promotions

We had a great class on Wed. 6 people were promoted. It gives me a good feeling seeing people move on in their journey towards mastery. I hope I was able to help them all in their quest for the next level. We have 2 new brown belts and 4 new Sihings. Congratulations to all of you. This helps me remember why I am invoved with this year of the horse.To watch and learn from eveyones sucesses and or failiures. It's always nice to see the excitment a new belt level brings to your training.
Had greek food for supper, a beef wrap, french fries. then a lumberjack sandwich, an orange, a banana, yougurt,
Took the garbage out, swept the floor, made the bed, did dishes,
Sifu Jeannette Langner

kind act

This still seems to be a challenge for me. I see people everyday and yet I find I have to think about how I can do an act of kindness for them. It seems I need to work on my social skills. Saying you probably do acts all the time is not true. Being nice and pleasant only goes so far. I get a better sense of accomplishment if I actually qualify my acts of kindness as a positive interaction with people, or doing something nice out of the blue. Making me think of them has really made me aware of how infrequent I actually do things for others. This requirement has really opened my eyes on my behaviors towards others. I am striving to improve this quality in myself that I was unaware I was  lacking it.
I had Indian food for supper last night then got a BLT for lunch and a pretzel, and a lemon poppy seed muffin.
We cleared out the cabinet and moved it to the living room. Then did dishes. Put the DVD's back in cabinet. Swept the floor. Made the bed.
Sifu Jeannette Langner

never quit

We are all reminded of how life gets in the way of things. Our health impacts a lot of our decisions daily.I have a physical annoyance and it prevents me from doing high impact exercises or running or jumping. Consequently my exercise regime is mostly low impact. Now this takes a lot of patience and perseverance. Seeing results with this method take a lot longer. I did get my black belt with perseverance. I cannot express in words just how special it was on that day I did get my black belt. I had to work consistently at my exercises and practices in order to achieve the level of fitness required. My knee injury was a blessing in disguise because I started training as soon as I could and I was able to grade within 2 years of the injury. This may sound tedious and boring however the sense of accomplishment is beyond words. So I am taking this year to heart and not quitting any goal. Slow and steady really does win the race. Keeping this up front in my mind is what helps me go on when my body tries to quit on me. I may not do 180 push ups a day yet but I am getting closer to the number. I can do 40 per set, 20 normal 20 triceps then 20 crunches and 20 leg raises. I really concentrate on those core stabilizers to help with my endurance. Staying to do the san sou on Fridays is hard because I really am tiered by that time and still make it to work.I will find a formula to make that class because I see the opportunity to get my sparring hours in.
Yes my physical limitations still keep me from going at full speed but I will never stop trying.
It's my birthday today so Randy is spoiling my by doing my chores,
I had pizza 2 slices fully loaded, then brought 2 more to work, had a  pretzel with mustard, a big glass of a fruit smoothie, and an orange.
Sifu Jeannette Langner

New language

Had another good nugget to share from wed class. Sifu Brinker mentioned how we all are learning the vocabulary of kung fu now we need to start making sentences that work. So our block punch kick is a sentence that flows. Not just block...punch...kick. He called it the vocabulary of motion. Thought it would be a cool concept to share. It makes me look at my forms in a new way to think of it as a story not just a bunch of moves. It definitely helped with my flow issues.Now if can just relax my shoulders.Sigh it is still a work in progress.
Had beef cube with noodles and mushrooms for supper then took some to work as well as a baggie of fruit and veggies.Also had a bowl of veggie soup and a bagel last night.
Did dishes, took out garbage, Swept the floor, cleaned counters,made bed
Sifu Jeannette Langner

alignment

We learned in the blue/brown class about body alignment. If we pay close attention to this it will greatly help with our 6 harmonies. When positioning feet for a technique it is best to have them with your lead leg slightly in front to create a circle of power. We line ourselves up for a hip throw and here is where it is critical. You can hurt yourself when you ignore your body alignment. Staying on top of our hips with straight legs takes a lot of practice to consistently lift your opponent.It was a really great class.
I had pork steak and corn with noodles.Brought last of the hamburger helper to work then had bag of veggies and fruit.with yogurt.
did dishes,took out garbage, shoveled driveway, swept the floors,cleaned counters
Sifu Jeannette Langner

