Cognizant Engagement

I have been following the UBBT for a couple of years now and as a member of the 100 I have worked alongside the team members for a while. I have been pretty aware of the level of commitment that is required as a UBBT member and so I had no doubts that everything I have going on in my personal, professional, and kung fu life dictated quite decisively that tackling something like the UBBT was not a reasonable nor sane ambition.

For some reason August saw me contemplating the insane. I contacted Coach Tom and laid out the million and one reasons I had for not tackling this project at this time. I had expected him to either confirm my suspicions that my insane schedule would guarantee my failure or at the opposite end of the spectrum, for him to try and talk me into making the commitment. He did neither. He firmly put the responsibility for the decision in my lap. “There will never be the perfect time to take on something like this” and “The UBBT is not for everyone” were the two statements he made that had the biggest impact on me. Especially the second one, I guess I am more competitive and ego driven than I thought.

After consulting with Hal Gustin and much soul searching, I decided that Coach Tom was absolutely correct. There really is not a perfect time to take on something like the UBBT. Thirteen months is a long time to keep life from interfering with your well laid out plans. Of course something is going to go wrong in that time, why would I expect next year to be any different? The only difference next year will be that I will have another year of mediocrity under my belt and my age will have toggled up by one.

I am now two months into my requirements and anything that could go wrong probably has. My personal and professional lives have become more stressful than I thought possible and I have developed an undiagnosed problem with my legs that pretty much makes grappling, forms, and sparring an impossibility for the foreseeable future. If I could have seen this coming, I definitely would not have enrolled at this time and that would have been the biggest mistake of my life.

What I see now is that the more stressful my life is and the more insane the UBBT requirements are, the more I need this challenge. I have had injuries and setbacks throughout my martial arts career and every physical setback brings with it a correlating mental challenge and vice versa. However my current physical setback has had zero effect on my mental state and rather than pulling me back from my training, it has me even more engaged and cognizant of my progress. Despite the monkey wrenches, I have never been more excited about my kung fu and never more sure of the course that my life is on.

Ironically this has turned out to be the perfect time for me to tackle the UBBT. Luckily for me I happened to stumble into it for all the wrong reasons. Funny how things always work out.

“We choose to go not because it is easy, but because it is hard, because that goal will serve to measure and organize the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win.” - John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917 - 1963)

Mediocrity Loves Company

One aspect of human nature that I have never found easy to accept or understand is our tendency to resist accountability for our own mediocrity. People have no difficulty whatsoever in finding an excuse to not try or put in the effort to improve their situation and at the same time they will try to drag those around them into their pit of ordinariness to lessen their sense of shame and guilt.

I have had my share of students who were just not willing to do what it takes to bring their training up to a level that was conducive with acceptable progress. While some of them just drift away without a trace, some have attempted to convince others to join them in giving up. Regardless of how they choose to cease their training, I accept full responsibility for their decision. If I had taken more time to reach and inspire them perhaps they would have been able to carry on.

In fact I find myself losing sleep over most of my students who, for one reason or another, have chosen to end their training. When I think of everything kung fu has done for me and my life, I can’t help but wonder if the student I failed to inspire today may end up on a path of mediocrity that could have been avoided if only they would have stayed the course in their training. What if my original instructors had treated me with complete indifference such that I would not have chosen the path I did? I can’t imagine my life without my kung fu and everything it has helped me achieve.

On that note I know I am a very lucky man. I am blessed with twenty student UBBT members who have accepted to take this journey with me. The example some of them are setting, not only for the rest of my school but our entire community, is turning out to be nothing short of legendary. Life becomes effortless when one is surrounded by such positive examples of mastery.

“Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.”
Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)

Action to Attitude

I have been thinking about something I read a couple of months ago that made a strong impression on me. After the death of one of my students, his parents gave me his personal journal to read and I was astounded by everything he had written. He was only twenty years old but the amount of thought he put into things completely defied his youth. Of everything he had written the statement that stands out the most for me was the entry he made after receiving his driver’s license. “My power grows” is how he put it. When I first read this I remember thinking that it was strange way of looking at his accomplishment but the more I pondered it the more profoundly wise the statement became.

What a wonderful way of looking at things. Isn’t it easier to discipline yourself to follow through with those little steps toward a goal if you stay cognizant of the difference they make in your life? All the scales I practiced on the piano were always perceived by me to be a necessary evil rather than a building block upon which I could expand my skill and ability. The hours my first instructor forced me to stand in a horse stance continue to serve me well and have allowed me to broaden my knowledge beyond what I had ever imagined, yet at the time I only saw it as a tool to test my resolve and commitment. How much easier would it have been for me if I would have altered my perspective to see it as an exercise that was actually expanding my power?

Our school’s Adopt-A-Driveway project is an excellent example of how our actions affect our attitudes and at the end of the day our attitudes have the greatest influence on the scope of our accomplishments. It definitely gives your sense of self worth a boost when you see the look of appreciation on the face of those senior citizens while they peer out their windows to watch us clear their sidewalks and driveways of snow.

A simple act can go a long way in making us more cognizant, engaged human beings whose power forever expands.

“Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.” - Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965)

I Ate What?

I have been avoiding publicly journalling for the past week as my thoughts have been dominated by the current political situation in Canada. I was never a politically orientated person until I came to the conclusion that it is pretty much impossible to become an activist of value if one does not tackle social issues by holding their government responsible to represent their values.

Over the past couple of weeks Canada has been polarized by an attempt to oust the minority Conservative government by replacing it with a coalition government. With all the political maneuvering and rhetoric flying around, I have learned something: our ignorance can be used to manipulate us.

Stephen Harper used our lack of understanding of our parliamentary democracy to suggest that our system is plebiscitary and then proceeded to whip up a public frenzy by suggesting that if a coalition government was formed, our votes in the past election did not count. The only way my vote does not count is when my member of parliament votes according to his party’s guidelines as opposed to his constituents’ wishes.

What really dismays me is that the biggest argument against the coalition was that the government should be focusing on the current global economic crisis and not these political games. So why was the public not outraged when Stephen Harper proceeded to make our votes not count by proroguing parliament to avoid a non confidence vote? Now unless your MP is a member of cabinet, you have zero representation in government for the next six weeks. Good thing we are not facing an economic crisis.

All this being said, I am not saying I support the coalition. I am just saying that it is time our government start representing the people the way it was meant to. Let them stop relying upon our ignorance and our typical unwillingness to speak up, and start governing the way the system was designed to work.

I personally am disgusted by all the politicians in this country and I am even more disgusted by the general apathy and ignorance displayed by the citizens of this country. It is time we cared enough to take the time to become properly informed. This is one of the major reasons I am so passionate about instilling a sense of activism in those around me. This is the way to global change.

“There is nothing more frightful than an active ignorance.”
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832)

Disaster Capitalism

I’ve been reading Naomi Klein’s ‘The Shock Doctrine’ and I have to say that my inaccurate take on recent world history has been skewed by the popular press and my predisposition to blindly trust the western governments to protect human rights. The book has been a real eye opener on a lot of things for me, the least not being the current state of affairs with the economy and why we find ourselves at the precipice on which we now stand.

