I Ho Chuan

There may be almost five months left in the Year of the Sheep but it is time to start your planning if you are considering committing a year to the upcoming I Ho Chuan Year of the Monkey Team.

So what exactly is the I Ho Chuan? Silent River Kung Fu's I Ho Chuan is a year long mentorship/mastery program that is based upon my friend Tom Callos' Ultimate Black Belt Test. The program is premised upon the principle of incremental progression, and the logical certainty that many small accomplishments can add up to something big, something life-changing, something truly great.

The I Ho Chuan will challenge you to do better, be kinder, dig deeper, think wider, eat wisely, live simply, consume less, engage more, and get in the best shape of your life. The I Ho Chuan is for anyone who wants to facilitate positive change in their life.

The I Ho Chuan only has one rule - NO QUITTING. You are allowed to fail but you are not allowed to quit. When you think about it, failure is only absolute if a person stops trying. The difference between a master and a student is the master has failed more times than the student has even tried.

“A black belt should have an attitude equal in its brilliance to his or her physical skills.” - Tom Callos (b. 1959)

Easy Way

I’ve heard it said that success is a choice, it is not a coin flip. I think about that when I consider the odds of anyone starting kung fu and going on to earn a black belt. The statistical odds of achieving black belt rank are very low. The actual number varies depending upon the sample group and survey parameters but the range typically comes in at between 0.5% and 2%. While these odds may bolster the ego of those who achieve the rank, they are pretty discouraging for those just starting out.

I see a couple of problems with those statistics. First, in my opinion, the statistical analysis should not be comparing the numbers of those who begin training to those who achieve black belt but rather the number of those who begin training to those who do not quit. Every school and every style have their own grading parameters and the different standards are reflected by the range in the various study results. Since black belt is not the end but rather another beginning, the results would be more meaningful and applicable across all schools and styles if they reflected the ratio of those starting to those still training. That would definitely bring the percentage even lower and be more reflective of a common problem within the martial arts: most people do not understand what a black belt means. If everyone did you would see the success ratio rise substantially and you would see fewer non-training black belts.

The second problem with the results of the published statistics is that they imply that success is based upon more than a personal choice. It isn’t. Black belt rank is a 50/50 probability. Either you choose to achieve it or you choose not to. Either you are going to make it priority and invest the time and effort required or you will choose not to. It is always a choice. If you don’t believe me, compare the number of 8 year olds who quit school to the number of 16 year olds who quit school. Failure rate goes up with the freedom to make a personal choice.

Choosing the easy way is, well, easy. A person can convince themselves a hundred different ways into a decision, especially when one prioritizes wants over needs. I know of no one who did not realize a benefit when they applied themselves to their kung fu. You would think that type of guaranteed return on investment would pretty much ensure that everyone who began training would end up achieving a black belt. Unfortunately it is easier to choose to quit than it is to keep on going.

Many may disagree with my assessment but I hope a few are inspired by the logic it contains. Success is a matter of personal choice.

“If there is anything in your life that is not the way you want it to be, you and only you are responsible for changing it. You must believe that it is up to you to create solutions to the challenges of life. Whether they are big or small, you’re still responsible. Each time you give an excuse, you diminish your respect, your credibility, and your integrity. Each time you make an excuse, you reinforce your propensity to make even more excuses in the future, and excuse making becomes a habit.” - Tommy Newberry

Rotary Run For Life

My team spent the morning at Stony Plain’s Rotary Run For Life welcoming the finishing runners to the pavilion with a lion dance. I am blessed to have students who are so willing and able to volunteer so much time for worthy causes.

Proceeds from the Rotary Run For Life went to support Stony Plain’s Coordinated Suicide Prevention Program. Mental health, and the stigma surrounding it, are issues that should be brought to the forefront of society. The majority of Canadians will be touched by mental health issues, directly and indirectly, in their lifetime. Yet many, if not most, will suffer alone. Such is the nature of this issue. Until getting help for depression and anxiety is as easy as getting treated for a broken bone, this problem will persist.

I have been personally touched by suicide. I am grateful for the efforts of organizations like Rotary who step up to help address mental health issues by creating awareness and understanding. We have a long way to go but events like the Run For Life are a step in the right direction.

“I didn’t want to wake up. I was having a much better time asleep. And that’s really sad. It was almost like a reverse nightmare, like when you wake up from a nightmare you’re so relieved. I woke up into a nightmare.” - Ned Vizzini (1981 - 2013)

Panda

Panda was not originally my dog, she moved in with me when she was four years old. Panda died yesterday around six months shy of her seventeenth year. There are so many emotions that come with losing a friend and family member. There was plenty of time to prepare but the reality of the loss is not something one is ever ready for. My daughter and I will miss Panda intensely.

