Sunday, October 25, 2009
What makes a sifu?
Besides the humorous lists we've discussed about the attributes of a sifu, what is it that makes some black sashes sifus and others not? While a black sash is clearly a qualifying requirement, what else is involved?
Friday, October 23, 2009
empathy training
I considered following the example of Tim Rosanelli for my empathy training and doing the "food stamps challenge". Spend a week eating only what I could afford if I were reliant on food stamps. It turned out, if I applied for food stamps, I'd have more money to go towards groceries than what I have now.
status
pushups/situps 27,712 of 35,000
forms 486 of 750
sparring 1275 of 1500 minutes
cardio rounds 406 of 750
stances 2896 of 3650
Acts of Kindness DONE
miles keeping in mind I didn't log any for the first 6 months due to hip/ankle/knee issues. 223.87 of 350
book of wisdom 3 of 1
empathy training yet to do
enviro project, I was going to have a 10 tigers cleanup of Lost River Cave, but the water level never settled down. How do you guys feel about an Invasive species removal there?
forms 486 of 750
sparring 1275 of 1500 minutes
cardio rounds 406 of 750
stances 2896 of 3650
Acts of Kindness DONE
miles keeping in mind I didn't log any for the first 6 months due to hip/ankle/knee issues. 223.87 of 350
book of wisdom 3 of 1
empathy training yet to do
enviro project, I was going to have a 10 tigers cleanup of Lost River Cave, but the water level never settled down. How do you guys feel about an Invasive species removal there?
Thursday, October 22, 2009
update.
my update says I am even on every thing except stances and miles: 17.5 miles to go & 80 minutes of stances. don't worry i will have that fixed by No Tiger Left Behind.
behind
That is what I am, I am 35 min. behind on stances. And way way ahead on push up's and sit up's. but i am still behind on forms. That is all
Anne's TT status
Private lessons: 9/12 – right on target (whew)
Group trainings: 9/12? yes? If we count the upcoming 10/24 session with Doc? Not sure on this.
Single form repetitions: 290/350 (Gung Gee and Fu Hok – blurred the “single” idea, but kept it to these two major ones. This gets harder as I understand the value of consistently working a form, then try to keep other forms to that same level ... But "time" is the only way to approach this discipline.)
Push/Situps: 8586/10000 – right on target, thought I'd have no trouble with this, but it's harder to be consistent than I thought!
Miles: 126/150 – right on target again, amazingly (before Mongo bit a neighbor, I didn't have the discipline to do this one consistently)
Stances: 1595/1825 minutes – right on target, even a little ahead
Acts of Kindness: 343/365 – ahead on this one!
New endeavor/env cleanup/comm action: Need work here, like Dean. I could say that the variety of community action events that kwoon hosts fit this category, and they do, but I had intended to do some environmental cleanup, or something else significant, and failed thus far to make time ...
Book of wisdom: 2/1 -- The Alchemist; The Art of Peace
Empathy: A day without electricity – this is sort of cheating because it was not voluntary. But there were 16 total days wherein I changed my lifestyle significantly to manage life without readily available electricity.
Weekly blog: 59/52 entries before this one – that comes as no surprise to my fellow tigers!
I agree with Dean that some brainstorming on some kind of community project would be beneficial. Perhaps these tigers can organize some further impact on our community – something lasting.
Perhaps also we could plan some kind of exit-blog that contains our thoughts on this year's experience.
Group trainings: 9/12? yes? If we count the upcoming 10/24 session with Doc? Not sure on this.
Single form repetitions: 290/350 (Gung Gee and Fu Hok – blurred the “single” idea, but kept it to these two major ones. This gets harder as I understand the value of consistently working a form, then try to keep other forms to that same level ... But "time" is the only way to approach this discipline.)
Push/Situps: 8586/10000 – right on target, thought I'd have no trouble with this, but it's harder to be consistent than I thought!
