Random Ramblings

Now that I'm back at karate again, I figured it was high time for "Life Lessons from the Dojo" to have its own dedicated home. So I've spent the last few days porting all my old content over to a new website. Moving forward, you can find all my life lessons at http://dojolifelessons.wordpress.com/

Note that I will not be updating my livejournal with new life lessons from the dojo. To find them, head over to the new site! See you there!

I got roped into helping teach the kids' class yesterday, which was fun but also revealed that I really need to work on getting back my "I am in charge and you all need to listen to me" voice. Ah, well. Just another thing to add to the list.

( #246: Practice hard, and the medals will come naturally )
( #247: Feel your opponent )
( #248: Sometimes you need a boost )

Back to waking up early on Saturday for karate again. I can’t say it’s my favourite part of training, but at least I got to try out a whole bunch of Yoshukan katas.

( #240: The power of meaningful gifts )
( #241: It’s good to be exposed to higher-level material )
( #242: It’s easier to learn things right the first time )

Tonight, after immersing myself in tai chi for two years, I returned to my first love: karate. I went to a trial class at an all-female dojo about a 20-minute walk from my apartment. The style practiced at this dojo (Yoshukan) is an offshoot of the style I most recently studied (Chito Ryu), so it was fairly familiar to me. I went with my white belt — again — but with luck, if I stay, I’ll progress pretty quickly and won’t find myself back and the bottom for too long. In the meantime, though, more karate means more life lessons!

( #234: Know when to compromise )
( #235: Orient yourself before applying force )
( #236: Stay on target )