Time

(As explained by Sifu Jeff Brinker, November 6, 2024)

There seems to be some frustrations surrounding time. The phrase “I don’t have enough time” is becoming more and more common. How can anyone else possibly make a judgement, they know nothing about what I’m going through!

We have to disagree.

You absolutely do have enough time. You have the same amount as anyone else. 24 hours in a day.

What you don’t have is the same priorities. This is a different conversation.

If Kung Fu is not a priority, that does not mean that you don’t have enough time. You are spending your time on your priorities.

Stop complaining about your lack of time. No one has the ability to give you anymore. You have to decide what is important. At the beginning of the year, you had told us you decided that the I Ho Chuan was important. So, you are being held accountable, as we promised you. You had decided this is what you wanted and that you would make it work.

You do have enough time for this, just as much as anyone else has.

So stop complaining.

Start talking about your priorities, because that is where you are spending your time. Start talking about your priorities so that we are not wasting our time trying to help you with something that isn’t a priority to you, at the expense of something that is.

This is why mindful living is so important; so you are aware of your true priorities. So you know how you are spending your time.

Kung Fu will not work for you if you do not invest in it. Nothing pays dividends until you invest in it. So take care of your requirements. Don’t say they’re not serving you if you are not fulfilling your promise to do them. Of course they won’t serve you if you don’t do them.

So do them. Do them properly, to the spirit, one hundred percent. Then, at the end of a year tell us if they work for you.

Honesty and Time

This is not a new concept. We live in a culture who does not seem to value time. But in fact, it feels more like a system where our time is assigned a value based on what we are filling it with.

Herein lies the problem. We all are guilty of using the excuse that we do not have the time. I don’t have the time to finish the blanket I started to crochet three years ago, and so it sits incomplete, waiting for the day that I “find the time”.

Interesting thought, isn’t it? That time is something that I may just happen across? Find, like a lost sock under the bed?

I have less time now than I have ever had in my life. Not because I’m busy, have more chores or more responsibilities, but simply because one day I will die and every day that I live I am closer to my death.

That is the only point at which I will not have the time.

But until then, I do have the time for anything I wish. I have the time to travel Europe. I have the time to finish my blanket or read a book or pet the cat. I have time to spend with my family, type this article to you, or put my body to use practicing the skills I want to master in my Kung Fu.

I have the time for anything, I just have to decide what I will do.

Of course, I will have to decide what I want to do right now, since right now is all I have to work with. If I’m too busy with the dishes or gaming or mending fences or running a business… that’s not too busy, that is what I have decided to fill my time with. And yes, I DECIDED. It was a decision that was made. A choice.

You may say I HAVE to do these things. But in reality, how many times have you thought, I’ll do the dishes tomorrow? Well, that was a choice as well.

Of course, we need to make choices that will support our goals in life. If I always decide to not do the dishes then my house will become a mess, my family will suffer from the clutter, fruit flies will become our constant companion.

But it is still a choice, healthy or otherwise.

And I do not want an unclean home.

That’s what it comes down to. What do you want?

Because that is what drives our decisions when it comes to how we spend our time. I do not want to do the dishes, but I want a clean home. So I do the dishes. Or rather, I must decide to do the dishes to support what I claim I want.

What do you want?

If you want mastery in your life, then you must make decisions that will support mastery in your life. If you want to earn your black belt then you must make decision that will help you earn your black belt.

If you decide to spend your time in front of a gaming console or in a night club, then you are choosing to stall your progress on what you claim you want.

If you want to play video games, then play video games. But be honest, you are choosing to use the time you have playing video games.

If you want horses, have horses. But be honest, your decisions on how to spend your time will revolve around your horses.

Which is fine. That is your choice.

BUT, understand that just because you want something doesn’t mean that speaking the words “this is something I want, this is important to me” will get you any closer to it.

You may want it, but if you are not putting the time into acquiring it then you simply don’t want it as much as something else, whatever is filling your time.

I want to go to Europe. But I want to be with my family and build my life here more. And so here, with my family, is where my time is spent.

Saying I want to go to Europe and then wondering why I’m not in Europe is foolish.

Saying I want Kung Fu in my life but not taking the time to have Kung Fu in my life and then wondering why isn’t Kung Fu in my life is foolish.

Or worse, resenting that I don’t have Kung Fu in my life, and resenting those who do. Those who spent the time to acquire it.

It is that simple.

Be honest about what you want, and about what you want more. Spend your time as you see fit, but do not say “I don’t have the time”.

What is the Purpose of the I Ho Chuan?

Mastery.

What does this mean? Mastery is a broad term. When we speak of it, we are speaking in terms of the individual. Mastery in Kung Fu starts internally with humility and understanding, and works its way out to the external in the form of skill and ability. Many of us stop at the understanding and fail to recognize this. So much knowledge that will fail to manifest.

