I joined the Leadership Program, for my 1st term option at school. As part of the leadership program, we were to go to the Elementary School and mentor a student for the day. I chose to mentor a little kindergarten boy who has severe Autism. I worked and learned along with him throughout the day. it was amazing, and a great learning experience for me to see and experience hands-on as to the challenges and difficulties some people face throughout day-to-day life. This little boy taught me so much. He taught me patients, understanding of differences, and most importantly not to be judgmental of behavior. this little boy's behavior is his way of communication, for example: jumping up and down laughing was him communicating happiness and "yes" that is what i need or want; turning away, making a loud noise or laying on the floor was his way of communicating unhappiness and "no" that is not what I need or want. I learned that, Behavior is Communication. As well as, seeing the others reaction was very interesting, those that I see as super nice and accepting, had troubles accepting the face that he was a bit different, and acted a bit different that we do.
I'll never forget this experience, and I hope to go back and see him later this year!
Another part of the Leadership Program at school was to raise awareness for the homeless and Boyle Street, and to volunteer there for a day. I as a student of the Leadership Program with from class to class at school talking to students about the importance of helping those who have no resources, food, or homes. We, in the program, got donations of clothing and food to take along with us to Boyle Street for the homeless. On the day we went to volunteer at Boyle Street, we were there making soup and sandwiches all morning, the serving them to the homeless for lunch. Once lunch was over, and clean up was done, we had the opportunity to go and visit and talk with some of the homeless. It is amazing the misconceptions we have of the homeless. For the most part, there people do not want to be there. But due to circumstances beyond their control they have to be. There were some very interesting conversations and awareness made. Most of them were very thankful, and loved to have us there. There were a lot of "God bless yous" said to us. I am very happy I had the opportunity to do this, and have matured and become a better person because of it. I look forward to going back there some day and helping out again.
" A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way."
~ John C. Maxwell
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Stress
Stress has just been overwhelming me lately.
I think that it has been a time issue. There are only so many hours in a day to try and get everything that you want to get done, done. Between going to school, 1 – 2 hours of homework and projects, and studying for exams a day, preparation for black belt and rehearsals, and countless hours at the studio teaching and taking my own classes, I have just been cramming a lot lately.
Working towards my black belt has become a big part of my life right now, as it should be. Kung Fu really is my passion; it challenges me, and pushes me to my limits. The candidate practices have really been tough, yet I love them. Everything is finally coming together, and it is becoming more real to me every step of the way. I have really come to get to know my fellow candidates, and we have been pushing each other to our limits every day. This journey has really been an eye opener for me. If you had told me a couple years ago that at 13 I would be grading for my black belt, I would have told you you were crazy; but here I am, living in the moment, absorbing every minute of this.
A little while ago, I had set an academic goal for myself to maintain my four core subjects (social, science, language arts, and math) at a combined average of 90%. I recently got my first report card of the year, and my combined average was 93.8%. It’s all been very worth it in a way; I’m just hoping that I can keep it like this for the rest of the year.
For the benevolent fundraiser, I had set a goal for myself of $1 000 dollars. Although this definitely seemed out of reach to me, I had some faint hope that I could reach it.
I have definitely exhausted all of my resources. I first decided to go to my school to raise awareness, and promote the fundraiser. I decided to type up a cover letter to explain a little bit more about the charities, and the benevolent foundation, so that I could go to my assistant principal and talk to her about it. After explaining about what I was doing, she decided to go out and send a voice mail and an email out to all the teachers, explaining about the charities, as well as letting them know where the pledge sheets would be. I was very excited. I currently go to a catholic school, and I believed that I would get quite a fair turnout. At the end of the week when I went back to collect the pledge sheets, I had only raised $20.00, my asst. principal did let me know that a lot of teachers were interested, but kept telling her that they were not able to sponsor me this time around. I did understand, and although I was frustrated, I knew that I had spread awareness about global issues.
I have talked to my peers about it, and although both they and their parents were very interested, some of them said that they were not able to this time around. But, I am happy to say that there are now a lot of kids that know about the benevolent foundation.
Lastly, I have talked to most of my family, and they do sound interested, but they do not know how much they could sponsor me until Christmas time.
