Category: Martial Arts

It’s Not A Solitary Journey…

Once ion a while, you may encounter someone who has the ability to push through and reach their goals without any assistance or guidance from the outside world. These people are pretty rare and are the exception to the rule, not the common theme. And even for those who go it alone, they’ve usually learned the skill or reached the goal they’ve set by learning from a source that was written, filmed, developed or provided by an another individual. If you look at it from that perspective, they’ve still gotten help from someone else. And there’s an important lesson to learn from that…

Originally, and I’m talking way back before we stood upright, humans were nomadic animals. We stopped long enough to find food, mate and bear children and move on. Eventually, as we evolved and progressed, we came to realize that certain things were easier when we stuck together. There was strength in numbers, we were safer in packs, food was easier to attain and we could maintain a better lifestyle in groups. This became the norm as humans eventually became sedentary and would seek each other out for this purpose. Although you can still find the odd individual here and there who lives completely off grid and by themselves, they’re pretty rare.

The moral of this morning’s narrative is that humans have evolved to come together to tackle common causes. And some of them are substantial enough that they would be all but impossible to learn by oneself. And this is where karate comes in. I recognize that someone, somewhere, closed their fist and used it as a weapon for the first time, although one could argue that this was likely more instinctive than anything. But for anyone who has studied karate extensively, can you imagine trying to learn that art by yourself? Sure, you could find books and videos, either online or in stores but there’s nothing that quite substitutes the presence inside the dojo.

Everyone who is in the dojo has come together for a common cause; to learn the art. Although one’s reason for wanting to learn may be different than another, that end result will always be the same. This is why it’s important to come together within the dojo and help each other out. There’s no room in a traditional dojo for egos, attitude and cheering for one person over another. The dojo environment is meant to serve as a safe space for all students to learn. The only thing worse than a McDojo (look it up, I’ve written several posts on this) is a dojo where the instructor ignores, belittles or openly ignores one of their students.

I once wrote about something referred to as the martial arts ladder. The concept is pretty simple: a student advances and progresses to a point where they can teach and pass on knowledge to another. Once the other student begins to learn and progress, they may climb that ladder and surpass the one who was helping them along. It’s important at that point to stop, turn around and assist that surpassed student in climbing higher as well. And this is how we grow, by helping each other up one rung at a time.

Last but not least, it’s important to communicate within the dojo and with your instructor. If you feel that you aren’t being treated fairly or that there is something off, you should talk about it. Although there are rules of conformity within any dojo and it’s important to show proper respect, your instructor likely can’t teach you properly if they don’t know there’s a problem. And it genuinely sucks to be training in an environment while suffering in silence. Talking about such things is not a sign of weakness but a sign of maturity; the modern dojo has no place for the disregard of a student. Food for thought… ☯️

Unseen Enemies

There can be a lot of obstacles and unseen enemies when one is trying to accomplish any fitness, health or martial arts goals. Some of these that include things like lack of motivation, discouragement, wanting what others have (seeing more advanced students or their progress) and even seeing others discouraging or making fun of people who are trying to better themselves. That last one is particularly bad but as anyone who’s rocked out to the soundtrack of Rocky IV, “it’s you against you; the paradox that drives us all.”

We are our own worst enemy. Sometimes, this is a results of how we’re biologically programmed. As living things, our bodies are designed to preserve energy and be at rest as much as possible. This can often make it difficult to push through, when we need to attend karate classes, do workouts at home or try and find the energy to play with one’s kids. This is aggravated when one has a condition that causes apathy due to blood sugars. I’m not complaining (anymore than usual), jus’ sayin’… But there’s a reason why people always shit like, why put off ’til tomorrow what you could be doing today.

Most people always believe that they have more time and that it doesn’t matter. “Meinh, I’ll get to it tomorrow” or “I’ll start AFTER this weekend…” People rarely stop to consider the damage that’s done while waiting for that better time or the time they lose BECAUSE they wait. We are our own worst enemy, and there are consequences to putting off until later what we can start on, today. A perfect example of this was made clear to me last Saturday; not so much from a fitness standpoint but on a personal level.