True mastery in Kung Fu has many facets, skill and understanding being only two of them. What benefit is all of this skill if you are not also taking care of your body, your community, your home, your loved ones? What benefit is it to you if you’re standing with all your ability and might, alone, in the middle of a burning bridge?

Mastery in any sense of the term is not easy. Time, effort, energy and commitment are not always in abundance. Mastery is simple though. Do. Not. Quit.

Now, to define what “quit” means. There is the very literal meaning; quitting the team, quitting classes, quitting Kung Fu.

But many of you do not realize that this is not the only way to quit. You do not need to say the words “I quit” to make it true. You can still be a member of the team, enrolled at the school, still have your name in the list and have quit.

It comes down to what you are doing. Or not doing.

To be a member of the I Ho Chuan is to make a promise to your instructors, your teammates and yourself that you will invest a year into yourself and your Kung Fu. Not at the detriment of your family or career, but alongside, tailing closely to these things. These things should work harmoniously with each other. It should never be a sacrifice of one for another. Balance.

If you cannot, or do not, invest the energy into mastery, then you will not obtain mastery. And there is nothing wrong with that. We all have other commitments, events and trials in our lives that sap at our energy and time.

Whatever your reason to miss classes, ignore your numbers, not blog, they are legitimate. Recognize that something else took priority over these acts. Recognize Kung Fu was not the priority. And that is okay.

Remember though, you do not get to reap the benefit if you do not tend the seeds. As it is with anything. And that is okay, if you recognize it. Where the tricky part comes in is when you expect the benefits without the work and effort.

To consider yourself successful in the I Ho Chuan, you do not have to become a master in Kung Fu. But you need to have developed the tools, habits and discipline to get yourself there. You need to learn the lessons, which means you need to be at classes. You need to document the journey, as a tool for yourself to determine where on the road (or ditch) you are, which means you need to blog. To be considered a candidate for black belt in this school means you must earn the rank. To be considered a black belt means you must maintain the rank.

Not easy, but so simple. Do not quit. Not on yourself, not on your Kung Fu. Do the acts, reap the benefits.

2023 Tiger Challenge- A Chance at Mastery

The Tiger Challenge is coming up fast, which means soon you will either pass or fail another one of your requirements. Which are you going to choose?

Attendance is mandatory, same as your classes. And, same as your classes, if you cannot be there you need to let your instructors (me) know BEFORE THE EVENT. Why? So that you are forced to think it through, think through what you are going to say to me, and double check that you feel your reasons are valid and outweigh the importance of your engagement.

Work happens, injury happens, illness happens. Totally get it. But, if you are not in attendance and not competing in the Tiger Challenge, you have failed. Mastery doesn’t care why, just whether or not you do.

So what are you going to do about it? Are you going to throw your hands up in the air and say “Well, I failed. Bummer.”?

If so, then yep, you’re right.

It is imperative that you understand the statement “mastery doesn’t care”. The thing is, your instructors are not heartless and are not apathetic to your situation.

But, MASTERY DOES NOT CARE. You either do or do not. You keep your promises and meet your requirements, or you do not.

You are working your butt off and unfortunately get horribly sick a day before you grade for black. Do you really want the grading board to say “Aw that sucks, she tried, maybe we should just promote her anyways.”? Do you really want your efforts and your black belt tainted and degraded like that? You didn’t earn it, but you tried, good enough?

I hope not. I don’t want my efforts and my rank devalued like that.

So, what’s your plan? You may get sick, you may have to work, life happens. So what are you going to do to best ensure your success and your progression?

I’m not sure, but I do know shrugging your shoulders or leaving it to the fates is not going to move you forward on your journey.

Even Artificial Intelligence Knows Mastery

An experimental chat GPT bot has been given additional training in all five million words of Seth Godin’s blog. Here’s what it had to say when I asked it: “How do you stay motivated and creative when faced with writer's block?”:

”According to my training data from Seth's Blog, the best way to deal with writer's block is to write, and to realize that your bad writing isn't fatal. People with writer's block don't have a problem typing. They have a problem living with bad writing, imperfect writing, writing that might expose something that they fear. The act of doing it every day is more important than the output itself. When you commit to a practice, you will certainly have days when you don't feel like it, when you believe it's not your best work, when the muse deserts you. But, when you keep your commitment, the muse returns. When you keep your commitment, the work happens.”

Okay guys, it does not take a rocket scientist to see the wisdom here. Even artificial intelligence agrees with me. When you do not feel like training - train. If you have nothing to journal about - journal. What is the solution to all you problems? ENGAGEMENT! Take action and the results take care of themselves.

Jeff Brinker