April was a bit of a crazy month, both with work and with life. I wound up missing most of my April classes and to be frank I have been disengaged with kung fu. Last week, was the first relatively normal week that I have had in a while and was the first time that I was able to return to class. I was shocked with how quickly and dramatically my absence affected my cardio health and my ability to keep up in class.
I have been deeply reflecting over a question that we were asked at the beginning of the year, “Why am I here?” Why am I engaged in Kung Fu and specifically why did I join the I Ho Chuan team this year. My numbers are stagnating, and I haven’t worked on my weapon form since we presented our alpha forms back in March, at this point it’s completely gone. I stepped away from the Tai Chi class after the last set, and again my numbers have not moved since then. I’m still working a little on getting some sit ups or pushups in, but I haven’t been great at recording them and realistically the amount that I have noted below could have, and probably should have, been completed in a day. I’m still working on trying to get some walking or biking in to work on the journey requirement and I have been working on my language practice, but again just barely at about 5 minutes a day. Clearly, I haven’t been blogging, and to be frank I have been dreading needing to deal with anything to do with kung fu.
I have not been engaged with kung fu over the past month, life is busy. I know that we all have busy lives, and I have a deep respect for the members of our team that have made the deliberate decision to make kung fu a priority. As I have been reflecting on things I have realized that is the root of my problem. Kung fu is not currently a priority for me. My family and the issues or concerns of my family are important to me. My work is something that I want to do well with and something that I have a “need” to prioritize. This has led to some unhealthy hours of work over the past month, and by the time I finish with them, I am burnt out and shutting down. I believe that Kung fu should be a chance to recharge and an opportunity to destress. It should be a chance to recenter and to become engaged with the moment. Unfortunately, it has become another stress and an obligation that I dread.
Yet, I still see value in it. I can see the difference that it makes in my mood, and in my health. I can understand, conceptually at least, the value of living with intent and how rising to the challenge of the I Ho Chuan is important. To actually meet the requirements of the I Ho Chuan program however requires intent, and it requires deliberate action and consistent action to be accomplished. This doesn’t happen easily or automatically, it takes work and it needs to be a priority. Rising to this challenge shows an ability to manage time and commitments, to be able to prioritize and to balance obligations and efforts.
Kung fu is not, and frankly cannot be my top priority. That does not mean that it is not important though. It means that I need to find a way to balance life, so that I can meet the obligations that I have in a sustainable manner. On that note, continually trying to crunch at work is also not sustainable. Life is about balance, and I do believe that kung fu can be an important tool that helps to find that balance. What I need now, is to find that balance and to find a way to make that balance sustainable.
| Current | Goal | Change Since Last | |
| Pushups | 5589 | 11582 | 200 |
| Situps | 5279 | 11582 | 200 |
| Hand Forms | 65 | 232 | 0 |
| Weapon Forms | 98 | 232 | 0 |
| Acts of Kindness | 0 | 232 | – |
| Distance Travelled | 321.7 | 373 | 85.4 |
| Sparring | 115 | 232 | 10 |
| Blog Posts | 6 | 12 | 1 |
| Tai Chi Time | 470 | 1158 | 0 |
| Language Practice Time | 831 | 1158 | 120 |
I know what it is like to be busy with work and that is why I joined the team this year. It is helping me keep Kung Fu as a priority as I am constantly reminded of my commitment to myself and to the team. Remember there is no quitting and life can get in the way but as long as you keep showing up, you have not quit.
Sihing Lindstrom
Of course Kung Fu is not a priority. Things only become priorities if you are benefitting from them in some way. It becomes a self-serving prophecy that Kung Fu will not be a priority if you are not doing Kung Fu. If you are doing your Kung Fu, you will recognize the benefits that transcend the training and participation in class.
Everything I do is Kung Fu. When I care for my ailing daughter, I do not lament how much extra time Kung Fu is taking away from my responsibilities, I fell grateful for the clarity and focus that my Kung Fu is contributing to my everyday life so that I can care for her more mindfully and completely.
Bottom line, we have all been where you are now. We have all fallen into the trap of becoming so busy that we cannot see that the very things that are helping us become neglected under the guise that we are ‘too busy’. We have parents of our students that on one hand they say that Kung Fu has improved their child’s marks in school by a full percentage point and on the other hand they say they are keeping their kid out of class because they need to focus more on their math. Why would you eliminate a helpful tool in the name of trying to improve? To me it is the equivalent of not putting any oil in my car because I am overwhelmed with how crappy my car is running.
Kung Fu permeates into all aspects of our lives. IF WE DO IT. It can’t help you if you don’t do it. Kung Fu is not only in class. That is what your personal requirements do for you. My 200/day pushups take me less than 3 minutes to complete. If you do not have a spare 3 minutes, I will come show you how to set your alarm clock to go off 3 minutes earlier.
Here is a timely, awesome blog post by Seth Godin:
The other choices
The intentional, noticed choices are obvious. “Vanilla or chocolate?”
But most of the choices we live with are unseen. They’re expensive, challenging and invisible.
When we plan an event with an outdoor component, we’re choosing to be anxious about the weather in the week leading up to the big day.
When we buy something with a credit card, we’re choosing the long-term cost of paying the ongoing debt.
When we stick with a deadend job instead of quitting today, tomorrow’s angst was a choice.
These invisible choices are all around us, often hidden by forces that would rather we didn’t think about them. And it’s usually easier to simply look the other way.