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The List

2011-01-24T09:31:00.003-08:00

Well, here it is. My list. Thought that a good way to start the year would be to put everything on the table and out in the open. This is the bullseye I'm aiming for.

UBBT GOALS

THE NO QUITTING REQUIREMENT

WEEKLY ON-LINE UBBT JOURNAL ENTRIES

PHYSICAL

50,000 PUSH UPS AND CRUNCHES

15,000 PULL UPS

1000 FORMS REPETITIONS

1000 MILE WALK/RUN/SWIM AND/OR BIKE

BODY FOR LIFE. PHOTO DOCUMENTARY. TAKE A PHOTO EVERY DAY. 365 DAYS OF IMPROVEMENT

STRETCH DAILY FOR AT LEAST 20 MINUTES

O MORNINGS AS A WAKE-UP, AND BEFORE BED

1000 ROUNDS OF SPARRING

MENTAL

15 MINUTES OF DAILY MEDITATION

MEMORIZE QUOTE

READING REQUIREMENTS- 24 BOOKS

O 12 FICTION AT MOST

O 6 NON-FICTION ON ANYTHING

O 6 CONNECTED TO MY TEACHING CAREER

SPIRITUAL

1000 ACT OF KINDNESS, DOCUMENTED

EMPATHY TRAINING

- DAY BLIND, DAY MUTE, DAY DEAF

RIGHT THREE WRONGS/MEND THREE RELATIONSHIPS

BE A BETTER PERSON. CONSIDER OTHERS IN EVERYTHING I DO. CHOOSE THE COURAGEOUS OPTION. BE HONEST AND OPEN. THINK CAREFULLY OF THE IMPACT MY ACTIONS/INNACTIONS HAVE.

PERSONAL

ACHIEVING AND DOCUMENTING 12 PERSONAL VICTORIES

1. CONTINUE TO READ UP ON DREAMING, KEEP DREAM JOURNAL AND ACTIVELY PRACTICE LUCID DREAMING

2. EARN BLACK BELT

3. CHINESE LANGUAGE

4. BUDGET MY MONEY

5. HIKE THE WEST COAST TRAIL

6. KEEP A SKETCHBOOK

7. LEARN TO SING. TAKE LESSONS

8. WRITE EVERY DAY

A. PERSONAL JOURNAL

B. DREAMS

C. STORIES

9. NEVER HIT THE SNOOZE BUTTON

A. JUST GET UP.

10. ATTAIN MY FIRST AID CERTIFICATION WITHIN THE FIRST ¼ OF THE YEAR

11. SKYDIVE

12. LEARN TO PREPARE FOOD AND BEVERAGES OF DIFFERENT CULTURES AND PREPARE THEM. 24 DIFFERENT DISHES IN A YEAR

Jonathan Robinson

Edmonton, Alberta

www.Silentriverkungfu.com

A journey of 1609.344 kilometres begins with a single step

2011-01-24T09:27:00.001-08:00

So I’m running into a problem with my goal of running 1609.344 kilometers and that problem is the winter that’s settled on the fair city of Edmonton.

First, I need to say that I absolutely love winter. The below 0 temperatures, the gigantic mounds of snow (on a slight tangent, I drove by the field that all of the cities snow gets dumped after being cleared off of the roads, and it is a small mountain that I could easily enjoy an afternoon of tobogganing on) and all of the activities that go along with it. But, despite my love of it, I just can’t keep the km count up in this season, what with the hazardous ice patches and burning throat from the -20 air I’m forcing into my lungs.

Also, I know that I could go to the gym, but the excuse that I have there is that I don’t have the time to go all the way to the university gym (where I have a membership included with tuition) just to run and then come all the way back. The semester is busy and just getting busier, and money for nearby gyms is scarce.

I also thought of buying or stealing a treadmill but, alas, the money issue surfaced again. As for theft, that’s illegal and would be frowned upon if my resume applying for teaching positions showed my temporary career as a sporting goods cat-burglar. Also, treadmills are really really loud, and my neighbors in my apartment would definitely be knocking on my door as I stomp around on this thing early in the morning and late at night (just to be stubborn, I absolutely refuse to run at a reasonable time of day).

Don’t worry though, I’m not just complaining without a viable solution. I found an exercise bike. Probably. I just need to pick it up, for free (fingers crossed) from Craig(also in the UBBT)’s girlfriend’s mom’s place where it is being used to hang laundry, and I’ll be able to rack up the clicks conveniently, frugally, silently and all of this while reading a book or doing homework since I plan on attaching a little reading stand to the thing.

Jonathan Robinson
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
www.silentriverkungfu.com

Worst Goal Ever

2011-01-24T09:26:00.000-08:00

One of my goals is to never hit my snooze alarm. I hate it.

I am the kind of guy that wakes up, rolls over and slaps the snooze and falls asleep almost instantly. If I put the alarms across the room, then I get up, stumble across the room, slap the snooze and am asleep as I fall back into bed. I hit the snooze generally 3-4 times every morning. The feeling of sleeping that extra ten (or forty) minutes outweighs my desires to eat breakfast or be on time to school. I could sleep ten hours and still that extra little nap is the best feeling ten minutes of the night.

I have only set a few alarms since new year’s and thoroughly enjoyed sleeping in for most of my holiday, but now school is starting again and my alarm is very much needed. I set it, and I made sure that I would have a good hour to get ready and leave for class. I woke up and instantly hated myself for making that goal. I sat up so that I wouldn’t fall asleep after I turned off my alarm, blinked a few times and started hating my life. I got up and wandered around the room grabbing clothes, books and really doing anything that I could think of (and thinking is a limited process for me in the morning). I threw myself down on the floor for some pushups and situps, stretched a little and hopped into the shower shortly after, confident that the shower would wake me up.

The shower made me want to sleep more, but I couldn’t give up so easily. I got dressed and left for school.

Waking up without the snooze, to me, is like driving a fork into my own leg. It is the single worst way to start the day. The plus side is that I had a lunch to eat today, did my morning workout and was early for class. I hear it gets easier with time because, if it doesn’t, all of you will get really annoyed by my constant whining in my blogs. I hope for your sakes that it does.

Jonathan Robinson
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
www.silentriverkungfu.com

Gold stars for you both!

2010-11-05T19:30:00.000-07:00

My day was made by two random people that I saw and neither of them did anything for me directly.

The first person I saw while out on a bike ride as I was helping my friend Chelsey to collect leaves and sticks so that she can make some kind of art project. Just at the bottom of a hill overlooking the Edmonton river-valley is where I saw the first guy. We were at the crossroads of the bike path and a set of long, wooden stairs. Either I could shift to low gear and ride the wide zig-zag up the hill or pick up my bike and hoof it up the stairs. I, being the impatient one that I am, decided to take the stairs. An older Chinese man, about 50-55 years old dressed in a long sleeved button-up shirt with black slacks rolled up mid-calf and crocks, carrying a plastic bag with a few newly purchased goods, was running up the lower set of stairs to where I was standing beside my bike, shoving some sticks into my back-pack. He seemed in a hurry, so I got out of his way. He passed me and started walking up the longer top section of stairs. I lifted my bike over-head and took the stairs two at a time, Rambo style, politely excusing myself as I passed the guy. At the top, I waited for my friend to slowly bike up. Here’s the part that made my day: the man got to the top, noticeably sweating, and he turned around and went back down the hundred or so stairs.

So many people see working out as impossible without the right equipment. Running requires good shoes. Working out of any kind requires an athletic shirt and maybe some spandex pants or shorts. You need protein supplements, diet plans, workout partners, gym memberships, a bowflex, dumbbells, heart rate monitor, weird fanny-pack with water bottle holsters and other nick-nacks. This old guy (I’m 24, over 40 is old to me, sorry) was running harder than most over-30s I know, in crocks and his work clothes, and that is why he’ll probably never get a heart-attack or shoot up insulin after every meal.

The second person I saw was a middle-aged lady in the Starbucks I am currently sitting in. She had one of a pair of the comfy, soft chairs that everyone always wants to sit in. I usually see people at tables get up and switch spots whenever someone vacates these chairs. A couple carrying a baby in a big basket thing came in and ordered coffees and, without being asked, this lady more or less forces the comfy chairs on the couple just because she thinks it is a more convenient spot for them to sit and have their baby close by them.

I liked this so much because the lady wasn’t asked and the couple made no gesture towards the chairs. She was actively thinking about people other than herself and just wanted to try and help someone else.

Seeing these people do these small things made a huge impact on me today. Just thought I would share it.

Jonathan Robinson
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
www.silentriverkungfu.com

Impatient

2010-11-05T11:48:00.001-07:00

I’ve noticed that by not being lazy as a wander about on my daily errands, I can get a lot of working out squeezed in and still be on schedule or even ahead.

Most days I go to university. If it is nice out, I ride my bike and get a 20 minute workout. This is actually faster than taking transit. The bus to school would take about half an hour, and the subway takes at least 20 including walking to the stop. When I have to walk places (like to my car that I have to park 3 blocks away because my building has no parking grumble grumble grumble) I usually run there if I can.

When I get to the school, I can either ride a couple escalators up, with about 60 other people, slowly riding up, or I can take the abandoned staircase. If I take them two at a time, I can usually get to the top before the quickest escalator rider. The same thing goes for the elevator when going to classes.

I think the main difference between me and the person taking to lazy way is that I am just too impatient to wait behind a crown trying to get on to an escalator, or an elevator that stops at every floor, or to walk slowly when I’d rather be there now instead of still walking there.

On that note, as someone who likes to use their legs, this Sunday I am renting a wheelchair and spending the day in it to see how that feels. My guess is I’ll feel pretty trapped. Maybe it’s a good day to try that escalator again.

Jonathan Robinson
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
www.silentriverkungfu.com

Midterm time again

2010-10-19T16:54:00.001-07:00

So I have finally discovered how to study effectively! I have to put in earplugs to block out audible distractions, sit facing a white wall or a corner to avoid visual distractions, study in an isolated area or someplace where I don’t expect to see people I know to avoid social distraction and shut off all electronic devices and put them out of sight (except maybe my i-pod, which can only play classical guitar with no vocals on a very low volume setting) to avoid those many distracters. Basically, I have to come as close to putting myself in a white room with no windows or doors, alone with only my books, as I can.

Coffee also helps.

Jonathan Robinson
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
www.Silentriverkungfu.com

Seize The Day, then cram it full of stuff

2010-09-03T19:25:00.000-07:00

So I’ve been on the road for the past week on a fantastic road-trip. We left Edmonton on the 27^th and headed west. We crossed the mountains and kept going on to the coast. After boarding a ferry in Vancouver, we drove to the furthest point of Vancouver island, a town called Tofino. This town is known for surfing all year round. The water is cold and wetsuits are worn at all times to keep from freezing. We surfed three times in two days and were utterly wiped from it. A lot of fun but I’m not a fish so it’s tiring. We are now on the leg back.

