Leadership Coach Larry Clements of the Shan Institute

"If you realize that all things change, there is nothing you will try to hold on to. If you are not afraid of dying, there is nothing you cannot achieve." Lao Tzu

The wonder of the world is not in all the wonderful excitement that we run into or have created as man. The excitement is really in each of us. It is a moment of awe, an expression of hope, a point of enjoying the now. Whether you are observing an overwhelming natural beauty or the glory of the ordinary celebrated to the fullest. We are the wonder, without having to look beyond. Though sometimes there is great joy in the looking. :) 

Lao Tzu is discussing the true nature of man. We tend to hesitate and resist taking risk in our lives. Because we value life we refrain from living. This is a quandary I have never had.I have never been afraid of risk. I did not hesitate to jump out of a perfectly good airplane. I have studied combative arts my whole life. Grasping life is about grabbing hold of the horns and not letting go.

I do not seek death that is not the business I am in. I am seeking life. I grasp it. 

I fully admit that when I gained my samurai spirit in my youth I did not think there would be anything that I would want to hold onto bad enough, making me, by Lao Tzu standards truly free. I did find something though. Something I wanted to hold onto. And things do change, and times change, and situations change, and a part of me will never ever, ever want to let go. I know that now.

It is a part of me as surely as the great yang,  Taiyang, the Sun, will rise on the morrow. I do not regret this choice, I embrace probably for the first time in a long while, that I have no intention letting change be completely free with my life. I have drawn a line in the sand and intend on fighting, against the odds. But no matter what life holds, or destination, I will not be cowered by this task. I am not daunted by it's immensity. I am not deterred by the fact that not all the choices are within my power. For if you are willing to give everything. even your life, to a cause it is very very hard to fail. This is how I face things. A duel, a challenge. Even if I am not successful I will go to my grave knowing that I tried. The willingness to go all the way. This is a power that has no equal. Enough philosophy now about my favorite new pastry. : )

 So this is my current favorite street food. It is a steamed bun filled with your choice of meat, spicy noodles, or veggies. I tend to like the veggies and the pork. The price is right at about 1.5 RMB per bun. I just noticed you have a really great shot of my damaged thumb, here, this is what you get when you use your thumb to pry open a pitbulls mouth. FYI. I was successful but it cost me. :) 

  So in ancient times the phoenix represented the female dragon in Chinese mythology. Later this female bird (dragon) and her male counterpart became to symbol for marriage. This is the representation of the blessings of the divine masculine and divine feminine in true courtship. Marriage not just on this plane but marriage accepted by the heavens themselves. I chose the Phoenix Eye Dragon Claw name for my school before I knew of this symbology. It however fits very well with my teachings and the 'marriage' of concepts that was the origin of my primary art. 

These little gold statues are all over Kunshan. IF they did not cost as much, or more, than an entirety of one of my future paychecks there are a few of them I would love to have. They are made of pure gold. I am not sure of the exact process used but the details on them are exquisite. They usually have the gold value posted and the price of them are usually only the going rate for the gold value they represent and nothing more.

I finally decided to remind the bosses that my contract is supposed to give me two days off a week. Now they are scrambling to rearrange my schedule. As apparently I am a hot item as far as being an English Teacher. I am having regular visits by the Chinese Teaching Staff to learn from me and my methods. Nothing like a little job security. I have VIPs asking for me specifically  I have not been a person that usually would use such a thing to gain a personal advantage. I think I have managed to find a new me emerging, I have spent WAY too much of my life being the good guy because it was right, and paying dearly because doing what was right or standing aside was prudent rather than buck the system for personal benefit. But I will not be allowing that to happen to me anymore. We will have to see where the chips fall.

Soon I will be setting up a series of shots of the Pharmacy that supports the TCM Hospital right behind my apartment. I will soon be the envy of all my old friends at AOMA. There is a fully stocked raw herb department of the pharmacy takes up most of the second floor of the place. I need to purchase some more needles for practicing and working on my cold some more so that it does not get worse. Damn cold wet weather. I thought it was going to take a break but looks like that is not the case. 

