18th Post. All is well with my world!

My girls are home!!!!      

I have known for a long time that the most important thing in life is the people you spend it with.  I have the girls home, the hubby is doing well and spending a lot of time with us, everyone got together for the holidays except for my one brother (he's still in China).  Could a person ask for more!  At this point the only thing left is 'World Peace' ,  so thanks to the universe for these moments and let me share all these good feelings  and graditude with the world.  

17th post

So the reminder on my desk top has been bugging me all day and I finally have a moment ... can't claim that I got much accomplished since my last post as the MOVE has been happening.  Worked all weekend and long hours for the past 10 days.  Have to get my requirements revised so I don't have time to share ... just glad the move is over.  Hope my team members managed to pull off a better kungfu week than me.

16th Post

So we are moving, not the house, the business, to a new location.  What chaos, but in a way kind of exciting.  We are  going to have so much room ... and because we bought this one we can redesign to suit our needs much better than a lease property.  The thing about moving is that you have to deal with all the junk that you have accumulated since the last move ... and when I am stressed out my solution is to re arrange the furniture (at home) some how it makes me feel better.  So purging out the junk that we have accumulated is a hassle and a relief, and I get to work out some serious stress by arranging furniture.  There are some metaphors in this that address emotional, spiritual movement as well which are very relevant to myself and probably many others.   I will let you figure out how it applies to you ...

Have good week

15th post

Things to keep track of ... government!

I subscribe to a newsletter from the David Suzuki Foundation.  They send me email newsletters with all kinds of cool information.  Some of the issues they track are very important to me ... human rights, the environment.  Its a great newsletter because some persons with more time and  access to information (than me) lets me know about the idiot things that various ruling bodies in the world are planning to do.  Now admittedly if you want to know these things you can do your own research, but the David Suzuki Foundation has not led me wrong so far.   I do care but I also have to work, eat, sleep, and study kungfu and the research is very complicated these days with all the information and mis-information that you have to sort thru ... so I get their newsletter. 

Apparently the canadian government is trying to wiggle out of its committments in regards to the Kyoto accord and is encouraging other countries to do the same.  I am not a happy camper and sent my email off to Ms. Ambrose.  Now whether you agree with the accord or not ... it certainly does not enchance our image with other countries to be thought of as the type of country that does not keep their word.  Secondly if the canadian goverment no longer thinks the accord is  effective/ equitable/ affordable ... then they have a responsibility to try for changes to make it effective/equitable/affordable.  That would be the mature and responsible way to handle this, five year olds are allowed to stomp off and sulk, not governments that have the responsibility of representing and doing its best for the people that put them in power.  Maybe they need a timeout in the corner to think about their behaviour.

If you are also interested check out the information below ...

David Suzuki Foundation 219-2211 West 4th Ave., Vancouver, BC, V6K 4S2 604-732-4228 | contact@davidsuzuki.org

14th Post

Hey the calendar reminder popup on my desktop works great ... its been bugging me since yesterday at 1 PM to get  my journalling completed.  Dosen't say much for my self discipline that I have to get my computer to nag me but it does bring it to the front of my mind during a busy work day. 

Hurt my back on November 12th while dancing with Dean.  I have gone to see the physio and of course it hurt like the dickens but it is starting to feel better.  On the bright side it actually hurts to sit for any period of time so although I'm not fast ... I am stretching, doing tai chi and other forms which helps loosen up my back. Kicks are low and slow but still they help rather than hinder at this point its just a matter of not doing things suddenly and stretching before I attempt anything.  One mistake was attempting to do the leap at the end of stick three,  jumping and twisting ... not quite there yet, otherwise all is good.

Talk to you all next week.

