Falling Into a Rhythm

My Stats To Date:
Push ups: 3,000
Crunches: 3,000
Miles: 27.5
Kata Reps: 65

Falling into a rhythm now — I'm really enjoying my morning routine in the park: Every morning at about 7:00am, there's a group of 60-70 year old Chinese women doing chi-kung exercises by the ballfield. There's usually 7 or 8 of them moving and talking togehter, and when I come along, they stop to fawn over my daughter while I do my crunches on the bleachers. I don't speak a word of Chiense, and they don't speak any English, but still communication is easy. (One morning last week, they even presented me with a package of teething buiscits for Ava — how sweet!)

There are other now-familiar faces in the early-morning, too:

I often spy a man and woman doing Yang-style tai chi (long form) together on the tennis courts. Their tai chi is beautiful and graceful (although their tennis is unforgivingly awful!) ; An older gentleman does kung fu by the tot-lot; still another man stands on the park green in silent, standing meditation. It's an interesing gathering of martial artists! Who knew?

There are others whom I see every morning, too: People on their way to work; a handful of dog walkers; A Russian man walking and doing calisthenics; kids enrolled in summer school pass by and wave or pet my dog while I do my push-ups.

I'm reading "Touching Peace" by Thich Nhat Hanh and enjoying it. Also reading "The Book of Tea" by Kakuzo Okakura. Reminds me of the ceremonies I attended with Master Kaji Aso at the House of Flower Wind before he passed away.

So Far, So Good!

My Stats To Date:

• Push ups: 1,500
• Crunches: 1,500
• Miles: 12.5
• Kata Reps: 30

I'm a little more than a week into my UBBT. The push ups and crunches were tough at first — day 4 was really hard — but my body is slowly adjusting to the new demands, and I'm less sore with every passing day. I've created a nice morning routine while I'm out walking the dog with my daughter, Ava: By the end of our morning walk, and long before I leave for work, I've completed my crunches, push ups, and kata repetitions for the day. (I've selected Gojushiho as my UBBT kata.) I've pushed through one rainy day so far — and now I'm a little apprehensive about what will become of this routine in the dead of the coming New England winter!

Next week, I start running again. Logging 1,000 miles seems impossible... Coach Tom, when do I sleep?!?! I'm counting dojo training as sparring time, getting "real" rounds in whenever I can. As for the boxing and BJJ? I have no idea how I'm going to fit that stuff in. Like a few of my teammates, I am NOT a full-time instructor, so I guess I'll just have to get creative! I know I'm "doing" daily acts of kindness, but I've got to get cracking on keeping better track of them. Periods of meditation have been brief, but relaxing. This is a lot of stuff to cram into a day!

I'm keeping a closer eye on my diet now, which means I'm frequenting the salad bar more often during my lunch breaks. I've stopped drinking coffee, too, replacing it with green tea. (My students had a good laugh when I told them that a soy milk green tea latte was my new guilty pleasure!)

Support from my fellow UBBT team members has been great so far: Hal Gustin was in town this week and he dropped by my tiny dojo to train with my students and me. Thanks, Hal!

So far, so good!

Jump and the Net Will Appear

I must be crazy, but I've just signed up to participate in The Ultimate Black Belt Test — a grueling yearlong examination that consists of challenges that are designed to create physical, mental, emotional and spiritual breakthroughs. It's going to be quite an adventure!

A successful test involves completing — among many other things — the following in the course of one year:

• 52,000 push ups and crunches


• 1,000 miles of running/walking


• 15 minutes of daily meditation for a year


• 1,000 acts of kindness


• 1,000 repetitions of a single kata

You can check out the full list of UBBT requirements here.

Now, I haven't completely lost my mind, but I must be pretty close! Actually, I've been thinking about doing this for a long time, and I finally realized that the "perfect" time to get on board is never going to come.

I know that with all that's going on in my life that I won't be able to complete "every" requirement "exactly" as it's prescribed on the list, but I'll be working closely with Coach Tom Callos to customize my test so that it is challenging and meaningful — and LIFE ALTERING!

This is a fantastic opportunity to accelerate my own personal growth and development through martial arts-based training. But beyond that, it's a wonderful way for me to lead by example and to inspire my students and others in my community to go beyond the limits that they have set for themselves.

My goals?

Through this test, I want to become the martial artist I've always wanted to be. That means making massive improvements in my techniques, forms, and stances, as well as increasing my flexibility, strength, and endurance. As Coach Tom says, being in the Ultimate Black Belt Test means becoming the ultimate student.

I also want to become more of the person I've always wanted to be. I want to grow my dojo in size and membership so that I'm able to meet and inspire and serve more people. I want to learn more about myself and my place in the world, and to make some positive contributions to it. I want to be more connected, more cognizant, and more compassionate. I hope this test will help with these things and more!

It will be interesting to see how I come out on the other side. Wish me luck! Please check back here often to see how I'm doing — and to keep me honest!