I just couldn’t resist this one. I know I have posted a video similar to this before, but what can I say? It’s just so inspiring.
Rocco Pochy, longtime student of Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim, who is the founder of Jung Suwon, performed this incredible break – while in a wheel chair, and in his suit, not workout clothes.
It’s wonderful to see how the mind can push through so many physical obstacles. And like I said before, if he who is in a wheel chair can do it, who am I to complain? Stay in tune for my break from that same event!
Since I am still struggling with chest pains on a daily basis and since I tend to be like an ostrich, trying to bury my head to make things go away, Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim, my Jung Suwon Martial Arts teacher, has told me to stop ignoring this and find a doctor that can help me. So I have looked for some doctors and found one that is great!
My new doctor, whom I like very much and who is very wonderful, is taking me seriously and really is helping me a lot, has asked me to try nitroglycerine. Of course my first reaction was, isn’t that something you use for blowing up stuff?
Well, not quite. It does open up your blood vessels and makes it easier for your blood to get to places it’s supposed to go. There is an explosion involved, and that is how I feel when I take the nitro first – my head feels like it’s going to explode any second, and this lasts for about 10 – 20 minutes. I also get a little shakey, but after that initial reaction, I am breathing so easy and no chest pains for the rest of the day.
So, whatever it is doing, it’s working! I will need to do some more research on it all, but so far it looks very promising!!!
Another thing I do in my training in the Martial Arts, as coumadin taker, I actively look for more things I can participate in, take charge of, learn from, as my teacher Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim keeps encouraging me to do.
For example, I love to work with children, and I especially love to work with children at Jung SuWon. So as much as I can, I show up for the little kids class. See for yourself how wonderful these children are, how much they are learning, and their enthusiasm….
I get asked this question a lot: Why are you still training in the martial arts? You are on coumadin and you know you shouldn’t!
Well, yes, I am on coumadin. And yes, I should not – and am not – sparring or doing any breaking. Or jumping, or weapons, for that matter. But there is still so much I CAN do! Also, to me, Jung SuWon is a way of life, not just some sport. So I will continue to do whatever I can. Doing forms, basics, kicks, are all wonderful things.
Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim reassured me that I am in no way a “lesser” Martial Artist than anyone else. One of the basic strengths of the Martial Arts is that you make do with what you have!
I also enjoy the soft forms a lot more these days, or Ki energy forms as we call them at Jung SuWon. I notice this keeps me more focused, centered and happy.
And the more physical part of Martial Arts keep me in shape and keep me healthy.
The thing about taking coumadin is, that sooner or later it becomes routine. You are starting to take it for granted. The newness wears off. Your attitude starts to sag. And instead of feeling grateful that it is saving your life, you sometimes resent it because now you have to be more careful what you do, what you eat, and so forth. Basically, instead of counting blessings, we tend to count the “can’t dos” and “don’t have’s”.
During those times I resort to an excerpt one of Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim’s books that has helped me a lot, to set me straight again:
“Some aspects of life are unavoidable. You didn’t choose the family or circumstances into which you were born, for example. You didn’t choose many of the abuses, conflicts, or crises that may have occurred over the years. And you will inevitably experience sickness in some form, old age, and death. But you don’t have to regard these things as excuses for continuing unhappiness and failure. Instead, you can decide that right now you will produce change in your life and that you will live your life as fully as you can, with as much love and happiness as you can.” (The Silent Master, page 4)
I have a very good friend who is also training at Jung Suwon, and has been for almost 20 years now. He has earned his black belt, and whenever I see him perform in the Do Jang, I know there are no obstacles that can’t be overcome, one way or another.
I encourage you to take a look at this:
PS: This gentleman has been paralyzed from the waist down since age 11….is a top notch engineer….
Chili! Canned chili at that! How did this can of chili sneak into my blog on training at Jung SuWon while taking coumadin? I bet you are wondering why I am blogging about a can of chili. Well it would have never occurred to me until a couple of days ago, that same can of chili that you see here, fell from a shelf in my pantry, on my foot.
So, yesterday, as I was getting some potatoes out of the pantry, out of nowhere this restaurant size can of chili came falling down, smack on my left foot! Now, I personally don’t like this brand chili, or any canned chili for that matter, and what on earth do I do with such a huge can anyhow? Nevertheless, it was there and decided to fall on my foot.
Did it hurt? Of course! Did I say things that are not publishable? You bet!
However, I am ok. Nothing’s broken, and aside from some swelling and bruising, it’s not a problem. What I did learn though – I suppose it was a reality check of some sorts – was the internal bleeding part of it all. Right after the can had landed, I was staring at my foot, and I saw a domino effect of popping veins under my skin…I could see the break and bust….very weird to look at. I took pictures of my feet a while after “impact’, but you can’t really see the popping effect.
