Job offer to teach archery in Japan

Last week I received a job offer to teach archery in Japan at a resort. They are looking for an experienced instructor who can teach a variety of different kinds of archery to complete beginners. Woot? Or maybe not woot... keep reading!

They were offering an annual salary of 2 million yen (roughly $23,000 CDN) plus free room and board at the resort.

Sounds like a sweet offer, yes?

Think again.

#1. I am married and my wife just graduated law school, which means she is currently articling as a lawyer. Articling is sort of like an apprenticeship. So we are not going anywhere until she finishes articling.

#2. My wife and I have a son now. I spend most of my weekdays looking after him and I usually only teach archery on weekends (although I can sometimes teach on Thursdays and Fridays). When in doubt, ask.

#3. I happen to like my current routine of looking after my son and teaching archery when available.

The resort wanted me to be available to teach 7 days per week, from 9 AM to 7 PM. With breaks whenever there was a lack of students. And I would be expected to work on holidays. So that is 10 hour days, 70 hour weeks. Practically sweatshop hours.

Now I can do math.

70 hour weeks... x 52 weeks. 3,640 hours per year. At $23,000 per year...

Is $6.32 per hour.

Which is less than Japan's minimum wage, but since I get free room and board, and breaks whenever there is *supposedly* a lack of students... apparently it circumvents Japan's minimum wage laws. Seems awfully fishy.

Somehow I doubt there would be a lack of students and many breaks.

So I would probably be working sweatshop hours and rarely get to see my son.

#4. I used to teach English in South Korea many years ago. That whole experience made me distrustful of the corrupt "hagwon" system in Korea. Is the resorts in Japan similar to Korean hagwons? Maybe. I don't see any point in finding out.

#5. I checked... the starting rate for teaching English in Japan is about 3 million yen per year. So it would actually make more sense for me to teach English instead of archery. Better pay.

True, I love teaching archery - but teaching it 70 hours per week would take some of the fun out of it. My current system of less hours, better pay suits me just fine.

#6. No pay for the first 3 months. Afterwards they would pay me 222,222 yen per month. This is to deter people who aren't serious about sticking around, so they claim. Makes me wonder what the turnover rate of new employees is.

#7. This offer started to sound more and more like a scam. Trick foreigners into working in horrible conditions, pay them peanuts... most of them quit before 3 months.

#8. Cost of living in Japan is very high. Korea and China are cheap in comparison.

Would my wife and son be expected or welcome to just hang out at the resort all the time? Most likely they would get bored of it. Which means they are going out, taking taxis, eating out, etc. Such things add up and Japan is notoriously expensive to live in.

#9. Free plane ticket for me, but what about my wife's and son's tickets? Who pays for that? Plus how big is this room? Is it big enough for a small family?

#10. Why would I leave a successful business here in Canada, close to friends and family, for a job offer that is dubious?

So yes. The offer sounds like a scam. Which is why I am recommending other archery instructors to be wary of such an offer. This is also why I am not mentioning the name of the resort, where it was located, etc. I don't want other archery instructors to get sucked in to this scam. If anything, I am now doing a public service by trying to warn other people.

So even if I didn't have a wife and son, I still wouldn't be interested in this scam. There is too many IFs and irregularities in the offer.

Would teaching archery in Japan be fun and interesting? Sure, but I would rather not have such a risky sounding offer.

And I would rather do it on my own terms.

8 hour days, 5 days per week, holidays off, 4 weeks of vacation time, 3,500 yen per hour (roughly $40 CDN per hour)... 10 paid sick days, health/dental insurance benefits for myself and my family.

So that is 40 hours per week for 48 weeks, 3,500 yen per hour is... 6.72 million yen annually. ($76,800 CDN annually.) That is enough for a family of 3 to live on.

But even then I still wouldn't take it, because my wife's earning potential as a lawyer is greater than mine.

I would much rather stay here. Buy a house in Toronto, practice my woodworking skills, look after my son, teach archery because I enjoy it. Maybe eventually get that horse farm and teach equestrian archery.

Japanese Yabusame (equestrian archery) would be interesting to see... but there are other ways to see that kind of archery don't involve so many risks, what ifs and poor pay.

The 2018 Seton Archery Tournament at the Toronto Archery Range

I will be judging / adjudicating an archery competition on June 23rd, namely the "E. T. Seton Archery Tournament" mentioned in the image further below. As an adjudicator I will basically be called upon for my math skills and to settle any disputes about whether an arrow is touching a line (in competitions if the arrow is touching the line, it counts as the higher amount of points).

The location is at the Toronto Archery Range within E. T. Seton Park. If you have never been there before I recommend using a map.

The tournament is free to join and there will be prizes, and a Potluck BBQ Lunch.

People who want to take part in the tournament should be EARLY or ON TIME. If you are the type of person who is always running late, then you should really aim to be early. People need to be there on time in order to do their Ranking Rounds and then later enter the elimination rounds.

