Irene Bachand

Little bumps in the road

2012-02-03T08:56:00.000-08:00

Overall, I consider myself pretty healthy, however, I seem to be plagued with a few minor setbacks like a sprained ankle and now a pinched nerve. It makes me realize that this UBBT requires full attention to your fitness. This pinched nerve has put my situps and pushups on hold for a day. That's 150 of each that I am going to have to make up somewhere. I do feel better though now that I can do more at one time, so I guess this is the hardest part of the training. I have sore muscles but feel good about myself for the daily accomplishments.

So far so good

2012-02-01T14:26:00.001-08:00

Well my muscles are not hurting anymore and I am starting to be able to do more reps at one time. It's making life much easier. I am so glad that our UBBT will be getting together on Thursday evening because I can never make it for open training on Saturdays. I have also given my family fair warning that I will not be around as much for the next year. They are fine with that, they are old enough now to take care of themselves. So everything is good.

Joined a Gym

2011-11-03T10:39:00.000-07:00

I decided to join the Gym that is on my way home and I am really enjoying it. I stop in right after work and I don't have the temptation of relaxing on the couch or grabbing a bite to eat or watching T.V. I go there to workout and I usually end up working out more than I had anticipated. Looking forward to the better fitness level

Enjoying Being Healthy

2011-04-06T11:46:00.000-07:00

Well, I am sold! In an earlier blog, I mentioned how I seem to be meeting the right people at the right time. Well, I met a lady through work who wanted new flooring for her new business that was about to open soon. I went to her business and gave her a quote. I didn't get the flooring job but I got to talking with her and her business is going to be yoga, meditation, Zoomba dance, Ayurvedic health and so on. If you don't know what Ayurvedic is, it is a 5000 year old way of eating derived from India. It focuses on using all natural foods eaten in the right combination that is customized for your body type and energy for optimum health. I had never heard of this until about 4 months ago, so I am by no means an expert. Anyway, through our conversations, I told her that I was a designer and an artist and she mentioned that she wanted a mural done in her business. So I showed her my portfolio and she hired me to do this mural, however, she asked if I would be interested in bartering services or products in exchange for the mural. I said I was open to it, so she told me about this Ayurvedic product that she has been taking for a while now and was raving about it and how her health has greatly improved. She knew I was in Kung Fu and thought that it would really help me with my training. So, I said I would take some product as part payment. There are three things to this product. One is a whey protein shake that has 100 percent of daily requirements of vitamins and minerals and is a meal substitute if you want to lose weight or maintain weight. The other thing is a drink based on a mix of different fruits, one being the malaki fruit. This drink, you take 3 ounces a day and improves your health, immune system and energy. And lastley, they have these little packets of fruit juice mix that boosts your metabolism and quenches your hunger and I find it really gives me energy. I have been taking these for about 6 weeks and I have noticed a huge difference in my energy level. I started getting a cold last week when everyone else had one and it lasted one day and was done. Another thing I noticed, and that is probably from the whey protein shakes, when I overdo pushups or we have a strenuous class, I recover really fast. I have lost a total of 12 lbs and I feel like the energizer bunny. These products are called Zrii and they are endorsed by Deepak Chopra. I am hooked on being healthy, it feels great.

McGyver

2011-03-02T13:34:00.000-08:00

Well, it is day two of 150 pushups a day and I have a sprained wrist. I managed to figure out a way of doing them at home with my barbell. With weights on it, it lifts it off the ground and I can grip the bar and keep my wrist straight. However, I have nothing at work, so I was looking for something similar to use at work. My warehouse manager joined me in looking for something to solve my problem and he found a metal bar in the back and made two wood brackets to hold it in. Thadha!! problem solved. But what really surprised me is when I jokingly told him that he was my hero for solving this problem, he said "no, you're my hero".

That was a proud moment.

No one gets left behind

2011-02-18T10:53:00.000-08:00

I feel so blessed to be a part of the Silent River Kung Fu family. No where else, that I know of, can you find a group of people who strive to be the best they can be but also truly care about their fellow students and want the best for them as well. Recently, I have not been able to attend classes because I have not had a vehicle and I live in St. Albert. So when the banquet date approached I was desperate to find a ride. A friend of mine was able to drive me there but not home. I was very discouraged and thought that I would have to miss the banquet. So I phoned Master Brinker to inform him that I would not be able to come. He was with a group of Sihings at the time helping get the banquet ready. He asked to put me on hold while he enquired if anyone else was going that way. I was very happy when he got on the phone and replied that there were a number of Sihings that offered to give me a ride home and I don't believe any of them live in St. Albert. Sihing Robinson kindly gave me a ride home that night.

