Strange feelings today, a little bit painful and a little bit wonderful. Seeing Mary Heiny Sensei always changes me in some way. I think last weekend stretched my heart ( Read more... )

Once upon a time there was a teenage girl who spent many unsupervised hours on the Internet. She began corresponding with an older man. Over the weeks and months, their conversations grew deeper and broader, until she felt she could count him as a dear friend, even though they had never met ( Read more... )

( updates on stuff )

Once upon a time, after my first introduction to shikko, I showed my skinless, bleeding knees to a friend many years my sempai1. He laughed. "Don't worry," he said. "Keep training, and soon all the nerves will be worn off or killed and it won't hurt anymore ( Read more... )

Sweetly sings the donkey at the break of day
If you do not feed him, this is what he'll say
"Hee Haw! Hee Haw!
Hee Haw! Hee Haw! Hee Haw!
Hee Haw! Hee Haw!
Hee Haw! Hee Haw! Hee Haw!"Someday I will write an ode to Ralls Sensei. It will include his willingness to kick me in the ribs, and his ability to do so just hard enough that it teaches ( Read more... )

This is so cool!


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One day when I was in third grade, my dad was going to drive me to school, but a stuck truck1 was completely blocking our country road and there was nothing we could do but stop and wait. To pass the time, he taught me about negative numbers and how to add and subtract them. I loved math that day ( Read more... )

On the mat tonight, Bob started off with the subtle ikkyo he learned from Mary Heiny Sensei. "Has anyone here trained with her?" he asked. I was the only one who had, and all it took was the mention of her name to bring the memories back.

July 2004: The dojo was buzzing with excitement. The summer retreat was approaching. It would be my ( Read more... )

Scrubbing prospecting lists only takes half a brain, so I get a lot of thinking done at work. Typing takes two hands and 100% of the time I spend doing it, so I can't write there. I wind up sending myself emails like this ( Read more... )