My leg twitches nervously as I sit. The day I’ve been waiting for is here. Tomorrow I grade for my black belt in karate. (more…)
October 21, 2017
August 21, 2017
I sit down at the dining room table together with my wife and friends, our laptops open in front of us. We’re at my friend’s parent’s country home for the weekend, and we’re there to work. Each of us has a written package to put together as part of our (shodan) black belt submission. (more…)
July 31, 2017
Earlier, I wrote a post about five must-read books for martial artists. I’m a big fan of broadening your knowledge of a subject if you’re serious about it, and reading about others’ perspectives is one of the best ways to do that. (more…)
June 28, 2017
This post is the fifth entry in my Karate Life Lessons Series, a collection of posts that examines how lessons learned training in the martial arts translate into other areas of life as well. You can read the previous entry here.
What is karate training, exactly? One way to look at it is that, at its core, karate training is preparation to deal with a situation you hope will never actually materialize: one where you need to defend yourself against an attacker. (more…)
June 18, 2017
This post is the fourth entry in my Karate Life Lessons Series, a collection of posts that examines how lessons learned training in the martial arts translate into other areas of life as well. You can read the previous entry here.
I noticed something while I was training the other day. I realized I can do something that I’m not sure I could do before I began my training. See, I train with a good group of people in my dojo, and I like to have fun and laugh a bit while I train.
But the dojo’s a place of training first, and socializing takes second stage to that goal. What I found interesting though, is that I could go from laughing one moment, to completely serious and full intensity the next, and then back again, like flipping a switch.
Great. Who cares? (more…)
May 31, 2017
If you train in a martial art, you may already be doing some reading on topics related to what you’re studying. If not, you’re missing out. Martial arts books won’t make you a better fighter by themselves, make no mistake. But we both know there’s more to training than fighting… right? (more…)
May 14, 2017
I wake up rubbing my eyes, groggy and irritated by the sound of my alarm. Five more minutes. Then I remember: it’s grading day today. Shit, I slept in. Get up, get up!!
My wife and I both have our pre-black belt grading today. It’s more intense than the black belt grading itself, because we represent our sensei’s dojo there. Since our performance is a reflection of his, and we’ll be compared to students from other dojos, he tends to… uh, let’s say make sure… his students are ready to handle the challenges of the day. (more…)
In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities. In the expert’s mind there are few.
April 30, 2017
April 19, 2017
It’s a broad question with no single, definitive answer. What does a black belt really mean? What is its value? I’ve been thinking long and hard about this lately, especially as I prepare for my own black belt grading. (more…)
April 12, 2017
I’ve said before that all arts have a tempo, a rhythm, a flavour to them. The very best performances evoke some emotion in their audience. So today we’re going to talk about cooking; specifically, cooking soup.
But first, let’s change gears for a moment to focus on something my karate sensei said. (more…)