Reflections on June 7

Ten years ago today — On June 7, 1998 — I was a Marine Captain serving aboard the U.S.S. Wasp as part of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, conducting exercises and combat operations in the Mediterranean Sea. On that day, I made the following entry in my journal:

"I want to open a martial arts school that focuses on character and community. I want to create an organization that can spread budo, assist the community, and provide role models. I also want to leave a mark that shows that I sought to be a part of something greater than myself, that I strove to achieve something worthwhile and inherently good. I'd like to touch lives and share the martial experience with other people."

That was a decade ago… Want to know the rest of the story? Well, it’s a work in progress.

Literally.

I’ve recently signed on to participate in “Wisdom of the Martial Arts.” It’s a collaboration in which I’ll be co-authoring a book along with notable martial arts greats Fumio Demura, Jhoon Rhee, Ernie Reyes Sr., Stpehen Hayes, and others. I’m excited and honored to be a part of this project. The printed book is due out this fall — which will, oddly enough coincide with the grand opening for Emerald Necklace Martial Arts in its new location.

I’ll be writing about how the martial arts have shaped my life, about how dedication to a vision can make amazing things happen, and about the potential power that martial arts and martial artists have to make a real and positive difference in the world.

I told my students today that my story has become OUR story. We're writing it together, and even I don't know the ending yet!