I am disappointed, in some respect that people within my resources are unable, this year, to commit to a dollar donation. But am very happy that I have taken on the task of raising awareness about the charities involved, and am proud to say that there are a lot more people aware of the needs of these charities. People have also told me that once financial situations become more stable for them that they will definitely consider making a donation to these charities.
“Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough.”
~Unknown
I think that it has been a time issue. There are only so many hours in a day to try and get everything that you want to get done, done. Between going to school, 1 – 2 hours of homework and projects, and studying for exams a day, preparation for black belt and rehearsals, and countless hours at the studio teaching and taking my own classes, I have just been cramming a lot lately.
Working towards my black belt has become a big part of my life right now, as it should be. Kung Fu really is my passion; it challenges me, and pushes me to my limits. The candidate practices have really been tough, yet I love them. Everything is finally coming together, and it is becoming more real to me every step of the way. I have really come to get to know my fellow candidates, and we have been pushing each other to our limits every day. This journey has really been an eye opener for me. If you had told me a couple years ago that at 13 I would be grading for my black belt, I would have told you you were crazy; but here I am, living in the moment, absorbing every minute of this.
A little while ago, I had set an academic goal for myself to maintain my four core subjects (social, science, language arts, and math) at a combined average of 90%. I recently got my first report card of the year, and my combined average was 93.8%. It’s all been very worth it in a way; I’m just hoping that I can keep it like this for the rest of the year.
For the benevolent fundraiser, I had set a goal for myself of $1 000 dollars. Although this definitely seemed out of reach to me, I had some faint hope that I could reach it.
I have definitely exhausted all of my resources. I first decided to go to my school to raise awareness, and promote the fundraiser. I decided to type up a cover letter to explain a little bit more about the charities, and the benevolent foundation, so that I could go to my assistant principal and talk to her about it. After explaining about what I was doing, she decided to go out and send a voice mail and an email out to all the teachers, explaining about the charities, as well as letting them know where the pledge sheets would be. I was very excited. I currently go to a catholic school, and I believed that I would get quite a fair turnout. At the end of the week when I went back to collect the pledge sheets, I had only raised $20.00, my asst. principal did let me know that a lot of teachers were interested, but kept telling her that they were not able to sponsor me this time around. I did understand, and although I was frustrated, I knew that I had spread awareness about global issues.
I have talked to my peers about it, and although both they and their parents were very interested, some of them said that they were not able to this time around. But, I am happy to say that there are now a lot of kids that know about the benevolent foundation.
Lastly, I have talked to most of my family, and they do sound interested, but they do not know how much they could sponsor me until Christmas time.
I am disappointed, in some respect that people within my resources are unable, this year, to commit to a dollar donation. But am very happy that I have taken on the task of raising awareness about the charities involved, and am proud to say that there are a lot more people aware of the needs of these charities. People have also told me that once financial situations become more stable for them that they will definitely consider making a donation to these charities.
“Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough.”
~Unknown
Monday, August 10, 2009
Training Journal
So,
as of last week I have been documenting everything that I have done to train everyday, and I've decided that at the end of each week I will post it onto my blog. That way I will be able to receive comment on whether or not my training looks sufficient of whether I need to step it up a bit :-). This is also a place for me to look back to in case something happens to my journal.
August 5, 2009
Time frame:
9:00am - 10:00am
Activity:
we also looked at the following forms.
Reviewed on what I needed to work on and corrected it.
Time Frame:
1:00pm - 1:20pm
Activity:
as of last week I have been documenting everything that I have done to train everyday, and I've decided that at the end of each week I will post it onto my blog. That way I will be able to receive comment on whether or not my training looks sufficient of whether I need to step it up a bit :-). This is also a place for me to look back to in case something happens to my journal.
August 5, 2009
Time frame:
9:00am - 10:00am
Activity:
Met with Sifu Schermbrucker and worked on board breaking, as well as forms.
- We focused on my palm heel strike.
- Started out on the focus shield and did around 100 repetitions.
- Transfered over to a pine board, and I didn't end up breaking it with my palm.
- Blasted it with my elbow.
we also looked at the following forms.
- Hung 1&2
- Kempo 1&2
- Hsei Chen
- Lung 1&2
Reviewed on what I needed to work on and corrected it.