The best part about this trip has been how much we have done. We have not slept past 9am this trip and have been up at 6 on a couple days. even with drive time, we have so much time to spend doing things that are fun. Let me think for a second on what we’ve done so far (in no real order)… we saw the mountains, stayed at the Banff Springs hotel for cheap, enjoyed many great breakfasts, surfed a few times, walked everywhere we could, touched exotic animals in the Vancouver zoo, seen Vancouver for the first time, climbed a totem pole, climbed rocks in an inland stream, drank from said stream, visited a few people we know, took a million photographs, bought a ridiculously comfy pair of shoes, tried a dozen different kinds of ice-cream, picked up trash that wasn’t ours, walked among the dinosaurs, touched an eagle, climbed the rigging of an old-style sailing vessel, touched a sea anemone, swam in the ocean, ate liege waffles, panned for gold, rode a quad, pet a main-coon cat, watched a few artists at work, listened to live music being busked into my ears, slept in a church parking lot, ate some of the best food around, and more that I can’t remember right now. The best part is that I feel like the trip should have been done by now but we still have a couple days left! Might go see some aquatic life in an aquarium and climb a mountain still.

It is amazing how much can be fit into one day.

Jonathan Robinson
www.silentriverkungfu.com
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Sucks to your ass-mar!

2010-08-20T21:32:00.000-07:00

Asthma is really kicking up a notch these last couple days. The province of BC is up in flames and all of the smoke is drifting in so being outside is like being at a campfire where the smoke is always in your face, no matter where you move. I don’t really notice my asthma lately except for special occasions like this smoke. Since I joined kung fu, I have taken anything I can learn about breathing, how to full my lungs, how to pace myself with my breath and my activity, and expecially how to be active while breathing deep constantly, never taking short, quick breaths. Kung fu has definitely shown me how to use my asthmatic lungs in much more efficient ways and without it, I’d still be puffing away all of the time. If you know anyone with asthma, tell them to join right now

Jonathan Robinson
www.silentriverkungfu.com
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

UBBT: Sooooooooooo...

2010-08-10T23:54:00.001-07:00

Soooooooooooo, I’ve missed a few. I could tell you about the reasons why, but it doesn’t really matter when I think about it. Excuses don’t really have a spot in UBBT, but that doesn’t mean that I haven’t been making them to myself. I’m not out of the test, since that’s impossible, but I have been down for a bit. Feeling very unfocused and without drive lately. Luckily, I now live with Mr. Craig Janzen who all but physically sat me down at my computer and told me to write a blog since I’ve been off the ball for so long. Time for some pushups and then sleep now

Jonathan robinson
www.Silentriverkungfu.com
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

UBBT: Highlight of the Day

2010-06-19T20:14:00.001-07:00

In the kid’s class the other day we were having a run. We do this every couple of weeks, make the class run 2km around the building so that they can try and beat their previous best time. I was in chare of watching one of the corners so that none of our students would get hit by a car and, of course, I quickly became bored. I pointed at one of them at random and said, “I’m holding this crane stance until you finish your lap, so hurry up!” I almost lost my balance at one point and had to catch myself just as Mr. Garcia came around the corner. “Losing your balance?” he asked. “Almost” I replied. “Maybe you should bend your supporting leg.” This is something we tell them in class whenever we do crane stance. I just had to laugh that the 10-year-old yellow belt just corrected my stance. He was entirely correct, so I said that and thanked him. Highlight of my day, although I guess you would’ve had to be there.

Jonathan Robinson

www.silentriverkungfu.com

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

UBBT: Biking is Fun

2010-06-19T20:02:00.001-07:00

So there I was, racking up the kms on my bike when all of a sudden my rear axle snapped. To clarify, it was a bicycle, not motorbike. My rear wheel tilted to one side and the tire was rubbing on the frame. Not wanting to be cheated out of my workout, I did my best to force it up the steep hill towards the nearest LRT station. My good friend Vahn rode slowly behind me and laughed as my pedals were grinding, everything at the wrong angle. The bearings started to fall out as I reached the halfway point and he laughed harder. Stubbornly, I pushed on. I ran my bike up the final quarter as it was too steep ride my broken bike. I laid the bike down near a dumpster, salvaged my trip-meter, bell, lock and seat and tossed the rest in the trash. I guess I need to fork over some more money to get a new bike.

On the plus side, I have a macbook, 32g ipod touch and printer in the mail and should be receiving them tomorrow! The ipod and printer were a steal of a deal with the education discount. Excited!

Jonathan Robinson

www.silentriverkungfu.com

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Missing the place

2010-05-31T22:23:00.001-07:00

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

2010-05-13T07:08:00.001-07:00

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

UBBT: On It

2010-04-29T12:12:00.001-07:00

Whoops, I dropped the ball a bit with my blogging. But, no worries. I picked it up.

So, what has happened that’s noteworthy…

Sparring at the Ging Wu in Edmonton. Just like last year, it was a riot. Learned some specifics about San Shou rules in competition, tried a few new takedowns and (my favourite) got a chance to spar some people that I don’t spar every day. While it was a “light” contact seminar, there were still a few people with some bruised ribs and the wind knocked out of them. The guys at the Ging Wu are very quick and really fun to spar. I had a lot of fun, to say the least.

Our school tournament is coming up as well. This year I’m not only competing in it, but helping to make things run smoother as much as I can, mainly with the kids’ competitions, but with the rest if I’m needed. It’s always exciting to compete against the rest of the school, especially since the Onoway branch of Silent River comes out as well and we rarely get a chance to mix it up.

What else? I’ve been working on my forms more and the more I do, the more I realize that everything I do is wrong. Luckily, it’s not all bad, and I can fix it. I have many new insights into how the form actually works that I didn’t catch the first time around. All of the subtleties are being made clear and the connections to the 6 harmonies are making more sense.

I’m going to have to make a few extra blog posts to make up for the ones that I have missed in the last week. I know that doesn’t technically make up for missing, but it’s a good step I think.

Jonathan Robinson

www.SilentRiverKungFu.com

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

UBBT: Haymaker Play

2010-04-12T18:39:00.003-07:00

We had a very interesting Sihing class the other day. We were told to do a defence against a haymaker, so we did, over and over and over again. Eventually, the sifu tells us to experiment with locks after we have completed the technique and to try and get the other person to submit on the ground. After that vague instruction, we started experimenting and trying new things, which turned out to be things we already knew but applied in ways that we hadn’t tried yet! The exciting part is that because we already have played around with locking the joints in the arm and transitioning from each lock, and as we have knowledge of how to escape from some locks, we had a good 20 minutes of full out experimentation, with rolls and twists, laughs and sore shoulders and wrists. It was a great reminder of how we need to use our imagination if we want to put the “art” into “martial art”.

Jonathan Robinson

www.silentriverkungfu.com

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

UBBT: Weeeellllllllllllll

2010-04-12T18:39:00.001-07:00

Weellllll, looks like winter is actually over, but how do we really know? Part of me wants to say the ground will dry up soon and the weather will stay warm, but the smart part of me says that we have at least another snowfall coming up. Alberta winters don’t go gently into that good night. The point is I am out on my bike because there’s no deadly ice! I’ve been racking up the kms, doing between 5 and 20 kms a day for the past week. My km count, which is lacking, is now catching up at an awesome rate!

Also, just hung up the heavy bag again, using springs from my roommate’s trampoline as shock absorbers so that my garage ceiling doesn’t cave in. Now I just need a way to tether that bouncy thing to the concrete floor. Anyone have a concrete drill I could borrow?

Jonathan Robinson

www.silentriverkungfu.com

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Because we can

2010-03-29T22:30:00.001-07:00

We had our annual (2nd year running) forms marathon the other day. Basically, forms have to be done for 24 hours straight, with no breaks. It’s a group effort, luckily, and as one person ends, another begins. It was a really fun time, and we were all joking around while sharing our knowledge of the forms. My shift was from 1-330am and me and Craig were already sleepy by the time we arrived, but quickly woke up. There were a few close calls, but luckily we didn’t drop the ball. We tried to have at least 2 people going at a time as we had 4-6 people there with us. Even with all of the help, I almost ruined the night early on. I’d decided to try kempo in mirror image, and I got through parts one and two, but at the side-heel in part three I lost focus on what move came next. It’s really hard to do a form mirrored. By that time everyone was watching me out of curiosity and I had to call for help as I was starting to stutter in my moves and almost stopped. Luckily someone caught the ball as I dropped it, just in time.

Something I noticed about doing something like this and trying to explain it to others is that it’s a hard concept to grasp. I told a few people at work as we were talking about our plans for the evening. I told them about the marathon and they asked why I was doing it. Is it to raise money? Awareness? To set a record? Why oh why am I doing kung fu at 1am? There always seems to be a need for a reason to do something like this, but in reality we didn’t have a grand purpose to it. There is no charity receiving a cheque, no penalty for failing at it, not big prize for succeeding. We did it just because we can. Does there need to be a better reason than that?

Jonathan Robinson

www.silentriverkungfu.com

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

UBBT: Wicked Fun

2010-03-15T22:27:00.001-07:00

It’s the same thing every time exams roll around. I study, I study and I feel like if I am not trying to study that I’m being a bad student. I basically guilt myself into focusing solely on my studies and not on anything else, including my kung fu. Today was different. I wrote one exam, drove to kung fu and stayed for all of the classes, pretty much 4 hours of kung fu whether I was participating, helping someone out or watching. I ran two warm-ups, with one of them a tag-team between me and Craig. He was in the back of the room, I was in the front. We’d pass the class back and forth by doing 180 degree jumps from horse stance. I worked hard today. The best part is it was sparring class in ALL of the classes! Bonus! Sparred a bunch of people I almost never spar and some that I haven’t sparred until tonight! Sparred some people with really good blocking, awesome aggression and just wicked fighting spirit for everyone there too. I arrived at Kung Fu a little down in the dumps and lethargic and I left feeling so pumped up and vibrating from the good energy. This just slaps me in the face with a reminder that I can’t neglect one part of my well-being for another as they are all connected. It’s simple, and I sometimes think I understand, but it takes a wicked class like today’s to really drive it in deep. Total, a handful of forms, couple handfuls of sparring and about 270 push/situps in that time. Wee!

Jonathan Robinson

www.silentriverKungfu.com

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

UBBT: Thank You Muchly!

2010-03-02T21:33:00.001-08:00

So received a little gift from someone on our UBBT team. The note said it was to fulfill one of their challenges which was a few anonymous good deeds to fellow teammates. I had finished doing the kid’s classes and was about to leave when Sifu Wonsiak pointed out that there was an envelope with my name on it at the table by the equipment closet. I opened it and inside was the mentioned note and a 100$ giftcard for SaveOnFoods. I’ve mentioned a recently about how I’m short on money and not eating well lately because of that and someone heard and helped out, so I want to send my thanks to Someone. Thank you! I bought many cheap and healthy things and am eating some fried veggies from that stash right now! I originally thought I knew who it was that had left this awesome gift, but now I’m not so sure… I’ve got a new prime suspect now. I’m not going to try and uncover the mystery though, it’s meant to be anonymous and they deserve their secrecy. Again, thank you very much! I will be able to eat for a couple weeks at least on what I bought from that.

Jonathan Robinson
http://www.silentriverkungfu.com/
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

UBBT: Worth 1 more good deed point?