Miles: 126/150 – right on target again, amazingly (before Mongo bit a neighbor, I didn't have the discipline to do this one consistently)
Stances: 1595/1825 minutes – right on target, even a little ahead
Acts of Kindness: 343/365 – ahead on this one!
New endeavor/env cleanup/comm action: Need work here, like Dean. I could say that the variety of community action events that kwoon hosts fit this category, and they do, but I had intended to do some environmental cleanup, or something else significant, and failed thus far to make time ...
Book of wisdom: 2/1 -- The Alchemist; The Art of Peace
Empathy: A day without electricity – this is sort of cheating because it was not voluntary. But there were 16 total days wherein I changed my lifestyle significantly to manage life without readily available electricity.
Weekly blog: 59/52 entries before this one – that comes as no surprise to my fellow tigers!
I agree with Dean that some brainstorming on some kind of community project would be beneficial. Perhaps these tigers can organize some further impact on our community – something lasting.
Perhaps also we could plan some kind of exit-blog that contains our thoughts on this year's experience.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Art
I ran across this quote today in a student's paper, and it made me think of performance in kung fu:
Art is not what you see, but what you make others see." ~ Edgar Degas
Art is not what you see, but what you make others see." ~ Edgar Degas
PR
I've achieved personal records again. Pushups in 30 seconds and pushups in one minute.
53 pushups in 30 seconds
80 pushups in 60 seconds
53 pushups in 30 seconds
80 pushups in 60 seconds
Monday, October 19, 2009
card throwing & tricks!
I have learned to throw cards and do some minor card tricks, to bad I already have my new undertaking! Once i get good enough, i can stick cards in watermelons, Styrofoam, and Styrofoam-watermelons! my aim is as far off target as a muskets, that is all.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Dean's TT status
My status is current. The exact numbers I have achieved is impossible for me to post because I have ensured that I complete the minimum daily requirements, mentally tracking and catching up on days missed, and considering anything extra as a daily bonus. My hectic work/kung fu/college schedule during the first half of the year made the addition of tracking daily goals almost overwhelming. I plan on sticking to completing my daily minimums and collecting my bonus's each day. I may well complete the program earlier than the full 360 days but, since tigers have no off switch, I will keep on clawing for the full year.
I had thought I was behind on sparring until Anne notified me that I can count weapon sparring into my total. I am complete with the sparring requirement but I feel that personally, I need more sparring practice to solidify the application of the techniques. I need to put the finishing touches on my essay for empathy training before considering it complete. I have started, but not finished, reading Tao Te Ching. The thing I seem to have the most trouble with is blogging. As Steven pointed out, this seems to be a common thing. I like Anne's suggestion of quoting something from our reading and giving our thoughts on it. This could lead to additional comment opportunities for all tigers.
My desires for no tiger left behind day are sparring and possibly a brief brainstorming session for ideas concerning community action projects.
I had thought I was behind on sparring until Anne notified me that I can count weapon sparring into my total. I am complete with the sparring requirement but I feel that personally, I need more sparring practice to solidify the application of the techniques. I need to put the finishing touches on my essay for empathy training before considering it complete. I have started, but not finished, reading Tao Te Ching. The thing I seem to have the most trouble with is blogging. As Steven pointed out, this seems to be a common thing. I like Anne's suggestion of quoting something from our reading and giving our thoughts on it. This could lead to additional comment opportunities for all tigers.
My desires for no tiger left behind day are sparring and possibly a brief brainstorming session for ideas concerning community action projects.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
What's your status?
Okay, my TTRWT (Ten Tigers Reluctant Writer Team), consider this:
It's October, and there's a little more than 2 months left. This was day 290/365 -- so if we go to the very end of the year, that's only 75 days left. THAT'S NOT LONG!
Steven was talking about scheduling a No Tiger Left Behind meeting in November -- a very good idea -- so perhaps everyone should post their status as of right now, which would both alert ourselves on where we are and signal to Steven the kinds of catch-up that would be most helpful. The status could include a list of all the requirements, including blogging, book(s) of wisdom, and empathy training.
