Improving Mindfulness

One key component to effective time management is the awareness of time. I've generally been reasonably well-organized with putting events in my calendar and reviewing them regularly; however, the biggest flaws in my own time management system lie not within my organizational systems, but within my own sense of time as it passes.

This manifests in numerous ways, all unintentional, but still leaving me grasping for time. Sometimes a phone conversation may go longer than intended, leaving me behind. Other times, the old adage "time flies when you're having fun" often leaves me with less time than I've originally planned because too much of it has flown by. I don't want to feel so strictly bound to my watch, but I do see a need to improve here. Lately, I've devoted an inordinate amonut of time to responding to student e-mails, and I've slipped slightly with my journaling. I catch myself before I fall too far behind, but were I my own student, I'd probably have pounced already.

On a continuum of proficiency starting with (1) unconscious incompetence, (2) conscious incompetence, (3) conscious competence, and (4) unconscious competence, I'm at a level 3 when it comes to my sense of time management. When I place a conscious effort to do it, and do it well, it gets handled.

I need to work towards mastery. I want to be at that fourth level. Time to practice, practice, practice!

Workout Summary, Day 126

Owwww. The soreness returns. Getting back on the saddle burns, even after a few days! It's a reminder to me to keep consistent.

School is back in session. Definitely feeling constraints on my available time. I'll need to reevaluate my workout regimen in order to get better results in shorter sessions.

Here's my tally for the week:

* Cycling: 40 miles (10m, MTWTh)
* Hiking: 14 miles (7m, Sat/Sun)
* Running: 12 miles (3m, MTWTh)
* Forms: 20 (10x, Sat/Sun)
* Push-ups: 900 (150x, Sat/Sun/MTWTh)
* Crunches: 1200 (200x, Sat/Sun/MTWTh)
* Bag Work: 5m (Fri)
* Current Weight: 228

Total since Day 1:

* Cycling (total): 688 miles
* Hiking: 167 miles
* Running (total): 111 miles
* Basics: 195m
* Form repetitions: 488
* Kicks: 22600
* Pushups: 11915
* Crunches: 18015
* Squats: 5670
* Lunges: 2270
* Punching w/weights: 30m
* Bag work: 149 rounds (149m total)
* Sparring: 10 rounds
* Boxing: TBA
* Grappling: 1 hour
* Net Weight Loss: -21

Tales of a Stress Eater

A confession: when I experience stress, I eat.

During the past week, as I've begun to prepare myself for the upcoming school year, I've been working much later hours than usual...and I already work late as it is. Some of that is in organization, some is spent in meetings with colleagues, but much of it is reflecting and revising my curriculum in order to navigate the post-NCLB world of education while retaining some academic freedom.

In this past week, I've caved on multiple occasions, mostly through calls to the local pizza place. I take breaks during the day to walk around the track, crank out some pushups and crunches. or go a few rounds with the heavy bag, but I definitely ended up with a surplus of junk this week. Ew.

I need to become better at planning my meals during this time of year. I always work extra hours. You'd think that I'd have figured out how to pre-make an extra meal and then bring it to work....or maybe better time/project management so that I go home earlier...or both!

Anyone have any low-prep favorite recipes? I'm a little burnt on the sandwich/salad/fruit smoothie stuff because they're my breakfasts and lunches. Thanks in advance.

Workout Summary, Day 119

Gah! Dropped the ball this week.

Work left me feeling drained and I caved in more often than not in order to rest. :(

Still managed to fit in three brief workouts this week though. That's still a lot more than most people get in, but I'm not satisfied with this. I'm feeling pretty disappointed in myself.

Need more ooomph!

Here's my tally for the week:

* Cycling: 20 miles (10 Fri, 10 Mon)
* Running: 6 miles (3 Fri, 3 Mon)
* Push-ups: 450 (150 FMW)
* Crunches: 600 (200 FMW)
* Squats: 100 (100 Wed)
* Bag Work: 2m (Fri)
* Current Weight: 228.8 (Dangit!)

Total since Day 1:

* Cycling (total): 648 miles
* Hiking: 153 miles
* Running (total): 99 miles
* Basics: 195m
* Form repetitions: 468
* Kicks: 22600
* Pushups: 11015
* Crunches: 16815
* Squats: 5670
* Lunges: 2270
* Punching w/weights: 30m
* Bag work: 144 rounds (144m total)
* Sparring: 10 rounds
* Boxing: TBA
* Grappling: 1 hour
* Net Weight Loss: -20.2

Shocking Stats!

In this TED video, Chris Jordan presents a series of supersized images which give us an impression of the scope of human consumption.

