November 2025

Well, here we are again. In a few days, November 1st will be upon us and this means that I will start growing out a ‘satchel for Movember. I do this every year and I also seek out donations, every year. It’s been several years where I’ve done it as part of a team, either during my time with the RCMP or since moving on to my current role. In my current role, we hit the ground running in 2021 with a team that was pretty committed and we raised over $500 just among ourselves. During 2022, the allure and gimmick of joining Movember flickered out, and we only raised just shy over $400. Last year and in 2023, I pretty much threw in the towel in terms of having a team effort and recognized I was once again walking this road alone. So, why do I keep doing it? This, dear readers, is the important question…

During the month of November, I set aside my reluctance to ask others for anything, and begin asking donations to support Movember. While the usual trend includes growing a resplendent mustache through the month and posting before and after photos, I always take it one step farther and grow out an entire beard (much to my wife’s dismay). By the end of November, I look more like a yeti than my usual self, but charity means sacrifice, so the scratchy face can be managed for the period of one calendar month. As I do every year, I should probably explain what the hell Movember is, and why it’s so important.

Movember is a registered charity in Canada that holds an annual challenge as a way to raise funds and awareness for prostate and testicular cancer, which is diagnosed in more than 1.4 million men globally, each year. While I have participated as part of a team in recent years, this year, I will be tackling it alone. Despite this obstacle, I’m keeping my previous year’s goal of $500 and feel that this is easily achievable, if I have a few kind readers who would be willing to pitch in a small amount. Even a little help can go a long way and any donation you make will do just that. We live in a society of increasing costs, inflation and increased cost of living, so I fully understand that times are tight for everyone. But I really can’t oversell how important this cause is. The cause is near and dear to me, especially since my beloved, departed grandfather had prostate cancer. Even the smallest donation you make can help with the bottom line.

Donating has never been easier. You can donate directly online by visiting the Movember website and clicking on the black “Donate” button at the top of the screen. Search under “Find a Person or Team“ and type in “Shawn Arlington Cook” and you should find me easily. Not sure why my ugly mug doesn’t appear as my profile pic, but you can scroll through the photos and see it. Fill out the donation form and you’ve done your part. You can even get a tax receipt, if needed or wanted. I don’t wander social media much and I never ask anything of others, so I’m hoping I’ll have a few people on my friends list and contacts, my blog readers and some family, who will help and contribute to this very important cause. Here’s the webpage: Movember Canada. No pressure and no expectation on my part. But I will be sincerely thankful and appreciative for any donation or contribution that anyone makes. 🙏 ☯️

You Only Did Thirty Minutes…?

Look, working out is hard. It is. Even if you’re one of those freaks who absolutely LOVES their 5 a.m. run through the neighborhood, the effort and discipline required to haul your sleepy ass out of bed and make it out the door into the morning chill is usually more than what the average person can put up with. And I should know; I absolutely LOVE karate, but finding the time, will and balanced blood sugars to get through a couple of hours, twice a week, in order to stay consistent is tough. That’s why one sometimes needs to take baby steps. Habitually, and for the most part, my wife and I are quite adept at carrying out brief, 30-minute workout circuits together. While it might not sound like a lot, for the purposes of a workout, 30 minutes allows us to get our cardiovascular efforts in, break a significant sweat together and gain that tell-tale ache in our muscles of a job well done. This begs the question; are we doing enough?

According to an article by the Mayo Clinic, the average person should aim to get at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity a weekor 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity a week. This total can be spread out into smaller chunks throughout the week. So, we’re talking about a workout that gets your heart pumping. The article goes on to say that you should “Do strength training exercises for all major muscle groups at least two times a week. One set of each exercise is enough for health and fitness benefits. Use a weight or resistance level heavy enough to tire your muscles after about 12 to 15 repetitions.” Further, it specifies that “As a general goal, aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity every day.” Okay, perfect! This means that the 30-minutes allows us circuit workouts that my wife and I hammer out together on the weekends meet the mark and is all we need, right? Well, maybe not…

If you’re carrying on your fitness activities with the end goal of losing weight , keeping the weight off or achieving specific fitness goals, this minimalist approach may not be adequate. And sitting for prolonged periods of time can be horrendous on your overall fitness and goals. This should be pretty intuitive but you’d be surprised, and I’m guilty of this myself, how much time people spend on their ass, either working, binging television or in their leisure activities. I lose count of how much time I spend sitting when I’m out to coffee with friends or binge-watching new episodes of Grey’s Anatomy with my wife. Not so great for fitness goals and can actually aggravate or undo some of the fitness achievements you’ve reached. But that isn’t the goal of today’s post. Today’s post is about length and frequency of working out. So, let’s get to the important question: Are my current 30-minute workouts worth it?

