Can’t Hurt Me

 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