Over the past quarter century the west’s support for the freedom fighters in Latin America, South Africa, Poland, and the Eastern Bloc has been solely based upon our greed. Open market capitalism has been forced upon these countries at the cost of democracy and personal freedom. While our rich got richer, their poor got poorer.

I am not sure our current economic woes are even solvable with the way we have structured the workings of our economy. How can a stock market stabilize when corporations are only interested in taking care of their shareholders in the short term as opposed to taking care of their company in the long term? Our whole system not only supports but encourages speculative investors over long term investors. Did we not learn from South Africa’s stock market crisis after apartheid that speculative investing destabilizes an economy?

So once again I find myself encouraged by initiatives like the Ultimate Black Belt Test. With current global crisis’ caused by over-consumption and greed, how much more pertinent can we make the martial arts when we include activism, environmental awareness, sustainable living, and empathy training as our core values. I’m definitely proud to be a member of UBBT Team 6.

“If the firms that employ an increasing majority of the population are driven solely to satisfy the owner's greed at the expense of working conditions, of the stability of the community, and of the health of the environment, chances are that the quality of our lives will be worse than it is now.”
-Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (b. 1934)

Simplicity

This week marked the end of an era for me. I found a good home for my 1974 orange Volvo. This car was my most prized possession but I could no longer bear to watch it slowly disintegrate while sitting unused. My sister has always had a passion for that car too so I am hoping she will take care of it and get another ten years out of it.

For me this situation offered an important reinforcement that things are just things. My possessions do not define me, and while they may offer me some comforts, they ultimately do not bring me happiness.

My acceptance of this fact has also allowed me to continue to simplify my life by letting go of other possessions. I sent the first two Apple computers I have ever owned, including my beloved lime flavoured iMac, to the HERO Housing Resource Centre in Alabama. It feels good knowing that there is a use and a need for them and it definitely alleviates a guilt that I never even knew I was feeling over how they were underutilized by me.

While the spiritual side of my development has grown this week through simplifying my life, my physical growth has been struggling as of late. While taking it easy over the past two months in an attempt to eliminate the persistent swelling I still have in my knee from this Spring’s latest surgery, I developed a pain in both of my upper calves. It feels like I have been working them and have the muscle ache that comes with a job well done. However I have not been working out with my legs at all and yet this ache has only worsened over the past eight weeks. The common consensus is that I am suffering from planters fasciitis and my tendons are inflamed all the way up the backs of my legs. Since I have been relatively inactive before and during this development I was at a loss to explain why this would manifest at this point in my training. I was leaning toward my motorcycle riding as the only possible cause when I started to suffer from back spasms and paid a visit to my chiropractor. He took one look at the pronation of my ankles and declared this as an explanation for my inflamed tendons, my past five knee surgeries, and my current back spasms.

So while I have been living the good life where socks and shoes are a rarity, my arches have been slowly collapsing resulting in me developing pronated ankles. This pronation has put constant strain on my knees and lower legs for many years and now I am at the point where a change in lifestyle is in order. From now on shoes should be worn at all times and definitely for all work outs.

Since planters fasciitis has an average recovery time of fifty weeks, it’s a good thing I haven’t done something crazy like enrolling in the UBBT for the next fifty or so weeks. Actually I only see positives coming out of this. I have found the perfect time to complete some of my empathy training and spend a day in a wheel chair. I can also focus on some of the more cerebral parts of my requirements guilt free too. At the end of the fifty weeks I should just about be at my peak for my final performance. Everything is going according to plan, excellent.

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”
- Leonardo Da Vinci (1452 - 1519)

A New Era

I never placed much hope that change was ever going to happen when the world’s most powerful and influential country still refers to itself as the greatest country on the planet despite having its democracy ranked at 17th in the world and its population’s happiness ranked at 150th in the world. But now the American elections are finally over and the world is different this week. The USA has elected a truly great leader in Barack Obama. We live in a time where big ideas and promises are not enough. With the amount of reform that is going to be required to change the world’s perception of American foreign policies and the American financial sector, only a great leader will be able to return the USA back to an era where they are once again a trusted protector of human rights and a world leader that influences by example as opposed to the imposition of their will.

Barack Obama is a great leader. A leader is what is needed now because for change to happen we all must buy into it and do our part. We can’t expect to sit back and have someone else responsible for it to happen. Barack Obama has strong leadership qualities that make him the man for the job and he has the potential of inspiring the entire world to take a stand on critical issues like poverty and the environment.

I am very excited about the possibilities that are in front of us all. I live in a country headed by a very smart man in Stephen Harper but he does not have the leadership qualities to rally the Canadian people behind anything of consequence. I am definitely looking toward Barack Obama for leadership and inspiration for lasting change.

“A thing is not necessarily true because a man dies for it.”
- Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900)

I've Always Wondered

Something I have wondered about ever since I was a kid is the whole logic that goes behind the drunk driving laws. While it is accepted fact that someone who has consumed alcohol experiences an impairment in their judgement and their reflexes, our laws have determined that anyone with a blood alcohol ratio of less than 80 mg of alcohol in 100 ml of blood is not legally impaired. So if I am over the limit and am impaired, is it really reasonable for society to expect me to show solid judgement and not get behind the wheel? If on one hand we are saying someone is impaired enough that they can’t drive, shouldn’t we also be saying they are impaired enough that they can’t make a solid, accurate judgement as to what their blood alcohol level is?

Anyway, just something I have been thinking about for a couple of decades. I’m not sure why we are so outraged by drunk drivers while at the same time we justify other stupidity as being due to the influence of alcohol. With this type of logic we are never going to see the end of suffering of those affected by the impaired judgement of a drunk driver.

"If four or five guys tell you that you're drunk, even though you know you haven't had a thing to drink, the least you can do is to lie down a little while."
- Joseph Schenck (1878 -1961)

Memory Mdyetseni - Living Hero #2

Africa’s socioeconomic circumstance leaves its citizens with few choices and little hope when faced with disasters such as HIV/AIDS and famine. Because of their role and position in society, all these challenges hit women the hardest.

Approximately 65% of the women in Malawi are illiterate and therefore cannot engage in meaningful economic activity or employment save for casual labour and peasant farming. As drought exasperates the already critical situation, many women are forced to make desperate decisions. When things like wild tubers, roots, and termites have failed to sustain their families, women have found themselves joining the sex trade just to get a little money to buy maize. They argue that it is better to die five or 10 years later from AIDS than to die now from hunger.

As an orphan from a young age, Memory Mdyetseni struggled to complete her education in her homeland of Malawi. Despite all the odds being against her, Memory graduated from university in 2006 with a degree in education, a lifelong dream she once thought to be unattainable. She is now the co-founder and Director of Atikana Pa Ulendo (Girls On The Move) Secondary School for Girls in rural Malawi. This project is a joint Canadian/Malawian initiative that is giving Malawian girls the opportunity to move forward, to improve their lives, and to take ownership of their futures. APU is an all-girls’ secondary school (grades 9-12) in rural Malawi. With a total of 72 students, APU’s goal is to reach its capacity of 320 students within the next four years. The first group of girls began form 1 (grade 9) in January, and the hope is that 80 more will fill their places next January when they move up to form 2.