A few weeks ago, I made my peace with the fact that I had to start mowing my lawn. Although I enjoy the perks of owning my own home as opposed to renting, I absolutely abhor yard work.That means that things like lawn-mowing, weed removal and all those different things that one needs to get done for the outside of their home, I despise. I rather be writing, doing karate or playing with my kids. Adulthood, am I right? The point is, I had dandelions sprouting and my front lawn looked like shit so I popped in my earbuds, grabbed my lawn mower and got to work.

I only planned to finish the front lawn and call it a day. By the time I finished the front, I decided to start tackling the rear. I managed to get half of the back lawn done before my upper back and shoulder started reminding me of my age. This sucks on many different levels, because I couldn’t plan on when I would get to the second half and my OCD was really going to LOVE seeing half the grass at a different growth level. The following couple of days, one thing after another came up that gave me excuses not to get to it.

The following weekend, we were out as a family, doing our weekly family activity and I planned on getting the lawn done once we got back. But my neighbours were staining our side of a piece of fence they were using as a windbreak for their sitting area. Didn’t seem polite to start mowing some lawn right by their ankles or potentially throwing up grass clipping against freshly stained wood. I opted to wait until later so that the fence’s staining could dry. Are we seeing a pattern of behaviour here? Putting off a needed chore?

That was over a week ago and last weekend I decided it needed to get completed as the back half of the rear lawn was starting to look like a small jungle. The result of my laziness was no small task. As a result of my putting off this chore, my weak-ass electric lawnmower had no chance of cutting through that tall grass. I had to spend over an hour with a whipper-snipper, cutting through it all manually. Then I had to rake and collect all the clipped grass by hand before finally running the mower over the clipped grass to bring everything back into balance.

Several hours work for what would have only been about an hour of lawn-mowing, had I been smart enough to get off my ass and get it done when i should have. My apathy and unwillingness to push through my urge to stay comfortable actually caused me a greater effort once i had no choice. And yes, I’m writing about clipping grass, which isn’t exactly a life-altering thing. But the lesson applies to all things in life. Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can jump on today. Start those fitness goals. Start eating cleaner. Build some goals and start working towards them. Everyone thinks there’ll always be more time; until there isn’t. Food for thought… ☯️

Back On The Old Warhorse…

Well, my first week back to karate after recovering from my rib injury was a great success. And what’s more, I managed to make all three classes without missing a single minute. This is a catch-22, since I feel ridiculously exhausted but satisfied that I attended the full week. I can admit that my ribs and muscles ache but this is to be expected. Mix this with a couple of days’ rain in the Regina area to add some pain in my old joints and it made for a Friday night chock full of relaxation to prepare myself for the week to come.

It was good to be back and the increased temperatures accompanying the coming summer also made the workouts particularly rough. There doesn’t appear to be any A/C in the dojo… (did I SERIOUSLY just type that???) Talk about first-world problems. But I did recognize that two months of basically sitting still and doing nothing seems to have contributed to my overall weight. I could definitely feel the difference. I’ll have some significant work to do over the summer to get myself back into shape. The good news is I found out that our dojo only closes for the month of August, which means I’ll have in-person training all summer.

Short but sweet post today but what can I say? I can’t ramble on for pages and pages every day. ☯️

A Dose Of Reality To End Your Week…

Folks, one of the big things that tend to grind a traditional martial artist’s gears is how fight are portrayed on television and in movies. And don’t get me wrong, I’m a big fan of a good action flic and I’ve enjoyed the cheesiest of them (Van Damme’s drunken dance scene in “Kickboxer” comes to mind). But one needs to understand the realities of how fights actually go and how they can and can’t happen.

The first biggest problem is the David and Goliath concept. Most people love this kind of a scenario because it pits a small underdog against a much larger and formidable opponent. Nothing feels better than seeing the little guy who spent the whole first half of the movie getting bullied and pushed around, kick the ever-loving shit out of the goon who started it all. But let’s examine some basic physics for a moment, shall we?

There’s a lot to be said for skill and training. In fact, consistent and progressive self-defence training will assuredly ALWAYS improve one’s chances of defending oneself and getting out of a sticky situation. But the important takeaway is that actual fight situations are just that; a means to an end, that end being to get out and get away before you or someone else becomes seriously injured. The concept of two persons squaring off in some lame attempt at righteous indignation, defending someone’s honour or finding vengeance for someone else doesn’t happen. This is only movie magic.