Three Tips for Archery Competitions

1. Eat, drink and be merry! Food, drink and laughter reduce stress. Hunger, dehydration and melancholy are a mental distraction.
2. Relax during your shots and focus on the quality of your form and aim. Forget everything else.
3. Ignore your rivals, instead focus on defeating the part of yourself that is holding you back.

And Bonus! Pay attention to the wind conditions, but don't let the wind mess you up mentally either. Two years ago I took 2nd place in a compound competition because the wind started gusting during the final rounds and it was blowing me sideways while I was shooting. The frustration made me anxious and I messed up the final round, costing me 1st place. So my primary problem wasn't my rivals, it was myself getting frustrated by the wind conditions and allowing my anxiety to win. So I failed to follow my own tip in that scenario. Part of me was also tired and just wanted the competition to be over.

Happy shooting!

Archery Equipment Checklist 2018

One of my former students from 2017 is ready to be buying her own archery equipment and wanted to know what equipment she should be looking for. At present she plans to buy a Samick Sage, but she wasn't sure what else she should be buying.

Below is an edited version of my email reply to her questions.

A few of my personal collection of bows.

Bow

A common bow for many beginners is the Samick Sage, which I like to describe as the "Ford F-150" of bows. Usually Samick Sage comes in poundages between 25 to 60 lbs, but it is possible to get 20 lb limbs that are compatible.

However just because the Samick Sage is so popular doesn't mean you have to buy it. There are many other bow manufacturers to choose from.

See Recurve Bow Brand Manufacturers and Models.

You also don't have to get a recurve bow. You could get a longbow, a horsebow, a compound bow, a flatbow, or various kinds of exotic bows such as a Korean horsebow or a Scythian horsebow or a Japanese yumi bow.

Arrows

What poundage is your Samick Sage? If it is between 20 to 30 lbs, then 600 spine arrows would be best. Aim to get 28 inch arrows (longer is okay too) with feather fletching, 600 spine. Ten or a dozen is usually a good idea as people often break or lose 1 or 2.

Arrowheads

Don't forget these wee things. Arrows don't always come with them as they are frequently sold separately. I recommend beginners get 125 grain arrowheads.

Arrow Rest

A traditional Bear fur rest (not real fur!) is pretty common. There are also more expensive/fancy arrow rests that also work.

Nock Bead

Goes on the bowstring, prevents the nock of the arrow from sliding up and down, aka "stringwalking".

Archery Glove

I recommend the Neet brand, same one you used last year. Comes in various sizes. But there are plenty of other brands (and colours) to choose from.

Bowstringer

For stringing your bow without damaging the limbs. Various kinds available.

Bow String Wax

For waxing your bow string periodically. Lengthens the life span of the bow string, and oddly enough improves accuracy and arrow speed.

Optional Equipment

• Quiver
• Bracer or Armguard
• Archery Backpack
• Stabilizer
• Sight
• Dampeners

See also my:

Archery Equipment Checklist

and

List of Optional Archery Equipment

If you have additional questions just let me know. :)

Thursday Archery Lessons in Toronto

Regarding Archery Lessons...

I have been thinking of making some time slots available on Thursdays - 10 AM, 12 PM and 2 PM for teaching archery lessons.

UPDATE, I may also be available on Fridays too.

At present I only teach on weekends and watch my infant son on weekdays, but in the near future I may be able to start teaching on Thursdays again, pending availability*.

* I might not be available on all Thursdays. We shall see.

Sorry, no evening lessons. Not available.

Anyone interested in Thursday archery lessons should email cardiotrek@gmail.com and let me know what time slots you are thinking of and how many lessons you are interested in.

To learn more please read my Archery Lessons page which provides all the necessary info regarding my rates, equipment, etc.

And now, because I find them interesting and amusing, here are some photos of birds perched on arrows. Tada!

Owl perched on a cluster of Arrows

Peach Faced or Rosy Faced Lovebird Parakeet perched on an Arrow

Fancy Bows for Archery, what difference do they make?

The images above are from Flatline Bows, which I admit do make some very pretty looking bows.

Note - Flatline Bows did not pay me any money to write this post or to mention their bows.

Fancy Bows Vs Beginners

So here is the thing...

Beginner archers sometimes decide to buy a more expensive / fancy bow for their first bow. They do this for a variety of reasons:

1. They are pretty nice to look at. Just like owning a sports car.
2. They sometimes think that more expensive also means more accurate.
3. They want to avoid buying a cheap bow, because they feel embarrassed.
4. They want a fancier bow because it is a status symbol.

It is a bit like Apple iPhones. Most people who buy them are not buying the iPhone for its operating system or quality, they are buying it because it is a fashion accessory and a status symbol, because there are other companies out there that produce phones that are better.

Thus the same thing happens with beginner archers. They sometimes buy an expensive / fancy bow, and far too often in my opinion it ends up collecting dust in their closet.