update on tattoo

I had a consultation recently at Crimson Empire for my tattoo. I'm going to get it on my calf and it will be a rose with a blue butterfly. I'm kinda nervous about it so I scheduled my appointment for May 11th. Even left a  non refundable deposit so I have to go through with it. I had good news from my doctor about my dosage for my Thyroid pills and it remained quite steady all last year so I don't have to go back to see him for 6 months.Which also means my supply is good for 6 months and I he just wants me to schedule a  physical to occur in the spring. So Yay  more blood work.I will endeavor to actually make the appointment and do all the tests.
Tom has been with AMA for 10 years and they gave him a 50$ gift certificate for the keg. I had prime rib steak and garlic mashed potatoes. then I brought to work leftover  hamburger helper;and 2 baggies of fruit,and some yogurt.
I put away the laundry and did some dishes then I shoveled Sammy's runway in the back. Cleaned the counters.
Sifu Jeannette Langner

push up

Well I am pleased to report an increase in my numbers. I am able to do 20 push ups at a time now. I started at 10 so I'm excited I was able to double that number.Documenting them in a journal has been helpful. We've heard it before however I am pleased to report the truth of this theory. I  don''t like to journal at all so this is also quite the challenge for me. This is making me more aware of how much Kung fu I actually have in my life. I'm trying to adapt it in new ways that are helping me with my everyday life. I have more energy. I still tend to procrastinate more than I'd like but even in this I am making improvements. Being accountable publicly has motivated me more than I realized. This journaling  really works. So for those of you who aren't I highly recommend you give this a try.
I had chicken and potatoes with a salad for supper, then 2 more pieces for lunch and a fruit smoothie in the morning.
I did dishes, cleaned the toilet, wiped the counters, did recycling, and took out the garbage.
Sifu Jeannette Langner

Chuan fa

I was thinking about this the other day and it still awes me how our society dictates whether a word should be used over the other. I mean we know chuan fa is the Chinese word for  Kempo yet everyone recognizes Kempo before Chuan fa. Directly translated both mean law of the fist. one is Chinese the other is Japanese.
Yet society has a hard time accepting the Chinese version. With all this new technologies we create new words all the time. I recently discovered selfie is a new word. Meaning self portrait with your cell phone. This is now common knowledge. Yet we can't seem to create enough publicity for Chuan fa to be recognized in north America. People still want to know our style as Kempo or Kenpo.
I had pizza for supper, 2 slices. and lunch 2 slices, Then yogurt, and a  fruit explosion muffin. Shopping tonight for sure.
Was able to get another load of laundry done and put away , helped with dishes, took out garbage,swept floors.
Sifu Jeannette Langner

eye for detail

Had a great night at classes.What I learned was to pay attention to detail. To get more power in our punches there is a ton of things to keep track of.For me the biggest was how my feet are lining up when I deliver the punch.Keeping the heal on the ground and punching with my shoulders harmonized with my hips.You would be surprised a how much is tacking place for this to occur properly. So my advice is to keep on developing your eye for detail and it will make learning a lot more fun. Having questions for every class helps everyone in the long run.So I will be trying to have at least one question a week.
Had a chicken burger and fries from Mc Donalds then got a BLT from timmies,a vanilla yogurt a lemon poppy seed muffin, and a choc glazed doughnut. I really have to work on planning fri nights better.
Did dishes, picked up living room 
Sifu Jeannette Langner

kindness

I am learning a lot about myself from this task. I never realized how much I keep to myself most days. I find I have to go out and talk to people so I can find opportunities to do an act of kindness. It never occurred to me how little time I've spent interacting with others. On the plus side my days are much nicer because I am talking more and gaining a new understanding of people. I've even come to accept I don't have to like everyone and not everyone will like me. So I am trying to be more understanding with my feelings so I don't overreact to situations. This whole new self discovery is from looking for ways to help people. I'm finding this to be very cool. By engaging others I am learning new things I hadn't thought of.
Not such a good day only did dishes.
Had hamburger leftover for supper and rice and pork for lunch, then had fruit and we got some donuts at work for a treat.
Sifu Jeannette Langner

