow!

Got all of my practice in today which is awesome!
Got to watch people practice at I Ho Chuan tonight. It's cool to see everyone progress. Attendance was pretty low though. I hope we get lots of people at the meeting tomorrow. I feel like the people who need to be there the most probably won't. I hope those we haven't seen awhile come tomorrow.

Basic numbers: 208 kicks, 204 pushups, 202 crunches, 4 reps of tai chi, 4 reps of broadsword, 2 miles

Acts of kindness: held the door for someone, made Mike lunch and breakfast, gave the dog a treat

Today I consumed: a bagel with cream cheese, some hummas and bread, some perigees, beans, chicken and potato patties. I drank 2 coffees, 7 glasses of water and a cup of tea

Hitting me hard

Works hitting me hard. Spent the entire day working on geostatistics. Very difficult, but also very satisfying to figure out the answer.
I haven't seen Sihing Langer around....I think school must be keeping him busy as well.
Didn't even practice today:(

Basic numbers: 0  :(

Acts of kindness: helped a coworker, let a car ahead of me in traffic, complimented someone

Today I consumed: 2 pieces of peanut butter and jam toast, a brownie, a ham sandwich, an orange, a piece of pizza and some bread with hummus. I drank 3 coffees and 7 glasses of water.

Thanks!

Thanks Sihing Csillag for the comment:)
I'm still trying!
Got my practicing all done today!

Basic numbers: 4 reps tai chi, 4 reps broadsword, 208 kicks, 204 pushups, 202 crunches, 3.5 miles

Acts of kindness: held the door for someone, gave the dog a treat, let the cat out, made Mike lunch and breakfast

Today I consumed: a bowl of oatmeal, some bread with hummus, a bowl of soup with a grilled cheese, a piece of cookie. I drank a cup of coffee, 2 cups of tea and 7 glasses of water.

man....maybe I should practice what I preach

Wrote a nice blog last night about motivation and then today totally didn't follow it. Nice eh?
Worked 12 hours....but there were times I could have snuck in some pushups. I just hate doing them where people can see. Missed opportunities for sure.
Gotta try harder tomorrow.

Basic numbers: 51 pushups, 52 kicks

Acts of kindness: held the door for someone twice, read Julia an extra bedtime story, helped someone at work

Today I consumed:  breakfast sandwich from starbucks, a piece of spanokopita with greek salad, 2 oranges, half a granola bar and some steak with mashed potatoes and gravy. I drank 3 coffees and 6 glasses of water.

Motivation

I've been reading that many people are struggling with motivation. I have struggled with the same thing. The best thing I have found is, as Sifu Brinker has suggested, is to build in habits. If you always do pushups while you wait for the kettle, even on the days you don't feel like doing it, you'll do pushups while the kettle boils. The difficulty I have found is that your day never goes according to plan. I can't say that at 1pm I'm going to do some form reps because I never know what will be going on then. What I can do is plan that when I'm making dinner, I'm going to do a form rep in the kitchen. It's about persistence and taking one day at a time. Even if you haven't done anything for months, if you wake up and do some pushups, your back on the way. Just keep trying.

Basic numbers: 204 pushups, 202 crunches, 208 kicks, 4 reps tai chi, 4 reps broadsword, 3 miles

Acts of kindness: gave the cat and dog a treat, made Mike breakfast and lunch, helped someone at work

Today I consumed: 2 boiled eggs, a brownie, 2 oranges, a bowl of oatmeal, some rice with tuna and green beans and some potato patties. I drank a cup of coffee and 8 glasses of water.

Getting nervous

Hmmmmm rest day. So nice to just rest....my body that is. Starting to worry more and more about grading day. Going for my third degree this year. But I still have so much practice to do. VERY nervous about it. I need to do more practicing.

Basic numbers: Rest day

Acts of kindness: gave the dog a treat, hugged someone, let the cat out and in and out and in.......

Today I consumed: a bowl of raisin oatmeal, 4 brownies, a bowl of macaroni with tomatoes, 3 slices of pizza, 2 cups of coffee, 7 glasses of water and 1 pop.

We need to get together....

The dragon dance tricks are coming along. I think we'll have a good dance for the tournament. We only have a few practices before the tournament.
It's a good idea for us to start doing nice things for each other too as has been suggested. I think the biggest thing we need to do though is get more physical. Less yack, more smack. We can talk all we want, but until we start doing what we're supposed to be doing, we'll feel like we're not doing well. But I think doing things together would help. We should have a sparring day. I'm trying to plan a good day for it so stay tuned! If we all got together  and pounded out 8 hours of sparring...we would be close to done our 1000 reps/minutes of sparring. I think doing something like this, where we could check something off our lists by working together, would boost all of our moral.
If anyone has a good suggestion for a day let me know.
Also, we need to memorize mastery, so we should start going over that as a group maybe.
I know I need to go over it a lot still.

