It's been a week

This past week has been…well…. I don’t have words to explain. We had another great parade and demo in Onoway yesterday which was great. I am glad all is coming together and we continue to grow as a team.  I still look back and see we are light years ahead of last year when we were scrambling for a Canada demo and now two are in the bag. No this week was overshadowed by events at the start of the week. First came Tuesday when our next door neighbour’s house was broken into while Judi and the boys were playing in the backyard. Not the nicest thing to have taken place but again no one was hurt and whatever was stolen can easily be replaced. Then Wednesday I receive a frantic text from my wife to call her asap. Turns out an older gentleman decided to shoplift from the grocery store where Judi was just leaving. Three staff followed him out and asked him to stop and give up the items he had taken – he got in his car to leave. As this unfolded another bystander decided to stop the gentlemen and jump through the window and pull him from his car. The man in the car while fighting with the other bystander backed up and then drove away smashing into Judi’s shopping cart and pinballing into two vehicles beside hers. Driving away the bystander disappeared and the car is gone as everyone sits in shock. My boys had been in the shopping cart less than two minutes before. Now as I have gotten older and maybe a little wiser I see things differently than years before. If I had been there at that moment my concern would be for the three staff members, my family even the would be shoplifter at the moment – emotions can lead to dangerous situations. The young man that jumped in the car, yes you were brave but was it worth putting your life and now others in danger for a small sum that was stolen – I think not. What if the guy pulled a weapon, anything can happen. Hindsight is always twenty-twenty and I am obviously relieved no one was hurt especially my family. Put yourself into the shoplifter’s eyes, maybe he was desperate for something to eat and had no money. Every time we get into a fight we have missed the thousands of opportunities to not engage in one. Being mindfull of your actions, your emotions and your thoughts is paramount. I gave my wife and my boys a big hug that night; take nothing for granted in this life.

Sifu Bryant

Silent River Kung Fu

 

Moving with balance

Well the first demo is in the books this past weekend and all went pretty well. No lions or dragons were harmed in the festivities and no one stepped in any gopher holes during the demo. Well I stepped into one hole during the dragon dance but only dropped about half a foot. When doing my form many have told me to extend and use my length during each movement of my form. As I performed on Saturday all went well but there are a few spots were I have been overextending to try and again create length. I need to change these spots because now I have been overextending in areas. How do I know, because I can’t change to my next stance without pulling my weight back over my hips which takes time and just feels off. So my work is on rotation of my hands to pull my sword out while not overextending past my centre. Guess it is all how your body feels; have to listen to it once and a while.

Sifu Bryant
Silent River Kung Fu

Let's get ready to demo

So demo season is just around the corner and I know for comparison sake we are ahead of last year’s team yet really we should be farther ahead as a group. I know we’ve had great practices but the numbers keep dwindling. This is a great opportunity to show what you have for a form or fight choreography and focus that energy on making it the best it can be. If you’re not in the demo keep showing up and you might find yourself a part of the demo soon. I know we talk about being out of our comfort zone and this is a great way to overcome this. You never quite get over it entirely but again you can learn how to harness that energy and narrow your focus on the task at hand. I for one even went out of my comfort zone today baking an apple pie. Judi thought my mother had brought it over but no that was all me. Mind you I haven’t eaten it yet, maybe she could test it first…
Sifu Bryant
Silent River Kung Fu

Ended up recording this three times, each time I looked at it I would tweak a stance then move on. Still some work to do but small little changes.
Sifu Bryant

With intent

This past while I have worked on various defences vs. punches, knives etc. as we always do and they all have similarities with each other. They all require a block from the attack regardless of what it may be. This again leads to our variously infinite sequences of strikes, counters, locks etc. The reason I am writing about this is that with most of our techniques we have a defence for an attack which leads to our first option for defence. Now if this should fail in any way and our attacker still is a threat to us we then sequence into our second option and so and so on. Now as we become more proficient in our movements, blocks and flow the one thing we must be cognizant of is purpose. I see many of us flowing from one sequence to the other without any pause. Why is that? Well as I would watch more advanced belts practice as I was first starting out I thought that was great to watch – speed, technique all flashy and advanced looking. Later I saw a flaw in this perception. Remember if someone attacks you with a punch and you block with a technique are you going to fly into backup plan b then c and so on. I hope not. You must feel that initial block, feel that initial lock being performed and not get ahead of yourself thinking it has failed before even stopping to take stock of the purpose of it. If the lock or defence fails then move on to the next step but only after you feel it work or fail. If it fails, search to understand why it failed and then after fixing this move onto option b and so on. I still practice and slow down my techniques to check if this movement is sound or if I need to correct it. If I just flash through six movements without purpose I’m just doing a flashy dance hand sequence that’s all show and no purpose.
Sifu Bryant
Silent River Kung Fu

Acts of kindness

Yesterday's acts of kindness...

• Told students to have a good day x 2
• Said thank you and to have a good day to cashier
• Said hi to my neighbour as I was leaving
• Thanked Judi for dinner with a hug and a smooch

Sifu Bryant

Fresh air

Well this past week was a switch over of sorts for me. I now switch over to summer evenings with baseball, yard work, etc. This is the best time for me, I can now get outdoors more often and enjoy our longer days to work on forms and such. It does mean I have to adjust to a different schedule slightly but again I have to just fit more in the mornings before work to start the day. This evening I finally brought out the bike and went for a ride through the trails around the city. It was a great evening and I haven’t been out riding since the fall. It was great to just ride and clear my mind of everything going on around me. It’s been my moving meditation these past few years it seems. It’s the time of year I’ve been waiting for enjoying the days outdoors and practice in the fresh air. These next few months are always the best.

Sifu Bryant
Silent River Kung Fu