2010-02-28T21:35:00.001-08:00

I start my first professional term tomorrow morning. My IPT, me being a student teacher, is one of the more important things to do with my degree. It’s the first day and they highly recommend being well rested and guess what: my roommates who needed me to pick them up from the airport at 11 are now landing at 1:45am. So much for being well rested. I’m going to go pass out in my bed until then, and as I’m falling asleep I’ll ask myself if this is worth it for my 1000 good deeds requirement.

On a positive note, with the snow melting at this rate, I’ll be able to bike to my student teaching which is across the river and 8.5km away. With my new inner tube and trip-meter for my bike, I’m stoked to get on the trails again.

UBBT: Our Banquet

2010-02-21T11:04:00.001-08:00

I don't know about the rest of you, but last night's banquet was by far the most enjoyable one yet. First I want to congradulate the new Sifus again. You all did so well! The demos on stage were fantastic! I especially like the part-by-part renditions of Lao Gar and Kempo. The Kempo one was kind of surreal because the two not doing the form were constantly moving, hands moving in and out almost pulsing, breathing in unison. It was just a really interesting effect. Broadswords, spears, butterfly knives, sticks, bokkens, feet and fists were all flying around that stage to full effect. The intensity was there to the Nth degree.

The lion dance was just hilarious when the lion was drunk. The facial expressions on that lion, with its mouth hanging open, it one I’ve seen on many of my friends and in the mirror a few times as well. Also, sweet reference to Night at the Roxbury! And as always, those guys pulled off some pretty sweet moves up there.
Watching the kid’s demos from the wings of the stage was both stressful and energizing. I was holding my breath through the beginner black dragons because I choreographed it. I made a couple changes to the line-up while in the basement and one of the Tiny Tigers someone snuck in to the group, but overall I think they did great. If anyone was sitting to the front of the room and right of the stage, they might have seen me rocking out to the music for those demos as well. I was having way too much fun.
Aside from what was on stage, the entire night was just an awesome experience. A huge number of students, me included, volunteered to help set up, mind tables, do odd-jobs, clean up, and just keep the place running smoothly all night. All of us helpers were talking and laughing while cleaning up and it went by so fast. There was a definite sense of community and we showed it by making ourselves a part of the celebration, being a part of it and owning it.
Happy Year of the Tiger! We definitely started it off right.

Happy Year of the Tiger!

2010-02-14T03:29:00.000-08:00

I wish you a Happy Chinese New Year! 过你新年快乐！

As is the tradition with our school, 1000 pushups and situps. I just so happen to be awake right now and have done 200 of each so far. The rest will get done as soon as I wake up and throughout the day.

Also, it’s V-day. Good luck to everyone in getting through this holiday intact. Happy V-day!

UBBT: Herding Cats

2010-02-09T20:58:00.001-08:00

Our school’s Chinese New Year celebration and black belt promotion ceremony is coming up way to fast. I’m not one of those moving up to black belt this year, and I wish them all the luck I have to offer, but I get to make the Demo for the beginner kid’s class. This task of getting about 30 kids in age from 6 to 11 to perform a choreographed demo to music on stage is not to be taken lightly, I realize now. Sometimes, making kids do things can feel like trying to herd cats. We’ve been working on it now for a few weeks and I was wondering if I might have started too late, but tonight’s class gave me a bit of much needed hope. I split the class into three groups, each group with a different short combo. I just tried for the first time to put it all together today with the blocking and the cues to come on stage and the music and all the madness that comes with putting this together. I’ve never actually done anything like this and, instead of getting advice or help, I’ve basically just been winging it but it is working. Somehow. The class impressed me today too: I asked them to stand quietly while I figured out each group’s entrance, exit and order on stage and, for the most part, they did. Of course they weren’t perfect, but considering that I asked them to stand still and do nothing, I’m happy with anything short of a riot. There is still a lot to smooth out and a few things to figure out, but it’s going to work.

Dream: Midgets in Bear Suits

2010-02-05T12:00:00.000-08:00

I was walking down a street, looking for something. I’m not sure what. I was walking and I came to a parking lot. Someone had set up a stage that was shaped like a submarine that had breached the surface. as I approached, dozens of midgets in bear suits jumped up and started singing and dancing, with full cinematics and chorus lines and lights; it was a sight to behold, both stunningly choreographed and chaotic. They sang and danced and I sat against a block to watch this show that was for me alone. I was entertained and confused and a little disturbed. Then Ryan pranced onto the stage in a black leotard with little white hearts on it, singing the lead. This was really odd because Ryan is very homophobic and would never do this, ever. I was even more confused but laughing my arse off, glad to be sitting or else I’d have collapsed from my aching sides. As I laughed, he leaped onto the box I was leaning against and belted out his finishing lines. Just then, everyone stopped and in the background was Chris Griffin from Family Guy yelling, “I told you: I hate f---ing texts!” The whole show had just been an elaborate text.

UBBT: Short

2010-02-01T17:20:00.001-08:00

This past week’s been tough. Midterms and big assignments and whatnot. I’m dropping the ball a little on my physical requirements and need to kick my own butt into gear again. I’ll start by busting out 300 pushups and situps and some Kempo repetitions before I get to bed. This is a really short blog, but I’ll make the next one really long and wordy, maybe even insightful too.

UBBT: Talking to myself, I am

2010-01-25T00:17:00.000-08:00

“All his life he looked away to the future, to the horizon. Never his mind on where he was, what he was doing.” Yoda (2:25 on the youtube video)

We talk about being in the moment a lot. “where am I, what am I doing?” These two questions are constantly being put to us in class. It’s a concept I only understand on the superficial level right now. It’s easy to get so fascinated by something and so caught up in it that you are focused, passionate and fully immersed in it… sometimes. It happens to everyone sometimes. The piece that I am trying to figure out is how to be in the moment and fully immersed when I want to be. Part of my nature is being able to get swept away for a short time by something shiny and focus on nothing but that one thing until the next shiny thing comes along. That’s easy. But it’s only a small part of what I think “being in the moment” is. The real trick is to not let that other shiny thing steal my attention.

So I know what it means to be “in the moment”. Theoretically, it’s pretty simple. It’s just putting aside all of the shiny junk—like what I’m having for dinner, my annoying boss, that cute girl in my class—and keeping the moment pure by remembering where I am and what I am doing, be it on the mats in a horse-stance throwing a simple punch and making each punch another significant step towards a perfect punch, or at a table with my books open and pouring over my notes and textbooks to give me the knowledge to be a well rounded teacher. But even though I know what it is, I still don’t understand it.

A thought just came to mind: What about “Why am I doing this?” where does that fit in to The Moment? It’s obviously important, no question of that. But is that a thought that I should sideline while I’m doing something? To go back to Yoda for a second, “All his life he looked away to the future, to the horizon. Never his mind on where he was, what he was doing.” The part I like here is that he doesn’t say to be in The Moment all of the time. To never look to the future, to never cast your eyes to the horizon would just leave you entirely focused on nothing in particular.. Having no thought past where I am and what I’m doing would be disastrous. There is no way to know my intent without thinking of the future, of Why I’m doing this. Without looking ahead there is nothing to drive me forward, but if I only look ahead, how can I get anything done now? All things in moderation.

Being in The Moment is about Doing something. It’s not about Thinking about something. They’re both important, and both very different. Did I answer my own question?

UBBT: Figuring out why "Ultimate" is in the name

2010-01-17T23:01:00.000-08:00

Part of this thing, to me, is figuring out new ways to do things that I have to do. What I usually do when I have things to do is assume they will get done eventually. I am noticing, by looking at my UBBT numbers, that things are NOT getting done. I spent a little time and calculated the difference between what I’ve done and what I should be done and it’s… bad. The good news is it’s not woefully bad. That is why I am jumping into a new idea with both feet: I will, every weekday, get up and be at the UofA gym at 7am. There I will do my KMs that are lacking (my excuse is that it’s winter and I can’t run outside or ride my bike and I go places too far to walk), find some open space to do my forms that are lacking (excuse is that I have no room in my house for it), and maybe even do some stretching, push-ups, pull-ups and whatnot just because they are good for me. I’ll have almost an hour before my class on Mon and Wed, nearly two before my classes on Tues and Thurs, and as much time as I like on Friday. I have to remember that if there’s not time in my schedule, I have to change my schedule. Slowly realizing why this is called the ULTIMATE Blackbelt Test.

Side note: A school-wide challenge was sent up by our Sifu Prince to do 1000 kicks this Friday. Just wanted to say I’m in. Should be fun.

Dream: Construction, Malls and Lost Children

2010-01-13T19:10:00.000-08:00

I was working on a job in a construction, but my boss was the same as at the restaurant I work at in real life. He was ragging on me about my poor attitude and lack of work ethic when I decided to ignore him and jump off of the scaffolding I was working. As I fell to the ground I noticed nails sticking up from the dirt and slowed myself down so that I could gently step between them, proud of my lithe movements. I walked across the street and bought a sandwich. As I sat there enjoying my sandwich (ham, I think), I wondered if I would get in trouble for ditching work. Just then a guy named Bob was driving a truck with a monstrous load of beams and cables, all connected in the most complex way. It resembled a tree in a way, but all right angled branches. He screwed up a dozen different ways in a very short time. He backed the truck into a pile of building materials, he scraped the truck along a building, knocked over a fire hydrant, smashed into another truck. He did even more and all of it was hilarious to me and everyone around. Eventually he drove on to much of a slant, tipping this huge construct over onto the building we were trying to make. He fell as he got out of the truck and started scolding people for still talking about it, even though it was in the past and happened so long ago, although it had just happened. I wandered into the mall behind me and, still munching my sandwich, started to wander. It was so big that I soon lost my bearings and decided to look for an exit. I noticed many armed guards everywhere and just figured that they must be on the lookout for terrorists. I also took special note of the racial diversity present in their ranks and was quite pleased at the equal opportunity employment. I followed one of the guards to a stairwell that wound down and down, below ground level I assumed. The walls were different, kind of a wood pattern, thought I doubted they were actually wood. “where does this stairway lead?” I asked. He replied simply, “I don’t know.” And kept walking, a look of confusion, anticipation and excitement on his face. He was enjoying exploring as much as I was. At the bottom stood a solitary guard. I asked him where we were. “the whole village” I heard him say. what he actually meant was “the hole village” meaning this small shanty town in the mall’s depths that had a hole in the wall as the entrance to it. Hole village was populated entirely by children. I was flabbergasted at this and asked who the leader was. “Baby Bang” they said, a scattered chorus of children’s voices as they all pointed at one small black kid. He stood up and started to walk towards me. he couldn’t have been older than five years old. “why is he the leader?” and they showed me. he had power to create things. specifically, he reflexively made the opposite of what someone else wished on someone else. On kid demonstrated, wishing their friend was thirsty and they had a bottle of water. I caught on quick, took a deep breath and shouted, “I wish you were all fed, clothed, and taken care of!” a few of them had food appear, a teddybear appear, some clothes. I wondered what happened. The boy had fallen asleep as he was too tired from my request, not having the strength to do it all at once.

