Category: Feel Good Story

A Little Water Goes A Long, Long Way…

Years ago, I had the opportunity to participate in a a fun weekend the likes of which I had never experienced before and haven’t quite experienced since. I’m talking the weekend I canoed down the Restigouche River. By the time I had reached my teens, I had the opportunity to camp overnight in commercial campgrounds and do SOME things outside, but I had never truly experienced the outdoors and surviving on my own until I had the opportunity to paddle down the river with one of my oldest and dearest friends. He likely won’t be reading this so I can flip some shit about him but I’ll mostly be focusing on our first trip down the river.

When my friend first suggested this trip, it was described as a 3-day ordeal of paddling and exposure to the elements. I wasn’t quite on board, especially since it would involve missing some karate classes but he finally convinced me. My friend’s family owned a rental company so we had the benefit of getting the canoe, supply barrels and various equipment for free. His mother took both our wallets with the thought that if we lost it in the river, we’d be screwed. As good a thought as that was, at the time, reflection on that aspect decades later tells me that if something had happened to us on the river, authorities would have had no way to identify our bodies. But it all worked out, so I guess I digress…

We were driven north-west by one of my friend’s sisters and dropped off at a launching site. The adventure started when we realized that we would be hit by a solid bout of rain before we got on the river. I foolishly thought that we would throw in the towel but my friend pointed out that it would be pretty silly to sacrifice 3 days of fun on the river for a little rain. I agreed and we cast off. Although we immediately got drenched by the rain, we had a blast. We paddled for a number of hours before we found a spot on the river that was out of water and safe enough to set up camp for the night.

Restigouche River, taken from Wikipedia

We got a fire going, set up the tent and had an hour of quiet reflection as we chatted and snacked on the side of a river. The following morning, we shared the chores of getting the camp taken down as well as making a makeshift breakfast in a cast iron pan over a roaring campfire. It was a fantastic morning. We even had a forest ranger come visit and chat with us over coffee for while. No devices, no internet, no distractions. Nothing but good conversation and the open river.

We took to the water early on and started paddling down. We arrived at a part of the river where there was a deep, clear pool of water. We parked the canoe and tied it off and got in the water and floated down river in our life jackets for a bit. We were able to see so many freshwater salmon rushing around us. It was a fantastic experience. We set up camp for the second time that afternoon and spent some time swimming, laughing, signing A Cappella and enjoying the silent peace of the wilderness. It made me wonder why I had never done anything of this sort before. Then, I remembered that I was a Type-1 Diabetic and my parents were paranoid and shielded me from life. But I digress.

We reached the shores of Atholville, which meant that my friend’s family would be around to pick us up shortly. We were dehydrated, exhausted but happy. Our 3-day transit was a combination of intense exercise from the paddling and being in the elements. Packing up the canoe and our equipment almost felt like a tedious endeavour and took forever. That ride back into town felt surreal; like being in the civilized world was something we had left behind. But it didn’t take long for us to get back to my friend’s Apartment where a hunger the likes of which I haven’t felt in forever took hold.

It was hard getting back to normal after that. A few years later, we would follow-up with a second trip down the river. It’s fantastic fun. I highly recommend enjoying some time in the forest where you ACTUALLY have some time to connect with nature and disconnect from modern life. It’s been a couple of decades since those two river trips and all the fun we had. Maybe sometime ion the near future, I’l need to find a way to introduce my sons to that same level of peace and nature. ☯️

A Quieter Weekend…

So for some reason, my son had yesterday off from school. He still had the Monday holiday off, but he was given Friday off, as well. I don’t know if my parents thought this, but I can’t help but feel that he gets WAY more days off than I ever did when I went to school. Anyway, because he had a four-day weekend, my mother-in-law agreed to come to Regina and pick him up for the weekend. The result is one less child in the house for the weekend. This posed an interesting opportunity since I typically have a pretty fixed weekend routine. Friday night is when Nathan and I have our boys’ night. Saturday night is when my wife and I have our movie/tv night. Sunday is for laundry, grocery shopping and prepping for the week to come.

With Nathan gone, my Friday night suddenly became open. I’m a creature of habit so I don’t do all that well when there’s a change in my routine. What would I do? An extra movie night? Play with the baby? maybe if I had something resembling a life outside of work, home and karate I would go out for drinks with friends. But I’m not one of those people. Then my wife had an excellent suggestion; I should still have my “boys’ night” but with Alexander. He very rarely gets to hang out in the basement with me and he’s always calling for me when I’m in the house so it made sense and it was a good suggestion.