They bought the fancy bow, but then they discover the poundage was too difficult for them to shoot. They lose interest in archery. They stop coming to the local archery range. The bow and their other archery equipment collects dust in a closet.

What Should Beginners Buy?

It is my personal belief that beginner archers should find themselves a decent bow that works, preferably one that is a 3-piece recurve so that they can swap the limbs out whenever they want to switch to a heavier or lighter poundage.

So for example they could buy a Samick Sage (typically about $150), which is the bow I bought my girlfriend/wife years ago, and she later married me and she is still shooting that bow.

I have written previously about the Samick Sage multiple times. It is basically the "Ford F-150 of bows". It is an affordable, commonly used bow that is everything you need in a beginner bow.

Some of my past posts:

The Bear Takedown Recurve Vs the Samick Sage

What kind of bow should I purchase?

Recurve Bow Brands and Models

The last post talks about different manufacturers who make bows similar, cheaper, more expensive than the Samick Sage. There are lots of manufacturers to choose from too. PSE, Martin and Bear all sell recurves for a variety of price ranges. Just because I recommend the Samick Sage regularly, it doesn't mean it is the only bow I recommend.

Years ago I also decided to get a Samick, but I opted for a slightly more expensive version: The Samick Red Stag 3-piece recurve. (They also made a 1-piece version and a longbow version of the Red Stag.)

So someone who still wants a slightly fancier bow could simply go up 1 price margin to the next more expensive model.

3-Piece Recurves Vs 1-Piece Recurves

So here is the thing. If you break something on a 3-piece recurve, you just replace that limb or riser with a new one.

If you break something on a 1-piece recurve, you have to replace the whole bow. (Or be really good at fixing things.)

I have in my foyer closet a 1-piece recurve (a Stemmler Jaguar) that I found broken at the Toronto Archery Range. The previous owner broke one of the limbs and threw the whole thing in the trash. Me? I looked at it and speculated about whether it could be repaired in some manner.

• I could cut both limbs off it, add bolts and turn it in a 3-piece recurve.
• I could cut both limbs off it and add the limbs to a crossbow stock.

Either way, I will eventually figure out a way to fix it and make it usable.

But the average person isn't going to go through all that extra trouble.

So to the average people who are looking to buy their first bow, get a 3-piece recurve.

Preferably one that is affordable.

And then if you really get into archery as you progress, you can buy more expensive bows later on. In which case then you can start thinking about buying the 1-piece recurves. You can see some of my collection of 1-piece recurves in the photo above behind the the Stemmler Jaguar limb.

So are fancier bows more accurate?

Nope.

They sure do like nice, but no, generally speaking, they are not more accurate. It is the archer that makes the big difference.

In 29 years of shooting, I have determined cheap brand name bows can go toe to toe with more expensive brand name bows and there is very little difference in their accuracy, and that the major difference lies with the archers themselves. The type of arrow rest being used effects the arrow more than the bow does, so if you are going to invest money in hopes of getting more accuracy, then you should invest in a nicer arrow rest.

Longer bows are also more forgiving, which is why longbows are considered to be quite accurate. You can sometimes make a mistake with a longbow and still hit the target.

A shortbow or horsebow is not very forgiving. If you make a mistake, you probably missed the target by a foot or two.

Same thing goes with compound bows. Yes, more expensive, but the longer compound bows (measured from axle to axle) are often the more forgiving and accurate bows when compared to shorter axle to axle compound bows.

Some people will spend a tiny fortune having a custom bow made out of exotic woods - Flatline Bows for example exclusively makes custom bows. Having all those expensive exotic woods in the bow doesn't make it any more accurate. It just makes it more expensive.

You could add diamonds and rubies to a bow too, it won't make it shoot any more accurately.

Flatline does make some pretty bows... but seeing as I currently need to repair that broken Stemmler, my efforts and money are probably best directed at finishing that project first before going out and buying any more bows.


PS. I actually have a flatbow for sale if anyone in Toronto is interested. It is an Eastern Woodlands flatbow made by Rudder Bows of California. Barely used. I bought it around the same time I ordered a custom pyramid bow from a local Toronto bowyer, and I very much prefer the custom pyramid bow. I only shot the Eastern Woodlands bow a few times. I am asking $180 for it. Send me an email to learn more: cardiotrek@gmail.com.

5 Slimming Foods that are also Fast Foods

Out and about and need to eat in a hurry, but you want to eat something healthier that actually helps you lose weight? Here are 5 items on the menu you should consider.

#1. Ice Water or Lemon Water

Drinking ice water actually burns calories. The colder the water and the more ice water you drink, the more calories your body burns in order to warm the water up to the temperature of your body.

The clear benefit here is that you are also avoiding the sugary soda pop you usually find on fast food menus. However fast food franchises are more than happy to give you ice water instead.

Starbucks also routinely gives out ice water for free, so the next time you are feeling thirsty on a hot day (or even a cold one) that is an option too.