UBBT: Break the Cycle

2010-01-12T23:00:00.001-08:00

I am definitely not motivated. I’m giving up. I feel myself doing what I usually do when I’m presented with a challenge too great for me to simply coast through. I can feel it: a shadow on the edge of my senses, like a warm hole in the ground, quiet and secure. This thought comes to mind: if I don’t try and I do better than more than half, then that’s actually really good, in a way. My bed is right behind me; flannel sheets, perfectly comfortable pillow, warm duvet. All the thoughts running through my head say to lie down, figure out my stuff in the morning. School, kung fu, the UBBT, upcoming banquet, I have so much reading to do, I should be doing my situps, kempo, it’s all dragging me down. I could just go down with it. lie down in my bed. Eight hours of sleep before I have to get up in the morning—the perfect amount of sleep they say—I can do my workout then; there’ll be time for reading tomorrow at lunch; I can rework my resume next week; I’ll really start to focus after I have a good sleep…………

I just read Master Brinker’s blog. I am the “negative cycle of acceptance” that he’s talking about, not specifically, but it’s a description that I can see fitting me very well. I am nonchalant about failure, about not trying and the excuses for it are everywhere. But I’m starting to realize that there’s no chance of any of this going away. I can’t drop school without sacrificing my future profession and dream of becoming a school councillor, not to mention the respect of my parents. I can’t ignore my current jobs without cutting out everything that they pay for: food, car, roof over my head, school. I can’t drop the UBBT without losing the respect of this group of people that I have spent the last five or so years training with, without cutting off the one thing I haven’t stopped half finished, the one thing that I can’t coast through, without losing the chance to change myself, to stop this cycle of acceptance, to become who I want to be, to become the kind of person I would trust teaching and counselling children through some of the trickiest times of their lives. It’s becoming more and more clear to me that I can’t let any of this drag me down. I have to shoulder it and pick it up. I know I can, I just have to do it.

I’m smart enough to know I can’t do it alone, which is why I joined this thing in the first place. Just by reading a few blogs I am already feeling good about this. I’m not in this to get in shape. I’m in this to change myself on a level far below the surface. Time to stop my b(censored for sensitive readers)ing. I’m here to break this cycle.

Time to do some reading and sit-ups.

Dream: Camping Trip and Enchanted Swords

2010-01-10T13:15:00.000-08:00

Me and a group of friends decide to go on a camping trip. The road is tricky and there are large puddles everywhere, enough to hinder the passage of our truck. The truck comfortably holds all fifteen to twenty of us. Eventually we get out to walk. We talk and laugh as we walk down the path. We’re getting close to our campsite and half of the group has crossed over a slow and low river using a rope bridge. as I step up it starts to rain and the river floods. The bridge is being skimmed by the rushing water underneath and I cannot tell which way the water is flowing in the turbulent waves. The last of my friends that have yet to cross as well decide that the bridge is too sketchy and start to swim across instead. I tell them that they are idiots and will be swept downstream and die but they’re unconcerned, 100% carefree. I start to cross, my legs shaking, my hands white-knuckled on the ropes. The water swells up and I hold on as it threatens to sweep me downstream. The bridge, which started out wide with healthy planks under my feet, is now narrow enough for me to grab both sides as I walk, skipping over the broken boards as I hurry across this death trap. I get to the other side and the weather lightens. Downstream I look for my friends, expecting to find nothing. Instead I get there just as they’re climbing up on shore, laughing at how easy it was. I’m amazed that they made it across at all. We keep walking to the campsite. Everyone busies setting up their gear and I wander off. I find myself in a cave where the air is acidic and there are pyres set up for light as I walk down into the darkness. I find a sword. It is huge, about eight feet long, but it weighs nothing in my hand and I swing it freely. The blade is a half foot wide and the edge is razor sharp. The whole blade is covered in mystic and foreign symbols, nothing that I can recognize; they look burnt into the blade, a dark charcoal colour against the shining metal. I’m walking out of the cave when a man with a sword much like mine takes a swing at me. I dodge back but fire leaps from the sword and I barely block it, falling backward into the dirt. The man stabs the pyre and his sword absorbs the fire. He tells me he wants the sword back as it is his, one of a pair. I might have given it back if he’d just asked but now I’m mad that he attacked me. He stabs the sword at me, letting loose a scorching attack. I parry it and absorb the blaze as I spin and lash out with my sword, catching him with his own fire. With this dark man down, I leave the cave with my new prize and wander back to my campsite.

UBBT: Bumpy First Step

2010-01-10T00:53:00.000-08:00

Things are starting to work out. This UBBT has had a rocky start for sure but I am figuring things out in my own flawed way. My numbers and tracking system looks like a random mish-mash of data, no two days with a constant number. Some days are below what I want some above. I want to tell myself that I have an entire year to figure it out but that’s the tricky part. The year is very short when taking into consideration all that I have to do. Like I said before, I’m a procrastinator, but I’m trying to change that. so far so good, in my opinion. I’m already getting in a rhythm and I’m never in a rhythm. At least i’m on schedule with my pushups and situps. Some of the other things are lacking a bit right now but they won’t be for long.
At the restaurant I work at, while waiting for the last tab table to leave, I snuck off to the storage room in the basement and did 70 pushups and 3 rounds of kempo. I'm beginning to see how i can use the tiny chunks of time, the five minutes here, the two minutes there, the ten minutes i might have wasted otherwise. And if work continues to be slow like that I should be way ahead in no time.

Dream: Moths and Awkward Situations

2010-01-09T11:47:00.000-08:00

Craig and I are sitting in the hands of a giant statue, each on the other palm. We have a stupid idea, one that could get us killed or in a lot of trouble. I have a light in my hand that shines either green or orange. In the distance I see an orange light. Our idea is that we use the orange light we have to lure in the giant moth, which is glowing in the distance, to us and then turn off the light and laugh at its confusion. It starts to turn around and come our way when we notice a car pull up behind us. Man and his very fat wife get out, aim a rifle at us and fire. A tranquilizer dart ricochets off of the finger of the hand I’m sitting. As he tries to reload I sprint at him as fast as I can, trying to get him before he has a chance to shoot. He drops it when he sees me coming and runs a little distance before taking cover behind a rock. The wife comes at me with a knife and I hit her with the gun and as she’s stumbling back I shoot her with the dart, knocking her unconscious. The man now has a handgun and before he gets off more than a couple of shots at me, Craig takes him out. We realize then that we are at a very odd looking crime scene and that we probably look like the bad guys as our attackers were fairly old and unassuming in appearance. We decide to hide in a nearby school’s theatre. There are people in it still, all bundled under sleeping bags watching the end credits of a movie and about to leave. Craig steals a sleeping bag as a disguise and we walk out of the theatre with the crowd. we realize then that we have to go to a harmonica jam session at the house where the people whom we had just been attacked by and beaten up live. We figured it would be awkward but went anyway. The wife comes in, bruise on her face from the butt end of the gun, carrying a plate of cookies and the man is sitting on his couch, sipping coffee and giving us the ol’ stink eye. My uncle Rick is there too, but has no idea what is going on between all of us. There are moths fluttering around the room the whole time and I start to hit them out of the air at random and the man winces every time I do. I then realize that he is either a moth as well or is using the moths for some evil plan; It was just common sense at the time. I keep smacking the moths to annoy him as I am still bitter about the whole trying-to-kill-me thing. craig and I keep making little remarks about the other night and how we came out on top and that moths are stupid and he can barely keep in his anger. My uncle leaves the room for a moment and the man finally lets known what he thinks of me. he tells me off, insulting me, my family, my upbringing and everything I hold dear. My attention slips and I look out the window at some windmills in the distance, completely ignoring his surely scathing words. the only thing I hear is mumbling nonsense, almost white noise, from the man and Craig laughing at how I’m ignoring him.

UBBT: First Ramble o' the New Year

2010-01-02T12:29:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm in over my head. The year is just started and I feel like I am already behind.
This is a wild card for me right now. I have no idea what to expect except for sore muscles. I’m slapping things together to organize what I need to do into some kind of manageable system because I am one of the most disorganized people I know. I asked for a large whiteboard for Xmas, a pedometer as well, just made a spreadsheet to track my numbers day to day and there’s a list of things as long as my arm of things I’m still doing to get ready for this as well as the new semester of school. I’m also a procrastinator. I like to do things at the last possible second and hope for the best. This coming year I can’t afford to procrastinate. I have to do this stuff every day. Not only that, but I need to stay focused and think this stuff every day. Yup, this is going to be hard. But, that’s the reason I got into it. I don’t want to have time to be lazy, I waste so much time doing it as it is.
Best Case Scenario: This Test helps me change some bad habits, helps me get into good shape and teaches me valuable life lessons that I’ll cherish forever.
Worst Case Scenario: Nothing changes, I fail.  This is doubtful. There is such a good group of people in on this with me that I don’t see this happening.
Sleep time. I need to get up and be productive tomorrow. I promise my next blog won’t be such a disjointed ramble.

My Resolution! (AKA: Time Wasting)

2009-01-03T09:36:00.001-08:00

With the new year happening only days ago, the thought of change is standing in front of everybody like a big neon sign. It’s a new year; things can change in this one! Almost everyone seems to think in this way when the dawning New Year finally comes and many people make their own little resolutions to better themselves. There is the ever popular “quit smoking” promise that thousands of people make. Lose weight and get in shape and work harder at school and get a promotion and eat healthier and hundreds of other things that people change that they don’t like that they do. This is the time for changing things we hate about ourselves. I, the humble writer, sitting here at my keyboard, also have something I want to change: I Waste Time. If there is one thing that I do that can sum up or just overshadow or encompasses every other thing about me that I don’t like is that I waste time. If I have only five minutes I am most likely going to just waste it doing something stupid that I in no way benefit from. I am actually an all-star time waster. I can sit in a blank room with white walls and only a desk with my work on it and I can still find a way to not do what I need to do. I’ve spent hours like this in a single night. Be it school (studying to be a teacher in English), Kung-Fu (only brown belt after four years), writing (I don’t write everyday like I feel I should) or anything else, I have never put my all into it. I have never done anything worthwhile that I fully immersed myself into. I’m not saying that I never put any effort into anything, ever, just that I don’t put enough effort into it. The key here is time and the wasting of. I’m a little tired right now so trying to keep this flowing. Here’s the point. I waste time. I often find myself forcing myself Not to do something. This sounds odd but I think it is the best way to describe it. I actively make myself not do things like school or Kung Fu or write or any number of things that I should be doing. Let’s keep with school. In school I will get an essay that I need to write and I will sit down with it and stare at the book. Stare at the material. Stare at the keyboard. I will be on my computer doing this, of course, because I cannot read my handwriting. I know that I have to hand this essay in the next day and it is a 2000 word essay that I haven’t yet done more for than reading the book that it is on. I will actively stop myself from working. Watch carefully; I am very sneaky at this. I will tell myself to just check my email. I check it. I then go onto seeing who is online. Then I check the news page (yes I’m referring to Facebook here, that evil program, enemy of any student) then I see something interesting that links me somewhere else, and something else. Soon I’m on a completely non-productive voyage across the nether and effectively lost for fifteen minutes or so. I can even tell myself that I have to get this done in only six hours now as I’ve been on a few voyages already and should really be typing more than a few hundred words or at least think of a clear direction for the paper to be heading in. You see, now here is the point, I think, I have some part of me that doesn’t want to do things. No, that’s not right. It doesn’t want to do things with too much effort. I don’t know why but I have my theories. Maybe I expect myself to be able to do things without trying too hard. That would indeed take a bit of an ego on my part to believe that too deeply. Maybe I just don’t like accomplishing things that require a bit of work? Or, to take it further, maybe I just want to be nothing more than mediocre? The more I think about it the more I think that the last one might be true, but it still sounds like a bit of a cover. Why would anyone Want to be average? Or maybe, maybe I don’t want to try really hard so that I will always be able to say, “I did ok, but I didn’t really try.” Which is not as good as saying, “I tried hard and I did awesome!” but a whole heck of a lot better that saying, “I tried really hard but I still failed.” That’s a scary option. Am I scared of failure? Is that why I don’t do it? That is a stupid way to think because, logically, that really isn’t the way it would happen. With only a half effort I have been able to get pretty good at a fair handful of things but not great at anything. Now, if I put in a full effort logically I should get a great result. This comes back to time wasting. Instead of wasting the time that I spend on bumming around and avoiding the work I need to do, preferring to rush it or just half-ass it, if I used that wasted time to actually do it, even a little bit, the results would be fantastic. Look what I did right now. In the last little bit I have busted out more than a thousand words. This is writing practice, it is what I should be doing instead of playing silly computer games, staring at the wall, napping, watching TV, checking my email, sleeping in,…