As much as I love him and as much as I hate to admit it, Alexander often gets overlooked. The reason behind that is quite simple; he and Nathan usually can’t be in the same room for extended periods, lest they harm each other or destroy their environment. I would expect no less from my loin-fruit. But because of this, Alexander is usually relegated to the living room where his toys and the television is located. I’d hang out in there more often but my OCD can’t handle the mess he makes with his toys and when I DO hang out in there, Nathan usually comes to the gate to get my attention and causes all sorts of chaos.

I know, I know… First world problems, am I right? I have two strong, healthy children and that should be enough. But controlling them both is challenging and frustrating, which usually leads to me hanging out with Nathan downstairs while Alexander hangs in the living room. Not last night. Oh no, sir! Not last night… Last night, I had the opportunity to spend some time downstairs with Alexander without Nathan upsetting the delicate balance of tranquility and quiet enjoyment of my toddler. We watched cartoons, played some games and enjoyed some cuddles. It was nice but more than anything else, it was important.

Life goes by in a flicker. A very short flicker. Alexander just turned 3-years old a little over a week ago and it seems like time has just flown. I honestly never knew time could fly by so fast until I had children. But appreciating the little moments makes it all seem better. Alexander and I had a fun night, last night. I’m sure my son Nathan had a god time with his grandmother, as well. Making time for both my children can be challenging but so rewarding and important. ☯️

Size Matters Not…

One of the big things that makes karate so particular, is the fact that you don’t have to be big and strong in order to study and practice it. I still remember asking Sensei’s son, back in the late 1980’s about what it takes to be successful in karate. The conversation went a little something like this:

ME: “What do you need to be in karate? Do you have to be strong?”
HIM: “Nope.”
ME: “Do you need good speed?”
HIM: “Nope…”
ME: “So, what do you need?”
HIM: “Just concentration.”
ME: “That’s it???”
HIM: “Yup, everything else comes later…”

It would take a year or two before I would realize that he was right; despite the fact I was a scrawny little punk with no constitution and no bodily strength, I started to gain mass, speed and precision, all of which started increasing exponentially based on how hard I focused my attentions on my training and concentrated. Who knew he’d be right? I guess it was bound to happen once, right? (Just kidding, Guillaume! Please don’t track me down and kill me…)

Size and strength goes a long way. After all, if two people square off and one is 6-foot-5 and 230lbs and the other 5-foot-7 and 185lbs, there’s a VERY strong likelihood that the bigger guy’s strikes will have more of an effect than the little guy’s. But the eventual development of speed and accuracy is what closes the gap. It’s like basic, high school physics teaches us; if two objects of different mass are accelerating at the same rate of acceleration, the one with the heavier mass will have the greater force on impact. Or similarly, if an object with half the mass accelerates at twice the rate, it will have the same force on impact as the larger one.

I don’t want to muddy the waters with a bunch of physics (I’ve done enough of that in other posts). My point is that the smaller and less imposing opponent can still pose as much of a challenge to defeat as the larger, more muscular one. That ability comes from consistent commitment, concentration and focus on your art and skills. I have to say that a great demonstration of that concept comes from the most unlikely source: Star Wars. In Empire Strikes Back, Yoda makes a point of telling Luke Skywalker, “Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you? And well you should not.”

That was in 1980. Imagine my surprise and the collective gasps and surprise everyone had, 22 years later during Episode II: Attack of the Clones, where Yoda fought against Count Dooku and suddenly emerged from the diminutive, walking cane-carrying little green character to an absolute whirlwind of flips, acrobatics and lightsaber techniques. Given his limited screen exposure during the original trilogy, it came as a pleasant surprise to see him using his Jedi skills in all their glory during the prequel trilogy. This was reflected further during Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, where he fights against the Emperor.

The lesson here is that despite his small size, Yoda turned out to be amongst the most skilled and capable of his peers. The same concept applies to karate. When I look back at the weak, tiny and physically unimposing stature I had when I first started karate as compared to how I am now, I recognize that concept within myself. Granted, some of my mass and stature can now be attributed to my dad bod. But I digress… This is one of the things I enjoy about Cobrai Kai, as well. Some of the main characters were presented as having been what some consider to be skinny nerds, only to eventually turn out to become champions.