The short answer is yes. As most leading health practitioners and fitness experts will tell you, any activity is better than no activity. Another obstacle/hurdle, at least for me, is the fact that as I get older, the energy levels and ability to maintain the same level of fitness as I did even just five years ago, has altered significantly. Sensei would likely cuff me on the back of the head if he reads this, considering that in his seventies, he is very much the image of fitness. More so than someone at my age or younger. Frankly, he puts most people to shame. That being said, ensuring I reach that couple of hours’ total throughout the week CAN be challenging. My body’s propensity for letting the blood sugar drop about twenty minutes before I get home certainly doesn’t help matters. This leads to more evenings than not, where I find myself wolfing down food when I get home as opposed to taking the half hour needed to burn some calories and get a sweat on. The struggle is real…

At the end of the day, all of this starts with you. Unlike most people, I don’t subscribe to the thought that one needs to be motivated in order to workout. That is a whole lot of nonsensical bullshit, right there! You need to be disciplined. Period. Start. Do something. Only do ten minutes of running in your backyard? Good for you. Twenty minutes of doing some weight reps? Fantastic. An hour of wrestling and rolling around on the floor with your kids? Even better. Develop and maintain the discipline to do SOMETHING. Once that discipline is in place, the motivation will follow. It can’t happen in the other direction. That’s an important detail, and most people fail to understand this. For me, going back to the days of 2-hour karate workouts several times a week are likely dead and gone. Type-1 Diabetes and my overall age and health just won’t allow it any longer. If I tried, I likely wouldn’t have the energy and ability to deal with, you know… work, kids, life… But I can guarantee that I’m going to keep pushing workouts and exercise. As often as I can, for as long as I can. They’ll have to pull my cold, dead corpse away from the mats because my health is important, as it supports everything else. So, take care of yours, as well. Unless you’re healthy and capable, you’ll find yourself unable to do any of the other things in life that may be important. Food for thought… ☯️

The Spouse Is In The House, So Grab Your Boxing Gloves…

There’s a saying that I’ve often heard, although it changes with particular situations, that couples who [BLANK] together, stay together. And no, that blank is not a typo. It changes with the given situation. In this case, my thought is that couples who work out together, stay together. While that isn’t the only driving force behind staying together (obviously), there’s nothing more satisfying than getting a solid work out in with your spouse. The awesomeness of working up a sweat, getting healthy and getting that post-work out tired feeling together is something that can bring couples closer to each other and allow them to share something they wouldn’t otherwise; their overall health and fitness. For me, the decades have proved difficult in trying to have anyone I’ve been involved with, work out with me. In previous years, that was an obvious obstacle as my fitness time was usually limited to inside a dojo. But even in situations where I had someone I was dating or involved with joining the dojo, it usually didn’t work out well.

Even once I found myself outside the dojo and involved with someone, training in karate with a non-karate practitioner has some inherent problems. They won’t know the techniques. They won’t know the forms. If you hope to get a full workout, you’ll be going too fast and doing too much for any rational beginner to follow along. It can make it tough. And if you stop or slow down long enough to explain, you essentially burn through your workout time teaching instead of training. It can be frustrating and difficult for both parties, to be sure. But if you can be lucky enough to have a spouse or partner who is willing to work out with you, there’s lots that you can do to enjoy the experience together. If you insist on doing a karate workout, you’ll can limit it to kicking and punching drills, squats, jumping jacks, balance exercises… Lots of things that the two of you can do that won’t have to involve teaching some specifics to your respective exercise mate. Other possibilities are riding bicycles together, going for a job, doing weight sets… Or maybe, just maybe, you can expand your horizons and go to a class and learn something TOGETHER.

For me, I’m lucky in that my wife and I will often exercise together. While I don’t teach her mainstream karate, we often share 30 minutes of weight workouts. I have some wonderful circuits that I’ve saved on my iPad that I can bring up that focuses specific muscle groupings. Once my wife and I have hammered through one of these, we’re usually ready for snacks and/or a nap. A few times now, we’ve shared some time on the punching bag, favoring a circuit that allows us to take turns. While one is on the bag, the other uses a jump rope or sits in a horse stance. Wonderful burn and great exercise. And one of the best results of using this methodology, is the hour you spend working out is no longer an hour away from your spouse. Instead, it’s an hour you share with them. Where you get healthier and work out together. Not only enriching and healthy, it helps to bond you and bring you closer. Sounds like a definite win-win to me.

So find your niche. Discover what works for you and your spouse or partner that will allow the two of you to focus on health, increased energy, better sleep patterns, together. The result will also be shared experiences and laughs along the way that money can’t buy. And that bonding is important. Especially in a relationship that;s intended to be for life. Food for thought… ☯️

The Shoemaker’s Kids Go Barefoot…

The title is actually a very old phrase, apparently originating centuries ago. It demonstrates the unique irony that people will often neglect their own needs and desires while trying to help or take care of others. This line of thinking was not lost on me last night, as I sat quietly sipping a cup of tea while watching some short comedy clips on my phone in a local coffee shop. I was there for barely an hour. But the time there paid dividends in improving my mood, increasing my calm and allowing me to reset after what had been another shitty day in an otherwise overall shitty week. And this has been a shorter week, by virtue of Monday having been a statutory holiday. So just imagine, if I had the fifth work day to contend with? But I digress…

Modern adult life holds so many requirements, that most don’t necessarily realize the toll it takes on them. Often masking their pain and stress with vices such as alcohol, gambling, or any other combination of bad habits, people usually just try to get through their days as best they can. But if one were to stop and truly take stock of everything they need to do within a calendar month in order to hold their households together, the list would look pretty daunting and overwhelming. Taking care of one’s home, shopping for groceries and other household necessities, chores around the house, taking care of one’s children, prepping meals… The list can go on and on. I’ve become more fervently aware of all of these as I have been using a very useful little app in recent months called “Errands.” It’s a straightforward app that I installed on my iPad. It allows me to list and schedule all the errands and tasks I need to undertake, including by specific breakdown (home versus work, an outside errand, appointment, etc). Need to fuel up the car on my way home? Put it on the list. Traveling to Saskatoon for my eye injections? Put it on the list, as well as items to book my hotel room, pack my overnight bag and refill prescriptions.

