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)

A Life Well Lived

This has been a very difficult week for me. Two weeks into the year of the rat and I am faced with with a tremendous loss. On Monday, February 25, 2008 at thirty minutes past noon, Sophie - Bouvier Extraordinaire, passed away. She died like she lived, furiously and unexpectedly.

If you have read my past blog entries, you will be familiar with Sophie and her ferocious zeal for life. I feel the loss of a friendship that took me far too long to completely appreciate. Just a couple days prior to her death Sophie unearthed a huge bone and brought it home with her from her daily outing. She was quite proud of her discovery as was evidenced by the extra jaunt in her step as she carried it. Of course the bone in her mouth did not preclude her from trying to chase the rabbits that she encountered on her way. The remnants of the bone still sit outside the back door.

The day before Sophie died started like any other day. Sophie stole food, she teased the cats, she exhibited all the traits that made her Sophie. Nothing was amiss until evening, after Sophie finished her final meal. It was time for her walk but Sophie would not get up. She didn’t complain, Sophie rarely complained about anything, she just would not stand up. I finally did get her to stand, she did whimper a little bit at that point, and immediately took her to the emergency veterinary hospital.

Sophie is infamous for eating garbage and other disgusting and inappropriate things. So of course the standard assumption at this point is that something she ate was aggressively disagreeing with her iron constitution. One x-ray later proved otherwise. There was a mass in her abdomen. The ultrasound the next morning confirmed a tumour on her spleen. It was big and inoperable. Sophie was gone shortly after noon.

Despite only living eight years, Sophie’s life was full and adventurous. She enjoyed herself no matter what she was doing, and unbeknownst to me, sometimes while in significant pain. It will probably take me a while to fully deal with my loss. There was no time to prepare and no time to say goodbye. One moment she appeared completely healthy, the next moment she is dead. Her life and subsequent death have given me a lot to contemplate - not just the fragility of life, but the importance of a life well lived.

May our lives be filled with rabbits to chase and discoveries to be made. May we find treasure in our garbage and may we live each day as if it were our last. Goodbye Sophie, I miss you.

"I talk to him when I'm lonesome like,
and I'm sure he understands.
When he looks at me so attentively,
and gently licks my hands;
Then he rubs his nose on my tailored clothes,
but I never say naught thereat,
For the good Lord knows I can buy more clothes,
but never a friend like that!"
- W. Dayton Wedgefarth

Unhealthy Competition

Typically, competition can be a great motivator to help push a person to a higher level. Nothing like feeling the breath of an adversary on the back of your neck to motivate you to dig deeper and drive forward. However one of the biggest challenges I face as an instructor is keeping the competitive nature of my students healthy and positive. So many lose motivation and become discouraged when they compare themselves and believe they are not progressing as rapidly as their peers. Some question their self worth while others become bitter and direct their animosity toward their peers and their instructors. In this state a student is trapped in a cycle of progress paralysis - a self perpetuating attitude that promotes inertia by justifying mediocre results without accepting responsibility.

I use several techniques to maintain a positive attitude and avoid progress paralysis.

Celebrate Personal Victories
I end every day by meditating and reviewing the events of my day. Every day is filled with accomplishments, progress, and opportunities. These gifts can become lost if one does not take the time to reflect upon them - especially when a day has also been filled with stress and challenges. Taking the time to be thankful for your victories keeps things in perspective because sometimes we spend too much time looking at where we want to be rather than looking at how far we have come.

Congratulate Others
I make a habit of congratulating others on their progress and accomplishments. Unhealthy competition is promoted when others’ accomplishments are viewed as a negative reflection of your own accomplishments. Positively acknowledging the accomplishments of your peers reminds you that personal growth is accomplished through personal effort, not by the success or failure of someone else. This technique helps you stay accountable by keeping your own progress personal, independent, and within the realm of your control

Keep a Journal
Documenting your goals and accomplishments creates an accurate perspective that helps maintain focus on what is important for growth. Logging your daily progress establishes healthy competition within oneself and motivates one to push beyond the arbitrary limits we set for ourselves.

Double Your Failure Rate
People who unhealthily compete tend to not venture beyond their comfort zone or their current skill set. Fear of losing or embarrassment motivates people to stick to what they are good at and therefore limit growth and improvement. If one embraces change and accepts failure as a natural temporary result of effort, new tools and skills are acquired and focus returns to the challenge competing with oneself.

Kung fu’s ultimate goal is self improvement. If one keeps that goal in front of them it becomes apparent that competing with another contradicts your ultimate objective. The only person you must surpass is the person you were when you woke up this morning.

Live daringly, boldly, fearlessly. Taste the relish to be found in competition -- in having put forth the best within you.
- Henry J. Kaiser (1882 - 1967)

An Invisible Challenge

According to the Canadian Mental Health Association:

“Mental illness is increasingly recognized as a serious and growing problem. It is estimated that 1 in 5 Canadians, close to six million, will develop a mental illness at some time in their lives. Many more individuals such as family, friends, and colleagues are also affected.”

Think about that. One in five will develop a mental illness and those who do not develop a mental illness themselves will nevertheless be exposed to its ravages at some point in their life.

I often wonder about these statistics. There is such a taboo associated with mental afflictions that I can only imagine the people who are unaccounted for by this statistical model. How many people suffer in silence and shame? How many people are trapped alone in a world of homelessness, shunned by society without access to the help they need?

Mental illness can be caused by a variety of factors. It can be rooted in environmental, physiological, and genetic origins - just like diabetes, cancer, or heart disease. So why is mental illness shrouded by taboo? The problem is empathy, or lack thereof. None of us have a problem recognizing the challenges facing a person in a wheelchair. We all can imagine a world without sight just by closing our eyes. How can we empathize with an invisible ailment? How can we associate with a person who is unable to see and interpret the world the same way as ourselves? This, my friends, is the rub. Their interpretation is their reality, it is not your reality. It takes great patience and compassion to cope with an individual who is suffering from a mental illness.

Look at your world around you. Now imagine if you take all the colours and make them brighter, more vibrant, so vibrant that they are saturated. Take all the sounds around you and multiply them so that they become a cacophony of noise. Now imagine trying to have a conversation with a person with all this visual and audible discordance deluging your senses. If you can accurately imagine this, you are only seeing a fraction of the challenges that could be facing someone suffering from a mental disorder. By no means am I suggesting it is as simple as that. However that image is something that I can imagine, and that image helps me curb my frustrations when I am confronted with the challenge of communicating with someone overwhelmed by their interpretation of their situation.

This weekend was a very emotional experience for me. I promoted three truly inspiring individuals to the rank of black belt. Even though they all worked together as a team throughout the grading process, each one of them overcame many personal obstacles to accomplish this achievement. I could not be more proud. The scope of their achievement is really put into perspective when you consider that one of the three has Asperger Syndrome. I can only imagine the determination required to push one’s self to overcome this challenge and achieve this rank. This individual’s refusal to classify this affliction as a handicap, and her ability to see the positives associated with it is a tribute to human spirit and an inspiration that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.

“Mental health problems do not affect three or four out of every five persons but one out of one.”
- Dr. William Menninger (1899 - 1966)