Good day to you. Yesterday, I was pretty disappointed in myself. Kung fu and weight training have come to a sudden, screeching halt. Like who just pulled the e-brake? I did. I let myself forget about the promises I made to myself. The example of discipline and hard work I try to keep. The goals I set. Everything! It just walked out the door and was like see ya! Oh man. Like I say, yesterday, i was not happy in my past actions. But, with saying that, I accomplished a lot of chores in and around the house. Did a lot of hanging out with my kids. It was their spring break last week, so, I took the opportunity to gear down and hang with my kids. Nerf wars, and wrestling matches and bike rides and all sorts of jazz. Lots of great bonding and laughing. Just none of me taking time for my passion. It's always on my mind. I always talk about it and think about it, and write about it. Which is train in the art form of Kempo Kung Fu. But I think, sometimes, that, training can be very selfish and I should not do so much of it. I should go watch the telly with the missus. Or get something done around the house. That's just silly. Because I do train while watching tv, with the wife. Stances and kicks, punches and block. I just haven't been.
Not sure when, this plan of mine started to unravel, but, it doesn't matter. That is nothing more than a detail in the truth. Master Sifu said to me once, "There's nothing wrong with being heavily devoted to your family, but, don't forget, every man needs to do something just for themselves. Like Kung Fu."
Affirmative action is needed, and that's what I'll take. These feeling of worthlessness, is a mere reminder, to continue fighting the good fight.
"Tension and tightness acts like brakes, reducing speed and stealing energy"
Well, I'll see you soon
Mr.Duncan
Monday, 24 April 2017
Sunday, 9 April 2017
The layoff
Well, there comes a time in everyone's career that you might be outta work for a while. It comes with part of the construction industry. And I took one last week. So far, I'm cool. For the most part a layoff is scary and damning. But, I don't see it. Like it bothers me, ah crap no work, but, it's been a huge relief for myself. I was in a place I despised with very negative people and surroundings. I'm no angel, I played into the game as well. I hated my boss and my co-workers. I hated the drive, looking at people, listening to people who have no clue about what they are talking about, tell me my job is scary. So then, you educate these un-educated people, about your job, and they still shut you down, because, they don't know. I got bumped from, installing and being on front lines, to sorting bolts and doing nothing, but holding up my tool belt. I'm a proud man, and maybe that was why this pill was so hard to swallow. There is a reason, I don't sit out of work for long and it's not because of my "charming" personality!! It's because, I'm good at what I do, and I do try hard to learn and get better. But, you sluff me off, and you lost me. I won't even give you the time of day, if you treat me the way I was treated.
So, this layoff, as much as I didn't really want it, I was very happy to take one. Before the boss even finished his sentence, I was up and shaking hands and out the door. See ya later! I don't care what you have to say boss man, you've lied to me since august, just to keep me around. You don't bull sh!t, me, there buddy. I'm the wrong guy to think you've pulled the wool over my eyes. Maybe one of your drunk buddies, but, not me. Well, glad that's out now. And, enough of the negative crap, I just needed that out, not that anyone really cares, but, I didn't want it anymore.
Well, what am I going to do? Time for a solution. I put in for some ei, and I'm going to........not sure. I have made a list one country mile long of to do's and slowly one by one, I pick the list clean. Impromptu things pop up. Painted and installed new shelves in the front closet, Saturday. Hot water tank is to be installed Monday. Drywall removed to improve on my water pipes. Got a call from an old friend. That reminds me! Guns are cleaned and ready for shooting, and I pulled my bow out and whiped the dust off of her. Oh, I love my bow! It's so awesome. It goes twack and things fall down!! So, I have things and stuff to do. And I slowly do them. Oh and I've done some serious catching up on wrestling matches of the past! Can not forget about that, Pat! One of my favourite matches ever is Shawn Micheals versus Razor Ramon for the Intercontinental Championship at Wrestlemania X!! Oh my god such a Great match! Like Tony the Tiger great! Seriously, why are you still here, reading this and not watching the match....