It shows that you should never allow what you perceive as your limitations to hold you back. Where you go and how your progress is entirely up to you. Karate has a place for anyone who choose to commit to it. Although different styles will suit different people, once you’ve decided on karate, you can go a long way towards building yourself up and achieving your goals. All you need is focus and concentration. Food for thought… Hey, look at that! I wrote a post that combines my martial arts and my nerdy, geeky side! Go, me! ☯️

Just For Laughs…

I gotta say, sometimes I just have to post something I’ve found because it makes me laugh or smile. Hey, they can’t all be long-winded explanations for shit, right? I found this while surfing other blogs and galleries. It took me several minutes to stop laughing over it, so here we are. Enjoy… ☯️

Tempus Fugit…

It seems like just yesterday that my wife announced we’d be adding a second bundle of chaos to our merry-go-round of a household… How in the light have we reached this point already? Yesterday marked my toddler-no-more Alexander’s third birthday. Because I’m busy and rarely on the ball, I didn’t post about it yesterday. And here we are…

There’s a lot to love about my chunky little red-headed ball of DNA. Besides his endless locks of bright, red hair (an aspect he inherited from both his mother and I) or the fact that he has some reasonable heft and weight to him that makes him formidable to handle, his slowly expanding vocabulary has started to make things interesting as he has begun to express himself and communicate more.

That, and his complicated and often violent relationship with his older brother keep things noisy and “interesting” within the Cook household. Although both brothers whine and pine for each other’s company, they rarely last more than ten to fifteen minutes before one of them ends up in tears. Such is the way with brothers, I guess. But I digress…

I still remember when Alexander was born. I was stuck in New Brunswick on a work-related trip and my wife went into labour during my absence. It took her, her mother and my mother to convince me that even if I jumped in a car and left for my departure airport that very moment, I still wouldn’t make it home in time. I was stuck on the other side of the country when my youngest-born came into the world, no doubt kicking and screaming. The light bless my mother-in-law, who came to my wife’s side and was there when I couldn’t be.

Since then, Alex has present a positive presence in our home. Always quick with a hug or kiss, he has a strong love for fighting and wrestling, hinting that he may be the successor in the martial arts that I’ve been wanting. He has a firm love for all of his family members and will usually get upset when he realizes that any one of us has left the house without him. His sneaky smile when he refuses to comply or listen is even adorable.

Happy birthday, Alexander! I can’t stress enough that I can’t believe it’s already been this long but after only three years, you’ve firmly rooted yourself in our lives to the point where I can’t recall how life felt before you came along. Such is the beauty of children. Here’s to many more happy years, my little peanut! ☯️

Cobra Kai Season 5: A Review (Major Spoilers)

As not only a life-long martial artists but a practitioner of karate, Cobra Kai holds a special place in my heart. The Karate Kid movies (not including that piece of shit with Jaden Smith in it, of course) introduced me not only to a genuine representation of Okinawan karate but the sequel introduced me to the beauty of Okinawa itself and firmly implanted itself as the place I would eventually wish to travel to, as I reached adulthood. I accomplished that dream in 2001 when I travelled to Japan and subsequently Okinawa with my Sensei and a couple of other students.

When Cobra Kai was originally introduced on YouTube, I was cautiously optimistic. The idea of a show based on what happened to Johnny Lawrence, decades after losing the big tournament was about as original and interesting a concept one could hope to have. Although a bit slow on the start (and limited to only two episodes without subscribing to youTube’s streaming service), it delivered some characters from the original movies reprising their roles 30 years later, and their roles appear to be reversed, with Daniel Larusso having become a successful business owner and Johnny Lawrence having fallen down on his luck and being essentially penniless.

The end of Season 4 sees all antagonists and protagonists facing off once again at the All-valley Karate Tournament, with Cobra Kai squaring off against Miyago Do and Eagle fang karate, led by Danial and Johnny respectively. A challenge was laid that meant the losing dojo would have to close its doors forever, leaving the valley to whatever karate dojo came out as winner. In an unexpected and refreshing twist of fate, the good guys actually lose, and Cobra Kai takes over the valley as its only karate dojo. The season closes out with Daniel speaking at Miyagi’s grave, about how he can’t honour an agreement made with someone who has none. He then asks for help in cutting the head off the snake and Chozen is revealed to be with him.

