Man Down : A Day the US Army and Martial Arts Kung Fu Practice was branded on me / TKF 20

Thank you Ray Walters and Nyle for endorsing us in Martial Arts

and Wellness at Linkedin. It is great to hear from you Ray. Been a long

while. Many of the old timers like Reid, Dwight and Patrick ask about

you.

Workshop on Push Hands has stimulated several questions. This weekend is

our Push

Hands Workshop , we will be working fundamentals of framework,

alignment, sensing and intention. I look forward to it.

The Pumpkin Carving is this weekend too, I am here all day, so bring it

when you ready :)

Hop Gar Video Trailor

The Hop Gar Trailor I recently put out on Facebook, Vimeo,

DailyMotion

and Youtube,

was a fun project I put together over the weekend. I took several photo

I had of myself and others practicing Hop Gar around 1992 at the Golden

Dragon resturaunt.

There was about 5 of us that regular rotated

in full contact beat downs out on the asphalt. Hot asphalt is a GREAT

way to teach you to move and stay on your feet to fight.

Cape Fear Valley Medical Center, Oct 27, 1995

I had already another topic laid out and the memory came back. Not sure

what triggers it, but it is a solemn reminder to practice and live

strong.

Being a dad now, the memories are even more intense.

I changed to work in Fayetteville so that I could practice KungFu more.

I worked in the Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehab department with some fine

folks. My schedule was simple for years. Get up at 5, chikung, posting

and breakfast. work, go to the Golden Dragon to practice from 5:30 - 9

or so, come home, crash, do again. Saturdays I got to practice from 7 -

3. Sundays sometimes we would take turns hosting practice at homes. Went

on for years.

Oct 27 1995, Normal Day, My office was down the hall from new Outpatient

Entrance, Fast access to hospital. Then the alert :

Hero's

The shooter hit and wounded 17 soldiers from the division's 325th

Airborne Infantry Regiment as they left an athletic field. He shot three

other soldiers who tried to stop him, wounding two and killing Maj.

Stephen Badger.

Order Amidst Chaos

During those intense hours that day, I remember very clearly what looked

like chaos. It reminded me of a MASH episode where Hawkeye and Trapper

are working triage for wounded soldiers. Yet there was a very firm

steadiness. I knew my priorities :

Help stop bleeding



Ease pain where I could



Provide comfort and support

Those 3 simple emphasis for me, kept order in the chaos.

Why Do I share this memory with you?

It occured because of my committment to train to be a better person with

kungfu. I made life changing decisions that put me in the position that

day.

That your experiences can teach you what is important, and what is of

lesser importance.

Lesson to take today

Life is short and can change in an instant.

Find time to be grateful for someone or something while you are here.

"We may not all agree on the politics that are involved, but I encourage

you to agree on supporting those young men that put their lives on the

line, both abroad and at home to provide us with the freedom to be happy

and to complain."

Get out today, practice, remember someone. If you were any way

associated with the events of that day and hear my message today. I

would like to hear from you. If there is anything I can do, I will.

Resources For Today :

The only resources I want to list for this episode is :

"I support and ask you to contribute a couple dollars to the Wounded

Warrior Project. I wrote them the following :

I am releasing a podcast this wednesday, Oct 22, 2014 to our growing

community. It is in regards to my involvement in the Oct 27,1995

shooting on base. I will be asking listeners today and for years to come

to donate directly to the Wounded Warrior Project.

I just wanted

to let you know :)

www.tibetankungfu.net"
Sifu TW Smith

Don't let me down. Whether you are listening this in 2014, 2020, or long

after I am dead. I greatly appreciate you sending even a single dollar

to those who need our support.

Stay Connected with Tibetan KungFu

Subscribe at iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tibetan-kungfu-podcast-chinese/id891945016

Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/sifu-tw-smith/tibetan-kungfu-podcast?refid=stpr

Coming up at SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/tibetankungfu

Facebook: www.facebook.com/Tibetankungfuraleigh
Twitter: www.twitter.com/tibetankungfu

Youtube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCIa--UbRy4ZoMOnQD1Y6R4g
Google+ : www.plus.google.com/u/0/107121261701020349619/posts/p/pub

Sifu TW Smith: www.tibetankungfu.net/about

We want to read your message: www.tibetankungfu.net/contact

Our White Bamboo Store: www.tibetankungfu.net/store