Alberta Prairie Phoenix

 I need some motivation for my own training! I spend lots of time thinking about how to teach classes. I workout lots as well. But I do not progress with my own training as much as I should.  I get overwhelmed with all the things I want to do - better kicks, better flexibility, better forms, better stamina, tai chi, qi gong, weapons - there is so much and there is not enough time to fit it all. 

A leader "knows nothing". Well maybe this is overstating things. A leader is someone who can rely on the strength of his team. They do not need to know everything. They also not able to do everything by themselves. This is why they need to lead.  As a leader, you need to be able to be OK with your vulnerabilities and the fact that you are not perfect. Your individual success is no longer what you are after - it is the success of you team that you are going for.  I do not follow leaders that are perfect. I want to follow leader that positively motivate you to do better.

 Sifu Rybak challenged us to go beyond out perceived limitations and get to do something we think we cannot.  At least this is what I heard... I chose to work on my flying kick and get to the point where I can do a flying kick while airborne.  I can think of many reasons (excuses?) why I do not already able to do it. The main one will be my fear from hurting my back. Both from the jump and the landing. So I will need to build up and get to the point where my body (and especially my back) is OK with that.

 One of the things I want to accomplish this year is to be able to drum a lion dance. I always think of myself as someone who has pretty bad coordination. But in the last year I was able to make very significant progress with drumming. I got laughed at few times... but I think I am getting to the point where I am 80% there. Need to fine tune all the small transitions and all the lion-drummer communication. 

 The banquet was good as always. Being in the organizing level of an event, I can always see the things that did not go right. But it was a good banquet. It is also a good opportunity to evaluate where you are and what you want to do. I was failing with making progress on numerous fronts. I have a lot of good reasons / excuses - work, health, mental health, too many things on my list, etc. I decided to tackle the "too many things in my list" and start focusing on one thing at a time. Started writing a list of what I want to do and very fast it turned to be 5 things at a time... not good. I am still trying to prioritize. Not to jump from one thing to another. I'm not there yet.

 It has been a very tough 14 (and counting) months since the October 7 attack on Israel. I've been feeling very lonely since.  Very few people at work offered their sympathies and support. No other friends or acquaintances (other than one neighbor) reached out. And even Canadian family relatives had a superficial approach to discussing this with me. The magnitude of the events. The horrific videos (and forever PTSD). The rising anti-Semitism in North America, Europe and specifically in Canada. All made me feel more alone.