While the app has been extremely handy in helping me to recognize what’s needed to be done around the house, its also helped me to recognize the daunting weight I carry when it comes to taking care of everything. Some of this has come full circle for me, with the recent decision to commit two nights a week to karate training within my home. Placing a repeating reminder in my Errands app, every Tuesday and Thursday sees me earmarked for karate training. Obviously, it would be easier if I were training outside the house. After all, it’s harder for the daily grind of life to catch you when you’re in an outside dojo. But training at home can be difficult. Last Thursday, I got home with full intentions of jumping into a gi and having an hour or two of solid karate training. Then, my oldest came downstairs to get my help with something. Okay, fair enough. While I was setting up, he came downstairs a second time. This time, his younger brother was hovering around the top of the steps; a habit he usually has, since he enjoys following his brother around. I dismissed him and explained I would be doing karate shortly and needed some alone time. Ten minutes later and before I had even started, he came downstairs to use the shower. His brother followed and was now underfoot. Karate didn’t happen.

This tends to be the recurring trend, with this past Tuesday seeing me working until late hours, resulting in fatigue that saw me crash once I was finally able to log off from work. The resulting effect is eventual burnout, and I’m headed there. So when I say that sitting quietly at a table in a coffee shop sipping on a cup of tea, Earl grey, hot (Picard reference), is a necessity, I don’t mean it lightly. I mean it literally. The hour I spend alone decompressing allows me to refocus my energies and provide for my family with less of a danger of burning out or losing my shit on them while I try to do so. Most people don’t recognize this need. And while I have trained for years to meditate and use it as a tool to promote my own inner-self and wellbeing, trying to meditate in a household with two young children carries the same risks as when I try to practice karate. While typical workouts like weight training or working out on the punching bag aren’t really affected if a little one comes pestering, being interrupted in the middle of a kata is damaging to one’s overall martial arts training.

That’s why it is most critically important to take time for oneself. And there are plenty of options. For me, and during the warmer summer months, I enjoy sitting in my open garage with a cigar and listening to music or watching comedy videos. Laughing is good for the soul. Maybe your downtime includes sitting quietly in a coffee shop reading an old school book, or taking a walk around the lake. It inherently doesn’t matter what you do, provided you do it outside the house so you aren’t interrupted and it’s something solely for you. When explaining this to your family, there’s nothing wrong with making it clear that for the next hour, you’re unavailable for anything that isn’t an emergency. That you love them but unless the house is on fire or someone is injured, you should be called or texted until you give the all-clear. So many relationships that end badly could have been salvaged or better held, had the people in those relationships acknowledged and respected this need. It isn’t selfish. It’s needed. Your feet also need shoes. Everybody’s does. Food for thought… ☯️

Why Carbs?

You know, having discovered carb counting back in 2014 when I was first introduced to insulin pump therapy, I realized that I had spent my entire youth misunderstanding the body’s relationship with sugar, carbohydrates and what they really mean for someone living with Diabetes. When I was a child and known to have “Juvenile Diabetes,” the basic rule was simple; take your shot and don’t eat any sugar. This led to significant errors on my parents’ part. Hungry? Have a slice of bread. There’s no sugar in bread. Thirsty, have a glass of milk. There’s no sugar in milk. It resulted in a number of years where my health was in decline, my blood sugars were rampantly out of control and had me live through a number of Diabetic comas. Not fun. But it was the early 1980’s and my parents, light bless them, did the best they could with the limited information we were given. Even when the health care system was “better,” there were still significant gaps that could have cost me my life early on. If not for the several times my brother woke and ran to my parents to wake them, I likely would have died before reaching my teens. Which is what they expected of me back then. But I digress…

Pump therapy introduced me to the concept of carb counting. So, let’s start with the basics, for those who may not be aware. Carbs, or carbohydrates, are macronutrients found in most food that your body breaks down to use as a primary source of fuel. For the most part, you NEED carbs, even though your favorite celebrity may tell you that you should go carb-free. Complex carbohydrates can include simple carbs, which are usually the ones that act fastest if you need to increase your blood sugars, or complex carbs, which need to be broken down by the body first, which is why they don’t make an ideal blood sugars treatment. This can includes breads and crackers and such. And this also includes fiber, which is included in the carb total on your food label but should be substrates from the carbs you calculate for, as they don’t affect blood sugars. The other main sources of fuel are protein and fat. If your body has no carbs available for fuel, it will begin burning stored fat for energy, which is why some folks believe in fasting and going carb free. All caught up? Good. Moving on.

Since learning to carb count, I’ve altered my mindset when it comes to food. For the most part, the trend in the western world is to add carbs to carbs, when eating a meal. Think about it. When was the last time you went out to your local restaurant for a meal? If it was a burger joint, you likely would have had a burger and fries. The carbohydrates in the burger are paired up with the carbohydrates in the fries, leading to a massive amount of unnecessary carbs within one meal. The second aspect is that since these are all complex carbs, bolusing for the correct amount of carbs will likely cause your blood sugars to drop significantly before your body has a chance to break those complex carbs down into usable energy. Then you end up piling fast-acting carbs on top to, you know, keep from dying… The result usually ends up being that your blood sugars will skyrocket. Even trendier and “full meal” restaurants seem to pile on the carbs. Have a side with your meal? Sure, why not? Potatoes, fries, rice… They’re all an unnecessary and unneeded carb added to the total count of your meal.

