Perspective change

       

I have come to realize recently that my perspective has changed regarding what I wanted to get out of my Kung Fu.  When I first walked into Silent River Kung Fu it was all about getting back into shape and learning how to properly fight.  This was my perspective one year ago.

During this time and especially through the UBBT test I have come to realize that I am getting more out of my Kung Fu than just getting into shape and learning to fight.  Don’t get me wrong, both of these things are greatly welcomed and appreciated!  However I have come to realize that the spiritual side of the martial arts has had a profoundly positive effect on my life and those around me.  I am a changed person because of my Kung Fu.  The biggest change that I have seen in myself is humility.  Before Kung Fu I had an over inflated view of myself that was far from justified.  Kung Fu has taught me to treat everyone with respect and empathy.  This is something that I personally was lacking for many different reasons. 

This UBBT test has clearly changed me.  I have fallen and failed through this test but through this test I have learn much about myself and that of my UBBT teammates.  I have taken what I have learned in the kwoon and have started to adapt it to my personal life with amazing results.  Things like incremental progression as a way of reaching a goal (50,000 sit ups and pushups etc) that seems so large has been something that will stay with me for the rest of my life!  Martial Arts and in particular my Kung Fu is not just learning how to punch and kick but it is truly a way to live my life, for the rest of my life.

Mr. Ian Repay

UBBT 8 student member

Student of Silent River Kung Fu

Back in the saddle

When I first signed up for the UBBT 8 Team I honestly didn’t know what I was getting into.  I had some idea that this was not a sprint but more of a marathon.  Wow this a marathon… 

As for most my UBBT started off with a bang and I was cruzing along full of emotion and motivation.  However somewhere about SUMMER the wheels started to come off.  I can actually almost peg the day which was my first day of holidays.  Once you allow yourself to take a day off it gets very hard to get back into the swing of things.  Now if you allow yourself to take a couple of days off in a row…..well forget it!  It is so hard to get back “into the saddle”.  Sifu Brinker said to me the other day “we all fail and fall off the horse.  What matters is how quickly you get back on”.  That bit of wisdom is soooooo true. 

Well today was the day that I kicked myself in the butt and got back on the horse!  I ran through all of my forms, did a bunch of push up and sit ups and I have posted my journal.  Today is the first step in getting back into a routine that is my UBBT 8 test.

Mr. Repay

Student Member of UBBT 8

Student of Silent River Kung Fu

Always Training

This past July I have been on holidays with my family near Falkland, British Columbia.  During this time I am obviously away from the kwoon and my training mates.  There is comfort and support within the kwoon that makes training easier to look forward to.  However when I am away from the kwoon training is much more difficult.  It is not that the actual physical training is harder but it is harder to discipline one’s self to actually find the time to train.  There are many distractions during holidays that need to be overcome including different surroundings, different time zones and spending time with the family doing things they want to do.

I find that the discipline that I have gained through my training is helping me find the time to train.  I see the value in my training and I have come to find that making the time to train is becoming easier and easier.  I have been getting up early to get my hour of training in and once it is behind me I feel so much better mentally and physically.

The other part of “always training” is the training that we don’t necessarily count as training.  On Tuesday my family and I hiked to the top of a mountain that had a wildfire burn through the previous year.  The hike up was extremely tough as the incline was steep and the air was getting thinner than I was used to.  I took the opportunity to run up parts of the mountain to get some extra training in and also to test my cardio.  I was very pleased that I was not overly winded and I recovered quite quickly.

There is more to training that just our hour or two that we spend in the kwoon.  If we look around our selves and are disciplined we can always be training.

Ian Repay

Student Member UBBT8

Silent River Kung Fu

Choices

                     

The greatest thing about being human is the ability to choose and more importantly the ability to reason and then choose.  What an incredible gift we have been given that most of us take for granted every day.  Recently my wife I were at a cross roads with a very difficult decision.  We pondered on what we should do for some considerable length of time before making our decision.  We thought about all the different things and people that could be affected by the decision that we make.  When you stop and think about the ripple effect that we have in the world when we make decisions, it is amazing how far the ripples go…

During my time at Silent River Kung Fu and through this UBBT 8, I have been faced with so many decisions.  Should I go to class today, should I take part in the upcoming demo, should I help with the Kwoon renovations?  All of these decisions will have an impact not only on my training but also on the lives of everybody that I touched during these times.  What an amazing thing when you stop and reflect on this.  Wow, I had a positive effective on a training partner because I showed up at class today.  I am sure most of us will never know the impacts of our decisions, but we have to do our best to make the very best decisions we can.  That what’s makes us so special, we have the ability to choose…  Now we have to go out every day, trying our best to make the right decisions so that we can positively affect those people around us.

