Can’t Hurt Me

This mornings class really brought my progress into perspective. Toudai I made a comment about our previous class when we worked on our spinning back kick. Even though we had not practiced it for some time, the class was really good and we had really good kicks. Their comment was about how anything we do in kung fu will ultimately support everything in it, no mater how remote they are from each other. I hadn’t trained my spinning back kick outside of kung fu in quite some time but this class was really good, and when I reflected back on their comment from this mornings class about everything being supported. It hit me like a truck with just how much someone can profess in something even if they don’t directly train on it but simply train it in-directly. 

 Feels surreal to have achieved something I have been working towards for most of my life. Me and Nigel were taking in the locker room well everyone else was setting up the ceremony. We both realized that nothing changes going forward. My training has been sustainable so far and with my work now becoming more busy it will test my routines slightly. I don’t see this being a problem in the future because I’ll be able to adapt my routines when needed. And I believe that’s the important part going forward. My life will change and my training will need to be sustainable. In fact I will put my life’s stability as a symbol of my commitment to my kung fu. 

My normal resting bbm is 60, for the last week is has consistently been 65-70, slightly elevated but within optimal range still. I believe I have everything I can to prepare myself for tomorrow. Now the main focus right now is to control my nerves and not invalidate everything I have done to make it to this point. There has been lots of self reflection and analysis over this last year up till now. My friends and family have been with me this entire time. There is not anything else I can think to say in this blog right now. Other than I just need to go out there tomorrow, show everything, and do the best I can.   Numbers P/U 46500 S/U 44000 Forms 756/784 Sparring 245 AOK 779 Mileage 1184.73km Blogs 37 Mastery: Memorized

I  believe I have improved a lot over that last year. And not just in my kung fu, but across everything in my life. I grew my buisness significantly in 2025, and I was able to encourage more of my friends and family to succeed too by going after their dream careers. Where there things that I wanted to accomplish that I didn’t? Yes. But the lessons I learned in that time are some of the most valuable lessons I can bring into the coming future.  For instance, phrasing in my forms has been tricky, and that’s simply because I didn’t put enough time into training mindfully about phrasing. I definitely thought about it during my forms the best I could at times, but I put more emphasis on finishing my techniques, stances, and the transitions between them in my forms. Which I know I can now bring phrasing into my forms much more easily based off the times I spent dedicated to it.  I was at a company conference today and one of the speakers said something that just hit me differen...

 Less than two weeks away now. I wake up every morning asking myself if I have done everything I can think of. Sure there are second thoughts on somethings I’ve done but I can’t change that now. I did not do them the wrong or right way. It’s just how I did them at that moment of my life. Have I matured more since than. I’d like to think I did, I keep going over everything and trying to figure out new ideas and perspectives.  I also keep reflecting on this past year. To be honest I wasn’t really thinking about new years. To me that morning it just felt like a new day like everything else was the year before. My routine did not change and neither did my goals. I didn’t have New Year’s resolution planned. Because I believe for us as martial artists, we need to be having constant resolutions going on; because how else are we going to get better every day? I’m referring to mastery here but in a different sense. 

 It’s amazing how fast future events can arrive. It feels like yesterday Sifu Ryback said “44 Days” till the grading. “I got some time” I said to myself. Now realizing. I actually don’t have really anytime left. The grading board has already made their decision. I just need to either prove they are making the right decision, which ever that may be.  Which brings me to the control we always talk about. I have no control over what happens that day. I just need to do my demo and not hide anything. I want my flaws and strengths to show that day. I won’t be perfect that day, I’m only going to be as good as I prepared, and if I was perfect would mean I have achieved mastery. And if I did that than something isn’t right. Like I said earlier. The board has already made their decision. I just need to prove they are making the right decision. Numbers P/U 45097 S/U 42380 Forms 704/749 Sparring 218 AOK 724 Mileage 1136.82km

 That’s how much time is left until the grading. Am I nervous? A yes but who wouldn’t be nervous when something you have been working towards for nearly your entire life is less than a month away. And most people fail to realize that how they truly feel in some of the most important situations in our lives. We can all say “I got this” or “no one can stop me” but deep down there isn voice saying “umm actually you need to chill out and take a look around”. That was me last year going into the grading. I had my ego leading the way and it cost me. I didn’t check myself, and I never properly prepared because I thought nothing can stop me. Well can I tell you something. If you think nothing can stop you. Something is definitely going to come out of left field and stop you right than and there.  So sometimes we need to just stop. Take a moment and reflect with ourselves. “Did I do everything I could have”. No, than get back to it and finish. Yes, move forward to the next one. 