Lemon water (with ice cubes) is also good, as it improves digestion and has a host of health benefits.

See The 8 Benefits of Lemon Water for your Diet

#2. The Big Salad - skip the dressing!

Typically any kind of salad, including egg salad and chicken salad, will be slimming. The trick here is to skip the dressing, as that is often the most fattening part of the food.

If they have a "Big Salad" option on the menu you can literally fill up on salad as your meal.

If you are ordering a burger combo and there is an option to get a salad instead of fries, get the salad. Easy!

#3. Chili

Some fast food places have chili as a side dish on the menu, but you could order 2 or 3 of them. The reason why this is a good option is because of all the beans and legumes found in chili - which are slimming.

#4. Soup

Watery, filling, and to save money they often add lots of veggies in there. Soup is an excellent option. Just avoid adding too much salt, as too much sodium makes you retain water.

#5. Get the Chicken or Vegan Burger!

The mundane chicken burger is basically on the menu for the people who want to eat healthier. If the place you are also has a vegan burger option, that is also a possible solution.

Tuna and salmon, if available, are also slimming foods you can choose. Lean beef is also good, as it has only slightly more calories than chicken.

So a sample burger combo could be: Chicken burger, side salad instead of fries, and ice water instead of soda pop.

10 Ways to Improve your Cardio Workouts

Want to get better results with your cardio workouts? Here are 10 tips and tricks for getting a better workout.

#1. Stop looking at the clock, lose track of time.

Don't wear a watch, and stop looking at your phone to see what time it is. Just exercise, exercise, exercise and take a break once in awhile. Don't finish your workout until you feel like you have exercised all you are willing to do today.

Now the first couple of workouts that you do this, you will probably work out less time than you would have hoped.

However, as you progress your workouts will get longer and longer as your endurance improves and you will eventually just lose track of time during your workouts. Music helps too, as people are more likely to lose track of time while listening to music.

Note - If you have a meeting or event you want to attend and you don't want to miss it, just set an alarm on your phone to remind you. Otherwise your goal should always be to workout as much as possible so that you forget what time it is and end up exercising more than you have ever hoped for.

eg. Lets say your goal was to exercise for a minimum 30 minutes every day. The first couple of times you might only exercise 20 or 25 minutes, but as you progress and build endurance you could eventually be working out 45 to 60 minutes or more because you keep losing track of time.

#2. Stop drinking sports drinks during workouts.

Unless you are planning to be exercising for more than 60 minutes, you don't need any sports drinks containing sugar, salt and electrolytes. The salt in the drink just makes you thirstier, causing you to drink even more. Plus your body doesn't really need all that extra salt and sugar.

If you want to hydrate while you workout, your best bet is water. Just plain normal water.

Plus if your goal is weight loss, the sugar is counterproductive to your goal.

Want to learn more? Watch the following video from CBC Marketplace:



#3. Alternate between strength and speed and endurance.

Pick two of the following and then choose an exercise that focuses on those two aspects, with one of them being your primary goal:

• Strength
• Speed
• Endurance

So for example you might choose Speed and Endurance, in which case a good exercise is sprinting for as long as you can and then take a break.

Then if Endurance is your primary goal, you pick a different combo to focus on, such as Strength and Endurance, in which case you climb stairs or a hill (lifting your own body weight as you climb). You don't have to go quickly since your primary goal is to build endurance, but you should keep climbing until it is time for a break.

Then you switch back to sprinting.

So if Strength was your primary goal you then choose two exercises that emphasize Strength/Speed and Strength/Endurance.

And if Speed is your primary goal then you choose two exercises for Speed/Strength and Speed/Endurance.

Alternating between the two exercises allows you to effectively do Interval Training. You can also change it up and do 4 different exercises, different combinations, etc.

#4. Exercise on a near empty stomach.

If your goal is weight loss, you want to be exercising on a near empty stomach. Not completely empty obviously. The more you exercise, the more fat you burn.

You want to avoid exercising on a completely empty stomach because you will just get exhausted in a hurry.

Exercising on a full stomach can give you stomach cramps and make you want to take a break and relax, so you can digest properly.

Thus timing your workout when you are not quite hungry yet garners the best results, as you have the energy to workout but won't become exhausted too quickly.

#5. Eat after a workout.

Afterwards your workout you want to eat a balanced meal that has low carbs and more protein. Lots of veggies is good too. The more intense the workout, the healthier you want your meal to be so you are getting plenty of protein (building blocks for muscle tissue) and plenty of veggies (mortar for the building blocks), and the small amount of carbs will replenish your energy levels.

#6. Vary the intensity of your workouts based on your mood.

• Angry or frustrated? Do a very intense workout focuses on speed.
• Stressed or worried? Do a slower and more relaxing workout that focuses on endurance.
• Sad or depressed? Do the exercises you enjoy the most, emphasis on fun.
• Happy? Do the exercises you find to be the most challenging.