Conclusion? I say that I don’t want to waste any more time. I want to jog, do kung fu, work on my school, write more, learn anything worthwhile, experience people and places new to me; I want to go to the mountains, anything that could be more than a waste of time. No little games, no little naps, no little peeks at my email (I’m not so popular that I need to check it more than a once a day anyway). I’d say reading a book is good, writing something also good. A few push-ups while waiting for my micro-waved dish to be done. Anything. If I have half an hour, go for a short jog and a shower. (That rhymes. Maybe it’ll stick in my mind better that way?) I don’t know if I can stop wasting time though. Not on my own, anyway. I’ll need help. Does anyone have any ideas? What do you do that you don’t waste time? A few things are obvious, like having a partner to jog with, or a reliable study group. That’s what I need until I get in the habit myself. Things like that. I think that there’s a box to type in right below here. Just saying.

Oh, also, what does everyone else have for their New Year’s Resolutions?

China Journal 2008-11-13, 1:42PM I May be Addicted

2008-11-12T22:48:00.000-08:00

So this week has been one of the hardest weeks yet for my training. I just haven’t had the energy that I usually do. My muscles are really sore, my joints are stiff and I just feel very lethargic. I woke up today at the usual time but immediately went back to sleep. If it wasn’t for the three alarms I set for myself I would have missed class. I remember saying to myself, in my head, “That’s it, I’m skipping training today!” but that third alarm slapped some sense into me. I was a few minutes late but luckily I hadn’t missed anything. The class was as brutal as I thought it would be! We started off with a friendly game of soccer, or “football” as everyone except for me and my American friend call it, and I was sweating buckets by the end of it. We lost, by the way. Next we just had some alone time to stretch. This was nice. Luckily our 老师(aka Laoshi, aka teacher) didn’t feel the need to help us out at all. When we got into the actual movement I had to really force myself to move. My form was hard coming. I stuttered on a few moves and was really feeling tired and fatigued early on. At this point we still had at least a half hour left! After failing at one tricky technique (some may know it, it’s a wushu move where I have to do a spinning cyclone kick but land on my side on the ground) for the umpteenth time I just really wanted to kick a hole in something. I was getting angry at myself for not being able to do it. granted, I have changed from Sanda to Nanchuan, which is a lot more aerobic and has a lot of nice, low stances, but I still shouldn’t be this beat. What is wrong with me? Then it all made sense. The short temper, the self-loathing, the fatigue and exhaustion. Classic signs of withdrawal. I hadn’t had a banana in almost a week. Those sweet, delicious, energy-filled fruits. Packed full of potassium and who knows how many more awesome minerals and nutrients. I heard once that there is enough energy in two average bananas to last someone through an intense 90 min workout easily! Since I discovered how cheap fruit was in china I’ve been eating at least three a day. I recently lost my bank card and am basically broke while waiting for a new one to be sent out so I haven’t been able to buy any. Now I think I may dip into my emergency funds and buy a bunch and a half again.

2008-11-05, 7:32PM New Style and My Dissolving Censor

2008-11-05T07:29:00.000-08:00

So I’m no longer studying Sanda. I decided to switch to Nanchuan style Wushu. A benefit of studying Chinese language as well as Kung-Fu is that I know now that Nanchuan translates literally as Southern Fist. This style seems to have a lot of swingy arms and low stances in it and I have nicknamed it “Swingy-arm kung-fu”. My legs are quite sore today because for the last couple of months I have been doing Sanda and I didn’t need to go low for that. The teacher is evil, by the way. The first day we had to do a lot of low stance type stuff and we finished off with three minutes of horse stance followed by ten power of the insteps. Then I had to do it again. My glutes were shaking like a dancer in a rap video. Please don’t picture me doing that. As much as I loved that, that wasn’t the evil part. Stretching back home and stretching in China are very different things. At home, everyone spreads out and stretches. If you’re gung ho, you feel the pain of your ligaments getting longer. It’s painful. Here, we do the same thing except the teacher comes around and pulls your feet and body into the proper position (aka a more painful position) and then they push you down into the stretch until your body wants to die. I think I talked about this before but now that I’m in the different style of kung-fu I think it will be a more common experience and it's just on the top of my mind. Pray for me. If you're not religious, wish my joints luck.

I’ve also discovered a weird side effect of being in a country where very few people understand me. Me and my friends walk down the road and we talk in English together more often than not. Because no one really understands us, we don’t lower our voices when we say crude or objectionable things. This means that my friends and I can often be heard (by an English speaker) swearing, naming body parts, or talking about nearby people in a hilariously offensive way. I have a theory. Most people don’t voice everything that goes through their heads. This is because we all have what I like to call a “censor” that keeps us from saying things that other people would either not appreciate or think was just odd. Because no one understands us we don’t use our censor as often as we usually would back home. I think that when I get back to Canada I will be thought of as a loud, obnoxious person until I get my censor back. I’ll just have to start speaking in Chinese back home to compensate.

2008-10-11, 1:12PM: Fitness in China

2008-10-12T02:00:00.000-07:00

I like to walk everywhere I go in China. On my walks I see a lot of interesting and different things. One of these things was the playgrounds. Playgrounds have some of the regular things that we have in Canada, including stuff to climb on and stuff to swing on. Their playgrounds have something extra: exercise equipment. The equipment is disguised as a toy with bright colours and round edges. I’ve seen chin-up bars, elliptical things, stuff to work abs, some weights, a chest press type thing, and some other… things. I really need to go to the gym more and learn the names of these devices. The point is that when kids go there they play on the equipment. They never see it as something separate from fun and are more likely to do it always. Also, when parents or grandparents go to the park with young ones they have something to do other than sit on a bench, even though there are also benches. Overweight people are just a rare sight in general and overweight kids are even rarer. I hear that obesity is going up in kids here but compared to Canada they don’t have a problem at all. It’s not hard to see why. Also, there are bikes everywhere, lots of people walk and the food just seems a lot less processed in most places.
Old people are monsters here. They often seem to remain in very good health despite the fact that they all smoke like chimneys. We were shown a way down from the Great Wall by a man who was nearly 60 and he was smoking while climbing a cliff and set a pace that our young bodies (tired from hiking and carrying bags, mind you) could barely keep up to. Seniors often are seen in some parks doing Tai-Chi or maybe dancing or other styles of martial arts. I had to laugh a little when I saw someone with a poster trying to show the plight of senior citizens. It was about how they don’t have a way to retire and have to work even in old age. It showed a picture of an old woman with a huge bundle of sticks on her back. I could see the point that the guy was trying to make, about how old people shouldn’t have to do backbreaking labour and all that, but I couldn’t help but laugh to myself that this tiny old woman was about 70 probably and as strong as an ox! She didn’t look like she needed any help whatsoever.

Being here makes me think how dependant we are on our cars and all of our other little devices that make our lives easier. We drive around the block! Here, I use the subway but it’s still a few blocks away. If I had a bike (and the courage to drive it on the roads here because it’s insane here) I’d probably ride it everywhere. My mind is hectic today so I think I’m jumping all over here, but my point is that fitness is just ingrained in the culture a lot more than it is with our culture. People are just healthier.. except for the chain-smoking and pollution.

I guess I’ll take a moment to update on my training. Starting next week I train in the meteor hammer on Tuesday and Thursday for two hours each! My schedule will be this: Sanda at 7:40-10:30am M-F, meteor hammer from 2-4pm T,Th, Chinese language 2-5pm M,W,F and weight lifting with some friends whenever, probably a few times a week and maybe some jogging tossed in for effect. By the way, my legs are sore today. And, it turns out, the Wushu that I’m going to learn can be anything. The teacher told me I could just learn whatever I wanted! So I’m probably going to do some kind of stick or another weapon or long fist or something. I’ll decide that before November. Any ideas?

Oh right, by the way, the Sanda teacher was late on Friday and the Wushu teacher decided to help us all stretch. Have you ever had someone physically tear at your ligaments? That’s what he did. we stretched our farthest and he pushed us until we wanted to cry. It turns out my reaction to pain is laughter. I don’t know why. I was laughing when he made my joints hurt. It does work though. I'm limber like Gumby

China Journal: The Great Wall Epic 2008-10-03 4:42PM

2008-10-06T05:36:00.000-07:00

Wow I’ve been putting this off for a bit. Sorry, but I have been busy and lazy at the same time and haven’t been keeping up with my journal. Not much has happened really in this time. Not much except for climbing the great wall! No no, hold your applause until the end. Wait for the story to start at least! Oh, you’re too kind.

My great wall trek starts in my dorm at six thirty am the day that we start. Me and my friends are not at all prepared because we procrastinated and went out the previous night to enjoy spirits and social interaction. We skip off to the market which is luckily open early and buy sandwiches and processed snacks. I made sure to buy at least a couple of packs of peanuts as peanuts are a magical snack supplying the snacker with boundless energy. I also bought some tubes of meat. The best food we bought was from a guy with a stand right outside our school. He made little breakfast sandwiches with lettuce, chicken and egg in a bun with tasty, brown sauce. This man was a master of the chopstick arts. They moved as if by themselves and assembled a sandwich in zero time. I was flabbergasted. My friends were less than impressed. Whatever. We each bought four and packed them along with the rest of our snacks. I had little space for all of my food so I had to tie a bag of bananas to the back of my bag. To reiterate, the plan was to hike, sleep on the wall, then hike some more. We needed sleeping bags. We didn’t have any. We didn’t want to spend the money. We rolled up the covers from our beds and tied them with belts and spare rope to our bags. My one friend had a Samsonite satchel. We set off for the subway station with our program leader Hunter.

