I’m going to to have to take another (very short) break from blogging. Just for a couple of weeks. My grandfather died last week and it’s been really hard. We were very close while I was growing up and I’m going to miss him terribly. I’m flying out to Oregon this Friday for his memorial [...]
When I put this blog on hiatus last November I only expected it to be down for a couple of months. Silly me. I should know by now that anything I decide to do is going to take 2-3 times as long as I think it is. But I’m back and plan (cross fingers) to [...]
Martial Arts Mom has posted a challenge on her blog: Write a list of ten things people would be surprised to know about me. So here’s my addition to the meme: 10 Things People Would be Surprised to Know About Me (and may not even care ) 1. In college I worked as a local [...]
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I’ve always had a weight problem. In my 20s and 30s, I struggled with my weight on a constant and daily basis. It was on my mind practically every minute of the day from the time I got up in the morning until I fell asleep at night. Every bite I put in my mouth [...]
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Presidental Fitness Challenge: One week later and so far, so good. I finished last week with six days of exercise for a total of 1924 points. One week down, five more to go. Rank Testing: In my Integrity post, I’d written that I planned to test for my next belt rank on 18 April. I [...]
Recently, I sparred for the first time in 15 years. I think I must’ve taken the teenage black belt they put me up against by surprise. I watched his eyes go really wide when I sprang at him straight out of the gate. He’s one of Dynamo’s friends, so even though he’s seen me in [...]
self-con.trol n: control over one’s own impulses, emotions, or actions. –Webster’s Dictionary Okay, I admit it. Self-control is one of the main reasons I enrolled Dynamo in taekwondo. He’s struggled with self-control … well, basically since he’s been born. He tends to lash out in anger over the smallest things. I’ve talked to several men [...]
This post is my personal experience of being a martial artist with a chronic illness. I am not a doctor and nothing in this post should be taken as medical advice. Let’s face it – sometimes martial arts hurt. Injuries happen, just like they do in any other sport. I once broke my left big [...]
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The other day, my son asked my why I wanted to take martial arts in the first place. I was stunned. Not by the question, but by the fact I didn’t have an answer. I’d never even thought of asking the question. Why martial arts? For most of the other things I do, I can [...]
Okay – I have a confession to make: I’m not really a white belt. Not anymore. I’m not even 41, not since last December. But last May, when I signed my son and myself up for taekwondo at our local dojang, I was a 41 year-old white belt. So I know what it’s like to [...]
