Any of you folks like Custard Cream biscuits? I must admit that biscuits and chocolate are my downfall. My good lady wife has given up chocolate for lent. Our dear friend Rachel has taken the time to make us a custard cream biscuit from scratch by hand. Bless her! Perhaps that statement is more profound if you check out the picture below!
For more great ideas on over-sized snacks check out. www.pimpthatsnack.com but I warn you it will seriously damage your waistline!
I got this via email today and thought it was worth posting:
1st Lesson - Cleaning Lady
During my 2nd month at college, our professor gave us a quiz. I was a goody goody (geek?) and breezed through the questions until I got to the last one:
Surely this was some sort of joke, or trick question. I had seen the cleaning woman many times, she was in her 50's with dark hair, but I didn't know her name.
I handed in my paper without answering the final question. Just before class ended a fellow student asked if the last question would go towards the final score.
"Absolutely" said the professor. "In your careers you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say hello".
I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name is Dorothy.
2nd Lesson - Pick up in the rain
Its 11.30pm and an older African American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway, trying to endure a lashing rainstorm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a lift. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car to pass. A young white man stopped to help her, generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 60's. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance and ordered her a taxi cab.
She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his address and thanked him. Seven days went by and a knock came on the man's door. To his surprise a giant console colour TV was delivered to his home. A special note was attached:
"Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along, because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband's' bedside just before he passed away. God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others.
Sincerely, Mrs. Nat King Cole."
3rd Lesson - Be Patient with Children
In the days when ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10 year old boy entered the local hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him.
"How much is an ice cream sundae"? he asked.
"One Pound fifty pence" replied the waitress.
The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it.
"Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream"? he inquired
By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing inpatient.
"One Pound" she brusquely replied.
The little boy again counted his coins. "I'll have the plain ice cream please" he said.
The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left. When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish was four 1o pence pieces and 10 pennies.
You see, he could have ordered the sundae, but didn't because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip.
4th Lesson - The Obstacle in our Path
In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock to clear the path for others. Some of the King's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the King for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way.
Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the King indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many of us never understand!
Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.
5th Lesson - Giving when it counts
Many years ago, a volunteer who worked at a hospital got to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare and serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5 year old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness.
The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister. He hesitated for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying "Yes, I'll do it if it will save her". As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as they all did seeing the colour returning to her cheek. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded.
He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, "Will I start to die right away"?
Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister ALL of his blood in order to save her but he had chosen to save her anyway.
I had a new experience at Monday's Kuk Sool Won class. I was helping the Dahn Boh Nim's and I forgot a technique! Thats never happened before.
Everyone has their favourite part of Kuk Sool Won Training. Some like forms best, some like weapons best, some like acrobatics and breakfalls. Me - I love techniques. For some reason I remember them like they are engraved on my brain. In my mind's eye all the techniques are laid out nicely and organised and I can recall them very quickly! All 431 techniques that I know.
Yet this one technique eluded me completely. I was stunned. I felt annoyed with myself, embarrassed even as the brown belts were waiting for the answer to their question about this technique. I felt completely stunned and stuck to the spot. I've never had this before. Sure I had lapses in memory in the past as coloured belt but I've always been well above average for my memory recall. I pride myself that any student can stop me as I walk past, ask me a question about any technique I know and I will be able to recall it instantly and help them with it.
Fortunately there were lots of black belts in the class including Sa Bum Nim so I quickly asked SBN for help. He did the motions of the technique for me to remind me. But even when shown the technique again it didn't ring any bells. It had truly left my memory. After class I went home and checked my notes and the text books to refresh myself.
Now I know what its like to completely forget a technique. I didn't like it. I practice a lot in my own time as well as at classes 3 times per week so I was surprised to forget a technique.
I have revised the technique and this day will remain with me forever. I won't ever forget Yahng Sohn Mohk Soo 15 again!
I have been helping students in class understand the importance of controlling your partner when doing techniques.
You won't win many friends or inspire confidence in your partner if you are too rough and constantly hurt your partner during techniques. When asked to find a partner you may find you are left on your own. Not everyone is lucky enough to have the same partner every time that you build a working relationship with - and if your instructors are like me I always get you to swap and work with someone new anyway! This builds new friendships with someone you may not have trained with before and takes you out of your comfort zone of training with a regular partner.
So how do you find the balance between making your techniques effective enough to know that they would definitely work for you if you needed them, but at the same time install confidence in your partner that you are in control and not going to injure them?
The answer is two fold. Communication and Practice. The two can be addressed separately and combined as follows:
Communication
Talk to your partner. Tell them that you want to practice your techniques properly but you are conscious about their safety. This will automatically remove barriers between you and assure them that you care. Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care"
Tell them to tell you if the technique is not effective so you can adjust it to make it work. If you are having difficulty ask your instructor for assistance.