The advantages of varying your workouts based on your mood means you have better mental health, but it also allows you to use your emotions to fuel your exercise routine on happy or angry days.

#7. Make a workout plan / list / schedule.

This way you know in advance what you are doing today. This way you can focus on the tasks on the list and not get distracted.

Get bored of your workout plan? Spice it up a bit with new exercises.

#8. Mix body-weight exercises with cardio.

This allows you to get more out of your workout by adding things that build muscle too.

Classic Examples of Body-Weight Exercises

• Situps
• Chinups
• Pushups
• Stair Climb

#9. New to exercising? Focus on endurance first.

If you don't regularly exercise, your primary goals should never be strength or speed. Building your endurance should always be #1 for a beginner. Focus on easy exercises that you can do for long periods of time.

When you later become ready for a challenge, see #3 further above.

#10. Fight the urge to stop.

Want to stop exercising? Just keep going. Think of mental reasons why you should just keep exercising. Don't stop exercising unless you have a legit reason for taking a break, like hunger, exhaustion, the need to urinate, etc.





The better you get at fighting the urge to stop, the greater your results will be over the long term because your endurance will improve a little bit each time you refuse to stop.

Every time you think of an excuse to stop, deliberately think of a different reason why you should keep going.


Happy Exercising!

The Endangered Tiger Archery Target

The wife of one of my students likes to make things out of Papier-mâché. She made the tiger head shown below. It isn't very big as you can see.

Even at close range the tiger head looks quite small.

According to my student, his wife makes all sorts of Papier-mâché animals. Owls, deer, bears, critters big and small.

So for fun today he brought a Papier-mâché tiger head for us to shoot at. It seemed appropriate seeing his wife didn't want it anymore - it was a failed attempt.

And she has many more failed attempts that she throws out regularly, into the recycling.

Reducing her Papier-mâché is not an option, but Reusing them for archery certainly is.

• Reduce
• Reuse
• Repair
• Recycle

And reusing old things as archery targets is something archers enjoy. Coffee lids, coffee cups, old photographs, old broken guitars...

Each time my student hit the tiger head we moved it back three paces. By the end of the lesson it was a good distance out. Sometimes he would hit it so hard the head rolled over or spun around. Also the impacts would break chunks off, so the head was slowly shrinking as it got further away due to lost bits that had broken off.

DISCLAIMER - I do not endorse the shooting of real tigers. Only fake ones. Or were-tigers. Are were-tigers real or fake? If you get bit by a were-tiger and become one, please let me know whether were-tigers are a real thing or not. Otherwise, yeah. Please do not shoot real tigers. They're endangered. Don't be a jerk.

There are many other things you might consider using as an archery target. The following video below is of a group of archers shooting at a broken Walmart guitar. According to the owner it costs $50 for a new Walmart guitar, but a lot more than that to repair one. So what do you do with a broken Walmart guitar that is not worth repairing?

Shoot at it of course!

How to take a Punch and Stay Calm

By Charles Moffat - April 2018.

Years ago when I was in South Korea I had a Tae Kwon Do instructor who said something profound which I will share you with you. I may not be remembering what he said exactly as he explained the concept in quite a bit of detail so there is going to be paraphrasing here as I don't recall the exact words he said in the full context of the conversation he told to us students.

But basically what he said was something along the lines of "When your emotions run high in a violent situation it is of utmost importance that you take a breath and keep your wits about you, and then act in a clear and decisive manner."

He broke this down in conversation with a number of examples.

Say you get in an altercation with someone and they attack you, and for a brief moment you have a choice. Do you immediately attack back without thinking of consequences? Or do you think of the consequences and then stay calm, while simultaneously acting in a manner that helps to defuse the situation.

WHY THIS MATTERS TO ME TODAY

Today I was assaulted by the superintendent who lives in my apartment building.

Ah, you say. Now it makes sense why I am talking about staying calm, restraint, and thinking about consequences before acting.

So let me break down the events to you.

1.

My landlord has been wanting the tenants to move our bicycles out of the basement of the building, where my wife and I have stored 5 bicycles. I own 9 bicycles currently and I am a bicycle mechanic hobbyist - I simply enjoy fixing them for fun. Two of the bicycles currently in the basement are really just there for spare parts.

2.

My son fell asleep earlier and I decided now was a good time for me to go move the bicycles while he was sleeping. I found the keys for my bicycle locks, went down to the basement, got the first bicycle and carried it up the stairs and outside to the cement porch that is near the garage and the parking lot. There is a metal railing that goes around the cement porch that many people climb over to the parking lot.

3.

The superintendent followed me out of the building and proceeded to argue with me about where my wife and put our garbage diaper bags. He then pushed me back into the railing so he could climb over the railing. Being pushed back, I reflexively grabbed on to his jacket in order to maintain my balance and during this struggle he punched me in the left side of my face near my ear. Around this time he slid the rest of the way over the porch railing, but I held firmly on to his jacket.

