I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to travel to Japan for 2 weeks with a friend from the karate dojo. I can’t speak enough amazing things about this country. The food, the people, the history, the cities and natural beauty. All of them have surpassed all expectations. First stop was in Tokyo for […]
I am almost always on the go, be it for work, socializing, travelling, or doing recreational activities. In the same way meditation has been especially hard for me during my black belt testing, taking time to do nothing has also been very hard. I have been trying to do this more along with incorporating more […]
When I was coming up in karate the topic of emotions was not reguarly discussed. If it was it was in the context of anger. I heard the classical tale of the fisherman and the samurai. The moral is, if your anger goes forth, withhold your hand, and if your hand goes forth withold your […]
Finished book number 2 this weekend. The Power Of One More by Ed Mylett. I liked the concept of this book. Always pushing for one more, one more call to a loved one, one more repetition of a kata, one more interview for a job/promotion etc. Basically, that you never know what or where ‘one […]
Wow! I am still amazed that I am qualified to be a black belt candidate. I started karate many years ago because my son was doing it. I thought it would be good to have a similar activity that we could share and do together. I never in my wildest dreams imagined I would be […]
You didn’t know it then, but your black-belt test actually started on the first day you stepped into the dojo. You see, we have been preparing you since your first class to get ready for this seemingly impossible process. Every struggle, every sore muscle, every conditioning drill, every frustration was preparing you for this moment, […]
“Winning is not a sometime thing; it’s an all time thing. You don’t win once in a while, you don’t do things right once in a while, you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.” – Vince Lombardi Hi, I’m Phillip Debord. I’m honored to be your fight […]
This week was Thanksgiving! My family always hosts Thanksgiving, so this year was the same as the rest. It was a great time with lots of super good food. My dad is always the grill master so he makes the turkeys and any other projects he wants to experiment with. This year we had 2 […]
School this year has been going very well, I ended the first quarter with a 4.4 GPA! But challenges of a few big research projects are soon to come. Coming up with research projects in 11th grade is really tough. It’s like trying to find your way through a big maze. Picking a good topic […]
This week I want to talk about my personal goal I’ve been developing throughout my black belt test. This goal I set for myself was to learn better responsibility and self discipline. There have been many physical challenges throughout my test but they don’t compare to the mental challenges that one will go through. Responsibility […]