Alabama Perspective

It’s been a week now since Alabama and despite the backlog of work waiting for me, I am happy to say the clarity I developed from the experience is still intact. I am way behind on the goals I set for myself upon my return but the focus and resolve are strong enough to give me the best possible chance of following through after the dust settles.

I found the whole experience quite overwhelming. I am a very shy person socially so this trip was way out of my comfort zone. I find it very difficult to initiate conversation with new acquaintances so I am hoping to attend more events like this so that my new acquaintances from this trip evolve into old friends. One of my major goals to manifest from this experience is to work on my social skills. Mine have definitely atrophied over the past couple of decades of hanging around martial artists. We tend to be a unique bunch whom outsiders find it difficult to relate. I have always found it easier to listen than to talk unless I am leading a class. Time to expand my horizons.

My one regret of this trip is that my social awkwardness prevented me from maximizing my opportunity to connect with so many amazing people and tapping more into all that communal knowledge. I mentioned to Chris how envious I was of him and Debby for the amazing experiences they are garnering at such an early stage in their martial arts careers. To have personal access to such people as Masters Dave McNeill and Tom Callos is an opportunity that many of us never realize in a lifetime. I hope you guys keep reminding yourselves of that and always appreciate it.

Beyond the obvious personal soul quenching that an experience like this provides, there were so many other more tangible benefits. On my fourteen hour trip back to Canada, I completed a seven page list of ideas and goals that were generated by my experience in Alabama. Talk about being rejuvenated personally, professionally, and spiritually.

The biggest, unexpected revelation I received was the value of structure. Maybe not so much a revelation since I stress this point with my students all the time, but more of a reinforcement. Having had my day structured so minutely from 6 AM until 10 PM everyday provided untold benefits. My focus and clarity were beyond anything I have felt for years. Bad habits and cravings were all non existent in that environment. I definitely learned a lot about myself and what makes me tick. This self realization will go a long way in helping me achieve my goals.

I’m really looking forward to attending next year and hopefully having two healthy knees under me so that I can contribute at a much higher level.

“Take advantage of every opportunity to practice your communication skills so that when important occasions arise, you will have the gift, the style, the sharpness, the clarity, and the emotions to affect other people.”
- John Rohn (b. 1930)

Rural Studio

I’m thinking I have about three more weeks of healing before I can start to tax my knee. I experimented a little with forms this weekend and found I still can’t transfer my weight properly so flow and power are way off. What I hadn’t anticipated with this surgery is its impact on my ability to perform push ups. The pressure in the knee is preventing me from using the leg that way without consequences. As usual I didn’t listen to my body so the swelling is a little worse than it has been so I am going to have to bite the bullet and wait. It’s already been almost three months of waiting and patience isn’t one of my virtues when it comes to healing. I always teach my students the value of patience, trust, and progressing wisely but I can’t seem to master that myself.

Three more days before I leave to take part in the Alabama Project. I am pretty excited but at the same time I am somewhat anxious over the whole experience. When I read Rural Studio, I was struck by the comments from Samuel Mockbee’s architecture students. They all mentioned how the experience removed the abstraction of poverty and replaced it with an awareness that they had never experienced.

For me this project is a frightening step. One of my biggest strengths has been my ability to compartmentalize my life so that I can handle extraordinary amounts of stress. I believe this ability has been fueled by the fact that my mind tends to mainly operate at an abstract level with very little linear or comprehensive thoughts coming to the surface until they have been already worked out at the abstract level. Journalling has forced me to bring many of these abstractions to the forefront of my mind so that I can document them. The experience has been wonderful. I have accomplished more in the past few months at a personal level than I have for the past few years. Rather than just thinking about things, I am putting my thoughts into action. I feel a sense of resolve and certainty that has been absent for a long time. However, as with everything else, nothing is for free. By putting all my thoughts down and laying them out, I am now forced to address the murmurs of my soul. The murmurs that as of late seem to be evolving into maniacal screams. I am now painfully aware of the oh so many missed opportunities to make a difference. At times the guilt can be overwhelming. Now I am involved with a project that promises to properly define yet another abstraction. Oh joy.

I can’t say enough about the Alabama project. The people involved are truly extraordinary and to be part of this is a real privilege. I can only imagine what could happen and what potential could be realized if the 100. were to have the support and the funding to truly spread its wings. 100 martial arts masters across the globe with hundreds of students each, all vigilant, committed, and ready to mobilize for a single cause. Wow, goosebumps. This is one opportunity we can’t afford to miss.