4.

At this point I had a moment of clarity. I had a choice here. I could punch him and beat him up easily. I am a boxing instructor and have studied kickboxing and Tae Kwon Do. He is an old guy in his 50s or 60s. He didn't stand a chance against me. But I had a very clear choice. I didn't have to fight him at all. All I had to do is call 911 and keep holding on to his jacket. (Note - Adrenaline in this situation doesn't help. While it does make you physically stronger and faster, and it helps you ignore pain, it doesn't help you keep your emotions in check. So it becomes ever more important to keep your emotions under control.)

5.

I called 911. This was the clear choice. I have a wife and a son to think about. There are consequences to getting in a fight and beating the **** out of an old guy. I would be in serious trouble if I decided to just beat the **** out of an old guy. So I held on to his jacket while I was calling 911. At this time the superintendent also took out his cellphone and called 911, it was like a race to see who could tell their side of the story first.

6.

I explained to 911 what had happened, with considerable detail. At this point the superintendent punched me in the lower jaw - effectively an uppercut because of the angle, and I did respond by jabbing him in the jaw with the same hand that was holding on to his jacket, so it was a very short jab. This is the one and only time that I punched him in response. I don't remember if he punched me again after that and there might have been an extra time he punched me that I simply ignored and didn't care about. I did tell the 911 lady about him punching be in jaw and that he was still attacking me. The 911 lady advised me that police were on the way and that I should release his jacket, which I did so.

7.

So the police are on their way and I tell the 911 lady that my wife is inside sleeping and I want to check on him. I was not expecting to be gone so long as I had simply wanted to move my bicycles and was not expecting to be attacked by anyone. She said that was a good idea and recommended I do so. So with the police on the way and they have my phone number and location, the 911 call ended and I went back inside. My son had woken up and was crying and I soothed him and fed him.

8.

The police phoned my cellphone, I answered, picked up my son and went to the door. I then held my son in the hallway while I explained to the police all the events. The police listened, asked questions, and two other officers interviewed the superintendent. I admit I was still shaking from adrenaline at the time. The officers then left me, I went back inside our apartment and fed my son some yogurt in the kitchen. I could hear bits of the conversation coming from outside the kitchen window and the superintendent was belligerent with rage. He was not having a very good time keeping his story straight and clearly was not very good at staying calm.

HOW COULD THIS HAVE GONE DIFFERENTLY?

Honestly, everything I did was reactionary. Cause and effect.

He followed me and argued with me, I argued back.

He pushed me, I grabbed his jacket to maintain my balance and a struggle ensued.

He punched me, I called 911.

But it could have gone dramatically different. I had that brief moment where I had to make a decision whether to fight or not to fight. And I chose to simply hang out tight to his jacket (mostly so he could not escape) and called 911.

If I had made the wrong decision, to fight back and beat up an old guy, I would mostly certainly be in handcuffs right now and being charged with assault, because the police would have looked at me with no injuries at all and this old guy who I could have simply beat black and blue.

Restraining myself in such a situation was not easy. I was angry at the time, but I made the conscious effort to not let that emotion rule me. I had to remain calm for my sake, my wife's sake and my son's sake. Love in this case, truly did defeat hate.

THE UNFETTERED MIND

The Unfettered Mind is a book by the Japanese Buddhist monk Takuan Soho, which contains letters he wrote hundreds of years ago to various samurai of the age. I have written various past articles on Cardio Trek about The Unfettered Mind and some of the Zen philosophies described within the book, such as the article: Archery Meditation + Zen Focus. I also have a whole section of my site dedicated towards "Zen Exercising", which is an interesting concept.

In part 2 of the book, titled "The Clear Sound of Jewels" Takuan Soho describes how people value life and "rightmindedness" and how people will sometimes throw their life away for the sake of "rightmindedness".

Takuan Soho states:

"Nothing is more precious than life. Yet, at the moment when we must throw away this valued life and stand on rightmindedness, there is nothing more highly esteemed than rightmindedness."

Basically it is the idea that people will often die for their beliefs.

However people can also die (or ruin their lives) by making unwise decisions, which Takuan Soho later points out by pointing out that people can also value Desire more than life. Desires such as lust, greed, vengeance, bloodlust and so forth.

Takuan Soho states:

"Dying because someone is vexed at being insulted resembles rightmindedness, but it is not that at all. This is forgetting oneself in the anger of the moment. It is not rightmindedness in the least. Its proper name is anger and nothing else. Before a person has even been insulted, he has already departed from rightmindedness. And for this reason, he suffers insult. If one's rightmindedness is correct when he is associating with others, he will not be insulted by them. Being insulted by others, he should realize he had lost his own rightmindedness prior to the offense."

In essence, getting angry at being insulted and then fighting as a result might feel like you are fighting for your beliefs, but really you are just fighting because you are angry.