The next problem is when we see a smaller opponent dominating a larger one. Although I mentioned that there’s a lot to be said for training, one needs to understand that a 95-pound person likely won’t fare well against a 200-pound opponent once they get their hands on them, training or not. It’s simple physics and the reason why most combat sports Ike boxing, wrestling and MMA have weight classes. Even though I believe the smaller fighter would likely get some good shots in, the heavier opponent just has to bare down on them with their total weight and it’s lights out. For the most part.

Another issue on the docket is how we always see dragged out fights that last up to half an hour, all while both sides are delivering strikes to sensitive areas that would likely seriously injure or kill a real person. My favourite is a snap kick to the face where you see the mouth flop over in slow motion while saliva or blood flies out. Classic. But I digress… Even if a person managed to stay conscious through some of those severe strikes to the head or managed to remain standing after those devastating blows to the body, they wouldn’t be able to brush off the second or third, meaning the fight would depend on who’s lucky enough to land those critical strikes in the first minutes. This is certainly where training has its benefits.

I’m actually a perfect example of that last paragraph, having taken a single strike to the rib cage that basically had me off my feet for well over a month. It wasn’t even my opponent’s full strength, but it’s placement and technique were enough to cause damage. Interestingly enough, my opponent was larger than me and as I’ve often brought up before, mass times acceleration is what creates Force, so the greater the mass, combined with reasonable acceleration is all that’s needed. A smaller opponent would have less mass, leading to less Force. There. Now, you can pass high school physics. you’re welcome.

Again, I absolutely love a good underdog movie… After all, that’s the whole point of television; to escape reality and garner some enjoyment at the same time. If things get too real on a show I’m watching, I get bored. I can find reality anywhere. Except in the minds of. Non-martial artists who think that fights actually happen the way they’re portrayed, apparently. And THAT’s the problem. ☯️

Back In The Saddle…

I walk out of the office, exhausted and committed to getting home, pouring drink and binge-watching Sons of Anarchy while my son plays at my feet and I write some posts based on whatever thoughts drift through my head. I get home and my children are blessedly quiet and occupied as I greet my wife. She has supper started and I discover my oldest has a batch of homework that needs doing, especially since he was home sick on Friday. No worries, I think… I can hammer this out with him before I eat then have the evening to relax. “The hell, you will…” says my wife. “You’re going back to karate tonight.” Guess my plans have changed…

I pack my gym bag after having it empty for over eight weeks. I had washed my gi a few weeks prior. I feel a near-paralyzing sense of anxiety at the thought of putting myself in a room with punches and kicks coming at me. I reached above my head and stretched the left side of my rib cage, aware of the tightness and aching that remains. My wife comes and checks on me, aware that I’m trying to cram as many of my chores in as I can before leaving. I manage to get my son’s homework done well in advance. I no longer have ANY excuse… It’s time to go back.

I leave my house thirty minutes before our 8 pm class is slated to start. The stairs to the third floor feel higher than usual and I wonder at the reception my absence will have elicited. I walk in to see one of the youth classes nearing its end. Sensei Mike is leading it, and we make eye contact for a brief moment before he continues on. I walk into the locker room and change into my gi, my arms feeling leaden as I dwell on the first class I’ll attend since early April. I walk out onto the main dojo floor in time to see the youth class finish up and bow out.

Sensei Mike greets me warmly and asks where I’ve been for the past while. That first minute tells me that he doesn’t know about the injury I sustained during our workshop. I explain my absence and the injury and I see Mike’s face change behind the masks we’re still required to wear. On the one side, I’m glad he didn’t know about the injury as he likely would have dwelled on it during my absence. We discussed the various lessons that he and I should be associating to what happened and how we could share it with the student body.