Most of this stemmed from the need for restaurants to portray the concept of getting bang for one’s buck, by ensuring full plates or meals. Since most sides are made from something lenticular and cheap, it’s a no-brained, from the business’ perspective. From the perspective of a Type-1 Diabetic who needs to calculate everything, it can be complicated and complicating. And no, that’s not a typo; I mean both. The inherent problem is that a portion of crabs that you yourself didn’t measure out can be extremely difficult to bolus for. A pile of mashed potatoes can quickly turn into bolusing too much or too little for what you’re getting, on top of being a complex carbs within that will take forever to break down. And unfortunately, while salads and veggies are options that would eliminate that problem, most vegetable, especially the high-fiber ones, are fillers that will make you feel fuller, faster. While this is not an inherently bad thing, it sucks when you pay a small fortune for a delicious meal where you might get to full from vegetables to enjoy the main. Plus, I’m one of those “I’m not paying for food that my food eats” people.

When eating out at any dining establishment, have a closer look at your meal and consider the pros and cons. Maybe a particular location has those seasoned, crispy fries that you really like and makes it definitely worth the added insulin. Or maybe, just maybe, you can just enjoy the burger, skip the fires and NOT deal with the added blood sugar issues or bolusing that ensues. Not least of which is the added fullness and bloating from overeating. You don’t have to be an Ozempic user to recognize how to keep your meals reasonable and portions smaller and more manageable. You just need to give a fuck about your health. Food for thought… ☯️

Give Yourself A Break…

Type-1 Diabetes is a beast of a condition to manage. I don’t think that should really be a secret to anyone who has it but to the undiagnosed general public, many seem to think that all it involves is taking the occasional insulin shot, testing your blood sugar and NOT eating sugar. In truth, managing Type-1 Diabetes is a life-long journey (although some would call it a battle) that requires constant monitoring and being on one’s guard. For myself, I was diagnosed at the tender age of 4 years old. Some would throw out a few token “aww’s” at that but realistically, I was too young to really know any different. It was likely easier for me than it would have been, had I gotten diagnosed into my teens the way some friends of mine have. I grew up learning how to manage Diabetes and never had the opportunity to develop “bad habits” that might have made control more difficult in my later years.

But for the folks who are not Diabetic and may not have a family member who is, there is a lot that goes on in the day-to-day steps to control my Diabetes and ensure I don’t lose my eyesight, have an organ fail or have limbs amputated due to poor control. And those are just some of the more knowable potential outcomes. The lesser known and visible side effects are things like ketoacidosis. I had a friend who hosted a guest in her home who was Type-1 Diabetic. He spent the weekend there and the following morning, she and her husband were curious at the fact that he was sleeping in so late. They knocked at the door and inquired when he would be getting up. She remembered him responding “Do I have to,” to which she indicated no and let him go back to sleep. An hour or two later, they were concerned enough that they decided they had to wake him. He had unfortunately locked the door and they had to break their way into the room. He had gone into a Diabetic coma and died. This is the darker side of the condition that people don’t recognize when they’re busy making jokes about “Diabeetus” and thinking it’s because just eat too much sugar or candy. But I digress…

Here are some of the things that I need to stay on constant guard about, when managing my Type-1 Diabetes on a day-to-day basis. This is the stuff that most people don’t realize and that aren’t visible to anyone who isn’t immediately in my household. This list is not exhaustive but is definitely part of my daily routine, which is likely why I’m always exhausted and need several cups of coffee. But here we go:

