Personal Comittment

So, now that I have officially committed to joining the Year of the Horse I Ho Chuan team, I’m starting to think about my personal requirements. There is a team meeting scheduled for next week and at that time I expect Sifu Brinker will lay out the guidelines for our personal requirements. I’ve been really thinking about it and, although I don’t know for sure yet, it seems to me that a major part of the I Ho Chuan is to get you to strip away waste in your life. That may be in the form of frivolous activities that waste time, or bad habits that prevent you from reaching your potential.

I know that I have a lot of waste in my life. There are many evenings that I sit in front of the computer, mindlessly surfing the internet with no real purpose. I’m not looking for anything in particular; just something that I might find entertaining for a few minutes. There are also times when I have neglected to go to the gym or complete housework because I’m busy playing video games. Video games are a means of stress relief and relaxation for me but I find myself getting carried away on occasion.

The thought of giving up this stuff makes me wonder how you draw the line. I don’t think the intent of the I Ho Chuan is to remove all enjoyment from your life but there seems to be a fine line. Do I give up the internet and video games completely? Is there anything wrong with an hour here or there? But isn’t the point to give up/work toward something meaningful? I remember reading a journal or Kwoon Talk post made by Sifu Brinker about rejecting people’s personal requirements and now I can understand how that would happen. I’m pretty sure if I decided to give up eating broccoli for the year that would be rejected too.

Although I was initially most daunted by the 50,000 situps and 1600km, now I see that the personal requirements are going to be the toughest part of completing the I Ho Chuan. I guess that’s the point.