What I learned from this really, is that luckily that was only my feet. What if it had fallen on my head? I would have never seen anything and especially inside. I was lucky this was only a can, and it was ‘only’ my feet. It made me appreciate what I have, a lot more, and also made me re-think. After a while on coumadin, things become so routine and you slowly start to think you are invincible, bad things won’t happen to you…I was glad that nothing more serious had happened to me.
Again, I really am glad about my Jung SuWon training. It has helped me tremendously to stay calm, or when I don’t manage to stay calm – to regain composure quickly. The exercise part of it also is helping me to stay fit, keep my lung capacity at optimum level, helps keep swelling down, and just makes me much more alert, aware, and fit.
So, when life’s little quirks happen to you – decide that you are going to come out on top! Like Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim always says, “It is your personal choice what you do in your life!”
PS: just to show who’s boss – I ate the chili!!!!!
You are probably gonna think, no way can anyone go through all this crapp with doctors. She’s making this up. But I can assure you, every word I am writing here is the truth. I wish I could report that life’s a bowl of cherries and that all is well, all the time.
But lately, it’s just not been that way. And really, I don’t think life’s about having it easy – it’s about dealing with whatever gets thrown your way. Here is one of my favorite quotes:
“People and events can shape someone for good or bad. But you alone have power over these things, more power than you realize. It does not matter how bad circumstances may seem. What I discovered was that how I dealt with circumstances was much more important than the circumstances themselves.” (“Seven Steps to Inner Power“, by Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim.)
So yes, it’s ok I have to face all this – as long as I can maintain a good attitude….and look for solutions.
To get back to why I am writing this – the pains got a little too much for me last week, and so I left a message with my doctor, telling him what I was going through.
The nurse calls me back the next day, and was rather abrupt. She said each sentence with some more emphasis than would have been necessary, and told me that the doctor had done all the tests he could, he had done everything possible, and that I should go to a general doctor and be referred to pain management or palliative care. To make it easier, I have linked to that termin wikipedia ….
I am not buying it. I know I am NOT a menopausal hypochondriac vying for attention. All I want from a doctor is to be willing to explore different ways to get to the root of this. I am not buying it that this is “just pain” and that I should take pain killers for the rest of my life. I happen to believe that chest pains this strong have some cause and I would prefer to find out what that cause is. So, today I started to write an “ad” for a doctor, that I plan on faxing or e-mailing out to different doctors. Since I am not sure what kind of doctor I need, perhaps I’ll start out with some internists. This ‘ad’ basically tells my health history and asks if the doctor would be willing to think out of the box and try help me. Otherwise – let’s save each other time and energy and not waste time on an appointment.
I have even thought about doing a Youtube short, explaining what I would expect from a doctor.
See, I am not expecting a miracle. I don’t want to be a special medical case. All I want is to be painfree and resume my active, happy life. And I don’t think that’s too much to ask for…..
Here’s the thing. Sometimes things that you don’t expect in the least, do happen. No matter how wonderful your attitude, your faith, your intentions, dedication, etc, sometimes life takes a different turn. And then it’s up to us to deal with it.
Last year, during a period of time when I was doing really well, was within range most of the time, and it looked like I was finally on an even course. I was healthy, happy and the only thing going on was that I had to take the coumadin. I was physically very active and enjoying life in every aspect.
So, since my significant other had to go on a business trip to Europe, it was only natural that I would go over and visit my sister and her family and then meet up with him. All went well, I had a great time and it was as close to a perfect vacation as you can get.
We were sitting on the plane, reminiscing about the trip, and having a great time. Dutifully I got up after 2 hours and was planning on doing the same for the duration of the flight. But I was starting to not feel very good. Chest pains, breathing difficulties, the works. I had pulled out the tray table and had put my head down on it….when my husband asked me if I was ok. I wasn’t. But thousands of feet up in the air, above the Atlantic Ocean, there just isn’t a whole lot you can do. I continued to move around, sit down again, move some more, etc. Most of all though, I was focusing on not letting this get me down.
My many years of training under Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim at Jung SuWon weren’t wasted – almost automatically things started to kick in. Strangely, it wasn’t thoughts about overcoming or things like that, what stuck mostly in my mind was the utterly positive words from Dr. Kim’s book, “The First Element.”
“Wake up to the little miracles around you right now and appreciate the power of the universal life force! A tiny unborn bird pecks away at his shell hundreds of times for no other reason than than to be born! For no other reason than to be who he is. He follows the life force as far as his purpose directs.
But you! You are born with so much more capability than this little bird. If you are not living your life with the same enthusiasm of a supernova, exploding to fill your space with energy to build and create and transform, you are still inside a dark shell. If you are sitting around doing nothingmore than feeling sorry for yourself, then you’re not even as true and honest as the little bird, who at least honors his life force by pecking his way out into the world.