Monday night was my first class back. I practiced, I trained and I broke a sweat. It was a good burn and a good feeling. Tonight will be my second class back. And that’s the way of it; like walking a long journey requires one step at a time, my return to peak condition will be the same. One class at a time. Yesterday was my cardio day. My legs are killing me, today. Small price to pay. Combining karate training with cardio will lead to weight loss, increased speed and reflexes and hopefully regaining a little something of what I’ve lost in recent years. Let’s go take that next step… ☯️

I Dream Of Okinawa…

I’ve written about some of my time in Okinawa, a journey that took place exactly one month after 9/11 happened and the world changed forever. 9/11 just happens to be my birthday, which made it all the worse. I don’t pretend to compare my personal pain with any that the people directly involved with those tragic events have to have felt but I know that it affected me in ways I still haven’t recovered from, as well. And although I realize that I’ve often written about the martial arts aspect of my time overseas, I’ve never really spoken about some of my personal experiences in Okinawa. And that would be a fuckin’ shame…

I could get into the entire journey TO Okinawa, which included a couple of cities in the US as well as some within Canada… I still have camcorder film of the entire journey (yes, I still have a camcorder) but I’d rather share some of the feelings I experienced while over there. Okinawa was among the best experiences of my life. Besides the fact that it’s the birthplace of karate, my journey and time there changed me in ways that never would have happened if I hadn’t gone over there…

Once we were in Naha, Okinawa we checked into our hotel. I wish I could remember the name of the place but all I remember is the Japanese pronunciation of my room number, which was “San-Yaku-nana” (room 307). Picture what would be a cold October morning in Canada… chances are that you’ll wake up shivering if your furnace isn’t going yet. in Naha, we were woken by temperatures in the mid to high 30’s… We usually shared a breakfast of eggs and toast together in one room before deciding how our day would go.

Outside of our obligations to the Uechi family, we spent a good amount of our down time on the beach. Although it was 40 degrees Celsius during the afternoon and extreme summer weather for us, it was actually late autumn for the Okinawans. They were all in long pants and jackets while we were in shorts and splashing in the ocean. It was a strange contrast, especially since the Okinawans were curious and watchful of the strange white people who were cray enough to swim in the ocean during the “cold” months.

During the evenings, we would enjoy Japanese beer and Sake while reminiscing of our time in training… Memories that no camcorder could capture. During the day, we visited Zen Buddhist monasteries at my request as well as shopping locals that featured much of the culture that makes Okinawa uniquely beautiful. I got to experience chocolate-covered grasshoppers and prayed in a few different monasteries. It was great. Nothing quite like getting a front row seat to the culture one was raised on, to change one’s perspective.

The sense of peace and belonging I felt in Okinawa hasn’t been replicated since. The people, the culture and the beauty hasn’t struck me in the same way ever since. The thought that Sensei has been back about three times since then breaks my heart, because I was never able to join him. But one must never live life with regrets, right? I only bring it up now because I’ve recently been dreaming of it… Okinawa has penetrated my very soul. Maybe I’ll get back there someday. in the meantime, karate may be the only piece of it I have left to hold onto. ☯️

The Funny Thing About Fear, Is Everyone Is Afraid Of It…

Fear is a natural thing. People don’t usually think it is but it is. Fear is a natural reaction to something that could bring harm or is considered dangerous against oneself or others. Most people spend the majority of their lives trying to avoid fear, as though it expresses some level of weakness to be afraid. It starts quite early in life, with parents trying to convince children not to be afraid of the dark, what may be under the bed or in the closet. As adults, we acknowledge that these fears are pointless because we’ve grown and come to learn that there’s nothing to fear. Children haven’t had this benefit at so early an age.

None of this stops us from trying to rationalize and dismiss one’s fears, children or otherwise. And while it may seem normal to get frustrated with a child who may be afraid of the dark, what happens when some fears penetrate into adulthood? Worse yet, what happens when an adult develops a new fear based on experience? Should it still be rationalized and dismissed? What if it disrupts or damages something within your adult life? Sometimes it can be easier to ignore a problem than to deal with it. But as adults, we need to use that logic to figure out an intelligent solution to our fears, as opposed to ignoring them.

As some of you may have recently read, I suffered an injury back in early April. This injury included damage to my rib cage as well as the muscle wall covering said ribs. It happened in karate class while training through a weekend seminar and as much as I’d like to say that I should recognize that it isn’t a fuckin’ knitting circle, it’s a combat art, I have to admit that getting hurt IN karate is something that I’ve not only never experienced before, it’s caused me some apprehension in going back.

I really didn’t think it would, at first. I spent weeks on muscle relaxants and pain killers, trying to heal and get over the injury. I lost several nights’ sleep and spent most of those nights curled up in a cold sweat, crying out the pain. Despite having trained for several decades, I have NEVER been injured to this extent while training in karate. Oh, I’ve been injured and required recovery but never anything like this. And never as a result of a karate class.