13th Post .... Very Very behind

So its Nov 15th of 2011 and I am so far behind on this requirement (blogging) its not even funny. However sifu says despite all that may have gone before ... finish strong. I will be putting on my desk (at work) electronic calendar to blog with a reminder set so I expect to do better. Ask me why I haven't done this before? I don't have any sensible response or good excuse. Fortunately I don't suck at everything I have put on my list of things to do. The girls on their blogs made us sound pretty spectacular for when we were visiting but hey we just wanted to spend time with our babies, experience their life a bit and have a good time ... nothing special from us required. I loved being with them and sharing the experience of living and training in china for a little while, they were great hosts and so was the school where they train. I caught up on my kicks and form repetitions while I was there big time ... wholly hannah those guys train hard. I was very sore.

Since I got home I have been doing okay at the maintenance of most of my requirements (excluding blogging) and swimming is again being reintroduced into my schedule. However a couple of things have fallen completely off the chart. First is Complete Master Gardner Workbook (Lakeland College)... paid my money ... did not complete.

Second was to Achieve (Silver 2) in Ball Room Dancing (Rumba, Cha Cha, Mambo, Samba, Tango, Waltz, Foxtrot, Swing) Dean and I worked very hard at it but did not pull it off. As KungFu & family takes priority I am have chosen to accept these losses and revamp for 2012 coming up.

Talk to you all next week.

12th Post Waxing Philosophical

So when I tried to contact the girls last week I could not get thru (this problem has been resolved their schools server was down) I went out to Brandi's blog to see if I could find out anything and I started reading. I haven't been to her site in a while and after reading several weeks worth of blogs it made me very aware of how kung fu and especially Silent River (Sifu Brinker, Sifu Frietag etc.) have had a huge influence on her ... not just the physical aspects (learning the techniques and forms) but the internal side of martial arts as well... the stuff that builds character. That is one awesome young lady ... personal prejudice aside. I remember when I started looking for a martial arts program for the girls and the very 1st class that we went to see. Sifu Brinker came over and introduced himself and then essentially just ignored me (the mother who would be paying for the classes) and focused on the girls. He interviewed them as much as we were checking out the school and he did not try to SELL any of us the program. I as a cynical parent was very much impressed. He answered all their questions and by the time we drove home it was decided that this was the SCHOOL no one else even came close. It turned out obviously (both girls in china studying kung fu) to be the best decision we ever made and all of us have benefited in so many ways that I could write a book about it. So, in turn, I am very proud of both my daughters and their goal to start their own school ... they will be the ones inspiring other people to engage in a new way of living. One that helps these new practictioners evolve, physically, emotionally and spiritually (religion aside) to fulfill their own potential in many areas of thier lives. Wow! Its a priviledge to have been one of the parents of such awesome people ... and thank you to Silent River Kung Fu and its very inspiring leadership.

11th Post

Back from holidays in Vancouver ... had a really good time hanging out with my sister and her 8 month old baby Nova who is trying to walk. Its scary watching her try to balance. Something that babys do really well is live in the moment ... its neat to watch because they live totally in the NOW. They don't seem to remember that 5 minutes ago they fell over and cried, they try to stand again, they don't worry about falling again ... they just keep going. Not a bad attitude to have ... most adults fall (fail) and we start worrying about everything that could go wrong, anticipating problems and visualizing failure. It would be good if we could just erase all that emotional baggage, learn, and move on. Its an area where I could use some work. So my goal for July is to be more like my 8 month old niece and be more in the now and shed some of the garbage that I carry around that holds me back.

Terry Beckett

10th Post

Is it a canadian phenomonom that the majority of events seem to take place in the spring and summer ... four weekends in a row we have had big events going on. Family, kungfu, dance, people moving to vancouver, people moving in edmonton, yikes! It is tiring, not just physically but mentally as well. It looks like the weekend coming up we might actually be able to get on the motorcyle and just bum around, I must admit I am really looking forward to it.

It appeared to me that the tiger challenge went off without a hitch, the rings were busy, attitudes were great and lots of medals were handed out. As a blackbelt I find this event particularily challenging because we have the responsibiltiy of judging. Its tough because you are wanting everybody to do spectacularily well yet we have to score based on what we see ... I hope everyone took this as a learning/growing type of experience.

