Plateaus

This past month I had the great opportunity to go on a hiking trek with my sons and their Boy Scout troop. It was a great opportunity to watch the boys in action. Every part of normal life required extra effort, including making dinner, cleaning up after dinner, hanging the food in bear bags, navigating the hike to coincide with water sources, etc. A lot of effort to simply hike! Yet all the boys worked together. Not a single one of our group complained, argued, or shirked from the work. The boys exhibited a great attitude about the work and the sometimes tedious aspects of hiking some rugged and strenuous trails. During some of the long, potentially boring, hikes I watched the boys talking to each other about things that were fun or that they missed from home. What great conversation! It made the time go quicker and the hike seem shorter.

I can remember one especially difficult day when our hike was to take us up 3,000 feet over a ridge line and then down 1,200 feet into a camp. We prepared the crew to expect it to be a somewhat hard day and we hiked a little extra the day before to help get us up as much of the trail as possible. The day was long and many times the trail switched back on itself in order to maintain a reasonable grade. But each time we encountered a switch back that took us in the opposite direction of our destination, it made it difficult to keep morale high. Sometimes it would look like we were nearing the crest of the ridge line only to find out there was a higher ridge just behind it. The next ridge was obscured by the close ridge due to our position and perspective. Whenever this occurs while you are hiking, it is called a false summit. Finally, after a long day of hiking the last summit, we finally reached the top of the ridge. There was no more UP. We finally reached the top! We stopped and took pictures and looked back the way we had come. It was amazing to see the amount of distance that was covered that day. It was also nice to see what we would be hiking up and over the next day.

We started our descent down towards camp with a bit more spring in our step. We had accomplished a lot that day,  and we knew that we could handle whatever we needed to do the next day.

I couldn't help but think about how our martial arts training patterns this typical day's hike. We have a plan that we know we can accomplish. We know where our destination is (black belt and beyond). We don't always know ahead of time the twists and turns that we might have to take (due to scheduling issues, injuries, job changes, etc.) . Sometimes during our training we feel like we have worked so hard to get the summit we are currently standing on and we look ahead to the next higher summit that we know we must attack next. Blue, Green, Brown and Black are each in their own way, summits preparing you for the next important summit. Take some time to enjoy the view where you are at, you earned it! But then ready yourself for the next steps. If you thought that summit was amazing, wait until you see the view from the next!

Here are some ideas of things to help make the next "climb" more enjoyable and feel less like going backwards:

If you are feeling less strong or less developed with cardio, supplement your training with biking or running to change things up a bit.

If you feel like you want to get a jump on the next set of material, schedule a private to kick start the process.

If you are feeling stressed because you put things on hold for the test you have just completed, find balance in your schedule and take care of the things that are truly important (family, school, work, etc).

If you feel bored with your material, schedule a semi-private with a friend to find more "hidden" techniques in the material you already have.

If you don't feel like coming to class, go to Class! You know you always feel better afterward!

Oh, and  while enjoying the view, look behind you.  Is there someone else struggling up the mountain you just reached that could use some encouragement? Take the  opportunities to make the hike not seem so difficult and share or help a friend along the way!

Sigung Kelly Corder

Service: What Goes Around, Comes Around!

 (NOTE: Parts of this blog were posted previously in 2008 and 2010. Names and dates have been changed to “promote” the innocent.)

A Kaju AZ contingent left this morning for Philmont scout ranch in Cimarron, New Mexico. (They will be gone until July 17th.) This is a historic and inspiring event for Kaju AZ.  I am so proud of the decisions these men/boys have made to embark on this physical and emotional journey.

Philmont is a great, often life-changing experience offered through the Boy Scouts of America, a fantastic organization. They will be hiking about 115 miles over 10 days and hopefully catch a lot of fish. On some days, they change elevation in a range of 8,000 feet. They will get rain, snow, heat, follow the strict rules of no-impact hiking, eat a lot of crackers and cheese and create a bear triangle every night. There isn’t a television, Gameboy, Computer, iPod, cell phone, bubba keg, modern plumbing or can of Axe in sight.

This will be the sixth time that Sigung has made this trip since 1999. The hardest part is that he is totally cut off – no phones or email – and away from his businesses, family and passion of martial arts. For the first time, he will have both of his sons with him – a goal he had hoped to achieve from the very first time he participated.  He will be able to celebrate Sisuk Cameron’s birthday during the trip – in the past he has always missed it. The leaders pay their own way and usually miss at least two weeks of work. This is a trip, which often turns teenagers into men as they leave the world behind and get back to basic survival and commune with the beauty of the outdoors. It provides opportunities for the scouts to bond with their adult leaders and have mentoring relationships that last a lifetime. It’s quite a special event for all involved.

Sigung and I are often asked “Why they heck would do you do this? Why do you spend the money (it’s about $700 per person)? How can you sacrifice your work and family time?” The answer is simple: performing a service to others has huge payoffs, both immediate and in the future.