I am asking you to come out and start appreciating this life force that brought you here! I am asking you to start honoring the power which is your birthright, and the responsibility you have to fulfill yourself with this energy. Yes, it is a responsibility, because when you refuse to be yourself, you cheat the universe out of apart of itself. You are here now, because you have a purpose that is part of the entire universal expression. To do your part, all you have to do is to just be yourself, your true self, and honor yourself with love, support, training, perseverance, and fulfillment!
I was able to calmly endure the flight, and even smile. After arrival, I did get myself checked – no obvious new clots, however my doctor suggested that perhaps I might have had a series of mini-clots – too small to show up, yet not small enough to make them pain free. Eventually, I recovered…..I would also like to say that my martial arts training was crucial in my recovery – my body was in great condition and was able to overcome things a lot quicker…..
I still experience chest pains a lot. All major things have been ruled out and basically, after dozens of tests of all sorts (including pulmonary and cardiac angiograms) I am found healthy and “normal.” The chest pains, however, persist. They are real. I can guarantee anyone that I am not having chest pains to get attention. In fact, I don’t usually talk about them or even mention them to close family members. I mean, what’s the point? I don’t want to drag everyone down by talking about my chest pains every day. I just would very much like to not have chest pains so I can be my normal self again. And do the things I have always loved to do.
My cardiologist, nice person that he is, is also realistic and down to earth, and told me that basically I won’t just drop dead, and for me to start getting used to managing the pain. And I have been doing just that.
However, when I ran across the big announcement that there has been a special Chest Pain Clinic established in one of the local hospitals, the only one of its kind, I started to get excited. This seemed like a God-sent! I called right away, but the clinic was apparently so new that it took them several days to get back to me. It took another few days to get a number to call to make an appointment. And after a week, I was there!
I went in with high hopes. There was finally a person specializing in this field and just maybe they would be able to help me! It all started out wonderfully positive, a brandnew building, beautiful medical center, nice staff (well, except the receptionist that had never noted down my appointment, but that was quickly fixed by a wonderful admin who set everything straight).
Finally, after the nurse did an EKG (normal) took my blood pressure and all kinds of other things, I got to meet the doctor. He was very nice, radiated confidence, knowledge and experience, and he introduced himself as head of cardiology of the hospital and founder of the new Chest Pain clinic. He also apologized for calling his new venture “Chest Pain Clinic”, he said it was meant to be a special clinic for heart attack patients to get the proper attention.
He did ask me a lot of questions regarding my condition, examined my badly swollen legs, asked extensively about my embolism, and basically agreed with everything my current doctor had told me. Said I shouldn’t have any more tests done, said I was ok and should just manage the pain, got up and said, sorry but I can’t help you and walked out.
I think you can imagine how I felt. And this was the head of the cardiology department? And the best he could do was telling me he couldn’t help me? After a brief episode of feeling completely helpless, and then feeling a surge of anger, here is where my Jung SuWon Training really helped me calm down and settle down.
My teacher, Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim, wrote in her book “Seven Steps to Inner Power“, about how to deal with negative emotions, such as I was experiencing. She says that there are three ways people deal with them: carving them in as in stone, or writing in sand, but that the best way is to write in water:
“We cannot write in water. We cannot carve in water. Water’s nature is to flow. And that is how we should treat negative emotion. When it comes, let it go. Let it flow away from you like water moving down a river bed. Do not allow it to reside in your consciousness for any amount of time or to become permanent. Release it as soon as it comes. “I can’t,” you may say. Your Silent Master says you can. No matter how intense an emotion may be, if you immediately refuse to dwell on it and refuse to focus on it, it will have no staying power. Speed is the key. Act quickly to release it.
How is this different from covering up an emotion? You acknowledge that you are feeling it, but immediately let it flow through and away from you. You do not deny it, but you do release it.”
I forgot to mention something else. As Martial Artist, especially Jung SuWon Warrior, I am very much into healthy foods and you might have seen my food blog already. I really try to nourish my body and mind rather than stuff food or indulge (well, now and then a little treat isn’t going to hurt…)
So it’s only natural that I would like to eat lots of salads and greens, and I used to – until!
While I was told that I didn’t have to change my diet, but that the doctor would adjust the coumadin to match my diet – it quickly turned out that with that much salad I would have to really take a large dose of coumadin…
You see, the way the body uses the coumadin is through some process in the liver, and if you eat too much vitamin K (which means salads, green veggies and a bunch of other items) it hinders the coumadin from doing its’ job. It seems that I am one of those lucky people that if I just walk by and smell a salad, my INR goes down and I have to take more coumadin.
I am ok if I eat small portions of salads, but I definitely can no longer make a meal out of a salad twice a day.
Ah, like Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim always says, everything in moderation, and: focus on what you can do, what you can have, rather than on what you don’t have or can’t do!
