2009 in review
December 27, 2009
This year has been a very exciting year for me for many reasons but my kung fu training has certainly been the biggest highlight of the year. This is only the second year of training under Sifu Steve McGowan but I’ve felt like I’ve accomplished a lot. I’ve noticed a lot of improvement in myself and I’ve also discovered new areas now that I need to improve on. I feel like I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in but there’s a long way to go. We’ve seen a lot of students come and go this year but kung fu is still the biggest constant in my life next to my wife.
Through Golden Harvest Wing Chun, I was able to travel to the Philippines this year and have a wonderful time meeting Sifu Bennie Casas’ family and training there. I returned to Vancouver for the first time in years and had a great time with my family. Lastly, I will be going to Hong Kong again tomorrow to visit family there. This makes three trips in 2009 with the HK trip being decided on at the last minute.
I’ve been teaching for two companies this year and both have been a great source of experience. My employment status will be changing in the next couple of months because I will be starting a full time position with one of these companies. This will definitely make 2010 much different than this year. This year I did not have a stable schedule and at times had no free time, or all the free time in the world. This let me do a lot of things at home including training kung fu a lot. I’ll have to be more disciplined with set training schedules next year when I start the job if I want to keep up my training level.
One thing I didn’t do this year was study Japanese very much. I feel bad about this because I had made so much progress last year with my studies. I hope to study more next year with a more set study pattern alongside my training. I’d like to learn a new skill as well but I haven’t given too much thought on what this is yet. I think time will be my greatest limitation next year. Still, it will be nice to have a full two-day weekend when the new job starts. I have been teaching on Sundays this year and even though it’s only one lesson, it really kills plans.
Just as I had expected, this year I did not meet many people outside of the usual circles in my life. I didn’t get to meet and hang out with as many people as I had wanted due to to time and scheduling. This too, I hope will improve next year. We need to have more gaming! I was fortunate to spend time with my family this year and everyone welcomed a new member to my wife’s side of the family. Little Ayane was born in April and has been a glowing jewel. She is adorable and it’s fascinating to see how quickly personality is developed. I can’t say for sure how far this “personality” is right now but I definitely see likes, dislikes, and simple communication.
I’m very thankful for this year and all the marvelous experiences. I think 2010 will be just as interesting and I will (nervously) look forward to starting a new decade as a (gulp) thirty year old. Is it ever too early to have a mid-life crisis? I wonder if a Porsche is completely out of my budgeting right now…
Public Service Announcement
December 12, 2009
I think it’s time I give back to society a little. So, I would like to present some different ways on:
How not to be killed by me on a bike
Not getting killed by me on a bike was considered a complicated and near-impossible feat to achieve. Not anymore! If you follow these easy and safe tips, people of all walks of life, all ages, and all abilities will be able to live their lives without getting killed by me on a bike!
Tip 1: always look forward when walking
This is the most important tip to avoid getting killed by me on a bike. When walking outside, it is very important to keep your eyes forward. Scientists now believe that light reflected off objects, for example, me, on a speeding bicycle, passes through the cornea, is focussed on the lens, and is converted into electrical signals by the retina. These signals are then computed by your brain and converted into useful information. In short, you will “see” me on a bike speeding towards you.
What this means is when walking, you should not keep your eyes on your cell phone, you should not stare at the beautiful girl/boy across the street, and possibly most important of all, you should not keep you eyes closed. Look forward! Not only will you spot me on a bike, racing towards you, you will be able to spot other things racing towards you. Like a pickup truck! Or a bulldozer! Or a brick wall hurled by some sort of wall cannon. Avoiding all these things will improve your health!
Tip 2: always look both ways when crossing streets or coming out of a store
This tip is often overlooked with good reason. Not only should you look left, you should also look right. Scientists now believe that this complicated set of maneuvers often results in people forgetting a crucial step.
Astrophysicists and quantum physicists have recently discovered that objects don’t just move towards you head-on, they often move towards you from other vectors too, like from the left, or from the right, or from behind. It’s a complicated physics thing so to simplify, just look both ways before you cross a street or come out of a store.
