25 Great Rabbit Year Memories

I had started making a list and then got sidetracked and forgot all about it. Better late than not at all. So here is my list.

1.  Thinking about not joining the Rabbit team and then making the decision to join regardless of the chaos in my life.
2. 2nd degree stripes on my brown belt.
3. Tiger Challenge - This was the 1st school tournament where my nerves and anxiety were under control.
4. Practicing and performing a fight choreography with Todai Ferris and Todai Csillag for the Tiger challenge.
5. Creating my own hand form and giving it a name. Hu Shou Yu Long - Tiger Hands with Dragon.
6. Everything I learned through the creation of my hand form.
7. Friends and family that helped with the huge job of cleaning out my dad's acreage.
8. My one on one with Sifu Brinker about ego that really helped me to gain an even deeper understanding of ego and anxiety.
9. Not rushing through the questions for Zen & The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance helped me to recognize their value and relevance to my own journey.
10. Making time to enjoy life - staycation downtown Edmonton with a friend, a spa retreat and camping.
11. Sifu Rybak's fun team bonding and engagement games.
12. Being part of another back to school week at the Kwoon.
13. Struggling through the broadsword form and finally remembering the sequence consistently.
14. Wanting to walk away from the broadsword form and not giving up.
15. Experiencing a class when I felt mostly calm and in control while sparring and feeling hopeful.
16. My son Dustin flying home to celebrate my 60th birthday.
17. Numerous aha moments throughout the year while training.
18. Pushing myself in class and feeling good about where I am and what I'm doing.
19. Getting and appreciating all the feedback from blackbelts and instructors throughout the year.
20. Working on my 5 applications with Todai Ferris and benefiting from her patience and our joint collaboration.
21. Experiencing many moments of enjoyment with my 5 applications after all the struggles I overcame.
22. Sharing this year of the Rabbit with Logan and appreciating his guidance and wisdom.
23. Breaking my 1st wood board on demo day with control and experiencing a pain free break.
24. Leading A week in the IHC challenge and watching all the great team videos.
25. The culmination of an amazing year at our Year of the Dragon banquet. My pleasant surprise at receiving the attendance award, my speech, our team demos, family, friends and community all coming together for the event and my promotion to blackbelt.