 What's with the monkey and the bug? This is along the hand carved water way I discovered the other day. I will try to get back over there. I think there are statues for all the signs of the zodiac. I hope to make sure to get some shots of the whole series. I will be featuring my zodiac sign of course. So coming soon will be a featurette on the Cock. :) 

This Nescafe crap does cut it as far as replacing coffee.  It allows me to ingest something resembling a cup of cheap cocoa powder mix with enough caffeine to keep me from dying but that is about it. Please if you are following me let others know. I would love to start getting more followers and some more comments. I have some ideas to do a few more series of focused blogs on training and such I just have been limited in getting out in the rain and cold with my sore throat and work schedule. So I am making do with what I can. Soon to be more much more. 

 Temple dogs. The are often represented with one carrying a ball and the other a cub. One with its mouth open the other shut. This represents a powerful and simple protection by symbolizing the speaking of the Tibetan AUM. Or more often referred to as OM. A symbol of infinite power and protection. For centuries the dogs stand at the entrance of houses and temples and repel evil by being the embodiment of OM. The manifest and unmanifested aspects of the divine. The power of god spoken from the mouth of dogs. I like it. 

 Well I have brought you from the risks, and benefits, of fighting for ones life to the spoken manifestation of the Divine and even snacked along the way.  Tell others about this journey. More that know and can share, the more I can confirm my path, that I have chosen, is the right one.

Jia Jian  

"A scholar who cherishes the love of comfort is not fit to be deemed a scholar."  Lao Tzu

There is a hard truth to be learned by Lao Tzu. Knowledge is not a path for the lighthearted or the weak. As Odin plucked his eye out to gain knowledge as he sacrificed himself on the branches of the Yggdrasil the world tree. There is no knowledge worth gaining that does not take effort of sacrifice. I am reminded of this as I lay down every night and look at my beside table.

 There is an art to teaching young kids that is part comedian, part showman, part zoo keeper and most important part educator. But it is more than just imparting knowledge. 

  

These are just one of the groups of rascals I have in the morning. The little demon in the dark coat on the far right leaning in is a particularly evil little one that this morning attacked me when the Chinese teacher had to leave the room Did I mention part Zookeeper. I love teaching kids, I do. But that does not make it an easy task, it makes it a challenging one. Some days more than others.Especially when trying to protect your organs from kids that know where to hit you to make it hurt and have NO taboo against doing just that. We were reading books this morning, and I followed with teaching them songs from the Sound of Music.Yes the Sound of Music, you heard me correctly. Julian Andrews I am not. But the teachers and kids. love it...

Years ago I was told I could not sing and gave it up. I used to love to sing and had done a number of solo performances when I was younger. The military stripped me of some vocal cords as well so I gave up. I gave up on a lot of things in my life. Part of what I am doing right now is to take back some of me.  

But I have found a new love of music in this place all alone with few distractions I find myself returning to the music I loved so much. I cannot access my iTunes account from here. So I have taken to watching music videos and singing.I will have to have a hard drive sent with my user from home that will allow me at least to listen to "Fire in the head" a few thousand times. :) 

 With the kids, in order to save my voice I switch over from more of a Drill Sargent Style of "Speak and repeat" to "sing and return" it helps change the pace and is making me work on my singing voice for the first time in years. Combined with the cold and wet I have been on the verge of a serious sore throat for the last week.

 Sometimes the modern nature of the city here is surprising to me... then I turn the corner and see a hand carved water way like this one lined with statues. And I am awed. I found this place on the way back from getting my new back account. 

Thank all of my friends that donated money to me moving here. Because of when I arrived and started etc. I will not see a large paycheck for yet another month  and not a full one for two months from today. Without those donations survival would be extremely hard if not nigh impossible. .

Please let others that might be interested know about this blog I would love to increase my following and I would love some feedback. My family wanted to know more about the place I was living so I have been focused on that. If you are interested in my training I have plenty of things to blog about. Training, Philosophy, TCM, the people I have met, and you are getting some of the images of where I am. I will leave you with a scene from a Friday night in Kunshan. The loud explosions you are not hearing are fireworks going off. There were no visible fireworks in the sky, at least none that I saw, just cacophonous noise. :)

 I have been acing my units in Rosetta Stone still, however being able to say things like "The little girl is running." is NOT helping me order chicken curry. 

