Where there’s a will, there’s a way!

Here is a piece of the writing called “the champion’s song” that we read on saturday at the workout. enjoy!

“You close your eyes and draw in a deep, steadying breath. Instantly you are calm, relaxed, focused. You fill your mind with pure and positive thoughts. Your skin tingles with awareness and your blood begins to boil in anticipation of what is to come. You are now deep beneath the surface of your outer shell and at the place where only you can go. It is your quiet center, your private domain where the magic begins to stir. You draw a picture in your mind of what will happen when it is time. You paint your masterpiece with practiced discipline and artistry. You play it out the way you have so many times before:

In your minds eye you see yourself moving with precision, control, balance, and poise. It is a dazzling performance that captivates all who bear witness to the sweetness of your song. A happy rhythm drives your movement effortlessly into battle. Harmony defines the temperament of your being and lifts you high above the heavens. You can see all from your perch in the sky and it is pure bliss. Again you see yourself in motion, this time a blur of movement that is too fast for the eye to follow. Your body moves like that of a finely tuned machine, a perfectly synchronized unit with single minded purpose. You feel the energy building inside your core as your pace intensifies. It is electric, exhilarating, perhaps even a little frightening. But without question it is super-human…

The time has come. you open your eyes and they reveal nothing but icy determination. You look across at your opponent and whisper a promise of things to come. It is their misfortune, an unlucky twist of fate that brings them face to face with you this day. The bell tolls the beginning of the end. You are so calm and relaxed you find it hard not to laugh. Your opponent mistakes this for indecision or perhaps inexperience. They foolishly unload their arsenal in a poor attempt to overwhelm what they perceive as weakness. But they can only see what is on the outside and know nothing of the beast that silently hunts them. By the time they realize their mistake, it will be far too late. You observe their attack with something akin to indifference. It is as if you are outside yourself and can see, truly see for the first time. You watch your body respond fluidly to the attack. Your reactions are perfectly coordinated, easily dismissing the best your opponent has to offer. In your mind you hear the wise words of the grandmaster: you are the liquid, your opponent the container. No matter the size or shape of the container, the liquid will fill it. You dance away effortlessly from their strikes, touching them all just to feel the energy contained within them. As you suspected, it is misguided and weak and betrays the true feelings of fear they try to mask. You find yourself wanting to laugh again. But you have a job to do and immediately smother all other distractions from your mind…

In the end, your adversary collapses from pure exhaustion, though in truth they have expended little physical energy. It has come to pass as you have seen it in your dreams and visions so often before. After it is over you reflect. As always, there is balance in what you have achieved. Where you have succeeded others have not. Their dreams will have to wait for another time but yours are to be lived today. This does not dampen the pure joy you feel at what you have accomplished, but it gives you pause to reflect on what has truly been realized this day. It brings to mind the truth of the grandmasters words: true accomplishment is never in things. True success should be measured not by the position or title you have achieved, but by the size of the obstacles you have overcome while trying to reach them. Over time, trophies will crumble, medals will tarnish, and certificates will fade. True joy, then, is never in having things. It must always come from inside each of us.

The ride has been magnificent and you appreciate the highs and lows with new insight and equal understanding. What you had to endure along the way has been mighty but in truth it has cost you little for what you have gained. The troubles you have faced have given you a greater capacity to handle them. You are the victor but not in the way that everyone sees as you climb the champion’s podium. You are forever changed by the experience that has brought you here and have gained the greater glory of knowing the champion was born long before the victory was achieved. The champion’s spirit now lives inside of you and the echoes of its song will play to your soul forever more.”

BOK FU FITNESS

Warm Up:

2 times:

Straight leg kicks up mat

Bear Crawl down mat

Broad Jumps up mat

Inchworms down mat

10 forward snap kicks (each leg)

10 wheel kicks (each leg)

10 rear kicks (each leg)

Workout:

For time:

55 Broken Bow Jumps

50 Wheel Kick Balance (25 each leg)

45 V Ups

40 Push Ups with Hand Release

35 Horse Stance Squat Jumps

30 Chicken Lunges

25 Tuck Jumps

20 Push Ups Planks

15 Bok Fu Burpees

10 Seconds Bridge (or 10 attempts)

5 Hand Stand Pushups (or sub with clapping pushups)

Notes: Add 5 Mountain Climbers to the end of your workout for every time during each exercise you stop or take a break.

Warm Down:

5 minutes belt stretching for hamstrings/groin