Kung Fu isn't for everyone but it's for me.

"Kung Fu isn't for everyone but it's available to everyone" is a direct quote by Sifu Brinker that he wrote as a comment on my blog a few weeks ago.  This has gotten me thinking about my journey these past ten years. 

When I think back to my white, yellow and orange belts everything was new and shiny.  There was so much to learn that advancing through the ranks was methodical and so much fun.  As I moved through green and blue things really started to change. These mid rank belts took alot longer to move through than I was used to. Things were still "shiny" but they amount of new that I was learning had dropped off. I had to start to focus on the fine details or my eye for detail.  This was tough on me as I'm not a person that likes the details as much then as I do now.  When I got blue belt my life took a big turn. I changed careers, moved away to South Carolina and things fell off the rails. I actually quit SRKF...  During this time I changed careers and moved away to Winnipeg for over a year while my family stayed behind in Stony Plain.  My Kung Fu couldn't have been farther from my mind.  Fast forward to 2018 when I came back to SRKF.  Something was always missing in my life with out SRKF.  I wasn't a complete person with out it. 

Now I'm at the point where Sifu Brinker made that comment on my blog. I will admit I was taken aback by it. I took the better part of a week to try and understand what he was trying to tell me?  I booked a "one on one" and we talked about it.  It was at that moment I understood what he was trying to tell me.  It was an awakening for me, that moment when clarity entered my mind.  I can truly say that some of my most engaging Kung Fu has been over the past two weeks.  I'm getting stronger, my kicks are getting much better and mentally I'm in a good place.  The challenge will be to keep the pace, not let this momentum wain.  What's helping me keep the pace is a combination of many things.  One on ones, attending my classes, being consistent with my I Ho Chuan requirements engaging with other team members.  

The most important thing is engaging with my family and having them with me on this journey.  This hasn't happened in years past and I can see the difference.  In particular having my wife hold the bag on Sundays when we do our kicks has been so important to me.  She's there counting my kicks, giving me feedback and most importantly encouragement!  Her steadfast support and encouragement is the keystone to my success.