I have started a 100 Day Challenge. This challenge is to get me focused on some very bold and innovative projects as well as making improvements in my own training. If you would like to follow what I do over the next 100 days here is the link to Mr. Joe’s 100 Day Challenge.
This week has been crazy and awesome. As I sit down to write about it, I realize one of the major differences in my life here and my life training in Wudang. There, when I train my mind is either off or focused on what I am doing, and outside of that I have fairly few demands on my attention and I have plenty of time to reflect and plan. So writing a blog happens fairly naturally.
Here at home, I work at an architecture firm, I teach, and I do demonstrations and talks about Wudang. There are always demands on my attention, and reflection often has to wait. So while in Wudang, the physical side of my training seems my prime concern, being home is a training ground for my internal art. This is where the theory meets reality.
That said, I had a wild but fun week. Thursday night I attended a Chinese embassy celebration of the Chinese New Year at the Meridian Center in DC. Definitely one of the neatest evenings I have had in a while. There were a lot of diplomats there, a beautiful musical performance, and two Chinese art exhibits, one of woodblock prints and one of modern paintings on porcelain. I was there with my kungfu sister who is working hard to establish avenues for the sharing of Wudang culture and wisdom with D.C. and the U.S.
Friday was spent at the Bullis School in Potomac. I did a collaborative demonstration with two Shaolin monks. Of course, they were masters and I am still a student, so it was quite an honor to share a stage with them. I really enjoyed meeting them and other amazing members of the kungfu community in the D.C. area. It was wonderful to meet other people who dream dreams like my own.
It is the journey to black belt – it is not the belt, stripe, or the trophy that will bring us happiness. If we believe that when we reach this goal or get this accomplished – then we will be happy -it has never failed me to see that we will be disappointed. The reason is, we are tied to the results rather than the experience. Living in the moment we are in, learning as we go, appreciating everything that happens to us – even if we consider it as bad fortune. The reason is that everything we have or do not have, everything we get or do not get, has the ability to make us better individuals – even if we do not understand how or why at this time.
Parents especially, as much as we want the best and everything for our child, as much as it hurts to see our children not get what they want so bad, it is a part of life that if we learn to accept as part of the journey and learn from – we will enjoy the wanted results even more when they come.
We live in a society that demands results NOW and many are unwilling to accept waiting. But in reality that is not how life works – if we want happiness. Enjoy the journey to black belt, enjoy your experience learning anything new, yes even in school. In the end everything will be more enjoyable, each minute, hour, day, years and life. In the end when the goal is reached, whatever it might be, we will look back on the struggles and disappointments as learning experiences and those are the things that create our very best character.
I enjoyed this clip from a movie that demonstrates what we can learn:
January 9th through February 14th, I am pleased to be offering a seminar in Qigong at Balanced Life Skills. Qigong has been one of my favorite discoveries in the course of my martial arts education, and I am always excited to share my love of it with others.
What is Qigong? Imagine the practice of martial arts as a line. One one end is fighting, and on the other end is purely health oriented exercise. Qigong would fall near one end of the line, and it might look like this:
Literally “Chi Work,” Qigong is a kind of moving meditation. In a series of dynamic poses combining breathing, flexibility, strength, and mental focus, it seeks to nourish the internal health of the body. It is adaptable to the level of the student; a sedentary newcomer and a conditioned athlete will both find challenge and growth.
There are uncountable permutations within this broad category of exercise, each with its own focus, theory, tradition, and practitioners. In Wudang, I have learned a few different Qigong practices. My favorite is Five Element Qigong.
In the seminar this year, I will be focusing on Five Element Qigong, but will range as well into other aspects of my own practice that have informed and enhanced the experience of Qigong.
The seminar will be held, January 9th – February 14th, on:
Mondays 5:0o PM and 7:00 PM
Tuesdays 11:00 AM
Students should plan to attend at least one hour-long session a week, but are welcome and encouraged to attend additional classes for more guided repetition. Those interested are welcome to try a class in the first week for free. Seminar fee= $10/week
Corey Hopp is a full time student of kung fu.
Eight hours a day, six days a week, ten or eleven months of the year, he can be found punching, kicking, and jumping on the paving stones of Yuxugong temple in rural Wudang Mountain, Hubei Province, China. However, in January and February of 2012, Corey will be at Balanced Life Skills Martial Arts here in Annapolis, sharing some of his experiences with the local community.
Corey is a student of Master Yuan Xiu Gang of the Wudang Daoist Traditional Internal Kungfu Academy. Wudang Mountain has its own special style and tradition of martial arts, emphasizing softness and sensitivity, flexibility and balance. Students of Master Yuan’s school learn a variety of disciplines, including Tai Chi, that are intended to impart not only the ability to defend oneself, but also to protect and nourish one’s spirit and vitality.
Though he had been studying martial arts for a few years beforehand, Corey’s kung fu training truly began in January 2008. He had been teaching English at a small university near Nanjing for the fall semester. During his Chinese New Year holiday, he decided to follow his interest in martial arts and visit one of the ancient homes of Chinese kung fu. That first dark, cold January visit left its mark of snow, sweat, and muscle pain, and the determination to learn more about Wudang’s unique art.
Corey is now part of the traditional program at Master Yuan’s school. It is a rare and demanding opportunity for non-Chinese martial artists to be immersed in the same physical and mental training that has been handed down through many generations of kung fu practitioners.
Having grown up in southern Anne Arundel County, Corey returns here every year to spend the holidays with his friends and family and save money for another year of training. For six weeks in January and February, he will be offering seminars in the basic health practice called Qigong. Qigong combines breathing, stretching, and meditation to strengthen and relax mind and body.
I would like to invite all of our students and others in our community to meet Corey and practice with him for the short time he is here in Annapolis. You can then follow his studies next year right here on our site.
Thank you to everyone that has contributed to the Balanced Life Skills Community this past year of 2012. Our school has provided costumes, jump ropes, food for those in need here in our community and in other parts of the world. Our students stepped up and did much to support USA troops stationed around the world. Support for the teens in foster care this holiday season was the best ever. With the support of our students we now have one of the most complete collection of books on the subject of bullying and relationships for students, parents and teachers.
Our Grants 4 Teachers fund has now given almost $30,000 to teachers in Anne Arundel County. This year we started Bully Prevention Partners with the goal of creating a culture of peace in our schools and helping every child to feel safe in school and their community. We have continued to support the Youth Suicide Awareness Task Force here in Anne Arundel County and this year with the help of one our students will be offering training right here in our school.
Upcoming this year will be a growing emphasis on Bully Prevention Partners and reaching out to the community. In addition, we will be holding Safety Seminars for parents and young students to address how parents can talk to their children about safety including “good touch, bad touch”. There will be guest instructors invited to the studio this year starting with Corey Hopp in January, Gerald Dawson in February and Keenan Cornelius in the spring. I am planning on more nature hikes for students and in the spring (date to be announced very soon) BLS very first testing for black belt. This will be an event you do not want to miss.
I am so proud of our students, young instructors and all of our families. I promise to be here to continue to work on character building, physical growth in strength and skill, and teaching self defense in its most global meaning. Working together we can have an impact on our community in a most meaningful way.