  • Extra and non-Diabetic Medications: This one is a particular sore point for me. Besides insulin injections, I have daily medications I need to take. In early 2010, a regularly scheduled doctor’s visit resulted in being prescribed statins, which are apparently a required staple of grown adults with Type-1 Diabetes to help control cholesterol levels, and Ramipril, which is used to control overall blood pressure and heart health. On top of that, although I came off of this one a few months ago, is a medication called Ezetemibe, which also used for cholesterol control. Although, since starting to use Ozempic in late 2023, I no longer need the Ezetemibe since my cholesterol is essentially a non-concern. Oh yeah, I take weekly Ozempic injections to help blood pressure and kidney health.
  • Frequent Blood Sugar Testing: I’m pretty lucky to be on a modern insulin pump. Prior to 2014, I was testing my blood sugars up to ten times a day on average. The problem with that is the inconvenience of having to blood let one of your fingertips when you’re feeling off, no matter where you are or what you’re doing. Flying blind and assuming your blood sugar levels can be dangerous and detrimental to your health. It’s even more inconvenient if you’re on a flight, in a restaurant or in a work meeting where you need to excuse yourself. Even worse was during the dating phase where you’d need to test your blood or worse, if things were heating up and getting physical and you had to ensure your blood sugars were okay to “proceed.” Thankfully, that part of my life is over.
  • Constantly Carrying a Man-Purse: What I’ve learned over time and especially in the past year or so, is that I can never take anything for granted. Stepping out of the house to run an errand while thinking “I’ll only be fifteen minutes,” can turn into a medical emergency pretty fuckin’ quick.! Just at the start of this summer, my blood sugars were normal and I had to run to a local mall to pick up one item. The mall is a literal five-minute drive away from the house. It should have been quick, easy and without concern. Once at the mall, my pump started loudly blaring at me. My blood had dropped to 3.4 mmol/L. What should have been a quick, ten or fifteen minute trip turned into forty minutes of sitting on a bench, sipping on a Coke and waiting for my blood sugars to rise enough for me to safely (and legally) drive home. These days, I always carry a small shoulder sling that contains a glucometre, a small first aid kit, wipes and hand sanitizer and at least one (although usually several) bags of non-perishable fast-acting carbs. Which brings me to my next point…
  • Keeping family Members from Being Concerned: They say it takes a village and in most circumstances, they would be right. One of my mother’s greatest concerns over the years would be that I would find myself alone as an adult and have to deal with the pitfalls of Diabetes alone. This can be inherently dangerous, since slipping into a serious Diabetic episode when I have no one to help can be deadly. But when I look at that scenario with the trip to the mall, one of the first things I did was text my wife. Not only to let her know I would be a while longer than expected but in the event I found myself in greater medical distress, I had to be prepared to have her assist me in some way, or at least know to go to the hospital to find me if something happened. It can be somewhat exhausting for family, especially considering it isn’t a condition they have themselves. That’s why it’s incredibly important NOT to get testy when they ask if you’ve tested your blood, or eaten enough, or remembered to take your pill. If you have family members that are invested enough to give a shit about your health, you need to soak that shit up and be grateful. Like I said, it takes a village.
  • Near Constant Adapting To Changing Conditions: Probably the toughest and most annoying aspect outside of taking insulin or testing your blood sugars, is having to adapt to plans depending on what your body is doing. Sure, everyone does this. Ever had to cancel plans with friends because you had the runs and couldn’t leave your house? Picture that, but on a daily basis. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve had to cancel coffee or hangouts with friends because I was ill due to blood sugars or my compromised immune system had me dealing with yet another common illnesses that most people would shrug off. Don’t even get me started on wanting to get a workout in but my low blood sugar fucks my night. Or, speaking of fucking up one’s night, imagine wanting to get physical with your significant other, but your blood sugars are too high or too low to allow you to perform as required. Not fun.
  • Traveling Becomes a Burden: Honestly, this has become WORSE since starting on an insulin pump. Travel becomes tedious, especially if I should be leaving the province or country. I have to calculate and plan out my insulin intake, use of supplies and alternatives in the event I run out of something at my destination. Will I be able to find what I need? Will I be covered for it, outside of my home Province or while I suddenly find myself paying a significant amount of money out-of-pocket? If a given pharmacy in the area doesn’t carry what I need, can I do without or will I be sacrificing a portion of my trip traveling elsewhere to find what I need? Just two years ago, my continuous glucose monitor expired and the one I had packed for the week failed on installation. My local pharmacies not only had no idea what I was talking about when I tried to purchase more, but I had no means of ordering any. I had to run the pump without CGM for the remainder of my trip.

While some of these can be chalked up to basic inconvenience, some of them can lead to significant issues or even become life-threatening. You know how you always read about these folks who get harassed for parking in a handicap space but don’t “look” disabled? Picture that, with everything but not limited to, everything I listed above. Managing and living with Type-1 Diabetes requires a daily grind where you can never let your foot off the gas. And people often wonder why I’m always exhausted and binging caffeine like it’s going out of style. Don’t eat sugar? Sure. Take daily insulin shots? Absolutely. But trust me when I say that while it could always be worse, Type-1 Diabetes, at least when it’s properly controlled, is a far cry from an easy walk in the park. Food for thought… ☯️

To Learn Is To Teach…

It’s safe to say that I’ve walked through the doors of more dojos than I can count throughout the course of my martial arts journey. Some before I joined Uechi Ryu and some after. But none were upset as memorable as when I walked into my Sensei’s dojo for the first time. For the most part, I was a rude, snot-nosed kid who used sarcasm and attitude t mask my own personal trauma, usually caused by my Diabetes and the issues I had faced as a child. Although I hadn’t yet started karate, I was good friends with Sensei’s son, whom I grew up to recognize as a brother. On a particular night where I was visiting and my blood sugars were skyrocketing (as they usually were), I may or may not have commented about a grown man cleaning up dog urine, when I saw Sensei tidying up after the poodle my friend owned. He decided to introduce himself then, and also introduced me to my first pressure point, which cause my arm to flare with electric pain. Needless to say, I made no further comment.

Recognizing that it’s decades later, some people hear that story and think that it was cruel to do that to a kid. Modern day adults would assume that it would have been better for Sensei to contact my parents, have them give me a talk and be sensitive to what my feelings may have been at the time. Yeah… fuck that. That’s a HUGE part of what’s wrong with the world today. Everyone’s too involved with their feelings and being offended. But that isn’t what today’s post is about, so I’m going to try and stay on track here. The point is, this was the first step towards learning humility that I had experienced up to that point. As a result, I found myself seeking out the martial arts to help heal my body and spirit, as opposed to cowering in a corner. Imagine my surprise when I walked into the dojo for the first time and saw Sensei standing there, in all his black-belted glory, as the instructor of the class. I could have excused myself and stepped out. I could have walked away and sought my teachings elsewhere. Instead, that one brief moment of humility echoed in my mind and told me that this teacher could teach; and learn was exactly what I was there to do.

