Look at all the trash they pulled out of the creek! This was a great job by these students.
Lila G. cleans up Aberdeen Creek with her family
Return to Wudang Mountain
Greetings
I am Corey Hopp, a student at the school of Master Yuan Xiu Gang in Wudangshan, a rural city in Hubei province, China. I have been training here intermittently since 2008, and with full-time intensity since 2009. I am now a member of our school’s traditional class, an amazing opportunity for non-Chinese to learn the ancient arts of Taijiquan (Taichi), Gongfu (Kungfu), and Qigong, as well as Daoist philosophy and tradition.
On my recent trip home to Annapolis, I had the pleasure of meeting the Balanced Life Skills community and teaching a brief seminar covering some of the basic exercises I have learned here in Wudang. With this blog, I want to continue to share some of the rewards of my adventures here. Imperfect as my understanding of my Master’s teachings may be, I hope to set down my reflections on what I am learning and give a series of snapshots of the life of a foreigner in rural China. I won’t claim the things I write to be anything more or less than my own opinions and observations, but hey, that’s blogging.
As I mentioned, I am a member of the traditional class. This means that I have committed to be here at the school 11 months of the year for 3 or 5 years. I have committed to a disciplined and rigorous lifestyle and training program. I have pledged myself to do what my Master tells me to do, in the faith that his wisdom will rub off on me someday. A day when I am not in pain, whether from fatigue or from sparring practice, is rare. The discipline makes space, however, for great peace of mind. Check out www.wudangtaoistarts.com for more info on my class.
I have just returned to Wudangshan from a trip home to visit my family and repair my finances. Before that trip home, I was in China for my longest continuous training, 15 months. Those months changed me, and just being home for a while was an adventure in itself. But check in next time to see what I mean.
3 Things I Learned While My Plane Crashed
What would the thoughts be that go through your mind, if you knew that your life was about to come to an end? What we can be reminded of by someone who went through this experience and lived, can help us to be aware of the preciousness of living our life and being there for others, especially family. The 3 things this man learned may be the same for you or maybe not. It does remind us though to pause and ask ourselves … “If I knew I only had a short time to live, how would I live it?” Here is my reminder – All of us have a short time to live.
Ryan R. performs leadership with art
For my service project I worked with my grandmother to design an art project from my class to complete together for the fundraising auction at our school. We designed an under the sea collage. My class divided into groups and each completed a square. Marmee and I painted the background, and my group did the treasure chest square. We named it “Shark Bottom”. The golden shark is the one I made. It was lots of fun, and here is a picture of it all finished.
Are Pre-School Children Being Bullied?
The simple answer is YES! Having said that though, some of the teasing that takes place with pre-school children is not bullying in the classic sense and definition. It may be young ones just trying on their social skills and not yet having them honed yet. The definition of bullying is the intentional use of power over another person to manipulate or hurt the target physically or emotionally over a period of time. Therefore it is something that is taking place on more than one ocassion.
Increasingly though we are seeing and hearing reports of pre-school children repeatedly picking on, teasing and physically hurting other children in their class or on the playground. In an effort to understand what is happening to our children and then to offer suggestions to resolve these issues with parents and teachers I am interested in hearing the stories from you about what has happened to your child or to someone you have seen. What have you done to resolve the issues? How have teachers and administrators reacted when you have discussed the questions about bullying? For the teachers, how do you deal with this conduct when you see it in your classes or playground?
What is your story? Were you bullied as a small child? Is your son or daughter being teased on a regular basis or being bullied in another way? Tell your story here as we work on changing the culture in our communities.
Continue to check back as we work on this subject of helping our children build the character and courage to be their best.
Greensboro, AL needs our help following devasting storms
Every year members of the Ultimate Black Belt Test go to Greensboro, Alabama to work with an extraordinary group of dedicated individuals to improve the lives of those in Hale County, one of the poorest in the nation. This past week the tornadoes that devastated so much of the south, also had its effect on this community.
Damage assessment:
5 people lost their lives and 42 homes were lost along with 17 that are uninhabitable.
This is a call for action for Greensboro and Hale County, where I personally know the people on the ground cleaning up the streets and helping the families that could so easily be forgotten. For the immediate needs Hero Housing has identified 31 families that have lost their homes and they are attempting to provide them with $300 cash for immediate needs.
Pam Dorr has been working in this county with Hero Housing and doing a great job of providing affordable housing and helping the community with the very basic needs of life. I put this call out to all of our friends to help this community – where we know that the money is going directly to the people in need and it will be used properly. Their website and where donations can be made is listed below. You can also send donations of clothing and other items, they can be sent directly to Hero Housing office. As of this time neither Red Cross nor FEMA has made it to their town or area and they are in need as are many towns in the south.
Finally Pam tells me that later in the summer they will need volunteers to help with construction and in other ways, and this may be a project that we here at Balanced Life Skills may want to do together. These are good people with very little resources. Every time that I have traveled there I am moved by people and their circumstances. I hope that as a school that we can be of assistance to them.
To Learn more: http://www.herohousing.org/
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hale-Empowerment-and-Revitalization-Organization-HERO/110123545679566
Address: Hero Housing 1120 main Street Greensboro, AL 36744 Phone 334-624-0842