Basic numbers: 208 kicks, 204 pushups, 202 crunches, 3 miles

Acts of kindness: held the door for someone, took Julia for a nice walk, helped Mike

Today I consumed: an egg on toast, an orange, a boiled egg, a cookie, a candy, a chocolate, 2 brownies, a bowl of macaroni with corn and ham, 1 and a half bacon/tomato/cucumber/cheese sandwiches. I drank 3 cups of coffee and 7 glasses of water.

You all have 1 weeks notice!

Tonight at class we were missing quite a few people and I know the team's moral overall is pretty low. But, the overall message I took from Sifu Brinker tonight was that we still have an opportunity to turn this boat around. We have the chance to pick up our socks finish successfully. We still can be successful. I know some people, actually probably everyone, is feeling alienated and alone. But you are not alone! Even if you don't receive comments, your blog is being read!
So, to start this picking-up-our-socks thing....I challenge everyone on Saturday, October 5th to do 1000 pushups and sit-ups. Post your numbers on kwoon talk so the whole school can see. Lets start our I Ho Chuan again with a bang!
You all have a week's notice, so no excuses! You're on the home stretch now, let's get some mojo going before the tournament!

Basic numbers: tai chi reps 5, broadsword reps 4, 208 kicks, 204 pushups, 202 crunches, 2.5 miles

Acts of kindness: gave the cat and dog a treat, walked the dog, did extra chores around the house, made Mike breakfast and lunch

Today I consumed: a bagel with cream cheese, half a bran muffin, some macaroni with tuna and corn, a couple of candies, some sausage with perogies and broccoli with cheese sauce and 2 oranges and half a chocolate chip cookie. I drank 3 cups of coffee and 7 glasses of water.

Tournament coming

The tournament is coming up. It will be neat to see everyone's stuff. 

Basic numbers: 51 pushups, 51 crunches, 52 kicks

Acts of kindness: held the door for someone x 2, gave the cat pets, bought a friend a gift.

Today I consumed: a bagel with cream cheese, half a muffin, a bowl of soup with a bun, 2 cupcakes, some nachos and a chicken burger. I drank 3 cups of coffee, 1 beer and 7 glasses of water. 

My favourite blog to read

Totally didn't get my form reps done this morning so I was left trying to catch up tonight. Sigh......
The struggle continues!
I've been enjoying reading peoples blogs a lot. My favourite one to read is Ms Gibbons. I can totally relate to everything she says and I can always picture her telling me about her day. Always makes me smile....and often laugh. Totally awesome!

Basic numbers: 153 pushups, 151 crunches, 156 kicks, 1 rep tai chi, 3.4 miles

Acts of kindness: stopped for a waiting pedestrian, helped out a friend, took Julia to the library, gave the cat and dog treats, made the dog a special dinner for his sensitive stomach, made Mike lunch and breakfast

Today I consumed: half a bran muffin, a peanut butter and jam sandwich and 2 chicken burgers. I drank a latte and half a cup of coffee and 7 glasses of water.

Heavy bag

Started practicing my kicks on the heavy bag that we finally got set up. It is quite different kicking something solid. Definitely helps with developing your power. It's good to practice in the air to get your technique down but I think you need the heavy bag to learn how to transfer you power properly. Sure is a good workout too!

Basic numbers: 204 pushups, 202 pushups, 160 kicks, 4 reps tai chi, 4 reps broadsword

Acts of kindness: let someone ahead of me in traffic, brought my sister breakfast, answered questions in the labs I was running today. Made Mike breakfast and lunch, gave the cat and dog treats

Today I consumed: a bagel with cream cheese, a tims breakfast sandwich and hash brown, an apple, an orange and 1 and a half ham and cheese sandwiches. I drank 2 coffees and 8 glasses of water.

Success!

Success!
Totally got my work out done today even though it was really hectic. Now to carry that on to tomorrow. One day at a time!

Basic numbers: 202 crunches, 208 kicks, 204 pushups, 4 reps tai chi, 4 reps broadsword, 3 miles

Acts of kindness: let a car in front of me x 2, made Mike lunch and breakfast and gave the cat and dog a treat

Today I consumed: a piece of peanut butter and jam toast, a ham and cheese sandwich, an apple, a baked potato with sour cream and asparagus and some cake with cream. I drank a coffee and 9 glasses of water.

Early start tomorrow

Spent the day marking. Poor Julia is getting a cold. I hope I don't get sick as well. Tomorrow I need to get back to work in regards to my numbers. If I get my form reps done before work I'll be good.

Basic numbers: rest day

Acts of kindness: gave the cat and dog a treat, cuddled Julia, brought Mike some tea

Today I consumed: some oatmeal, a piece of cake with cream, some leftover shrimp pasta, 2 pieces of nutella toast and a rib dinner with baked potato and asparagus. I drank 2 cups of coffee and 9 glasses of water.

Need people for the dragon

Got to go to the practice today. Things are looking good, but we're still pressed for people.

Basic numbers: 51 pushups, 51 crunches, 1 rep tai chi, 2 miles

Acts of kindness: let someone ahead of me in traffic, tickled Julia, gave the dog a treat

Today I consumed: a piece of peanut butter and jam toast, a grilled cheese sandwich with soup, 2 pieces of pizza and some toquitos. I drank 2 cups of coffee and 9 glasses of water.