Time Frame:
1:00pm - 1:20pm
Activity:
- 60 repetitions of combative side heel thrust (right leg) on heavy bag. (reps of 10 6x)
- 60 repetitions of horizontal elbow (left hand) on heavy bag. (reps of 10 6x)
- Also completed 60 pushups. (reps of 10 6x)
Time Frame:
1:30pm - 1:45 pm
Activity:
- completed the rest of my side heel and elbow reps on the bag.
- Completed the rest of my pushups and 150 crunches.
August 6, 2009
Time Frame:
9:00am - 10:00am
Activity:
Met with Sifu Schermbrucker
- Worked on Lung 1&2, completing 50 reps.
- Noticeably improving my form by the end of the hour.
- Completed 150 pushups
Time frame
10:15am - 11:00am
Activity:
- 100 reps of side heel thrust (right leg) on bag
- 100 reps of palm heel strike (right hand) on bag
- 100 reps of elbow (left arm) on bag
**all in sets of 10 10x
- 150 crunches
August 7, 2009
Time Frame:
9:00am - 10:00am
Activity:
Met with Sifu Schermbrucker
- Completed countless reps of hammer fist (I changed my right hand board breaking technique.) elbow, side heel thrust, and knee.
- Finished off with theory questions
- Also completed 150 pushups
Time Frame:
10:15am - 10:20am
Activity:
- completed 150 crunches
So this is the end of my post. With everything that I had done this week.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Overcoming
So,
we did a demo today at rotary park and it was my day to board break. . .
I got up there . . . lined my boards up,
broke on my side heel , didn't break my palm.
second attempt
didn't break
then i lined up again, and broke my knee and elbow.
You know, It gets very frustrating after awhile to know that you have worked so hard to getting to this point and then you cannot break a stupid board lol. But it is something that I need to do, and I WILL do it. . .
And the more I think about it, the more I do come to believe that it is all mental. (not that I haven't been told this already, I just didn't believe it??)
I have spent a part of my time trying to make everything perfect, to make sure that the boards are the best that they could possibly be, to find the easiest board and use it for my "so called" weakest technique. But I've got to stop thinking about it that way. . . I have to start thinking of it as
"okay, I have this piece of wood standing in the way of my target, so I have to go through it."
because ultimately, it is not the board that is stopping me. I am stopping me.
I have spent time crying over this, worrying, but I won't do it to myself anymore, ill just break it. . . this is what I have to do.
Blast through it lol.
we did a demo today at rotary park and it was my day to board break. . .
I got up there . . . lined my boards up,
broke on my side heel , didn't break my palm.
second attempt
didn't break
then i lined up again, and broke my knee and elbow.
You know, It gets very frustrating after awhile to know that you have worked so hard to getting to this point and then you cannot break a stupid board lol. But it is something that I need to do, and I WILL do it. . .
And the more I think about it, the more I do come to believe that it is all mental. (not that I haven't been told this already, I just didn't believe it??)
I have spent a part of my time trying to make everything perfect, to make sure that the boards are the best that they could possibly be, to find the easiest board and use it for my "so called" weakest technique. But I've got to stop thinking about it that way. . . I have to start thinking of it as
"okay, I have this piece of wood standing in the way of my target, so I have to go through it."
because ultimately, it is not the board that is stopping me. I am stopping me.
I have spent time crying over this, worrying, but I won't do it to myself anymore, ill just break it. . . this is what I have to do.
Blast through it lol.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Board Breaks
I was reflecting on the first week that I had began training with Sifu Schermbrucker and one day highlighted in my mind that I wanted to post up on my blog. . . here it happens to be the first day that we decided to do some board breaks.
I woke up that morning and was looking at the three sets of boards that I had layed out in front of me, trying to decide which ones would be the best to take. I decided that I wanted to take the hardest set of boards that I had to break, but I really was not sure which one that was, because they all had nice wide grain and no knots.
I decided to call my dad to see which ones I should take.
After a quite short discussion, we decided that I should take the first set, and my re breakable board.
I was actually feeling quite confident as I walked up to the field where I knew that Sifu Schermbrucker would be waiting to kick my butt once again, but I had this feeling that I was going to blast through those boards no problem.
So,
we started off with just the re breakable board, and we held it backwards so that it would be much harder to break, and I blasted through the board no problem with all four techniques.