Void

My thoughts on the void is a state between awake and sleep. I've been meditating and I'm finding it very difficult to stay motionless with a blank mind. I can't seem to turn the brain off. Then when I can clear it I get an itch that has to be scratched. This also takes me out of Alpha. So with a lot more patience I will continue to strive for the void in my meditations. I use a water fountain to help calm me. This state of being is very beneficial in our Kung fu because it lets us feel our moves as they are so we can then re examine and fix the mistakes. By going into Alpha , which to me equals the void, we allow ourselves to truly explore our art for what it is. This is mostly about a persons own view on it. The void tends to mean different things to everyone. However we do consider the alpha state as a close definition. There are other versions and the fun is discovering them all for ourselves.
I did dishes, laundry, garbage, bed making and put groceries away.
For supper we had Pork tenderloin with rice and I took some to work then had fruit bag and a lemon poppy seed muffin,and a strawberry strudel. Some fruit smoothie in the morning.
Sifu Jeannette Langner

Hard work

The meaning of Kung fu is hard work. I've been thinking about it and that one phrase can mean so many different things to different people. It's all a matter of perspective. So instead of looking at it from all these view points I figure its a matter of degrees.It's a commitment to how much effort you put into your Kung fu in order to achieve  greatness. What we are undertaking in our I Ho Chua is a level of greatness.To achieve this level we are striving for It will take a lot of hard work to get there.
I had a good day. I had a bowl of Chunky soup a bun and a salad for supper then I brought a roast beef sandwich to work and a zip lock bag of fruit and veggies for lunch. then I had a bag of chips for break.
I took out the garbage. Did dishes. Got groceries. Cleaned the counters.Made the bed.

Sifu Jeannette Langner

Breathing

I was asked a question about breathing recently and we ran out of time so I didn't get to finish my thoughts on breathing.
Most people don't use their lung capacity to its fullest potential. We tend to breath short shallow breaths and then we wonder why we lose our stamina. When using proper breathing techniques your overall performance tends to increase because your body is receiving more oxygen. Our Awakening the dragon is the most helpful to regulate your breathing with deep cleansing breaths. Same with breathing in a horse stance. When we make a conscious effort to improve our breathing our endurance rises along side of it. I used these techniques while I was running. I concentrated on  my breath and length of stride and I found I was able to cover greater distances without winding myself.
I had steak and corn and tortellini  last night. Then for lunch I had my lumberjack sandwich. For snacks I had a bag of veggies and a strudel.
I did dishes, another load of laundry,put them away,made the bed, took out garbage.
Sifu Jeannette Langner

bowing in

I had a good weekend. We went over the bowing in ceremony tonight and the energy we produced by focusing our intent was exhilarating. We use it to calm our body and focus our minds. It also reminds us to leave or egos at the door.  We are all there to learn and our bowing in ceremony puts us all on equal footing. We start with our minds focused and we end by giving thanks to all those present that helped us learn something new about Kung fu. I usually find something new each evening. I'm encouraged because I'm hearing more questions are being asked in class.
We had a fondu for supper on Sat. night then I took a Lumberjack sandwich for lunch at work and I had fruit,yogurt, and a lemon poppyseed muffin and some chips. Last night we had Hamburger Helper with mushrooms and onions. Then for lunch Tom made us some Mac and cheese with wieners. Then I munched on some chips. Really have to cut down on the chips I should only get them once a week. Have to work on that.
Sat. I did dishes, took out the garbage, Cleared the table, Put the dishes away. Sun I cleaned all the fondue forks put the garbage out for pick up, made the bed,Did the dishes,Swept the floor.Today I've done laundry, put clothes away, did dishes, took out garbage Tidied up the living room
Sifu Jeannette Langner

teamwork

We had a good class last night. I made a deal with Mrs Gibbons to keep track of our push ups and sit ups to encourage each other to get them done. We will be bringing our log books every friday and compare notes to make sure we are still trying. Randy made a good point a day missed is not what hurts your numbers it's when you stop doing it for months at a time. So sifu Rybak and Mr Repay are going to bring their log books as well so we can all benefit from this. I encourage anyone else on the team to join in. This will help us all out to keep records of how we are progressing as a team.
I did dishes. took out the garbage. made the bed. cleared the table. put groceries away
I had chicken for supper then had a lumberjack sandwich at work, some chips a lemon poppy seed muffin, a bag of fruit and a cup of yogurt.
Sifu Jeannette Langner