Service to others is so important and so often ignored as we focus on our own problems and ourselves in our daily lives. Sometimes it is so hard to think about someone else and their needs when ours seem so overwhelming. This is precisely the time that we must remember to help someone else! Nothing gives us better perspective, understanding and focus than service to others.

I am not saying that one must desert your family and head to the mountains of New Mexico! Little things have big payouts too! A helping hand pulling weeds, a meal for a busy family, hours of babysitting…these are simple things that that mean a lot to others. We receive the added benefit of feeling good about doing something good for others.

Kaju AZ would not be the awesome dojo that it is today without the helping hands of many people! Rides to and from the dojo, keeping the dojo neat and clean, teaching in class, polishing the floors, building/remodeling our Gilbert school, our self-defense clinics and simply introducing your friends and families to Kaju AZ are all examples of service. Quite simply – there are too many to name! Know that all your efforts are so appreciated and more importantly, will continue to have an impact many years into the future for every single student.

Sigung and I are driven by the positive impact that martial arts has on people. We have the benefit of seeing it in our children who have been training for their entire lives. We know that each of you will see the same impact on your children and yourselves in the future!

For me, Philmont is a love-hate relationship. I hate the time Sigung is gone and the accompanying stresses, but I love the man/husband/father/instructor/leader that service has helped him become. I look forward to seeing my sons become the same service-oriented, patriotic, compassionate, hard-working dedicated men.  Having so many of our Kaju “boys” attend comes at great sacrifice but I know it will be well-worth it for each of them and for Kaju AZ.

Thank you for your continued service and support of Kaju AZ. Thank you for your understanding that things may be a little different while Sigung and the crew are gone. We will maintain our schedules with all of our awesome instructors! As Sijo Emperado said, “In Ohana there is strength” and I am grateful for all the strength I see at Kaju AZ!

Sifu Jen

Giving the Gift of Martial Arts Unselfishly

We just returned from the Lim Kenpo Malama Event in Carlsbad, CA.  WOW.  What an event.  To sum it up in few words is nearly impossible, although “exhilarated, enriched and exhausted at the same time” comes to mind.

There were over 225 martial artists and family members in attendance at the Academy by the Sea.  It is truly a unique setting for a unique event.  It was a honor to meet and learn from some of the best martial artists from around the world – Portugal, Belgium, Holland, Maui, London, Wyoming, South Dakota and more.  A lot was packed into over 4 days.  We got up early and stayed up late.  We worked our bodies and our minds.  It was an honor to be there and we gained a weekend full of memories to last a lifetime.

The title “Malama” was fitting as it means “to take care of, nurture, or serve.” Our instructors really took care of us! What really stood out to me was how unselfish each instructor was. They showed up to each class with a smile and infectious attitude that clearly showed their passion for martial arts.  They freely gave of their time, talents and energies to the building up of each individual student. Keep in mind some instructors taught cumulatively for hours during the weekend which is exhausting mentally and physically. Some traveled thousands of miles at great financial expense. And yet, each class had new and exciting material, showcased individual arts and talents and not one session was boring.

With an event this large, obviously hiccups occurred and changes had to be made on the spot. Kids got tired and were tempted by the beach.  People weren’t feeling 100% or were exhausted from travel.  People were hungry or sunburnt or other common travel issues.

And yet…no complaints.  No frowns. No giving up and backing out of teaching.

The instructors did not get much time to train or experience the seminars as students but they did not seem to mind. It was obvious that they loved sharing what they knew and were not concerned with getting anything in return.  During the free time, a lot of them were available for questions and would extend the class time to cover even more topics.  They gave up resting or leisure time without complaint and showed up to teach the next session with vim and vigor!

Who hasn’t been in a situation where the instructor (in martial arts, school, church or other events) had a “personal agenda” or showed up grumpy and obviously not in the mood to teach? That really sucks the joy out of the experience for me.  And ultimately, it has to suck the joy out of it for the teacher too.

I attended a martial arts program years ago in which the instructor was going through a “grappling phase.” Every class was focused on what he wanted to learn himself…we were just merely grappling partners to serve his purpose of getting more roll time.  It made it difficult to really even want to attend class.   

I have been fortunate to train with the best of the best instructors and we have a lot of them at Kaju AZ.  What a treat it is to experience these classes.  Sigung always says “You don’t know a technique until you have taught it.” SO TRUE and when you talk to him more about what that means he will tell you: “You can’t really appreciate what you have until you give it away.”

Martial arts is a gift and I am so grateful for all the instructors willing to give me all the gifts I have in my martial arts basket.  Paying tuition or seminar fees isn’t enough to really cover how much Kaju has made me a better person.  How can you put a price on that?  How can I put a price on how it has enhanced my family?  How can I put a price on the dear and valuable relationships in my life that came through Kaju?

Good karma isn’t just received -  I believe it is created.  The more I give the more I seem to receive!  It feels good to give and I appreciate the opportunity to work with each of you.  

Be sure and check out all the pictures from the Malama weekend at http://kajuaz.smugmug.com!  

Sifu Jennifer Corder