Environmental Self-Defense Service Project Planned for Saturday, March 20

OK, So I'm In Shape. Now, Back to Training!

We've just wrapped up our annual 6-week fitness training cycle at the Emerald Necklace dojo.

To get back in shape during the first six weeks of every year, we focus heavily on calisthenics, body weight exercises, and agility drills instead of the karate and traditional weapons practice that is the staple of our "normal" training. This intense training period has been a great way for me to kick off my UBBT — there's nothing like good company and the pressure of witnesses to help form a new habit.

And when disaster struck in Haiti, we quickly used our already in-progress fitness regimen as a launch pad for helping others in need by creating a 30-day push-up and sit-up drive. Donations from the drive are still coming in, but I estimate that ENMA raised somewhere in the neighborhood of $3,000 - 5,000 that will go to the American Red Cross and designated for Haiti relief efforts. When I have a grand total, I'll be sure to post our final results!

(If you sponsored me, rest assured that I did the 100 pushups and situps daily for 30 days that I promised... In fact, I'm pretty sure I did WAY MORE than that, and I have a dojo full of witnesses! If you haven't sent me your donation yet, please do! If you'll make your check payable to the American Red Cross and send it to the dojo, we'll put together a package and send everything to the Red Cross at once. THANK YOU!)

Now, it's time for us to get back to "real" martial arts training — the three K's of karate: kihon (basics and fundamentals), kata (forms), and kumite (sparring and self-defense).

My Life Has A Country-Western Soundtrack

Forgive me, UBBT friends, for not posting a blog last week. Life has been more hectic and stressful than I could have imagined, but I have endured.

We recently replaced our hot water heater. No big deal, right? But that's when we discovered that our downstairs neighbors in the condo have been using power from our house to run their washer and dryer -- for the last three years.

Then came the water main break that required emergency plumbing and a special visit to my home by the Boston Fire Department and Boston Water & Sewer: They had to shut the water off from the street to stop the flooding (Visualize me bailing out the basement at 2:00 am in 20 degree weather as the water gushed in.)

While the Water & Sewer dept. was at the house, they confirmed that we have LEAD PIPES feeding the house, so we're formulating a plan to get those replaced. ASAP.

Despite our best efforts, my daughter's blood sugar has been out of control. (She recently hit 400 on a blood glucose test. Normal range is 80-110.) That means emergency infusion set changes in the middle of the night for both me and my wife, so neither of us is sleeping much. I'm now up all the time. In fact, it's 2:30 am while I'm writing this post.

My wife is 6 months pregnant. Some stress there. Enough said.

Oh, and did I mention we have a squirrel living in our roof? Called Critter Control to catch the little bugger before it does too much damage. (Visualize a small wire cage on the roof baited with peanuts. No, I'm not joking.) And since we're talking about the roof, there's a 10 foot section of gutter missing up there that needs to be repaired immediately.

You want more? I called the vet this week because, sadly, I need to put down my dog, Pallas. She's been part of the family for almost 15 years. She was literally a mangy, flea bitten stray wandering the woods when I found her back in 1995 and patched her up. She's had a great life and we've had great times together, but now, old age is getting the best of her and she's clearly suffering.

I share all this not to garner sympathy. Truth is, I know all this stress is making me stronger. But I have to think that somewhere out there, there's a country western singer who could turn this story into a number one hit.

With all of this, there are some bright spots to consider: I haven't missed a meal. I have people in my life who love and care about me. I still have a roof over my head (squirrel and all). And through all of this, I have continued to train. Every day. No exceptions. The dojo is my sweat lodge, and karate is my medicine. If anything, these recent life events have made me train HARDER.

I imagine that some might recommend that I slow down a bit, take some time off. Nope. I refuse to be defeated by circumstances. My life is my dojo, and this is my Black Belt test.

Sit Mens Sana In Corpore Sano

A sound mind in a sound body. Of all the things we're asked/required to do in the UBBT, let's not forget to TRAIN. I believe that physical fitness brings us rewards that go well beyond physical strength, flexibility, and endurance. Hard training hones the mind and the will as surely as it builds muscle and tendon.

It is to be prayed that the mind be sound in a sound body.
Ask for a brave soul that lacks the fear of death,
which places the length of life last among nature's blessings,
which is able to bear whatever kind of sufferings,
does not know anger, lusts for nothing and believes
the hardships and savage labors of Hercules better than
the satisfactions, feasts, and feather bed of an Eastern king.
I will reveal what you are able to give yourself;
For certain, the one footpath of a tranquil life lies through virtue.

— Juvenal (Roman poet, 2nd century AD)

This week, I've done a lot of fitness training. Hundreds of push-ups and sit-ups. A high intensity cardio kickboxing workout, too (while raising $700 for Haiti relief — a two-fer!).

