One theme common to all Martial Arts is the requirement for hours of practice.  Any martial artist will tell you that nothing comes easy, there are no shortcuts to mastering a skill.  Hence the Chinese term Kung Fu, which means skill gained through hard work.  Westerners usually equate Kung Fu with martial arts, but the term can be equally applied to any endeavor.  An artist can have Kung Fu, as can a doctor.  Anyone who applies a skill to a trade can have Kung Fu.

More recently Malcolm Gladwell noted in his book Outliers, that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to become successful at anything.  From the Beatles to Bill Gates, the 10,000 hour rule applies.  What appears on the surface to be an overnight success is actually a product of years of hard work behind the scenes.

This brings to mind a story my Sifu tells when extolling the virtues of Kung Fu.

“As a very old, very high level master was nearing the end of his life all his students began wondering when he was going to share the secret to his high level skill.  Every day his senior students sat by his side waiting for him to reveal his secret.

Finally, the master called his most trusted students to his bedside, with great effort he beckoned them closer.  Drawing near, they queried the master “Sifu please, tell us the secret of your great skill so that we may follow in your footsteps”.  He motioned them to lean closer, “Sifu please tell us” they cried … with labored breath he whispered his long sought secret …. PRAAAACTIIIICE ! ….”

Just returned from a trip to London to attend a Chen Instructors Course given by my Sifu, Master Micheal Tse.  Having been to England only once back in the late 80′s, this was essentially a “first trip” for me.

While the main focus was to attend the instructor course we did have a couple of days to play “tourist”.

Westminster Abbey

Parliament

Saint Paul’s Cathedral

River Thames

(Correction) Tower Bridge

Tower of London

Buckingham Palace

New Guard on way Buckingham Palace

Changing of the Mounted Guard

Happy Chinese New Year to all!
According to the Chinese Zodiac it is the year of the Dragon. More specifically the Water Dragon.  (It is interesting to note that the true Chinese Zodiac is based on a 60 year cycle (12 animals x 5 elements) rather than the 12 year cycle typically celebrated here in the west)

Dragons in general are said to be passionate and driven.  A leader.

The water element is said to calm the dragon’s fire and promote a more balanced personality, one that can see other points of view.

Great qualities for a future leader.

Been listening to / watching those Kaiser Permanente commercials about finding your motivation and figuring out what type of exercise best suits you. While hilarious, they also ring true to me.

After being on and off with my martial arts training throughout the years I can relate to the lady in the commercial as she tries various forms of exercise. Having earlier trained in Kenpo Karate, Choy Li Fut and Hung Gar, I now spend my lunch breaks practicing Chen Taijiquan. Like running and high impact exercises, the earlier styles I practiced were external and extremely hard on my body. And, similar to the lady in the commercial, I couldn’t keep up and soon lost interest (I too passed on pole dancing).
Finding Taijiquan was a blessing (as my aging body will wholeheartedly attest to). The movements may look slow and gentle but they belie the inner strength and martial skill behind it. As an added benefit, numerous studies have shown that performing Taijiquan (or Tai Chi for you westerners out there), provides a myriad of health benefits, from arthritic pain relief to overall physical fitness and increased balance in the aged.

And as an exercise for both my brain as well as my body, I’ll be documenting my Taijiquan journey here on my blog.  Hopefully you’ll be able to join me (even if only vicariously).

One of my favorite activities when visiting Japan is hunting down new flavors of Kit Kat.  On my latest visit I found 2 new (at least to me) flavors.

Yubari Melon (Cantaloupe)

And Blueberry Cheescake

Also picked up samples of old favorites

Imagine my surprise finding this at my door after a hard day at work.

I’ve been PERK’D

I must be somebody (at least in my own mind)

What an adorkable gift!

And the legaleese:

I was given a free product or sample because I’m a Klout influencer. I was under no obligation to receive the sample or talk about this company. I get no additional benefits for talking about the product or company.

On a recent evening visit to the Honolulu Aquarium, one exhibit in particular caught my attention: The Jelly Fish tank.  Totally mesmerizing.  If it wasn’t for the guide pushing us on to other exhibits I could have stood there all night just watching them.

At the prodding of @geewhy, I had taken up a most noble endeavor.  One that is on par with King Arthur’s quest for the Holy Grail … the search for … SCHWEDDY BALLS!

But alas, having returned from the land of the mega power outage, I must admit, I … have… FAILED!

Cool weather, long work days and an ample supply of powder, conspired againt’s me in setting out to look for the elusive Schweddy Balls.  I hereby announce my failure.

I HAVE NOT FOUND NOR DO I HAVE SCHWEDDY BALLS!

After reading @geewhy’s post on the subject drink I figured I’d give it a shot.

Once you get past the initial shock of the saltiness of the beverage you can actually taste the mocha/coffee flavor. However, it did leave a strong salty aftertaste in my mouth that I wasn’t too pleased with. I think I’ll leave this “dirty” drink to @geewhy and stick with my normal coffee offerings.

Even after witnessing @Geewhy’s disastrous attempt at buying a candy bar from our work vending machine, my thirst for adventure (well actually my craving for chocolate and sugar) drove me to roll the dice and buy a chocolate bar from the same machine.

The results?  A partially melted and crumbly Almond Snickers bar.  Either we’ve got the worst luck at buying candy, or we need to get the folks who stock these to put in fresh items.  

Oh and unlike @Geewhy, I ate mine!