Thursday, September 1, 2016

The 100th Blog- - Chief Instructor's Blog September 2016


I have been thinking for some time what I would write about for my hundredth blog.  When I started writing these, I could not have imaged a hundred topics I could write about without potentially rehashing similar ideas over and over again and I thought I would not be able to sustain a once a month blog for very long. 

I am not saying I have not struggled at times to come up with ideas that inspire me or felt I had enough time to research the concept or spend the time to flush out my thoughts, but seven plus years and a hundred blogs later and I think there is definitely more to cover with brand new topics or expanding on topics I have already covered.

Why do I think there is more to cover?  For one, for me, writing these blogs has paralleled my own training and my approach to my own training: there is always something more to learn (either depth or breadth or completely new) and not all learning has to be of the physical nature.

I have been studying Han Moo Kwan now for over 22 years.  Over those years I went through phases of growth and learning the art form and found I grew the most as an instructor and student when I was completely open to other possibilities and what may be next to learn – either the next application of a technique within a hyung or a new energy application or a new approach to teaching. 

This is a similar approach I have taken to writing the blogs – what can I learn about next? The topics are endless: whether it is history of the martial arts, our art form, other art forms, our club, various masters for example through reading stories, books, and quotes about or written by masters such as Sun Tzu, Ankō Itosu, Gichen Funakoshi, Morihei Ueshiba, Bruce Lee, etc.), various principles or philosophies, etc. 

In addition, I have been open to learning from all sources: various martial arts and artists (through videos, books, blogs, etc.), my own martial arts practice, students, other instructors in the club, yoga instructors, my own experiences, etc. 

While I have ideas as to what I may write about in the next few months, I am open to whatever comes my way to learn initially, gain more understanding and share my thoughts on the subject.  I look forward to continuing to learn, to write and to share.

Regards,
Kelly

"Even today, I dare not say that I have reached a state of achievement. I'm still learning, for learning is boundless." ~ Bruce Lee, (1940 –1973) American-born Chinese Hong Kong martial artist, actor, and founder of Jeet Kune Do