It may seem like a daunting goal, but it is already a small miracle that each of these girls are where they are today. Memory is putting her considerable talents and passion into improving the lives of hundreds of other young girls who are suffering the same hardships that she has overcome.

During the 2005 famine in Malawi, Memory undertook the daunting task of launching her own Famine Relief Effort in her home region of Kasungu. She and her husband Henry Mdyetseni, risked their lives to purchase, transport and distribute hundreds of bags of maize to thousands of the poorest villagers in Chamama, near Kasungu.

Through her work with girls education, as well as through her Famine Relief Effort, Memory has become a respected role model in her community. She has single-handedly changed the views of the male leaders in her community who are now encouraging their daughters to continue with their schooling. Not only are they willingly accepting leadership from a woman, but they are actively seeking Memory’s advice. Because of Memory, hundreds of little girls can now believe that they too can have a future – a future that includes education, health, independence and empowerment.

Memory Mdyetseni, my living hero #2.

“The world belongs to the stubborn." – Memory Chazeza Mdyetseni

Ideological Insanity

Today’s big headline in the Edmonton Journal reads - “Terrorists target USA via Alberta”. Apparently it may be effective to disrupt the energy supply to the US by attacking Alberta’s oil and gas industry. When I think of Rona Ambrose’s Canada Day speech from last year where she stressed how important Canada’s involvement in Afghanistan was in keeping Canada safe, I have to wonder why my risk of being harmed by a terrorist attack has increased so dramatically since 2001.

I have always wondered who decides who is classified as a terrorist and who is classified as a freedom fighter. Logically and obviously, the definition is in the eye of the beholder. Technically a terrorist is defined as anyone who engages in terrorism. Terrorism is defined as the use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims. From my perspective, pretty much every country on the planet can be accused of engaging in terrorism. Again it all depends on one’s perspective and personal ideology. This uniqueness in ideology is what all the fuss is about. Anatomically and physiologically we are the same but ideologically we are different. Ideology is learned, not genetically predisposed so I have to believe a solution is possible.

I know my personal ideology has evolved over the years through dialogue and education. I can’t think of any of my ideological shifts being induced through force or intimidation. Therefore it is not a huge logical leap for me to assume that there was not a shift in American ideology after the attacks of September 11th nor will there be any shift in Afghan or Iraqi ideology generated by the current wars in those countries. I am left to wonder what we are expecting to accomplish with these wars when the same tactics that are being used do not work on ourselves.

Yup, probably said too much here already. So much more to say but the topic is way too volatile. I encourage anyone who wishes to find a solution to visit http://www.torturingdemocracy.org/ or watch the documentary Torturing Democracy. It is impossible to not question the real motives behind the Iraq and Afghanistan wars when one considers the only outcome possible when tactics such as these are being employed.

What do we stand for and what are we willing to die for? I always thought we stood on the side of good, no matter what. When one stoops to using the very tactics we have condemned our enemies for using, our enemies have won.

“The healthy man does not torture others - generally it is the tortured who turn into torturers”
- Carl Gustav Jung (1875 - 1961)

Selfless Acts

At the beginning of the UBBT challenge I never really put a lot of thought into the 1000 acts of kindness requirement. I figured this one would kind of be self perpetuating and just a matter of logging the acts. However when one puts a little thought into it, the specifics of the requirement become a bit of a conundrum.

The first snag one runs into is the definition of a kind act. Does it really count if it is something that I would have done anyway? Is it really a kind act worth documenting if I also benefit from it? First off, there are really few selfless acts. Everything I do for others tends to reciprocate back upon me. I can’t think of any kind thing that I have done for another that hasn’t given me a piece of my soul back. I definitely feel a lot better about myself and the world in general and my personal situation in life always benefits from helping others. I found myself asking that if I would have done the act anyway and it really isn’t a selfless act, what is the purpose of this test requirement?

One of the most difficult things to maintain in a hectic lifestyle is the mindfulness required to stay in the moment. So many of our actions and reactions are generated without a thought and without awareness. We can go through an entire week with little or no memory of the experiences of our routine days. These routines make it easy for us to keep our thoughts on the mistakes of our past and our concerns for the future rather than on the gift of the moment. Ironically one can really only utilize the experience of the past to shape the future if that experience is used in the here and now.

I have found by documenting my daily acts of kindness, no matter how insignificant, I am forced to stay in the moment and recognize my actions in their purest form. While documenting these acts may not give me any extra insight into myself, since we all tend to perform kind acts throughout our lives without thinking about them, the exercise of documenting them does bring me back to the moment. The real benefit I am finding from being in the moment is that not only am I forced to notice what I am doing to make a difference, I am now also noticing what I am not doing but could be doing. Self awareness definitely imposes a great sense of responsibility upon oneself.

Sometimes our inactions speak to the world louder than our actions and for that reason the acts of kindness requirement of the Ultimate Black Belt Test is, for me, the most defining characteristic of this entire project. It’s amazing what can evolve from one simple question.

“We have more possibilities available in each moment than we realize.”
Thich Nhat Hahn (b. 1926)

Off and Running

Had a pretty good week this week. I was fortunate to have spent some time talking to Coach Tom about the student members I am bringing on to the UBBT and our conversation really helped solidify my focus and ultimately, theirs. This project speaks to me on so many levels but the biggest value it brings to my kung fu is that it gives me an excuse to train. Having a full time job while running a full time school makes for a fairly hectic daily schedule when one is also dealing with personal challenges along the way. I have never lacked for excuses to not spend more time on my own personal development so having this personal mandate for the next sixteen or so months is a great opportunity for me to grow and more importantly, do it guilt free. Having a bunch of my students share this journey with me will definitely maximize the value of the experience.

I was actually standing outside Canada Post yesterday when Master Dave McNeill called to see if I had received my cane shipment from him, I have to tell you, his canes are works of art. Every time I have the opportunity to speak with him he freely offers his expert advice and assistance. What has always impressed me with Master McNeill is how genuine he is. He always remembers our previous conversations and my personal situation so his advice is never blind or empty. As always, I got some great support concerning the care for my reconstructed knee that seems to be taking forever to get back online.

My conversation with Master McNeill reminded me that the chances of anyone completing UBBT 6 without suffering major setbacks is unlikely. I actually have an advantage by going in with a hobbled knee in that my whole approach and plan will take this limitation into account so I am definitely mentally ready for this.

“Today, I begin my “black belt test” again. My life is my test.”
- Tom Callos

Taxation Without Representation

Canada’s federal election is only a couple of weeks away and while all the candidates are campaigning for my vote, I can definitely relate to how people can become disillusioned and apathetic with the whole process.