To get to the wall we had to ride the subway across Beijing and then get on a bus to travel to the very outskirts and then we found a guy in a van who did his own tourism stuff with the wall and he drove us the rest of the way. Luckily, we stopped at a supermarket and Tyler bought a backpack to use instead of his laptop satchel. Later in the story you will realize that this was the wisest decision he made.

This paragraph marks the start of the actual trip! We reach a town where there is a path up to
the wall. We decided to forgo the nice, happy gondola and the clean and tidy remade great wall and instead wanted to go to the broken down, falling apart old Great wall. Hunter asks a couple of locals and the point us to a path. We pass a tiny kennel on the way and I pet some disgustingly cute puppies. I have pictures of that. Go look. They’re cute. On the left after the kennel is a little path. We assumed that this path was the right one and walked in. After a few minutes we pass an elderly woman and I begin to think that this path may turn out to be too easy. I quickly forget this when the path gets steeper and I decide that the old lady is just a monster. (By the way, sorry to all of the grammar Nazis out there that are hating how I sometimes switch from past to present tense.) The path eventually goes from steep to steeper and we start to climb a little. It started out with one little rock face that had little risk to it and we soon found ourselves climbing near vertical cliffs with death waiting below. I might sound as if I’m laying it on a little thick but I’m really not. Though the hand and footholds were numerous, if we were to have fallen it would have been a short drop and a long roll. At one point we heard what was unmistakably the hum of a hive of bees. My friend, Tyler, chose that moment to mention that he was deathly allergic to bees. My only advice was to climb slowly and steadily and make no erratic movements. We got to the top without incident and sat on some rocks eating some roasted nuts. Tasty.

This top that I just mentioned was not quite the “top” top. The great wall was still a little way ahead. The whole first part of the climb, Rolf, our Norwegian Sherpa, took the lead by a good distance. The last leg Tyler was the first one in line. I stayed in the back as I often took pictures and then caught up. I heard Tyler from up ahead yell that there was a wall in the way and that the path was impassable. I let out a cheer and ran up to join him to see that the wall he was talking about was a wall of rock, not the Great Wall. I hated him for a short time. Luckily, around that rock wall was the Great Wall itself. I ran up and let out a cry of triumph! We made it to the top using the most dangerous route and a minimal amount of preparedness. Congrats to us.
We met a Canadian couple who took another, easier route. I guess we took the path on the left when we should’ve taken the path on the right. Oh well. I liked our route. We didn’t die so it’s all good. Next time I’ll bring rope though.

The first site of the wall was a guard tower. An old man had made a camp there and was selling beer. I had one, of course. It was very nice after the long walk and it served as my celebratory treat. the view from the tower was amazing. I can’t describe it well enough to do it justice, so use your imagination because I’m going to try. I could see the entire mountain range that surrounded us. Not mountains like home, but more like foothills. Nothing goes over the tree-line so everything is green right to the horizon. Bah, this isn’t working. They should’ve sent a poet. Up there we could see our path clearly. The wall wound out in both directions from us. Off to the right we could see in the distance the gondola up to the reconstructed part. The other way was more overgrown and rough looking, even from a distance. The clean, easy way wasn’t for us so we set off to the left. Far off we could see the tower called “Eagles Flies Upward Tower” that Hunter, our Chinese friend/program director, pointed out.

We were told by a couple of Chinese people that we met that there is a metal ladder with a drop-off in the direction we were heading. We found it. What happened with it is there was a stone walkway around a cliff and the walkway was so decrepit that it had fallen away at one point directly below the steel ladder. I went down first. I like climbing and am very sure of my feet below me and I was nervous going down it. The ladder was easy. The bottom of the ladder, however, hangs in the air with a thirty foot drop to a rock slide. The trick is to hold onto the metal railing that is set up after the ladder that used to border the stone walkway and walk along the rock wall. I had a large backpack so moving was tricky for this part. One slip and I would have fallen to the rock slide below and rolled for awhile. Of course, I set my foot down on the solid rock and walked away from the edge and pulled out my camera on video mode. Tyler, with his short legs, took his time but got down without incident. Rolf, who is a little more reckless, had a little incident. He started off normally but as soon as he got to the wall, he stepped on and let go of the rail, turned around and spied his landing and went to jump. He made what could have been a fatal mistake. He hesitated. He second guessed himself and stumbled, went to grab the railing and missed. He landed on his side and would have rolled under the railing but luckily his large bag jammed him for a moment, long enough for Tyler to grab him. He came close to a nasty fall. I have it on video. In it I’m swearing loudly. Sorry. Hunter, who’s been here before and is smaller, simply climbed down the rail. That guy, he could’ve told us. But I guess if he did I wouldn’t have the story.

The trail gets rougher from there. They call it climbing the Great Wall for a reason. There isn’t much walking involved. The stairs for that first day were mostly crumbled and rocky. Tricky because there were more than a few loose bricks. The crawling pace we had going down those stairs was definitely necessary. I would’ve upped the pace for sure but I’m not a foolhardy guy when I can see my handicap, ie my bag’s size in this case. This was a bit of a pain for the whole trip. Not because it was hard to climb as such, but more because my bag would catch on branches and also make it hard to turn around in narrow corridors.

Towards the end of the first day, we arrived at a guard tower. The sky was getting dim and we thought we should stop before it got dark. Sadly, the tower was a little below our lofty standards for living. The walls were quite crumbly and we were going to be forced to sleep in rubble. We moved on. In the failing light we carefully climbed down a crumbling stairway to another tower not too far from the last. This was one of the more dangerous times because we had to be very sure of our footholds and in the failing light it gets harder to find them. Luckily the stairway was only approximately 25ft high and the climb was short. We walked into our new home and it was glorious. The ground was mainly free of debris with a couple of the windows already partially blocked with bricks to keep out the wind. We quickly made our living quarters and went to find wood. We found two twigs and some green stuff. After a half hour of failed attempts at a fire we gave up and sat in the dark talking and eating cold food.

Sleep was harder to find that night than wood. We were sleeping in the blankets off of our beds and didn’t bring ground mats. It was drafty and chilly and the souls of the dead Chinese workers buried below us were very talkative. My legs were bundled up in my tiny sleeping nook, crossed like I was sitting when I fell backwards into sleep. What little sleep I did have was filled with restless dreaming, most of which is remembered only with feelings and small fragments and one scent that stood out even to my dreaming self. One part that made me glad for the terrible sleep was seeing the stars. Out in the countryside the stars are bright and clear and they twinkle more than at home. I woke up and looked out my tiny window to see Orion perfectly framed. I laid there looking at the stars for a good hour that night. I wouldn’t have traded that sight for a restful night. It was an odd sleep. When the sun rose I was glad to get out of my little nest, stretch my legs and await the coming warmth of the sun.

We were lucky when we woke up to see something that I thought was pretty amazing. The clouds were everywhere around and below us so that the sky was clear but the ground below the mountains was cloudy. The clouds were flowing from the Beijing side onto the other side through a short spot on the wall and it looked like a white river steadily streaming down the mountain.
We cleaned up and set our sights on the Eagle’s Tower. Our goal was a long way off but we figured we could make it in a few hours. I had on my jeans and a long shirt because the sun was being a jerk and hiding behind the peak of the tower we slept in. We climbed down a steep staircase, the jagged rock sharp on our cold hands. The area below us was relatively flat and we all took the time to change to warm weather clothes as soon as the sun hit us. That was nice sun too. It just seemed like the most pure sunlight shining down after being cold all night, tossing and turning. I felt charged by it like I had solar panels hooked into my system.

Walking along the wall I marvelled at the forest within the wall itself. It really showed me how old the wall actually is. The wall is in great condition on the outside because it is made of huge bricks cut from the mountain itself and the smaller bricks are on top of those to make the actual walking surface. The trees seem to have taken root within these little bricks and stretched their roots all through the wall itself. Walking along the narrow trails the tree canopy almost blocks the sun for long stretches. There are broken archways and stacks of old bricks and stone stairways every so often, all hidden inside the Great Wall’s garden. The guard towers are the same in this respect as some of their roofs have collapsed in the middle and overgrown leaving them looking like small, contained gardens with fifty foot cliffs all around.

The sheer size of the great wall blew my mind! Trying to grasp the concept of how many people and how long it took to build it is almost too much to try and comprehend. The foundation bricks are gigantic, about one meter long by half a meter tall, and carved from stone. I cannot really understand how they could move them around and place them when I have a hard time just climbing the cliffs themselves. I’m, guessing at some kind of system with ramps and pulleys or something. The most mind boggling part is the tall stairways, namely Sky Stairs. These stairways climb the steepest parts of the mountains. The stairs themselves are half a meter tall and only about 10-20 cm wide! We theorized that ancient Chinese are eight feet tall and thin as rails because that is the only type of person who could use stairs like this in a normal fashion. These Sky Stairs were very tall and became narrower the higher I climbed. At the narrowest point I wouldn’t have been able to turn sideways with my huge bag. I loved it. As soon as we got to the top and celebrated our conquering of these monster stairs we looked ahead on the path to see another set almost as tall and a lot more crumbly. How nice. The second one was definitely a harrowing climb. The stairs lay mostly in a pile at the bottom so we had to rely on the shattered rock wall to serve as our stairs. The rock in China is great in that it always seems to have excellent handholds and footholds. Also, because these paths are frequented by other hikers, the loose rocks haven mostly fallen down with those ill-fated travelers, the wall is relatively clear of trick holds.

The view from the top of the eagle’s tower was better than the first tower. I think this is because we had worked so much harder to get to it. It lived up to its name. The cliff off the one side was a straight drop down for what may have been hundreds of feet. I’m not good at estimating distances, especially from memory, but believe me when I say that if I’d have jumped, I could have screamed for a breath and a half at least.

That was it. We had climbed the great wall! We were at our destination and now it was time to walk to the town. It was two in the afternoon and we figured about an hour hike. This calculation was made before we remembered what the great wall was made for. It’s not called the Great Fence. It turns out that the walls leave a good twenty to thirty foot drop even if there’s no cliff. We had no rope so we had to find a hole in the wall. That’s not hard. Just by walking the length of the wall we would eventually find a way down as we’d seen at least half a dozen on our way up here. We climb up to the next tower and run into our first dilemma. The staircase down the other side is completely crumbled leaving a cliff that would need rope. We’ve been in this situation before earlier that day and just find a path around it. In about ten minutes we’re down the stairs after our little detour. That’s when we see the next cliff that used to be stairs. We are all tired and don’t want to tackle a full-on cliff as we’ve been hiking for about six hours on little
sleep. We decide to hike around again.

The hike takes us down a path that steadily gets steeper. The dirt turns to leaves and the leaves turn to mud. My shoes have no grip and if I step on the many rocks I risk sending them down to meet my friends. Whenever we have been on a path that doesn’t seem often used, like this one seemed, we regain our faith in it by seeing the scattered water bottles and other wrappers along the path. These sure signs kept us going up the first path to the mountain and they kept us going down this sure path off the mountain. We came to a cliff. We went back to the wall. Hunter made a call to someone who knew the wall. We tried another path. We hit a cliff, taller than the other one. We scrambled up the mud and rocks to the wall again. After another phone call we tried again. Third tries are always the luckiest. We reached a cliff again. Luckily, it was small and easily climbable so we went down. The next cliff, about twenty feet after it, was very tall. Very, very tall. At this point we deduced that the wrappers and bottles were not cast aside along this trail but along another and washed down our slippery path by the rain. Elementary, my dear Watson. We climbed back to the great wall. That’s thrice that we climbed down and up. I loved it though. The whole time I was laughing and saying it was great. My friends hated that. I’ll also not that Tyler is Hypoglycaemic and hadn’t had any fruit in a while. Rolf, nice guy that he is, noisily munched an apple down while Tyler was suffering a sugar shortage in his body. Suffice to say, Tyler did not appreciate my happy-go-lucky attitude.

