Birthday week it was for me on April 4th. Now I am 44 years on this earth and I have to say – so far, so good. I went to the doctor’s recently to get a physical – the first one since Covid started. All good! The only wear and tear is on my left […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Week 9 it is and the world changed. Russia attacked Ukraine in a ruthless act. Europe and the world are seeing the first war between two countries on European soil since the end of World War II. Humanity was pretty close to nuclear extinction in the last 70 years. Our younger generation (myself included) learned […]
“Lay your plans with true measure and then perform the work according to plan, thus you pass through life. Create your plan, and then work your plan.” (Miyamoto Musashi) This piece of wisdom is from “The book of five rings” from Miyamoto Musashi, the greatest sword master and strategist that ever lived. I tend to […]
We have it pretty good, you know?! We can learn and practice an art in an environment with no repercussions from anyone. We have sensei that do their best to keep us safe and healthy while teaching the art. Well, that was not always like that. A little bit more than 120 years ago karate […]