Our federal representation is based upon population with our local Member of Parliament sitting in the House of Commons and representing the will of us constituents. Unfortunately Canadian politics is such that MPs do not represent the will of the constituents that elected them but rather the will of their political party as dictated by the leader of their party. While we may have 308 seated members in the House of Commons, typically it is mainly only one, the Prime Minister, who really holds all the power. No MPs of the Prime Minister’s political party dare vote against him in Parliament without suffering the inevitable consequence of being removed from caucus and being forced to change parties or sit as an independent. Not really an appealing option for someone who wishes to keep his job and earn another term in office with the promise of a pension. And thus if the ruling party holds a majority, the Prime Minister pretty much runs the country on his whim. So much for my personal representation in Ottawa.

The disillusionment and apathy that our political system has generated has fueled voting strategies that make individual MPs irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. Rather than voting for the riding candidate of their choice to represent them in the House of Commons, people are voting for the candidate that represents the political party that has the best chance of defeating their least favorite candidate for Prime Minister. In an attempt to avoid splitting the left vote, websites like http://www.voteforenvironment.ca/ have been created to ensure that Stephen Harper’s poor environmental record does not get a chance to resonate for another four years.

Like with the financial crisis in the the US, wouldn’t it be better to just fix the system to run the way it was designed to operate as opposed to coming up with strategies to work around and patch a flawed approach? Why do we not demand that our MPs be allowed to vote the will of their constituents without political consequence? This would make all 308 Members of Parliament relevant again and would restore the faith of the Canadian people that they do have a voice in the House of Commons.

“Canadians can disagree, but it takes a lot to get Canadians to intensely hate something or hate somebody. And it usually involves hockey.”
- Stephen Harper ( b. 1959)

Busy

It has been a busy two weeks since my last posting and lots has happened. We destroyed one of our Chinese Lions after its performance in a memorial funeral service, as is the custom, and then wrote off another due to excessive damage from normal wear and tear. Since they were our Kwan Kung and Zhang Fei lions respectively, they will need to be replaced as soon as it is feasible. We raised another $250 for our Benevolent Foundation with a lion dance performed for Marlin Travel at Westland Mall this morning. The spectators were great and the team really fed off the crowd’s enthusiasm.

I have lots of sticks in the fire right now so the next few months will be quite hectic. Our annual fundraising event is set to run in about six weeks and we hope to raise a significant amount of funds for important initiatives. I am in the process of preparing for UBBT 6 with a bunch of my black belts participating as student members and I have Master McNeill crafting me a cane that I will use when I begin studying his curriculum. Busy, busy, busy.

While all this is going on I find myself pondering the current economic crisis the west finds itself embroiled in. I fear this situation may shift our focus from the environment back to the economy and I am not sure our future can afford such a distraction at this pivotal point in time. With federal elections looming in both the USA and Canada, I fear what mandate we may be giving our future leaders. Will we vote for what is right for the world or will we vote for what is right for our wallets?

Definitely a time for me to give thanks for my privileged life and perhaps remind myself of the responsibility I hold as a leader, a role model, and a citizen. By simplifying my life and keeping my focus on the important issues such as peace education, the environment and sustainable living, the societal paradigm shift required to make lasting change will happen. There has never been a more important time to step up and be counted.

“Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost.”
John Quincy Adams (1767 - 1848)

Travis Panasiuk - Jan. 30, 1988 to Sept. 4, 2008

It has only been three days since Travis died in a highway accident and the intensity of my emotions is overwhelming. His very first and very last kung fu classes were exactly seventeen months apart - to the day. In those seventeen months Travis touched us all in such a profound way that his persona will forever be imprinted upon the spirit of Silent River Kung Fu and will always be a part of us. He was the best of who we are.

Travis’ life was filled with challenges, challenges that he addressed with his kung fu. Travis could have continued his life down the road of self destruction he was on but he ultimately chose a different path and fought to regain control. It was a struggle for Travis but it was a struggle he openly shared with his instructors. Travis held himself accountable and set an example that inspired and motivated everyone who had the privilege to teach him or train at his side.

Travis was well on his way to earning a black belt in a few years. I had often looked forward to that day when he would do his presentation on what kung fu had done for him. Oh what insights he could have shared. Travis was the living epitome of the impact discipline and respect can have on a life.

Ironically Travis had visited me several times in the past couple of weeks to talk about the untimely death of his childhood friend Brock. Travis was having difficulty making sense of such a tragedy. Today I find myself faced with the same struggle over Travis’ death. I hope Travis got more use out of the advise I gave him than I am.

I hope to honour Travis’ memory by approaching my kung fu with the same enthusiasm as Travis approached his. Whether it was forms, sparring, lion dance, san shou, fitness training, or tai chi, Travis put his all into his training and ended every session looking forward to his next. Goodbye Travis, you were not only the student we all wish we had, you were the student we all want to be.

“In my lifetime
I will demonstrate my lessons
Stop the cycle of procrastination
Live every moment
Let the past be history
Have the future changed
Control my thoughts
Forge my spirit
Create hope
Push forward
Pull aid
Forget weakness
Discover strength
Continue greatness
Allow All to share in my difference.”
- Travis Panasiuk (1988 - 2008)

UBBT Team 6

As of August 28, I have officially become part of Team 6 of the Ultimate Black Belt Test. While I continue to struggle to find the time to manage all of my personal and professional responsibilities while simultaneously running a full time school, I expect I will benefit from the self imposed structure the UBBT journey will provide.

I have been contemplating taking this challenge for a couple of years now but I have constantly deferred my enrollment to a future date in the hope that several aspects of my life would align such that the risk of failure would be zero. Well my life isn’t getting any simpler and I’m not getting any younger so Thursday was as good of a day as any to bite the bullet and jump in head first.

I haven’t finalized all my requirements but there are definitely some benefits I expect to come from the UBBT experience:

My personal training will become a higher priority in my life. Over the years I have concentrated on producing top martial artists and have not put the same effort into my own physical training. I use my words to motivate and inspire my students now I hope to take their training and focus to another level through the example I set with my actions.

The business affairs of my school will become more systemized and efficient. Lack of structure has allowed my school to drift along by the seat of its pants while I make decisions based upon my gut feeling and intuition as opposed to hard facts and statistics. I have access to a lot of expertise that I am not exploiting and I have a bunch of strong leaders in my school that I am not fully utilizing. The structure of the UBBT will definitely encourage me to get help when I can use it and delegate tasks that do not require my direct involvement.

If at a minimum I realize these two benefits, the long term effects on my students and school will be very positive. We’re already a big family at Silent River Kung Fu and there is no doubt that the UBBT will bring us even closer together.

“It's hard to lead a cavalry charge if you think you look funny on a horse.”
- Adlai Stevenson (1900 - 1965)

Olympic Value

The Olympics are finally over. While they are supposed to be about the athletes and the competition, they really haven’t served either very well for a long time. With so much money at stake for athletes, the sportsmanship of the games has taken a back seat to the quest of victory at all costs. The science of cheating has become a huge industry while so call martial artists attack officials over disputed calls. Somewhere the games have lost their way.

