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, […]
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
“A true friend doesn’t have guts; they beat you up and later plead with you to beat them back.”― Michael Bassey Johnson Today I am going to write about friendship and camaraderie. I believe both of these are interwoven and for me they have been a significant part of my karate training (and black belt) […]
Written by David Brezinski
Little update on my progress. All of the push-ups and sit-ups numbers are doing well. I am on course. Issues so far? My left shoulder joint hurts a little from all the exercise. I counter that with some turmeric/ ginger capsules. The use of turmeric dates back 4000 years in India and made it through […]
Written by Dirk Herfurth