Back already

Got back from the funeral early so I'll be able to come to practice tomorrow...and help with tiling!
Spent a nice day with Mike and Julia and the family. A lot of driving though.

Basic numbers: 0

Acts of kindness: held the door for someone, let someone ahead of me in line x4, played with Julia in the park

Today I consumed: a bagel with cream cheese, a breakfast sandwich from tims with a hash brown, some sandwiches and soup, a pear, some candy and some pizza. I drank 4 coffees and 9 glasses of water

People stepping up

Packing up for the funeral. Long day of travelling and what-not tomorrow. I'm really impressed with how people are stepping up to help with the Tiger Challenge. It's really nice to see. I'm sure it will be great this year.

Basic numbers: 204 pushups, 208 kicks, 21 crunches, 4 miles

Acts of kindness: held the elevator for someone, let someone ahead of me in traffic, gave the cat extra pets, made Mike lunch and breakfast

Today I consumed: 2 bran muffins, a bagel with cream cheese, half an apple and a bowl of shrimp and zuchini pasta. I drank 3 cups of coffee and 8 glasses of water

Thanks Ms Gibbons!

Thanks for the comment Ms Gibbons! Brightened my day. I am feeling a little stressed but I'll manage. You are right about the coffee though!
Suggestion for you in regards to the dragon dance...why don't you help on the instruments? We need a gong person. That way you can still be a part of  the dance, but it won't be so hard on you physically.

Basic numbers: 202 crunches, 204 pushups, 208 kicks, 4 reps tai chi, 4 reps broadsword, 3 miles

Acts of kindness: held the door for someone, let someone ahead of me in traffic, made Mike breakfast and a lunch, took Julia to the library for story time, gave the cat and dog a treat

Today I consumed: a bagel with cream cheese, 2 peanut butter and jam sandwiches, some fries and gravy and a bran muffin. I drank 3 cups of coffee and 7 glasses of water.

Why do mornings have to be so early?

Didn't get much done today in regards to practice. I know that I need to get it done in the morning before Julia gets up, but sometimes (like today), making myself do it when I want to crawl back into bed is difficult. Need more discipline!

Basic numbers: 1 rep tai chi

Acts of kindness: held the door for someone x 2, stopped for someone waiting to cross the street, let someone ahead of me in traffic

Today I consumed: half a bowl of oatmeal, some apple slices, 2 boiled eggs, a bowl of macaroni with peas and tuna and a peanut butter and jam sandwich. I drank 2 coffees and 8 glasses of water

Won't be at practice this Saturday

Have to go out of town this weekend for a funeral. Won't be there for practice this Saturday.
Sad time but also a good opportunity to visit family we normally don't see.

Basic numbers: 153 pushups, 202 crunches, 156 kicks, 4 reps tai chi, 4 reps broadsword

Act of kindness: picked up some notes for someone, held the door for someone x3, let a car ahead of me in traffic

Today I consumed: a bagel with cream cheese, a banana, a pear, a ham and cheese sandwich, 2 boiled eggs, a granola bar and a bacon, tomato and cheese sandwich. I drank a cup of coffee and 8 glasses of water.

Kung-Fu and music

Spent a nice day with Mike and Julia. Read Sifu Brinker's blog about playing the piano. It will be easy to see how my Kung-Fu will help my violin-learning. I think it will help immensely. Discipline, practicing, learning...all true of Kung-Fu and music. Kung-Fu is in everything it seems.

Basic numbers: rest day.

Acts of kindness: took Julia to see the cows, got Mike a treat, made tea for Mike and I, gave the cat and dog a treat

Today I consumed: an apple, a brownie, some bacon and eggs with toast and hash browns, some fish and sweet potatoes and some chocolate. I drank 2 cups of coffee, 2 cups of tea and 8 glasses of water

Good meeting

Had the I Ho Chuan meeting today. One of the things discussed was getting together as a team more socially. I think that would be good. It would be nice to get to know everyone more.

Basic numbers: 51 pushups, 52 kicks, 4 reps tai chi

Acts of kindness: let someone ahead of me in traffic, took the dog for a car ride, gave the dog a belly rub

Today I consumed: a bagel with cream cheese, some fries, some salad, a cheese wrap with pepperoni, a boiled egg, some toquitos, 2 cups of coffee and 8 glasses of water.

Where is everyone?

Got to watch the I Ho Chuan class tonight. There was lots of cool stuff going on. I'm sure we're going to have so many cool things in the Chinese New Year banquet. Attendance has slipped though. Remember when our year had just started and the place was packed? Too bad it isn't still like that.

Basic numbers: 4 reps tai chi, 4 reps broadsword, 204 pushups, 202 crunches, 208 kicks, 2 miles

Acts of kindness: took Julia to the library, made Mike lunch and breakfast, gave the dog a treat

Today I consumed: 2 bagels with cream cheese, a bowl of macaroni and cheese. a piece of chocolate, some gummies, some macaroni with peas, half a banana, leftover tacos and some toquitos. I drank 3 cups of coffee (too much!), 9 glasses of water.