Remember the controversy that was raised when Beijing was picked to host the 2008 games? China’s human rights record was brought to the forefront of the news. The Olympic torch relay was constantly threatened by protest all over the planet. The plight of Tibet was all the rage and for a minute there it seemed that the world was pulling together in such a way that real, positive change was just around the corner. It is amazing how much leverage can be called into play when so much money is at stake.

Once the athletes started arriving in Beijing, the media focus shifted to them. No longer was the decades old subjection of Tibet the issue of the day, now it was the air pollution over Beijing and the negative impact it was going to have on the competitors. With the world watching, China took extraordinary measures to improve the quality of air over the city.

The Olympics are over and thus so is the leverage they afforded the world to help those in need. The games may have lost a lot of their pertinence to amateur athletes, but they offer a huge opportunity to bring the world together in the spirit of true friendship. Perhaps the lessons learned from these games will go a long way to permanently improve the air quality in Beijing. Maybe the awareness of the plight of Tibetans is immutably etched on all our minds. These are real, tangible benefits that have come out these games.

Let us not forget that China publicly guaranteed that protest demonstrations would be allowed at the games as long as the protestors had submitted the proper application and gained approval. Out of seventy seven applicants, zero were approved. Several applicants disappeared after submitting their applications while two women, Wu Dianyuan, 79, and Wang Ziuying, 77, have been sentenced to a year of “re-education through labour” after they sought a permit to demonstrate in one of the official Olympic protest areas. It is important that we take care to keep the seventy seven protest applicants in our thoughts. I can only imagine the risk they took when they trusted the world’s eyes would protect them in a system where their personal rights and freedoms are never guaranteed.

“The first principal of nonviolent action is that of noncooperation with everything humiliating.”
- Cesar Chavez (1927-1993)

Me

I spent a large portion of this week doing something different. It’s been a long time since I have done something like this and it is definitely something I need to do more often. I tend to spend most of my time trying to make a difference in so many different areas that sometimes it can be difficult to break the pattern of neglect when it comes to taking care of my own personal needs. I always make a point to remind myself that if I don’t take care of me, I will not be able to fulfill my responsibilities to others. But as with most things for me, it is easier said than done.

I met with Brian and Riki, my instructor and his wife, twice in the past week. I only stopped in for a short visit to say hi and ended up staying for hours talking with them and sharing some of my burdens. I realized how blessed I am to have people like them in my life whose unconditional support is always there if and when I need it.

Everyone has specific people that we turn to in times of need but I wonder if we tend to turn to these specific people too exclusively. I know how easy it is to feel isolated and alone when those specific people are perhaps part of my problems. Who do I turn to then? There is a lot of help available, I just need to keep that in front of me and remember to reach out and ask for it. I received some help and advice from Hal Gustin this week, Master Dave McNeill a couple of months ago, and a bunch of encouragement from so many others. The challenges I faced this week were a great reminder of the compassion and goodness that exists in the martial arts world. The willingness of so many close people like Brian and Riki and virtual strangers like Hal and Master Dave to step up and lend a hand is spectacularly encouraging.

If I hope to stay healthy over the long haul, I need to make a concerted effort to recognize when I need help and then take the time and initiative to seek it out. I need to take care of me.

“If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”
Isaac Newton (1643 - 1727)

Excuses

This week has been a week wrought with excuses. It seems we all, myself included, find excuses to explain the mediocrity which permeates our lives. Leo Tolstoy once said: “Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.” Amen to that brother.

The three issues that drive me, that fuel my passion for change, are peace education, environmental self defense, and mental health awareness. Thich Nhat Hanh advises us that if we want peace, we must become peace. I am a long way from this ideal. Here I am outraged that yet another Canadian has been killed in Afghanistan and yet I continue to live my life while carrying several wrongs that need forgiving and many relationships that require healing. If I truly want peace for this world, I need to first make peace with myself and commit to righting these wrongs and resolving these relationships. While not all relationship issues can be healed, they can be resolved so they are no longer an anvil of stress weighing me down.

Sometimes doing the right thing for the earth is only a matter of being aware of our actions. Connecting with nature promotes this awareness but how many times have I made bonehead mistakes that have contributed to the massive damage being caused by mankind? By living in the present moment I will ensure my actions are mindful and that I set an example by living simple. Breathe in, breathe out.

How can I continue to campaign for mental health awareness if I am not taking care of my own needs? I have always been able to accommodate more stress than the average person but as time marches on, my constitution will begin to weaken. If I want society to become more aware of this issue, I need to stay aware myself and take care of my personal needs. It’s not selfish, it is necessary.

I have more excuses than the average person when it comes to mediocrity in my training. Five knee surgeries, three motorcycle crashes, a spectacular car accident, dozens of separated shoulders coupled with chronic tendonitis, personal problems, family problems, my dog ate my homework, she got special treatment, someone planted that in my locker, my alarm didn’t go off, I thought it was due tomorrow, it was the dog not me, everyone was doing it, he stepped into it, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.....

Yup, not much is going to change if I don’t stop the cycle and become the change I want to see. My personal training commitment is a reflection of my character and an expression of my dedication to my ideals. The example I set will make a difference in the lives of others.

Time to step it up a notch or two. Okay maybe fifty. Fifty one is right out because I still have knee swelling.

“If you don't want to do something, one excuse is as good as another.”
-Yiddish Proverb

Setting An Example

One of my black belts asked me this week what specifically I felt we were meant to do. She asked this in response to my statement that we have come together for a reason. I’m thinking all my students may benefit from the perspective so I am posting my response in my journal. I responded to her with the following:

Ah, the big why. That is the question isn't it? I know the answer to that is 42 but of course it is much more complicated than that. The way I see it, every moment is an opportunity. What we do with these moments will define our lives and ultimately at the end of the day it will be how we lived our lives that will be valued by others. The way we live our lives is our legacy.

I don't know of anybody who hasn't wanted a career where they feel they can make a difference. So many people feel nothing but frustration with their impotence when it comes to having a say in what is going on in their world. We black belts have an opportunity here to use our kung fu to influence and promote the change we want to see in our world. We don't need to reach everybody, we just need to reach one person. The right person.

I don't want my children's values, and thus their world, to be defined by materialism and some self serving definition of freedom and security. We have people seeking out Silent River Kung Fu, traveling great distances even though they have access to a school near their own home, to learn from us. They don't come to learn kung fu, they come to learn from us. Why? Ultimately they respect our values and they trust us to instill those values in our students. This is our work, and make no mistake about it, this is our responsibility.

We have the power of great influence. It is ours to use or ignore. My personal take on this is that it is almost as bad to do a bad deed as it is to not do something to try and make a difference. What is making this difference? It is the self realization, the discipline, the progress, the confidence - all these fantastic things that come from putting yourself out there and striving toward your goal. They come from the lifestyle change that occurs from the moment you step into your first horse stance to the time you execute that perfect hip throw. These intangibles are what mould us into black belts, into leaders, into people with the power of influence.

Why indeed have we come together? Why after over twenty years of Silent River Kung Fu, and thousands of students, are there only twenty of us or so standing hand in hand in the forefront of the organization? I think it is because we few have answered a higher calling and have the guts, and perhaps the naiveness to want to take responsibility for the state of our world.