Ian Repay

Student of Silent River Kung Fu

Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada

UBBT 8 student member.

Father

Fathers

This past week was father’s day and I took some time to reflect on how my father has influenced my life.

 My dad is a great man who worked hard all of his life to provide for our family a better life than he had.  He grew up in the trades and due to a physical injury could no longer practice his trade.  I remember that I was only about 3 or 4 years old at the time so my memories are a little fuzzy.  I do remember my dad in a full body cast and that was something quite scary for someone as young as I was back then.  My dad recovered and perceived as he has always done and finished his career in the same job these past 25 years  (how many of us can stay in the same job that long?).  What I have learnt from my father is hard work and honesty is some of the very most important virtues you can carry with yourself through life.  I really don’t know how you can go wrong in life living by these virtues?

I played a lot of sports growing up with hockey in the winter and baseball in the summer.  Most of these years my dad was the team coach which was tough on me because he never wanted to show favoritism.  I usually ended up working harder than most of the other kids just because I wanted to prove that I made it based on my own skills Vs having my dad as the team’s coach.  One thing that I was always respected my dad for is that he pushed me hard but never made me do it.  I am not sure if I am explaining this right but he knew how to push me and how far to go.  I remember that I didn’t have the same appreciation of this back then as I do now!

During this past year in the UBBT 8 program I reflected on this journey and how my father has indirectly influenced it.  The UBBT is so not a sprint but a marathon that takes a huge amount of commitment an dedication.  The lesson's learned from my father have helped me along this journey.  I have fallen an stumbled and I have also flown so high at times during UBBT 8 and it is only half done.  I know that I would not have bee able to get where I am with out the lessons learnt from my father.

Dad, you were tough at times and I am sure that I deserved that kick in the pants to keep me on the right track.  You were a role model that I looked up to and you never let me down.  You are a big part of who I am right now.

Thanks Dad and happy Father’s day!

Ian Repay

Student member of UBBT 8

Silent River Kung Fu

Stony Plain, Alberta

What level are you performing at?

What level are you performing at?

I have set goals for myself like very one of my team mates have done.  These goals have limits like 50 000 pushups and 50 000 sit ups etc.  However there is no limit to how hard I push myself to reach these goals.  To me it is not about reaching these goals but how I reach them is so much more important to me.  I would not be disappointed with myself if I didn’t reach say 50 000 pushups as long as I had performed at a level 10 trying to reach that goal.  We all know that we can’t perform at a level 10 every minute of every day as that would be impossible.  However I do know that most of us are not performing at a level 10 and we don’t do much to change it.  It is much easier to perform at a 5 or a 6 and we think we are performing enough…..but are we?  I don’t think so!  This road (UBBT 8) has me reflecting not only on my Kung Fu training but also on how I am living my life.  Do I perform at a level 10 when I am at the Kwoon?  I try very hard to but there are times that I may be at a 7 or 8.  Now do I perform at a level 10 in life outside of the Kwoon?  However, now that I have grasped this concept I am starting the ramp up my level in life just by being mindful of where I am and what I am doing.

So I leave you with this question, “What level are you performing at right now”?

Mr. Repay

Student of Silent River Kung Fu

Student Member of UBBT 8

Martial Arts

Martial Arts

Over this past year I have been very involved in my Kung Fu.  I joined martial arts because I wanted to know more about the spiritual side of the art.  I first tried TKD and I found that it was a good art but it was not the style I wanted to learn no was the school what I was looking for.  Don’t get me wrong here, TKD is a great MA just the school didn’t teach the “spiritual” side of the MA that I was so looking for.

Yesterday I had a conversation with a new business owner that was trying to understand his customers and to a smaller extent his business.  He has a new equestrian business that he and his family started 2 years ago.  They were very successful dairy farmers for over 30 years and decided to take their business in a new direction.  After about 15 minutes of conversation we both came to realize the same thing.  You need a complete package if you are going to have a successful business.  Without the right facilities, the right trainer and owners that truly care their business is not going to flourish.  If you have one or two of these pieces your business may run and you may pay the bills but you are not going to reach your businesses full potential.

This brings me back to my Kung Fu training.  I believe the school where I train has all three pieces.  We have a great Kwoon, with great Sifu’s that are very skilled and more importantly they are very approachable.  Finally we have an owner (Sifu Brinker) that really does care about not only the health of his business but the overall health of his students.  I have found what I was looking for in a MA school not only in the style of the MA but in the family that is there helping me grow.

Ian Repay

Student of Silent River Kung Fu

Student member of UBBT 8

"Do not criticize any of the other martial arts. Speak ill of others and it surely comes back to you.
The mountain does not laugh at the river because it is lowly, nor does the river speak ill of the mountain because it cannot move about."

 -Master Morihei Uyeshiba