The Weather's getting colder...

My Stats To Date:
Push ups: 10,300
Crunches: 10,300
Miles: 127.5
Kata Reps: 242

Man, this is tough! The numbers look imressive, but I'm actually falling a bit behind the pace on my crunches and push ups. It's not going to be any fun making those up! I really and truly don't have the time/opportunity to log as many miles as I'd like to, but the kata reps are going very well. (Getting ready for a tournament next month!)

My diet has improved quite a bit during my weekday lunches, but when Joy and I get home after a hard day's work, sit-down meals are a real challenge. With our 14-month-old, there's still laundry, bath time, story time... Who has the time and energy to cook, let alone eat!?!

I'm working on sparring with my intermediate-level students, so they're willing and able to go a few rounds with me every week. Gotta figure out a place to hang a heavy bag...

They days are getting shorter... With less and less light, it seems harder to keep up the motivation. I've powered through a few rainy mornings to do my calisthenics, and we've had a couple of chilly mornings, too. (Although this week it's been back above 90 degrees.) Winter is on its way. Kata reps in the snow...? Yeech!

Facing My Personal Nemesis

I hate yoga.

There! I said it. The truth is out!

Now, let me explain what I mean by "the truth:"

Yoga is my bugbear, my demon.. call it what you want — it's really hard for me! Even though I've trained in the martial arts for years and years, I'm physically very tight. My muscular flexibility and joint range of motion are two areas that I've constantly struggled with. And so I've avoided working on it — for years and years!

Downward dog? My mortal enemy!

Now, the truth is that I know how GOOD yoga is for me, mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually... I admire the art, it's practitioners, and all that yoga has to teach me. I subscribe to Yoga Journal. I even host yoga classes at my dojo. But the fact is I find it very challenging to face (and work with, and accept) my own physical limitations when I'm on the mat reaching for my toes and/or twisting my spine.

I've made significant improvements in recent years, but I've got a long way to go to get to where I'd like to be. And somewhere deep, down inside, I know that my physical inflexibility is probably a manifestation of a mental state. This is something I need to work on, a barrier I need to break through!

What better opportunity for growth could I ask for? I've added weekly yoga training to my UBBT.

Trying to not compare myself to others

I want to help develop "artists of life" and help people achieve their personal goals, AND I want to grow my martial arts school into a viable business! It can be done!

Since part of my personal UBBT challenge is building and growing my school (can I double our student membership by the spring?), I've been working very hard at improving enrollment for my next adult karate beginner's session, which starts on 9/29 by posting craigslist ads, pushing student referrals, placing listings in the community news sections of local papers, etc. I'm printing up new flyers to distribute, and I'm collaborating with one of the local adult ed organizations.

I spent all of last Sunday with Master Chris Rappold at his business development seminar. Ever seen his dojo? Holy cow, it's beautiful! And more than that, it's full of students. I'm trying not to compare myself with Chris and the others in attendance (mostly multiple-school owners with hundreds of students), but it's hard not to!

Seeing and sitting with other successful dojo operators was a motivating experience... talk about seeking out masters! There's no reason why I can't be as successful as the others at the seminar... the only thing holding me back is ME!

Chris gave all of us some good suggestions, which I'm trying to wrap my head around and implement. I've been training like a wild man, too — going to a tournament in Canada at the end of next month, and competing for the first time in about a decade!

On Acts of Kindness

Okay, I admit it: I haven't "exactly" been tracking my acts of kindness. Now, don't get me wrong, I've been doing them, I just haven't been writing them down every day (like I'm supposed to be doing). But I'm pretty sure I get at least three AOKs in during the course of each day.

There's one AOK that I do every day: Each and every time I go into the park across the street from my house — and I'm usually in there two times a day — I pick up some trash. Sometimes I pick up a lot (like the other day, when I cleaned up a full barrell of garbage that someone knocked over on purpose); sometimes I pick up an empty soday can, or a plastic bag, or some broken glass.

It's a never-ending battle, and sometimes it seems uphill. Every day I pick something up, and every day there's something new that wasn't there the day before. It's frustrating, but I know my efforts are worth something. It reminds me of a passage I read recently in the Tao Te Ching:

What is a good man but a bad man's teacher?

What is a bad man but a good man's job?

If the teacher is not respected

and the student not cared for,

confusion will arise, however clever one is.

This is the great secret.

In the end, I simply try to leave the park a little bit better than it was when I walked in. My daughter sees me doing this, and I know I'm setting a positive example.

Sometimes I pick up newspapers off one of the park benches, even though I know they served as a blanket for some homeless person who spent the night sleeping there. Even in my cleaning I feel a pinch of compassion.

This week, I picked up a small notebook for writing down my daily AOKs. And in the back, I've started a list of things to be grateful for. "A bed to sleep in every night" made the list today.