Challenges & Opportunities I honestly do not feel like writing a blog entry today. I do not feel like I have a lot to say or share. But, as to not fall behind on my black-belt requirements (well, except for sparring), here I am. This morning I ran a 5k to celebrate a friends birthday. […]
Recap of the Sly Park camp week. One of the main educational purposes was to familiarize the kids with their backdoor nature. Besides learning about environmental threats like wild fires, drought or invasive species there was also a lot of focus on the experience of being part of this whole ecosystem. One exercise was sitting […]
Written by Dirk Herfurth
This week one of my challenges for this year took place in form of chaperoning my 6 grade son’s week long field trip to Sly Park Education camp. To be honest, I was a little concerned of how it will be spending a full week in a cabin with 13 smelly 12 year olds. However, […]
Written by Dirk Herfurth
Zen in the Martial Arts – By Joe Hyams Reading ‘Zen In The Martial Arts’ there are many things that wholly resonate with me and my experiences thus far as an aspiring black-belt candidate and martial artist that is very much a work in progress. Whether it be “Emptying my cup” or “Seizing the Moment” […]
Written by David Brezinski
Broken Hand…but resolute spirit! Sparring! A hook punch to Dirk-san’s right hip bone and one broken metacarpal. It happened so quickly just three weeks ago. “The time to strike is when the opportunity presents itself.” (The Code of Karate – Isshinryu, #6) About 1-minute into our 3rd or 4th two-minute sparring round, I saw the […]
Written by David Brezinski
This Friday we had a special practice session at the dojo. Sensei was talking with us about the two first codes of Isshinryu. 1. A person’s heart is the same as Heaven and Earth. 2. Blood Circulating is Similar to the Sun and the Moon. These codes represent Master Shimabuku’s views on life and the […]
Written by Dirk Herfurth
Mind without mind – Mushin Over the years of my training and the special code of karate class I attended last Friday, Sensei Oliver has shared the meaning and its relevance to developing as a student of Isshinryu. While I can understand this conceptually, actually achieving this mental state of “no mind” is much more […]
Written by David Brezinski
“Pain and pleasure like light and darkness, succeed each other.” – Lawrence Stone Sunday sparring and accepting the pain. It is what it is! As Ike-san, Dirk-san and myself took turns sparring, my final round for the day was an attempt on my part to get in a step-in right fist hook punch on Dirk-san. […]
Written by David Brezinski
This Saturday there was a welcome change to the routine. My son and I attended a sword casting class at the dojo. Throughout the morning we learned what different types of swords there were throughout antiquity. We decided to cast a xiphos, a double-edged one-handed Greek short sword. We built the mold with sand and […]
Written by Dirk Herfurth
Quick update on my progress. I have done ¼ of needed quantity for both the pushups and the crunches. For Kata I am almost a third down. Over the last few weeks the mileage counter was low a little bit due to the weather and travel. However, now that the sun is coming out more […]
Written by Dirk Herfurth