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Once again, I have another martial art related blog to share with you. In my recent trip to Toronto, I took the time to visit a martial art school. It is not the first time I visit a school, but I noticed an interesting pattern. As soon as I walk in a school, I am immediately greeted by the instructor or the assistant unless the instructor is teaching. The first question they ask is when you want to start. I did not even have a chance to look around at the school inside. They tell me that their style is perfect for me. I was just asking for information but they seem egging me on to join in. That peer pressure to sell drives me nuts. I have this mentality that I rather pass on an occasion than to regret biting the bait. I have also noticed that school owners think they have the best school. Of course, if you think you are not the best than why would you run the second best school, but I thought in martial arts, humbleness is one of the desired qualities. Bragging about your school or bragging about your qualities is not something I am comfortable with. I had an instructor talking about his accreditations, coaching national team. I was really lost. I would love to know about the style rather then the person’s success or his or her titles. So far, I have only noticed amongst male instructors. One thing I love to do when I visit a school, I love to see the Black Belt Wall because it is like watching church icons. I like to spend time watching a whole class. I want to know about what is the training like, the schedule and the type of people teaching and learning. By taking the time watching a class, I can have a feel for the class. First impression is always good. I don’t look at the secret techniques but I look at the teaching skills and approach. It is important for me that I find a school that builds a great individual than a great champion. Wisdom and team spirit is very big for me. Unfortunately, some people who are seeking a school, they want a school that best suit their needs or according to what they think it is right for them, but I think it is important to find the best school possible and learn from the best. Usually the best teachers don’t have to talk but they teach through their actions. The best school is the one that exemplifies the spirit of martial arts.
Tags: New School
Someone came up with an interesting topic or question about what does black belt mean and its value or significance. I thought it was worthy of a reflection. Once again, I will write an extensive blog about the topic. Plus the more I type, the more I improve my typing speed. LOL. The criteria for black belt are different from one style to another. Some schools required board breaking while others do not think it is mandatory. Black belt exam is like a judge sport. You have guidelines but there is no right or wrong answer unlike a multiple choice exam. The head instructor, along with his or her assistants, judges your progression according to their criteria in the style or association they are affiliated. Second aspect is the individual. We are built differently. Some are like naturally strong so they can break board and others are very fast or agile and some are flexible that they can kick very high. Every individual is different from one to the other. Each has his or her own injuries, genes, body, etc…Basically, we are all built different and our bodies react differently. Some in martial arts are better in forms, others in self-defence, others in sparring and others in board breaking. Getting black belt is based on how often you train. Some schools are opened 6 days a week and some are offering two classes a week. You may read of people getting black belt within two years and others within 6 years. It is possible that a dedicated student spend three hours a day 5 days a week for two years. Some unfortunately can only go twice a week. Also, some are naturally skilled therefore fast learners while others struggle with techniques.
In some schools, there is an age requirement. In our society, we have age limits to drink and to vote depending on provincial or state laws. I never drank in my life. At age 17, I followed politics diligently. I even predicted winner and loser when I was not eligible to vote. I was too young. The age requirement is a good thing for society in general. It is a great rule of thumb and requires general concusses. Of course, there are always exceptions but in general, many people are not mature even after the drinking age or have no idea what are today’s issues. I am just uneasy when I see an 8 year old black belt but I am not a black belt so I am in no place to judge.
Finally, the head instructor takes his or her time to judge one’s performance. If yes or no, we should respect and not question the decision. Once I see a black belt, I am excited. It is like meeting a priest in church, you just want to hug and kiss even if you don’t know that person. Once a black belt is awarded, it is the beginning of the journey. As a colour belt, I want to walk that journey with them and have them walk with me. A black belt for me is a friend and a role model whom I can learn from. To all black belts, I LOVE YOU ALL. THANK YOU FOR PAVING THE WAY FOR US.
Tags: Black Belt
Well this will be a long blog so I hope you have patience to read it all through. My vacation started early Saturday as we left home at 3am. We did not sleep. We packed our luggages and prepared everything for the trip. We took a cab from home to the airport. I often had to calm my mum down. At 3am, she kept talking and the best thing is to meditate and avoid useless conversations. Silence is great to relax. We arrived at the airport ahead of time, we stood in line and checked our luggages as scheduled. I have not flown since 2000. At the airport, I had to go through security. I have great respect for airport security. I went through metal detector. I was then chosen for a random search. The officer explained to me the process and he asked me if I have sensitive area. I then replied the only sensitive areas are the family jewels.LOL. He then search me well rubbed me through my whole body. My mum looked at me with a smile. I said to the officer he is doing a great job in giving me a great massage. It was a fun experience and I love making those who work hard an easier life. We then proceed to the gate and into the aircraft. It is a 100 passenger plane. Flights Montreal Toronto are every 30min like a bus. Because it was the first flight of the day for the aircraft in the snow drizzle day, we had to go through de-icing which was nothing new to me. We then proceed to the runway. I filmed the takeoff so it will be posted soon on youtube. The takeoff was rough and the ascension was quitre nerve racking. We immediatly turned as we got up. I felt a lot of the plane movement. There were a lot of turbulance. I hate going to amusement park and riding on roller coasters. I was scared holding my seat while the flight attendants walk between the isles as if it is nothing, lol. We had a rough landing, but we arrived safely.
