Two years ago I moved from Ashland, WI to Milwaukee. Over that summer I had been doing some contract work for the DNR. I was removing invasive species and planting native trees along the shoreline of Lake Superior. It was good work. I was outside all the time, and usually got to see some pretty …
Continue reading How to Own a Dojo: Step 1 – Burning Need for Change
On the 8th and 9th of July I will be in Orlando, Florida for the 2016 U.S. Open. The super cool thing is it's on Disney Property. So, I will be doing all sorts of yelling and screaming to the tune of "It's a Small World" and maybe I'll even get to see Snow White! …
It's the day after the wedding, and I'm leaving Alaska. It was a hectic storm of activity for the last few days. It was full of wonderful people, great stories, and some truly awesome food. Not to mention the most extreme location wedding I’ve ever been to. Never before have I ever had to ride …
Continue reading Life and Love: Three Things Alaska Taught Me
The day after I got back from my drive to Gary, Indiana I managed to throw my back out while putting my shoes on. After pulling myself into the standing position using the assistance of a table and a fair amount of swearing. I hobbled to work and got to tell my story of …
This is how I explain kata to every parent who walks in the door, wanting their kid to take karate. "Kata is a choreographed series of movements done in a sequence to mimic a battle. It emphasizes control, balance, and focus as well as really pushing coordination and memory." In the karate school, we work …
In our last installment we learned our dashing hero had foolishly planned to be in two places at opposite ends of the country AT THE SAME TIME. Since he doesn’t happen to know any magicians with the magical saw-you-in-half-table. He has to make a decision: Go to Nationals with the goal of earning a place …
Tournament day! I was up at 4:50am and on the road by 5:15. There was an early morning drama of spilling a cup of water all over my laptop, followed by a very quiet, very intense, 8 minutes of hitting the power button and wishing REALLY hard. It did eventually boot up, and everything seems …
Coming up is the WKC Nationals in Dearborn, Michigan. It’s a pretty exciting deal that draws some great competitors from all over the United States. It also happens to be the National Qualifiers for the 8th WKC World Championships in Dublin, Ireland. Meaning, if I finish in the top 4 in my division, I’m qualified …
This is the first Saturday I haven’t had to work in a very long while, and I’m up and going at 6:45am. Somehow, when I was 9, dreaming about what my life would be like when I “grew up” I never figured it would be starting a blog before 7 a.m. on a Saturday. In …
Kata Nerd 