Hard to Manage Alone

     Last year I started off in the year of the Rooster really strong. I didn't manage to maintain the same intensity throughout the year however. In the never ending quest to be better I have searched for many reasons for why this happened. Last weekend a big one came to light. Not something that I would have attributed to this but now that it has come to light it is like a huge weight has been lifted.

    Before last year four of the five members of our family were practising Kung Fu. We had pulled Baker out because he never seemed to be able to make it to classes with hockey games and practices. That our two daughters and myself. This past spring they both decided that they no longer wanted to attend classes. I tried to convince them to stay but was afraid to push too hard. The last thing I ever would want to do is force the issue and cause them to resent Kung Fu. I knew that from past experiences that I had myself as a child that if this happened there would be no chance of them ever practising again. The conditions that were put in place for them were; You must write a letter to Sifu Brinker explaining that you no longer wanted to practice Kung Fu, and that you must find another physical activity to take its place. 

     Adrianna tried out for the girls basketball team but wasn't able to make it. Even though she didn't make the team it was awesome to see her step outside of  her comfort zone and at least try. Cassidy said that she wanted to try "casual" gymnastics but didn't manage to follow through in finding a class that she could regularly attend. This past weekend we finally made the leap and gave them an ultimatum. Either find a physical activity to take part in or we were putting them back in Kung Fu. 

  Cassidy asked me if instead of going to the classes, if she could practice with me at home. We discussed this for a bit and came up with an alternate plan. or slightly different than she initially anticipated at least. She agreed to do my I Ho Chuan physical requirements with me. It was amazing to me how everything became a little bit easier once this plan came to light. It is one thing to have the support and encouragement of the team behind you but we spend most of our time away from the Kwoon and the team. Not having the extra support at home seemed to make making "bad" choices way easier. This is my journey and I am the one responsible for my actions but it seems way easier when you have someone close that is coming along for the ride. The one thing that will take some adjustment is time of doing these things. When it is just me I am able to spread these out a little better so they don't take the same toll as trying to hammer through a couple of hundred push-ups and sit-ups in an hour. This was evident right away on Monday when we did these requirements between 7:00 and 8:00 and then went to class and we were doing the physical testing. Oh well live and learn. 

     One thing I did forget to mention to her though was my 1000 miles with purpose where my requirement is to run 2km three times a week. I guess she will get to do some living and learning tomorrow.