Pandamonium Aftermath

I want to thank everyone who participated and supported the Pandamonium this year. It can be difficult to get people to recognize the value in community engagement so I appreciate the extraordinary effort many of you put into this project.

The reality of the outcome of our efforts is disappointing as we did not make it to even half of our $20,000 goal. It is my failing as the head of this organization in not being able to adequately convey the value of empathy training. I am disappointed but not discouraged. I know none of you wish to create a world where we all look out for number one. I know we all realize that Kung fu is more than just kicking and punching. We recognize that the value of the art lies in the quality of the journey, not the destination.

I was greatly encouraged by those of you who aspired for the Pandamonium to be something other than the ordinary this weekend. Mr. Helm, your dunk tank idea proved to be the biggest draw of the day. Your initiative accounted for $2000. Thank you for bringing a fresh approach to our event, it really paid off. Mr. Bjorkquist, thank you for your bottle drive efforts. I believe that after the dunk tank, it was the biggest contributor to the Foundation and its ability to continue to financially support our charities. Mr. Sand, thank you for going above and beyond to allow us to send extra money to Rahul in Nepal. He is at ground zero trying to help people rebuild their lives after the devastating quakes that have devastated the country. Thank you to everyone, there are too many to name individually, who carry so many of us along through your efforts and inspiration. Spending the day with you was a spectacular experience.

As always, the efficacy of the Pandamonium Project is not measured by the funds we were able to raise but rather the awareness we have been able achieve. Parents don’t want their kids to learn how to fight, they want them to learn how to defend themselves. There is a big difference between those two ideals and that difference is defined by those less tangible skills and attributes that kung fu helps us develop. Empathy, compassion, discipline, respect, humility, leadership. These are only buzzwords if we do not have the curriculum and the gumption to back them up. The Pandamonium is a big part of that curriculum and I thank those of you who got it and put your ideals into action this weekend. 

“Yes, in many ways, sticking to the practice IS (I think) what one learns from the practice of the martial arts ---not so much something you can hold, but something you revisit, constantly, as a practice ----and that's where the benefits are derived ---primarily anyway.  Likewise, practicing one's mission-based language IS the school's marketing, in part, not the statement finally declared. (me thinks)” - Tom Callos (b. 1959)

Gratitude

This weekend has been extraordinary. I have so much to be grateful for. I had the privilege to start my weekend by connecting with a friend whom I have been missing for a long time. I spent Saturday with a group of extraordinary people who are family to me, and I witnessed the next generation of community leaders step up and be counted. My weekend ended with quality time spent with my parents and my daughters.

It can be easy to lose your way when you are pursuing goals. It is always good to take the time to take stock of what you have. I have everything I will ever need.

“The essence of all beautiful art, all great art, is gratitude.” - Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 - 1900)

Something Old, Something New

The tailbone issues that have been preventing me from participating in any type of rolling or anything resembling a sit-up for the past few months has given me the opportunity to revisit some old lessons with a new perspective fostered from added experience. 

A lesson learned as a teenager has many more layers that are only brought to the surface through experience. For decades I have been unaware of the treasure trove of knowledge that has been within me yet hidden and inaccessible.

I now understand how frustrating it must have been for my instructors to watch me mishandle the information they put in front of me. We always lament that if we knew as a teenager what we know now, but It turns out that I actually did know it as a teenager. I just didn’t know I knew it. Such is the value of experience.

The depths of a single lesson can be infinite. One just needs to open their mind and pay attention so that when experience makes the lesson more pertinent, the information is accessible.

“Experience is the teacher of all things.” - Julius Caesar (100 BC - 44 BC)

Mom

All I am is because of you.

"God could not be everywhere, and therefore he made mothers." - Ruyard Kipling (1865 - 1936)

Curt Brackenbury

I grew up watching the Edmonton Oilers during their glory years in the eighties. The team was loaded with a level of talent that I suspect will never be brought together on a single team again. Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Jari Kurri, Ken Linesman, Grant Fuhr, Andy Moog, Paul Coffey, Kevin Lowe, Glenn Anderson, and Esa Tikkanen - all on the same team. We were spoiled to have a team like that to follow for so many years. The speed and the talent on that team were second to none in history.

Despite all that talent, I can still remember the buzz that would erupt every time Curt Brackenbury stepped on the ice for one of the few shifts he would get in a game. He did not score many goals but boy could he stir things up. You knew someone was going to get hit and the thing with Brackenbury was that you could never be sure that the guy he hit wasn’t going to be from his own squad. He did not have a lot of speed, he did not have a lot of talent, but there was no one who worked harder with more enthusiasm than Curt Brackenbury. He never stopped moving. When you talk about the cliche of giving 110%, Curt Brackenbury epitomized the ideal.

Curt Brackenbury is the definition of intensity. He gives everything he has to every endeavour he tackles. Decades after his retirement, he continues to inspire me and set the standard of effort to which I aspire to achieve.

“Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment. Full effort is full victory.” - Mahatma Gandhi (1869 - 1948)