Now that you’re all caught up, let’s chat about season 5, which was conveniently released only a couple of days before my birthday. The season begins with Daniel and Chozen doing their best to try and derail Terry Silver’s plans, which also involved sending John Kreese to jail for a crime he didn’t commit, at the end of season 4. One of the things I enjoy about this series is that there’s a greater element of realism to it, than others series and movies. Granted, some of the multiple strikes to the head and prolonged fights are a bit of a reach but overall, it does a pretty good job. Cobra Kai and Eagle Fang’s use of high-reaching and spinning kicks speaks to its Korean background, which is also reflected by the style’s founder sending his granddaughter to assist Cobra Kai.

The series reaches its climax by having Daniel square off against terry Silver and delivering his well-known crane kick for the first time in 30 years to defeat Terry at the end of the season. The season ends with plenty of open opportunity to explore the characters further, especially since we see John Kreese escape from jail at the end. The crane kick was bittersweet… It was an odd mixture of excitement at seeing him use the technique and disappointment at how ineffective and stupid the crane kick is. This may be an unpopular opinion, but coming from a genuine martial artists, hear me out…

The crane kick is a ridiculous technique because you start by staging yourself on one leg. This is something that is incredibly dangerous to do against an opponent, especially one that means to do you serious harm. Although one could easily argue that all kicks involve putting all of your weight on one leg, the crane kicks requires you to visibly stand on one leg as your opponent approaches. Dumb. And unnecessary. Next is the placement of the arms. Holding your arms out to the sides like some drunken bird while exposing both sides of your rib cage is ridiculous. The entirety of the move leaves just about every aspect of one’s body exposed in a ridiculously unnecessary way.

I’m going to stop analyzing and simply go back to discussing the show, shall I? All in all, it was worth the wait for the season to release and one episode even brought tears to my eyes. There’s an episode towards the beginning of the season where Daniel decides to give up and throws in the towel, conceding and letting Terry Silver keep the valley. It isn’t until his wife brings him back to Mr. Miyagi’s old house, the dojo of Miyago Do, and talks him back into it. She opens the doors out to the dojo grounds to reveal not only all of his students but Chozen and Johnny Lawrence, as well. It was a dramatic reveal. If you haven’t watch ANY of Cobra Kai yet, first of all, come out from under the rock you’re living under. Then, grab some chips and a warm blanky and binge your way through the series. If you were an 80’s kid, it won’t disappoint. ☯️

Facts To Go Up In Smoke…

It’s not exactly a hidden secret that I enjoy an occasional cigar during my downtime. In fact, in recent months I’ve seen my “enjoyment” go from an occasional once or twice a month indulgence to a couple of times a week. Although it doesn’t particularly rank high on the list of things that are good for you, having the ability to sit quietly and enjoy a decent cigar provides a number of mental and relaxation benefits for me, the likes of which I haven’t encountered elsewhere in any easy way. Unlike meditation, sitting with a nice cigar allows for interruptions, such as kids asking questions or performing other tasks.

So where do cigars come from? According to a blog post I recently read, “Historians generally believe that the cigar was invented by the ancient Mayans, who would wrap the tobacco in a palm or a plantain leaf and smoke it.” The post goes on to explain that a Mayan pot from the 10th century has an image depicting a man smoking a cigar. You can check out the blog post here (hopefully the link works). the bottom line is that a cigar is considered a tightly rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco, which is usually sealed up at one end.

There are several different blends, sizes and brands of cigar, ranging from a variety of different places across the world. Although most sources will cite specific places and brands as being top quality and the Cadillac of cigars, but I’ve come to realize that for the purposes of relaxing, size, brand and style of cigar is completely up to the user. One doesn’t need to spend an absolute fortune on a cigar in order to enjoy the relaxation that comes from smoking one. For example, my favourite cigar is the Casa Magna Gran Toro cigar from Nicaragua. It retails at $16.99 and is the most expensive end of cigars that I enjoy.

