Bloody Knuckles For Christ! =)

Eventually I'll explain the title, but for now I'm just gonna let you know that mine were the bloodiest and I've resisted uploading a picture of it. =) Also, for more fun Chi Kung/Kung Fu stories, read the very bottom of this. Today was awesome for both teams and in case someone hasn't informed you of this yet, God is da bomb diggidy! (yes I just said that)

So I'll start with the Santa Monica team. Today they went to a new part of Santa Monica and discovered somethin awesome. I think they almost could have had a Steve Erwin moment(God rest his soul) when they pulled up to Montana Rd. "Cricky! We've lost the tourists and found the locals! Be careful now, we don't know 'ow friendly they ah just yet." Basically they left the prominad and hung out at coffee shop central. Bruce, Kelsey and Josh went to different places and got to observe and talk with people and all three of the are totally STOKED about it. They've been brainstorming all day about fun ways to get to hang out with people and talking about the encounters they had today. God is definately using them!

The Venice Beach Team had a BALLER day. We got to our Chi Kung lesson a little early and Master Chen definately gave us the family treatment. Peter was there hanging out with Tony's wife and daughter and Tony had tea and "Chinese cakes" waiting for us when we got there. Some 12 people were their for lesson which meant we had alot of new connections to make! We may even have and in with one of the medical marijuana places. How sick would it be to have a marijuana house turned into a church smack dab in the middle of Venice Beach!?!?!?!?!?! In between the Chi Kung lesson and our Kung Fu lesson we had an awesome 30 min conversation with Tony about his life and why he's teaching us the way that he is. He's taken the three of us and made us his special students. We are basically the teachers pets of the class BUT it's because we understand his heart for what Kung Fu is and he knows it. Most people just want their cheap self defence lesson. God is definately using us there. Then once that was done we went and spent 30 min with Peter walking and talking about his life and his views on religious and cultural things. HOW SICK NASTY IS JESUS?!?!?!?! Two awesome convo's in one day!!!!!

While we were in our Kung Fu lesson, the Santa Monica team was having church with one of the church planters out here. Everyone was encouraged to share a gift (bible story, verse, random story, etc...) with the group and to divuldge personal details, followed by group prayer. They said it was awesome, and we had that in our team time tonight. I loved it.

Later in the day we went out to a nice Italian restaurant to celebrate Kelseys Birthday. They even brought her out a cake! Afterward we went and hung out on the pier and took a ride on a ferris wheel! Yay for my fear of heights! It's ok, I'm a big fan of doing things you hate or eating things you hate so that you get over it. By the third time around I didn't care anymore. =)

So I'm gonna us random numbers and stuff for my bullets points of prayer because organization freaks me out sometimes.

8) Pray for our relationships in Venice Beach (and those to come)

#) Pray for the relationships in Santa Monica (and those to come)

T) Pray for us to grow, recharge, charge(w/ the gospel), repeat

*) Above all, pray for the advancement of the kingdom.





If you skipped to this part, you're a real man. So what's with the bloody knuckles title?
Story 1:
Tony made Thomas, Storm and I each do three oh so fun exercises to help build our bodies into Kung Fu machines. First, there was this stick that had a four foot string with a 2 1/2 pound weight on it. We had to hold it up at arms length and roll it up and down. It sort of works your fore arms but mostly a random muscle on the side that we use to block punches and bow staff blows. Second is a ladder that we have to kick our legs up on and stretch ourselves on. This ladder is my nemisis. He makes me do it way more because he says "You're body tight. You need to practice mo and mo. Soon you be better." It hurts like crap but it's working. I touched my toes today for the first time in my life!!!!! Last is the bloody knuckles deal. He has us punch sand for about 10 min so that it causes controled fractures in our knuckles that will heal and become stronger. That way when we punch it will have more pow to it. He told us "If it hurt, don't stop. Keep doing." So we did. Storm stopped shortly after she felt pain, but me and Thomas just kept going. Basically we did it till we bled and that was not what he'd intended. Apparently you shouldn't do it till you bleed. Just until your knuckles are neon pink. It's ok though, he has this chinese medicine that works like magic. AMAZING!!!
Story 2:
So yesterday we learned five out of eight steps of a fight sequence that you can't get out of. Basically at the end of it the person will have the wind knocked out of him, will have been punched in the face twice, one knee kicked in backwards(yes broken), and we will land in a stance that is ready to take on a second attacker from behind. Yeah, it's beast.
Story 3:
Today we learned how to block a kick with our bare hands, retaliate with rib breaking punches, and then take on two other attackers with similar blows.
Story 4:
My favorite quote from Tony is "You watch Kung Fu movies, they fight 30 minutes, no one die. That's Bull $#@&!(which I have to admit is funny to hear through a chinese accent) I teach you, 1, 2, 3, over!" However, today he explained that to us further with my second favorite Tony quote. "I don't want you to be a hero. Heros die. But I want you to know that you are not a coward." Which translates into this: don't take what I teach you and go looking for a fight. You don't need to go willingly into battle when it can be avoided. But you also can't wimp out. If a loved one needs protection, or if you are stuck in a corner, defend yourself and win.
Tony is the jam. I'm fortunate to have him as a master. Please pray for his salvation.