Decades ago and while testing for my first belt, I noticed a panel in Sensei’s home dojo, which was attached to his house back in New Brunswick. I’ve seen it in plenty of other places since then but I remember being fascinated by the words. It read:

“For every 10,000 people that join a martial arts school, half will drop out within the first six months
Of those remaining students, about 1,000 will complete 1 year of training then quit. 500 will study for two years but only 100 will see their 3-year anniversary
On average, only 10 will study to achieve black belt.
One shall go on to teach others what he has learned, for the martial arts is now part of their life and they shall go on to share this life with others.

This person is a Sensei.”

Although the words didn’t sink in for me as deeply as they were intended, I was fascinated nonetheless. As I progressed in my studies, I began teaching others. Basics at first, then more complicated techniques, forms and even teaching the occasional class when Sensei was absent or otherwise unavailable, which was pretty rare. I enjoyed it greatly and felt that teaching was as much a part of my overall growth and learning as my mainstream studies were. There came a time when one of Sensei’s students opened a dojo of her own. With at least one class that landed on a different night than ours, I took advantage of the added tranning time. Given that I was the eldest belt in that group, I was often looked to as the assistant instructor, often opening and closing the dojo in preparation for class, and often taking on class when the instructor had to work or was absent. Teaching became an ingrained part of my journey. I met and retained many of my close friends through teaching, including but not limited to my friend Ricky, who interviewed for one of my posts back in 2021. You can read his story here.

There’s a rewarding feeling that comes from teaching others. Sensei has always said that karate is a puzzle with a million pieces. As long as you step out of the dojo every day with one new piece, you’ll have learned something. Watching someone go from their first day in the dojo, barely keeping balance when they walk, to performing kata, sparring, and keeping up with the rest of the class, emerging from their cocoon and training to become heir best selves, carries a level of satisfaction that one can only get from teaching. But teaching is not everyone’s cup of tea. I learned this the hard way, when I agreed to take on Sensei’s children’s class as the lead instructor. I went into that first night with an electric sense of excitement in my soul. I had made it. I was a Sensei. The future of these children’s martial arts journey would be molded by my hand. I would have the opportunity to pass on the things I had learned, share my insights, provide my perspective on the lessons learned, the pitfalls, the positive and negative… Until I wasn’t.

Teaching children was a significantly different bag of tricks from what I had become used to. Prior to this, I never had someone in the dojo who was younger than a teenager. While teenagers come with their own baggage, it’s usually and reasonably safe to say that they’re there of their own volition and want to learn. The same can’t necessarily be said of children. Having them line up properly, stay in line and pay attention became 75% of my time during the hour I had them. By the time the adult students started filing in to attend the adult class, I was often emotionally drained and in no position to train myself. My intention to teach others was sapping my ability to train and develop my own skills. The big issue I faced as a Sensei was that when you train children, you need to make it engaging. You need to make it fun. You can’t spend a straight hour repeating the same form over and over like I had been taught. You can’t pound on them and forge their steel muscles through fire the way we were. It was an entirely different ball of wax, one I was neither prepared nor capable of taking on.

Less than a year after I had taken it on, I had to stop and recognize the toll that teaching was taking on me and I had to relinquish the kid’s dojo back to Sensei. For what was probably the first time since that initial step into the dojo decades earlier, I had given up on something. It was no doubt as disappointing to Sensei as it was to me. But it was in the best interest of not only myself, but the children I was trying to teach. I was skilled, I was capable and I could definitely impart those skills to others. But I lacked the proper tools and knowledge to pass it on to children. Although I knew I was doing the right thing, it felt like a failure. It struck a significant blow to my psyche that took a long time to get over. As a result, I never opened another dojo on my own again after that. A few short years later, I joined the RCMP and moved out west. It was a reasonably easy excuse that transferring every few years would make it unfair to students for me to open a dojo, only to close it 3 to 5 years later. But the truth was right there in the back of my mind; the failure of my first dojo was enough to prevent me from taking the chance again.

In retrospect, part of me feels that it wasn’t so much a failure as it was an important lesson for me to recognize the different facets of teaching that I need to recognize. If I were to open a dojo today, teaching kids would likely be less of an issue for me. After all, I teach my youngest son some karate when he joins me. But that’s one child, with all my attention on him. I still believe that one can never truly learn the martial arts to its full potential without eventually teaching. It is a natural progression in one’s skills that is in effect, inevitable. But the big piece is in how you approach it. As I mentioned earlier, teaching is not everyone’s cup of tea. But the beauty of karate is that a studious practitioner will always manage to teach something to others, even when one is not planning or expecting it. Therefore, there are no regrets. Food for thought…☯️

Autumn Falls

Most people have a preferred or favorite season throughout the year. For most people, it tends to be the spring, when everything starts melting and the weather gets milder. Birds are chirping and greenery starts to poke its head through whatever remnants of winter snow may remain. For others, it’s usually the summer, since this generally means vacations, hot weather and outdoor activities and/or time at the pool or beach. You EVEN get the occasional person who favors winter, citing the beauty and clam that a slow, snowy night can bring. Personally, winter is the season I dislike the most, given that it means shoveling and snow removal, traveling to work in the cold and increased utility costs for keeping the house warm. No, for me, the best season and the one I enjoy the most is autumn, colloquially known as the fall season.