So what specific differences? I can think of only one that really, truly matters. We show people that we care. We don't stand around waiting for things to happen, we make them happen. We care about them and that is reflected in how we care about ourselves and our kung fu. We set an example of excellence that serves as a tool of influence.

Be the change you want to see.

“Children are more influenced by sermons you act than by sermons you preach.”
- David McKay (1873 - 1970)

Peace One Day

I completed the first leg of my ongoing 1000 Cranes for Peace project this week with my students generating the final 300 cranes needed in just a couple of days. In fact we have already started on the next thousand. We will be sending the cranes to Hiroshima for August 6 - the anniversary of the US dropping the atomic bomb on their city.

I started this project after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto last December and I feel that this project is even more pertinent and important today. War will always be controversial and our own personal politics will polarize communities into extreme factions. One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter. One man’s inhumane torture is another man’s justified force. At some point we have to realize that all our perspectives have merit and the only way to resolve the differences in these perspectives is by first empathizing with our perceived adversaries. I’m not sure if this is even possible without dialogue. It just seems that we are so busy fighting that we are not considering any other alternatives. If our ultimate collective goal is peace and security for our families, I would think we already have enough common ground for which to begin. Sometimes the diplomacy being used at the world level is no different than the tactics I used in the playground conflicts of my youth. “She hit me first!” was the usual justification for swift retaliation which fueled the “You hit me harder!” snappy retort for the inevitable escalating comeback.

I am teaching children today who have never known their country to be at peace. That concept has really hit home for me and it scares me. What if they just accept this as a fact of life and have their world perspectives and overall general outlooks evolve from this baseline? What type of future is in store for mankind if the leaders of tomorrow never experience peace or are not educated on the alternatives to war?

A project like folding 1000 paper cranes may not generate instant massive change but it definitely is creating awareness in my young students of a huge movement that is supported by people who do not accept war as the only solution to conflict. It is also connecting them to young people all over the world, including countries where beliefs and ideologies are different than theirs, and showing them that at the end of the day our values, our hopes, and our dreams are not so different after all.

“Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek but a means by which we arrive at that goal.”  - Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929 - 1968)

Serendipity

Yesterday we helped celebrate our community’s centennial birthday by performing a couple of lion dances and demonstrations throughout the day in our town’s main park. The weather was perfect and the response from the crowd we had gathered was spectacular. I have performed hundreds of demonstrations over the years but yesterday’s experience struck a chord within me and reminded me of the importance of maintaining mindfulness and staying in the moment.

There were three senior citizens seated in chairs at our first lion dance performance that were just out of range when the lucky lettuce was tossed. When we completed the dance I gathered up three small pieces of lettuce that had not been claimed by the crowd and hand delivered them to these three ladies. The heartfelt appreciation they expressed really made my day and the ripples of positive energy their reaction generated continue to feed my soul.

I often think of how fate conspires to bring people into our lives. When one considers the infinite improbability of meeting a particular person at a particular time, these serendipitous encounters must be savoured. How many opportunities do we miss by not truly appreciating what is happening at a particular moment in time? I have noticed that everyone my day brings me in contact with can have a profound affect on my life and thus I can have a similar affect on everyone else. Something as simple as an act of kindness or an expression of joy can start the ripples that create a wave of change.

Yesterday was a good day.

"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.”
- Leo F. Buscaglia (1924-1998)

Redefinition

The martial arts business is volatile at best. Just try to get a business loan for your first school if you don’t believe me. Historical data forces banks to rank us as a high risk to fail because while most of us who venture into this market may be skilled martial artists, we’re not always qualified teachers or business people. The business aspect of running a school can become such a distraction that it can be easy to lose one’s way and forget what value we contribute to our society. After reading Jason’s post this week and Tom’s comments on an MMA blog, I have been thinking about the disservice we as martial artists do to ourselves and our art.

Look at how the popularity of mixed martial arts competition has polarized the martial arts community. While half of us feel that the UFC is damaging our reputation, the other half are retooling their programs to cash in on this latest craze. Do either of these approaches reflect well on ourselves? If the UFC is damaging the reputation of the martial arts, we have to consider who is responsible. It is not Dana White, it is us. If we had been taking the time and care to continually define our art ourselves we wouldn’t be in the present situation where our arts’ value and relevance can be challenged by something so new.

How do we want the martial arts defined? If we really want our students to take what they are learning from us and apply it to the world at large, we need to decide what type of world we wish to live in. If MMA is able to redefine martial arts as being all about fighting, shame on us.

“The Way of a Warrior is based on humanity, love, and sincerity; the heart of martial valor is true bravery, wisdom, love, and friendship. Emphasis on the physical aspects of warriorship is futile, for the power of the body is always limited.”
- Morihei Ueshiba (1883 - 1969)

The Baltic Way

I have been thinking about the peaceful demonstrations that took place in the Baltic States back in the late 80’s and early 90’s. Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia achieved independence through a series of amazing peaceful displays of unity and conviction. In 1989 they organized an awe inspiring demonstration to bring attention to the hidden protocol within the Molotov-Ribbontrop Pact between the USSR and Nazi Germany that led to the occupation of these three states. This peaceful demonstration saw the forming of a 600 kilometre long human chain consisting of 2.2 million people that spanned their three nations. Only after one considers that the total combined population of the three countries was only 8 million does this display of unity fall into the proper perspective. Over one quarter of the population showed up at the same time to protest this half century old injustice in the face of their communist oppressors. The world took notice and governments listened.

Governments definitely listen but at times what they are hearing is not always the will of the people. Right now big corporations have a louder voice and thus more influence over our world leaders. Since our culture was retooled to promote consumption after the second world war, these corporations have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo to bolster their bottom line. As long as we continue to let the corporations drown out the people’s voice, our environmental concerns and peace initiatives will take a back seat to corporate profits.

In my province things are happening under our noses that the majority agree are not right but as a group we do not seem to have a voice. Our political leaders gave themselves a 34% pay increase while the tar sands that feed the government coffers are destroying the environment. Rather than investing our budget surplus into diversifying the Alberta economy, our government is promoting an expansion of the tar sands, further solidifying our economy’s dependence upon this resource. We watch them as they continue to spend their tax revenue irresponsibly and at the same time cry that more revenue is needed to ensure a healthy economy and a bright future. What future is possible with carbon emissions rising exponentially, global warming melting the arctic ice, and full scale wars being threatened and waged over control of oil reserves? Where are the massive public protests? Can you imagine the government not listening if a quarter of Alberta’s population showed up at the Alberta legislature to protest the way things have been managed?

What does it take to rally people, on a massive scale, to stand up for a cause? People like Rosa Parks show that it only takes a single person to catalyze change. I do believe that the more we talk about it, the more we write about it, the more likely it is that we will wipe out the public apathy that is so prevalent in our society. Perhaps then the government will once again become accountable to the will of the people and prove they deserve the entrustment we have given them.

“Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little. “
- Edmund Burke (1729 - 1797)

Stay In The Moment

I had wanted to share my inspirational experience at our annual boot camp yesterday in today’s entry but as I began to write, I realized my thoughts and passion were dominated by something that has been bothering me all week.