I don't know about anyone else, but I'd like to be finished with everything at about the same time that my semester ends, between the 10th and 14th of December. Then everything else is a bonus above and beyond the goals. I was really inspired by Steven's announcement that he finished his required acts of kindness, and by Dean's account of his day spent blind. We are an amazing group.
If you think it's useful to post your current status, I suggest that we do so in a new posting, not as a reply to this one. Title it so that it is easy to find, such as Anne's TT status. Try to get it posted by next weekend.
What do you think?
It's October, and there's a little more than 2 months left. This was day 290/365 -- so if we go to the very end of the year, that's only 75 days left. THAT'S NOT LONG!
Steven was talking about scheduling a No Tiger Left Behind meeting in November -- a very good idea -- so perhaps everyone should post their status as of right now, which would both alert ourselves on where we are and signal to Steven the kinds of catch-up that would be most helpful. The status could include a list of all the requirements, including blogging, book(s) of wisdom, and empathy training.
I don't know about anyone else, but I'd like to be finished with everything at about the same time that my semester ends, between the 10th and 14th of December. Then everything else is a bonus above and beyond the goals. I was really inspired by Steven's announcement that he finished his required acts of kindness, and by Dean's account of his day spent blind. We are an amazing group.
If you think it's useful to post your current status, I suggest that we do so in a new posting, not as a reply to this one. Title it so that it is easy to find, such as Anne's TT status. Try to get it posted by next weekend.
What do you think?
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Gandhi and Orwell
Reading over the camp handbook that Eli and Larkin brought back from Vermont, I found the following Orwell quote, which led me to read his entire "Reflections on Gandhi" essay for the first time, which led me to, once again, post something I find relevant to life here in this forum for my fellow Tigers to contemplate.
After dissecting Gandhi's way of living, and his reasons for it, Orwell took issue with the extreme choices involved:
"The essence of being human is that one does not seek perfection, that one is sometimes willing to commit sins for the sake of loyalty, that one does not push asceticism to the point where it makes friendly intercourse impossible, and that one is prepared in the end to be defeated and broken up by life, which is the inevitable price of fastening one’s love upon other human individuals."
The rest of the quote is also significant, in that it, in Orwell's traditionally ascerbic fashion, rejects sainthood -- and suggests that moral imperfections are, in themselves, worth pursuit:
"No doubt alcohol, tobacco, and so forth, are things that a saint must avoid, but sainthood is also a thing that human beings must avoid. There is an obvious retort to this, but one should be wary about making it. In this yogi-ridden age, it is too readily assumed that “non-attachment” is not only better than a full acceptance of earthly life, but that the ordinary man only rejects it because it is too difficult: in other words, that the average human being is a failed saint. It is doubtful whether this is true. Many people genuinely do not wish to be saints, and it is probable that some who achieve or aspire to sainthood have never felt much temptation to be human beings. If one could follow it to its psychological roots, one would, I believe, find that the main motive for “non-attachment” is a desire to escape from the pain of living, and above all from love, which, sexual or non-sexual, is hard work."
George Orwell, Reflections on Gandhi, 1949, par. 6
http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/o/orwell/george/o79e/part51.html
After dissecting Gandhi's way of living, and his reasons for it, Orwell took issue with the extreme choices involved:
"The essence of being human is that one does not seek perfection, that one is sometimes willing to commit sins for the sake of loyalty, that one does not push asceticism to the point where it makes friendly intercourse impossible, and that one is prepared in the end to be defeated and broken up by life, which is the inevitable price of fastening one’s love upon other human individuals."