How did we get down? I’ll tell you. Hunter called again and a local of the nearby village, a fifty year old man, hiked up from his house in forty minutes. We saw him on the other side of the broken wall and waved. We figured he would take some secret, invisible path up and started to wait. In less than a minute he was there beside us. We were flabbergasted. After he paused for another smoke (how he got here that fast while smoking, I’ll never get) he showed us a small climbable path near the collapsed portion. In less than an hour we were down the mountain and getting into the van of a local tourism business. It was now about five. We spent at least a couple hours climbing the nearby mountainside.

The drive back was the most nerve-wracking, scary part of the whole trip. The guy whizzed through the mountain roads and at one point passed a bus on a blind turn. He refused to give way and forced the oncoming vehicle and bicycle onto the shoulder. I cheered at that move but tightened my grip on the holy *expletive deleted* handle. By the way, seatbelts are not often worn in China and the seat I had did not have one.

There. That’s my book. Sorry it was a little long winded.

Travis Panasiuk

2008-09-17T08:39:00.002-07:00

Travis.
The news about Travis reached me out here in China too. The distance dulls the shock a little, making it seem less real; hard for me to comprehend. Hearing about something like this purely through email doesn’t work the same. I almost don't really believe it. Or I don’t want to believe it, but I know he's gone and it hurts. He pretty much just started Kung-Fu, not even at the best parts yet, and now he's done. I liked training with him because even though he was a relative beginner, he wasn’t afraid to try things. Being afraid is a huge hindrance to experience and the experience that Travis gained was huge. I know that a lot of people gained from seeing that exhibited as well. You can’t help but be influenced by that kind of an attitude; it’s infectious at the very least. Training with him was fun because I could see that smile going strong even when he was tired and even if I was kicking him too hard. He didn’t seem to really think about being tired or sore, but more just enjoyed being there and that can cut out pain like nothing. His passing reminds me that life is precious, every second of it. I think he understood that very well. I barely knew the guy outside of Silent River, though I had hung out with him a couple times. He came to my going away party and he’s luckily one of those people that can go to a party where they know very few people, be sober and still have a good time. He was a great guy to know, though I knew him so little. Never really got the chance. No, I had the chance, maybe if I hung out with him more earlier on. But the road of “If” leads to madness and regrets would be something that a guy like Travis wouldn’t appreciate. A better idea is to instead learn from that and don’t delay in doing something. Invite that interesting, new person out for a drink, learn that instrument, try that game, eat that odd dish. Everything is new in the beginning, so don’t be afraid to do something new. Approach it without fear but with a lust for gaining experience, for knowledge. Almost no one looks back and says, “I wish I hadn’t tried that.” But I’ve heard a lot of people say that they wish they had. This is a piece of Travis that I’ll try to keep in me forever. I feel bad that I cannot attend the funeral as I’m in China currently. I’ll have to pay tribute to his life in a different way out here. It may not sound like much, but I’ll keep him in mind while I train and try and emulate his frame of mind and attack my training with the same vigour that he did.
Jonathan Robinson

China Journal 2008-09-17, 11:11PM

2008-09-17T08:39:00.001-07:00

Early this morning we, Hunter, Rolf, Tyler and I, went to get our physical examinations done. Sadly we had to miss training to do it. Of course, Rolf and I messed up our alarm clocks and we were rushing, unshowered, out the door. We hop on the subway and transfer to a bus until we jump out onto some street. After a short walk we’re there at the hospital. I was always wondering what a hospital in China would be like. I hear so many horror stories about China that I had no idea what to expect. The first thing I see is a sign that says “physical examination for Aliens” with a nice, sharp arrow pointing around the corner towards the back. I’ll admit I was simultaneously amused and worried. After some bad E.T based jokes we went inside and I was greeted by a site that relaxed me completely; automatic, sliding, glass doors. These shiny, clean doors just put my heart at ease and we strolled in to be poked and prodded. The place was dead empty. We sat down and filled out our paperwork and when we got back to the line the place was packed. After waiting a half hour to get the papers verified, we went shuffling around to the various rooms to get examined. The first room and, oddly enough, the worst was the x-ray room. I walk in and this pushy lady almost shoves me into position. I end up with my chin in a groove on some kind of suspended plate shaped like a torso. She grabs a lead flap in the shape of a giant, 2D pair of tighty-whiteys and makes me hold it with my arms still by my sides. After bending me to her will, I look like an uncomfortable chicken. I left feeling violated and gave a blood sample with relief. Pins are nothing compared to that evil woman. I ran into my friend Chris there as well. Funny chance because he’s studying in Beijing too. We’ll meet up for lunch or something sometime.
Tried some weird kind of Chinese breakfast crape thingy. It was ok. That’s all on that.
In Chinese class today I slept during one of the breaks. It was a really odd thing I did and I’ll tell you about it in a second. First, let me say that I don’t usually sleep in class but I was really tired and I think I have a cold today. So I’m falling asleep and starting to dream and Tyler asks if I want his peach. I, in my insane, dozing state, do not think I am being offered a peach but something else, what I can’t remember, and I tell him “No” with a lot of attitude mixed in. He offers again, knowing that I do want the peach. I tell him no again. He offers one more time saying, “Jon! Do you want to eat this peach?” I clue in and grab it and eat it. I don’t thank him until later. I’m out of it. I get up to put the pit in the garbage but instead trip and fall. I’m really in a stupor at this point. I crawl over to the garbage, put it in and roll over onto the floor again. Martin almost tripped on me. Sorry for you literary types reading this and hating my grammar but I’m really tired.
Oh, one more thing. Yesterday Tyler and I tried a new noodle place. They were fantastic. For about two bucks Canadian we enjoyed huge bowls of noodles with beef chunks! I slurped mine back, as slurping is polite in China, and at the end I found a little tiny, approximately one point five cm, cockroach type bug floating dead in my broth. I picked it out with my chopsticks and put it on the table, as the Chinese do for anything that they don’t want to eat, and I have a quick mental debate. On the one hand the noodles were delicious, on the other there was a freaking cockroach in it. As always, logic prevails! I didn’t die from the bug and the noodles were grrreat! I decide to finish my pasta. We took Rolf there today and enjoyed the same dish. MMMMMmmmmmmmmmm Noodles!

China Journal 2008-09-11, 3:27PM

2008-09-12T07:48:00.004-07:00

The first day of training was yesterday. Just so you know what we did and how it seems to work, I’ll tell you. To start, we start at nine and go until about eleven thirty. We get a ten minute break about halfway through and the only other breaks are the slow jogs around the training hall between exercises. We never really stop moving for the two point five hours. Warm-up, like in Silent River, is the most strenuous part so far. We do a lot of things with jumping, foot work and really odd exercises that are really painful. Quick stepping and a lot of hip movement. There are a couple where it looks like I’m skipping through a field of daisies or trying to shimmy out of a pair of shorts without my hands, but they help in warming up and working the core. For warm-up we also play soccer, aka 足球. It was me, Rolf, Tyler and another guy, none of us being pro in soccer, versus the three instructors and a russian guy who seems to play often. The final score was something like twelve to one against us. After that we split up between the three instructors. Rolf, Tyler, Sasha the Russian guy, and I study Sanda (Chinese kickboxing) on the far left mat. A short, quick and acrobatic Indian guy studies Wushu (the flying stuff) on the middle mat. And a crazy Danish guy studies Taichi (slow and relaxing) on the far right mat. Our instructor is in his forties, the oldest one of the three, and agile for a guy his age by western standards. At one point, while we were doing fifty slow side kicks, I saw him pop up into a straight and steady handstand. He’s funny too and patient with the language barrier. He knows a little English but luckily he speaks mostly Chinese, giving us a good chance to learn more. Oh, side note, we train in tiny kickboxing shorts so I show a lot of leg during practice. Sorry for the mental picture, but you have to know. When we get into the actual Sanda the first thing we do is stand in a fighting stance for ten minutes in left then right lead. After that we practice proper punching technique by punching slowly then quickly, one hundred times, both sides. There is a lot of repetition, I find, which is good. We pared up and did some blocking practice with one guy throwing punches and the other blocking and parrying. At one point he got us to put our hands behind our backs with our partner punching us all over, body, face, and we were told to look at him and not blink. Also, a lot of stretching. And running and jogging and walking around. We did some pad work too, kicking and punching them. The teaching style is different too. because communication is tricky he’ll just walk up and move your hand or leg, or show exactly what to do. An eye for detail is handy here, I’m definitely practicing mine. Also, I’m sore and, what with more than two hours formal training every weekday morning, I expect to be sore for a while. I also will be practicing some extra stuff for fun. I bought a meteor hammer so I have to learn how to use it.

Chinese language class started as well. It’s at two in the afternoon for two hours on Monday and Friday and three on Wednesday. It’s very good. We actively engage in conversation with the teacher and each other all class. I think Wed is the conversation class. Writing is on Fri or Mon. It is even better because we have only three people in our class. Tyler, Martin and I. Rolf is with the crazy Danish guy in a lower class. Class here will serve as a good complement to my practical practice that I constantly have just living here and that seems to me to be the best way to learn a language.

It’s really interesting being a foreigner. I notice people always look at me and some full on stare. The Chinese students at school are extra friendly and just last night Rolf and I played with what we like to call a bird-ball. (a birdie type thing that’s used like a hackie sack. Young and old people alike play with it. it’s a traditional Chinese toy. It’s made of four feathers on a rubber base that has some small aluminum washer-sized rings to make a pleasing noise when you kick it.) We were soon joined by two girls and a guy. We tried to talk to them and one of them knew a little English so, after playing bird-ball for about forty-five minutes, him, Rolf and I sat down and talked about Beijing and whatever else came to mind. Friends are easy to come by here it seems. Also, last night while roaming the market for food, four of us, Canada, Amsterdam, Norway and America, were standing and talking when a young kid ran right up to us and just stared at us with a large smile! Chinese kids are cute. I want one. I probably won’t marry a Chinese woman though, or father random half-Chinese children though. I’ll just get a Chinese kid and take him home in my luggage or something. Or maybe not…

China Journal 2008-09-09, 10:50Pm

2008-09-12T07:48:00.003-07:00

Finally ate after all that! Noodles. Good. Best thing about Chinese noodle eating is that you don’t actually twist the noodles, like we do, around the fork. Instead you slurp like a vacuum in a puddle. It’s awesome! All my manners from home are now forgotten and replaced with slurping, grabbing food from other people’s plates and putting my elbows on the table. Burping is fine too.. I assume… ha! After a bit of a break we took a half hour bus ride to a kung fu store. Weapons everywhere. EVERYWHERE!! I have pictures. Go look at them. I bought some good stuff too. Rolf got crazy metal claw gloves with spikes! We were like kids in a candy store! We were allowed to pick up and play with everything so, of course, we did. there was a sword almost as tall as me! I wanted to buy everything so I may go back and buy more someday. I bought a meteor hammer and will learn it. After getting back from the store Rolf, Tyler and I went for food at an awesome place only a short subway ride away. They had something called princess made milk bun or something like that. I need the recipe. It was the best thing ever. EVER!! It was sweet but not strong sweet. I can’t even describe it. best thing ever. EVER! EVER! I will eat it again. also, vinegar looks like soya sauce. I made my rice taste crappy. It made me sad. The buns made me happy though!! We ran back through the rain. Turns out I love running in the rain. I am tired. I’ll respond to emails tomorrow after training! Night night.