“At the studio I learned that economic poverty is not a poverty of values but a fact of birth. You come to realize it’s the luck of the draw that you don’t end up poor. You learn poor people are like you and me. You get to know them and respect them.”
- Bruce Lanier (Rural Studio Architecture Student Graduate - 2000)

Hope

I haven't been able to teach a class or workout for over two months now because of the knee injury. The surgery is over but the healing is taking forever. Ironically, besides the swelling, the knee is not the problem. My leg aches constantly in the thigh from the tourniquet used in the procedure. I haven't slept through the night for a week now so I am hoping this week marks progress in the leg.

All this time off has given me ample opportunity to think about many things. With my country embroiled in a war that is influenced by American foreign policies, I have a keen interest in the US presidential campaign. I happened across Barack Obama’s speech on Race and Unity earlier this week. It was one of the most inspiring orations I have ever heard with his message evoking much optimism in me for the state of our world. What impressed me about this speech, beyond the strong message of reconciliation, was how he delivered it. A forty minute speech where the entire talk was delivered with his eyes on his audience, he only looked to his podium once to read a quote from a book. His thoughts were organized and his message was clear, off the cuff, and obviously from the heart. Forty minutes. A man like this has the power to rally people behind almost any cause. A man like this can change the world. If Barack Obama truly believes in what he is saying, and he is allowed to put this thoughts and influence into action, we are living in exciting, hopeful times.

If nothing else, the lesson of the former Yugoslavia should remind us of the evil caused by ancient hatreds and of the value of reflection over reaction and reconciliation over retaliation. Do we really want our future descendants fighting a war over ancient hatreds that were spawned by our actions of today? The hatreds of today can become the wars of tomorrow unless an eye to the future is stressed over revenge for the past.

"But I have asserted a firm conviction – a conviction rooted in my faith in God and my faith in the American people – that working together we can move beyond some of our old racial wounds, and that in fact we have no choice if we are to continue on the path of a more perfect union."
- Barack Obama (b 1961)

A Call to Action

Had my fifth, and hopefully last, knee surgery on Monday. The recovery is going to be somewhat longer than I was anticipating because my surgeon attempted to repair the meniscus rather than just cutting out the tear. This procedure involved some bone drilling with a femoral drill to give him something to suture the damaged cartilage to. I was under the impression that cartilage cannot heal because it has no blood supply. While that impression was accurate to a point, I now realize that some areas of cartilage do receive blood flow. Apparently my tear had some blood flow - hence the repair. While there is a risk that the repair may not take and I will require future surgery, I am grateful that the attempt was made. I would like to avoid a future knee replacement so anything that prolongs further deterioration is okay with me.

I have spent a large part of my recovery contemplating the state of the martial arts and the martial arts business. Anyone who teaches answers to a higher calling. I think that is why the industry in general is rife with failed businesses and dreams. As martial artists our passion for what we do can blind us such that we forget that without our school, our students will have no place to learn and our art will have no way to propagate. It can be difficult to see the forest for the trees and realize that we must take care of our business if we want to take care of our students and our art.

After many years of nurturing your students and ensuring the future of your school, it is easy to become complacent and forget about why you started doing what you do in the first place. As teachers we are responsible for sculpting the values of mankind’s future leaders. What values do we wish to instill within our students - the best way to punch or the proper way to live? We are the past, our white belts are the future. What type of legacy do we want to leave behind? What is our vision for the future of our industry?

While there are many martial arts organizations that help us grow our business with integrity and martial arts organizations that help us foster our art, there are very few that cater to our soul. Tom Callos has created the 100. and leads it as an organization that I believe to be the ultimate evolution of the martial arts industry. The 100. brings us full circle back to why we all got involved in the martial arts in the first place. If we truly believe we can make a difference beyond the walls of our school, this association not only provides the inspiration, it has a call to action. It is time.

"A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops."
- Henry Brooks Adams (1838 - 1918)

Living Hero #1

Irshad Manji is a Canadian journalist and a faithful Muslim who is a self described Muslim Rufusenik. She is on a campaign for Muslim reform and moral courage. Her biggest claim to fame, or infamy, depending upon your perspective, is her book ‘The Trouble with Islam Today’. Her book is described as a wake-up call for honesty and change. Irshad’s book has been published in over thirty languages and is available as a free download, translated for those living in countries where the book has been banned.

Irshad Manji’s moral courage is both humbling and inspiring. She has initiated Project Ijtihad to promote a positive image of Islam, and is the founder of the Moral Courage Project at New York University - teaching young people to speak truth to power within their own communities. All this while living with the death threats that have come from her speaking out.

I had the good fortune of hearing Irshad Manji speak last year. I knew absolutely nothing about her prior to her presentation but by the end of the evening she had won my respect and admiration.

