Leaders of Tomorrow

David Suzuki turned 80 years old this week. Robert Bateman will be 86 in two months, and Thich Nhat Hanh will be 90 later this year. So many leaders, true leaders, are coming to the end of their lives. Replacing them will not be easy.

Silent River Kung Fu’s Pandamonium is teaching tomorrow’s leaders the value of empathy and respect. Leadership is about bringing us together. It is about respecting the world we share, and taking responsibility for its welfare.

“An educational system isn’t worth a great deal if it teaches young people how to make a living but doesn’t teach them how to make a life.” - David Suzuki (b. 1936)

Empathy and Leadership

Kung fu is all about empowerment. It is about taking responsibility for where you are and how you got there. Taking that level of control of your life allows you to choose your influences and to build the world you wish to be a part of. In fact, one of the most common statements I hear coming from the parents of prospective students is, “I want my child to be a leader, not a follower.”

Getting people engaged in fundraising is a challenge. People are more likely to write a cheque than they are to inspire others to contribute. It’s easier to throw money at an issue than it is to properly address that same issue. Yet when it comes to kung fu and personal empowerment, as a teacher I have no greater tool to teach empathy and leadership than SRKF’s Pandamonium fundraiser.

Engaging with SRKF’s Pandamonium means learning what it is like to go a week without a single complete meal. It means being aware that there are people, not so different than us, who require extraordinary assistance to complete the most basic of tasks that the rest of us take for granted. The Pandamonium helps teach us all about the concept of inter-being. Educating a girl in Malawi can solve many socio-economic problems that plague the world. Learning about the ecological collapse that can happen in the wake of harming the efficacy of a keystone species can shift paradigms surrounding unsustainable development. So much more can be learned through active engagement than just writing a cheque.

Silent River Kung Fu’s 24 hour Pandamonium is set to go on May 14. Please consider sponsoring a few minutes of the event so that we can learn more about the world we live in while helping those less fortunate than ourselves.

“No one cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.” - Theodore Roosevelt (1858 - 1919)

Northern Lights Wildlife Wolf Centre

I am pleased that the Silent River Benevolent Foundation has voted to include the Northern Lights Wildlife Wolf Centre as an initiative that is worthy of funding this year. Our annual Pandamnoium fundraiser has seen a drop in engagement from our students these past few years and so I see this new initiative as a real opportunity for us to help all our initiatives benefit from added engagement.

Wolves are a keystone species. They are integral for maintaining and preventing an ecosystem from collapsing or dramatically changing. This fact played out in Yellowstone Park when wolves were eradicated and then reintroduced. Currently there is a wolf cull going on in British Columbia, ostensibly to protect caribou. It is well proven that habitat quality is the most important component of caribou population recovery yet rather than protecting the caribou habitat from human activities like logging, the BC government is going after the wolves.

Nature always balances itself. Typically it is man who throws things askew, putting species at risk and even driving them to extinction. It is an exercise in futility if we think imposing our control is going to fix a problem that was caused by us imposing our control. Hopefully organizations like the Northern Lights Wildlife Wolf Centre can help educate the public and change the government narrative when it comes to prioritizing the economy over ecology. You would think a country whose economy depends on its natural resources would be more worried about the long term affects of unsustainable growth and development.

“If all mankind were to disappear, the world would regenerate back to the rich state of equilibrium that existed ten thousand years ago. Ifs insects were to vanish, the environment would collapse into chaos.” - E.O. Wilson (b. 1929)

Wolfgang Beltracchi

I watched a documentary about the art forger Wolfgang Beltracchi. He was very successful by producing forgeries that were actually original pieces of art.  Beltracchi was a master of imitating the style of other masters. Rather than copying existing artwork, he produced ‘newly found’ originals. In fact some of his forgeries were more revered than the art of the masters themselves. The only thing that classified his work as forgeries were the artists’ names that he put on the pieces. Beltracchi’s original work was worth millions with someone else’s name on the painting but once his fraud was exposed, the same art became virtually worthless.

At first I did not understand why something was worth less if Wolfgang Beltracchi painted it as Max Ernst than if it was Max Ernst himself who had produced it. Why should anyone care as long as they like it? I ended up resolving these thoughts myself. The value in art is in innovation, not imitation.

“Innovation is change that unlocks new value.” - Jamie Notter

Time and Perspective

I had a conversation with a former student this week about the challenge in finding the time to adequately train. I reminded the student that the spare time he was talking about not being able to give up was 2 hours a week. That is literally one percent of the week that  he was convinced he could not spare. In six months that would only be forty eight hours of practice. Two days. Accordingly, someone who says they do not have time for their kung fu classes is saying they do not have four days in an entire year to devote to something that they know will benefit them.

Why does everyone sell themselves short when it comes to personal growth? I believe it is because it is a lot easier to do that than it is to push ourselves and take a chance. Turning the perspective wheel only a fraction of a degree to the right will make a big difference on the choices we make. With the correct perspective, kung fu stops being something that requires sacrifice and becomes an investment that translates to improvements in our personal lives and in the lives of those we care for.

“To change ourselves effectively, we first have to change our perceptions.” - Stephen Covey (1932 - 2012)

Engagement

Last night was the final night our Year of the Sheep I Ho Chuan team will be together. An emotional night, as they always are, but as I have said before - this team was different. I’ve never had a team as engaged as the Sheep Team. Setbacks, injuries, frustration, anxiety, illness, work issues, family issues — I can’t think of a team that has faced more or accomplished more.

The emptiness that always comes with the end of something like this is here, but this year it is different. This year that emptiness is tempered with excitement. Excitement for the opportunities and possibilities of the year to come. The groundwork is in place for the Year of the Monkey Team to experience the same monumental, life-changing opportunities that come with a year in the I Ho Chuan.

Congratulations to the four newest Silent River Kung Fu black belts. Stay engaged, work hard, and make us all proud.

“Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.”  - Jim Rohn (1930 - 2009)

Black Belt 2016

One more week to go before our Chinese New Year Banquet and four new black belts come into the Silent River Kung Fu fold. The process of grading someone to the rank of black belt is arduous and never perfect. There is always, to one degree or another, a leap of faith required. Master Hilbig’s wisdom imparted to me: “First you give them the black belt, then they earn it.”

Rank in the martial arts is very subjective and there are different standards in every style and every school. The Chinese ideal continues to hold value and, for me, makes logical sense. Traditionally when queried about their rank, a Chinese stylist should respond with how long they have studied, what style they are studying, who they are studying under, and an offer to step on the mats.

I hold black belt rank in multiple organizations from first degree to seventh degree. The actual rank listed on my certificates is of minor value when compared to the signatures on the certificates. Having established Masters and Grand Masters endorse me is the best feedback on the efficacy of my training that I could ask for.

So what is a black belt? As a person entrusted to uphold the integrity of the rank, that is a question I never stop asking myself. I expect a black belt to be relentless in their pursuit of mastery but better yet, I expect a black belt to reject mediocrity. Quantifying something like that is very difficult. It took me a couple of decades to embrace Master Hilbig’s wisdom, but I now understand why such a leap of faith is required.

“It does not matter how slowly you go so long you do not stop.” - Confucius (551 - 479 BC)