I'm Feeling Warm Fuzzies After Writing This

While reading all the short blurbs people had posted on what Kung Fu had done and is doing for them, I realized there are a few universal areas.

1. Empathy
Although this is self explanatory, I'm really beginning to see the results through the UBBT. Some of the things written by the other black belts and students really makes you think, makes you want to help your fellow man, and opens your eyes to the problems and blessings around you. It is your greatest ally when teaching, and it broadens you own mind when you apply it.

2. Strength
This applies to so much more than physical ability. I doubt many people fully understand the magnitude of strength you can draw from Kung Fu, and Silent River specifically. The strength to do push ups or hit the heavy bag are minor when compared to the strength needed to say no or yes, to walk away from a bad situation or a bad relationship, or to follow through with a commitment. I would not have had the strength required to live the life I have if I did not have Silent River as a part of me. I am fully aware that I could have so easily fallen into the same traps people around me have, such as staying with the wrong individual, or giving into peer pressure, or not taking the risks that have paid out so fully. From picking a salad at lunch, to breaking my own heart but knowing that it would get better. The strength I have drawn from the lessons I have been taught in class... it is so much more than I can ever begin to repay.

3. Family
I know this topic had been hit heavily in the last little while, but that is because it really is amazing. Knowing that you really do have an entire school filled with people filled with a sense of belonging. I would happily give my left arm (means more to me than my right) to help a family member. And I know they'd give me their right. I spend more time with the people in my classes than I do with almost everybody else. We are all committed to the same ideals, the same path. Its odd to think that the only reason I know most of you is because I was put in a class when I was nine, a decision made by my parents and following my brother. It really brings into perspective how a little rock you think nothing of can create such big and lasting ripples.

There are more, so many more things that Silent River has done for me. I say Silent River and not Kung Fu because without the school, there is no art. And I have to say, its been the lessons, the people and the life given to me, more than the punches and kicks, that have left their mark.