Starting over

Now that we are into fall everyone in my house hold is settling into their winter routine . It feels great to get back to the gym and working out on some of the equipment and using the track. It"s so easy for me to fall out of my fitness goals when things change at home, like all the kids home for the summer. I do love them home but it's also nice to have some time to myself. With the help of Sifu Brinker I have decided to take the challenge of the UBBT 7. I am in the process of setting out some goals for myself. I hope to overcome some of the things that I had trouble with this time and come out better in the end. A year is a long time . Here"s to a new challenge.

Linda Shipalesky
Silent River Kung Fu, Stony Plain

Do it again?

We were asked last black belt class if we would be doing UBBT #7 Live like a champion and I have been thinking about it ever since. I guess my biggest hesitation would be that I wasn't able to complete some of my UBBT # 6 requirements the way I would have liked to. My numbers for push ups and well just about all my reps. are not on track. But then I look at my personal growth and I know I'm further ahead than I ever imagined I could be. My acts of kindness have made me super aware of how I treat the people in my life and those who I meet day to day. Just saying I am a student member of the UBBT has made me stand taller and carry myself with more awareness. On the other hand the weight I lost at the beginning of the year is mostly history, and I'm back to that battle again. But the Martial arts has defined my life. I know where I stand in the big picture. I will never have the body of a 21 year old, but I can keep moving and striving for the best I can be at the age I am at. So I guess I would grade myself with a good mark over all and if I do it again my goals may be more about what's inside than out. I am definitely leaning to the next UBBT challenge .

Linda Shipalesky
Silent River Kung Fu
Stony Plain Alberta

Change is good..... right?

I have had a very emotional week. Something I have been trying to avoid came to a head this week. Although I did my best to keep everyone happy, things were still taken the wrong way. I am no good a politics. I guess I'm too naive .
My youngest daughter started grade one today and it was very hard to leave her at the school. I am so use to someone always hanging off my hands that I feel lost without her. The up side to that is that she was very excited to be back with the friends she made last year in kindergarden.
The last days of August are upon me and the signs of fall are all around. The hummingbirds have become scarce. I'm not sure when they head south, but I wish I was going somewhere warm too.
I am looking forward to the new group of students after the fall renos. Its always inspiring to see the beginnig of a generation so to speak in our school.
Anyway I know nothing ever stays the same, change is good, but I have to try to slow it down sometimes.

Linda Shipalesky
Silent River Kung Fu
Stony Plain, Alberta

Making us proud

Crown Prosecutor George (Jody) Fraser (front), who is a quadriplegic, does a tandem jump with Lyal Waddell of Eden North Parachute School as part of a fundraiser for Ainembabazi Children's Project in Africa on August 22, 2009 near Edmonton, Alberta. The money raised goes to children affected by AIDS in Africa.
Photograph by: Aidan Walters, Eden North.

I have trained with Sifu Lyal Waddell for many years in Silent River Kung Fu and have always found him humble.His Kung Fu is very personal to him and so he does not tell many people he trains with us. He is very good at what he does and would be the last person to bring attention to himself in a situation like this. I know I speak to him from all of our Kung Fu family when I extend our appreciation for his contribution to the Aimenbabaze Children's project.

The countdown

I have been watching the countdown clock that Sifu Brinker started way back when and I can tell you it always makes my stomach flutter. I get butterflies every time I see it. Now it's reading 14 days. Oh my god, time has gone by so fast. You can be sure any Black belt you ask can tell you exactly what your thinking,feeling right now. This will be the most intense part of the whole experience . It brings back some very strong emotions for me. This was one of the most recallable things I ever did. Try to keep the end in sight. Don't let negative self talk get in your way. Good Luck.

Linda Shipalesky
Silent River Kung Fu
Stony Plain, Alberta

Temper , temper

I know that I have come a long way in my life with my Kung Fu, but not that far. This weekend I had to stop and give myself one of my many self talks. We were at a restaurant and the service was very slow. The waitress talked to us about how overworked she was and asked us to have patience with her. I felt sorry for her and totally understood where she was coming from.... well that was until we sat there for three quarters of an hour without getting our food. I know, I know ... I said I understood and would be patient, but everyone else around us had already got their food. My temper was getting the better of me and my temperature started to rise. Of course it didn't help that my husband, who has the patience of a saint was giving me the look ... you know the one," Linda your overreacting ... again." Anyway we did get our food eventually and I was only a little rude to the waitress, but felt instantly guilty for my attitude . Just when I thought I could give myself that pat on the back...


"I often quote myself. It adds spice to my conversation"
George Bernard Shaw

Linda Shipalesky
Silent River Kung Fu

I'm late with my blog this week. I just couldn't think of anything to talk about.So I was thinking about reading. I go though times when I can't get enough books to consume. I have a quota to get to for my ubbt. requirements, but I wasn't counting the fictions I like to escape with. I have three autobiographies , three quarters finished laying around that I can't seem to concentrate on long enough to get through. It's not that they are not worth while, its just that the reality of life is sometimes enough and I find it hard to add someone else's reality on top of my own. Fiction is a little like escapism or watching a good movie. A mini vacation if you like. Anyway if I count all the books I've read I would be well over the amount I need, but otherwise I still have half to go, talk to you all soon

Linda Shipalesky
Silent River Kung Fu