Back to the Kwoon

Further to my long winded comment on the Livestream #13 Class, I thought I would explain a little further.

I did not mean to sound harsh or negative, that certainly is not how I feel.

I, like everyone else, am very excited to get back to a bit of normalcy, and get training again with my peers, and instructors in 3D real life!
One of the negatives for me in the last several months, in our pandemic situation, is how my overall mental heath has been affected, and my automatic reaction is certain situations.
The first 6 weeks of the pandemic was tough on everyone, this I know. Some reacted as they not normally would, and some took it in stride. We kind of joke at work, and say, we have been yelled at, sworn at, and scuffed at in every language known to man, and then some, I think. Yes, we laugh, as you need to take it with a grain of salt, and a cup of empathy. But still, it does wear on you, and does change how you react after a while.
I've never been mean, I have tried to be understanding to the best of my ability, but it does takes its toll.

What does this have to do with Kung Fu, you might ask?
Well, as Kung Fu is teaching us the art of Mastery, that has many faucets, many meanings, and many lessons. This helped me through a lot.
I find myself heightened in situations, that may not have affected me before.
And respect is a large part of that.
I have seen a lot of disrespect, and that makes me angry, and now causes a reactions in me immediately. Previously, I would still react, but not in the same way, or with the same vigor, as today.

I am not saying that anyone is being disrespectful, nor do I think anyone in our school would be, but this is something I am deeply aware of, and may take something as disrespect, when it is not meant to be that at all. It has made me increasingly protective to everything I care about, including our school, and the Kwoon. I have most certainly learned that we cannot control every situation, but we can control an outcome.

We need to be more aware, more empathic, and more controlled today. This is not a bad thing, in fact, I think a lot of changes will be very positive moving forward. We just need to not fall back to old, bad habits.

Being back at the Kwoon is great, but yes, different. One day, we will look back and think, wow, look at how we all came through that, and how it has made us better people. But, for now, small, careful steps for the greater good.

Thanks for listening, and can't wait to see you all on the mats again!
Stay Safe, and Healthy everyone!

Some Catch Up

First off, my apologies for not posting the last couple of weeks. You may see another from me in a few days, to catch me up!

I want to touch base on a few things that have been top of mind in the last couple of weeks, but I promise to not ramble on too long!

I had 10 days off at the beginning of June, for a much needed mental break. Holidays were cancelled in March, for obvious reasons, but almost 7 months is a long time to go without a bit of a break.
It most certainly has been a challenging 3 months, but I have also learned so much, including some new people skills!

My time off was busy!! I did get many projects completed, and checked off my list, which was very satisfying. Yes, the mental break was nice, but I made up for it in physical work.
I did take some time for me as well, to regroup, to relax, and to slow life down a bit.
My flower gardens are all in, and although a lot of work, I absolutely love to see and smell the beauty of the work completed.
Managed to sort through the last of moms stuff - Yah! That was a big project, and very glad it is almost 100% complete!
Some spring cleaning was even managed as well.
I also took the time to get some extra reps of forms in, in preparation for the Tiger Challenge, and was able to build up my I Ho Chuan numbers, and allow some breathing room for not so good days.

The Tiger Challenge - I believe it has all been said, but my thoughts....
What a Huge Success!! It was so wonderful to see the participation, great to see all the work that everyone has put into their forms, and very awesome to see all the kids that took part.
Once again, another successful pivot in the world we currently live in.
I cannot convey in words my appreciation, and gratefulness of all that made our day possible.
Thank you so much to each and every one of you - organizers, and participants alike.

The Kwoon is coming alive again!!!
This is such great news, and I know how excited we all are. It will be great to see everyone in the flesh again, although in a different way from the last time we met.

I do hope that everyone fully understands and appreciates everything that is going on, to be able to make this happen. We do have a special group at SRKF, and I am sure everyone will do everything we can to make this another huge success, and add to a long list over the last few months.

Take it from someone that has been on the front line with the general public from the very beginning to the current date. I understand change is hard, I understand there can be frustrations, and I understand thzt some things may not make sense. But, we do need to do everything we possibly can to abide by the new setting, and keep everyone safe and healthy. As we have all learned first hand, everything can change in a matter of hours, and can change multiple times.

Let's show our Kwoon, instructors, fellow classmates, and community how successful this can be, and how great an experience for everybody! We've got this SRKF, we are All In, and we are Resilient!
Once again, words cannot convey the appreciation that goes out to those who are helping to make the kwoon opening possible. Thank you for everything you are all doing, and have been doing for the last several months.

See you on the mats (boy its been a while for saying that!), and of course on the screen.

Side note - I promise to NOT let my husband throw himself on the floor in appreciation, and excitement when he enters the Kwoon. Yes - he has done this before with his first time on the field at Commonwealth Stadium - hugging the football field lol.