Black

I was pondering the question of why we all wear black. It seems to be a great equalizer of egos. When we all come in the same uniform we acknowledge that we are all here to learn. I also prefer the Chinese color of humility being black instead of white. Black is more forgiving if it gets dirty and fading is not so big a deal as most other colors. It also instills a sense of pride and community that I can say yeah that's my group. We are being recognized in the community for our works by our uniform. This years Canada Day parade will be my first because I will be trying to attend.
I cleaned the floors. I took out the garbage. Made the bed.Did dishes, cleaned counters.
Made hamburger with mushrooms,tomato,onions,beansprouts, noodles. Had leftovers for work. brought another bag of fruit and had a salad. and an apple. I even had a raspberry bran muffin.
Sifu Jeannette Langner

Forms

We went over the 3 external harmonies and we applied them to some of the forms. In the blue brown class last night. We looked at Da mu sing and saw how it really helped with getting your feet and hands harmonizing. Hung was excellent for the hips and shoulders as well as achieving consistent stances.The third Harmonie being knees and shoulders this was found in several places of both forms. Applying these concepts of the six harmonies goes a long way to perfecting our forms.
I did dishes. Picked up fluff from the floor. cleaned counters. Made the bed. swept the floor.
for breakfast I had hamburger helper with onions and mushrooms. brought some to work for lunch and grabbed a fruit bag  and an apple.
Sifu Jeannette Langner

Tattoo

Today was a good day. I went to see about my tattoo. She was very helpful and my appointment will be on May 13 at 6 pm.
Kung fu was fun tonight. I learned the first moves to the fan form. I have lots to practice. I was able to do 3 sets of Mu lon koon. Tonight helped me see the importance of stances. I find them vital to forms and I was able to pass that on tonight. We also made a great observation in the blue/brown class tonight. We were discussing how our forms all connect together. Each one teach us something unique and useful tho adapt to Kempo. Lung teaches flow with breath. 18 temple motions is about relaxing the body to make our forms circular. Hung helps with finding our dot and keeping our force vectors linear.We can draw from all our forms to help us with Kempo.
For my cleaning I did the laundry. Changed the bed. Did dishes. Put the laundry away. Took out the garbage.
For breakfast I had a piece of chicken then I had Taco bell for supper. 2 soft tacos fries supreme and an iced tea. for lunch I had carrots celery and broccoli with dip. then for supper I had fruit from the fruit tray. 2 cups worth. My mornings start at 5 pm and I go to bed at 9 am. So my time lines are quite different than most people.

Sifu Jeannette Langner

number one

What a great New Year. I was blown away by the night. Best night ever. I loved the outpouring of support everyone had. I'm looking forward to the new year with everyone. I'm so proud of Randy's accomplishments, he really did great. I want to say thank you to all the volunteers  who made this a great day.
My goals for the year of the horse is as follows. I will be posting regularly updates on my diet and house cleaning. These are two aspects I would like to make a part of my everyday life and not be a chore. By sharing with you I can be accountable for my actions or lack thereof to instill a new way of living. I see this as a great opportunity to change things for the better.I know how tho lose weight and I know how to clean. I need to do both these thing more effectively so it complements my lifestyle and not hinder it. I want to have at least 5 chores listed as well as my food intake.
I have taken on some religious studies with my sister in law's help. I have 3 books I've been wanting to learn and I believe this is a good opportunity to undertake the course. We will  be meeting every Sunday night to go over exercises and readings for the week. It will be a lot of hard work but I feel up to the challenge.
I also have a phobia of needles I need to deal with. My doctor needs check ups with blood work and I need to get these done right away. Not in 6 to 7 months. I am going to promise to do these tests asap so I can get the help I need right away. To further this endeavor I've wanted a tattoo for years and I'm good with waiting for it. This year I will schedule an appointment for a tattoo and keep it.
Thanks



Sifu Jeannette Langner