Seems like we are getting back into the old hectic demo practice schedule. There is always a lot of positive energy in the air when everyone is working hard to put something together. Exciting times! I finally feel comfortable with my sword, still have lots to learn but at least I have enough basics to work on a form. So far my form only has about twelve moves but I think there is enough there for the demo. I will try to add a bit more before show time but I think I officially have version one down.
Can't believe Pandamonium is already next weekend. It really snuck up fast and I'm a bit behind on my fundraising, I'm going to have to step up my game.I'm excited for Saturday and I think it will be interesting running one of the night shifts.
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Demo Memento
I was out and about all day, got my taxes out of the way. I wish it wasn't 10 o'clock already, here I am blogging before bedtime again. Therefore this will be short and I'll save the good topic for next entry. I'm excited to see the demo ball rolling again. I liked the feeling of anticipation that was in our meeting on Friday, I believe there is eagerness in the air.
The demos in last years I Ho Chuan, especially the dragon dance, was a huge motivator for me. I loved the team spirit we developed and the crazy schedule we were running on. I'm very much looking forward to see what we can do this year. Lots of people have already taken the initiative in leadership, which is great. Ms. Gibbons you are doing a great job organizing the upcoming demo, keep up the good work!
The demos in last years I Ho Chuan, especially the dragon dance, was a huge motivator for me. I loved the team spirit we developed and the crazy schedule we were running on. I'm very much looking forward to see what we can do this year. Lots of people have already taken the initiative in leadership, which is great. Ms. Gibbons you are doing a great job organizing the upcoming demo, keep up the good work!
Monday, April 15, 2013
Three for no Money
Oh no I'm a day late again! Going to have to make another post this week. Sneak preview of the topic for my next entry: it will be about mediocrity and how we are constantly surrounded by it.
I'm going to cheat a little on this entry since I just got home from work at 8:30pm and I'm bagged.This entry is going to be about the dragon dance and the household object choreography, I'm going to copy what I wrote here into the I Ho Chuan forum. Three birds with one stone!
First up is the dragon dance. I think it would be awesome to have two dragons going, especially since we are going to have an infinite stage this year. You can count me in. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays work for me. I do want to learn how to lion dance so I could see myself in either a dragon or a lion if I actually learn it well enough to not suck. The logistics of filling up two whole dragons, plus backups, is certainly daunting. I think we might have to open it up to none I Ho Chaun members to get the extra numbers. Also, remember the stage will be huge but we will still need to be able to practice with two dragons in the kwoon.
I think doing a fight demo with household objects would be a blast, I'm all for it. We can setup a scene where everyone is going about their business using their stuff and then everything goes crazy with awesome and comedic results. I call dibs on extension cord, or maybe cables as my weapon. Does anyone have a short broken extension cord I can use? There is a good chance I'll wreck it so I'd rather not destroy a working one if I don't have to. Remember guys, whatever you pick still has to be safe to use. We cant have rolling pins and lamps falling apart and flying around the kwoon. Make sure your object is sturdy enough to survive what you want to do with it.
I have a few other ideas if anyone is looking for something. Piano bench (any bench really), leather belt, large wooden spoons, frying pans/pots, brooms and mops (Sifu Robinson), rolls of duct tape around the arms like iron rings, bmx bike, hockey stick, football helmet. Driving around with my ipod on random today even gave me an idea for a song! I'm throwing this out there, "Good Morning Aztlan" by Los Lobos. It has a good pace, not too quick, and its lighthearted enough to fit the silly theme. Here is a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0vHWnwYuus
I'm going to cheat a little on this entry since I just got home from work at 8:30pm and I'm bagged.This entry is going to be about the dragon dance and the household object choreography, I'm going to copy what I wrote here into the I Ho Chuan forum. Three birds with one stone!
First up is the dragon dance. I think it would be awesome to have two dragons going, especially since we are going to have an infinite stage this year. You can count me in. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays work for me. I do want to learn how to lion dance so I could see myself in either a dragon or a lion if I actually learn it well enough to not suck. The logistics of filling up two whole dragons, plus backups, is certainly daunting. I think we might have to open it up to none I Ho Chaun members to get the extra numbers. Also, remember the stage will be huge but we will still need to be able to practice with two dragons in the kwoon.
I think doing a fight demo with household objects would be a blast, I'm all for it. We can setup a scene where everyone is going about their business using their stuff and then everything goes crazy with awesome and comedic results. I call dibs on extension cord, or maybe cables as my weapon. Does anyone have a short broken extension cord I can use? There is a good chance I'll wreck it so I'd rather not destroy a working one if I don't have to. Remember guys, whatever you pick still has to be safe to use. We cant have rolling pins and lamps falling apart and flying around the kwoon. Make sure your object is sturdy enough to survive what you want to do with it.