In case you didn't click the link earlier, here it is again.

Thoughts: WOW. Mind-blowing. This needs to be so much bigger than myself. If environmentalists and their causes are to be successful, we must inspire a large-scale movement for positive change.

Workout Summary, Day 112

Shifting my workouts again.

With school returning to session soon, I won't have the luxury of being able to work out as often as I did during the summer. If I maintain my current intensity levels and reduce the amount of time that I train, I'll begin to lose ground. Perhaps my slight weight gain (roughly half a pound) is evidence of this.

I need to reverse things and add intensity to my workouts in order to match my calorie burn. This may take a few weeks to figure out, but I've started by creating a fairly fixed routine for training: run on the elliptical, ride on the exercise bike, knock out some push-ups and crunches, light lifting, then hit the sauna and/or hot tub before heading out.

Let's hope it pays off.

Here's my tally for the week:

* Cycling: 50 miles (10 Sat, 10 Mon, 10 Tues, 10 Wed, 10 Th)
* Hiking: 7 miles (Sun)
* Running: 5 miles (1 Sat, 1 Mon, 1 Tues, 1 Wed, 1 Th)
* Forms: 12 (Sun)
* Push-ups: 1000 (200 Sat, 200 Mon, 200 Tues, 200 Wed, 200 Th)
* Crunches: 1500 (300 Sat, 300 Mon, 300 Tues, 300 Wed, 300 Th)
* Current Weight: 228.6


Total since Day 1:

* Cycling (total): 628 miles
* Hiking: 153 miles
* Running (total): 93 miles
* Basics: 195m
* Form repetitions: 468
* Kicks: 22600
* Pushups: 10565
* Crunches: 16215
* Squats: 5570
* Lunges: 2270
* Punching w/weights: 30m
* Bag work: 142 rounds (142m total)
* Sparring: 10 rounds
* Boxing: TBA
* Grappling: 1 hour
* Net Weight Loss: -20.5

The Cycle

It's back-to-school season, and schoolteachers (like myself) are getting themselves prepared for the upcoming school year. I just finished a weeklong series of meetings and planning sessions, which have been useful, but also time-consuming.

Operating on an academic calendar has been a blessing in disguise because it affords me the opportunity to reflect, refresh, and revitalize my practice for a few days each year before beginning a new cycle with a new class. I've refined my organizational systems and I look forward to trying them! I found it to be a really healthy exercise. Given time and thought, I almost always find a way to streamline, improve, or enhance an existing system.

When I was running my school, I operated in cycles, mostly centered around testing dates and special events. When I was first learning the ropes, there was little time to deviate from the cycle, and it was the driving force behind my schedule. It took a while before I learned to handle things.

I hope that each of you, in your own way, give yourselves the opportunity to recharge and take a close look at whatever you're doing (that's part of the goal setting cycle - review & renew!). That kind of refinement is time-consuming, but it pays back generously in the form of extra time!

Identity and Violence

I recently picked up Identity and Violence, written by Nobel Peace Prize winner Amartya Sen, a professor at Harvard. Fascinating read. Many of his ideas are accessible, despite their complexity.

Early in the text, he discusses how an excessive sense of identity can backfire and create a system of justifications for unhealthy categorical attitudes, oppressive thoughts and behaviors, and eventually inhumane actions. Many of us easily fall prey to the fallacy that people can easily be classified into a narrow series of groups, which we can then make broad statements about.

It seems possible that similar behaviors exist in the martial arts world. Style, association, school, team, etc...we are certainly entitled to have a sense of pride in our roots; however, it's when that pride turns us against each other that we betray our own values.

"Those guys", in "that school", who practice "that style" with "that teacher"...what a sad way to completely rule out several dozen potential allies, friends, and brothers/sisters in the arts.

I tried to talk with some friends about the recent BJ Penn fight (which I didn't get to see) and I was stunned to hear things like, "I don't care for that stuff at all" and "I'd really rather not discuss it." How unfortunate, because while it's certainly a different subculture within the martial arts world, there's a lot to be gained within our own practice from studying those bouts! Sure, there are certain aspects of the subculture which conflict with my personal preferences and tastes (especially given their target demographic), but that doesn't change the basic premise of the competition and it's not going to keep me from trying to learn from the MMA field.

That conversation helped me see more clearly about how we draw our own ideological borders. When we choose an identity or distinguish ourselves from another, whether it's a martial art, social group, religion, business, club, family, culture, nationality, or what have you...that choice potentially carries the possibility of dividing us from others.

Something to be mindful of.

Workout Summary, Day 105

Maintenance week. Calm before the storm.

