Back from the Florida Trip

Well, I’m back from my big Florida trip. Lots of good stuff.

After packing, making notes, laying out my clothes, and making sure of my flight information, I finally staggered to bed last Wednesday night at about 1:30am. 4:55am came not long after, let me tell you! I managed to give my wife and son quiet kisses and then made it out the door with little trouble. The traffic at that time of day isn’t bad at all, so I made great time to the Park-n-Fly, and checked in at the airport on time. I waited for my friend and colleague, Israel, to show up from his connecting flight, and I worried that he wouldn’t make it. But he hustled down the terminal just in time, and we even managed to sit together on the way out to Tampa.

This weekend was an instructor’s conference. I am one of the founding members of the Shang Wu Association, dedicated to passing on a blend of Master Art D’Agostino’s Praying Mantis Kung Fu and Hong Style Chen Taijiquan, and we were getting together to see how we were doing, to train and talk, and to discuss goals for the coming year.

I had looked forward to this small gathering, and I was not disappointed in the least. We had a fabulous guest instructor, Paul, who spends months at a time in China or in Canada training with Masters Li Enjiu and Joseph Chen. He gave us some great insights into our Chen Taiji training and pushhands, and also some fabulous exercises to improve our taiji. In addition, Master Arthur went over some of our Kung Fu curriculum and cleaned up some things for us.

The main thing that I got from the weekend was a great sense of community, of camaraderie with the other Shang Wu instructors. We also discussed business strategies, and I’m so glad that I have a group that shares my business ethics. It’s not uncommon to see martial arts schools that are making money hand-over-fist, and churning out black belts by the dozen…but one might also notice that the skill levels of those black belts is not really that high, and they are somewhat sneaky in their sales pitches. Other schools turn out fabulous students of extremely high levels of skill and athleticism and fighting ability…but one might also notice that these schools have the fewest students, and are just getting by each month. We believe that one can run a high level martial arts school, and turn out great students, while making a decent living…without ‘screwing’ our students financially. I won’t get into the politics of the whole concept, but I’ll just say that I’m really excited about the coming year, and I’m looking forward to teaching Shang Wu martial arts to my students!

One thing that inevitably happens when we get together is that there ends up being a theme for the weekend. Someone makes a funny comment early on, and it’s repeated in various situations throughout our gathering, to the laughter of everyone involved. This time, we didn’t really end up with one theme but several funny topics of conversation.

Past themes for Shang Wu gatherings (and no, you’re probably not going to understand any of them):

Tombstone. (“Excuse me, but I believe you’re sittin’ in my chair.”)
Cow Tipping. (thanks, Mr. Lawler)
“(Spanish curse here), Barbacoa!”
“You’re gonna make me look at this @!#$?”
Rakka-takka-tak-takka-tat. (It makes it come out easier, I swear!)

And my personal favorite from past gatherings…

“I didn’t think you were gonna kick me!”

This weekend, we covered the following new topics of conversation:

Raheem’s date. (“Did you have anything to drink?” “Yeah…a hiene.”)
“I got my SWEET LEGS!!”
YOOP! SLAP!! YOOP!! SLAP!!
“How’s you’re pimp hand, Joseph?” “Strong, baby…strong!”
The deadly Chi Log.
“That only a .22. I kung fu master! I kill you with my last breath!”

And so it goes. I’m proud to be a part of a group that shares a vision of helping others, teaching solid kung fu…and has a pretty good sense of humor.

On Sunday, I just managed to get through security at the airport in time to make my flight, and I sat next to a thoroughly wonderful woman named Gwen, who had the sweetest Louisiana drawl. After a pleasant flight, I made it back to the car and headed for our first lacrosse game of the season. I was still changing clothes in the parking lot when the first whistle went off, but I didn’t miss much. We were playing Metro, a solid team that gives us trouble if we’re off our game. OK, I’ll say it…we were off our game. First game of the season, and we barely had 14 guys out there. I know that it’ll get better as we go, and I plan to do some damage on the field every chance I get.

I had only managed to lay one fellow out by the end of the third quarter, and I was exhausted! I had just recovered from my half-marathon and a whole weekend of Chen taiji will really take it out of your legs! I recall sitting on my portable stool with my helmet and gloves off, thinking that maybe I should hang it up for the day. I was beyond running at that point, and I felt like I might blow chunks at any moment.

As I considered leaving early, I suddenly became embarrassed. I mean, what kind of example was I setting? What would my students say? “Never quit!”, that’s what they’d say. So I strapped on my helmet, picked up my gloves and stick, and ambled back to the line to go back on the field. My turn came soon enough, and I’m happy to say that I caused some trouble out there. I’m not much on offense right now, but I can still play some decent defense. ;-)

So now I’m home, classes have resumed, and life is generally good. Aside from taxes that were due today and some paint fumes coming from the place downstairs from the school, everything’s cool.

Here’s another little survey. My Mom says she likes them.

1. What is your occupation? Martial Arts Instructor!!
2. What color are your socks right now? White.
3. What are you listening to right now? The rain outside.
4. What was the last thing that you ate? Turkey sandwich.
5. Can you drive a stick shift? Quite well, yes.
6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Green.
7. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Izzy.
8. Do you like the person who sent this to you? I borrowed it from a friend on Myspace…don’t know her well, but she’s cute.
9. How old are you today? 37. All day long.
10. Favorite drink? Ashamed to say that I do enjoy a good Coca-Cola belch.
11. What is your favorite sport to watch? MMA fights.
12. Have you ever colored your hair? Nope.
13. Pets? One beta fish named Willie.
14. Favorite food? Pho Tai with Gui Cuon. Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup with fresh Spring Rolls. Mmmmmmm!!! Honestly, I could have that for lunch every day.
15. What was the last movie you watched? Yellow River Fighter…a classic old Kung Fu movie.
16. What was the last book you read? Probably one of David Gemmell’s books.
17. What do you do, to vent anger? Work out. Breathe. Run. Or head back for more pho.
18. Favorite toy as a child? Star Wars figures….man, those were cool!
19. What is your favorite fall or spring? Fall. It’s such a relief after the scorching hot summer, and I love the deep blue of the sky in October.
20. Hugs or kisses? Both, as often as possible.
21. Cherries or blueberries? Blueberries
22. Do you want your friends to post this? Why not?
23. Who is most likely to respond? Dunno.
24. Who is least likely to respond? Not a clue.
25. Living arrangements? Married, in a house.
26. When was the last time you cried? I’m such a sap, probably during some movie or other.
27. What is on the floor of your closet? Let’s not get into that…
28. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending this to? Not sending to anyone in particular.
29. What did you do last night? Came home early from class, watched shows with my darling wife and went to bed. Nothing fancy.
30. Favorite smells? Usually food related smells are my favorite.
31. What inspires you? Folks who follow a dream, push through adversity to make it happen.
32. What are you afraid of? Nothing comes to mind. I’m sure there’s something.
33. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers? Spicy cheeseburgers. I’ll take two, please.
34. Favorite dog breed? I miss our pugs.
35. Number of keys on your key ring? Less than a dozen, I’d guess.
36. How many years at your current job? I opened our school in December, 2003, but I’ve been a teacher for a long time.
37. Favorite day of the week? Sunday…family day!
38. How many states have you lived? 1

Be good, everyone!