It has been over a week since attending a powerful presentation by Memory Mdyetseni from Malawi, Africa called "Brick by Brick".  After a personal struggle to gain an eduction Memory and cofounder Christie Johnson started Malawi Girls on the move.  I find the mental pictures painted in my mind during Memory's presentation are still with me. When she spoke of something being hard you knew that to have gone through what she described would have been devastating. What I particularly like was the attitude regarding the students attending the school and the families supporting them. If the family or student could not afford the money to go to school then they could still contribute somehow, with her words to the effect of- No one gets in for free , If they got hands and legs then they can work either to build the school or grow food.

I am not going to go into great detail on "Malawi Girls on the Move" as more information is available at www.malawigirlsonthemove.com. 

The devastating fact is that getting accepted into this school is life or death for these girls and there are many more applicants than there are spaces available. 

The inspiration is that the girls that make it through are the seeds for change.

Randy Shipalesky

Inspiration

Found a lot of inspiring video clips on the UBBT site. I spent a couple hours clicking on various links so I am not sure if I could even find them all again but I remember coming away very inspired on what others are doing and respect for the many hours of training behind  the forms and techniques.  Looking forward to putting this inspiration into action in my own training.

It has been a good week.

Completed week 11 of the body for life program and  have reached what I had targeted for weight loss at the end of the 12 th week so I am happy with that. I have also achieved my personal best in consecutive pushups and distance running. 

Our business location moved this weekend and it has messed up my noon work out routine so I have to change it up to early mornings to get it in. After the test run this morning it actually is better and I get it all done first thing. If your behind on pushups the early morning workout gives opportunity to get some extra ones.

Until next week

Randy Shipalesky

What energizes you?

Had a few challenges in the last couple weeks having to do with breaking with routine. Having consistent workouts during lunch hour was working well until I had to go out of town for business. Although able to get a partial workout, it was not the same. After a couple days with the break in routine and not working out consistently I could see where it would not be hard to fall back into old habits. With that not being an option I reverted back to what had worked before to re-energize myself and that was running.  With the ups and downs of training it is important that a person has something that they know that works for them to give themselves a boost. What's yours?

Randy Shipalesky

Pushups 5,210 

Situps    4,785

run         89km

It's about the HIGH points

The expression on my workout partners face, as she reached a new level in her running, reminded me of a chapter in the Body for Life audiobook regarding high points in your training. A high point being a memorable moment in your training where you pushed yourself to your limit. You then rate the high point on a scale up to 10. An example would be if you were doing pushups and you completed as many as you thought you could possibly do. Before you right down your 10 you need to ask yourself, if Master Brinker was standing over me watching could I have done 1 more. If your answer was "No" then pat yourself on the back and give yourself the 10 otherwise you can still give yourself the pat but go for the 8 or 9 and put a little more in it next time. It is creating these high points that makes your achievements memorable. 

When you look back on your life you don't remember the times you emptied the garbage, you remember the special moments whether it is a smile from a child or shared in a laugh with a friend. I had one just the other day where there was a phone call that came to the house from what was assumed to be a telemarketing company. My 4 year old daughter answered the call and after a short time of listening she asked "Who is Randy and what do you mean by Available".  The innocents and purity of the moment made this memorable. 

Side tracked there a little with the Father story but the point is to get your mindset around achieving these high points which creates memorable moments and gets your body and mind going towards these mini natural highs. The workout should be relatively short (30 to 40 minutes)but building in intensity then dropping off then building up and then giving it 110%. When your done the lyrics from "Rocky" should be playing in your head. 

In short, give it all you got then your done.

Until next week

Randy Shipalesky

Another one down

It has been another good week with week 7 of the Body For Life challenge complete. The added daily tasks as a student member of the UBBT are getting easier to accomplish. Finding when it comes to doing the pushups it is better to just drop to the floor and start doing them than to think about it too much. 

For those familiar with the Body for Life program Sunday is a free day to eat what you want. So Sunday morning  as I sip on my Large Chai Tea latte from Star Bucks I notice the words of wisdom on the side of the cup "The Way I See It" which read "The irony of commitment is that it's deeply liberating - in work, in play, in love. The act frees you from the tyranny of your internal critic, from the fear that likes to dress itself up and parade around as rational hesitation. To commit is to remove your head as the barrier to your life."

Ah so true.

until next week

Totals from Oct 3rd start are:

Run/Walk/Bike  -          55km

Pushups                    - 1890

Situps/ crunchies     -1710

Sparring                           12 rnds

Acts of Kindness

There has been some discussion in the Black Belt class regarding acts of kindness and whether you were doing the act to be kind or gain points. I am sure that in most all cases the acts of kindness come naturally and with good intention however is it not the act itself that is important where we are setting an example for others and hopefully the kindness is seen as the way to be and passed on.

As far as requirements go it has been a good week and on track with most everything.  

I attended the San Shou class last Tuesday and it was great to see the sparring abilities that the students are attaining. This class is a excellent opportunity for students to practice in a safe environment and build their confidence. Hope to see more students in the upcoming months.

Until next week where hopefully it does not take an hour to write something that should only take 10 minutes.

Randy Shipalesky

 

Get Started

This is my first posting so to summarize the past couple of months is to state that I have undergone some fairly significant changes in a short time. The changes being mainly a shift in mental attitude along with physical improvements which are coming from taking the Body For Life challenge. If you have been reading Sifu Linda Shipalesky's blog you can probably guess who her partner is.
I have known for a long time the benefits and sense of well being that comes from exercise but like many people I got into a rut and the simplest yet toughest part about getting back on the right path was to take the first step of putting thought into action. It came down to making a personal commitment and not letting myself away with missing a day no matter what. I am into my 6th week of a 12 week challenge and have had to dig deep a few times for various reasons to keep going. With a few setbacks and increased pressure from an expanding business I found myself at times drawing on the same focused determination that I used to make it to a Black Belt. I am not sure focus and determination should be described separately but it works for me and I encourage the students to develop this. One thing that stands out for me over the last 5 weeks is the effect of doing something everyday. If I was to start all over working towards my Black Belt the one thing I would be sure to do was to do some form of workout everyday. It goes back to what we learned in school about a body in motion wants to stay in motion. So for those that are currently working towards your Black Belt do yourself a favor and start now to develop good consistent daily workout habits.

Going forward I am feeling motivated about being a student member of the UBBT and have more drive than I have had in some time. The months ahead will be tough but I see the growth that comes from a challenge like this as being well worth the effort.

Randy Shipalesky