James Hansen, the director of the Goddard Institute, predicts that at our present rate of emissions, our atmospheric carbon dioxide levels will reach 450 ppm within thirty three years. At this point there will not be any ice left on the planet - that is if we maintain our present rate of emissions. With second world countries just starting to industrialize and first world countries turning to environmentally volatile biofuels as opposed to reducing consumption, our species’ negative impact on the environment is only going to increase long before it gets better. According to Hansen we have already hit one tipping point. No matter what we do at this point, we will be without Arctic ice within five to ten years.

Most of the damage we have caused is reversible but not in any timeframe that is relevant to humans. That’s the kicker - relevant to humans. We tend to place so much faith in mother nature’s ability to adapt and restore that we fail to consider our own arrogance. The planet may go on but the likelihood of our species being one of the few that actually survive extinction is extremely remote.

Lately I find myself asking some pertinent questions. Why are countries so eager to become less dependent upon foreign oil rather than just less dependent upon oil period? Now that Alberta is finally labeled as being the source of some the world’s least environmentally friendly oil, why are we using the term “dirty oil” to describe it? Is that not clouding the issue and implying there is a such thing as clean oil?

It can be easy to become overwhelmed with the magnitude of the problem, making it almost impossible to stay in the moment. If I don’t stay focused and appreciate the here and now, my life will pass me by before I realize it is over - or worse yet, without me having the opportunity to leave a legacy of which my children would be proud. The answer to our problem is within each of us.

Our global solution is only a matter of conscious and conscientious existence. Mindful actions produce mindful results. Breathe in, breathe out.

“Life can be found only in the present moment. The past is gone, the future is not yet here, and if we do not go back to ourselves in the present moment, we cannot be in touch with life.”
- Thich Nhat Hanh (b. 1926)

Respect

Respect. We talk about it, we teach it, but what is it? Everyone knows how to show it but very few actually conduct their lives in a way that embodies it.

A leader must exemplify respect. Of course no one is perfect, especially me, but if we want people to follow us, listen to us, respect us, we must strive to truly embrace the concept of respect and endeavour to conduct ourselves accordingly. I have made many bonehead mistakes in my past and I continue to struggle with this ideal. The fact that I keep it in front of me at all times, and consider it a work in progress, shows the personal value I have placed upon the concept of respect. It is a lifelong commitment that I will never fully master but one to which I am completely devoted to.

There are many times when I am not even aware I am showing a lack of respect until after I reflect upon the issue. I find that if I do not apply self realization, empathy, and accountability to my daily life, I can coast along, blissfully unaware of the consequences of my actions.

My respect for my body and my health is reflected by my diet and my lifestyle.

My respect for my instructor’s wisdom and time is reflected by my commitment to master the concepts of his lessons by applying myself 100% to this responsibility before seeking more knowledge.

My respect for my students is reflected by the passion which fuels my classes.

My respect for my art is reflected by the standard to which I hold myself and my students.

As an instructor I am obviously very sensitive to a student showing any lack of respect for my time and efforts. Fariborz Azhakh has a great story about him losing his opportunity to receive a personal lesson from Grandmaster Jihan Jae because he showed disrespect for his instructor’s role as a teacher through a flippant, yet innocent, remark. Presently I have a couple of sihings working their butts off to earn their black belt but will probably never achieve the rank because they still do not understand the concept of respect. Such are my failings as a teacher.

“There is no respect for others without humility in one's self.”
- Henri Frederic Amiel (1821 - 1881)

Avarice

Petrol prices are up, disposable income is down. Our culture continues to decline while we struggle to maintain our privileged lifestyle with less available money.

Our dependence on fossil fuels is causing many of the major problems facing our world today. Rather than focusing on how our culture has evolved around this dependence and encouraging the social change required to address it, we look for alternative fuels so that we can continue to maintain the status quo. Biofuels are not the answer, in fact they may be the final nail in the coffin. While world governments are beginning to legislate ethanol based fuels, dollar signs are filling the eyes of many as they strategize on how to exploit this new cash cow. Forests are being clear cut to make way for crops to feed our fuel addiction while we continue to struggle to produce enough food to feed our expanding population. The food crisis is such that the organic food industry may be wiped out while we have no choice but to use chemicals to maximize production to address this burgeoning issue.

Here in Canada, eleven companies in Quebec were charged with gas price fixing. While oil companies continue to rake in record profits, their greed is such that they resort to illegal tactics to generate even more. CEOs of major corporations continue to get paid exorbitant amounts of money to make their shareholders rich at the expense of the planet and ultimately at the expense of the longevity of the very corporation that is feeding their greed. In an attempt to get by with less, our schools are devoting less time and funding to the arts and physical education to maintain focus on the sciences. Our governments have followed the same pattern. Perhaps this is why we continue to search for a technological or scientific solution to a social problem and why we are in another dark age of cultural decline.

For my part, I am trying to address my concerns through my wallet. I am simplifying my life so that I consume less. I encourage small local businesses by spending a little extra on their products rather than patronizing the big corporate chains. Ultimately this will encourage less urban sprawl and reduce my need to travel outside my immediate community to shop. I will continue to use my disposable income to reflect my values and not my materialistic wants while avoiding television so that I can maintain enough clarity to tell the difference.

“A grandfather talking to his young grandson tells the boy he has two wolves inside of him struggling with each other. The first is the wolf of peace, love and kindness. The other wolf is fear, greed and hatred. "Which wolf will win, grandfather?" asks the young boy. "Whichever one I feed," is the reply.”
- Native American Proverb

Mediocrity

“I am on a personal quest to rid my life of mediocrity and indifference. I believe that with my efforts, influence, and passion I can contribute to a fundamental shift in humanity’s core values so that we all take responsibility for the well being of our fellow man. I hope to initiate several projects that address the three issues that weigh heavily upon my soul : Environmental Self Defence, Peace Education, and Mental Health Awareness.”

This was the affirmation I declared when I first started journaling last November. Since then, my thoughts, and thus my journaling efforts, have focused on this ideal. I’m not a very politically active person nor do I even like talking politics. However it is impossible to eradicate mediocrity in one’s own life when so much of our quality of life is determined by our political leaders and their personal values and policies. I am not affiliated with any political party nor do I endorse any particular candidate. However the way I see it, my political leaders are elected officials who I am paying to do a job. If they are not doing their jobs to my satisfaction, then I am going to speak up and pull no punches. I might even resort to insults and sarcasm. Such is my wrath.

Our Alberta Premier has given himself a 34% pay increase. I would love to vent about the fact that he did this immediately following his election after his job was guaranteed for at least another four years. I would love to vent even more about his claim that he has the support of the Alberta public on this issue. If he has so much public support why did he not give himself this raise during the election rather than waiting until after he won his minimum four year mandate? I had to smile though when he justified the raise. He says it is the only way to attract higher quality candidates to run for office. Doesn’t that imply that he isn’t the best candidate since he went for the job at a lower rate? Kind of also implies that he didn’t deserve the raise. Ed Stelmach - the Peter Principle in action.