I managed to find CUMIN YES!  Now time to see if I can find a way to make tortillas and I am in business. Peppers check! Onions Check!, Season Salt Check! Garlic Check!, Cumin check! Found a place that sells prepacked meat so I don't have to explain that I did not want the pigs feet with my bacon, Check! :)

I wake up and practice Taiji every morning I have an idea to shoot some pictures soon. But I have been ill so I have not been exploring as much... but I plan on seeing if I cannot get my camera set up at a local park.

I have been practicing my forms in Karate. I have been going back and forth on speeds to see what feels comfortable, what I know increases effectiveness and when the barrier of speed finally surpasses my ability to maintain the form or the flow. It has been some challenges. And working indoors with my nunchaku and my staff are ... limiting. But the weather is changing I actually saw the Sun twice today I thought I was having visions. :)

Praise the knowledge I have gained in TCM. Had I not been able to work the right points I can almost be certain with the weather and the kids I am hands on with every day. I would be far more sick than I am and having to not work.Time to find me a supply of needles here. hmmm.

Well signing off by saying that China is remarkably like so many other modern cities. But as Master Li would say about qigong. Every movement has it's own "flavor". So does Kunshan and I am sure once the funds and time are available for me to visit Shanghai proper I will be able to taste it even more. Come savor the "Flavor" of my new home, enjoy a bit of my journey seasoned with a bit of self discovery.The great big world seems a little smaller place for me these days, and the smells of the fish market not so foreign.... now how the heck do I ask, "How much for the Chicken Curry?" , again. :)

 

"By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest." Confucius 

The sun rises and sets on the pavement of every city in the same way. The shadows lengthen and stretch across the distance until the shadows fill the night and the glow of neon replaces sky's furnace. 

Kunshan is a beautiful little city with thousands and thousands of people at all hours hustling about. When you think about the life of a modern city most think of New York or LA as examples. I have been to Rome, New York, LA , Chicago, now Kunshan on the outskirts of one of the largest cities in the east Shanghai. The same holds true wherever you go. People are out there working hard trying to earn a wage. There are thieves trying to pawn off their goods own you. There are venders of every kind trying to scratch out a living. The basic life is the same for everyone regardless of creed, belief or flag.


Living here these last few weeks, one of the things that strikes me most is just how much we are all human. To a fault, no matter our differences, no matter the challenges of communication. I could walk down to the market downstairs and see the same activity there that I would see and a market in Texas. Ok so there might not be tanks with toad in them but the basic truth still holds. The kids that chased me all over the market yesterday are no different than the ones would chase me at a flea market back home.


We are really not as different as we want to believe we are. Period. 

These ladies are here every day rain or shine, freezing they all sit right here. For some change they will repair any article of clothing you want. Hand sewn and patched usually before you come back from lunch. 

Here is the river I cross every day to get to work at the Language Center. This is a bustling city that apparently is THE place to shop. The Starbucks( about a mile and a half away) is firmly placed at the entrance of a Galleria like high end fashion mall. Down the street from the 3 story Walmart like Mall structure. 

This is called the People's Road. Not a altogether inappropriate term considering the mass of humanity you can find on this road at all hours. I sit in my apartment listening the the sound of construction out of my window. If you look to see the crane there in the upper left that building being belt is the lovely music I am listening to right now. My apartment lies right directly behind that construction. The highrise is right next to the Kunshan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine. I do not know yet if I am cursed or blessed. 


Hopefully once the work on Rosetta Stone pays off. I have been acing all of the Units I have done so far. I might be able to profit from such juxtaposition. However it, at the moment, seems to be a cruel hoax played on me by fate to put something within arms reach the I can do nothing about. :) At least at the moment. There are no schools of Martial arts in my area of Kunshan. In fact very little evidence of qigong, taiji, or any of the early practices. At some point I will have to get down to the little garden in front of the government building where a group of elderly women get together to dance for exercise I have to get some pictures for you. 


Until later my friends back to work I must go. I will leave a image of the entrance to the building I go to work in. 