If you’re cheaper than I am, you can usually find comparable examples for about ten dollars. Although that’s only a little cheaper than an average six-pack from your local liquor store, it’s important to bear in mind that unless you’re an unruly teenager striking out against one’s parents, you don’t get drunk more than once a weekend, so the safe bet is you likely wouldn’t be having more than one cigar a weekend. And since it can take well over an hour to properly enjoy a cigar until its end, you’re good to go. Granted, the big difference is there’s less of a stigma against sitting outside during daylight hours smoking a cigar than there would be against sitting outside during daylight hours hammering back a drink. But I digress…

So, what does enjoying a cigar entail? Well, the first step would be to pick one out. There are plenty of sites that will explain to you how to properly pick out a cigar and much like the fact that I wouldn’t presume to explain to you the quality of wine, I won’t try and tell you what cigars you should buy. Although I enjoy both, I’m an expert of neither, so you can look into how to properly pick out a quality cigar on your own. But once you’ve picked your cigar, you’ll likely need to cut the closed end. For this, you’ll need a good single-edged cutter. Trimming the closed end to expose a smooth, flat circle is important because this is where you’ll draw from.

Take it from me and spend the few dollars to purchase a reasonable cigar cutter. I once tried to cut a cigar using a pair of scissors and it did not go well. This is because the pressure of the scissors will cause the outer wrapping to not only buckle and tear but the scissors will likely damage the glue holding the outer binding and your cigar will likely come apart while you’re trying to smoke it. Then, you light the tip, preferably with wooden matches to avoid souring the cigar with a modern lighter. You don’t want to set the cigar in fire. Rather, you want to slowly turn the cigar slowly and allow the tip to burn lightly and evenly.

A cigar is meant to be enjoyed slowly and pleasantly, puffing and taking the smoke into the cheeks and exhaling lightly. You want to avoid inhaling into the lungs, since they’re significantly stronger than cigarettes and will irritate your lungs to no end. And smoking it too quickly will usually cause you to become nauseous and feel sick. A cigar is meant to be slowly enjoyed and savoured. If you want something fast, do shots. That shit is quick. Look at me, encouraging all sorts of vices…

Last but not least, enjoying a cigar is a very particular form of relaxation and is pretty niche, meaning that very few people will usually enjoy along with you. Most certainly, it’s something that’s extremely hard to enjoy around folks who don’t partake of them, as well. Personally, I keep a chair and table inside my garage and enjoy them by myself during the warmer months of the year. Either way, vices are to be enjoyed minimally or sparingly and cigar smoking is no different. ☯️

Let’s Get Corny…

My wife and I like finding activities for the boys to do, on weekends. Normally, we stick to conventional things like going to a play structure, indoor or out, or spending a couple of hours at a swimming pool or splash pad. The weather is slowly turning colder to the point where hanging out at the splash pad is less than ideal and even outdoor play structures are only comfortable during the afternoon when it’s a touch warmer.

This last weekend, we decided to try something a bit different and visited a corn maze. Our initial impression was that the boys had never been, although apparently Nathan has been to one with his uncle at some point (according to him). But we found one just outside Regina and decided it would be an interesting activity for this weekend, The weather was a bit on the cooler side, so we dressed accordingly.

I was pretty taken aback by how full the parking lot was when we arrived on site. They had a grassy parking area that was almost completely full of cars, yet there were no visible lines anywhere. I paid the admission and the first thing we came upon was the bus cut-out pictured above. The boys immediately ran to it to get inside, which was hilarious considering there was. Bouncy house, castle arch and other attractions nearby.

We’d found the maze entrance and made our way inside. It was quaint and reasonably large. Once we were inside, I was surprised by how hot it became. We all started shedding our sweatshirts before we got to the end of it. Although it was kind of cool, I have to confess that besides walking about, there wasn’t much of a draw to it. The boys were given lollipops by some kind of corn princess at the entrance and had they not gotten something sugary, I’m inclined to think they probably would have gotten bored pretty quick.

When we came out, we waited in line for our turn at a hay ride, which took us all around the maze and through a small forested patch. It was pretty cool and I think the boys enjoyed it. The clothing we wore still has some stray hay pieces on it. It was nice to get out into the fresh air and see something new. It was a good experience for the boys and we discussed going back before they close up for the season.

When we were done with the hay ride, the boys wanted to play on this massive thing called a jumping pillow. Basically, it’s a massive, single-piece bouncy-house that’s shaped like an actual pillow. The result of it being one-piece is that the entire thing shakes and moves violently every time ANY of the kids jump. The result is Nathan had loads of fun. My two-year old Alex did NOT. He never managed to get higher than the base, since he couldn’t gain his footing and couldn’t jump.