As the weeks have trickled past, I’ve recovered slowly, able to move easier, breathe easier and finally able to get some sleep without crying. I made a point of acting tough at work but it had a profound effect. I kept telling myself that I would soon be ready to return. But recently, I came to realize that despite being completely healed, I felt an intense level of anxiety and stress at the thought of returning to class. It’s been debilitating and has had me finding every excuse in the book NOT to go to class. I have no fear of facing the other black belts; we understand the risks and potential injuries that come with training. This is all me. This is all in my head.

Considering I was badly injured and needed almost two months to recover, my fear is not irrational. I know that. But my anxiety over reintroducing myself into the dojo is. And eventually, I’ll run out of excuses. When that time comes, I’ll need to decide whether I hang up my belt and move on to a different chapter of life or if I stick to my plan of continuing my martial arts journey and continue to learn. As a family man, I have an obligation, now more than ever, to maintain the ability to defend myself and my family. I also need to continue working towards maintaining my health, especially if I expect to live long enough to see my grandchildren. Food for self-thought… ☯️

A Little Change Can Go A Bad Way…

Every one of us at some point in our lives, have seen something that has made us jump up and say, “Wow, I should really try that…” Although that can be fine in small doses, major changes in lifestyle, nutrition or exercise regimens can have severe side effects that one should rather go without. This can apply to almost anything and is why it’s so important to consult your family doctor or medical practitioner prior to making any of those changes.

I know some folks who woke up one morning and decided they were going to go “carb free.” Hey, that’s great and I get it. Maybe you want to lose a bit of weight. Maybe you want to get healthier and slim down so you don’t feel bloated all the time. But here’s a little secret that most people don’t seem to acknowledge: you need carbohydrates. Carbs are the body’s fuel and cutting them out entirely usually isn’t healthy. Although you don’t need (nor should you) gorge yourself on carb-heavy meals several times a day, it also should be cut out completely.

Maybe you just think a new exercise routine looks wicked cool and you think it could be loads of fun. And it may be. You just need to be educated about the risks before doing so. One good example I can think of, is a couple of summers ago when I decided to break my 60-kilometre record on the bicycle for the first time. I took all my usual precautions and I had cycled for 40 and even 50 kilometres in one sitting before, so I didn’t anticipate any serious issues (blood sugars notwithstanding).

But by the time I had managed about three quarters of the total trip and was on the final stretch to home, I was struck with a sudden wave of nausea. I was starting to feel cold, despite the summer heat and I was sweating profusely. I had several litres of water on my bike and had taken a number of breaks in the shade so I had no concerns that it was heat stroke or dehydration. But by the time I got home, my entire body was racked with pain.

Turns out that even though I made efforts to stay hydrated, the heat combined with the increased water intake flushed out most of my body’s mineral salts through my sweat, causing a condition called hyponatremia. By the time I got home, I had to keep sipping Gatorade to bring up my electrolyte and mineral salts as I ate salted foods to bring my sodium levels back up. Once I felt better, I passed out and slept for a while. It was a learning experience and now I’ve adapted for it.

The key message is to educate yourself ahead of time on what you’re attempting and make sure you understand the risks as well as what changes you may have to adopt in order to make it work for you and to be safe. This can best be accomplished by speaking with a professional; a nutritionist or dietitian if you’re planning on making any significant changes in your overall diet, a fitness professional or trainer if you’re thinking about starting a new fitness routine or your doctor for just about anything else. Food for thought… ☯️

One Can’t Help But Wonder…

The past ten years have seen an incredible amount of advancement in my Diabetes and self-care. It wasn’t until 2015 that I discovered carb-counting… It seems pretty ridiculous when I say it, now. I’m not sure how I survived without proper food calculations and knowing how much insulin to take in relation to the food I ate. There’s also been significant education on what constitutes something that will affect my blood sugars or not. Realistically, everything affects blood sugars but I mostly mean in relation to food.

The introduction of the insulin pump and continuous glucose monitoring has been life-changing for me and has seen me through some of the most controlled blood sugar levels and the best A1C results in my life. Although we did the best we could with what we knew throughout my youth, a lot of what I’m doing now would have been available or could have been taught to me. In light of the many years of complications, comas and issues that resulted from my Diabetes, it’s been raising an important question in my mind in recent years: I wonder if it could have different?

I have to admit that it’ll come off sounding a bit like bragging… And that’s mostly because it is. But I pretty much brought myself back from the brink during my childhood. Insulin resistance and complications made it so that I was given a pretty short life expectancy that wouldn’t have seen me past my teens. When I joined karate, I pretty much put myself through hell in order to grow, heal and get better. Insulin resistance eliminated, I was able to push forward and start accomplishing some actual goals in life instead of assuming that I’d likely die before I reached adulthood.

The bragging part comes from the fact that I managed to keep training, developing and pushing myself despite these obstacles until I reached black belt and became an instructor. I also had dreams of becoming a police officer so that I could help others. I had to get myself through basic training and develop myself further in order to accomplish that goal and actual earn my badge. And once I had that badge, it took me very little time to grow and become the one who taught others to earn their badge.

At the height of my martial arts peak, I considered myself to be good. Extremely good. I won’t be vain enough to say I was the best because Sensei could still beat the living shit out of me and even if he hadn’t been in the picture, there’ll always bee someone more skilled. To think otherwise would be ignorant. But I was fast, strong and beyond capable. So what would have happened if all this knowledge, education and resources had been available to me when I had been going through all of that? Would my skills be even further than they are now? Would I have been faster and stronger still?

I can’t help but feel tat I’ve lost an opportunity by only learning everything I have about my own self-care in the past few years as opposed to the past few decades. It boggles the mind to think that all of those avoided complications and better health would have not only forwarded my life in martial arts and fitness respects, but perhaps I would have increased my longevity by a significant amount, as well. Who knows? I certainly don’t because that ship has sailed. Perhaps it’s time to revisit that hell I put myself through, all those years ago, and start working towards getting back some of what I’ve lost in recent years. Some food for self-thought… ☯️

If it Isn’t Hard, Is It Even Worth Doing?

I read an interesting quote by Ashton Kutcher, of all people, that says, “If it doesn’t seem insurmountable, how is it going to be a life purpose?” An interesting quote and deep meaning behind it, confirming my opinion that knowledge and wisdom can come from any source. Of course, as some of my readers would and have pointed out, a quote is only as good as the confirmation of its source. Realistically, unless one is in a position to actually speak to the source to confirm the quote’s accuracy, it’s up in the air. However, that makes the words no less true. But I digress…

The point and purpose is to speak about those “insurmountable” goals and life purposes and how you can get past the BELIEF that they’re insurmountable. When I look back at my life, I recognize that some of the goals and purposes I planned for myself seemed impossible at the time. Considering I’ve achieved almost everything I set out to do in life, it almost seems laughable that I was as concerned as I was that I would REACH those goals. But Everest always looks insurmountable until you’re touching the flags at the top, right?

When I was younger and I stepped into a dojo for the first time, my health was waning, I had no support from the outside on my choice to start training and I believed my life would end before I reached my late teens. That first class was among one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, considering my blood sugars dropped, I had no physical constitution and the workout was gruelling for those who had been there for a while so you can probably imagine how difficult it was for me. But like taking that first step up the mountain, completing that first class paved the way for me to push froward and reach my goals. The same can be said of most things in life.

It’s important that goals and purposes be difficult. Nothing worth having comes without some kind of fight. If you can simply coast through to the finish line, it technically isn’t a race, right? But while contemplating that thought, it’s important to bear in mind that difficulty is a subjective thing. Maybe walking ten minutes to the corner store is a fuckin’ joke to me and I don’t consider it exercise, despite walking for twenty minutes, round trip. But someone else may have difficulties in mobility, health issues and other problems that make walking for twenty minutes a significant challenge. This means that it’s important never to judge someone else on their chosen goals, even if they may seem like less to you.

Another important quote that I like, in case y’all haven’t noticed that I love quotes, is attributed to Muhammed Ali who said, “Often it isn’t the mountains ahead that wear you out, it’s the little pebble in your shoe.” Getting started and building one’s momentum is what will usually get you there and accomplishing your goals. Just remember that when it gets hard, and it will, that’s normal. If it isn’t hard, it isn’t worth doing. The easy path isn’t challenging. Food for thought… ☯️