Sifu Stoddart: Innocent competition...healthy??

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Innocent competition...healthy??

I had a great experience last week at the gym. I sat down on a bike and began to warm up with a light paced pedal. About two minutes later, I was warm enough to start a quicker pace, and eventually began to really give 'er! About two minutes later, a gentleman about my age came and sat on the bike beside me. He started off right away with a very fast pace. The majority of the time when I am at the gym, people mind their own business, and don't pay much attention to the next guy. This particular gentleman kept looking over at my monitors on the bike. I thought it was rather odd, but I wasn't worried about it. I was doing 100 RPM's at level 10. I'm guessing he was impressed. LOL!!

So as the minutes went on, I began to get a bit tired, but there was NO WAY I was going to slow down. I kept pedaling my little heart out. So did he. I went for 30 minutes straight at a constant 100 or higher RPM's, staying at level 10. My legs were really feeling it, my heart rate was up, and I had sweat dripping down the sides of my face. But to me, this was competition, and I just couldn't pass it up. Neither one of us said a single word to each other the entire time. I wanted so bad to stay on the bike until he was finished. Let him give up first, but I had a tight schedule that night, and really couldn't stay any longer.

I left the gym that night with a huge smile on my face. It was a great workout!! It felt amazing to push myself like that. Often times it is too easy to just set a somewhat "comfortable" pace.

My usual workout partner has taken a break for the last 3 months to focus on his work, and other areas of his life. He is back to his usual workout routine this week, and I am very excited. Having him there helps to push me harder. Partly because of wanting to impress, (ha ha... can't help it) and partly because it is such a huge support to have someone there with the same goals and workout ethics as myself. We push each other.

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My 20 Wishes. . .I want to do:
1. Vacation in a cabin in the mountains.
2. Fall in love.
3. Travel somewhere exotic.
4. Buy a motorcycle.
5. Write my life story.
6. Take my kids and grandkids to Disneyland.
7. See my dad again and have him meet my kids, and grandkids,
8. Hike the West Coast Trail. (done)
9. Buy my own home.
10. Climb a Via Ferrata. (done)
11. Have corrective eye surgery.
12. Find a reason to trust. (Done)
13. Perform with chi.
14. Go caving.(done)
15. Learn to play piano again.
16. Go Skinny Dipping. (done)
17. Take swimming lessons.
18. Take a wood working class.
19. Take Ballroom dance lessons.
20. Straighten my front teeth.

My 20 Wishes. . .I want to be:
1. Conscious
2. Loyal
3. Faithful
4. Good parent
5. Respectful
6. Talented martial artist
7. Healthy
8. Physically fit
9. Reliable
10. Trustworthy
11. A good grandparent
12. Awakened
13. Honest
14. Independent
15. Strong of character
16. Confident
17. A leader
18. Uplifting to others
19. Full of a positive countenance
20. Free from suffering

I love adventures, and experiencing new things for the first time. Never has this been more true than in the experiences I get from kung fu. Earning a black belt seemed to be all about me. I sacrificed, worked real hard, disciplined myself, and grew to new heights I never thought possible. I watched my life change before my very eyes. Not just small changes, but big ones that even I noticed.

Being a black belt seems to be more about others. I help others to meet their potential through their own sacrifice, and determination. As I do this, I find great fulfillment watching others change the shape of their lives, and find their own sense of peace. Black belts are just ordinary people, but doing extraordinary things, at an extraordinary level. Through this realization, we start to evolve from black belts to true martial artists, with a passion for the art that we strive to pass on to others. We continue on our path of progression, but it is through our sacrifice towards others that changes occur.

I have a huge testimony of what we do at Silent River Kung Fu. I rejoice every time I teach a class, especially the beginners, and my heart swells when I see the future of kung fu in the excited eyes of the students. By helping these students find a new way to look at life, we help them become better individuals, through their own realization of self worth. This in turn builds stronger communities, and a much more positive world to live in. When we fully understand that, we start to look outside of the kung fu box, and begin to see that vision of what we are really doing as we teach kung fu. Instead of just seeing the techniques and the forms, the mistakes people do and the improvements people need to make, we start to finally see...the people.

Students come to Silent River Kung Fu because they have this idea that learning martial arts is fun. They keep coming back because it is fun. What most students don't even realise, is that they also keep coming back because here they feel respected, cared about, and they receive a sense of belonging. What is the first thing we do when we taste something really good? We try to get someone else to taste it by saying, "wow! You've got to try this." It is important to give all students, whether they are new or not, that experience that will make them say, "you've got to try this." Every student that walks through the front door should feel like they are a part of our kung fu family. We can do that by seeing...the people. Watching with an eye for detail, to see their needs, their emotions, their strengths, and their apprehensions. Only by doing that can we really begin to teach, and help shape the lives of others. From my own experience, I believe this to be the only way to progress to that next level as a martial artist. I believe it, I have experienced it, I trust it.