Here's a short clip of part of my training session from this morning:



This is my cross training. No punches, no kicks, no forms. (Rest assured, I'm working on those things, too!) When I'm not doing "martial arts," I'm focusing on my strength, joint mobility, flexibility, and cardiovascular endurance. I find that when I'm in great shape, somehow the rest of my life just seems to click. I'm in a better mood. I feel more confident and more energized. I smile more with my family. I sleep better. I'm more generous. The list goes on and on.

So let's train hard, inspire others, and grow in ways we've never imagined.

Five Months of Testing Every Day

Exactly five months from now, on June 25, I'm scheduled to step onto the floor to test for my 4th degree black belt under my instructor, Sensei Brian Ricci. The 4th dan examination is a demanding one; I'll need to demonstrate my proficiency in empty-handed forms and kobudo, Okinawan weaponry. There's a lot I need to know, and I've got to be on top of my game, so I've been training like a demon since the beginning of the year so that I have no excuses in terms of my physical shape or endurance, or my level of martial arts knowledge and understanding.

I seek a fourth dan not only for my own personal validation but also so that I can be the best example possible to my students. I want to be a living model of how a Black Belt should look, think, act, train, and serve.

But I want my test to stand for something more than what I can demonstrate physically.

I start this test TODAY (just as I started it yesterday) with a particular thing in mind: Just over two years ago, my daughter Ava was diagnosed with Type I Diabetes. For those who do not know, Diabetes is an incurable (currently! nothing is impossible!) condition… Since my daughter's diagnosis, my wife and I have become experts on the disease. We have counted the carbohydrates in every single item of food my daughter has eaten at every meal for two years. Neither of us has slept eight consecutive hours more than a handful of times in two years. We are still here, we are thriving, and we are happy. In short, managing our daughter's illness makes taking a 4th degree Black Belt test look like a walk in the park.

So I'm setting the bar a little higher for myself: Artist of Life

“The most invisible creators I know are those artists whose medium is life itself. The ones who express the inexpressible—without brush, hammer, clay or guitar. They neither paint nor sculpt—their medium is their being. Whatever their presence touches has increased life. They see and don’t have to draw. They are the artists of being alive.”

• Today, I'm training harder and smarter than I did yesterday.
• Today, I'm monitoring my diet, and my consumption of goods, materials, and media.
• Today, I'm actively working to double the size of the dojo between now and June to increase the amount of good that our "tribe" can accomplish in the world.
• Today, I'm doing more "inner work" with meditation and by introducing deliberate periods of silence.
• Today, I'm working on keeping a positive, upbeat, and cheerful disposition — regardless of external circumstances and events.
  
• Today, I'm aiming to be a Black Belt level husband and father and friend by spending more energy focusing outward with compassion, kindness, and empathy.

I've got my work cut out for me. My "Artist of Life" test starts today. And it starts again tomorrow. And the next day. And the day after that.

Tactical Time Management Is Self Defense

Last week, I attended a time management seminar to help me stay focused and organized in 2010. The seminar covered tactical (hourly) time management, desk and workspace management (man, do I need that!), and communications tracking.

Over the next couple of weeks, I hope to use and further develop the new time management skills and habits that I learned at the seminar to counter my natural tendency toward procrastination and distraction. If I can manage my priorities better -- and stay focused and organized -- I know I'll get a lot more done each day. And if I focus on getting the right things done (the things that are actually IMPORTANT), I'll surely achieve more of my goals. I only have so much time to accomplish all that I want to do in this life; I need to defend it vigorously!

First things first: As Stephen Covey says, "begin with the end in mind." I'm spending a little time today to sit down to set specific goals for the month, quarter, and year in the broad categories of Work, Family, Social, Physical, Spiritual, and Learning.

1. Define Your Purpose
2. Establish Your Goals
3. Focus Your Resources
4. Manage Your Priorities
5. Measure the Effects of Your Actions
6. Own the Performance
7. Influence the Participants
8. Continue the Improvements

Boston Martial Artists Helping Earthquake Victims in Haiti

Today, Emerald Necklace Martial Arts is embarking on a month-long project to assist the victims of the earthquake in Haiti. I've asked all of my students to join me in doing as many push-ups and sit-ups as possible in the next 30 days, and to ask their friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers to sponsor them by committing to make a small donation for every exercise repetition they complete between today and Valentines Day.

So, if you were to donate a PENNY for every push-up and sit-up that I complete in 30 days,
And if I were to complete 200 push-ups or sit-ups every day of the challenge,
Then I would collect a $60 donation from you on February 14.

All donations will go to the American Red Cross' International Assistance Fund, and they will be designated for the relief efforts in Haiti.

Will you support me or one of my students?

We'll also be hosting a "Kickboxing for A Cause" party at the dojo on Tuesday, January 26: Please join us at the dojo for an exciting, high-tempo kickboxing class at 7:30PM.
Your $15 donation will also go to the American Red Cross. I'm expecting the dojo to be VERY crowded — reserve a spot in the class today!

Thank you for supporting our efforts!