It's Me: One Year Later (Roughly)

As of this post, I have been participating in the Ultimate Black Belt Test for 371 days and counting.

In the past year, I have renewed my study of the arts, my practice as a teacher, my duties as a citizen of the world, my connections to others in my sphere of influence, and my development as a human being.

More importantly, my students have begun to walk this path as well and collectively, we're on the path towards great things!

I'm due for a progress report anyway, so here's where I'm at after 12.2 months:

UBBT Accomplishments:

• I have lost 31 pounds.  (Initial: 249, Current: 218)
• I have performed 93,100 pushups and 98,500 crunches/ab exercises.
• I have completed 2,600 repetitions of forms: 1k each of 2 different forms, 600 of a 3rd in progress.
• I have traversed 1,600 miles of combined running, biking, and hiking.
• I have completed 450 rounds of sparring & bag work.
• I have meditated for over 180 hours, at a minimum of two 15-minute sessions per day.
• I have completed 20 hours of groundwork & boxing training.
• I have reduced my plastic consumption by 50%.
• I have performed 8500 acts of kindness and another 3000 through students.
• Although I have not performed any anonymous acts of kindness for teammates, I have worked to deliver overt acts of kindness towards them.
• I have righted 1 of 3 wrongs in my life, and currently mending 2 of 3 relationships.
• I have profiled 2 living heroes and 2 books, with 3 more of each coming.
• I completed the Body for Life program during summer 2009 and will repeat it again.
• I have spent 1 day blind and 1 day mute.
• I have organized 3 environmental cleanup events and another 10 through students.
• I have performed portions of my testing requirements publicly 4 times.
• This journal entry will be my 127th journal in 53 weeks.

Personal Accomplishments:

• I have altered my diet and health habits to be in much closer alignment with my ideals.
• I have not purchased anything new since January 1st, other than basic necessities and supplies to facilitate the accomplishment of my goals.
• I have created and published 8 videos with my Flip camera, 2 videos with my phone, and another 4 with professional assistance from my brother.
• I have begun to learn how to cook and can now proudly wear an orange belt in the kitchen.
• I have been cleaning out sections of my home and the excavation is proceeding well.
• I have paid off 1 of 3 credit cards in full, with another close behind.
• I am managing a much healthier sleeping schedule, with close to 7 hours/night of rest.
• I am cross-training in 4 other arts and have been enjoying the process of being a student again.
• I have redesigned my dojo's core curriculum and testing process with a much more 'intelligent' focus.
• My participation in the UBBT is having a positive influence on other martial arts schools in the area through networking and friendly exchanges of information.  My students have also grown from the relationships that have blossomed out of those conversations.
• I have constructed a Digital Dojo for my program which has received hits from all over the United States, Canada, and Europe....and still growing!
• Although my student team has dwindled in active participation, I am still very proud of the work that is being accomplished by our core group and hope that it will inspire the others to resume their progress towards their goals.
• My students and I have met numerous UBBT members, veterans, coaches, and inspirations.  Additionally, I have interacted with many more digitally through the magic of Facebook and Ning.

This is only the beginning for me. As Coach Tom has shared with us, little things add up to big things.  I plan to continue this progress through the rest of this year and into UBBT 8.  My journey is far from over.

We've only just begun.

Earth Day Updates from Team San Jose

Happy Earth Day, Live Team! 

(Technically, it's on Thursday, but I'm posting early)

During the month of April, many of San Jose’s Live members have initiated their own community projects, with the help and support of their teammates. We’re thinking globally and acting locally to make a difference. I’m very proud of the work that we’ve begun to do! I’ve been encouraging my students to initiate projects, document them, and record them as part of our environmental self-defense initiatives, which are being integrated (along with other related projects) into the rank requirements of my school. With just a little bit of time, they have already been able to organize numerous projects.(Great job team!)

Here’s a brief summary with links to some of their many projects:

Lynne Brady is creating a garden along an unused area of our campus to grow foods that will be donated to needy families in our school community! She has received a great deal of support from teammates Edgar Diego and Fernando Ortiz, who have donated many hours towards building the planters and filling them with soil.

Karena Chicas constructed a presentation for her class about Earth Day, and cleaned a local park with her friend Vanessa (a student in my English class).