After arriving in Toronto, the first thing we set out to do is to go to church in Mississauga. It is also at church where we will meet the family that will welcome us in their house. We are renting the basement for our trip. I won’t go into the details. On Saturday, we went to Square One Mall, one of the biggest malls in Toronto. It is very beautiful and quite chic. I took many pictures and you will see some delightful artistry. My main focus was to get a haircut. We wanted to get a suit but we walked into a well known store. The salesperson was very pushy. My mum also joined her case and telling me what to buy. I do not like peer pressure. I walked out from the store right before she processed at the counter. I was not comfortable with the massive talk from the women who will not wear the suits. I have nothing against women but please let the person in question make his or her opinion. I find it so funny that the salesperson told me once to be quiet. I knew something was wrong so I walked out and did not spent 330$ on a suit. The next day, I walked on my own in the same store without my mum and her over-zealous. I found a suit for under 150$ and suits me well. I bought it for the interview process only in Toronto. I am not planning to bring it back to Montreal. We will leave it with friebds in Toronto. I did some sightseeing in Toronto. I love taking the public transit and making me feel I am resident. I find Mississauga is a lot more beautiful city than Toronto. It is well spaced out, lots of green acres. I went to the library, few shopping malls. Unfortunately on Sunday evening, I got stranded in an area where there are no buses after 7pm. I had no idea buses stop to run after 7pm on Sunday. It was quite interesting. Of course on Sunday, we celebrated the Holy Liturgy. We love going to the small cozy church. I find it hard to pray in a huge church. This was how our weekend went.
Before I start, I want to thank you all and I mean all of you for your love and care and of course your prayers. In my quest of the getting the right job, I feel I am surrounded by great people whom I have great admiration and would love to meet one day. I want to say that receiving well wishes on tkdspace has helped me a lot in staying positive in my life. It is a great feeling knowing that I have a family of friends that care for me. However, I get so excited when I hear about my friends progress. It warms up my heart and excites me. Before I left Montreal, I contacted three different job agencies and my current employer UPS in Mississauga. I have sent my resumes, called the agents and did keep a follow-up. I feel I did my best in keeping informed and in contact with the agencies. Plus I also informed few people here in Mississauga about my job hunt so they were another network for jobs. The first agency was for the provincial government position which is equal to state jobs in US and in Australia. It was my first interview in Toronto. I submitted my resume last week and the agent called me back within 15 minutes. She was impressed with my resume and thought I was the perfect candidate. She asked me regular questions and then she explained the process. I had to go through a skillful test which is about MS office. She told me that the candidates must be available right away. I told her that I need two weeks notice for my current employer. I feel it is important to be loyal to your current employer. She sympathized with me and agreed with me on my principals. The agent was very sweet and smily. I asked her at the end of the interview what stood out and she told me that I am very social, bilingual and I have a strong passion. She likes my candidacy. Starting salary is 15$ and for full time employee can go to 22$ an hour. I will keep in touch with her and see if in the future I get in. Government job is the number one on my listy so I will keep bugging her to see what is going on. The pros of this job is of course, salary and stability however, I will have to commute to downtown Toronto which is costly by train and time consuming if by bus and subway.
