Alberta Prairie Phoenix

 There was a phrase used in Israel after the Holocaust - NEVER AGAIN. The idea behind the state of Israel was a place where Jews can live without the fear of extermination. This is because in the Holocaust 6 millions Jews were systematically murdered by the Nazis. Fast forward 75 years and we got a horrible reminder that we cannot let our guards down. Even in a place that is supposed to be safe, there are forces that are seeking the Jews extermination.  I think that personally this is also something that as an individual, we must remember that we need to have our guards up. Even if we are in a safe zone. You always need to be ready. And you always need to be able to take the first blow and counter 10 times harder.

I was learning more qigong this weekend and one of the moves was pounding on your chest. I immediately thought about how gorillas do that. It made me laugh.  Gorillas beat their chest for different reasons such as communication of their size, attracting mates, establishing dominance, etc. In qigong, the purpose of beating on your chest is different. It is to stimulate your flow. It is also for improving your lung function and to release emotional tension or stress. 

I have started Kung Fu back in 2006. It seems so long ago... We used to have a sparring class where students had to pick a nickname. I chose Phoenix of the East. It seemed right to choose this nickname as I came to Canada from the middle-east and started new life in a different country.  When I joined the IHC group, I started blogging under the blog title of " Stars in Alberta ". My family name translate to a star in Hungarian and I live in Alberta. But why stars plural? This symbolized my family and my commitment to them. It was not just my journey in Kung Fu. It was my family's journey. Now with my youngest getting their black belt (officially on Feb 1 this year), all my immediate family (wife and 4 kids) are black belts in Kung Fu. When you become a black belt, you are continuing with your journey but you also start to define where you want to take it.  This is why I have decided to switch my blog name from Csillag Stars to Alberta Prairie Phoenix, and my nickname (did...