During fall, one can not only start to enjoy some of the milder weather, similar to what spring brings, but one begins to cool off after the hotter temperatures thrown about from the summer months. I get to spend time outdoors and perform yard work and chores without turning my shirt transparent from the sweat. It’s still nice enough out to enjoy workouts on my punching bag or sitting in my garage with a nice cigar. Wildlife still wanders my residential property but changes within their behavior and color start to emerge. The same can be said for the wonderful splendor of nature as a whole.

The Appalachian view of the bay from my home town in New Brunswick

For decades, I lived in Northern New Brunswick, surrounded by sea water, an open bay and the rounded moutain tops of the Appalachian range. During my youth, I was blinded by time; surrounded by beauty but never truly seeing it, because I grew up around it. It wasn’t until I moved away and started my career in Saskatchewan that my mindset changed. Now, returning home is much like taking a breath of fresh air. For those who have read previous posts, specifically recent ones about the pitfalls of my recent trip out East, I’m referring to the environment and its beauty; not the difficulties of going how again. But it isn’t until recent years while visiting my home area that I’ve come to realize just how much beauty was sitting in front of me all along, with my very clear eyes blind to seeing it. I guess that can often be the way of things when one is younger. You never quite appreciate what you’ve got until it’s gone, right?

Sugarloaf Mountain, an extinct volcano in my hometown

If you look at the photo included with this post, you’ll see one of the best parts of the fall season; the changing colors of the leaves. Stretch across a mountainy splendor, one can experience every variety of red, orange, yellow and brown, occasionally sprinkle with a touch of remaining green. This is either from the pine tress or from the few stubborn holdouts that don’t seem to lose their remaining chlorophyll, the pigment that gives most leaves their color. The overall tableau allows one to drink in the full splendor of nature’s awesome beauty and the impressive cycle and process it goes through every year. I can easily imagine, sitting on a rocker on a front porch, looking out at the open ocean and changing colors of the leaves, all while sipping on a hot cup of herbal tea. Not all time needs to be occupied. Sometimes the perfect day is allowing time to slow to a standstill so that nature can be heard. Although I will confess, this is often easier said than done.

So as the autumn settles in for its very short visit before the frigid temperatures of winter settles in, be sure to take some quiet time. Watch the transformation. Watch the evolution of the season and enjoy the cool, crisp mornings offset by the warmer, balmy afternoons. This is truly the best season that offers just a little something for everybody, regardless of their preference. And if you’re unfortunate enough to miss it, take comfort in the knowledge that it’ll all come around again in a year. But for now, take advantage if you can. A peaceful moment can heal many wounds. Jus’ sayin’… ☯️

Sometimes, Nature Knows…

About three years ago, I had an interesting incident that took place on my property. My family and I live on a small residential lot in Regina, Saskatchewan. It’s a quiet neighborhood, free of any commercial or industrial districts with the exception of some schools. I guess those aren’t necessarily in either of those categories but my point is, people don’t generally come into our neighborhood unless they live there or are visiting someone. As a result, we have an abundance of wildlife, including but not limited to rabbits, large squirrels and plenty of domesticated cats who have full advantage of wandering the neighborhood unbothered (for the most part). For me, the concept of seeing large rabbits just chilling on my front lawn has always been a point of fascination, since it was something I rarely saw in New Brunswick. We have them; they simply aren’t quite as visible as they seem to be here.

The incident I’m referring to from three years ago, involved a mother rabbit and her two babies being attacked by a large bird on our front lawn. One baby was killed, the mother fled and one baby hid under the wheel of my recycling bin. It was wedged under there, stuck and frightened. I temporarily took it under my care until I turned it loose when I spotted a group of three adult rabbits wandering the front lawn. I named him Fluffernut, although I can’t even confirm that it was male. I got a lot of backlash and hate for my actions, which not only caught me by surprise but as a strong believer in putting good out into the world, I felt I had done something right, even if the nay-sayers felt that I hadn’t. You can read about this interaction here. And here’s a photo of the little guy, hours before I released him back into the wild.

Fluffernut

A short while later, I was visited by a slightly larger rabbit that had some of the same color patterns and approached my son and I while we were inside the garage. Considering a rabbit’s fur and shading will change over time and with the seasons, I had no way of truly knowing if this was the same rabbit I had helped. But given that it was following my son and I around and accepted some Timothy hay and seeds without seeming scared or skittish around us, suggested that it had some familiarity with us. Maybe I was just romanticizing the notion. Who know? My point is, I feel that sometimes natures knows. And if you put good out into the world, good will often find you. A day or two ago, the same type of occurrence happened. And part of me can’t bring myself to believe that EVERY rabbit in my neighborhood is capable of approaching me without fear or dashing off as soon as I move.

So on Tuesday night, I was sitting quietly in my garage, polishing my work shoes and puffing on a semi-decent cigar. Once I had a few coats of polish on the shoes and they were looking decent, I set everything aside and started doing something light gaming on my iPad. I have a batch of daily crosswords and puzzles that I like to do in order to keep the mind sharp. Suddenly, a very large, light-haired rabbit hopped into view at the mouth of the garage and sat for several minutes, quietly staring at me with its dark, beady eyes. I felt entranced, and didn’t dare move for fear of scaring it off. After a few minutes, it slowly and calmly hopped into my back yard. Nathan came out, presumably having seen the rabbit from his bedroom window. I asked him not to scare it and to slowly retreat back to the house. Several minutes later, it approached the garage again. It sat the open mouth of the garage, watched me for a time, nibbled on some of the weeds sprouting from the seam in the garage door and even took a few steps INTO the garage.