I got thru my event although I am always scared and cannot for the life of me remember anything past the first few moves of my form. Sifu Vantule told me it looked good and had nice flow so hopefully I did everything reasonably correct. I am improving on the level of anxiety that performing in public creates in me. Still scared but not imobilized. In addition the weekend after the tiger challenge my husband and I had a solo performance at our ballroom dance school. That one is easier because I am not out there by myself, my best friend/husband is out there with me. As a girl I don't lead, I follow, so he has to remember the choreography and I just respond to the lead. Anxious moments that I have don't show quite so much and I actually remembered most of what we did out there on the dance floor. Next year I think I will try a group or partner type of event for the tiger challenge, then I will be out there with someone else I might even be able to remember what I did during the performance. Wish me luck.

9th post

Okay April was a write off when it came to a number of things. I was really working hard on the form that I have developed for the tiger challenge performance and as a result the numbers for mu long koon are pitifull. In addition it was year end for two business that my husband and I have, not to mention our personal taxes. I am NOT a bookkeeper (don't understand why anyone would want to be) but as a part owner well the overtime was ridiculous. But that is all over now, thank god!

The toughest part is this ... the blogging. I have to apologize to my team for dropping the ball on the blogging as this is a non-negotiable requirement and this is only my 9th post. For a woman who talks as much as I do its kind of odd that blogging is such an issue. I love reading everybody elses ... it just seems that what I have to say is sort of mundane. I kept thinking of things to share and just never had time at work to get to the computer and actually put my thoughts in order to write down all these brilliant insights that I had. So now that I have a moment here goes.

Brilliant thought number one ... Apathetic Canadians ... think your vote doesn't make a difference ... everyone needs to google the canadian tax payers federation ... lots of information out there that will get your dander up. Don't just talk about it over coffee or beer, send letters & emails to your representatives. There is some really stupid stuff that our government does that as a canadian citizen you have an obligation to protest. I personally was really pleased to see that the green party got a seat. Not here in AB but still its a small step forward.

Brilliant thought number two ... the diet tracking had a huge benefit for me and my husband ... both of us lost some pounds and have really enjoyed stepping up our game for healthy cooking and much better meal planning. We have continued to limit our junk food days to Friday which deals with junk food cravings but still keeps you on the straight and narrow for the rest of the week.

Brilliant thought number three ... creating a form ... even a small one really makes you think about what you are doing with your martial arts. It adds a whole new dimension to practicing techniques and forms. It makes you logic out actions and responses ... you come to understand what works for you and what dosen't. It identifies all your short comings in application and comprehension of various techniques and sequences. So take a form, any form, and analyze it ... what was the attack ... what various techniques could you use to respond ... how do you think the technique is beig applied? Take notes ... I developed a philosophy and reasoned out my form numerous times as I reworked and perfected It. The process was scary and exciting, I believe the phrase kids use is it was a rush. Once you have done that I think it would be totally cool to take the form you studied and turn it into a correographed fight performance. I will bring this up at the next ubbt meeting, I think it would be alot of fun.

Thanks to Sifu Freitag and Sifu Rybak for feedback and tweeking on my form ... very much appreciated.

8th post

So I am totally confused about all these sites where we are supposed to post things, I thought my stuff was on the UBBT Student site but Khona tells me not ... she will baby step me through the process after I am done writing this blog and hopefully we will get it posted to all the right places.

I updated my physout numbers today and there are a number of areas where I have frowny faces ... swimming laps is taking the biggest hit. By the way I love how this site keeps you easily up to date on where you are at and your numbers to bring you up to a green smiley face status. I believe Sifu Prince put this together ... awesome!

I do most of my tracking in a notebook at home (internet speeds at my place are pretty grim) missed a few days but mostly got it. So I was pleased that I actually managed to track it ... keeping track of this stuff is my challenge, I have to do it every day or I forget. The self discipline to sit down and go thru your day and document what you did that day well its not my best thing ... but it is improving all the time and I guess thats part of the whole UBBT thing.

Talk to you next week.

