The Journey, not the Destination

Wow. It's been quite a while. Seminary has taken precedence over my blogging, but not my training. In Sept 2017, I switched dojos - due to moving too far away from my dojo of the previous ten years. Even as I am frustrated with how many times I have moved and had to switch dojos, I am pumped about where I am now. I am studying Goju Ryu - from the very beginning. I am grateful beyond belief that my new Sensei has allowed me to keep my sandan rank. So - this morning, instead of my usual yoga/stretching routine outside on my back deck, I went through all of my new kata, a bunkai, and a renzoku. Mind you - I've only learned the patterns, not the essences. I share this list as much for you as for me to remember. Gekisai Dai Ichi Gekisai Dai Ni Geki Ha Kaka Ha Saifa Jin Choi Seiyunchin Gesaku Sho I'm still learning the patterns for Sanseru and Tensho. Y'all. My heart is full of energy and excitement and joy as I learn new techniques, new patterns, and new w...

It has been a long time since I posted ... I am now a full time graduate student and prioritizing things has been a challenge.  Not my training, but other things ... like my blog. Tonight's thoughts are inspired by a meme on Facebook ... It was in a dojo in 1983 ... hot, humid, no a/c in the summers, freezing cold in the winters, hardwood floors, no fans, no stopping for drinks, bow out and you leave ... it was in a dojo I learned to take myself to the floor and examine who I had been, who I was, and who I wanted to be ... it was in a dojo I learned to accept and embrace correction ... it was in a dojo that the truest part of myself began the arduous task of emergence. And I will do it again tomorrow night. It will be in a dojo ... I will face myself and grow.

As we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving in a few days, my mind is straying to whether I have been the kind of karate-ka that others are thankful for. Have I shown integrity in my training?  Have I lived a life that is the same in and out of the dojo?  Have I encouraged a distressed fellow karate-ka?  Have I pushed through the difficulties I face in my own training and in doing so give someone else hope?  Have I modeled well for others training with me? I just recently received my second degree black belt rank.  During that test, I ran head-on into some places in my training I have neglected.  Somehow I dug deep and made it through.  Now, I feel the weight of rank again – much the same as I did when I was first awarded shodan.  So I reflect again on what I am revealing to others in my training.  I have much to be thankful for.  And I join in with my dojo brothers and sisters in thanking my Sensei and all who have trained be...

Last summer several of us watched Olympic athletes from all over the world compete in just 2 weeks to see who would go home with the gold medals. Many times, the difference between silver and gold, or between bronze and 4th place was thousandths of a second or hundredths of a point. It really drives home the realization that only ONE person wins the gold. Even though those of us who train in martial arts aren’t necessarily running a race or trying to stick a landing or touch the pool wall first, ask yourself this: what would your journey as a martial artist look like if you WERE training for the gold medal? Let’s redefine what the gold medal might look like for us. Is it achieving the next belt rank? Showing up at Spirit Week every night it’s held? Is it losing enough weight to get into the next lowest size uniform? Is it making it through a class without jumping cadence and doing pushups? Although in a track event the finish line looks the same for everyone racing, our f...

In America today, loyalty can be seen in many forms.   The most blatant example might be avid sports fans.   Even when a beloved team is having a terrible season, a loyal fan will still cheer them on, hope for the best; and even attend games where a loss is expected. When the going in life gets rough, however, do we stay the course?   Do we remain focused on our path and our goals and refuse to allow what’s around us drag us off course?   The last of the traditional Bushido tenets, loyalty, or chugi in Japanese, seems to be the epitomal manifestation of the previous six tenets in a samurai’s life.   Judging from the origins of the word according to Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, its meaning is rooted in “allegiance to the sovereign or established government of one’s country”.   Over time, loyalty has come to embody allegiance to just about anything.   Dictionary.com defines loyalty as “faithfulness to commitments or oblig...

Politicians and celebrities using the media to downplay the shame of their misdeeds.   Fathers killing their children for choosing a different point of view.   Our culture’s understanding of honor – meiyo in Japanese – is seriously distorted and sullied.   It seems today that if we can get away with something or “sincerely apologize” if we get caught, then it’s ok to do whatever we want.   Our reputation, our family name, our honor doesn’t matter much anymore.   On the other hand, much arrogance and selfishness has been perpetrated in the name of one’s “honor”.   So what is it really? This is the 6 th virtue of Bushido.   Wikipedia states that honor is “a perceived quality of worthiness and respectability that affects both the social standing and the self-evaluation of an individual or corporate body such as a family, school, regiment or nation”.   The key word is perceived.   From multiple definitions of the word comes the idea tha...