UBBT 6

What has the UBBT done for me ?
I remember the first time Sifu Brinker mentioned this project in our black belt class. I knew he couldn't be talking to me, after all I was just an average student at best. He must be talking to the young, fit students who were only starting out in life. The ones who had small responsibilities . No family, mortgage , or a bunch of other things that cloud our lives as we get older. Over the next few weeks he planted the seed of possibility in my mind. If I didn't do this now maybe I would never have the courage or opportunity to try this again. I have not looked back since. It has been an incredible journey of personal growth and self discovery. It has given me the ability to start looking into all those deep dark corners in my mind that I do not always want to see.
It is helping quiet the voice of self doubt that has plagued me all my life. I am learning to look at the world with new eyes.I find my shoulders back and my head and eyes up more often than not. My fear of the world recedes a little with each small step I gain. I feel like I am only now waking up . The future now has endless possibilities .

Linda Shipalesky
Silent River Kung Fu, Stony Plain, Alberta Canada

It's not what I thought

Yesterday I did something impulsive, a post came up on our schools chat room (Koown talk) from a senior black belt. Now this black belt has had my back on many of occasions in classes I have been teaching. He was sick and couldn't do his rotation in our sparring class. I finally had an opportunity to repay his many kindness' to me, so I promptly volunteered to step in for him. Little did I realize the scope of this step. I am not passionate about sparring, At the best of times I do as little as I can to get through a class and never revisit the experience. But last night.... well lets just say I was in for a surprise. For one thing I had never even thought about the structure that this class was following. So after a lot of explaining from Sifu Brinker I started to fumble through the class. By the end of the class my respect for the students that make up this class had risen 100 percent. They make the air in the school vibrate with their passion. I came home happy and inspired. I lay in bed for hours and savored the experience . Would I do it again? In a minute. Thank you Sifu Hayes and Sifu Brinker for the opportunity and most of all for your never ending encouragement.

Linda Shipalesky
Silent River Kung Fu
Stony Plain Alberta

Who Knew?

What a busy week this turned out to be. November is a month filled with birthdays and last week my niece added to the population of our family by having a healthy baby girl. Once November hits the department stores go crazy with Christmas preparations . I love Christmas and all the decorations, music and of course the tree. The only down side is SHOPPING which I have always detested. One hour in the stores can suck the life right out of my good cheer.
Another sad side of November is that it must be fund raising month. Every other call coming into the house is one needy cause or another looking to find money to help out the sick and under privileged . I say the same thing to Randy every year " lets pick out one or two charities that really speak to us and not try to spread ourselves so thin." So far this hasn't worked. The pledge forms still keep coming in the mail that we give token amounts to. I'm not sure we are making a difference to any of them when the money sent is usually around $25.00. My argument with myself and Randy is still to really support only one or two with a larger amount.
My training has been on the down side this week. I find my energy in a slump. It seems to take everything I have just to drag my sore bones out of bed. I know its from the way I have been eating lately. My weight has been going up and that is always depressing. So goes the battle.
Anyway I am going to give myself a shake, as I sit here this morning I can see two brave Chickadee's eating from a cat dish that four cats share ... hummm I didn't know Chickadees eat meat or does cat food have any meat left in it?

Linda Shipalesky
Silent River Kung Fu
Stony Plain Alberta Canada

Renewed and Refreshed

What a weekend. Randy, Lacey and I went away this weekend. One of Randy's work crews were doing a job down on Windimere lake which is just outside of Radium Hot Springs. He was checking out the new rig they were using, Lacey and I were just enjoying the mountains. It was one of those moments I always try to force into my memory, to really stay in the moment.
Panorama ski resort is also only a half hour drive from the job site so we went up there for lunch on Saturday. Well , they were making snow and it felt like a winter wonderland. It was 9 above so we only had light jackets on although the visual picture dictated we should be wearing parkas.We sat in a green house cafe and were surrounded with all the snow crystals floating in the air around us. It was truly magical. One of the grooming crew had a dog who was very smart and entertaining to watch. The only thing missing was a ..... dare I say it, Christmas tree. It,s beginning to look a lot like .... Any way it was very refreshing. I really tried to stay in the moment like Sifu Brinker is always trying to reinforce in us.

Linda Shipalesky
Silent River Kung Fu
Stony Plain Alberta, Canada

Assertive or Obnoxious

A few weeks ago my middle daughter came home with a stray cat. Now my first reaction was" yes we'll foster it but we already have three cats and one more just seems extreme. Of course after spending time with "Rosie" there was no question who was not going anywhere. I did put my foot down and insisted that she spay the cat. I was totally shocked to find out it is over $250.00 to do this. My temper went up at this price. No wonder there are so many strays out there, so many unwanted kittens that have to be destroyed. Society frowns on pet owners who do not properly look after this aspect of things. But the flip side of this is that $250.00 can buy a lot of groceries. I can't imagine our home without pets , this has made me aware of what a privilege it is to be able to afford this luxury .
The other thing I struggled with this week is knowing when I am being assertive and when I have crossed the line into being obnoxious. My best friend thinks that my" asserting "myself always comes across as rudeness. The argument then was when are you letting someone walk all over you and when is walking away without saying anything the better thing to do. Anyway, we ended up both coming away with bad feelings over the subject so I guess I should have let the whole thing slide.

A great experience this week was watching a white belt student receive his yellow belt. The look on his face made all the volunteer hours put in to teaching more than worth while. Congratulations Mr. Funk!

Linda Shipalesky
Silent River Kung Fu
Stony Plain, Alberta

I have had a great week for inspiration . The black belt class this week was based on a simple technique that was delivered with intensity. It was one of these classes that you come away with bruises that you didn't feel while you were getting them. I am always amazed to find new direction just by working with a different partner.
The other inspiration came from running our annual fund raiser "The Pandemonium" in our beginner teen/adult classes last night. As a group they gave it their all. You know that they didn't have much more to give when there is vomiting and students feeling like they might pass out because they can't catch their breath. If this is a refection of the funds they raised it should be one of the best results we have seen yet. Any one of the charities we support would be proud to accept such dedication to their causes.
UBBT 's end is in sight. My numbers are not where I hoped they would be a year ago. But on the other hand I never would have thought I could come this far. By opening myself up to such a great opportunity I have grown as a person one hundred percent. I will push towards the end with hopes of closing some of the number gaps.
Anyone up for UBBT 7?

Linda Shipalesky
Stony Plain Alberta Canada
Silent River Kung Fu