 Jia Jian 

"You should examine yourself daily. If you find faults, you should correct them. When you find none, you should try even harder."  Xi Zhi

One of my favorite quotes. None of us are perfect. No matter how much seeking perfection might be noble. The work, and benefit both lie in the effort, without any hope of success. Teaching is a talent not a skill, you can learn to teach but to be successful it is an art form. It is a balance of discovery and shining the light on the right path to guide the students to where you want them to go. I as my own teacher for so long have trouble with turning the light on for myself at times. It is one thing to be offered guidance, it is another to forge  your own trail.


I have been working over the Lung Channel yet again discovering the details of the indications for the points usage and contraindications. For instance TianFu (LU-3) or Palace of Heaven. This is a location on the lateral anterior aspect of the arm. about a single hand width inferior of the axillary fold. In the depression created by the biceps brachii and the shaft of the humerous. Indications include Cooling of heat in the lung channel, Cools blood and halts bleeding. Calms the soul, decreasing sadness weeping, and insomnia. However in some of the early texts this point is strongly contra-indicated for Moxa. Suggests that the use of moxa would cause a reversal of Qi ( For those that don' t know this is really really bad).

We are all connected. The basic concept of M theory or String Theory goes to prove a existence of the interconnection of all things. I think, and there are others doing the research right now that we will eventually discover that these points on our bodies, these channels where our ancestors discovered the flow of something beyond us but still a part of us. Will be found to be points of connection to other planer levels of existence, that web of inter-connectivity that we see being pointed to in string theory. I dont think qi is the actual force making the connection but... is the point of connection that exists in this plane. Which is why qi can take on 83 forms in the human body alone. Because where the connection occurs and how and where that flow of connection gets sustains would adopt an aspect unique to that person and location. But similar enough in each person to be a system of governance of the energy that connects us to the universe.


Such is how I spend my spare time. :) Shining a light on the darkness first so  I can lead the way, eventually for those to follow. I am still walking the paths of those before me to guide my way into this world of information so foreign to the western world. But I am forging my own path to getting there. :) 

I fill my mind with information and task my soul with temperance. I seek to enlighten my mind and unburden my spirit. In a dogged pursuit of my tasks. I am threatened by the process that will forever be true to the nature of learning. Learning more, only opens more for you to learn. There is no end, there is no perfection. There is, always was, and always will be more to learn.

Yet I am troubled. Not by the endless task that lies before me, but the ones that I have left behind me. No amount of seeking, no amount of knowledge can replace holding loved ones close to you. The learning eases my pain, but today there is a heaviness of my heart, an emptiness of soul. The light for me today shines a bit dimmer.

Even though we have been so blessed by the Sun which has finally burned through the clouds and offered me an unobstructed view of the heavens. I think I actually spent the entire day dry for the first time. :)

Take care my friends. Look about you. Enjoy that which is close to you, wherever you may be. 

You will find happiness only in the current state of existence.
Happiness exists only in the now, it cannot exist in future.

"Flow with whatever may happen and let your mind be free. Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate." Zhuangzi

The serenity of this little corner of Kunshan down the block from where I work is one of the many treasures I have discovered while I walk the streets and learn where to get things. Where not to get things, etc. The humor about this photo is that not a 50 yards from it stand a very fancy Pizza Hut. Where for a premium you can taste a good old fashion pizza.

 However it does have a certain appeal to be what I would gather is the resting place of a great ancestor of the city.

I will have to get back to you on the story as soon as I can learn enough to find out who this actually is. The very stylish mall that he faces from his place next to the river serves a placement of dichotomy between the worlds here. There is a sort of driven need to be "modern" on all levels. I am looking forward to learning more of the sites and history specifically of Kunshan. I will also be trying to figure out a way to get into and back out of Shanghai. The Teachers I work with all assure me that a simple train ride puts  you downtown. But having not really mastered the idea of trains in my entire life, the idea of getting on one where I cannot verify much is... well... a little daunting. Give me a back ally street fight any day over trying to figure out a railway system in a foreign tongue. :)

I managed to find a worthy staff to train with. I have started to gather equipment for training. Nunchuku for dexterity training. A staff for coordination, strength and forms training. I will need to pick up a couple of more to cut down to the right size for some kali work. Though I did find a vendor that sells expandable batons I might choose them since I would be able to port them to places easier for training purposes. I have started the price the things I need for gear and the things I want for gear and then a wishlist. We will just have to see.