7th post

So most things are going okay except for my form repetitions ... I was doing these at work but this past couple weeks it just hasn't been happening. Which is weird because the forms are the favorite part of my training. Its like we added the diet tracking and as my plate is pretty full forms slid right off the other side. Diet tracking is somewhat embarrassing as I read other peoples and realize I will have to step up my game in regards to the quality ... I eat organic but not necessarily the right proportions of vegetables, grains and meat/fish. Trying to whittle down the consumption of coffee and increase water I seem to have hit a wall ... 4 cups of java a day is as good as I have gotten so far. I will keep working to increase water intake and I have also added some supplements to my diet ... consistency is the key so I will keep trying.

Its birthday season in our family, starting in Feb to the middle of April so its been dinners and/or parties every week and shopping for cards, special ingredients for dinners, gifts etc. as I don't actually enjoy shopping and get frustrated fighting thru crowds and standing in lines well it makes me a little crabby. Alot of my acts of kindness involve being courteous and patient during these moments when normally I would just turn around and leave ... I'm not sure its an act of kindness as there is this frustrated person vibrating in a long line, barring her teeth in a pained smile, it might be kinder to leave. But its a good exercise in patience for me.

Have a great week.

6th Post

I must admit I lost track of time, so since my last random post which was 10 days ago here is the update.

I took a day off on the 6th (Sunday) BIG MISTAKE! So here is what I discovered about myself. I cannot take a day off! ... I need to work on my requirements everyday ... maybe not get everything done but I have to do something kungfu related or I slide right back into the previous rut which is obviously very deep and has a very slippery slope because it took three days to get back on track.

I have always been a rut person ... in fact the whole routine thing can be very comforting ... so that means my good habits are consistently good but also that my bad habits are hard to overcome. The light at the end of the tunnel is that when this new rut that I am working on gets very comfortable and deep chances are I will be able to maintain. The down side is that being comfortable has always been my preference. I have found life to be plenty challenging without having to create the changes in my life and I am always reluctant to commit to things that require the evolution of myself as a person yet, I argue with myself that the same personal evolution is necessary to be the person that I envision being. Its tough being a Pices with two fish swimming in opposite directions.

5th post

So I missed last weeks post so this is a two week update. Went to Vancouver over the weekend to visit my sister and her baby. Nova (the baby) is now 5 months old and smiling and interacting its so cool. She helped with the intensity of my situps, put a 15 lb baby on your chest and do situps now that creates a burn. We walked ALOT, her afternoon nap happens in the stroller with me and my sister walking. Vancouver is a beautiful city and its a joy to walk someplace where its still green so I racked up mega miles in the four days I was there. Kicks were a bit more challenging as homes in Vancouver are pretty small unless you are a millionaire, so no combinations just singles. No forms happened unfortunately, my chosen form Mlong Kuen is a space hog and we just couldn't make it fit in the house or the postage stamp front yard, although the baby thought my attempts were pretty funny. Got back to Edmonton the evening of Feb 28th, it was minus 37 at our house, holy hannah!

Started with the food tracking on Mar 1st and have made a few discoveries, I drink too much coffee! I don't drink enough water. Not being home on the weekend meant I didn't get stuff prepared to eat healthy the following week so that means I have been doing a lot of late night cooking. Its not really recommended that you sit down for supper at 9:30 pm, but hey you gotta eat. My lenghts swimming are taking a hard hit in performance ... its been really busy and I just haven't gotten to the pool so zero for the last two weeks, however this sunday is still open and next week looks a little more sane so I should be able to swing both tuesday and thursday.

Got a head, nose, throat type cold going on this week ... just so you know if you have a really sore throat the fix is as follows; Go to the health food store and buy some oil of oregano (its pricy but you only need a few drops) before you go to bed and after you brush your teeth, fill the dropper half full and very carefully squirt the oregano oil onto the BACK of your tongue. Do not attempt to wash this stuff down with liquids it needs to stay in your throat. Its not quite as bad as buckleys but its close. Go to sleep, you will dream of pizza and wake up with your throat feeling pretty fine.

Talk to you next week.

