Tag Archives: Kuk Sool Won

Happy World Smile Day!

The first Friday in October is  World Smile Day! Harvey Ball, a commercial artist from Worcester, Massachusetts created the smiley face in 1963 and thanks to him we now have more opportunities to share a smile and an act of kindness!

Here a few photos that I hope will keep you smiling!

Photo 1: Darling Dahlia

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Photo 2: Spray of Pink Orchids

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Photo 3: Flowers and Swords make me smile (this was at a photo shoot with my Kuk Sool Won Master)

Photo courtesy of Portrait Photographer, Sharon Cohen (@TheVanityFlare)

Photo courtesy of Portrait Photographer, Sharon Cohen (@TheVanityFlare)

Photo 4: Bounty of Black-eyed Susans

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Floral Photography meets Martial Arts #WeAreAllWeird

Some things simply connect with us, resonate with us or excite us. There is no standard recipe for discovering what these things will be or deciphering how the connections are made.

I love flowers. They ignite my soul.

I also love traditional Korean martial arts (aka Kuk Sool Won) – who would have guessed?

I have a blog for martial arts as well as floral photography because I love sharing what I care about. Some may find that weird but in a recent post about a contest by Seth Godin it was reassuring to hear that we are all weird.

So I went in search of a connection to my diverse passions and discovered that Hibiscus Syriacus (Rose of Sharon), also known in Korea as Mugunghwa is their official flower. This flower also just happens to grow readily in our neighborhood and the shrubs are in full view of the dojang where I train.

Weird isn’t it?

Photo 1: Rose of Sharon

Rose of Sharon

Photo 2: Hibiscus Syriacus

Rose of Sharon 6

Photo 3: Mugunghwa

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Budding and Blooming Bloggers

This week has been quite unusual at ours. My husband, Robin, and I have both participated in the #YourTurnChallenge to blog every day for a week, initiated by Winnie Kao, project lead for Seth Godin.

“Are you reading something Daddy wrote again? asked my son “You two have been doing a lot of writing this week!”

Indeed we have – we have been shipping with a group of like-minded individuals from across the globe – and it’s been awesome, frustrating, challenging and liberating.

Photo 1: Spring buds and blooms in the park this morning

Spring Blossoms in the Park

Spring Blossoms in the Park

I have had my floral photography blog for four years and have steadily plodded along. I’ve blogged because I love to share what I experience and what I care about. I have a writing blog (needing a post) called Stories in #10Tweets  a Genetic Counselling News SA blog (in stasis) a motherhood blog called MumDay (discontinued) and my floral photography blog that just keeps going and now my martial arts blog Junbi.

When I first started blogging I was hooked on the stats. Was anyone reading it? Did it resonate with someone? Did people like what they saw?

When the stats remained dismal for the first year I was initially demotivated but then I changed my perspective. I realised that I was blogging because I enjoyed it, so I would just keep sharing things I felt passionate about.

I love it when people like my posts and send me comments. It’s a great way to connect and I usually comment on and follow their blogs too. Connecting is what makes social media social.

So my newest blog Junbi is steadily taking off. It has allowed me to connect with those I meet in other settings in a more in depth manner. I asked more questions in my Kuk Sool Won martial arts class so I had enough material to blog about.

I paid better attention to what Master Saidi said during my lessons so I could recall the key points he was conveying.

I asked more questions after Tai Chi class and discovered that Tim was also an author.

I had something different to talk about when I met another expat Mum in the park this morning and we chatted about blogging, martial arts and floral photography.

By being a brand advocate for Seth Godin I was also one for Kuk Sool Won, Tai Chi, Remarkable Runs, Fables and Flora, other challenge bloggers and myself! A very unique combination, generating chatter and making a ruckus.

Blogging this week has also allowed me to watch Robin unveil his writing skills and allowed me to peek into his mind during a run. Our kids got to see us committing to a challenge and shipping and they started writing their own thoughts too.

So we now have budding and blooming bloggers in one household! Congrats to all who joined the challenge this week and happy shipping on your journey forward.