One of my favourite things about time off so far is the coffee taste testing I've been doing lately. Go have coffee at this guys house, not bad, let's go see what their coffee tastes like! Not bad. What about that guys coffee. Yeah, let's check it out there too. It's been good!! Hanging with some solid people, playing with horses. Fixing fences and building gardens. It's too bad I can't make a lot of money, just doing stuff for people. Nobody wants to pay for something, they can do on their own. Meh, whatever, that's cool. I enjoy work for conversation. Something else will come of this whole situation soon enough. I hope it better than before, but, if I need to eat poop sandwiches, for a while yet, then, well, so be it.
The one thing that has stayed fairly consistent is my Kung fu training. I find though, that, it's harder to laser in and focus, when I can train whenever. As opposed to squeezing in everything after work. You know? It's weird, as much as I love it, it's not something I do as much as I can do, now that I'm unemployed. But, that is okay. This is a new week coming up, and Kung fu is still on the front of my mind. The training will continue to build and in a few weeks I'll be like, "how am I going to fit in work here?" I'm committed to being the best I can, and I have been saying for a while, "Just imagine what I can accomplish with a couple of hours every day of Kung fu! Oh my sweet mother of pearl, I am going to blow the doors off of my training". It will come and I'm up for the challenge. I was recently showen the beginnings of kempo III. Wow, that's really cool. I am really enjoying it. But I want the next part now!!
Training for me, when I start to get to far into my head, is the best escape I have. Training helps me forget about the stresses of life. It helps me calm down and handle situations that used to baffle me. I can take my training out into the streets and know, that it will be okay, just be cool. Training has taught me, that I can and will achieve whatever I'm looking for, I just need time. No problem, right now, I got all the time in the world. I have this absolutely amazing gift, now, I have got to utilize it. There's is nothing scary about a lay-off. The only scary thing is the unknown gifts that are in a layoff, that we never see, until we pass it by. Like time. Like family. Like friends.
It's a good day people, don't forget that. At least I have a warm bed at the end of the day. Be thankful. Be gracious. This could be your last opportunity with a situation like this.I am going to use this quote again, seeing as how it fits so perfectly today.
"Hard work pays off
Dreams come true
Bad times don't last
But Bad Guys do!"
-Razor Ramon/Scott Hall-
Talk to you soon
Mr.Duncan
So, this layoff, as much as I didn't really want it, I was very happy to take one. Before the boss even finished his sentence, I was up and shaking hands and out the door. See ya later! I don't care what you have to say boss man, you've lied to me since august, just to keep me around. You don't bull sh!t, me, there buddy. I'm the wrong guy to think you've pulled the wool over my eyes. Maybe one of your drunk buddies, but, not me. Well, glad that's out now. And, enough of the negative crap, I just needed that out, not that anyone really cares, but, I didn't want it anymore.
Well, what am I going to do? Time for a solution. I put in for some ei, and I'm going to........not sure. I have made a list one country mile long of to do's and slowly one by one, I pick the list clean. Impromptu things pop up. Painted and installed new shelves in the front closet, Saturday. Hot water tank is to be installed Monday. Drywall removed to improve on my water pipes. Got a call from an old friend. That reminds me! Guns are cleaned and ready for shooting, and I pulled my bow out and whiped the dust off of her. Oh, I love my bow! It's so awesome. It goes twack and things fall down!! So, I have things and stuff to do. And I slowly do them. Oh and I've done some serious catching up on wrestling matches of the past! Can not forget about that, Pat! One of my favourite matches ever is Shawn Micheals versus Razor Ramon for the Intercontinental Championship at Wrestlemania X!! Oh my god such a Great match! Like Tony the Tiger great! Seriously, why are you still here, reading this and not watching the match....
One of my favourite things about time off so far is the coffee taste testing I've been doing lately. Go have coffee at this guys house, not bad, let's go see what their coffee tastes like! Not bad. What about that guys coffee. Yeah, let's check it out there too. It's been good!! Hanging with some solid people, playing with horses. Fixing fences and building gardens. It's too bad I can't make a lot of money, just doing stuff for people. Nobody wants to pay for something, they can do on their own. Meh, whatever, that's cool. I enjoy work for conversation. Something else will come of this whole situation soon enough. I hope it better than before, but, if I need to eat poop sandwiches, for a while yet, then, well, so be it.