Despite the occasional attempts of help by his older brother, Alexander just couldn’t make his way up the bouncy pad. I could see that he was getting frustrated. Any attempts at having him get off the pad were met with resistance but I noticed a small kiddie train I could put him on that he’d likely enjoy. He pitched an absolute fit when I took him out of there but I would expect no less. Once he was on the kiddie train and it started driving away, he was fie and enjoying himself.

As is the case with almost every outing we’ve gone on, both boys sulked, cried and argued at our departure, but we had been there for a couple of hours and tried almost everything. It was definitely a good experience for the boys and something different from our usual habits. We’ll definitely be going back and next time we’ll bring cash, since everything inside is cash-based, once you’re past the gate. ☯️

Silence Is Golden: A Review…

There’s no debating that life gets pretty noisy. Between the hustle and bustle of the outside world AND the hustle and bustle within one’s own household, finding a few moments of silence can be daunting. That being said, there are other ways to find a moment of silence besides loading up and physically leaving your house. Bluetooth listening devices are all the rage and in fact, have been for quite a number of years. While Bluetooth used to refer to a single-eared device used to answer one’s phone, it’s become a standard means of connecting devices without cables and wires.

Wireless, Bluetooth earbuds are all the rage at the moment, with Air pods being the expected standard when using such devices with one’s phones. My workplace actually gifted their staff a pair of Bluetooth earbuds last Christmas but I quickly discovered that the shape of my ears wouldn’t accommodate the earbuds. I tried buying a set of generic ear buds to see if it was maybe the specific set, to no avail. It seems that jamming something into my ear doesn’t work for me. Go figure. I noticed months ago that one of my valued colleagues invested in a set of Bluetooth headphones, which allow for a better level of comfort and is supported by the head instead of trying to stay inside the ear.

I think I belong on GQ… Thoughts?

I decided that it might be worth looking into. I examined several sets from different brands until I landed on the pair I’m wearing in the photo above. Between the several retail locations I stopped at and all the brands I looked at, I started getting a little flustered. There are a LOT of different headphones out there. I was trying to balance price, quality and functionality, since I knew these would cost a small fortune no matter where I went. A few years ago, i purchase a small JBL Bluetooth speaker that has a carabiner on it, allowing to be hung or attached in various places. I absolutely LOVE that speaker and frequently use it when working out and cleaning. Since I was familiar and comfortable with JBL, I figured that was a great way to go.

I landed on a set of headphones, model JBL LIVE660NC. I purchased them because they were on special, came from a brand name I trusted and boasted a noise-cancelling function. Once I charged them up and got them tethered to my phone, I discovered that on top of ambient noise cancellation, it also allowed for sound and track control, answering phone calls and the noise cancellation is trippy. I mean, I can put the headphones on and hear my own breathing in my ears. I turn the headphones on and the sound of my breathing disappears. It’s quite weird but it’s a good thing. It allows for things in my environment to be blocked out so I can focus on either meditation, exercise or whatever.

If you can get your hands on a pair of these headphones, I would highly recommend it. It can be useful in the workplace, during exercise and even just during typical, household chores. It’s also an effective way of getting some white noise in your ears to help calm oneself and improve one’s overall mental and physical health. Go grab yourself a set, you won’t regret it. ☯️

Back On The Horse…

Is it still called getting back on the horse if it’s an old war horse doing it? I have to admit that I’m in a reasonable amount of pain, this morning. Last night was my first night back to karate after being off for the summer. Normally, this wouldn’t be a big deal but the dojo I train with is pretty traditional and doesn’t pull its punches (pun fully intended). It was a wicked workout and I got a solid burn on. It feels good to be back at it, i have to say. It’s been something of a struggling summer, with some of the hotter weather limiting the number of kilometres I’ve put on the bike and some of my workouts being a bit less than I would have hoped.

As one gets older, things become more challenging. That isn’t an excuse, it’s simply reality. If you would have asked me twenty years ago where i’d be RIGHT now, I’d like have told you I’d be a sixth degree black belt and teaching at my own school. It’s funny how life works. I do know that over the past two decades, I’ve already learned more than the average person will ever forget about karate and the martial arts. that nay sound like a boast and it’s intended as such. I’ve pushed myself pretty hard throughout my life. It’s the only reason I’m still alive.

I’m looking forward to this year. I plan on learning some new forms, participating at the fullest and learning a new style at a level I haven’t yet managed to do since moving out to Saskatchewan. Challenge accepted. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need caffeine. And probably ice, but I have to go to work, so ice likely isn’t gonna happen… ☯️