I didn’t dare move and I barely breathed but I once again found myself wondering, Is this Fluffernut??? Probably not, but I can’t help but feel that nature knows. Maybe it was. Maybe he remembers and occasionally visits. The nay-sayers would say no. The beauty part is, thinking it doesn’t make it so but believing it makes me smile, so it can’t be all bad, right? All I know is I would have been unwilling to accept letting that little ball of fluff die needlessly, that day. Nature or not, nurture sometimes needs a win. And I felt I delivered that, back in the summer of 2022. Food for thought… ☯️

Get Back On The Horse…

So, I wanted to touch base on one of the most disliked (generally) but yet effective tools in training within karate circles; the horse stance. I think it’s important to bear in mind that like all other aspects of karate and the martial arts, different styles and schools may execute techniques and movements in different ways. By virtue of this and as I write this post, it’s important to view my opinion through the lens that these perspectives are those of my home dojo and reflective of Uechi Ryu Okinawa karate. Some of this may not relate to other styles, they may do it differently or, if you’re a martial artist yourself, may have been trained differently. I want to be clear that the specifics of this post are not intended to say any other method is ineffective or improper. It simply isn’t my way. ‘Nuff said. Let’s get on with it, shall we?

If you’ve trained in traditional karate, you’ve likely experienced it before. Class has been carrying on for over an hour. You’re soaked in sweat and your gi has practically turned transparent from your sweat. Every muscle, joint and even your bones ache and all you want to do is break away so you can gulp down some much-needed water. The, Sensei calls out: “HORSE STANCE!” You obediently drop into the familiar position that is in some ways comfortable due to its familiarity while simultaneously spelling your ability to walk’s doom. You predict, quite accurately, that you may be unable to lift yourself off the bed tomorrow morning. That’s if you don’t collapse from the horse stance now. Sensei sets an egg timer; you know the one… the turn-dial timer that clicks at every second as it counts down? You remain static, listening to every click and praying for the next one to be the last, until finally, the bell rings. This never meant we could stop, however. Stopping was not permitted until Sensei said so. But when he finally did, the relief in one’s legs ALMOST overshadowed their exhaustion.

Me, in a horse stance in Okinawa in 2001. How young and thin I was…

What seemed like a form of torture to the casual observer was a typical part of training for most of us. And we took full advantage of the training benefits that the horse stance provided. So, let’s start with the basics. What the fuck is a horse stance? Although done slightly different in some schools, if you look at the above photo of me, you’ll note that the big toes, feet and knees are pointed outwards at roughly a 45 degree angle from the front of the body. The torso is dropped down into what could almost be called a crouch but while spreading the feet so that the thighs are perpendicular to the shins but parallel to the floor. This position is held for whatever purpose the practitioner is using it for. In most cases, it’s used primarily for training and form. But in some limited capacity, it can also be used to help execute techniques in specific circumstances during an actual physical confrontation. Imagine, your opponent has fallen to the ground and the only way to retain contact with him is by crouching down into a horse stance. It provides overall balance, stability and reach to lower positions. As you can see from the photo, you can execute techniques from different angles while in a horse stance.

Let’s get to the meet and potatoes, though. Why in the hell would we put ourselves through the scenario I described above for a stance that is only rarely used in actual fighting? Well, on the one side, most aspects of form wouldn’t necessarily ever be used in a real fight. Form is intended to provide foundation, develop technique, speed and precision before using it in a real-time application. But the deep and wide position of the horse stance strengthens almost all the aspects of the lower body, legs, hips, thighs and butt. Believe or not, your butt muscles play an integral role in the proper execution of your kicks, your balance and your stance. Remember that, next time you consider skipping your lunges during resistance training. Horse stance is an isometric exercise, which means you hold the position without moving by engaging the muscles in those areas. The maintained tension contributes to the overall strength and growth.

A bit older and thicker but that horse stance still rocks!

Besides building up the muscle strength in the lower body, the horse stance will also help to build up your endurance. It’ll also work towards improving your mobility and range of hip movement; an important aspect when training in an art that includes leg movements and kicks. This helps to increase your flexibility and make deeper, prolonged position possible and more comfortable without injuring yourself. Your balance and stability will increase over time and believe it or not, your core gets significantly engaged, considering you need to keep your torso and upper body straight and stable while in the horse stance. There are probably far more physical benefits than I have listed here, but those are the basic ones that I can think of, for the purposes of this post.

While most of this covers what horse stance can do for the body, it should also be recognized that it can do quite a bit for the psychological and mental aspects, as well. Let’s not forget that karate is as much a mental discipline as physical. The concept of fighting through the pain, pushing through and finding one’s limits are very real aspects of traditional karate. Executing a proper horse stance and holding it allows a practitioner to build resilience, mental discipline and build up one’s tolerance to physical discomfort. These are wall important aspects to developing as a martial artist. As it was once said, discispline is not the enemy of enthusiasm. So while it would be easy to dismiss or omit the horse stance from one’s workout, I highly recommend against it. After all, reading this post should illustrate that every movement, every technique and every aspect of one’s martial art has purpose, and provides far more than what the casual observer likely realizes. Food for thought… ☯️