The one thing that has stayed fairly consistent is my Kung fu training. I find though, that, it's harder to laser in and focus, when I can train whenever. As opposed to squeezing in everything after work. You know? It's weird, as much as I love it, it's not something I do as much as I can do, now that I'm unemployed. But, that is okay. This is a new week coming up, and Kung fu is still on the front of my mind. The training will continue to build and in a few weeks I'll be like, "how am I going to fit in work here?" I'm committed to being the best I can, and I have been saying for a while, "Just imagine what I can accomplish with a couple of hours every day of Kung fu! Oh my sweet mother of pearl, I am going to blow the doors off of my training". It will come and I'm up for the challenge. I was recently showen the beginnings of kempo III. Wow, that's really cool. I am really enjoying it. But I want the next part now!!
Training for me, when I start to get to far into my head, is the best escape I have. Training helps me forget about the stresses of life. It helps me calm down and handle situations that used to baffle me. I can take my training out into the streets and know, that it will be okay, just be cool. Training has taught me, that I can and will achieve whatever I'm looking for, I just need time. No problem, right now, I got all the time in the world. I have this absolutely amazing gift, now, I have got to utilize it. There's is nothing scary about a lay-off. The only scary thing is the unknown gifts that are in a layoff, that we never see, until we pass it by. Like time. Like family. Like friends.
It's a good day people, don't forget that. At least I have a warm bed at the end of the day. Be thankful. Be gracious. This could be your last opportunity with a situation like this.I am going to use this quote again, seeing as how it fits so perfectly today.
"Hard work pays off
Dreams come true
Bad times don't last
But Bad Guys do!"
-Razor Ramon/Scott Hall-
Talk to you soon
Mr.Duncan
Sunday, 2 April 2017
Hey Yo
Hey there internet world. Been a while since we last talked! How ya doing? That's great. I'm just itching to enjoy this wonderful day. So I had the opportunity yesterday to further some horsemanship skills of mine. I went and helped my friend break in a 2 year colt. That was really fun. I am proud to say, that I was the very first human to touch this horse with bare hand. It was awesome. Working him, to teach him to stop when I ask, and trot when I ask. Asking him to square up with me when he stops, and never once using my voice. It's in the body motions. The clear hand instructions. Pure intentions in the heart and the only motive of wanting to become a partner to a horse. And wow, even the fellow I was working with was I pressed on how quickly this horse and I connected. Within twenty minutes of working him around the ring and I had my fingers on his front legs. Man it was cool. You gotta push the horse to that limit of pressure, where he wants to move and then, you stop. Show him, that you are not a threat, and then get in closer, and eventually, you're petting the horse and he's not terrified of you. My friend really enforced the idea of the horse being prey animal, and everything we do, is to earn his trust, so, when the day comes, he will blindly trust his owner. So many awesome things happened yesterday with this horse, that, I don't even know happened. I know I missed a couple of moments of clarity, but, I was focused on the task at hand. I have to earn the horses trust, so, my friend can keep working this colt, for his owner. Boy, what a treat, that was.