Meaghan Del Real is assembling a team of helpers for a community art project that will covert old clothing items into decorative pillows and pillowcases. Teammate Anne Tran describes the project here. More on this coming as it develops.

Steven Han and Eloy Harris teamed up to clean up our school campus and found a number of “curious” items, along with a serious need to continue doing their work. Fellow teammates Armond Witherspoon and Juan Zamudio have stepped up to help them.

Lucinda Maldonado and her nephew helped to clean a local park, see photos here.

Ashley Ornelas organized a local school cleanup project together with teammates Andrew Mendez and Robert Truong. Check out the before and after clips.

Daniel Poo is striving to reduce his carbon footprint and is encouraging others to do the same. He’s been forwarding this website to his co-workers, relatives, and colleagues to calculate their carbon footprint. Additionally, he has taken the Meat-Free Monday pledge to help reduce his carbon footprint – read about it here! He’s looking for 100 signatures – perhaps you may want to help him reach his goal?  You can contact him on his Ning profile here.

Youssef Shokry is researching rooftop gardening and other green solutions, as well as begun his own small garden.  I've pointed him in the direction of the Square Foot Gardening project.

Anne Tran is creating a food compost at our school with the intent of supporting Lynne’s garden project. She’s already secured a green light from the school principal to obtain resources and begin doing the work

If you’re reading this: you don’t have to do anything fancy or attend a huge gathering to begin doing something for your community. Chances are that, if you open your front door, there’s someone or something within walking distance that could benefit from your efforts. We just need to train our eyes to see a need, and then take action to help.  If you're ready for the next level, then align with a local organization and help them with their work!

Until next time, keep training hard and living like champions.

P.S. to Mike Curtis: My team will gladly assist with your daughter’s project. We’ll be sending you something in the next couple of weeks.

A Quick Thank You

Brief entry for today, but I just wanted to express a huge thank you, on behalf of myself and all of the EpicAMP students at LPS San Jose, to Professor Kai Li and Professor Rod Reape for sharing their time with us yesterday.  Kai flew in to teach a seminar with SGM Rick Alemany this weekend, but arrived early and kindly came straight from the airport to my school to work with my students on some groundwork fundamentals.

My students had a fantastic time.  Thank you!

Video to come soon, stay tuned!

There Are No Shortcuts (Rafe Esquith, Living Hero)

On the wall of Rafe Esquith's fifth-grade classroom, the words "There Are No Shortcuts" are displayed prominently above the rules "Be Nice" and "Work Hard". Every year, his students excel beyond the expectations of ordinary fifth graders. They attend school from 6:30am until well after 4:00pm, even through their vacations, reading texts far beyond their grade level with understanding and passion in their voices, challenging themselves with algebra problems, and perform Shakespeare at a level that even impresses Sir Ian McKellen, a celebrated Shakespearean actor!

There is no place for mediocrity in Esquith's classroom, and his students love it. That attitude follows them long after they end their fifth-grade year, as many of them go on to colleges like Harvard, Princeton, and Stanford, some even returning to volunteer their time and energy to contribute towards the work of their teacher. These results would be impressive at any school, yet what stands out even more is that Esquith teaches in an L.A. inner-city school known as the Jungle, where many of his students come from poor or troubled families and do not speak English at home.

His secret? Hard work and no quitting, mixed with a healthy abundance of kindness and fun while learning intensely.

In his book, "There Are No Shortcuts", Esquith gives insight into his experiences at the Jungle with a refreshing candor that highlights his successes without downplaying the usefulness of his mistakes in crafting his teaching style.

I remember watching videos about Rafe and his students while completing my teaching credential program in grad school. He's a dynamic educator, possessed of a fierce idealism and a genuine love for his students. For a man who works 14-16 hour days like he does, you need to view your work as your passion in order to avoid burnout and breakdowns. I find his passion admirable. I don't necessarily recommend the 16-hour workdays to everyone, but I can definitely sympathize with the idea that when you are that passionate about your work, it doesn't necessarily feel like work.

You do it because it must be done.

(Note: Rafe Esquith is the third of 10 living heroes that I will be profiling as part of my UBBT goals. "There Are No Shortcuts" is the second of 12 books that I will be sharing with you. More to come, stay tuned!)