This morning the Kindy had visitors meaning I spent most of the morning in their computer room. My first class this evening was a no show. The second class was a group of guys that were real serious about talking, and learning. One small 45 minutes that made up for a lot of a day of nothing. We cannot chose the cards we are dealt we can only really choose what we do with the hand we are given.

 再見 [再见] (zàijiàn) "Good Bye"

"If ignorant both of your enemy and yourself, you are certain to be in peril." Sun Tzu

My new addiction... 

These spicy chicken skewers are sold about every 20 feet or so. Not really quite that frequent but also not all that far off. You cannot walk a full block without hitting at least one vendor. As my lips went numb at the first bite I had I was hooked. Being a Texan tried and true I am fond of spicy foods. I am found of grilled meats and enjoy quite an expertise at this point in being able to grill meat to perfection. But what we have here is both a simple street food and an amazing chemical process that leaves my lips burning for about 45 min and my tongue practically numb. :) 

I will admit fully to having whimped out a bit on experimentation because of the language barrier. I like to know what I am ordering not just pointing at a menu and hoping. So a good deal of my food up to this point has not been traditional fair or my favorite streetfoods. Though there is NO way to begin to make a dent in the number of local food and restaurants available to me on my block alone. Being a foodie, and once I can be sure that I can handle a financial transaction with a bit more security I will have a hard time getting back into the habit of cooking some of my own meals. :)

 I have always enjoyed teaching kids. It is always a pleasure to pass on what I have learned to another generation. I was asked about coming here by one friend how I felt about coming here and teaching Chinese people English. Couched I am sure in what was meant to be a concern for a possible ethical question on my part. 

No such question existed for me at all. I am and always will be a teacher. As much an aspect of my nature as my warrior spirit. There is no more powerful tool we humans have on this planet than communication. We have used it to build and destroy great civilizations. But it is only through cooperation and language that we have managed it, or we would still be swinging in the trees. There is no more powerful message I can bring to the world than to open a child's mind to more possibilities through the power of language. I teach these wonderful kids the basics of another entire world that they will be opened to from the start. 

In the evenings I teach people. who are wanting to better themselves and to better their financial future by getting better jobs. Right now the better jobs go to those that can talk to boss in America and Europe. Globalization is not just a term it is happening faster than can be recorded. But those of us willing to grasp how to view the world from another map are on the front of a new era. Language is the barrier that separates many cultures from being able to even understand the basics about each other. Through communication the things that separate us are torn apart and we find for all of our trappings we are still humbly and simply Human. 

再见 zài jiàn (Zai4jian4) - good bye

 

"Confront them with annihilation, and they will then survive; plunge them into a deadly situation, and they will then live. When people fall into danger, they are then able to strive for victory." Sun Tzu

 One thing I learned very early in life that has been one of my most powerful lessons came from a Middle School production of  "I never saw another butterfly." It was a dark play written about kids diaries and notes and pictures drawn by those in concentration camps in World War II. These kids impressed upon me the need, not the desire, but need to find beauty in your life no matter how ugly. One of the things that when I was learning psychology that I found very very profound is the capacity of human endurance. 


Any second year psych major can review a case study of a degrading mental health issue and point to the stressors and sum up a cause and effect and probably would not be too far from the truth as most would see it, and most would follow that thought process toward finding resolution, however this is not how it works. We know that a predisposition needs to be a factor, we know stressors play a role. But we also know that stress alone, however damaging it is, and it is severely damaging, can be endured. Most of us can point to a person suffering from depression and say yes, preexisting issues, chemical imbalance, external and internal stressors that triggered the mental state, boom depression because it is self sustaining affective disorder for more than half a year. 


The powerful stories that are almost never written are the case studies that seldom find their way into the books. Some people have suffered horrible and life threatening stress, severe mental and physical abuse, at very vulnerable stages...and came out fine. The lesson to be learned is that a relationship to a factor does NOT represent a correlation. Knowing that a stressor is an issue and making it a factor does not qualify it as anything else, nor does it suggest how much a factor it can be. We do. we really can choose how much we let something knock us on our ass and how we plan to deal with it.


