Inspiration from Others

This past Wednesday, I had an opportunity to lead a board breaking drill in our Kung Fu morning class.  Each student chose a specific technique and we practiced three elements which were form, vector, and releasing chi.  At the end of the drill each student had an opportunity to break a board.  Everyone broke their board and it was inspiring to see, as many had not broken a  board previously.  Having an opportunity to see your training partners and fellow students break through a barrier or complete something for the first time is very inspiring!!  Have a great training week!

Allan Gamble

August Planning

Hello, here is my detailed plan for August.  When I write thing down through blogging, I have them in front of me top of mind, and I am on the path to success.  This blogging is working for me.

I will maintain my physical fitness level and do more running (windsprints and distance) to increase quickness and endurance.
I will do pull ups every night.
I will eat right and lose the last 4 pounds I have committed to.
I will practice and fine tune my 5 personal unique and original applications choreographed with a partner.
I will review and practice all yellow to brown requirements in our cirriculum including forms.

That is if for now, have fun!

Allan Gamble

A Good Read

I am not a person who reads a lot of books but I did take a recommendation from Sifu Brinker to read a book entitled Peace is Every Step, written by Thick Nhat Hanh. 

As I started reading the book I became very enlightened as to the simplicity of being mindful in life and the connection we should have and appreciate to our planet earth.  I am at the very infancy to understanding the concept of meditation and this book has helped me tremendously.  The greatest gift in this book for me is the summarization near the end of the book called the "Fourteen Precepts of the Order of Interbeing".  All of these make sense to me, more than any other guiding faith or previous learning I have.  I will quote the first Precept from the book to provide a flavor:

1. Do not be idolatous about or bound to any doctrine, theory, or idealology.  All systems of thought are guiding means; they are not absolute truth.

This is a great book and I will recommend it to everyone I know.  It has helped me a great deal with my individual spirituality, well being, family and friends, and kung fu training.  Have a great training week!

Allan Gamble

Vacations are good for you

I am looking forward to our annual family vacation this year as I do every year.  It is a tremendous opportunity to recharge and to spend quality time with family and friends.

There were many times when I was working in the coporate world a few years ago that I passed on the opportunity of vacations.  There was never a "good time" to be away from work, there was always "the most important" project for the company, there was tremendous corporate pressures, time away was often viewed as letting the corporation down, the time before and returning from vacations were loaded with catch up, etc......  As you can tell, I am not a big fan of the corporate world and all of the things that go along with being an employee in this setting.

Things are very different for us the past few years and vacations are my most favorite time of the year.  This year for me will be a little different, in a good way.  My vacation will have 2 hours every morning planned for kung fu training.  I will be keeping up my daily requirements for push ups, sit ups, pull ups, and stretching.  I will also be spending an hour each day on forms practice, which I will be recording daily and blogging when I can, and some time running, swimming, biking, etc.  I have great support from my family as they are very active and will participate along with me for some of the training.  I will also be reading the book suggested by Sifu Brinker "Peace is Every Step".  Last Saturday at our UBBT something Sifu Brinker said made great sense as there should be no excuses for not training.  "If you do not have enough time in the day for your training set your alarm clock to go off earlier."  I may not have the exact words, but it was something like that.

See you all in two weeks, enjoy your training.

Allan Gamble
Student Member
Silent River Kung Fu, Stony Plain, Alberta

Mindful Partnership

I have been in the process of developing my five personal techniques in preparation for our October Black Belt grading.  For my fifth technique I have been developing my version of a flying armbar technique/application and have the technique broken down very specifically, in my mind.  I spoke with my son and he agreed to be my partner for practicing this technique.  Here is my learning.  I spent a significant amount of time reviewing the process in my head, but gave a vague description to Mr. Gamble.  I jumped up and landed flat on my back and head, and did see a few stars, which was very funny to watch.  I will be more mindful of working with a partner in the future.  We practiced a little more, both on the same page, and Mr. Gamble is getting pretty good at this technique, and I am developing a different one for myself.  "What was very clear in my mind, was not well explained to Mr. Gamble".

Have a great training week!

Allan Gamble
Student Member
Silent River Kung Fu, Stony Plain, Alberta

Horse Stance

We participated in a great Sihing class on this past Friday night.  I seem to learn best when we take a specific technique or form and repeat the process many times.  Reprition is a great learning technique for me personally.  One of the messages from Sifu Brinker was to listen to what we were being told and incorporate the information while being "in the moment".  Specifically, we were to focus on the perfect horse stance throughout the kempo form.  When I inserted this gift into my personal kempo form the results were tremendous.  I now feel centered throughout the entire form just by paying particular attention to the horse stances within the form, even while swatting mosquitos when practicing outside.  I am also gaining confidence in the kempo form and I needed to do this.  Perfect horse stances will be the theme of this week's forms practice.  Have a great training week!

Allan Gamble
Student Member
Silent River Kung Fu, Stony Plain, Alberta

Daily Tracking

I would like to share my experience with daily tracking.  So far this year our SRKF team has participated in three months of daily tracking challenges:

March - daily diet tracking
June - daily two hour training tracking
July - daily forms training tracking

For me personally, this daily regiment has definitely helped me stay on track.  There were a couple times in early July that I was very busy and was not able to participate, however as soon as I saw others posting to the site, I was immmediately motivated and back on track.  I will be using this tool as my family will be away on a two week vacation at the end of July.  I will be posting daily, as well as documenting other personal goals, for these two weeks as I am very focused on this 2011 year.  Just my two cents on what is working for me.  Have a great week!