We decided that it would be time for me to try and break the actual boards, so I set up in front of one, getting ready to do my palm heel strike. I took a step back, and projected foreword with probable one of my hardest strikes ever, and I bounced right off the board, which didn't break.
Okay, not really what I was aiming to happen but okay ill get it on my second try.
Almost forty - five minutes had gone by and I still had not broke a signal board with any of my techniques.
I'd have to admit that I was getting really discouraged and thinking that I wasn't as strong as I thought I was and that, even after countless hours of pounding on my heavy bag, I did not have the right technique.
But, of course, Sifu kept yelling at me to keep trying and that I was going to break a board today.
I did not end up breaking those boards.
So Sifu set the boards up between a brick and the ground and had me stomp on all of them one after another. . .
"the board cannot defeat you Katelyn"
After all of them were broken we picked them up and looked at how they broke.
Well,
Three of the boards didn't even break all of the way through, because they were still held together by splinters.
And the fourth board, I couldn't even break, Sifu had to break it for me.
But those boards did show me something very important that day, that was not only valuable to me, but could probably be valuable to others reading this too.
No matter WHAT. . . you cannot get yourself down on something that you cannot achieve right now. You just have to tell yourself to keep trying and someday, somehow you will succeed at what ever it is you are doing. Everyone has their limits, and they will get stronger when time and effort come into play.
I will break my boards, because I know that I have it in me to do it.
I must have a can do attitude when it comes to these things, because when I am in the moment, I can do anything that I set my mind to, and nothing can stand in my way, not even the boards that I cannot break.
I will be a leader, I will show everyone what I can do and how I have come to do it.
Because even if I fail I will have succeeded.
I woke up that morning and was looking at the three sets of boards that I had layed out in front of me, trying to decide which ones would be the best to take. I decided that I wanted to take the hardest set of boards that I had to break, but I really was not sure which one that was, because they all had nice wide grain and no knots.
I decided to call my dad to see which ones I should take.
After a quite short discussion, we decided that I should take the first set, and my re breakable board.
I was actually feeling quite confident as I walked up to the field where I knew that Sifu Schermbrucker would be waiting to kick my butt once again, but I had this feeling that I was going to blast through those boards no problem.
So,
we started off with just the re breakable board, and we held it backwards so that it would be much harder to break, and I blasted through the board no problem with all four techniques.
We decided that it would be time for me to try and break the actual boards, so I set up in front of one, getting ready to do my palm heel strike. I took a step back, and projected foreword with probable one of my hardest strikes ever, and I bounced right off the board, which didn't break.
Okay, not really what I was aiming to happen but okay ill get it on my second try.
Almost forty - five minutes had gone by and I still had not broke a signal board with any of my techniques.
I'd have to admit that I was getting really discouraged and thinking that I wasn't as strong as I thought I was and that, even after countless hours of pounding on my heavy bag, I did not have the right technique.
But, of course, Sifu kept yelling at me to keep trying and that I was going to break a board today.
I did not end up breaking those boards.
So Sifu set the boards up between a brick and the ground and had me stomp on all of them one after another. . .
"the board cannot defeat you Katelyn"
After all of them were broken we picked them up and looked at how they broke.
Well,
Three of the boards didn't even break all of the way through, because they were still held together by splinters.
And the fourth board, I couldn't even break, Sifu had to break it for me.
But those boards did show me something very important that day, that was not only valuable to me, but could probably be valuable to others reading this too.
No matter WHAT. . . you cannot get yourself down on something that you cannot achieve right now. You just have to tell yourself to keep trying and someday, somehow you will succeed at what ever it is you are doing. Everyone has their limits, and they will get stronger when time and effort come into play.
I will break my boards, because I know that I have it in me to do it.
I must have a can do attitude when it comes to these things, because when I am in the moment, I can do anything that I set my mind to, and nothing can stand in my way, not even the boards that I cannot break.
I will be a leader, I will show everyone what I can do and how I have come to do it.
