It’s Meant to be Difficult

One of my personal requirements this year was to do 12 Kung fu related art projects, and the only progress I have managed to make this year so far is carving the dragon into the new grout at the front door of the kwoon. Eleven months into the year and I have a single thing to show for it.

Setting up this requirement at the start of the year filled me with excitement and inspiration, I hadn’t been drawing as often as I used to or as often as I would like and the intent of this requirement was to generate artistic momentum, if I was drawing at least once a month I could make it more of a habit and get back into the swing of drawing in my free time. I also wanted to explore some difficult to explain concepts through a visual medium rather than a written, I wanted to test if pictures were worth a thousand words.

But I soon realized that the pressure of a deadline and the shift from being able to draw anything, to knowing I had to draw something was doing the exact opposite of my intent, snuffing out my creativity and excitement. 

After my last blog I wanted to make a resolved effort to try to get back on track, so I brought it up in one of my one on ones, and I learned a very valuable lesson about “creative” requirements, and that is the second you add accountability, the fun is replaced with discipline 

As soon as I gave myself a deadline, I wasn’t excited at the idea of starting something, I was dreading not already being finished. But it became much easier to start once I understood that my feelings of excitement (or lack thereof) were irrelevant, that because it is a requirement (designed to build and practice discipline) I should be hard, in fact, there is more value in doing it despite being uncomfortable.

This small shift in the intent of this requirement has really helped how I am approaching all of my requirements, reminding me that everything we are required to do as part of the I Ho Chaun is in service of building discipline.

Current Total

Should Be At

Push-ups

33009

46131

Sit-Ups

30290

46131

Hand Form

258

854

Weapon Form

285

854

Other Forms

203

299

Sparring

391

854

AOK

627

854

Steps

2414

1324

Repair Relationship

5

11

Me and White Supremacy

14

21

12 Applications

2

11

1-on-1's

26

43

Kung Fu Art

3

11

Blogs

26

43


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