Missing the place

I am seeing just how much of a product or reflection of my environment I am lately. I’ve been missing a ton of classes due to work. The hours are running long more often than not, so getting to my class is becoming a pretty rare occurrence. It was easy in the lower belts as I lived very close and had the money to spare to be in a kung fu class 4 or 5 days of the week. Now that I’m in the sihing class, which runs once a week, and instructing the kids, where I focus on their training instead of my own, and living in the city with the tricky hours, I notice how much I need to be immersed in the kwoon. The atmosphere of hard work and good attitude within the walls of our training hall do so much to keep me motivated, focused and with a goal in mind. The less I go, the fuzzier it becomes, the less clear my focus is and the further I stray from the path to mastery in my kung fu. I don’t like this feeling of detachment. I think that I need to find another way to get my fix of the community. (writing really helps in the thinking process, I notice. Tangent, pay no attention to it). Time to catch up on my blog reading/writing and whatnot. Maybe that will help.


Also, my car is dead in the water for the second time in as many weeks, so wish me luck in getting it fixed

Jonathan Robinson

www.silentriverkungfu.com

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Mastery

Every since I memorized that Quote on Mastery, I have been finding myself repeating it over and over in my head. When I wake up, I’m saying it. When I drive someplace, I’m saying it. Wherever I am and whatever I am doing, especially when I least expect it, it pops into my head. If I hear a word or phrase that is similar to one in the quote, I instantly start repeating that line or paragraph. I know I was supposed to memorize it as a requirement for attaining my blackbelt (as I typed that I thought “correction is essential in the process of attaining mastery”) but what Sifu Brinker forgot to mention is that I was actually inserting a stalker directly into my brain.


I can see the point of this exercise now that it’s worming its way deeper into my brain. I realize that it is almost impossible to memorize something without thinking about it, even if you don’t try to. I’m not intentionally analyzing it, but I find myself doing it without meaning to. I read and re-read and repeated and wrote down and said out-loud that page of writing (14pt font, single spaced) so many times that my eyes went fuzzy and my brain ached. Plus side: it’s stuck in my head and not going anywhere, so I can review it at my leisure now



Jonathan Robinson

www.silentriverkungfu.com

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada