Category: Opinion

Read Your Labels… (A Diabetes Story)

I’ve spent more years treating Type-1 Diabetes than not. It’s sometimes hard for me to imagine a time when I WASN’T Diabetic. By virtue of this, I often find myself in a position where I become… shawl we say, complacent? Laziness has never been an issue for me but I would be lying if I said that I don’t occasionally get a bit too comfortable with certain routines and overlook some important details. And as anyone living with Type-! Diabetes will agree, even a small detail can be an important one and can adversely affect you.

One of those details is the proper and thorough reading of the nutritional label on absolutely everything I eat and drink. The reason behind this is quite simple: I need to know the amount of carbohydrates I’m ingesting. Although I’m quick to say how marvellous a piece of technology my insulin pump may be, it still requires significant attention and care on the user’s part to ensure everything is working as it should. Letting my pump know how many grams of carbs I’m about to eat allows it to inject the proper amount of insulin for my meal according to the different ratios I have programmed for the different times of the day.

This is where my tale begins… Over recent years, we’ve started buying large, club pack boxes of ramen noodles. Setting aside for a moment that one pack of ramen noodles contain more than half one’s daily intake of sodium, they often make a quick meal when there’s little else available. It’s also a great “sometimes” meal for my boys on the weekend, who tend to be fussy as fuck and will barely touch prepared meals that my wife and I make. We’ve taken to buying the chicken-flavoured no name brand, since it costs a bit less and no one in the house will eat any of the other flavours, other than myself. This is where my complacency comes into play…

For years, I’ve been accustomed to the fact that each pack of ramen noodles contains about 50 grams of carbs, give or take. And I usually bolus for this amount. I rarely question this and I don’t bother checking the label as it’s the same stuff, every time I have one. Yesterday, my wife and I took our boys to the grocery store to grab a few items as we had also completely ran out of ramen noodles. As usual, I grabbed a club pack box of the chicken flavoured for everyone to have but I also decided to grab a few name brand ramen noodles in the other flavours. I grabbed a beef, a shrimp and an oriental flavour. I figured I could bring one to work sometime in the next week.

So today, I decided to crack open the oriental flavour for lunch. As I was mixing the noodles and seasoning with the water, I decided to glance at the nutritional label, since its’ theoretically something new, given that it’s name brand, and maybe the carb count is different. See? I’m not completely negligent. I do TRY to stay on track. Anyway, I was surprised to see that not only was the carb count about half of what the no name brand usually has, the package size is also much smaller. This struck me as odd but I didn’t question it and bolused accordingly. I proceeded to enjoy my noodles while I worked.

About an hour later, I started to feel flush and nauseous and couldn’t seem to sit still. I pulled out my pump and noted that my blood sugar levels were rising pretty damn quickly. The CGM reading had three arrows pointing straight up which, for you non-Diabetics, means my levels were skyrocketing. I was mildly confused but bolused a correction dose of insulin to counteract the high. I remembered I had a spare package of no name noodles in my desk and pulled it out. Same as usual, the total carb count was shy over 50 grams. What I realized is that the package didn’t really feel bigger than the name brand one.

I pulled the wrapper out of the trash and took another look at the nutritional label. There it was… the smaller size was because the label measured on SERVING, not one PACKAGE. And one serving was approximately half of the package, which is why the carb count was so much lower. In reality, the total package was abut the same as the no name brand. Now, I don’t know who the hell would prepare and only eat half a pack of ramen noodles or what kind of communist bullshit that serving size is, but shame on me for not picking up on that. The result was an adverse effect on my blood sugars.

So, the important takeaway for today’s post is to pay attention to details and read your nutritional labels carefully. Bolusing properly can be difficult at the best of times, even when there is a label. But overlooking small details such as serving size can have a meaningful impact on proper control. And there’s nothing worse than being on the blood sugar roller coaster; where you’re high so you can correct, then you drop low and have to treat. Wash, rinse and repeat. I’ll be watching my nutritional labels far closer now, believe me. ☯️

Preparing For The Road…

Travelling is often considered one of the best ways of taking a vacation. That’s why most people use the saying “getting away from it all” when they go somewhere. But for someone with Type-1 Diabetes, travelling can present its own set of headaches and problems that often just doesn’t make it worth one’s while to take a trip. I’ve posted often before about what people should bring with them or carry in their vehicles while travelling, especially in the winter. But while rounding the corner on 1,600 posts, who the hell remembers what I provided three or four years ago. By virtue of this, today’s post will focus mostly on my own experience and what you should bring with you, if you have Type-1 Diabetes.

I think there’s a distinct irony in the fact that until about ten years ago, travel was no big deal. A couple of boxes of insulin, a box of syringes and my glucometer with a full jar of strips and I was off to the races. My biggest issue was worrying about getting through security at an airport with all the sharps in my bag but besides the occasional longer time to get processed through, I’ve honestly never had a problem. But these days while being on pump therapy, I fnd myself needing to pack and carry about a dozen separate components, most of which act off of one another so forgetting one is just as bad as having brought nothing at all. I still aheva bit of an extended wait time at airport security and often need to be patted down since I have medical devices attached to my body, but I still don’t have significant issue in that area.

Whether I’m driving or flying, the main nissue comes with proper preparation and packing before the trip even happens. For example, we’ll start with the most important piece of equipment, which is my insulin pump. What’s nice about the pump is I use a model that has continuous glucose monitoring and tracks my blood every five minutes, making micro-adjustments as I go through my day. This can be exceptionally important while travelling since, as you all know, absolutely EVERYTHING affects blood sugars. But the pump itself uses four separate components (including the pump itself) that need to be changed out every three days. Time and insulin calculations can make the difference between having a smooth trip or scrambling to the nearest pharmacy to try and figure out if they carry what you need. For the pump, this includes the insulin reservoir, the infusion set and the bottle of insulin. It’s kind of hard to travel WITHOUT the pump, since its attached to me. In ten years of being on pump therapy, I’ve yet to leave the house without it.

My CGM, or continuous glucose monitor, is even worse. It uses five separate components, including the inserter, adhesive bandage, the sensor, transmitter and charging cradle. Every time I cahnge this bad boy, I need to put the transmitter into the charging cradle for about an hour. Then all the other components come into play. A small price to pay for well-controlled blood sugars but if you’re keeping score, we’re slowly creeping towards a dozen separate pieces of equipment I need to drag with me when I travel. This is why the calculation is important. For example, I’m currently sitting in a hotel room in Saskatoon where I travelled for my scheduled eye injections. Although I’m only away from home for a little over 24 hours, I checked how many units of insulin I had left in my pump and “assumed” I would have enough to last until I get home. But it’s surprising how many carbs were in that burger and fries I had the previous night. By the time I rolled out of bed about an hour ago, I only had five units left. Thank the light I brought a spare set of everything…

And that’s the take away lesson for today. Bringing extras of everything, even when you don’t believe you’ll need them, will avoid problems and make your trip smoother and less stressful. Calculate how many infusion sets and CGM sensors you’ll need and double it. After all, it may not just be your schedule or your usage you have to contend with. What if you have a set failure? What if you sit in a hot tub at the hotel and fry your sensor? What if your infusion set gets ripped out by something? These are all things that I’ve had happen to me. Always bring more than you need and that includes your insulin. Bearing in mind that I’m aware that not folks are in a position and have the additional resources and equipment to always carry extra, of course.

Over the years, a key component I’ve always carried with me is a full bag of skittles or gummy bears. yes, you read that right… While some folks use orange juice ro something similar, that shit takes FOREVER to work on me, if I’m having a low. If boarding a flight or travelling a long distance on the road, you may find yourself in a compromised position if you have a low and suddenly can’t get immediate access to something sugary. If you’re travelling the vast expanses of Canadian highway with hours between stops when you suffer a low, that bag of skittles could mean the difference between carrying on safely or finding yourself in a seriously compromised position.

All of this should be pretty common sense, especially if one has had Diabetes for any significant amount of time. On a final note, keeping a small, basic first aid kit with you is always a good idea. Basic kits will usually come with small bandages, adhesive tape and bandaids. People with Type-1 Diabetes are prone to infections when an injury happens. That cut you got while hiking or the knee you scraped falling off your bike, can become a problem quickly, if left untreated for a significant period of time. Quickly cleaning it and slapping a band aid on until you get home can make all the difference. Unexpected injuries can occur while travelling, as well. These are just basic steps to try and take some of the stress off of travelling. Given the added steps and effort it takes, sometimes it doesn’t seem worth travelling. But it also isn’t worth staying hidden at home to avoid that effort. Not my style. Diabetes shouldn’t prevent you from doing anything you want to have a happier life. Food for thought… ☯️

Food For Thought…

It’s ironic because I end so many of my posts with the phrase in today’s title but I just couldn’t help myself. As I‘ve often written before, living with Type-1 Diabetes comes with a broad set of difficulties that can make navigating daily life more complicated than it needs to be. From having to measure and calculate everything you, when you sleep and how much you work out, to dealing with equipment failures and battery replacements all while never being quite sure if you’re doing it all right can be exhausting. And one’s personal nutrition through all that mess is no exception.

As with many of my posts, I’ll start using off by clearly stating that I am not a nutritionist, dietitian or medical professional and that you should always consult your family doctor or medical practitioner before starting (or stopping) any particular dietary regimen. Unlike my experience in karate, I post these things based solely on my own experience and what I’ve found to be true. But what works for me may not work for you, which is why it’s important to consult a professional. That being said, I’ll touch on that last point. Bit later in this post.

It wasn’t until 2014 that I figured out that crab-counting was a thing. That may shock some people but throughout my childhood, Type-1 Diabetes or “Juvenile Diabetes“ as it was called at the time, involved taking your one shot of NPH insulin in the morning and staying away from sugar. That was essentially it. My parents were never provided any education on how carbohydrates basically equate to sugar and affect blood sugars in much the same way. Hungry? Here, have a slice of bread with peanut butter. There’s no sugar in that. Thirsty? Here, have a glass of milk, there’s no sugar in that… I cringe, even just writing that, as I imagine the dozens of carbs being pumped into my young body without the realization that it will adversely affect my blood sugars.

This would be the reason why I suffered the most of my complications throughout my childhood and before I entered adult life. The early damage to my eyes, the comas I suffered through and my insufferable mood swings in my teens that were aggravated by being a teenager likely could have been avoided, or at least improved, had we known about carb counting. I say “we” because as a child, I consider it to have been my parents’ responsibility to look into and acknowledge these things. But as I grew into adulthood, my knowledge of Diabetes was somewhat skewed by the practices observed by nut family during my childhood. Although inherently no one’s fault, I often wonder what might have been different, had I been armed with the knowledge I have now.

Starting on insulin pump therapy and being trained in carb counting back in 2014 changed the game significantly. I began to see markedly improved blood sugar control, better A1C results and things were looking up. But as time marches on, so does the wear and tear on one’s body, which leads to different complications. For me, the ever-present “dad bod” and the apparent inability to lose weight despite a reasonable diet and proper exercise, has begun to cause some issues with my kidneys and has led to some pretty radical lifestyle changes, not least of which is my starting on Ozempic. I’ve posted about this a couple of times already but I will update that since starting on it, I’ve lost nearly 30 pounds, which is no doubt helpful.

Although weight loss and proper exercise are important, what you stuff in your mouth is JUST as important. And starts with you. I’ve always been a bit of a heavy eater but I always justified it with the fact that I work out consistently and keep active. But my gut has always persisted. Some people have often tried to get me on fad diets, keto-this or paleo-that… The bottom line and what needs to be acknowledged by anyone, is that weight loss requires a healthy diet coupled with regular, rigorous activity. Full stop. Although some fad diets will work for some, they likely won’t work for others. It’s important to remember that every person is different, so if cutting out certain foods helps you shed some pounds, good for you! The next person who tries that same thing may lose no weight at all. This can lead to discouragement and giving up on losing weight.

That’s why, much like the martial arts, one’s weight-loss journey will be unique to them and they need to find the method that works for THEM, not the one that your favourite celebrity is toting on the infomercial. Portion size has been a big thing for me. Instead of a full plate of food, cut it back to half. Less calories means better weight management. Although the base concepts are pretty simple and make plenty of sense, regardless of what diet you’re trying to follow, it amazing how that detail seems to slip past everyone’s mind. And that, my friends, is food for thought… ☯️

What Fills Your Cup…?

Once in a while, I come across a meme or a saying or something that I believe is worthwhile sharing or referencing on this blog. Writing about specific aspects of karate or Diabetes can become a bit saturating at times and I like to focus on the more philosophical aspects of life. This leads us to today’s post. I’m going to kick this off by pointing out that I can’t recall where I got this from, only that I read it online from one of the many sources I explore. I really should start writing this shit down but with all the reading and research I do on my own time, there would be no end to it, if I did. plus, I can never tell what I might use in a post and what I don’t. But I digress…

We’ve all heard the saying that it’s hard to fill a cup which is already full. Depending on where you’ve read or heard this saying and like many others, there are several sources credited with it. Some say it’s a Chinese saying, others attribute it to being a Zen proverb, which is the context under which I started hearing it. Either way, it refers to the concept that when one is learning, it’s exceptionally difficult to teach someone who already assumes they know everything. Life is an ever-constant journey of knowledge and one’s cup should never be full. But there are those who seem to operate as if it is…

But my point today is that there’s more to that than simply the teaching context. And here’s where my sourced material comes in. Here’s the scenario: You’re walking with a full cup of coffee when someone comes along and bumps into you or shakes your arm, making you spill coffee everywhere. Why did you spill the coffee? One would be inclined to say that it was because someone bumped into them. But this would be a wrong answer. The correct answer would be that you spilled the coffee because there was COFFEE in your cup. If you had tea in the cup, you would have spilled tea. Whatever is in the cup is what we spill out.

This means that when life comes along and shakes you, which will inevitably happen, whatever is inside of you will come out. It’s often easy to fake it or keep it concealed; until you get rattled. So, it becomes important to ask oneself, “what’s in my cup?” When life gets tough or you face adversities, what spills over? Will it be joy, gratefulness, peace and humility? Or will it be anger, bitterness and negativity? Life provides the cup. You choose what you fill it with and what you will inevitably spill onto the world.

I’ll admit that I agree with this line of thinking but I’m going to take it a step further and add my personal perspective to it because, well… my fuckin’ blog and all that. My view is that YOU are the cup. And life fills it. When life pours negativity into your cup, you need to find a way to empty it out to make room for the positivity. There are two ways to do this. The first is to allow it to spill out. Although this may not sound ideal, letting it spill out doesn’t necessarily mean you’re unleashing your rage on the world. It can mean finding healthy and proper ways of dealing with your negative thoughts and feelings. Exercise, working out, asking to someone about it… It can be a pretty hefty list.

The other way to empty your cup is to drink from it. But I if you’re looking to empty out negativity, drinking it will only cause you to internalize it, which is not only horrible for you but only delays the inevitable. That which is the eventual spilling over o the negativity. The difference is you may not have as a much of a say in how it spills out. That’s why every person sometimes needs to get help pin emptying their cup. If it’s positivity we’re talking about, have at it! Let that shit spill out on the world and drink it all in as much as you can. It’s all good. Just be sure to take care of yourself and keep yourself healthy. The cup isn’t going anywhere. And neither should you. Food for thought… ☯️

Through Someone Else’s Eyes…

Throughout the years, I’ve often given some thought to the many missed opportunities and paths I haven’t walked down as a result of being diagnosed with Type-1 Diabetes at the age of four. With that one fateful event, many doors suddenly closed and certain things that I might have contemplated were no longer available to me. Although often disappointing, it also thought me to develop an instinct that I would use to work hard for certain things simply by virtue of the fact that they told me I couldn’t have it.

It wouldn’t be until years later, when I had reached adulthood, that I would ultimately realize that some things that had been refused me were the result of others’ laziness or fear as opposed to the fact I genuinely couldn’t or shouldn’t do it. One of those things were the Beaver Scouts. I ironically joined the Beaver Scouts when I was four years old, back in my town in New Brunswick. Although I was young enough that I didn’t really understand the implications of what I was doing beyond needing to wear a stupid hat with a beaver tail, it was something nut father believed would be invaluable as I got older.

The Scouts are a fantastic way to learn some basic, rudimentary outdoor and socialization skills that can be easily carried into adulthood. When I got my diagnosis, it was decided that the Scout leaders had neither the knowledge nor the training to have me in their group, in the event I found myself in medical distress. Although I understand that perspective, neither did my parents, if I’m being totally honest. But the result was that I was unceremoniously punted from the group. It set a poor standard for the remainder of my childhood, which is why I had to do most of the activities I loved in my youth without my parents’ knowledge or consent. Not something I would encourage in others but here we are.

Little did I anticipate that almost four decades later, I would get to experience that lost opportunity through the eyes of my son. Nathan is a bit of a withdrawn individual; often preferring to sit quietly in his room or the basement, playing on electronic devices rather than spending time outdoors or doing something active. He has no issue socializing with other kids but getting him to willingly do something structured and active has always been a challenge. That’s why when my wife indicated she had signed him up for Scouts, I was surprised that he was not only willing to go; he seemed to be enjoying it.

Last week, I attended a ceremony where Nathan was officially given his investiture into the Scouts. It was a nice thing to watch and I was proud of how attentive he was to the instructions he was getting. He appears t have a few kids in his respective “lair” that he gets along with quite well, and even spent his first weekend away from home at a camp out event with his Scouts group. He hand-crafted some crafts, started a fire and slept two night with his group. It can sometimes be a bit hard to get Nathan to open up and share his thoughts or experiences but he was able to mention that he enjoyed himself and would be willing to do it again.

He still needs to get a uniform shirt, since they didn’t have one in his size that night. But he got some attention and took his oath, got his scarf and some patches that he earned during his weekend. Now, we just need to get him a blanket to start sewing those on. That’ll be fun, since he doesn’t know how to sew. Neither do I. Considering I nearly severed my thumb recently, I’m probably no safer with a sewing needle. But I digress…

Scouts can be a great way for young people to learn the basics of life; not only in the great outdoors but in general. Part of the “tasks” he needs to accomplish include aquatic abilities, helping out neighbours, doing chores around the house and doing good things for others. It’s the foundation on which a well-rounded young individual can base their life and get a bit of discipline while still having fun. As Joe Clark used to say, discipline is not the enemy of enthusiasm. Here’s hoping he sticks with it. In the meantime, I get to live out my missed experiences vicariously through my son. ☯️

A Review – Star Trek: Picard (Definite Spoilers Ahead)

Whether you’re a Trekkie fan or not, there’s no denying the deep influence that the Star Trek universe has had on film and television since the late 1960’s. Spawning a number of subsequent television series and movies, it encompasses what I enjoy most about the sci-fi genre; exploration, future technologies and the possibility of what’s out there… All while enjoying it all from the comfort of one’s couch. Some of my best childhood memories included sitting on the couch on a lazy day with my father while watching Captain James T. Kirk make a flimsy effort at hand to hand combat, followed by quasi-inappropriate canoodling with a female of some previously unknown alien race.

My children apparently haven’t inherited my love of Star Trek, which is a shame. Despite that fact, I used to have the benefit of knowing I had watched every series and movie under the Star Trek banner. With the release of series such as Discovery, Strange New Worlds and Lower Decks, I fallen out of touch with some of the more modernized iterations of the Star Trek universe. This is a problem I sought out remedy by subscribing to Paramount+ a few months ago and starting with what turned out to be an excellent series. I’m talking about Star Trek: Picard. I advise you to stop reading now, if you haven’t seen it and don’t want spoilers…

Let’s start with how it began. Star Trek: the Next generation is a follow-series that ran from 1987 to 1994 and featured the exploits of the USS Enterprise “D” and its crew, some 80 years after Kirk’s Enterprise. It was a fantastic series and ran for seven seasons, covering new races, new planets and had better visual and effects than the original series, making it a more enjoyable experience for the 9-year old Blogging Buddhist who would sit and soak up every episode. Jean-Luc Picard was the Captain of this particular Enterprise and led the ship and crew through many adventures and hardships. The series ended with Picard ultimately contributing to saving nothing less than the entire galaxy and humanity itself, with some passive-aggressive help from the omnipotent entity known as Q.

What was fun about TNG is that it addressed some reasonably serious issue on the ship while not taking itself too seriously as a whole. Despite some negative criticism about some of the storylines, I enjoyed every episode. Star Trek: Picard takes place a couple of decades after the end of the TNG storyline and features a retired Admiral Picard who is suddenly thrown back in the fray when a young synthetic woman, believed to be the daughter of the later Lt. Commander Data, seeks his assistance. He spends the majority of the season sorting through the chaos and attempting to have a prohibition on synthetic life abolished. The season ends with Picard making an ultimate sacrifice but still pulling through.

Season 2 sees Picard and his colleagues trapped in a dark, alternate reality, somewhat reminiscent of the mirror universe, if you’ve read of those Star Trek books. This is done by none other than the infamous Q, who also appears to be slowly losing his omnipotent abilities. In an effort to right things, the team ended accidentally travelling to 2024 and putting one of Picard’s ancestors on the right path before Q sends them all back to their own time, seemingly using the last of his omnipotence and sacrificing his won life in the process. Once they return to the 23rd century, they are faced with a galaxy-destroying force that is being prevented by none other than the Borg. I had a hard time believing that myself, until I realized that the Borg queen was one of Picard’s characters that remained in in 2024 and waiting 400 years to save the day.

Season 3 is where things got interesting and the one I enjoyed the most. It reunites the majority of TNG’s original bridge crew and senior staff, including Geordi LaForge, Will River, Deana Troy, Beverly Crusher and eventually, a regenerated and reborn Data. Word shows up in all his Klingon glory and we eventually learn of a young man named Jack Crusher, said to be the product of Picard and Beverly Crusher’s sleepover activities, some twenty years prior. The premise of the season is that there seems to be something inside of Picard’s son, which is drawing him to the Borg. He eventually concedes and goes to a dilapidated and nearly-dead Borg queen, played by the same actress who was Borg queen in Star Trek: First Contact.

The Borg end up assimilating the vast majority of humanity within a short period, due to an infection that rewrites their genetic code when using the transporter. All individuals too old or who predate this genetic rewrite are being systematically eliminated by the newly-assimilated human race and it’s up to Picard and his crew to use their unique style of space-faring swashbuckling to eliminate the Borg queen once and for all and to save humanity. Which they do. With gusto.

Of course, there are a number of subplots and side stories that I’m not covering here, including with the Romulans and an abandoned Borg cube. But I need to leave some mystery for if you sit through it. Star Trek: Picard definitely manage to strike a perfect balance. For me, the nostalgia of seeing the old crew back together and operating as a unit occasionally brought a tear to my eye, reminding me of a simpler time and happy memories. Although it only ran for three seasons, it did something that most series fail to do; it provided a fantastic storyline while leaving the audience wanting for more. But it recognized when it was time to stop.

If you’re looking for something to binge over a weekend, I would highly recommend Star Trek: Picard. My wife watched it with me and I believe she enjoyed it as well. At only 10 episodes per season, the entire series is only 30 episodes long, which is barely a season and a half of most shows. Granted, it has an almost 1-hour runtime, so you’re looking at 30 hours of watching. Either way, see for yourself. If you’re a fan of the Star Trek universe, it’ll tie off some storylines from TNG nicely and stoke the fires of your memories from the 1990’s quite nicely. ☯️

Shaping The Glass Rod Without Breaking It…

I’ve been through a significant number of challenges in my life. These include things like training in the martial arts, overcoming Diabetes complications and training to become an effective police officer. I consider myself to be successful in those areas, considering the odds and obstacles I had to overcome to achieve them. But there’s one challenge that is never-ending and that I was definitely not prepared for that I will inevitably be doing now, for the rest of my life. I’m talking about parenthood.

If you’re a parent yourself, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Having that first child can bring about a fear the likes of which you’ve never felt before. What if you don’t feed them properly? What if you don’t protect them enough? What if you protect them too MUCH? I think we can all agree that parenthood and in fact children, don’t come with any sort of an instruction manual. And using our parents as a guide on how to raise a generation of children twice removed from their own is a risky prospect at best.

When we become parents, we tend to treat our children like delicate, blown glass sculptures. We’re entranced with looking at them, holding them and taking care of them but are definitely afraid of breaking or damaging them in ways that can’t be repaired. And there’s certainly something to be said for that. However, it’s important to note that children aren’t the frail constructs we make them out to be. And they’re certainly not made of glass…

Not a week has gone by in recent years where I haven’t found articles online and through social media with titles such as, “Top 10 Things you Should Avoid Saying To Your Child” or “Bad Habits Every Parent Should Stop.” While there is certainly some merit pin some of what these concepts provide, one needs to remember that a child still needs that rudimentary foundation of discipline within their lives, no matter how much of a first world snowflake you consider yourself or don’t mind your child becoming.

For example, when I was a child, I was expected to do chores, clean myself and my room, maintain my homework and I was expected to ask for help with that last one BEFORE I started having trouble or failing assignments. If I disobeyed or refused direction from my parents, voices would be raised and firm discipline would ensue. I never really approved much of my grandmother’s tactics, which usually involved a wooden spoon. I agree that physical correction is easily a thing of the past as it teaches a poor lesson about how should use superior strength to force compliance, which is contrary to how one should raise their child. But I digress…

The thing is, the softer generation has moved away from the concepts of discipline and following direction, in favour of a more “lets kids be kids” concept. So let’s examine that, for a moment… What, exactly, does it mean to be a kid? Does it mean you have no responsilities, no duty to help within the household? I would argue not. Generally speaking, I agree that a child should never have to worry about having a safe roof over their head, food in their stomach and unconditional love, things that some children are unfortunately forced to go without, even in modern times.

As the quote from one of my favourite movies says, “Discipline is not the enemy of enthusiasm.” It’s a pretty typical scene. I wake up at a reasonable hour, despite it being the weekend. Before everyone else is up, I’ve started a load of laundry, cleaned up the previous evening’s dishes and have started on some breakfast. Maybe a couple of hours later, my son will wake and stumble his way out of his room. When the passing suggestion of taking care of something or doing something that would help me out is made, the response I get is almost unilaterally unfavourable. Simple things like taking out the trash, cleaning out his won room or picking up discarded clothing or dishes almost seems akin to slipping bamboo shoots under his fingernails.

Allowance in exchange for chores? He’s uninterested in money. And at 9 years old, why wouldn’t he be? He’s got everything he needs and more. Take away devices and amenities? It’ll piss him off but he knows eventually he’ll get them back as the way of the new world all but requires devices. It usually leads to raised voices and a battle of wills to try and convince him that he needs to do his part and contribute within the household; a practice that many modern articles say is a no-no. Raise your voice to a child? For shame…

So that begs the question: If you’ve your best to try and teach your child and make them understand the importance of chores and contributing within the the household and the lesson just isn’t taking, what else can you do? Eventually, your child will need to understand and sometimes being firm and raising one’s voice is the only way. The problem lies in the modern world’s perspective that we need to be gentler and softer with our children than the generations that came before. Unfortunately, such an approach doesn’t do our children any favours and we are quickly raising a generation of lazy, self-entitled people who will contribute nothing to society, while consuming Tide pods and snorting condoms.

Concepts such as participation trophies, not “forcing” your kids to do certain tasks or follow direction may seem like enlightened, neo-modern ways of trying to raise a kinder generation. But what it actually does is create a person who will NEVER take direction. This will carry over into their future, including employment, relationships and believing that everything in life will simply come to them and they never have to work for it. They’ll be facing insurmountable surprises when the time comes to build a career, buy their first home or try to navigate the unfair, choppy waters of life.

Likely one of the hardest parts of being a parent is having your child upset at you or telling you that they hate you. It renders your soul open and some may try to do everything they can to avoid that happening. But at the end of the day and when you take a step back and send your little chick into the vast world outside the nest, you’ll have served them better by teaching them the importance of discipline, hard work and stepping up to do what must be done, even when it sucks and you’d rather binge-watch Netflix. Food for thought… ☯️

One Love, One Life, One Style…

Some decades ago, I remember Sensei telling me a story about how he had trained with a master in Japan, whom I unfortunately no longer remember his name, who would always say “one love, one life and one style…” The premise was pretty simple; in this one life we have, we should only have one true, genuine love. I was lucky enough to find this person in my lovely wife. But the focus of today’s post is about the last piece. That being, one style.

The beautiful thing about karate and martial arts in general, is that it’s a puzzle with a million pieces and so long as one is genuinely training to learn the art, they will never reach the end. For some, this may be a bit of a morose statement but to a true student of the martial way, feeling as though you have nothing left to learn can be far, far worse. So it rather plays on the aspect that no matter how skilled, knowledgeable or advanced your become, there will always be someone better.

All that being said and as I’ve often said before, martial arts is a very subjective thing. A style that suits one person may not be a good fit for someone else. Once you find a style that fits your needs, comfort and lifestyle, it should generally be the one you cling to for life. Switching styles does happen, but there are usually underlying reasons for this and should typically be avoided. One cannot learn something only part way before moving on to the next. It’s important o stick with your style and continue to train to learn and advance as far as you can (and are willing to go).

Just to be clear, this doesn’t mean that one shouldn’t increase their overall toolbox by dabbling in other things. One of the best selling points about the martial arts is that it holds a vast menu that can be picked from, for the aspects one feels one may be lacking. For example, karate has always been a good fit for me because I’ve always felt that the ability to defend myself empty-handed was important. You know, considering most of us don’t go walking around with a weapon. That being said, I’ve also taken to training with some weapons in order to bridge that gap.

This is similar to how an empty-handed fighter may choose to learn some grappling or throwing, or how a boxer or fist fighter may want to learn some kicks. Adding to one’s repertoire is never a bad thing but the basic lesson is that the student will always stick to, and come back to, their home style. Such has been the same for me. Although I’ve had the privilege and the honour to train with a couple of different styles since moving out to Saskatchewan, I’ve stayed true to my roots and always trained in Uechi Ryu. And I don’t really foresee that changing.

So, what happens when a student walks away from their dojo completely? And worse still, takes the skills and lessons you’ve taught them and brings them somewhere where they begin to teach them as a separate school? The history of karate is rife with such instances. One very notable example is a popular style of full contact karate named Kyokushinkai. This style‘s founder was originally a practitioner of Goju-Ryu karate and eventually splintered off to found his own style. Ironically, even THAT style would go on to help inspire and found many subsequent styles.

The question becomes, is it right to do so? And at what point do you face potentially watering down the style you’ve learned, simply to try and teach something of your own? For the most part, when a student wishes to open their own dojo or even teach or pass on what they’ve learned, dojo code of conduct would seem to dictate that they get their Sensei’s consent, first. Hell, I’ve never even trained in another dojo without first throwing a quick email to my Sensei, back in New Brunswick, to talk about and ask if he’s okay with it.

What becomes a bit sad is when a student decides to leave the dojo without their instructor’s consent and begins teaching others. Not only is this an incredible breach of etiquette and flies in the face of what martial arts is all about, it’s a bit hypocritical. After all, if there was something wrong enough with your dojo that you’ve decided to leave it, why would you take all those teachings and continue to pass them on? The other issue is that without the support of your home dojo to help, monitor and continue to provide correction, you never know what mistakes or technical errors you may inadvertently pass on to your newly-acquired students.

Be true to yourself but don’t forget to be true to your dojo. If there’s something that you feel is inherently wrong within your dojo, the idea would be ot take the opportunity to speak about it with your Sensei, not running off. And as much as some students may have a yearning to teach what they’ve learned, they shouldn’t do so without the consent and approval of their instructor. After all, thinking you’re ready doesn’t make it so. And dishonouring you or Sensei by opening a school and teaching without his consent waters down the purity of the martial arts, overall. Such as it is. Food for thought… ☯️

One On One Can Be Twice The Learning Fun…

I remember how in the early years of training in the karate dojo, I would always be grateful for the ability to blend in to my background. Training and following along, I was comfortable following the status quo and learning in the class environment. I wasn’t a big fan of having the focus mainly on me. One might say I was a bit more shy back then than I am now. I don’t have a timid bone in my body, these days, so things are a bit different and those also affects how I learn and train.

I’ll always remember the first time I found myself training alone with Sensei. To be clear, when I say alone, I don’t mean one on one while the rest of the class is paired off, as well. No, what I mean is literally only Sensei and I in the dojo. Classes for us would usually run from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm, with junior belts and younger kids leaving after the first hour. The older and more senior belts would almost always stay for the second hour, as the lessened number of students meant less of a watering down of Sensei’s attention.

On this one particular night, the few senior students who would have stayed that second hour were either absent or had to depart early for individual reasons, leaving me alone with Sensei. I was still a white belt and I remember experiencing a distinct feeling of apprehension as I stood at attention and Sensei waited for the remaining students to clear out. Once we were alone, he began to continue to instruct, but to me and me alone. The positive is that I was still getting my time out of the class. At the time, the negative was that his focus was solely on me as the only student present, which meant that each and every little thing I did got picked apart and corrected.

I was incredibly grateful when the clock finally struck 8:30 pm as it would mean the spotlight would be off. But it wasn’t in Sensei’s nature to follow the clock. Karate knows no time limit, he would often say. I enjoyed the benefit of his direct tutelage for another fifteen minutes beyond the scheduled end of the class. I left the dojo that night feeling a sense of accomplishment. Many of my forms and techniques had been directly evaluated, corrected and commented by my Sensei; something I hadn’t had the pleasure of experiencing before.

As the years passed and I gained time, experience and what I like to think of as a touch of wisdom, I came to value and appreciate the nights when Sensei and I would be alone together to train. I also came to recognize that many students often feel that they don’t get such direct exposure to their instructors in mainstream schools, which leads many students to feel as though they’re neglected or ignored. I never had such feelings, considering I was the type of kid who preferred to be in the background. But there’s definitely something to be said for getting some one-on-one coaching from an instructor.

I was reminded of this experience last night. I finally returned to Kempo, after being absent for almost two years. Following the rib break and crushed muscles from early 2022 in another dojo, I made the conscious choice to step away from group training to allow myself to heal completely and continue to train on my own, at my own pace. This process took longer than I had anticipated and as I often say, life rarely cares about one’s plans. It wasn’t until I received an email from the dojo asking the entire mailing list if they still wanted to receive the emails that I realized classes had been reopened from the pandemic.

As my first class back, I anticipated seeing some old faces and training with several people. I was significantly disappointed to see that some long-time students and people I had gotten to know were no longer attending the dojo. But that isn’t my story to tell. Ultimately, given the night and the circumstances, it was just me and the instructor. I once again found myself in a situation where it would be one-on-one training. This was a two-fold situation. Ion the one hand, I was older and experienced enough that training solo with someone else no longer causes concern. On the other side, despite several years of training at their school, I still don’t have the familiarity with Kempo that would make me comfortable in training in any of their specifics.

On this particular evening, the instructor and I agreed to keep things informal. As opposed to opening a formal class, we simply bowed to each other and got into some training. We spent two solid hours training with kali sticks. This was an exciting prospect, since my loving wife (looking at you, baba!) bought me a set of phenolic kali sticks from Budo Brothers. What are phenolic kali sticks, you may ask? Speaking in generalities, phenolic materials are usually comprised of thermosetting resin or compounds. The result is a lighter but harder stick, making them last longer and be more effective in the training environment.

I got to use my new Kali sticks for the first time last night and I have to say, they held up phenomenally. Putting in a couple of solid hours doing Kali work was the perfect way to shake off the cobwebs and get back into the martial arts groove. It made for fantastic evening. I’m going to take the opportunity to do an unofficial product plug and mention that if you want to check out the Kali sticks I bought, they can be found on Budo Brother’s website here.

Don’t knock the opportunity to train with an instructor one-on-one. Although it can sometimes seem intimidating and even a bit daunting, considering they usually have the skills and rank that many aspire to, they’re there to train just like you are. And the amount you can learn in those rare sessions can go a long way towards helping the progress of your martial arts journey. Last but not least and speaking as a previous instructor as well, the amount we learn from the student during those sessions is just as valuable and important. Martial arts training is a two-way street. Food for thought…☯️

Come Play With Me, Daddy…

I’ve often said that life rarely cares about one’s plans. While it’s great to have goals and objectives in life that you’d like to accomplish, it’s important to remember that things change, and you can’t be in control of every factor that may get in the way of what you’re trying to do. Planning out your life to the letter is nigh impossible. That’s why if you take a path where you expect things to happen within a certain timeline, you’ll undoubtedly be disappointed at the result.

Through my late teens and into adulthood, I faced the very real possibility that I would likely never have children. I don’t recall the exact statistic but doctors have told me that the majority of male Type-1 Diabetics usually end up not bearing children. In some ways, this came as a mild relief when I was younger since Diabetes can inherently be passed on to one’s children. But as I got older, I began recognizing that passing on one’s life to the next generation is important in all aspects.

Luckily, those concerns came to an end in 2014 when my wonderful wife and I had our first son, Nathan. It’s a pretty typical scenario that we’ve all seen, either in our personal lives or on television… The parents are burned out, exhausted and somehow still fighting and pushing forward, dealing with diaper changes, middle-of-the-night feedings, crying and a complete and utter disruption of the serene life they may have had before. Just imagine that many if not most of these couples have their children in their 20’s. Since life never goes according to plan, I met my wife and we had our first child when I was in my late 30’s.

Considering I was an operational police officer at the time, I was used to working through extended periods of fatigue, so my policing experience was actually quite invaluable in parenting. But I would be lying if I said it was a breeze. Add in the fact that as someone with Type-1 Diabetes, sleep, proper nutrition, exercise and a structured routine are all very important to maintaining one’s overall health. Raising an infant is the opposite of most of that. Most obviously, a parent wants to be able to play and interact and roll around on the floor with their kids. Sharing in the innocence and fun is a big part of the magic that is parenting.

When our second son, Alexandre, was born four years ago, it was even worse as I was now in my 40’s. trying to finding the energy to jump around and play with your kid when you’re burnt from a day’s work, still have laundry and household chores other do and all he wants to do is wrestle you to the ground and demonstrate his recently-developed right hook. First world problems, am I right? But energy levels for a Type-1 Diabetic are iffy at the best of times. Trying to share some of that energy with a toddler while in your 40’s is something else.

It can frustrating sometimes, as much for Alex as it is for me. Especially since he won’t understand that daddy’s tired and needs to rest. He just understands that he wants to play with his daddy. And so he should! That’s why it becomes so important to maintain those blood sugars, maintain your physical fitness and keep a healthier lifestyle. Doing so can help you to at least TRY and keep up with your next generation. For me, my children are a handful and they rarely stand still. My oldest is a roiling ball of energy and my youngest is a fucking tank. Both require their own amount of energy and attention; something that isn’t always the easiest.

I just need to keep my energy levels up enough to ensure that when they get older, they can look back and acknowledge that they had some fun with their father. Especially before I get much older and can no longer keep up. On the flip side, I’d be lying if I said there isn’t an inherent joy in being able to shed some of the adult facade and just play with toys or watch a cartoon movie with my kids. They give me as much as I give them. Maybe just not in the same way. ☯️