Hello all,
2011 has been a very rewarding year and I have improved greatly as a person. The UBBT process has been a driving factor in progressing in my kung fu and in every aspect of my life. Here are the highlights for me:
Blogging - this has been a great tool in ensuring that I stayed on track with my personal goals and connected to the UBBT team. It also took me out of my comfort zone a couple of times, blogging about myself and even sharing personal feelings. This is new and somewhat of a breakthrough for me.
Random Acts of Kindness - recording random acts of kindness helped me to be mindful of being kind. Also, I was more aware when I received random acts of kindness. If these activities catch on for many people, there would be a lot more kindness in the world. This one was very easy to do and it feels good.
Physout - This to me is the biggest factor in being successful in achieving my goals is to publicly record and manage my progress. This is a great tool and I posted my progression on a weekly basis the same time as my weekly blog. It provide me a tracking tool as well as motivation to succeed. I would suggest that this should be a requirement for the 2012 team, just my opinion.
Have a great week!
Allan Gamble
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Friday, December 16, 2011
End of Year Approaching Rapidly
Hello all,
We are nearing the end of 2011 and it has been a very challenging and rewarding year. Very busy times right now with work, family, christmas, black belt grading process, ubbt year, dragon dance, and some other things. I plan to blog a reflection of my ubbt journey next week as I am on the run this week. All is going well and I am very happy!
Allan Gamble
We are nearing the end of 2011 and it has been a very challenging and rewarding year. Very busy times right now with work, family, christmas, black belt grading process, ubbt year, dragon dance, and some other things. I plan to blog a reflection of my ubbt journey next week as I am on the run this week. All is going well and I am very happy!
Allan Gamble
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
December 2011 UBBT Challenge!
This is the final month for our 2011 UBBT and it is prudent to issue a challenge related to blogging. We had our final 2011 UBBT progress meeting this past Saturday and Sifu Brinker nudged us to share our experience through blogging. This is a great way to share our individual journeys with our current team mates and provide our learning for the 2012 I Ho Chuan team.
I would like to challenge all 2011 UBBT participants to blog on this site 5 times in December!
Gamble has 2 blogs today!
Have fun.
Allan Gamble
I would like to challenge all 2011 UBBT participants to blog on this site 5 times in December!
Gamble has 2 blogs today!
Have fun.
Allan Gamble
Getting Better
There are a group of us candidates grading for our black belts this year and we are in the final stage with a lot of work to do. The focus now is improving our individual techniques and forms. The last couple of weeks have been very challenging and hard on the body physically, but I think we all turned a corner at our evaluation last night. Our partnerships have strenghtened and we have invested a lot of effort in getting better each time, and I think we hit a major milestone last night. Last night felt pretty good and our efforts are being rewarded with continuous improvement. Also, our most recent Dragon and Lion dance looks awesome! I think it came to life when we added the music component.
Have a great week!
Allan Gamble
Have a great week!
Allan Gamble
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Playoff Time
Hello all,
We are approaching the final month of this year's UBBT challenge, and for some of us the final stretch for our black belt grading, and I equate this to playoff time! It is time to step up our game to the highest level and finish strong to meet our goals. The year so far has been rewarding and challenging. There are many old injuries flaring up, new injuries, and bumps and bruises which are all typicall of playoff time. This is just how it is and very similar to how the wonderful sport of hockey works, which is my comfort zone to draw from. It is time to have a winning attitude, suck it up, and put forth our best effort.
Have a great training weekand have fun!
Allan Gamble
We are approaching the final month of this year's UBBT challenge, and for some of us the final stretch for our black belt grading, and I equate this to playoff time! It is time to step up our game to the highest level and finish strong to meet our goals. The year so far has been rewarding and challenging. There are many old injuries flaring up, new injuries, and bumps and bruises which are all typicall of playoff time. This is just how it is and very similar to how the wonderful sport of hockey works, which is my comfort zone to draw from. It is time to have a winning attitude, suck it up, and put forth our best effort.
Have a great training weekand have fun!
Allan Gamble
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Sharing Information and Learning
As I am in the process of a black belt grading year I would like to share some information for those who may be grading for their black belt next year and considering their individual I Ho Chuan goals for 2012. I am content with the goals and training preparation I comitted to, but there is always learning that can be passed on to others.
Specifically, these goals listed below focus your training directly towards kung fu to make you a better martial artist, and not directly geared towards making you a better athlete. Someone, Sifu Brinker, told us this a number of months ago and it is very wise advice.
40 events - practice timed kicks. (one minute kick and one minute rest) front thrust, side heel thrust, round house, and spinning back kicks. (practice with a partner and provide technique "eye for detail" feedback) Record your results each week.
1,500 forms - practice all forms mindfully.
40 events - full cirriculum review. (ask two questions each class for clarification and document)
40 events - practice cirriculum techniques from all belt levels at open training with a partner or group. Choose a section of the cirriculum each week.
40 events - develop and practice your five individual techniques with a partner.
1 event - family vacation.
All of these will make you a better martial artist and they will provide you with an abundance of physical training. I would suggest focusing on these types of activities versus an abundance of running, biking, circuit training such as p90x, and others. Mindully practicing forms is physically as intense as any type of physical training in my experience, and all of the goals above have mental training along with kung fu training.
This is just my two cents but I wanted to share.
Have a great training week and big push towards the end of our 2011 UBBT year!
Allan Gamble
Specifically, these goals listed below focus your training directly towards kung fu to make you a better martial artist, and not directly geared towards making you a better athlete. Someone, Sifu Brinker, told us this a number of months ago and it is very wise advice.