I totally recommend reading The Unfettered Mind if you can find it in a book store or on Amazon. It is a fantastic book which has useful insights for many different activities, including archery, and also how to maintain a strong moral code.

Samurai historically believed in Bushido (which means honour), but it didn't mean that you died for honour. It meant that you behaved honourably and kept your vows. Samurai vowed to protect and avenge their leaders, but they did not believe in throwing their lives away on base emotions such as anger. Anger to them was a tool, which could make them more vicious in combat, but it could also be the double-edged sword that led to their defeat, and so it needed to be kept in check.

TAKING A PUNCH ITSELF

Taking a single punch by itself is actually easy in my opinion. Multiple punches, such as taking a beating, that is physical challenge obviously (in boxing terms, boxers who can take lots of punches are said to have good "chin"). The emotions that arise (as you probably figured out from your past experiences) is the true challenge of staying calm.

Once you recognize this, taking a single punch is no big deal. Even 3 or 4 is not that big of a deal, like I took earlier today. My jaw is a little sore, as is the left side of my face where he kept punching me with his right hand. But otherwise I feel pretty good. I only really any noticed any pain until much later when the adrenaline dissipated.

So clearly, with the benefit of adrenaline in this case dulling any pain, a person can choose to remain calm. If it just a single punch, it is really just a minor bruise and not worth worrying about.

AN OLD STORY, FISTICUFFS IN KENSINGTON MARKET

Years ago I got attacked by a drug addict in Kensington Market who was angry and decided it was a good idea to punch me in the side of the face and break my glasses. Ha, great idea. In that situation I was more upset about him breaking my glasses that I had purchased in South Korea - where I studied archery, Tae Kwon Do, visited many Buddhist temples, enjoyed good food, and gone mountain climbing many times. I totally recommend going, Korea is awesome. On that occasion I had opted for what I call "Classic Fisticuffs" like what you might see in a period film about the early 1900s. No kicking, just quality footwork, and two fists raised in the classic pose. I then aggressively used my footwork and blocking to dodge/deflect all of his punches and kicks, and get close enough to land solid punches. He then chickened out and ran away like a little coward.

Classic Fisticuffs

On that occasion the drug addict only managed to land his first punch against me when I was sitting down on a bench and not expecting it.

After that, and once he realized I was doing "Classic Fisticuffs" he thought he was being all smart by trying to kick at me, but I just sidestepped his kick and moved closer in order to be able to land solid punches. He tried punching several times and I just deflected them easily. A few jabs to the face later and he suddenly decided that even though I was using "Classic Fisticuffs" as a style, I was clearly good at it. He then ran away.

During the encounter I had two major decisions to make. 1. Do I fight back? Which I chose yes, but had opted for a more gentlemanly style of boxing, which went really well with my girlfriend-at-the-time who was observing this. And 2. Should I chase him after he runs away? I decided not to, stayed with the then-girlfriend, and we later tried to report the attack to police in Chinatown - which they ignored us and just waved us away. Violent drug addict attacking people nearby, and the Toronto police don't even care.

THE AFTERMATH

How do people deal with stress after a violent encounter with a crazed person?

In my case I focused on my son - making sure he was fed and entertained, and then I listened to 80s music while writing this post for my website.

I was reminded of what my instructor in Korea had said about staying calm, but I was also reminded of the book "The Unfettered Mind" by Takuan Soho.

I should probably eat something. According to my phone I was attacked and called 911 at 9:54 AM, and it is now 1:24 PM. I had breakfast earlier today and have not eaten since.

Food after a stressful situation is certainly beneficial. So I am going to go eat now.

I hope anyone reading this finds it educational, informative, and useful in the future when they are faced with a violent and/or stressful situation.

How I used personal training to help my infant son roll, crawl and walk faster, Part Two

PART TWO

By Charles Moffat, Toronto Personal Trainer

 April 25th 2018.

It has been 6 months since I wrote PART ONE of this series of posts. My son Richard is now 10 months old and he can now roll over with ease, is crawling, cruising and even walking small amounts independently.

Last time we covered the following topics:

1. Tummy Time
2. Assisted Rolling
3. Assisting Sitting Up / Assisted Sit Ups
4. Assisted Standing
5. Assisted Squats

All of which gave Richard the ability to roll over sooner than other babies would normally be able to (on average), to be able to sit up on his own sooner, stand up, squat down to pick things up, and do a variety of tasks.

The normal ages for doing the various activities are as follows:

The normal ages for rolling over, sitting up, crawling, standing up, and walking are as follows:

Rolling Over - 4 to 6 Months
Sitting Up - 4 to 8 Months
Crawling - 7 to 10 Months
Standing Up - 9 to 12 Months
Walking - 9 to 15 Months

Now with Richard being 10 months old, he has long since mastered rolling over, sitting up, crawling, standing up, cruising (walking by holding on to things), and is walking independently short distances. He has also learned how to walk up and down stairs, with assistance.