It is times such as this that I reflect with gratitude for the life I have and for those I have been blessed to share it with. Panda did not start her life with me but she shared the majority of the time she had with me and for that I will always be grateful.

"How can I find the shining word, the glowing phrase that tells all that your love has meant to me, all that your friendship spells? There is no word, no phrase for you on whom I so depend. All I can say to you is this, God bless you precious friend." - Gerald Good

Meditations

It has been a long time coming but I have finally got around to reading Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. Aurelius was the last of what Machiavelli coined “The Five Good Emperors”.  Marcus Aurelius never meant for his writings to be published or read by any other. His writings were private journals meant for his eyes only. I have always been fascinated with the miracle that his writings have survived this long. They were written on ancient papyrus, and here I am today, reading them on my iPad. I wonder what the Roman Emperor would think of that?

He may have ruled ancient Rome two thousand years ago but I find the problems we face today are virtually identical to the problems and moral dilemmas that Marcus Aurelius faced so long ago. Environmental issues, social injustice, conspicuous consumption — two millennia later and we seem to have made little progress on issues that continue to plague mankind.

Meditations is a humbling and inspiring read. A two thousand year old message of simplicity, compassion, accountability, and mindful living. An important message indeed.

“Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking." 

“It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live.”

“The universe is change; our life is what our thoughts make it.”

“Accept the things to which fate binds you, and love the people with whom fate brings you together, but do so with all your heart.”

“You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”

“Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.” 

“Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.” 

“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive - to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.” 

“The soul becomes dyed with the colour of its thoughts.” 

“If it is not right do not do it; if it is not true do not say it.” 

 - Marcus Aurelius (121 - 180)

Absorb What Is Useful

Bruce Lee’s advocation of absorbing what is useful while breaking free of the limitations of form and style are probably the most misused precepts of his philosophical approach to kung fu. It is easy to exclude the context behind the written word, especially if it serves a personal agenda.

Bruce Lee pioneered branching out and not restricting your potential by limiting your approach to the specifics of a given style. Everyone is built differently, with unique strengths and weaknesses, and every style is built upon a dogmatic foundation prescribed by its creator. It becomes a disservice to the martial arts when the inexperienced and uneducated latch onto specific statements by famous martial artists without understanding the context of the quoter’s intent and the historical, practical, intellectual, and spiritual significance of the principles of a complete martial art style.

Bruce Lee had a complete traditional style upon which his philosophical approach to kung fu was based. This is the context behind his statement. Having a complete style as your foundation and then building upon it by expanding your knowledge within areas that suit you and interest you is vastly different than starting from scratch and studying a hodge podge of techniques to make yourself a better fighter.

It is time to reclaim what it means to be a martial artist and not let the term become a generic label to denote people who train to fight. Kung fu is over two thousand years old. It would be a tragedy if we allowed its definition to become reduced to something associated with ego, testosterone, and violence during our watch.

“Art calls for complete mastery of techniques, developed by reflection within the soul.” - Bruce Lee (1940 - 1973)

Silent River Kung Fu

Excerpt from our news article:

With the popularity of the UFC and competitive fighting, the public’s understanding of the martial arts is becoming more distorted and limited. The last thing the martial arts is about is fighting.

Training at Silent River Kung Fu is more than kicking and punching. When you consider the fact that we all have a better chance of having our butts kicked by our finances, our diet, our attitude, and our acceptance of mediocrity than a physical assault; there is a better use of the idea of self defence beyond the physical protection of the body. Is not self defence found in the values we pass on to the young? In the examples we set for them in how we demonstrate, through our own practice, what is wonderful, meaningful, and valuable in the world? What if the idea of self defence was applied to the mind, to the family, to the community, to the environment, to the food we eat, to the way we deal with conflict, stress, and anger?

At Silent River Kung Fu you have an opportunity to practice with people who can talk about and show examples of what the martial arts does for a person, for their family, and their community. Silent River’s intelligent curriculum teaches discipline and respect, and how to take what is learned on the mats and put it to work in the world. While many walk through huge sections of their lives like the living dead, oblivious to the beauty, the mystery, and the wonder around them, there are also many people who are awake and engaged.

"Yes, a black belt should be able to execute precise, effective, beautiful, and technically proficient martial arts techniques, whatever the style. But just as importantly, a black belt should be able to execute precise and beautiful ideas, equal to or better than their physical techniques. A black belt should have an attitude equal in its brilliance to his or her physical skills." - Tom Callos (b. 1959)