 Today in class we started with kicks where we need to gain distance first. And Sifu was telling us that we need to know where we are kicking even before we kick. Especially when it comes to our board breaks. And he drilled it into our heads at class today. Than we worked into constistantly setting up our boards the right way every time with some tips to make sure that the board holder is also ready. These were some great gifts of knowledge.  We thank worked on our forms, and for me the three big things I need to develop is my phrasing, still being active with my “resting hand” during techniques, and getting my front knee in the right position for my bow stances. And yes the title to this blog is correct because it was my 23rd birthday today!

The one thing I have noticed right after the first couple games was my conditioning has gone up a noticeable amount. There are not enough of us to constantly be changing in and out of shifts so we usually stay on the ice for about 2-2.5 minutes before coming off. This works out to typically 10-12 times of skating the entire length of the ice each shift. And you are usually on the ice for about 10 shifts. So it is a lot of skating and not a lot of time to rest since there are only two of us on our team waiting to change out for someone coming off.  I have noticed that I am significantly more aware of my surroundings and situations on the ice. This has come from Kung Fu and I do not need to question that. I feel more connected to myself and equipment when I am on the ice than I ever did before when I played competitively. Maybe if I was this good back than I would have competed at some higher levels. I have a goal for next year to compete in an adult league. But no hitting, which is ...

Just a quick update on my numbers this ytd. Numbers: P/U: 41560 S/U: 3800 Forms: 685/720 Sparring: 190 AoK: 672 Mileage: 1042.71km Blogs: 30/52

 On Tuesday this week I went to a drop in adult shimmy game of hockey. I actually did pretty good after not playing for 7 years and not skating in the last 2 years. I did need to buy some new gear like a helmet and thermal layers. I fell down a few times but I got the hang of it again after the first few minutes. I’ve been wanting to get back into hockey and I had a few friends that are in leagues and they would like to join next year on their team. So I figured I should start getting ready now instead of later next year when the season starts. I really enjoyed being back on the ice, and I hope my schedule next year allows me to join a league and compete with my friends again.  Numbers:  P/U: 39,962 S/U: 36600 Forms: 671/714 Sparring: 185 AoK: 644 Mileage: 1008.52km

I am excited with what is happening next year for the I Ho Chaun team. Growth cannot happen without change no matter how comfortable it may feel. The less we change and challenge ourselves the easier it is for mediocrity to enter our life. And like I said on Thursday, if your not going to be on the team text year use that as a tool to keep yourself disciplined on your journey to be in the team in the future. I try my best to look at the positives that come with most change, because you can’t control that it’s happening so you might as well go in to it with a positive outlook because being negative about it won’t help you get better.  Numbers P/U: 37500 S/U: 34200 Forms: 624/650 Sparring: 161 AoK: 593 Mileage: 913.53km

So my new plan did not work. I am not a morning workout person is what I found out this past week. I did enjoy waking up earlier. I was fully awake when I started work and I didn't feel lost in the morning like I do sometimes. And with my daily number reminders I have also stopped those as I started to find the reminder annoying and not actually helping me to complete my numbers everyday. I still get my nunmbers done for the day without the reminders now. Which brings me to my new strategy. I recently read a book on habit production and I found it to be quite relatable to how I get things done when I need to remember or get myself to do something. Essentially I will verbaly say "afte__ I will do ___" this activates more areas of the brain and gives us a better chance of actually followinf through with our actions. Repeating this can help us build good habits. And you will eventually just do the habbit without the verbale reminder/que. I am going to try this now as I still...

