Loved the rain!!

This a comment I saw today which was good. We certainly need the rain in southwest georgia. The next comment is what got me.  " I can do without the lightning". See the thought of the lovely rain wasn't enough without a negative sidebar.
Sometimes we need to enjoy what is happening without trying to "over think" or control a thought. the lightning is part of the rain event so it comes with it sometimes.
I see this in training in that a student will say " I want a black belt"  How Long does it take? See the event is there but sometimes we aren't sure we want the WHOLE  "event" ie the years of training and such!!
So Enjoy the moment,enjoy the lovely rain and the powerful lightning. enjoy the smell of the appraching storm and the thunder and the pitter patter of the raindrops. ENJOY the Moment!!!

LOVE THE RAIN!!!

life gives!!

I frantically planted some withering hostas this weekend and hoping they would make it and take root I kept my fingers crossed. I added special dirt and  extra fertilizer all to jump start and give the plants a better chance. of course it was my procratination that put the poor Hostas in jeapordy.
 Any way as i was concerned about the future for these beautiful plants a few precious drops of rain hit me! Yahoo!! here comes a wonderful shower of rain!!
See, Life gives us what we NEED when we NEED it!!!

Life is Good!

space

When we walk into a room we notice all the things occupying the space in the room. The space is always there. The walls define the space the things occupy. we need to notice "space" in alot of things we do.
 In martial arts space is defined as maai and it is very important. if we misjudge maai our noses tend to get hit!!
Space also gives us time to observe the dilema facing us and decide what to do so ,again, space is important.
So the next time you walk into a beautifully appointed room notice how the "space" is used. Alot can be gleaned from the use of "space"!!

train often...

training

In my reading today I read that "just because you can swing a golf club doesn't mean you can play golf"
 Yes, you can "play" golf but probably not very efficiently. So having picked up the club you are at least exposed to the game!
Of course this leads to our progression in karate. Just because we can punch and kick doesn't mean we understand or can produce good karate! it's a start but as I like to say---Train often....

permission to train

Over the years I have heard every excuse for NOT training. here's a few. No time, no room to workout, no GOOD instructor( this will be another blog), No money, no family support,etc.
I totally understand however I was admonished by one my girlfriends moms way back in the day for being late for a date. she said to me " If you wanted to be here on time you would have been here" "People do what they really want to do!" she of course was protecting her daugther because I had hurt her feelings and Moms are the best protectors!! Little did she know i would take this to heart and be blogging about this 45 years later.
She was right!! Think back over your life and see the times YOU made time for the things you really wanted to do and all the ways you made them happen. Karate is one of the things I had in my heart and I made happen.
So, if you really WANT to train it will happen. Give yourself permission to make it happen!
train often...

Great class!!

I have been training in martial arts for the last 40 or so years and along the way i teach and every class I am taught.
Last nights training was very cool in that I could see "aha" moments all through the class. There was a moment that one student said" I have never done that before" in relation to a LEFT leg crescent kick and the moment i actually did a jumping side kick and the reply was " did sensei do a jumping kick?" Which I know was a revelation for all!!
the lesson was that we all have "aha" moments even after 40 + years of doing what we love.

train often...

I found these at Unique japan. Everyone should have a "good" pair of chopsticks!

These are alot like our training in that they are natural without Too smooth a surface so as to be able to "pick up" the important things like the last bite with all the gravy on it!!
have a good 'un!!

Train often......

 

Natural-cut Ebony Chopsticks

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

Fits so naturally in the hand, you hardly notice you’re eating with chopsticks. Transport yourself through time: early chopsticks must have had a similar look and feel.

Featuring a rough yet elegant texture, these hand-carved ebony creations make a captivating statement at the table. Great to have around for entertaining.

Details include:

Fits comfortably in the hand of the user, extremely well balanced.

Completely hand crafted from ebony using traditional methods perfected over 80 years.

Length: 23.5cm (9.25″)

Preferably hand-wash, although dishwasher safe

Set comes with a hand-carved wood chopstick stand.

Handmade smoked bamboo carrying mat available (highly recommended).

Remarkable craftsmanship. A pair of chopsticks designed to last a lifetime. How the chopsticks are made:

1. Cut the carefully selected wood to the desired size. The wood used is either imported rosewood or ebony.
2. Carve the wood until it reaches a preferred state.
3. Once a group of chopsticks are created, they are dampened and spun together to create a unified length.
4. With approximately seven chopsticks laid side-by-side in one hand, the craftsman polishes the chopsticks into their final shape.
5. The chopsticks are polished again and laid to dry naturally under the sun for 1 day.
6. A final polish and buff is applied, thus delivering a distinguished shine that helps to preserve the wood. With time, the chopstick will “age” gracefully and beautifully.

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Natural-cut Rosewood Chopsticks

Steal from the master...

I am delving more and more into sumi-E or Ki painting and came across a reference material entitled "Copying the master and Stealing his secrets" by Jordona and Weston which in of it's self isn't that big a deal.
 what is a big deal to me is that I have told this by many High level karateka. this book is about painting!! I thought "wow,how cool is that" painters "steal" also.
Of course the stealing isn't about physical theft from the master ,although I have "borrowed" and returned a bunch of books unbeknownst to the master, but in terms of watching,experimenting and trying to see what it is the master is pursuing. I am reminded of the cost of such 'stealing" from a sword maker in that it would cost a student his hand or an eye,back in the day, so judicious use of this manner of learning is to be done with caution!
It is a challenge to try new things and not be afraid to mess up stuff. My son has a favorite saying in his home that goes"What would I do today if I knew I wouldn't fail?"Schuller. I try to remember that when I pick up a brush or run a kata.
So i quess "stealing" is part of the process as long as it's done with a servant's heart!!

beginner mind

I had the priviledge to help judge an inhouse shotokan tournament for white belts. This was a priviledge because unless we do some of these after the years we forget that the "beginner mind" is still alive and well.
A couple of new black belts were asked to help also so they could get the experience of judging in a formal format. I observed that they were very quick to say "no you go first" in regards to sitting in a panel. This is normal and OK in that they realized that their expertise wasn't in the logistics of a tournament only in the action of fighting or running kata.
The take away for me is that whether we are old hats or new Black Belts the "beginner mind" never leaves....

Train often..

shotokan karate journey-lesson One --Humility

I began my martial arts journey with a free class won at a national hemophilia charity event. Who knew the martial arts would be in my 'blood' for the next 40 years!
I began in TaeKwon-do under Master Kang Rhee in Memphis ,Tn. Master Rhee was instructor to Elvis Presley.
Master Rhee came to US in 1963 and established a well respected martial arts school in tennessee. His strengths to me were technical. he always pushed us beyond our current "capacity" which i deeply respect now 40 years hence.
I went for my brown belt test on a particularily hot afternoon and as was his custom we had to go through all the days class before testing which was about 2 hours and then we would begin testing. this day was undoubtly a bad day for Master Rhee in that our test ran about 1 1/2 hours and at the end of testing he told myself and a couple of other people testing to come back next week--we weren't ready!!!
I couldn't believe it. what would i know one week later i didn't know then.. Well, I learned, it was humility!!!
Went back the following week with my tail between my legs and saild through the same 3 hour test and never
blinked. I realized Master Rhee wanted to see if I would fold or return. Brown belt is that time in our training we are tested to see if we really can be TRUSTED with the training we have received and which was about to be more intense!!