Because even if I fail I will have succeeded.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Wow! I haven't blogged on here in a really long time! I feel like I want to say that I really haven't had any time but that is definatly not true! I guess that I just have been sort of slacking off and not doing what I need to do. But anyways, lets cut to the chase, lol. . . My training has been coming along excellently, I have definatly noticed an large amount of improvementin my technique and . . . well . . . everything! Just this current week I have started another sort of plan towards my black belt.Every morning (monday - friday) I have been waking up at about nine am to get ready to walk to a field by my house to meet Sifu Schermbrucker. Every day we have been working on some area of training towards my blackbelt. On Monday I wasn't really sure what was going to come of all of this. . . and I really didn't know whether or not I was going to make it through because the night before I had told Sifu Schermbrucker to really push me past my limits and not let me give up! So, low and be hold, he did and I came home and was exhausted! Even though all that we did really was go through the white belt curriculumn! But, you see, I felt really good about myself, and that I had started something good. I later ran my two km and did all of my board breaking techniques one hundred times each on my heavy bag!!! So as we continued on through the week, I could already feel this starting to work its way into my daily routine. I found myself waking up at six am, looking at the time, and wishing that it would go faster, just so that I couldget up and go hard into my training. The week has seemed to fly by so fast. Last night, in the Sihing class, Sifu Brinker had mentioned how we should start our day with pushups and situps and then end the day off with pushups and situps. . . Well I am doing something totally the same, but different! I am starting my day off with hard drive into my kung fu training, and ending my day off with a run, or a walk and kicks andpunches, and it feels really good! I think that I have set myself on a great track!Wait. . .I KNOW that I have set myself on a great track! I can only hope for the best, and that everything goes smooth from here on end. Thanks for reading!!!
Monday, May 18, 2009
Courage Poem
Courage
Courage is doing what is right,
Courage it takes to speak the, truth
Courage it takes to be yourself
Courage to stand out
Courage to be me
Courage is love,
It brings hope
Courage gives you the strength,
To all weaknesses
Courage is something any, one can achieve
The heart of love is,
Courage
Don't close your eyes on the world,
There are many who care for you,
Face your life and its trials with,
a quiet mind and courageous, Smile
Courage is my last name
~Maria Luisa Taylor
Monday, April 20, 2009
Comparison
Well, I was away for a little while on a ski trip through school, and believe it or not, I learned more that I think anyone has ever learned on a holiday ;-0
There was one boy that was snowboarding, and went on a run that was a bit to hard for his skill level. He ended up falling flat out on his face, and being rushed out to the hospital. He ended up having a broken nose and minor brain damage.
Because of the poor choice that he made, he ended up not even being able to remember what happened.
While I couldn't fall asleep one night, I kind of tied this into everyday life. . .
If you were. . . say.. . just getting over a sprained ankle, and had just got back to walking properly, would you go and do a flying kick at kung fu that included landing on that ankle?
Well that really depends. . .
You really have to kind of do a "body scan" on how your body is functioning, and what your limits are. . . you cant just do something that you know is going to damage you in the long run. . .
There was one boy that was snowboarding, and went on a run that was a bit to hard for his skill level. He ended up falling flat out on his face, and being rushed out to the hospital. He ended up having a broken nose and minor brain damage.
Because of the poor choice that he made, he ended up not even being able to remember what happened.
While I couldn't fall asleep one night, I kind of tied this into everyday life. . .
If you were. . . say.. . just getting over a sprained ankle, and had just got back to walking properly, would you go and do a flying kick at kung fu that included landing on that ankle?
Well that really depends. . .
You really have to kind of do a "body scan" on how your body is functioning, and what your limits are. . . you cant just do something that you know is going to damage you in the long run. . .
Friday, April 3, 2009
Role models
Usually, a lot of people have role models.
The role models that they have have usually made some sort of difference in their life, or someone that you really look up to.
But do a lot of people know what it is like to be a role model?
I was helping out in one of the Thursday kids classes a while back, and I was feeling tired, I could feel my lack of sleep catching up on me, and I was starting to get very tired. . .
I was mopping up the floor during the last class of the evening when one little boy and his dad came through the door. Of course the boy, who was a bit late for class was scrambling to get "into action".
I recognized the boy as the one who always would come and give me a hug after class and say, "Bye Sihing!" in the happiest little voice.
So the boy stopped in his state of rush and said hi to me, and then ran off to his class.
When his dad looked at me and told me how much this little boy looked up to me and how my kung fu and doing what I do is making a difference in someones life.