I’ve been trying to get back into the gym, I haven’t committed a full week of going to the gym for about 4 months unfortunately. But that hasn’t been a bad thing either for me. I’ve definitely seen an improvement in my Kung Fu since I have more energy during the day to train mindfully. However I do miss the gym, and I’m going to attempt a new plan. I’m up at around 4:30am every weekday and I don’t leave for work till 6am. What I’m going to implement is a gym session between 4:45-5:45am the best I can. It’s not something I’ve done before, normally I workout at 3:30 in the afternoon but I’m pretty exhausted by than. So this will allow me to still get my gym session and help me by still have the energy to do my Kung Fu in the afternoon. Numbers P/U: 35560 S/U: 32600 Forms: 609/638 Sparring: 137 AoK: 559 Mileage: 857.42km

I have a lot happening both in my Kung Fu and "outside" my Kung Fu. However, these two are one. They both affect one another no matter how opposite it may seem. During our zoom meeting this Saturday I opened up about what has been going on what my actions have been to control it. But that is a bad way to word it since I have no control over certain things happening in my life. To help myself I have started working more and training more on my Kung Fu. Sifu Brinker expanded this to the analogy of buildinf yourself a bombshelter out of what you can control, that way when things you cannot control come your way you are prepared. And before our class on Saturday I looked at it as simply distracting myself from what I can't control. I never looked at it as being prepared. And it was a shift in perspective I am glad Sifu Brinker brought into our talk. I was more calm and collected and it put me into a very real point of view of what is happening around me in my life.   Numbers;...

 During our class on Saturday we talked about bagua, and where it relates to what our intent is during our forms. In bagua you are not looking at a dot on the ground, your looking at a target, but also aware of everything around you. It’s the same in our forms. Your intent can be one thing, and your super focused on a specific aspect of the form. But you also need to be aware of everything else around you and in your forms. Which goes back to the chapter in “Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance” where the student is looking at the brick wall. The brick wall represents our forms. You can be hyper focused on one thing in the form just like the student looking at a single brick in the wall. But the student is also aware of everything else with the wall around the single brick she’s focused on. It’s the same for us, we need to be capable of being hyper focused on one thing in our forms and be aware of everything else in our forms at the same time. Aka eye for detail.  Numbers...

 I’ve been reading through Zen again. There has been a lot of reflection on myself from this year compared to last year’s me. There is a specific chapter in the book where Pheadrus is helping a university student write an essay. She is trying to put all this detail from a large picture into her essay but is struggling badly. Pheadrus tell her to put all her attention into the brick wall, than onto a single section of the wall, than onto a handful of bricks, and than to finally put all her focus onto one brick, as she does this she eventually find details about the wall, the section, the handful of bricks, and then the most detailed analysis when focusing on one brick.  That to me represents our understanding of our forms. We have a form (let’s take Lao Gar), it’s comprised of three forms that make it complete, at the whole form level you can have a basic understanding of the sequence and techniques. Looking further into Lao Gar I by itself, you will start to work on the phrasi...

This will be a quick numbers update post. The blog I thought about posting originally didn’t feel fully complete yet, stay tuned for next post! Numbers:  P/U: 29410 S/U: 26500 Forms: 568/594 Sparring: 103 AoK: 507 Mileage: 713.57km

 Take a look at one of your most stressful experiences in your life. And look back at how you handled the stress. I can guarantee that the more calm you were. The better you handled it. This is something we’ll be working on throughout our life. And you’ll get better after every experience. This also works for business too. You will typically see the calmer person win the negotiation, they are able to think more clearly, negotiate better, and not be reactive to their position. So try and be calm, you can still be stressed. But being calm will allow you to have a better and more productive outcome in these situations.  Numbers:  P/U: 28204 S/U: 25753 Forms: 540/579 Sparring: 81 AoK: 489 Mileage: 662.53km

 As someone who works in the finance industry. I’ve seen the highs and lows of financial control. From what I have noticed with my buisness. Younger adults want to start having earlier control over their finances, whether they are investing, controlling their spending, starting a budget, and building their credit score. I see most instability happening with millennials and gen x. Simply because the information back than on having financial control was word of mouth, and the internet was not very informative about financial control in the mid 90’s either. However, like in my first control blog. There are a few things you must have to being on the path to financial control, or having financial control. “have a budget, have no credit card debt, be saving for retirement, have an emergency fund, and have a plan in place to know when you will be debt free.”. We all know financial stress is overwhelming. It’s tied to everything we do in life. If young and in school, or in fact any age as ...