But I’m not going to vent about that - I know, I already did but work with me here. What I am going to vent about is the fact that something like this can happen without a huge public outcry. We seem to like to voice our outrage to one another but at the end of the day we all just roll over, accept it, and move on. What will be even more outrageous is come next election our political leaders will roll out huge spending increases and tax cuts and we will all be bamboozled to vote for them again. Such is the way of Canadian politics. We vote for candidates who cater to our individual short term wants at the expense of our long term needs. We leave those for future generations to worry about. We ignore what we are seeing happening in our government and vote for candidates based on their political affiliations as opposed to their personal merits. We allow our political leaders to bully our representatives to set public policy and vote according to the party’s guidelines as opposed to the will of their constituents. Somehow we have to get back control of our government so that it represents the will of the people and not the self serving will of the party. We have to start demanding accountability in our politicians and for gosh sakes, stop accepting mediocrity. We have to recognize the difference between promises used to get a politician through the next election and promises to solve a problem.

I would like to challenge my students who read this blog to take action. Action to initiate the change you want to see. If you disagree with what I have written here, email me at jeff@silentriverkungfu.com. If you agree with this then let Ed Stelmach know at premier@gov.ab.ca. It does not matter what you do as long as you do something.

There it is: short, sweet, and totally uninspiring. Just like my Premier. Except for the sweet part.

"Perhaps nothing in our society is more needed for those in positions of authority than accountability. Too often those with authority are able (and willing) to surround themselves with people who support their decisions without question"
- Uknown Author

Birthright

I met with my knee surgeon for the first time since the surgery eight weeks ago and I have to say that I am pretty happy with my situation.

The tear in my knee was significant so a flap of cartilage had to be removed. Why I continue to tear this stuff without even being aware of a precipitating incident is beyond me. I’d like to think it’s because I have an awesome pain threshold but I suspect it has more to do with bad genetics than anything else. Thanks mom and dad. The great news is that my surgeon is world class and the knee abrasion arthroplasty he performed on the joint could regenerate and strengthen the cartilage in the knee and perhaps stop this cycle of damage. The procedure involved the drilling of about ten holes through the remaining cartilage into the bone. This will draw stem cells and blood up from the bone to the surface of the knee and into the cartilage. This should strengthen the overall integrity of the joint. Since nothing is for free, I will require a significantly longer recovery time than if I had just a standard cartilage removal - up to a year. That totally explains why the swelling persists and why I still cannot kneel on that knee.

The rehab for this is right up my alley. The knee must be exercised during the healing process in order for the cartilage to have a better chance of regeneration, I just need to approach it with moderation to control the swelling. Thus I started performing my forms with deeper stances this week. Life is good.

All this good news has got me thinking about my lot in life and how lucky I have been. And I do mean lucky. Most of everything I have, and have accomplished, has been due to my birthright. Thanks again mom and dad.

I have lived a life where air, food, water, and warmth, our most basic physiologic needs according to psychologist Andrew Maslow, have always been guaranteed. I was born in a country where I have the freedom and privilege to accomplish almost anything I desire since my basic necessities for life were forever guaranteed the second I took my first breath because of where my first breath was taken.

What if my first breath had been taken in Malawi? Would I have ever had the option of studying kung fu or would I have been too obsessed with where my next meal would come from? What access to medical care would I have? I have little doubt that my torn knee would have been something I had to live with for the rest of my life if the geography of my birth had been different.

What a privileged life I live. All my necessities are more than addressed while other, less fortunate souls obsess and struggle to find enough for their children to eat. How much of my lifestyle is contributing to their plight? While I consume more than my fair share of the earth’s resources, I need to remind myself that my actions, my very thoughts, are only a privilege afforded to me by my birthright. I hope I maintain enough humility to never forget how lucky I am to have the choices and options I have. With my birthright comes the moral responsibility to ensure I consider the consequences to the less fortunate for the life I choose to live.

“It is easy to dodge our responsibilities, but we cannot dodge the consequences of dodging our responsibilities.”
- Josiah Charles Stamp (1880 - 1941)

Activism Revisited

I have been a staunch environmentalist and a peace advocate for my entire life. Long before we reached our current dire global state, I have been recycling and reducing, consuming conscientiously, financially supporting environmental groups, and losing my share of sleep over the state of the world. I have never been radical or extreme in presenting my views but I have always felt that my values have been adequately expressed and endorsed within my school through our many community projects and comprehensive curriculum. I was wrong. I am bewildered and humbled by the number of my students who read my blog and are interpreting my documented opinions as newfound. After over twenty years of teaching my art, how can these values not be obvious to my students?

Before writing that first blog post last November, I was so oblique in expressing my views and values in class that the relevance to their training was completely missed by many of my students. Somewhere along the journey, I lost my way. Activism is the key. All the thought in the world is not worth a hill of beans if it is not acted upon. I have been too passive when expressing my passion.

Chalk up clarity as another added benefit of my journaling efforts.

“Conviction is worthless unless it is converted into conduct.”
- Thomas Carlyle ( 1795 - 1881)

Support Our Troops

On May 15th, Amnesty International put out a call for bloggers to unite and post about human rights. I try to post my journal entries on Sundays so I am a few days late here. I think an initiative like this is important in that it encourages collective action. Sometimes activism can be fragmented in such a way that the true scale of an issue can be lost. People tend to flock to causes that are popular and in the news. If everyone were to focus on a single issue, the hype and buzz could generate more and more support and things could begin to change.

Canada’s involvement in Afghanistan has been controversial to say the least. Our troops’ deployment has polarized the country leaving very few Canadians sitting on the fence. While everyone may have a different opinion on what actions constitute “supporting our troops”, we are all deeply concerned for their safety and well-being.

In 2005, Canada and several other NATO allies entered into agreements to transfer detainees to Afghan custody even though the spectre of torture was obvious. After evidence surfaced that a transferred prisoner had been tortured, Canada ceased transferring detainees to Afghan custody in November 2007, and the Canadian government stated that transfers will only be resumed when it is possible to do so in “accordance with Canada’s international legal obligations.”

On February 29, 2008, the Canadian government announced that prisoner transfers to Afghan authorities had resumed. Amnesty International has serious concerns that much more reform is required of the Afghan prison system over the long-term before it can be guaranteed that Afghanistan has the capacity to meet its international human rights obligations.

Since we here in the west are supposedly involved in these conflicts to protect the rights and freedoms we hold so dear, should we not be supporting the men and women who are putting their lives on the line by demanding that the very rights and freedoms they are fighting for are exemplified by our country’s actions abroad? If not, then maybe it is time to question what we are fighting and dying for.

"Peace, in the sense of the absence of war, is of little value to someone who is dying of hunger or cold. It will not remove the pain of torture inflicted on a prisoner of conscience. It does not comfort those who have lost their loved ones in floods caused by senseless deforestation in a neighboring country. Peace can only last where human rights are respected, where the people are fed, and where individuals and nations are free."
- HH The Dalai Lama (b. 1935)