It didn't end there. Sihing Robinson offered to give me a ride to classes whenever he could, so last friday he gave me a ride and then this friday he was unable to because he volunteered with the Kung Fu sleepover (brave man!). However, he did not leave me high and dry (no, that is not the Kung Fu way), he talked to Sihing Janzen and made arrangements with him to pick me up.

All I can say is thank you so very much to Sihing Robinson and Sihing Janzen. It may seem like not a big deal to some but to me it means a lot.

Starting a new year and new outlook

2011-01-08T14:06:00.000-08:00

It is Jan. 8 and it has been one week since I started eating better, exercising and getting back to my artwork. I feel really good about my new atitude and have a good outlook. I guess I finally got fed up with the two steps ahead one step back, two steps ahead, three steps back kinda way my life had been going. I've decided to take FULL control and remove any obstacles that are am impeding me from getting what I want out of life and to stop making excuses for not being where I want to be at this time in my life.

I currently don't have a vehicle because I need to get a vehicle inspection done before I can renew registration and insurance, which costs money, so, I can't get to Kung Fu, which is a bummer. But I am not quitting. Even if I miss enough classes that makes me ineligible to test this year, I care but it's not the end of the world. I want to be a student of Kung Fu for the rest of my life so this is a small setback in the grand scheme of things.

I miss the classes and the commeraderie of the students. But I am working on getting back to class as soon as possible and in the meantime I am getting back into shape so that the first set of 50 pushups won't kill me.

hope and optimism

2010-12-14T15:36:00.000-08:00

It's Dec.14 and with the year coming to an end it makes a person look back on the year behind us. For me, it seemed like another year of struggles following the last 5 year of struggles ( My whole life has been full of struggles, however, the last 5 have been somewhat more than other years). I was once told my life runs in cycles of 5. Important events happen, for example 5 years apart or last for 5 years or in multiples of 5. My father passed away 5 years after my mom. I met my ex-husband 5 years after my father passed away and so on. For the last 6 or so months have really felt that I am on the verge of change in my life. Perhaps because it has been 5 years since my ex and I split. That's just one of the things. The past month especially, even though I haven't been able to attend class as much as I would like to, I like where my life is heading. Things seem to be falling into place and the fog of troubles seems to be lifting. By chance or coincidence, I seem to be meeting people in my life that are helping me be the person I want to be. I feel like I have finally learned the lessons I was supposed to learn from all those years of hardship and now it is time to live life with quality. I am looking forward to 2011 and every year after and I am looking forward to being a martial artist and being the best person I can be. Also, I know for a fact that being a part of Silent River Kung Fu and training to be a martial artist has helped me tremendously learn the lessons I needed to learn to get me where I am today.

Afternote, February of 2011, will mark my 10 year anniversary of starting Kung Fu.

Better late than never, I guess

2010-08-24T15:01:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally got around to figuring this out. Blogging is totally foreign to me but here I go. I am at the point in my training that I question myself everyday " Am I ready for black belt?" Sometimes when I do something right and it flows so nice and feels good, I think, YAH! Bring it on! and then other times I feel like I'm an imposter pretending that I am anywhere near being a real black belt. My mind is playing a lot of games with me now. But I have to keep on track and focused and remember how much I have learned over the years. Overall, I'm feeling good and feel good about the effort that I am putting into this.

Today's a good day.

Attendance

2010-06-05T11:16:00.000-07:00

June 5, 2010
I have completed my first week of attending Kung Fu classes 4 mornings and friday, (except this monday) and I feel such a relief. The reason I feel such a relief is the fact that I now feel like I am doing everything in my power and potential to practice for my black belt with intensity. I don't have the stress of the deadline. If I can't be ready for black belt by attending 5 classes a week then there is something wrong with me. I am soooo glad I am doing this because I also have a wealth of wisdom that I am drawing from 5 days a week. All I have to do is show up and because of that, I am starting to get into the shape that I want to be in and I am already seeing improvement in different areas. I am excited about the improvement not only with my forms and technique but also how physically fit I will be. This is like being used to eating sirlion and then trying filet mignon. Once you've had the best that's all you want. I'm hooked because I am feeling like I did when I was a lower belt, when I was progressing every week. I'm progressing at a faster rate again and am getting my enthusiasm back. This was the best move that I could have made and urge other students to attend as many classes as possible.