In the Kung fu realm, boy, things are continuing at a good pace. I have been playing with weapons again, I feel very strong in Long form, and kempo continues to grow and eveolve with me. There are a few points in kempo, that I have really lasered in on. The sweeps. I am really slowing that part down to ensure, proper hand foot movement, and to ensure the closing of one technique flows nicely into the next. Especially around the sweeps. I found I wasn't flowing into it, I was stepping/falling. Which, is good to begin with, but, I want to be beyond that point of the form, so, back to the basics and continue to train with more intent. Train like I mean it damn it!! Haha
Something else I would like to touch on here, is we have been sparring a fair bit. And for me to spar, I love it, but, I truly don't like to make contact or even touch the head. Anything more than a finger touch, kinda bothers me. Back in the day, I used to hurt people and since I changed my ways, hitting people is actually really hard to do. Like I physically do not want to do. Don't get me wrong push too hard for too long and I'll remove teeth for you, but not in class, not with my fellow students. Well, Sifu, has been pushing my to start making contact again. She says, if you want to make a real impact in the tournaments you have to make real contact. You have these beautiful techniques and combos, and you get in the right places at the right times, but you never make contact. So, all that work, to set me up to make them move, you get me where you want, and then you pull your punches. Stop doing that. That's not word for word, but, it's pretty bang on. So, okay, I said, I will work on that. And, you know, I was kinda stressed about it, but, I did push back on a fear of mine in my training. I do worry about hurting somebody, and that holds me back to a certain extent. But, it also brings to light another part of my training. A huge part of all training I think, is control. Sure I can blast a heavy bag with hooks and uppercuts, but using that same technique with a training partner is a whole new level of control. Trying to use that same technique with the same outcome, on my end, but with respect to my partner, ya know. Sometimes, you miss calculate. I wasn't too fond of the outcome. Now, it's not like I hurt everyone, but, I did get a beaut of a punch in and it was a touch to hard. I was aiming for his shoulder, and he moved into me, I into him and I didn't pull the punch as much as I should have. Oops. I mean, you know when you get in a clean shot, and it feels good, nobody really gets hurt, it's more of a reminder to not lead with your teeth. But, there's still that thought in my mind of my control. Okay, gotta work on being able to adapt and speed up or slow down. The only way I can control my motions, is to continue to train. It's just goes onto the Kung Fu To Do List. It's like a mile long.....hold on here...I'm just double checking oh yeah.....it's it's already here, like ten times! Haha. Looks like I got some training to do eh;)
I'll leave you with this
"Hard work pays off
Dreams come true
Bad things don't last
But bad guys do!"
Razor Ramon
Well, that's all folks
Mr.Duncan
In the Kung fu realm, boy, things are continuing at a good pace. I have been playing with weapons again, I feel very strong in Long form, and kempo continues to grow and eveolve with me. There are a few points in kempo, that I have really lasered in on. The sweeps. I am really slowing that part down to ensure, proper hand foot movement, and to ensure the closing of one technique flows nicely into the next. Especially around the sweeps. I found I wasn't flowing into it, I was stepping/falling. Which, is good to begin with, but, I want to be beyond that point of the form, so, back to the basics and continue to train with more intent. Train like I mean it damn it!! Haha
Something else I would like to touch on here, is we have been sparring a fair bit. And for me to spar, I love it, but, I truly don't like to make contact or even touch the head. Anything more than a finger touch, kinda bothers me. Back in the day, I used to hurt people and since I changed my ways, hitting people is actually really hard to do. Like I physically do not want to do. Don't get me wrong push too hard for too long and I'll remove teeth for you, but not in class, not with my fellow students. Well, Sifu, has been pushing my to start making contact again. She says, if you want to make a real impact in the tournaments you have to make real contact. You have these beautiful techniques and combos, and you get in the right places at the right times, but you never make contact. So, all that work, to set me up to make them move, you get me where you want, and then you pull your punches. Stop doing that. That's not word for word, but, it's pretty bang on. So, okay, I said, I will work on that. And, you know, I was kinda stressed about it, but, I did push back on a fear of mine in my training. I do worry about hurting somebody, and that holds me back to a certain extent. But, it also brings to light another part of my training. A huge part of all training I think, is control. Sure I can blast a heavy bag with hooks and uppercuts, but using that same technique with a training partner is a whole new level of control. Trying to use that same technique with the same outcome, on my end, but with respect to my partner, ya know. Sometimes, you miss calculate. I wasn't too fond of the outcome. Now, it's not like I hurt everyone, but, I did get a beaut of a punch in and it was a touch to hard. I was aiming for his shoulder, and he moved into me, I into him and I didn't pull the punch as much as I should have. Oops. I mean, you know when you get in a clean shot, and it feels good, nobody really gets hurt, it's more of a reminder to not lead with your teeth. But, there's still that thought in my mind of my control. Okay, gotta work on being able to adapt and speed up or slow down. The only way I can control my motions, is to continue to train. It's just goes onto the Kung Fu To Do List. It's like a mile long.....hold on here...I'm just double checking oh yeah.....it's it's already here, like ten times! Haha. Looks like I got some training to do eh;)
I'll leave you with this
"Hard work pays off
Dreams come true
Bad things don't last
But bad guys do!"
Razor Ramon
Well, that's all folks
Mr.Duncan
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