Humans have survived so much. We are a violent species and a cooperative one. We have built and destroyed countless civilizations and we are such creatures of habit we will do it again. But what can be learned when we face our trials and tribulations. When the stressors hit us in the face bold and cold, we in the end choose how that stressor will affect us. Now I have been in that dark tunnel, embroiled in the burden of having my mind turn against me and have faced terrible things that my mind wanted to abuse me with. Such is the nature of the disease. Giving the person a really strong sense that there is no control. And truth be told when you are suffering in the grips of it there is very little control as emotions and mental anguish strip you of cognitive factors needed to fight and win the simple battles much less choosing to control stressors that threaten to overwhelm you, but you can.


My point is that the science proves we can. Others before us have been in horrible situations, and had done to them terrible things. They chose to move on they chose to leave the pain behind. They chose to live. We do not understand these facts in Psychology as a science we fail to understand the X factor that gives someone the ability to endure, but they do. 

For anyone that suffers from such affective disorders especially when in the midst of the thrall of such a disease you are trapped to continue the patterns that are least beneficial for you as the disease finds ways to sustain itself. But I can say with the certainty of the experience myself. You can still choose to fight. You can still choose life. You can choose to be in charge of how much you are going to let things affect you and how much you are going to roll with the punches. Sun Tzu is right when you place people in grave danger that is when they will most certainly rise up and defeat their opponents. When we are attacked as a group we band together and fight off the foe. When a mother sees her child threaten no tiger could be fiercer than a mother protecting it's young. We are all warriors in our hearts because we are all decedents from successful warrior nations. 

I am sorry for my infrequent posts transitioning so many different things at once makes for some powerful stress and preoccupation with things other than organizing ones thoughts for mass consumption. The tendency is at times leaning far more toward the scream therapy than intelligent thought. Not that any one thing seems to be an issue but a combination of a large number of simple things. that irritate and frustrate you. A burden that again does not lend it self to an easy fix. where you can not easily ask for directions or help. Simple very simple things like trying to find a roll of Papertowels becomes an adventure that may task you with a walk of several miles and a one sided discussion that hopefully does not lead you to the toilet paper isle again.  :) 

再见！
zài jiàn ！
Goodbye!

 

"Can you imagine what I would do if I could do all I can"  Sun Tzu 

Sun Tzu the great military strategist is still taught in business and war colleges all over the globe. I often have several translations of his work at my fingertips as a way to remind myself of the methods of real success.

I am a warrior. at heart. Dress me in the right suit and give me the tools and I will do battle on the battlefield in the boardroom, in a classroom. It does not matter the field of battle it matters only that I fight. Not because I like to fight. I am driven by the very nature of my being to take on life. To struggle is a part of who I am as much as breathing.

I taught a couple of adult classes today and the real interesting conversation really started after class.They were amazed that I came over to learn their language just to learn more about TCM and Kung Fu. These things are not respected as much in these modern times. That I would have such great interest is confounding to many of them. That I, an American, was talking about plans that projected years and not mere weeks was also confusing to them.To many of them language learning is a practical thing. Their bosses are English speaking or their bosses bosses and they need to communicate. So begins lesson.

Sun Tzu was a master strategist. He made the best with what he had. He succeeded because he applied the best tools for the job. He chose the best terrain to fight. In essence he applied investigation and introspection and understood the nature of the beast so as to know how best to use his resources against the enemy at hand. Sun Tzu understood the essence of understanding one's limits. If you do not know the extent of how far you can push then you cannot know a successful formula. If you lack key bits of information he suggests the value of spies and the need of knowledge to be successful. To win at anything is an art not a science. It is a set of balances that all must be maintained or it threatens the campaign. Information is key. About yourself, about your limits, about the battlefield you are on, knowledge becomes the key by which the door of victory can be opened. A vacuum of information, is to Sun Tzu far more dangerous a foe than the one standing in front of you.