Practice
Practice makes perfect and we all need more practice! Learn to 'feel' when your partner's joints are locking so you know when to stop to prevent injury. Then quickly apply the joint locks or pressure points through memory. Every person is different and their joints and flexibility are different so you have to adjust accordingly. When your partner taps - pay attention and do them the respect of easing their discomfort. This way they will allow you to perform the technique again.
If you do not heed their warnings they will not gain respect for you and will not be so keen to be your partner in the future. Likewise - there are students who will tap out before you have applied the technique which can be frustrating if you are trying to make your techniques work - rather than ignore their tap we use the 3 tap rule. One tap is just a warning that the technique is becoming effective. 2 more quick taps usually follow when the limit of durability is reached.
If you feel your partner is "faking it" as to avoid injury (or they may have been with a partner who does not exert control in the past) then use communication. Talk to them and explain you are not going to over stretch their joints or apply unnecessary pressure to their pressure points and build up trust with the partner.
Communication and Practice
By combining the two elements you should build a trust and friendship with your partner that will last not just years - but a lifetime. You will become a person that people want to partner with for techniques which can only be a good thing.
When it comes to performing the technique with a take-down or throw involved use communication and practice to talk your partner through what you are going to do and how you are going to do it. Likewise - as the receiving partner you will want to talk about your concerns - how to land, what breakfall is involved etc. Between you both you will build a great foundation for techniques practice safely and confidently.
The point of all this? What if you need to use a technique in a real self defence situation and you have never practiced it properly and it fails you? It defeats the whole point of training in the first place.
Now go practice!
Why is everything hassle these days? Want to hear my funny account of how I now have a spear? Read on. If not - better get on with your day!
My beautiful spear is ready! I can't wait to try it out in class tonight. Our usual supplier has decided not to stock spears anymore so we had to search further a field. My training partner and great friend Pu Sa Bum David Ellis sourced his spear from www.kwon.com and is pleased with it.
Likewise I jumped on the band wagon and placed my order online. Bearing in mind the company is based in Germany, within minutes of placing my order my phone rang and it was one of the sales girls from Kwon in Germany. She was advising that the spears are out of stock! Aarrrggh! Not again. I thought Psbn Dave had been on commission for spears and informed all the 3rd degrees that you can get spears from Kwon.com! But no, the sales girlie was most professional and informed me that they actually have the spear wood in stock and the separate heads in stock so they would be sending me that if I was happy with the arrangement and would have to assemble it myself upon arrival.
"Sure" I said "How hard can it be"? Oh, those famous last words!
Delivery takes up to 10 working days and DHL tried to deliver on day 5 which was great service. However [hassle starts here], DHL only deliver during the day. Psbn Helen and I work full time. So we're not at home! DHL leave a card to say they tried to deliver and a phone number to re-arrange delivery.
The phone number is purely automated and you cannot speak to anyone which annoyed me. The card states that if delivery is unsuccessful for 7 days they return the package to the sender! I don't want that to happen! I called and delivery was arranged for the following day. I left a note on the door to leave the package with a neighbour. When I got home from work........ . . .. . . There was a DHL calling card saying they couldn't deliver the package at our address because no one was home and our neighbour was out too. Damn.
I called the no-help line again and arranged delivery for the next day. (which is your only option by the way). This time I left a note to say leave with neighbour (if signature required) or leave at back door behind fence and gate so out of sight. When I got home that day.......... . . . . IT WAS THERE!! Woo hoo! Right - now for assembly. There's only 2 parts - spear shaft and head. How hard can it be????
About an hour later after frustration and swearing and Psbn Helen leaving the house for safety I phoned Psbn Dave to take a look at his spear for reference. The problem was that the shaft was too fat for the spear head meaning much sanding/grinding was required. I also needed to screw the head of the spear to the shaft and no screws were supplied. Nice.
Psbn Dave is awesome with stuff like this. I took my spear and no sooner had I said hello he took it out of my hand, out came the bench grinder and much sawdust later the spear head fits like a glove. I offer my thanks and hug Ksn Cath Ellis for good measure before leaving :o)
Next day I find an appropriate screw and fix the head onto the spear at the weekend just gone. I was pleased - but the shaft of the spear is about 10 inches too long. Great for long attacks and the circular motions used in the form and sparring routine, but not practical and it was very unbalanced! Out came the saw and voila.
My beautiful spear is ready. I started Chang Hyung [spear form] in February and now I have my spear to use instead of my staff so it all looks right proper now!