Today we are going to talk about other topics, including:

1. Assisted Walking, Two Hands
2. Assisted Walking, One Hand
3. Assisted Stairs, Two Hands vs One Hand
4. Independent Walking
5. Letting Go, Letting Them Fall

#1. Assisted Walking, Two Hands

Walk around your home with your baby for about 5 minutes at a time, holding your baby's hands or fingers by both hands.

I say 5 minutes at a time because doing this for an extended period can become painful for your back if you are constantly bending over.

Note - While there are gadgets for this, such as Jolly Jumpers, Walkers, etc - those are useful, but they will never replace the physical action of walking around your home, local park, library, etc for a few minutes at a time to build of the muscles in your baby's legs. The Jolly Jumper for example does allow your baby to stay suspended in the air, with no fear of falling, but unfortunately in practice is often more like a swing than a walking device. Various walking devices are designed to be pushed around while the baby holds the handlebars, but unfortunately babies don't inherently know they are supposed to do that and so with Richard (for example) he is more likely to just flip the walker over and play with it.

Update, October 2018 - Richard didn't really start using the walker until 14 months, roughly 3 months after he had mastered independent walking.

#2. Assisted Walking, One Hand

Walking with two helping hands is really because your baby hasn't yet learned how to balance themselves and will fall over easily. Walking with one hand means that they have already learned a degree of balance, and is now progressing to being able to walk independently - but for safety reasons and a little added balance the single helping hand is there so your baby has someone to cling to if need be and should a fall happen.

#3. Assisted Stairs, Two Hands vs One Hand

I started Richard going up and down stairs at a very early age, at the same time we were doing assisted walking. If we were doing assisted walking and came to stairs, the natural thing was to simply help him walk up the stairs - something he seems to find hilarious.

The same rules apply, but I do recommend a firm grip on your baby's hands and lots of patience as babies like to take their time on the stairs.

Walking up and down stairs with one hand helping is something Richard now does regularly. Every time we go outside is another chance for him to use the stairs. Thus my recommendation is to see every staircase as an opportunity for your baby to practice walking up/down stairs.

Update, October 2018 - Richard can now climb stairs independently, but for safety reasons I usually hold 1 hand just to be safe.

#4. Independent Walking

There will be times when your baby shoos your hand away and just wants to walk on their own. Just let them do it on their own. Be there in case they fall and keep constant supervision.

With Richard he seems to be magnetically drawn towards cars and traffic, so I am constantly putting him in the middle of the park, far from traffic and then herding him like a collie herds sheep in an effort to keep him away from cars.

With the independent walking I also keep track of the number of steps he does, as a way of record keeping his progress. When he sets a new record for the number of steps, I make a note of it and tell the wife "Richard walked 17 steps today. New record!"

Thus every day you want to allow your baby to play in some sort of safe play area - could be the living room floor, a large play pen, the local park - and just let them walk around on the grass / floor for 30 to 60 minutes every day as they get better at independent walking.

Having a large play pen or play area in your home is also handy.

#5. Letting Go, Letting Them Fall

For a parent learning to let go and let your child fall can be a bit challenging, but it is something you need to do. Your baby needs to learn how to fall, how to land, and how to get back up again and keep doing it.

Learning how to fall safely, take the hit, and get back up is an important skill for babies to learn.

Update, October 2018 - Richard recently discovered he can spin himself in circles and make himself dizzy, and then fall down. He thinks it is hilarious. Clearly falling and getting back up is not a problem for him.

For the parent your goal needs to be there to observe and not to interfere. The only times you should be interfering is when there is danger to your baby, which should be mitigated by simply picking safe places for your baby to practice walking.

eg. A large football field or baseball field is pretty good. Lots of grass to soften falls and the distance to any danger (eg. traffic) is significantly further away and hopefully blocked by fences.


Update, December 2018

Richard is 17.5 months old now and walks independently all the time, except when on a sidewalk near traffic and near other possible dangers (rivers, lakes, pools, etc). He can go up stairs independently, but we usually hold his hand for safety reasons.

He has also:

• Mastered the buttons on automatic doors.
• Figured out the buttons on elevators.
• Figured out escalators.
• Learned to steal remote controls and cellphones/tablets and press the buttons.
• Climb up stairs for a slide, sit down and slide down it.
• Push chairs and other obstacles out of his way.
• Mastered clapping, high fives, patty-cake, peekaboo, hiding under blankets, kicking things...
• Crawl underneath furniture or between gaps sideways to escape.
• Climb up on to furniture (to steal the TV remote).
• Can spin to make himself dizzy.
• Figured out this new thing called jumping.
• He can move surprisingly fast, not quite running yet, but soon enough.

Honestly, if you take your eyes off of him for a few seconds he can run off in a different direction and you have to chase him. He loves to explore.

Thus physically he is now highly capable, so my big challenge these days is to supervise his activities and teach him new things. Every day it is something new.