Performing

This past Saturday marked our annual Chinese New Year banquet and it was fantastic. As usual, because I was running around a lot I missed a bit, but from what I saw, and from what I heard, it was a big success.

There were a couple of black belt promotions, numerous awards were handed out, our Benevolent Foundation presented donations to our chosen charites, and we saw numerous demos.

I have been lion dancing for about 5 years now, and this was the second year that I was the buddha for our new lion at the banquet. It’s nice in the sense, that I can put on my “helmet” and disappear. I can really exaggerate my stances, and be a total goofball. There is a lot of freedom while I am hiding in there, and I love playing the part.

But I was also given a gift this year. Two years ago, a few weeks before I was to be presented with my black belt at our banquet, I broke my ankle. Ironically enough it was during lion dance practice that I fell and broke it. Anyway, I wasn’t able to perform as is the tradition, and my training mates ended up creating an amazing video of us doing our demonstration to play for everyone. This year’s gift, was the opportunity to perform live at the banquet. It was hard work, and nerve wracking, but it felt so good to be able to do it. I am not always broken, and it was a wonderful opportunity to show how passionate I am about what I do.

This year’s banquet also gave the opportunity to train and work with an amazing bunch of people. We truly have an amazing Kung Fu family.

Happy Year of the Rabbit!