Sifu Stoddart: My black box

Monday, May 30, 2011

My black box

Sometimes I put myself in a box with tinted windows. I close myself in and don't let anyone see inside. Within my box are my thoughts which direct my actions. With the tinted windows I don't see out very well. When I get so closed up inside my box, I need to open a window and not only have a look around outside, but find someone trustworthy who can have a bit of a look inside. Tonight, I took the plunge and rolled down that window of my box, and through the eyes of another looking in, I found a whole new world outside, than the one I had been seeing inside.

I say that I don't have time for kung fu, and that my life is just too full of other stuff. Some day, when things slow down, I'll get back into it, full swing. Well, I have no idea when that day will come, so until then, I will make the time. I will put my best foot forward to try and become engaged in my kung fu. I have decided to write down what I do in a day, every day. This way, I can see for myself in black and white, just how busy I really am, and just where I can fit kung fu into my daily routine. I never watch T.V. or spend much time on Facebook, etc, but I do seem to always be doing "something". It won't be much fun for anyone reading my journal. In fact it will be very boring. But, as selfish as this may sound, I am not doing it for the readers, I am doing it for me.

Monday, May 30, 2011

5:15am - 6:00am, get up and bike off to work
10:30 to 11:20, lunch break; bike home, eat, check emails, and answer any important ones.
11:20 - 3:20, bike back to work, work.
3:20 until 6:00, bike home, mow lawn, trim, and clean up the yard.
6:00 - 8:00pm bike to kung fu, help with beginner class
8:00 - 9:30pm, bike home, shower, grab quick bite to eat, clean kitchen, journal
9:30 - 9:45pm yoga.
9:45 - 10:00 pm, read, express gratitude, bed

What did kung fu do for me today? It helped me to trust. (trust is on my list of 20 wishes at the top of my blog.). To trust enough to open the window of the box and reach out to let someone help me see clearly what I couldn't see from inside the box.

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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.