Not doing this can result in my smashing into you from the left or right because you suddenly popped onto my path of movement. I try to ensure no one is in my path but many people love blindly walking into my bike.
Notice that I didn’t suggest looking behind. While it would be safe to look behind, it is generally acceptable to not do this. I will take it upon myself to not run into you by following Tip #1. I always keep my eyes forward when I’m biking and thus I will be able to avoid running into you.
Loyal reader #516218 has suggested that looking right first, then left, also works. This is true! Looking left first or looking right first – it really doesn’t matter. What does matter is that you complete the whole procedure. Left, then right. Or right, then left.
Tip 3: avoid stopping in the path of moving objects
It would be unreasonable to ask anyone to always constantly look out for dangerous moving objects at all times. We’re only human after all and we can’t be on guard all the time! I think it is reasonably safe to assume that when you’re in a convenience store, or in the comforts of your own home, or even standing alongside a wall, you will most likely be safe from moving objects.
However, it is highly advised that you avoid stopping in the path of moving objects. It is very dangerous to your health to suddenly stop in the middle of a highway, or at the top of an escalator, or in the middle of the sidewalk. Most people moving along a path that is always used will want to assume that they can continue moving without fear or running into anyone. It makes it very difficult to avoid hitting you when you suddenly decide to just stop in the middle of the path.
While it maybe easy for a pedestrian to literally, stop in his tracks, I, on a bike, have a much more difficult time because of the bigger mass of the bike and the momentum. It is very detrimental to your health to do this!
Wrapping things up
So there you have it. Following these three easy tips will dramatically lower the risks of being killed by me on a bike. It is time we reduce unnecessary deaths and injuries and possible beatings from me by remembering that you are not the only person on the street and that others share the streets with you.
Until the next public service announcement!
Wing Chun Progression
December 03, 2009
I’ve recently thought about my wing chun progression over the past couple of years and I’ve come up with my own personal progression path. I came up with this by myself based on my own experience with the art so don’t take this for more than what it is.
- Relaxation
- Technique Mastery
- Movement and Energy flow
- ???
1. Relaxation
For most newcomers to wing chun, the most difficult thing seems to be relaxing yourself during training. The “secret” of wing chun is the sensitivity built and used during chi sao. When your body is tense and when you use brute muscular strength, the sensitivity cannot be developed. Without this sensitivity, your wing chun is non-existent. Therefore, the first step is learning how to use the soft to defend against the strong, using the opponent’s force against him, and learning to relax yourself to a level to be able to take in all the information about your opponent’s movements through physical contact – the download, if you will.
2. Technique Mastery
I feel that once the student learns how to truly relax and use the download automatically, the next step is to be able to use the wing chun techniques confidently and with focus and intention. This requires a lot of nitpicking and trying to perfect every single technique from the tan sau, pak sau, and bong sau, and every other block, parry, and attack. This is where an experienced teacher and fellow kung fu brothers and sisters need to give you feedback. Also, you must also monitor your movements yourself. For me, I remember just looking at my tan sau every single time and actually stopping whatever I was doing to examine if my angle was correct, my distance and range were adequate, whether or not the motion was both forward and angled slightly, etc. to a point where I felt my tan sau was near perfect. I did this for every technique. I don’t claim that my movements are perfect, but I do trust my techniques to do what they’re meant to, each and every time.
3. Movement and Energy flow
This is something that I’m just getting the hang of. This is learning how to move with attacks to minimize your energy use and maximize your attack and defense. This is not resisting through strength but flowing with different movements naturally and smoothly. This really makes your opponent work twice as hard as it’s like you’re warping around – your opponent is forced to recalculate and redirect the attack if he wants to hit you. This also helps you set yourself up at better angles to attack. I still catch myself standing ground and resisting, instead of stepping to the side. I’m getting better at it but I haven’t quite mastered this yet.
4. ???
Not sure what to expect next. Once I feel I’ve mastered step 3, maybe I’ll discover what step 4 is. I hope to be able to fill this in soon.