I then recalled that that boys mother had come up to me at the black belt ceremony and told me the same thing.
I felt really good after that and what that boys parents said to me, made me realize that what I am doing for myself really does make an impact on the people around me.
I honestly did not realize the reason behind my coming to help with the children's classes besides loving to be around kids. What was said to me that night really gave a whole new meaning to my training. When I think of that moment, or even when the kids at school, or my family, ask me how my training is going, it makes me want to keep doing what I'm doing, and not want to stop. It gives me that drive that I need to keep going, and not to give up until I have to. This, has given me a boost in my mental and physical strength
I have now taken in a whole different perspective on my training, and what it means to me.
I have never thought that I would become a role model until I became a parent and one day and had kids of my own. . . but, of course I was proved wrong, ha ha.
Oh,
In case some people do not know Mr.Mickinnin (I'm not sure if I spelled his name right. My apologies ;-)
He is a really awesome kid, and really knows how to brighten someones day.
Don't go around saying the world owes you a living; the world owes you nothing; it was here first.
~Mark Twain
The role models that they have have usually made some sort of difference in their life, or someone that you really look up to.
But do a lot of people know what it is like to be a role model?
I was helping out in one of the Thursday kids classes a while back, and I was feeling tired, I could feel my lack of sleep catching up on me, and I was starting to get very tired. . .
I was mopping up the floor during the last class of the evening when one little boy and his dad came through the door. Of course the boy, who was a bit late for class was scrambling to get "into action".
I recognized the boy as the one who always would come and give me a hug after class and say, "Bye Sihing!" in the happiest little voice.
So the boy stopped in his state of rush and said hi to me, and then ran off to his class.
When his dad looked at me and told me how much this little boy looked up to me and how my kung fu and doing what I do is making a difference in someones life.
I then recalled that that boys mother had come up to me at the black belt ceremony and told me the same thing.
I felt really good after that and what that boys parents said to me, made me realize that what I am doing for myself really does make an impact on the people around me.
I honestly did not realize the reason behind my coming to help with the children's classes besides loving to be around kids. What was said to me that night really gave a whole new meaning to my training. When I think of that moment, or even when the kids at school, or my family, ask me how my training is going, it makes me want to keep doing what I'm doing, and not want to stop. It gives me that drive that I need to keep going, and not to give up until I have to. This, has given me a boost in my mental and physical strength
I have now taken in a whole different perspective on my training, and what it means to me.
I have never thought that I would become a role model until I became a parent and one day and had kids of my own. . . but, of course I was proved wrong, ha ha.
Oh,
In case some people do not know Mr.Mickinnin (I'm not sure if I spelled his name right. My apologies ;-)
He is a really awesome kid, and really knows how to brighten someones day.
Don't go around saying the world owes you a living; the world owes you nothing; it was here first.
~Mark Twain
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
I havent posted in a long time!!!
The title of this post sums up one of my thoughts.
Well, anyways, I want to bring up something that happened while I was in Mexico.
First of all, I had a blast! I loved every minute of it. Although, I do now know what it feels like to actually live and breathe kung fu.
Everyday I felt like something was missing.
That something I found out later was Kung Fu.
It was almost like, everynight when I would usually be in kung fu, working my but off, we were doing something that I thought was really fun, but I alwayse felt as though I really should be running, doing pushups, or something kung fu. After a while it did start to take affect, and right when that happened, I went for a run on the beach. I felt really good after that.
So, now I know that Kung Fu is really part of my life now. Not that it wasn't before, but it is way stronger now.
And now I feel really good about this posting.!
Well, anyways, I want to bring up something that happened while I was in Mexico.
First of all, I had a blast! I loved every minute of it. Although, I do now know what it feels like to actually live and breathe kung fu.
Everyday I felt like something was missing.
That something I found out later was Kung Fu.
It was almost like, everynight when I would usually be in kung fu, working my but off, we were doing something that I thought was really fun, but I alwayse felt as though I really should be running, doing pushups, or something kung fu. After a while it did start to take affect, and right when that happened, I went for a run on the beach. I felt really good after that.
So, now I know that Kung Fu is really part of my life now. Not that it wasn't before, but it is way stronger now.
And now I feel really good about this posting.!
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