I have a few other ideas if anyone is looking for something. Piano bench (any bench really), leather belt, large wooden spoons, frying pans/pots, brooms and mops (Sifu Robinson), rolls of duct tape around the arms like iron rings, bmx bike, hockey stick, football helmet. Driving around with my ipod on random today even gave me an idea for a song! I'm throwing this out there, "Good Morning Aztlan" by Los Lobos. It has a good pace, not too quick, and its lighthearted enough to fit the silly theme. Here is a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0vHWnwYuus
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Stress
I've been exceptionally busy at work lately and under a lot of stress. I have a couple of large projects which have been eating up a lot of my time as I strive to reach unrealistic deadlines. This business also has me out of town more than usual, I'm going to be in Red Deer for most of the coming week. The past few weeks have been nuts and I don't see it ending anytime soon. I'm hoping things will settle down a bit in a few weeks.
The reason I mention this is because, for the first time in awhile, I feel like my work life is actually interfering with my training. During the week I've been going home feeling drained and its taken a toll on my motivation. I've had a harder time staying engaged but I realize I haven't been handling it as well as I should. One thing I've learned is that no matter how tired or lousy I feel, going to class, doing those extra pushups or banging out a few more form reps always makes me feel better. That's an amazing thing about this Kung Fu business, it makes everything else easier.
On a side note, I ordered two books on the Jian sword and they arrived friday. I've only looked at them a little bit but I'm exited to have new learning material. One of the books called "Sword Imperatives: Mastering the Kung Fu and Tai Chi sword" looks to be very promising. In anticipation of the books arrival I had an excited practice session in my living room on Wednesday night. I went pretty hard and I guess my bare feet didn't like the hardwood, I now have a nickel size blister on the bottom of each of my big toes. Fridays class did the final number on the toes and I left the kwoon with less skin than I came in with. They've been a bit sore.
The reason I mention this is because, for the first time in awhile, I feel like my work life is actually interfering with my training. During the week I've been going home feeling drained and its taken a toll on my motivation. I've had a harder time staying engaged but I realize I haven't been handling it as well as I should. One thing I've learned is that no matter how tired or lousy I feel, going to class, doing those extra pushups or banging out a few more form reps always makes me feel better. That's an amazing thing about this Kung Fu business, it makes everything else easier.
On a side note, I ordered two books on the Jian sword and they arrived friday. I've only looked at them a little bit but I'm exited to have new learning material. One of the books called "Sword Imperatives: Mastering the Kung Fu and Tai Chi sword" looks to be very promising. In anticipation of the books arrival I had an excited practice session in my living room on Wednesday night. I went pretty hard and I guess my bare feet didn't like the hardwood, I now have a nickel size blister on the bottom of each of my big toes. Fridays class did the final number on the toes and I left the kwoon with less skin than I came in with. They've been a bit sore.
Monday, April 1, 2013
Burnt
This blog is a day late. I was snowboarding in Jasper all of yesterday. I didn't get home until late and went straight to bed when I got home. It felt great to be out in the mountains again carving some snow. It was a beautiful warm day and I managed to get a really good sunburn on my face and neck. My nose is as bright as Rudolph's. My legs are a bit sore today, always a good feeling. Now I'm trying to decide what the equivalent "kilometers" for a day of snowboarding would be.
With April being the Diet cleanup month I'm pondering what to do. I usually eat fairly healthy but there is of course lots of room for improvement. To be perfectly honest, I find calorie counting, blogging about meals and reading recipes about as exciting as watching paint dry or doing my taxes. I'm sorry but I'm definitely going to be a bit of a stick in the mud on this subject. A couple things I would like to work on would be to try and cook better meals more often and to eat more veggies/fruit while reducing meat portions. I am seriously considering getting a blender and trying the smoothie thing.
I love good food and pretty much every weekend I go out once or twice with friends to a restaurant. My favorite and most visited restaurants are the ones that use higher quality ingredients. I'm talking using ingredients that are grown and farmed locally in a more natural and responsible fashion. Some of my favorites are Culina, Sugarbowl, Blue Plate Dinner and Three Boars. Blue Plate makes the best veggie burger I've ever had, I actually like them more than most normal burgers.
With April being the Diet cleanup month I'm pondering what to do. I usually eat fairly healthy but there is of course lots of room for improvement. To be perfectly honest, I find calorie counting, blogging about meals and reading recipes about as exciting as watching paint dry or doing my taxes. I'm sorry but I'm definitely going to be a bit of a stick in the mud on this subject. A couple things I would like to work on would be to try and cook better meals more often and to eat more veggies/fruit while reducing meat portions. I am seriously considering getting a blender and trying the smoothie thing.
I love good food and pretty much every weekend I go out once or twice with friends to a restaurant. My favorite and most visited restaurants are the ones that use higher quality ingredients. I'm talking using ingredients that are grown and farmed locally in a more natural and responsible fashion. Some of my favorites are Culina, Sugarbowl, Blue Plate Dinner and Three Boars. Blue Plate makes the best veggie burger I've ever had, I actually like them more than most normal burgers.
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