4th post

So today at 5:45 AM I was at the airport dropping off my brother as he is also heading back to china but for him its to teach english in Hefei. My life will go back to being busy and I will get some relief from insanely busy. I am planning to catch up on my kicks and get some serious practice in for the tiger challenge competition now that I am not running to calgary for visa's, taking my brother for his medicals, helping with last minute things that always come up when you are travelling etc...although now that I don't have all these people to take care of my acts of kindness is going to be harder to achieve. As of yet I have not had time to figure out how to get this blog posted on the ubbt site ... I will work on it this week. It has turned out that I am really enjoying this training ... sure I'm behind on some things but even what I have gotten done has been alot more fun than I expected. My kicks are looking much better ... my form is getting much better! It feels really good right now!

3rd post

This past week has been pretty good except for the migraine I had on the weekend. I bought some chocolates on thursday night when I went grocery shopping and it appears that the "may contain peanuts" statement in this case meant they did. I ate a couple on friday night (junk food night) and by the time Saturday afternoon rolled around wow a killer headache and a rash. So stupidity did me in! I'm not much of a pill taker but there are times ... and this was one of them. Did not get my situps or pushups done (the change in elevation for these make the headache excrutiating) on Sunday but managed a tai chi rep, a couple very slowly done forms and my two hundred kicks done at tai chi speed with my fingers braced on the wall for balance. Other wise things are going okay and I am somewhat amazed that I am actually getting alot of this stuff done. My kicks have improved alot already and I really enjoy doing them ... even 200 at a time. My husband has been helping huge with my goal to eat healthy ... HE makes us smoothies every morning with some sort of healthy greens mixture, fruit & juice & yogurt, all organic and it tastes great. In addition he drags me past the chip aisle at the grocery store without stopping, chips are a real problem for me. So for now things are still mostly on track. The hardest part of this is keeping track, so now I will head off to physout and update my numbers.

2nd week

Wow some of this is complicated but now I have it all ironed out I think ... Sifu Brinker and I have worked out the goals and I figured out how to use the phys out site and posted my stuff there. I am already behind on some. Yikes! The only thing I have left is to get this blog stuff on the UBBT site which I will try to accomplish today ... it depends on work though. I am having trouble with the acts of kindness, so far my daughters have been pointing out nice things I have done for various people and in various situations but its hard actually acknowledging that it is an act of kindness. I keep thinking well thats just what you do! Nothing special, merely polite or considerate and its weird how difficult it is to actually record it. I feel somewhat embarrassed that I would dare to write it down. I actually hide the page in case someone opened my planner and read it. There is probably some strange issue associated with this that I do not have a name for. So physically ... my neck hurts, my shoulders hurt, my hips hurt, and my knees hurt. So far its just sore muscles and a few aching joints, hopefully it will all hang together till the end of 2011.

Goals are as follows:
20,000 pushups with 80,000 kicks to supplement
50,000 situps
4160 lengths swimming
1000 mile walk'
150 reps of the tai chi long form
1000 reps of mu long kung (spelling defeats me)
compete in tiger challenge and achieve a medal in musical and hand forms
perform and record 1500 acts of kindness
journal weekly
healthy meals 6 days per week
complete the master gardner workbook
go to china to see the girls in the fall
achieve silver 2 in ballroom dancing in 9 dances
3 spotlight dance performances

talk at you next week.

The first week!

So Sifu Brinker and I have gone round and round about my very careful goal setting. I like to plan things, make lists, suceed at the goals that I set, you know weird stuff like that. I have been setting goals for the past couple of years and playing along with the UBBT game plan. Truly even though I wasn't part of the UBBT Team I still got alot more accomplished than I thought I might have. So this year I decided to join the UBBT Team and with Sifu Brinker giving me several pushes have set what to me are completely unrealistic set of goals to accomplish for this year. The careful planner in me is totally freaked out! So to date because I spent so much time carefully planning my orgininal submission it was just under the wire. Good thing I did so much extra for situps and pushups on Jan 1st or I would be really far behind ... right now I am hanging on by my fingernails for most everything. Still working on a photo of the real me ... the picture is just an example of how I feel right now.

Terry Beckett