Margitte Hilbig

There are pivotal moments in my life that are ground zero for where I am today. Moments that will resonate throughout my life. One such moment, in fact the prime moment, was when I met Grand Master Margitte Hilbig.

I can trace everything I have and everything I have become to the moment I met Margie. The most important people in my life are because of Margie. Silent River Kung Fu is because of that moment that I met Margie. My instructor, my best friend, is because of Margie.

I am still in shock from the phone call I received last night informing me that Margie had passed away December 27, 2016. She has been such an important person to me for so long that I had never imagined the world without her in it. Margie was the first female black belt in Canada and she taught me, in fact she taught most of us,  what it means to be a black belt.

The amount of knowledge that the kung fu world just lost is unfathomable and irreplaceable. I still cannot comprehend it. Master Hilbig thank you, you will never be forgotten.

http://www.usadojo.com/biographies/margitte-hilbig.htm
http://crcharlton.powweb.com/mohpaiunchained/margittehilbig.html
https://necrocanada.com/deces/margitte-hilbig/#.WGaSz7EZPFw

Intelligent Curriculum Part 1

As an educator, I am always working to develop and refine my school's curriculum. The curriculum I teach is a reflection of my values as a martial artist. When I use the term 'martial artist', I am not talking about someone who practices the marital arts, I am talking about being a martial artist. A real martial artist lives a life that transcends the mat and the ring. A real martial artist uses the pursuit of physical discipline to become a more whole, centred human being. This is important because anything less reduces the training process to nothing more than an egocentric exercise in narcissism.

I do not think anyone who studies under a real martial artist, continues to study over the long term for the same reasons they began. We all begin with specific goals in mind, usually to address immediate needs like self defence, fitness, and confidence. Over time we begin to realize the value of the art goes far beyond the direct physical benefits and aspirations for ourselves expand and evolve. We become aware of how different aspects are intimately interconnected and ultimately define the whole. These holistic values are covered by the portion of my curriculum that I refer to as intelligent curriculum.

“A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at.” - Bruce Lee (1940 - 1973)

The Next Four Years

It’s a big day tomorrow. I’m hoping common sense and sanity prevails. Based upon what the Donald has been up to these past few weeks since the election, there has never been a better time for a do over.

Life does not usually present opportunities for do overs. Nothing is ever for free and a bell cannot be un-rung. There are consequences for every decision we make and there are consequences for every decision we defer. But when life does give an opportunity to right a wrong or if it gives you a second chance to fix a mistake, you have to take that opportunity.

“If pigs could vote, the man with the slop bucket would be elected swineherd every time, no matter how much slaughtering he did on the side.” - Orson Scot Card (b.1951)

John Glenn

I started my day with hot yoga for the first time ever and after a quick shower, I raced downtown to spend the next couple of hours axe throwing. This was a day for a couple of firsts for me. It was great to finish the day with a meal at my favourite vegetarian restaurant with family. I definitely seized this day.

John Glenn was a man that seemed to seize more than his fair share of days. He was the first American to orbit the earth and over three decades later, he became the oldest astronaut in space as the payload specialist on the Space Shuttle.  In between his tenures exploring space, he served in the American Senate for 24 years.

Many years ago, when I worked on satellite receivers, I heard a story about John Glenn that has stayed with me for all these years. I was tuned into a newcast’s satellite downlink. The downlink was always on so when they would cut to commercial, I could see the newscasters having their makeup fixed and I could hear all the informal conversations between the newscasters, directors, and cameramen while they waited for the commercial to end. On this newscast Connie Chung was smoking a cigarette while having her makeup fixed and she was telling a story about when John Glenn saved her life. She was covering his Senate campaign and while she was setting up, the battery pack she was wearing caught fire. People were panicking all around her while the flames were growing. No one seemed to know what to do. That’s when John Glenn calmly strolled over, reached his hand into the flames and pulled a wire from the battery pack - putting the fire out. Connie Chung was too traumatized to go on but John Glenn continued on his way, shaking hands and greeting people as if nothing had happened.

The world seems a little less bright with John Glenn’s passing. With the present world leadership, we could use a guy like him more than ever. No one seizes the day like John Glenn could seize the day.

“I’m not interested in my legacy. I made up a word: 'live-acy.' I'm more interested in living.” - John Glenn (1921 - 2016)

Gratitude

This week was one of the best weeks kung fu-wise that I have experienced for a long time. The advanced energy training I have been giving my black belts is something I have not taught before in a group setting. Energy concepts can be abstract and so individual experiences are vastly different. This makes the concepts I am teaching difficult to pass on and the lessons’ efficacy a challenge to test. Thursday’s class felt like we experienced a major breakthrough in visualization. Time will tell but either way, I felt the class on Thursday may have been one of the best classes I have ever taught.

“Passion isn't something that lives way up in the sky, in abstract dreams and hopes. It lives at ground level, in the specific details of what you're actually doing every day.” - Marcus Buckingham (b. 1966)