I was at another Kindy later in the week this week.Can we say Speed Teaching. I had 13 sessions there a day at times of 25 to 15 min a piece. The amount of time seems so small and these classes consist of all Kindergarten and YOUNGER. However can you tell me how to spend 20 minutes when you subject matter is 1-2-3-4. Hell in 20 min I was having them count to ten forward and backward and randomly from held up fingers. I have toddlers that can recite all the colors and name all the fruits in 15 min session.Though I don't think I am staying there, which is unfortunate the time goes by so quickly. They have a activity room upstairs with a full wall mirror. I have been able to work on my Yang Style Short form until I am happy with it. Two hour lunch gives me enough time to work through details several times before I get back in the trenches.

My schedule is full I am to work mornings at the Kindy and then evenings 3 days a week at the center and 2 days a week I will be heading to a manufacturing plant. The a couple of hours on Saturday. Have a feeling I will be getting some overtime. Started to polish up my article for the mags and tomorrow going to see if I cannot get some great shots of Kunshan and see if I can find the Walmart.

I am still trying to find out more about Master Lin and anyone else that teaches HuZunQuan to get some more information. but since I cannot even feel comfortable ordering at a restaurant yet I guess I will need more time with my software. Or get ready to shell out some cash in making errors one of the two. :)

"A gem is not polished without rubbing, nor is a man perfected without trials." Chinese Proverb 

There will always be bad days. Days that will test  your patience. Days that will make you question your very existence. And if you teach kids you run into days like this more than most. Teachers, no matter where you are, are just not paid enough. There is a mob mentality to a classroom. You cannot just engage them on an individual level but must be prepared to do battle with them as a hoard. One that will spot your weakness and go right for the vein if you let them. Especially 7 year olds. My day started with an explosion of coffee, standing in the rain to be picked up for about 30 min, then off to a classroom of my new Kindergarten Students where I find out that I am without my Chinese Teacher Assistant to help me today. So the fun ensues as boundaries get pushed. At one point a chair gets pulled out from under one student who then bounces his head rather nicely, this is of course when the lady assigned to try to help me is dealing with a sick child and I am on my own. I have 3 little groups that stay in constant cahoots waiting for any opportunity to steal away a chance to play with their friend over paying attention to the new teacher. Two hours, was it really only two hours, man that can seem like such a long time when facing such a battle. In the end I think that we managed to come out of it a draw. Time to draw up some boundaries tomorrow, wish me luck.

Oh, did I mention that I was hit by a lady on her moped. I expected something like that to hurt a lot worse than it did. But in all honesty she was startled hit the accelerator instead of the brake and plowed into me, well sort of. As some who read this know plowing into me can be hazardous and the moped kinda of glanced off me and turned her into a parked one for a rather spectacular domino effect that you thought really only occurs  in the movies. I am no worse for wear well at least from the accident I cannot say as much after the kids this morning...

I have been working on an article for a martial arts magazine focused on how Martial Arts and Qigong are related. I am having a hard time keeping it to an average readers level. When you are trying to inform the public it is not the same as talking among peers, or teaching a class. For the public to care, to be engaged they need information that is digestible to them on all levels. This is going to be harder for me than I anticipated as I summarize again the 2500 words into something that might actually get accepted somewhere.

Rosetta Stone is a great software. However I would recommend to them that they create a emergency chapter, a travel chapter of sorts. One that HAMMERS into place the needed vocabulary for dealing with a basic transaction with vendors. Just saying.

I have been waking up early and working on my Tai Chi Yang Short form every morning. I am still not pleased with the last road of the sequences and want to get the flow down much better. Yesterday I wrote 800 words on my article, 4 Units of Rosetta Stone, started a book on grant writing, read a chapter on Shaolin medicinal formulas, reviewed the placement of the Lung Channel, practiced Kanshiwa, Kanshu, Seichin Katas from Uechi Ryu, Monitored a managerial English Class, and taught some kids how to growl like a dog... and managed to steal a few minutes to Skype the family.

Life is about living, it is about doing, being. These are actions, not objects, life is not an object it is a verb.  We all tend to think about life as this thing, objective and cold belonging to someone else, belonging to our future.However LIFE is happening right now, this minute, this second. Whatever life you are not busy living is, IMHO just waiting around to die.