China Journal 2008-09-09, 10:54AM

2008-09-12T07:48:00.001-07:00

Wow. Just spent all day since eight looking for some hospital to get a physical. All foreigners need it supposedly. But this means that we couldn’t eat all morning so we’re starving! 饿死了Uh si le. Literally starving to death. Soon we eat because the place we went doesn’t do it anymore and we could not find the other place. Kind of annoying but whatever. Tomorrow we start kung fu and Chinese language!! I can’t wait! Booyah!

China Journal 2008-09-09, 12:12AM

2008-09-12T07:47:00.000-07:00

Wow long day. To start, I had the first good sleep of the trip so I feel rested. Sadly, Rolf and I slacked off for a good chunk of the day. We went for breakfast sandwiches and a cookie then lounged in the room all day until early afternoon when we decided to go on an adventure. We almost immediately ran into Eda, Hunter and the new guy, Tyler. He’s a pretty good guy so far, funny and easy-going so he fits right in. he’s here studying Sanda and Chinese language from Ohio. After waiting an hour for him and Hunter to figure out the phone for overseas calls we all went to a crazy street with all sorts of stuff to buy and haggle for! It was sweet because I figured out the secret to haggling. Pretend that the merchandize is a piece of crap that you don’t even want and say no at least five times and then start to walk away and they’ll drop the price at least by half, more if you work it. Rolf got a thing priced at five hundred yuan dropped to one hundred yuan so he bought it. Some kung fu clothes. Lots of neat stuff there; I’ll be returning with some money to buy some stuff. Presents! I saw the infamous scorpion shish kebob as well and will be eating it. More on that later. Wow are the people selling things pushy. Taking the subway was bloody long! Transferred three times and probably rode and walked for half an hour to get to where we were going. It was fun though. We ended up racing through the stations on the way back. Eda’s crazy and at one point tried to sneakily beat us to the top of a huge set of stairs and escalators. That started a race that made us all super sweaty by the time we got to the subway. We were all rushing by people who were content to slowly ride up and jumping over railings and sprinting up dozens of steps. Good fun! On the last stop Rolf went back to keep the door open while me an Tyler went to check emails. I took the trusting country boy into some dark alleys. These dark alleys, luckily, contained no thugs so the short-cut worked! And for my parent’s sake I will point out that the alleys were not shifty, merely poorly lit. after more awkward conversation we finally got on some computers. After getting back to the apartments I needed to alert Rolf to our return and open the doors. I shouted up to the windows but of course he didn’t hear me. it was open so I decided to throw my hackie-sack in. I missed and it fell into a bamboo patch. I’ll find it tomorrow I hope. Sadly the door was actually still open at this time and we had no problem getting in. turns out that I’m dumb when tired. Turns out. A few things that I’ve noticed: guys have no problem carrying a girl’s purse without feeling like wussies and even wear them over their shoulders. People in dark back alleys sound even shiftier when you don’t know what they’re saying. Tea is awesome. We drank some tea just now actually. Bed time! I have some kind of physical tomorrow it turns out…

China Journal 2008-09-07, 11:23PM

2008-09-12T07:46:00.004-07:00

Turns out we weren’t going to see birds, but the bird’s nest, aka the Olympic stadium. Haha! It was really spectacular. I’ve never seen a building with no sharp edges before, it’s rounded out all over! Also, I found a toy that I need to buy. It’s this large birdie type thingy that they use like a hacky-sack! So fun and I impressed a few of them with some tricks from my years hackie-sacking. Must buy toy. Also had more delicious food! I like food. It’s such good food here too. Eda and her friend who’s name I forget showed me and Rolf a sweet bar filled with foreigners. I’ll probably drop in there when I feel the need to have a good, English conversation. Oh right, we rode the subway for this little expedition today. It’s so high tech and it goes everywhere! It puts Edmonton’s to shame. Their transit compared to Edmonton’s is like an Olympian to a retarded cripple. Bed time. I hope I can sleep this time.

China Journal 2008-09-07, 6:28PM

2008-09-12T07:46:00.003-07:00

Good day so far! After a crappy sleep, woke up at least twenty times, I got up and Rolf and I went to the internet café. Also bought a keychain. Hey, the keychain is a big thing for me! I’ve been planning on buying one for two days now. We came back and wasted time for a while. We got hungry ( 饿了Uh le) 安定bought some noodles and found hot water. With this newly acquired boiling water we had big plans for tea. After killing more time I found myself falling asleep so we went to market. On the way a friendly yet pushy girl tried to sell us make-up and something about our feet.. it was hard to understand her because she spoke excellent Chinese. We spent a good forty-five minutes buying noodles and snacks along with some tea and, very important, toilet paper. Also bought a knife for the watermelon we purchased on the side of the road on the way back. Delicious, by the way. This may sound boring to you but there is actually so much going on that I can’t really describe it all. Everything is different. Here, I’ll try a bit. People walk in the middle of the road and drivers honk to get through when off the main road-ways. There is garbage all over. It doesn’t seem like anyone worries about littering. I saw a window level with the ground that had broken glass spread in front of it for security. It turns out I suck at haggling. I paid full price, 14 yuan, for a watermelon. That’s a bit over two bucks. I’ll think of more later. Eda’s going to be by soon to take us to a park to see birds or something.

China Journal 2008-09-07, 3:35AM

2008-09-12T07:46:00.001-07:00

Jet lag again, I think. Either that or I just can’t sleep. That’s ok though, this gives me a chance to write about the day’s events. I got up at about seven this morning after not having much sleep and finally being fed up with not being able to sleep and I unpacked a bit of my stuff. I had a shower too. The shower is a little different than at home. Instead of being in a little stall or behind a curtain, it’s just there on the wall of the bathroom. There’s a drain on the floor of the bathroom and it just drains down. I can brush my teeth and shower, even poo and shower if I want because the water easily reaches the toilet! I met up with Hunter at about ten am. We hung out and talked about random stuff until Summer and Esmeralda, Eda for short, arrived from the airport with my roommate. His name’s Rolf. He’s from Norway. A student of martial arts since he was 13 (he’s 20 now) and seems like a decent guy so far. We’re probably going to swing by an internet café tomorrow and send some emails because our room internet is unavailable until the tenth. Food was the first stop after dropping off his baggage. I ordered 25 dumplings, aka jiaozi, and tried the spicy sauce. It hurt. I stuck to the other sauce. I tried my first bit of conversation with a stranger as asked for a box to take the leftovers in as my eyes were bigger than my stomach. I walked up. “Qing gei wo yi ge he.” “Mei you he” was the response I got. Luckily I only had to think about it for a few seconds until I realized he said that he had no boxes. I didn’t know what to say. No box? My plan is ruined and Plan B doesn’t exist! Oh no! I was about to panic and run away when he gave me a little baggie. I thanked him with a “xie xie” and sat back down to bag my jiaozi. I stored them in the community fridge and we started the tour. Listening to our Chinese friends talk I am happy to find out that I understand some words and phrases. Not nearly enough to engage in any good conversation but enough to leave me in high spirits for the semester. I saw a bunch of buildings where para-olympic training is happening. Neat! Library, classrooms, training hall and, best of all, cafeteria, are in short walking distance. We left the campus and walked down some nearby streets. Food everywhere, cheap goods too. I found a super comfy pair of sandals for only 6 yuan, about one buck, but sadly the biggest size they had was 45 and I’m about a 46-47… darn my gargantuan size! Rolf got a pair and they are supposedly great. Jerk. Just kidding, he’s not bad. We split the cost of a big jug of water and a manual pump to jam in the top. we watched some children’s cartoon in Chinese, which are hilarious by the way, and went to bed at about eight. Bad idea, because I’m awake. Neat thunderstorm though! I’m going to bed again, wish me luck.

China Journal 2008-09-06, 1:39AM

2008-09-12T07:44:00.000-07:00

Darn Jet Lag. I had a dream though. I was in my house with this kid. I was being mean to him in a funny way, funny to me anyway. Basically I kept beating him at anything that he tried to be better than me at. At one point I finally said, “Fine, you can have the hose” during a water fight we were having. I was surprised to see him ready to use it, even in the house. I run up the stairs before he can drench me (we were in the basement), then I run out the front door, down to my basement door. As I’m running outside, I remember looking at the trees behind my house with a paranoid glance, thinking something might come out at me. I was hesitant to turn my back on them. I run across the basement until I’m almost behind the kid and I slam the water valve off. He makes a defeated grunt and throws the hose on the floor. I pick up the hose and use the last bit of water pressure to drench him, telling him that there’s always some pressure left after you shut it off. He was pissed. Now, in the real world, I’m in a kind of crouch, typing on my computer in my undies. Just thought I’d throw in that visual, suckers. Ha!

China Journal 2008-09-05, 9:45PM

2008-09-12T07:43:00.000-07:00

I boarded the plane from Edmonton after I ate a delicious breakfast with my parents. Everything went smoothly, I was genuinely surprised. The flight from Edmonton to Vancouver was less that eventful. I played some pokemon to pass the time. Upon arriving in Van, I rushed out of the plane and down the many hallways, following the sign for international travel. I turned left at least sixteen times which should be impossible without going in circles but that’s Vancouver airport, I guess. I found my gate easily, checked in easily and then went for a rum and spinach dip. Tasty. I board my plane. The flight across the ocean was long. Really long. I literally did not stand up once until I was in china. That’s about 11+ hours of sitting. I played a lot of pokemon and read a book and slept for about 2 hours. Boring boring boring shoot me it was boring. I lived. I walked with my new friend Rachael to customs. We were friends because we both are English speakers and therefore could actually converse. I grabbed my bag off the spinny bag thingy and set off in search of my supposed school. I walked out of the baggage claim into a sea of signs for people. I was starting to think I’d fallen for an internet scam when I saw that the biggest sign was for me!! Hazah! I was greated warmly by Summer and Esmeralda. We grabbed a cab and went to the campus I’m staying and learning at. Turns out, it’s an Olympic training ground too! We met up with Hunter, an outgoing and friendly guy. I was shown my room, which is a basic bed, shower, toilet and internet access and then we ate some food. Mmm food. After eating and a couple drinks and some good conversation, they left me to my own devices and I’ll be getting a tour tomorrow! Sleepy. The next one will be better, I’m tired. Oh right, the air is clean because of the Olympics . Quite breathable, so far.