My Personal Goal

I’ve chosen my personal goal: to complete my application for my Tennessee massage license. My Delaware license did not transfer (there was no reciprocity).  I did not know if I wanted to continue practicing massage when we moved here 2 years ago, so I let my license lapse.  In the last 6 months, I’ve begun practicing Ashiatsu massage on a therapist friend (he’s teaching it to me), and I’m amazed at how much I missed it! For me, massage is the other side of the coin of martial arts.  Both are art forms that bring healing to the practitioner and they both illuminate the power of touch and the intention behind that touch.  Much like kata, a massage therapist can get into a “flow state” while working.  I loved giving Thai massage (it’s based in martial arts!), and so I’ve decided that I’ll practice Thai and Ashiatsu once licensed.  In Thai, we use compressions and passive yoga stretches and work on the client’s energy lines.  In Ashiatsu, we walk on the clients, giving them deep tissue work.  These Eastern modalities of massage are very healing to me as a practitioner and give me great pleasure and my client relief and relaxation.  I realize that without an external accountability source, I will keep putting off getting my paperwork together.  So, now that I’ve announced it, I will make it happen!

The image above was hand drawn by my daughter.  It’s of Ahsoka, the padawan of Anakin Skywalker from the Star Wars franchise.  I love that character, and this image was drawn before my daughter’s mental illness became so debilitating (she is much improved the last few years, but has yet to get back into art at this level).  This image represents the Divine Feminine Warrior to me.  I consecrated my massage studio in my Delaware dojo to the Divine Feminine Warrior.  So this image reminds me of why I do both karate and massage.  

My current Challenge progress as of June 25, 2026.