Throwback Thursday My karate journey started some 20 years ago at the beginning of the 2000s. At that time I was still studying Civil Engineering in Cottbus, Brandenburg Germany. My friend Gunnar asked me if I wanted to do some self-defense. He knows somebody who is also a student and teaches karate. I was interested […]
More miles on my journey… Had the opportunity to meet with some running friends in Portland to participate in the annual Hood to Coast 196 mile relay run. The relay starts at the base of Mt. Hood and winds its way down through multiple towns, through Portland and ends on the coast at Seaside. I […]
Written by David Brezinski
Training in the alpine air! A few weeks ago, Dirk-san and I took a trip to my family cabin up at Huntington Lake. We departed from Sacramento after Thursday night sparring class, and arrived at the cabin after midnight Friday AM. After unloading and settling in a bit, we proceeded to get a restful nights […]
Written by David Brezinski
Hello Zen Martial Arts family, Today I would like to address you on a personal matter. As you might know October is Breast Cancer awareness month. This type of cancer is the most common type of cancer with 290k new cases in 2022 in the US alone. Chances are that you know someone that has […]
Written by Dirk Herfurth
Another check on my bucket list. I know I have shared this with some of my friends in the dojo and I may have even posted about it earlier this year. My niece and her fiance’ asked me to marry them (to officiate their wedding) which is truly an honor. When they asked me it […]
Written by David Brezinski
Kusanku & kata @ 7100′ A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to spend a week up at our family cabin; I immensely enjoyed the solitude, filling my lungs with the alpine air while getting some kata practice in on the cabin deck. A few chipmunks seemed to watch with interest, as did a […]
Written by David Brezinski
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade! Guess who got Covid? – Right, me! I am not sure if I have had Covid before. Yes, I was sick a few times for just a day or two in the last two years and it could have been Covid, or just a nasty cold. Who knows? […]
Written by Dirk Herfurth
You know what is cruel? Recovering from injury and getting back to pre-injury performance. You are losing stamina and strength super quick when you stop exercising, but it takes you so much longer to get back to where you used to be.I have reached a level where 200 pushups a day were no problem. Now […]
Written by Dirk Herfurth
Summer, sun, vacation time! I cannot believe that it is already beginning of July! Half of the journey is over. My wrists still being sprained and I cannot practice as much as I want to. However, patience is a virtue and I know I should not push my luck. It is getting better slowly. I […]
Written by Dirk Herfurth
Meanwhile we have had our dojo picnic on June 11th. This is always a lot of fun to get together outside the dojo. The last two years Covid threw a big wrench in our gears. So, this year we made it. Weather was nice, not too hot; just lower triple digits around early afternoon. Geneva […]
Written by Dirk Herfurth