40 events - practice timed kicks. (one minute kick and one minute rest) front thrust, side heel thrust, round house, and spinning back kicks. (practice with a partner and provide technique "eye for detail" feedback) Record your results each week.
1,500 forms - practice all forms mindfully.
40 events - full cirriculum review. (ask two questions each class for clarification and document)
40 events - practice cirriculum techniques from all belt levels at open training with a partner or group. Choose a section of the cirriculum each week.
40 events - develop and practice your five individual techniques with a partner.
1 event - family vacation.
All of these will make you a better martial artist and they will provide you with an abundance of physical training. I would suggest focusing on these types of activities versus an abundance of running, biking, circuit training such as p90x, and others. Mindully practicing forms is physically as intense as any type of physical training in my experience, and all of the goals above have mental training along with kung fu training.
This is just my two cents but I wanted to share.
Have a great training week and big push towards the end of our 2011 UBBT year!
Allan Gamble
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Every Day is a Good Day
I have chosen to write this blog because I have heard many times in my career, family, and kung fu that I am a very hard person to read. So here goes; I will provide some information about myself which is going to take me out of my comfort zone, just a little bit, but not too much.
I am a very happy and positive person because this is how I consiously choose to be. I like to put everything in overall perspective and this helps me maintain a positive attitude, even when I struggle, which we all do from time to time. I believe that every day is a gift and we are all very fortunate to be located where we are. Most people in the world do not have the same opportunities that we as Canadians do. We live in the best country in the world and in my opinion, the province offering the most opportunity.
I am very fortunate as I had a tremendous "farm life" upbringing and also have a great family life, surrounded by a wonderful group of friends and teammates. I am grateful to have a supportive kung fu family of sifus and teammates who are willing to help us down the final stretch of this grading year, offering a wealth of infomation, honest and clear feedback, and expertise. I tend to gravitate towards other positive people and I am someone who will help anyone who needs it. I respect and admire people who are "doers" versus "talkers". Negativity bothers me a lot. This is because most people who have negative opinions and outlooks typically are in a position to do something to change their destiny or outcome, but refuse to do so. I believe that we can all change out outcomes if we really want to. We all start with a blank page and can draw whatever picture we want.
I have had the opportunity to work in another country where basic needs are met only sometimes and freedom is non-existent. This provides me with constant perspective, compassion, and clarity. My family is consistently and quietly active in helping those in need within our community and internationally.
I am a very private and quiet person with my emotions. When I have a problem I will seek information and advice and gather all information that I need to correct a problem. I rarely will ask for help directly. I carry my struggles internally and will rarely involve others. I am a critical thinker and will analyze all information over and over following every available path to an eventual solution. I will do this in private until a solution is attained and then will approach the solution with passion and excitement. This process works for me.
I am a hard worker when it comes to anything I pursue. I will be successful because I am confident that I will work as hard as anyone I know. This is why I gravitated to kung fu, as the system is sound. I will take advice and critique and work on specific elements, usually privately at home, until I am ready to move to another area. I will always tend to hide and mask my injuries, this is a 40 years of hockey thing, and will privately work very hard on my weaknesses, which I do not like to discuss publicly.
I am just starting to delve into the philosophical aspect of kung fu and look foward to this.
I am excited for the future and the final stretch of 2011 and look forward to 2012.
Wow, that is a lot for Gamble to share! I am very happy!
Have a great training week!
Allan Gamble
I am a very happy and positive person because this is how I consiously choose to be. I like to put everything in overall perspective and this helps me maintain a positive attitude, even when I struggle, which we all do from time to time. I believe that every day is a gift and we are all very fortunate to be located where we are. Most people in the world do not have the same opportunities that we as Canadians do. We live in the best country in the world and in my opinion, the province offering the most opportunity.
I am very fortunate as I had a tremendous "farm life" upbringing and also have a great family life, surrounded by a wonderful group of friends and teammates. I am grateful to have a supportive kung fu family of sifus and teammates who are willing to help us down the final stretch of this grading year, offering a wealth of infomation, honest and clear feedback, and expertise. I tend to gravitate towards other positive people and I am someone who will help anyone who needs it. I respect and admire people who are "doers" versus "talkers". Negativity bothers me a lot. This is because most people who have negative opinions and outlooks typically are in a position to do something to change their destiny or outcome, but refuse to do so. I believe that we can all change out outcomes if we really want to. We all start with a blank page and can draw whatever picture we want.
I have had the opportunity to work in another country where basic needs are met only sometimes and freedom is non-existent. This provides me with constant perspective, compassion, and clarity. My family is consistently and quietly active in helping those in need within our community and internationally.
I am a very private and quiet person with my emotions. When I have a problem I will seek information and advice and gather all information that I need to correct a problem. I rarely will ask for help directly. I carry my struggles internally and will rarely involve others. I am a critical thinker and will analyze all information over and over following every available path to an eventual solution. I will do this in private until a solution is attained and then will approach the solution with passion and excitement. This process works for me.
I am a hard worker when it comes to anything I pursue. I will be successful because I am confident that I will work as hard as anyone I know. This is why I gravitated to kung fu, as the system is sound. I will take advice and critique and work on specific elements, usually privately at home, until I am ready to move to another area. I will always tend to hide and mask my injuries, this is a 40 years of hockey thing, and will privately work very hard on my weaknesses, which I do not like to discuss publicly.
I am just starting to delve into the philosophical aspect of kung fu and look foward to this.
I am excited for the future and the final stretch of 2011 and look forward to 2012.
Wow, that is a lot for Gamble to share! I am very happy!
Have a great training week!
Allan Gamble
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