The rest of the quote is also significant, in that it, in Orwell's traditionally ascerbic fashion, rejects sainthood -- and suggests that moral imperfections are, in themselves, worth pursuit:
"No doubt alcohol, tobacco, and so forth, are things that a saint must avoid, but sainthood is also a thing that human beings must avoid. There is an obvious retort to this, but one should be wary about making it. In this yogi-ridden age, it is too readily assumed that “non-attachment” is not only better than a full acceptance of earthly life, but that the ordinary man only rejects it because it is too difficult: in other words, that the average human being is a failed saint. It is doubtful whether this is true. Many people genuinely do not wish to be saints, and it is probable that some who achieve or aspire to sainthood have never felt much temptation to be human beings. If one could follow it to its psychological roots, one would, I believe, find that the main motive for “non-attachment” is a desire to escape from the pain of living, and above all from love, which, sexual or non-sexual, is hard work."
George Orwell, Reflections on Gandhi, 1949, par. 6
http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/o/orwell/george/o79e/part51.html
Monday, October 12, 2009
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Empathy Training....
I have completed my empathy training at long last. I blinded myself Friday night prior to going to bed and spent all day Saturday blind. The experience was very enlightening. I forced myself to live a day in the life of a blind person and the experience was in many ways much different than my pre-conceived notions.
I took notes (difficult when you can't see) on my thoughts, feelings, and experiences and am currently in the process of writing my experience into a single document. I will include the document in a subsequent blog (possibly a shortened version) and will send the complete document to all ten tigers members.
This experience has completely and irrevocably changed my perceptions of what most people refer to as handicaps and has proved to me what I have always suspected; A person is only handicapped if they choose to be. They may have to travel a different path, steeper, rockier, possibly even more difficult, but they can and do arrive at the same destination.
Much more to come on this subject....
I took notes (difficult when you can't see) on my thoughts, feelings, and experiences and am currently in the process of writing my experience into a single document. I will include the document in a subsequent blog (possibly a shortened version) and will send the complete document to all ten tigers members.
This experience has completely and irrevocably changed my perceptions of what most people refer to as handicaps and has proved to me what I have always suspected; A person is only handicapped if they choose to be. They may have to travel a different path, steeper, rockier, possibly even more difficult, but they can and do arrive at the same destination.
Much more to come on this subject....
Friday, October 9, 2009
Connections
I really enjoy the myriad ways that regular living connects with martial art training. The other day in class the lesson was about flowing with a sudden pressure rather than resisting -- times when a willow's flexibility is preferable to an oak's stubbornness. Giving way, or flowing with the pressure, can save energy, reduce pain, and increase options . . . and is very hard to learn. The alternative is even harder, however, ending with a good hard smack with a staff (or memorable lesson).
These same choices are present everyday in multitudes of interactions. Seeing the connections is like fitting a whole piece of one form into another -- it clicks together into a new thing entirely.
It's a good thing martial arts training goes on and on. I don't think I could absorb these lessons any faster.
These same choices are present everyday in multitudes of interactions. Seeing the connections is like fitting a whole piece of one form into another -- it clicks together into a new thing entirely.
It's a good thing martial arts training goes on and on. I don't think I could absorb these lessons any faster.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Could it be?
Is it possible, that this is the hardest challenge the Ten Tigers have to face? A blog entry once a week. I even struggle on this one. I need some input from you guys, how can we get this part rolling again?
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Rising to Challenges
All this work ... days/weeks/months/years of trying to get it right, forgetting/remembering the moves, despair/elation, tears/laughter, friendships made for a lifetime, friendships lost before they begin, daily sweat, occasional bloody mistakes, sore muscles, bruised ego and body ..., all this work ....
Then, sometimes, there's a dramatic "Yes! We Did It!!" (Dean's shout after co-leading the adult class on Friday). Some days, it all comes together beautifully.
Then, sometimes, there's a dramatic "Yes! We Did It!!" (Dean's shout after co-leading the adult class on Friday). Some days, it all comes together beautifully.
I'm getting there. I don't know where "there" is, but it's a trip -- it's certainly a trip!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)