I'm back in meetings next week to begin preparing for school. I'm going to need to shift the focus of my workouts to become more intense within a shorter period of time. This may affect my reps initially, since I won't have the luxury of setting aside long hours for working out, but I plan to adapt quickly.

Going to a seminar this weekend, very excited!

Here's my tally for the week:

* Cycling: 32 miles (10 M, 10 W, 12 Th)
* Hiking: 7 miles (7 Sa)
* Running: 6 miles (1.5 M, 1.5 W, 3 Th)
* Forms: 24 (12 M, 12 W)
* Push-ups: 1150 (150 Su, 150+100 M 250 T, 150+100 W, 250 Th)
* Crunches: 1950 (250 Su, 250+100 M, 500 T, 250+100 W, 500 Th)
* Current Weight: 228


Total since Day 1:

* Cycling (total): 578 miles
* Hiking: 146 miles
* Running (total): 86 miles
* Basics: 195m
* Form repetitions: 456
* Kicks: 22600
* Pushups: 9565
* Crunches: 14715
* Squats: 5570
* Lunges: 2270
* Punching w/weights: 30m
* Bag work: 142 rounds (142m total)
* Sparring: 10 rounds
* Boxing: TBA
* Grappling: 1 hour
* Net Weight Loss: -21

Self-Cleansing

During the past few days, I've been reorganizing my work space, as well as my home. Furniture is everywhere, along with stacks of bags and boxes full of my worldly belongings, and it's all starting to come together into a new look. The process has been rather therapeutic for me, in that as I organize the elements of my living space and working area, I feel cleansed.

Financially, I also finished paying off the balance of one of my three credit cards. It's also been a relief to have this done - one step closer to freedom from those plastic rectangles! I was bolder than usual when I made out the final payment, giving more than usual, but even though things will be tighter for me this month, it will give me a good opportunity to exercise better self-control.

I've been reaching out and making contact with family and old friends online. It was a gentle reminder and great advice from one of my students' own journal entries about the power of the Internet and maintaining good relations (if you're reading this, thanks John!). In a short amount of time, I've renewed some old friendships, caught up on some family news, and in general, while I've been tired at the end of my day, I feel more connected than I have been in a long time.

I'm sleeping better at night, leaving me with more time in the mornings to meditate and begin my day feeling focused and alive. I feel like so much has been lifted off of my shoulders...just in time for me to find new things to carry! Onward I go, towards further progress!

Moments of Honor and Shame

(This is an earlier version of my post entitled, "We Are Not Prepared". I've posted it here because it's a clear example of the revision process that I go through between my initial ideas and the final post. They carry similar messages, but the finished product is substantially different from this. Anyways, I liked this version enough to keep it, and I thought that you might enjoy reading this early version, so enjoy.)

I recently attended an event hosted by Project Soul, a collaborative effort between Loopkicks, AMAPA, and numerous martial arts, dance, spoken word, and hip-hop groups. It's the first time that I've seen or attended an event of this type within our industry, where multiple forms of modern arts are given the opportunity to showcase themselves and celebrate their current and up-and-coming talent. I find the concept to be innovative and the motivations behind organizing a diverse group in this fashion are commendable!

Because of this, I invited several of my students to come with me in order to see the show and draw some inspiration, hoping that they would be inspired by what is awesome, educated through exposure to new things, and trained through observing and evaluating others' successes and challenges. I certainly was. I learned a lot of things tonight - many are reminders, but I learned them again nonetheless.

I learned that most of the martial arts world is not ready for unity.

Forgive me here. I'll eventually be wandering into some negativity and/or soapboxing, but as a master teacher who is responsible for my students and committed to the growth of the arts, I must say what must be said here, and this doesn't apply to everyone. I applaud my students for being respectful, having fun, showing appreciation and gratitude, and looking for positives. I also am giving bonus props to the grand championship competitors who waited all day for a three-minute evening performance and mostly did so with class and sportsmanship. Props go out to the performers as well for being flexible and doing their best out there. There's also those who helped contribute in other ways towards the evening, and I definitely want to recognize that. Such efforts bring us honor, and when I see stuff like that, I feel honored to be counted among you when people consider the martial arts world.

Other actions bring me shame, not directly, but because such conduct dishonors our industry and reduces it to the level of a junior high school field trip to Death Valley - without air conditioning. I saw, heard, and felt things throughout the evening that make me ashamed to call myself a martial artist....because if that's what people see when they think of martial arts, then no wonder we get random posers making asses of themselves in our storefront windows. Behavior like that is inexcusable and intolerable.