The second agency was as helpful as before. I emailed my resume and they told me about the job position of level 1 Information Technician which deals with answer problem calls. The starting salary is about 36K and the location is right in the heart of Mississauga, where I plan to live. I did the interview and he liked my resume. I asked him for his opinions on my resume and he told me that I am the perfect candidate again. He was a lot more eager to help me. He called me a couple of times to follow up. He scheduled me this morning to go through a 2 hour test which the company only does on Tuesday, Thursdays and Fridays. I did it today and there were a lot of questions based on general knowledge and observation. I knew that US went into WWII in 1941 and John Milton was well known for litterature. He infact wrote Paradise Lost which is his interpretation of Genesis chapters 1 to 3. This job looks promising because it is very close to church and major bus routes. I will negotiate the salary because the fact I am bilingual is a big plus and I am interested to know how well I did in the exam. The third agency is specialised in bilingual jobs. I have posted my resume and applied for jobs on the net. I met the person and we talked for 40minutes. The interview was informal. I noticed the person did not bring my resume out. He asked me to fill out the forms. I also noticed he did not look for a job like the others two have. Basically, he will start looking for a job for me once I have met him but I very doubtful. He seem to talk a lot with no action. I am not frustrated but I had no expectation coming in to this third agency. Lastly, UPS Toronto, after emails and phone calls, no one returned my call or invioting me to visit their office so UPS is out of the question for now. I don’t think they showed class at all. They could have invited me to visit the office. Again thank you so much for your love. I will look for gyms and tkd schools in Mississauga. I am eager to read your comments and don’t be shy to share your news. Love you all Maurice
Tags: Toronto Jobs Tkd
My love for martial arts Hey all. I have such a huge love for martial arts. When I was young, I did not want to join in. I did not feel like it. Many years later, I love martial arts and it has become a family and a therapy for me. I really love watching the best martial artists of the world either in competition or in movies. Of course, there are people who were born with the sport in their blood. I have seen competitions and I am in awe of what they can do in competitions. I have seen some do great combos in sparring or a solid horse stance or a vertical kick. When I see the best, I love to visualise myself being able to do those moves. I have talked to some of the athletes I was in awe of and some were just brushing me away which did not bother me but a lot were very supportive. In fact, some were asking when am I going to get the black belt. My biggest love for martial arts are those not under the spotlight but have similar or greater talents. I have always loved seeing others improve. In my karate school, I was given a great idea to give away your belts to someone you admire. I gave up my colour belts to those who did not have skills but have worked hard for it. Some people can naturally kick very high and other struggle. I find it so rewarding to see some kick low at the beginning and seeing the amazing progress is a lot more motivating. I have seen pregnant mothers train and after pregnancy they are in a lot better shape. I have a lot of weaknesses in martial arts but getting the support and love is really overwhelming. You have given me more love and confidence than my dad. I want to thank you for accepting me for who I am. My role models in life are black belts because they continued the uphill battle. I want one day to show that I can achieve my goals and I will not be shy to share it on here. I also love hearing about your progress. It is important to share. I hate being selfish. God bless you all Maurice
Tags: Martial Arts Black Belt Blackbelt
I wanted to share with you a strong belief. I can relate to uphill battles but not to the gender issue. God created us men and women equally. To all men who are reading this blog, you are blessed to be men and to all women you are blessed to be women as well.
Every since I was young, I loved watching all sports from hockey to Australian football, from gymnastics to synchronized swimming. Every sport is beautiful to watch and more excilerating to play. I met synchronized swimmers at the World Aquatic championships and I was in awe of their athleticism. When it comes to martial arts, I see men and women the same, athletes. I am quite irritated with the macho attitude where men think and act like they are bigger. In martial arts, it is not how big you are physically but how big you are mentally. In our martial art school, we all come to learn. I have participated in hundreds of aerobic classes and many times I was the only guy. In fact, it was an honour being the only guy but at the same time I felt very comfortable surrounded by other fitness enthusiasts wishing to improve. A lot of ladies made me feel comfortable and encouraged me. I remember I was teased or bumped into but I loved how I was welcomed as a family member. Having this mind, I come now in the martial arts world. I don't consider martial arts as a men sport. In fact, all sports are for everyone. Some sports may appeal for one more than others. I do find women are more complete in martial arts then men. I have seen at the gym that a lot of guys work mostly on upper body strength but women workout on everything with cardio and flexibility. The more complete you are, the more potential you have. I really despise men arrogance. I have seen it, heard it. I had male instructors who had the old male chauvinist attitude. I sparred with women and it was a different challenge and I enjoy it. I really got frustrated when I hear men talk indecent behaviour towards women. I also had an instructor telling me not to hit hard on a red belt woman, heck I was yellow. I fight depending on belt level and not on gender. On the other hand, I have seen my share of women flirting in martial arts. I have seen women wear thong in tkd class. The tkd wgite pants are quite see through. I also do not like it when women play the victim or weak. Just because you are a woman, it does not make you weak. As a white belt, you start low and you build your strength even past black belts. I love learning from the best. There are many talented and skilled martial artists. I am really proud and love all black belts. You never have enough role models and people to look up to. I enjoy seeing people's progress and success especially if it was not easy. It is amazing to see the transformation from white to black belt for men and women.
Tags: Women Martial Arts Men
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