Prior to hearing Irshad speak, I had a very limited understanding of Islam. My knowledge of the Muslim faith had been gained mainly from what I had learned from the media which was a very narrow-minded depiction of an extreme minority of the Islamic world. Our media tends to ignore how congruent Muslim values are with western values. Thanks to Irshad Manji, I have a deep respect for Islam and have begun to read the Qur’an to further my understanding.

Of everything I heard Irshad Manji speak about, the most important was the power of asking questions. She shows how one voice, asking simple questions out loud, can change the world. Irshad has made me realize the potential AND responsibility I possess. I live in a free country where I have the ability to ask questions without fear of extreme consequences. If I don’t have the courage to speak up, how will anything change when so many do not have that fundamental right? Inactions are as responsible for the state of the world as actions. It's time for me to step up.

“The challenge now is to transform our underground hunger for change into a visible, above-ground phenomenon.”
- Irshad Manji (b 1968)

Possibility

Our western culture has devolved into a culture of excess.

“Here in the West we have exorcised the spirits and cut ourselves loose from the living web of the world. Instead of seeing ourselves as physically and spiritually connected to family, clan and land, we now live chiefly by the mind, as separate individuals acting on and relating to other separate individuals and on a lifeless, dumb world beyond the body. Applying our mind to the matter around us, we have produced an extraordinary material culture: cities and highways and toasters and blenders, computer technology, medical technology, paper clips, assault rifles and television sets. But we find ourselves separated, fragmented, lonely, fearful of death. We have coined a word for this state of mind: “alienation,” which means being estranged. We are strangers in the world; we no longer belong. Because it is separated from us we can act on it, abstract from it, use it, take it apart; we can wreck it, because it is another, it is alien. We may feel despair, grief and guilt about the damage we cause - but we seem unable to change the way we live.”
David Suzuki - The Sacred Balance

We have lost touch with each other and the world around us. We spend an extraordinary amount of energy searching for ways to fill the void left by what used to be our sense of community. Material possessions and extreme experiences only reinforce our inkling that something is missing. We feel the need to facilitate change but at the same time we can feel impotent and ineffective.

Opportunity. One of my black belts mentioned in her blog, the stage that teaching kung fu provides her and therefore the opportunity she has to make a difference. I have several young black belts who set a fantastic example for all my students and who are making a profound difference in the lives of everyone they have contact with. I do worry that they all do not completely appreciate the opportunity and responsibility before them. Will they take this opportunity and nurture it? Or will the exuberance of youth provoke them into making rash decisions and squander it, destined to look back on a life filled with lost opportunities and cynicism.

Many people spend a lifetime searching for an opportunity to give their life purpose. As martial artists we live a lifestyle that not only improves our personal lives but gives us a tremendous opportunity to impact everyone around us. What we do with this opportunity goes a long way in bringing us back in touch with our world. Think of the possibility.

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

Apathy and Indifference

All in all a pretty good week. Got fitted for my latest knee brace and am being scheduled for knee surgery. I can’t wait to get the intensity back in my training. I really appreciated the messages of condolences on the death of Sophie. Her personality filled any room she entered. My world will always be a little bit brighter because of the time I was fortunate enough to share with her.

My province has voted to keep the present government in power with an overwhelming majority. Since Alberta is responsible for one third of the greenhouse gases produced by Canada, I was hoping, and assuming, that Albertans were going to send a strong message this election that economic growth needs to be tempered with ecological sustainability. I am trusting that Ed Stelmach will look at the overall election results and not just the final seat count in the legislature. He only received about half of the popular vote of the 41% of eligible voters who actually chose to cast their vote. The results show that only 20% of eligible voters endorsed the current government. With the looming US recession threatening to shift more attention back to the economy away from the environment, this wishy-washy mandate could not have come at a worse time.

I am surprised and a little dismayed at the level of public apathy displayed in this election. This was our opportunity to facilitate change and make a difference but over half of us chose to not even speak up. I can accept a difference in ideology or opinion but I absolutely do not accept indifference. Our silence affected the outcome of the election. This outcome will help determine the state of the world our children and grandchildren inherit. With everything that is at stake, why would anyone accept indifference or be apathetic about how our government is run?

This is why I am passionate about The Alabama Project. This project that Tom Callos has created strikes right at the heart of the fight against indifference. While my pending knee surgery will more than likely preclude me from physically contributing, I am committed to raising $1000 to support the project and I will be there in spirit.

“So much attention is paid to the aggressive sins, such as violence and cruelty and greed with all their tragic effects, that too little attention is paid to the passive sins, such as apathy and laziness, which in the long run can have a more devastating effect.”
- Eleanor Roosevelt (1884 - 1962)