Tiger Challenge 2016

Yesterday marked the completion of another intra-school tournament. The day contained many highs. White belts competed for their first time, and we had the biggest and best black belt competition ever. Everyone left with a smile on their face and we finished right on time - a tribute to the efforts of the people who organized the event.

For me, the highlight was how well everything ran. I had negligible involvement in the planning or setup of the tournament. I ran the first few tournaments and have had little to do with the last few. It warms my heart to see the passion throughout our kwoon family and witnessing everyone pulling together for emerging leaders.

Congratulations to everyone who participated. Kudos to those of you who competed and went outside your comfort zone. Nothing gets accomplished or changed without taking that step. For those of you who volunteered your hearts and time, thank you. Our community is that much stronger for your efforts.

“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.” - Neale Donald Walsch (b. 1943)

Apocalypse

Watching the US election unfold, it is apparent that the problems of this world are not going to be solved anytime soon. Climate change is being denied, xenophobic rhetoric is fueling hate, and no one seems to care about the lies that are being told. It appears that as long as money is being promised to be put in the voters pockets, all is good. The majority of people do not seem to care about the long term future as long as their wallets are taken care of over the short term.

 I saw Reza Aslan speak earlier this year. He made a comment to the effect that no matter the outcome of this election, America can never take the moral high ground again. The support that Trump has, win or lose, is an accurate reflection of who they (USA) are, it can no longer be glossed over or denied. What Trump has brought to the forefront has been there all along, hidden and, for the most part, ignored. Change begins with looking in the mirror.

 If I had any delusion that Canada was any different, Calgary brought me back to reality. CTV took a poll of Calgarians to see if they were willing to pay an extra $50/year in taxes to end homelessness. To be clear, the question was not to help homelessness, it was to end homelessness. Fifty percent of Calgarians responded "NO".

" Not the torturer will scare me, nor the body's final fall, nor the barrels of death's rifles, nor the shadows on the wall, nor the night when to the ground the last dim star of pain is hurled, but the blind indifference of a merciless, unfeeling world." - Roger Waters (b. 1943)

Salmon Rushdie

I had the opportunity to see Salman Rushdie speak on freedom of expression earlier this week. Salman Rushdie has spent a large portion of his adult life in hiding and under police protection after Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa requiring Rushdie’s death over his book The Satanic Verses. Considering what Rushdie has endured over his writings, I had great curiosity about his feelings on this subject.

I hadn’t really thought about the subject of freedom of expression before seeing Salman Rushdie. My views were pretty standard - hate mongering and racism have no place in society. After hearing Rushdie speak, I have had to rethink the extent of my views on this subject. While I hold to my original view, I agree with Rushdie that suppressing people’s words, no matter what those words are, is an attack on freedom of expression. In fact, trying to suppress anything tends to bring the very thing you are trying to suppress into the limelight. Rushdie’s statement on the subject — “I want to know who the assholes are.”

It is difficult to watch someone like Donald Trump tear a nation apart. It seems that the more he lies and bullies, the more entrenched his supporters become. Yet stopping him from spreading his message of hate and exclusion would only help to cover up the problem. After what has happened in the American election campaign, the USA can no longer ignore who they really are. Until they come to terms with that reality, their problems are not going anywhere.

“What is freedom of expression? Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist.” - Sir Salman Rushdie (b. 1947)

Thanksgiving

It is Thanksgiving Day in Canada today. An opportunity to reflect and an opportunity for gratitude. For those of us born in Canada, we have won the lottery. The privilege of our lifestyle is something we were born into, we did not earn it. It is somewhat telling about our culture that many of us need to reflect to recognize opportunities for gratitude.

2016 has been a very tumultuous year. There have been so many health issues in my family that it has been impossible for me to keep all the balls in the air that I have been accustomed to. So much good has come out of all the turmoil of 2016 that is impossible for me to not feel immense gratitude in my life.

I have been writing this blog for around three hours now. What is usually a 15 minute or so endeavour has been hijacked by my cat Sumo. She has been a constant thorn in my side when it comes to productivity. She is always on my lap, grabbing my hands and trying to force me to pet her. It is not an easy task to type and pet a cat at the same time. Yet I endure and I am grateful to have Sumo in my life. I may have rescued her but for the most part it is her who takes care of me. She doesn’t always know (or care) what I want, but Sumo seems to know what I need. Of course that is difficult to recognize at times. For example that time, oh about ten minutes ago when she pawed at my iPad and managed to somehow delete my entire blog entry and wipe out all my progress.

I have lost friends this year. I am still grieving for a couple that I lost recently. Underlying my grief is gratitude. Gratitude for being able to accept that the only constant in life is change. I feel gratitude for having had the opportunity to have shared a part of my life with them. I am who I am because of their influence. Lastly, I have immense gratitude for the people who I still have in my life who support me and my ideas.

I realize how fortunate I am that Thanksgiving came when it did. This opportunity to ground myself and stoke my excitement about the future came at the perfect time.

“Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.” - William Arthur Ward (1921 - 1994)

Investing

Once again I find myself getting ready to grade some students for black belt and beyond. Vouching for someone so that they can wear the rank is a huge responsibility. Anyone who earns the rank from me represents me and everyone who has earned the rank before them.

Earning a black belt is a personal achievement. It is about discipline, perseverance, humility, indomitable spirit, and so much more. Everyone’s journey is unique. The quality of one’s journey defines the scope of their achievement. Two people may have the same skill set but what they had to do to acquire that same skill set will be unique to their personal situation and limitations.

I always smile when I hear one of my black belts say “in my day . . .”. Everyone remembers how much sweat and blood went into earning their black belt. Where memories tend to get foggy is how much skill we had when we first achieved the rank. No one's skill is pristine when they earn their ranking. A true black belt never stops working and evolving. A black belt is never perfect but a black belt’s effort is always absolute.

“A black belt is nothing more than a belt that goes around your waist. Being a black belt is a state of mind and attitude.” - Morihei Ueshiba (1883 - 1969)