Hoops and Tools

Every certification credential comes with qualifications and requirements to achieve the credential. 

Are those requirements hoops that you must jump through or are they tools to help you acquire the skills to qualify for the credential?

The answer to that question is yes. It will be what you decide it will be. The difference between a hoop and a tool is found in your perspective. 

Every experience, good or bad, brings with it the opportunity for growth. If you think you are being forced to jump through hoops, either it is time to question the value of the credential you are seeking or it is time to fix your attitude of approach to earning that credential.  Either way, you are in control.

“Adopting the right attitude can convert a negative stress into a positive one.” - Hans Selye (1907 - 1982)

Trajectory and Sustainability

I’ve said it before - mastery is a journey, it is not a destination. While it is an easy concept to understand and agree with, it tends to be a difficult concept to accept. I think our big issue with acceptance is because the average person tends to not accept change. Our bodies and our minds are in constant flux. We are constantly evolving as we continue on our path toward our death. We literally begin our death journey the moment we are conceived. From that point on it is in our nature to grow old, it is in our nature to get sick, and it is in our nature to die. 

Ultimately, mastery is a moving target. There is so much of ourselves that changes day to day, our mastery journey is always adapting to our new situation. Knees wear out, injuries pile up, and our mentors pass on while new ones take their place. Change is inevitable and unstoppable. Change is not good and it is not bad. It is just change. It is what we do with the change that determines if it is good or bad and that ultimately determines our mastery journey’s trajectory. 

Once mastery is recognized as a never ending journey, the trajectory and sustainability  of our journey will become our focus. 

“What you choose today will determine who you are tomorrow.” - Tim Fargo

Obstacle and Ladders

Every limitation and every challenge I have ever had to deal with in my life started out as an obstacle. Torn cartilage in my knee limited my hockey career and continues to impact my kung fu. Coming from a poor family limited my opportunities and created barriers not being experienced by other children. There is not doubt that on the playing field of life, all things are not equal.

When I started kung fu, I was known for my fast, flexible kicks. Even my instructors had to be careful when they sparred with me. My kicks were quick and my most powerful weapons. Then, somewhere between yellow belt and orange belt, reconstruction of my right knee was required to repair a massive tear and subsequent joint damage. I went from the guy who almost exclusively could rely upon his kicks to defeat any opponent to a guy who could not kick meaningfully again for almost eighteen months. Through the eyes of resentment, my kung fu had been completely wiped out. My best weapon was taken away from me and I was set adrift. Today, over thirty years and four more knee surgeries and another reconstruction later, I only see the injury through the eyes of gratitude. 

The path I was on and unwilling to venture off of, was the path of a one-dimensional martial artist. Who needs to work on his hand techniques when his leg techniques are easily taking care of business? Well the guy who just had his legs taken away from him for the next year and a half, that’s who. In those eighteen kickless months I worked hard on my forms and I worked hard on my hands. When I emerged from the other end of that first reconstruction, I was a more complete and well-rounded martial artist. Yes I lost something but I also gained something.  Something wonderful. Something that changed my life. 



Today I am reaping in the benefits of my wonky knees. I earned my black belt because of my bad knees. I met my wife because of my bad knees. Everything I have can be traced and tied to my bad knees. One could argue that I might have been able to earn my black belt without having bad knees but that is not something I even think about. I like where I am and I like who I am. I am the sum of all my experiences and decisions. Changing anything in my past would put everything I currently have in jeopardy. I have nothing but gratitude for my knees and their limitations. For without them, I would not be who I am today. 



Nothing in life is for free. Everything we are and everything we achieve is because of the decisions we make and the actions we take. I can choose to take the path of resentment or I can choose to boldly proceed forward. The bottom line is, I always have a choice. 

“Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it’s always your choice.” - Wayne Dyer (1940 - 2015) 

Thanksgiving

As gratitude becomes more entrenched within my daily life, Thanksgiving Day itself subsequently becomes less poignant for me. In fact, every moment of every day is a moment of thanksgiving.

Making gratitude a part of my daily meditation practice has brought a lot of positivity and happiness into my life. Every day is a positive mindful experience helping me improve myself and eliminate stress. Whether it is improving and repairing relationships that are important to me or eliminating relationships that are toxic for me, each day I spend in mindfulness improves my situation and my outlook.

Today is the first Thanksgiving that I have experienced in a world of which my dad is no longer a part. I am grateful that despite my fears, my greatest memories of my father are of how he lived and not of his final years and how he died.

Family, friends, conflicts, mistakes, successes, and failures all have conspired together to bring me to where I am right here and right now. This present moment is filled with gratitude. Thanksgiving.

 

“Because you are alive, everything is possible.” - Thich Nhat Hanh (b. 1926)

Intelligent Curriculum

Our annual break-a-thon is an important part of our intelligent curriculum. By seeing the world through another’s eyes, we are developing empathy and compassion which support our ideal of knowledge with humility.

The break-a-thon culminates with each student breaking ten boards to help raise money for charity. But the value of the project is found in what our students learn from the process leading up to the board breaks. Becoming aware of what charities we support and then taking steps to understand why we support them is really what this project is about.

We will be supporting three charities this year. Second Chance Animal Rescue Society has been one of our supported charities for many years now. What better way to develop empathy and compassion than taking the time to help out an animal in need?

The Northern Lights Wolf Centre is another charity we have supported for a few years. Learning how a keystone species like wolves can make or break an ecosystem goes a long way in helping us understand how much power each of us have when it comes to changing the world.

Rahul Bharti has been helping the homeless of Kathmandu for a very long time. In times of COVID the homeless are even more effected than the rest of us in that employment opportunities have completely disappeared and many are facing starvation. Rahul is on the front lines providing food, masks, and hand sanitizer for Katmandu’s homeless. The money we raise is going directly to people who are desperately in need.

“We, the People, recognize that we have responsibilities as well as rights; that our destinies are bound together; that a freedom which only asks what's in it for me, a freedom without a commitment to others, a freedom without love or charity or duty or patriotism, is unworthy of our founding ideals, and those who died in their defense.” - Barack Obama (b. 1961)