Well, interesting things happening here. I’ve been approached by a local business owner who runs an after-school pickup program and martial arts school that has a really nice location near my home. He’s interested in pulling out of that location, and it’s possible that I might be the one to take over. There’s at least one other instructor they are leaning towards for this project, so I won’t be crying if it’s not me, but it has been quite exciting to think about expanding the school and moving. I’ll keep you posted.
In other news, my dear old Dad may have had a minor stroke. Suddenly hit with acute dizziness, projectile vomiting, and the like, Mom took him to the ER. Once there, he lay on a gurney for a couple of hours before deciding that he’d had about enough of that. Tough old coot, that one. He’s home now, recuperating just fine. Last I heard, he was fixing the toilet or something.
You know, I realize that ER’s are busy places. I know that the doctors are often exhausted, and are doing their best to help everyone as best they can. My mom was an ER nurse for years, so I know a little something about it. However, I still get pissed when my 79 year old father has a stroke and no one can find the time to help him. I think the system should be changed somehow, but I admit to having little idea as to how to do it. I do know that it’s not a good idea to run a short-staffed ER with doctors running on no sleep. That’s always been a recipe for disaster. Anyway, he’s apparently OK, no thanks to the ER.
Played another lacrosse game on Sunday, and did fairly well defensively. The other team was a bunch of young, fast guns from Corpus Christi, and they liked to hit. Fine by me! I enjoyed getting in there and knocking them around here and there, but I should have focused on my offense a bit more. I was happy to block a shot early on in the game, although now I have a deep bruise on my thigh. Hey, at least that’s one shot that didn’t score!
I don’t know if I’ll make the next game, but I may try. I’ll be in Pharr for the weekend doing some training with Israel and our Sifu, Arthur D’Agostino. He leaves on Saturday night, so I may hustle home in time for the game on Sunday afternoon.
We just started our Assistant Instructor training program at JMMA, and I’ve been absolutely thrilled with the response. This will be the first time that I’ve gone away for training that all the classes will be held in my absence. Yay! Special thanks to those who have stepped up to become a bigger part of our school.
That’s about it. I’m thinking lunch should be happening about now. Later.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Monday, March 19, 2007
Back on Track
Honestly, I’d totally forgotten it was St. Patrick’s Day until I was walking around Wal-Mart and wondered why everyone was all greened up. Someone passed me with green hair, and I finally figured it out. What a week!
After my leg injury I spent all of last weekend hobbling around, and got almost no training done when my Sifu came to town. On that Friday, we did a little bit of tai chi, and he said that at least it looked better than it had looked last time he saw me perform that set. Not exactly high praise, but better than ‘wow, that sucks.’ My grimaces gave me away, however, and he spent a few minutes working on my calf before saying that, yes, it’s jacked up, and that our training time was pretty much over for the weekend. I had a choice to either rest it and allow it to recover or work on it, and have it really mess up. So, I sat on my duff during the entire fan seminar and allowed my friend and colleague Sifu Israel Flores to assist Art Laoshi while they taught my students the fan form. Argh. Very frustrating, that was. There was still a lot of good in the weekend, though. We did all manage to go see the movie ‘300’. Twice! It was even better the second time. Awesome, awesome show. Worth the wait. And we did some push hands work that will be quite helpful in addition to the other networking, business plans, and goal setting we did. Which reminds me, I need to get to work on our organizational mission statement ASAP.
So all of last week was spent with no lower body workouts. That was hard to take, especially since I’ve been working out far more consistently of late. I did work on some pushups, ab stuff, and pull-ups, but very little actual martial arts stuff that would inevitably stress my injured calf. I finally met up with Amy last Wednesday for a memorable and painful session, and then continued to stay off of it for the next couple of days. Then came Saturday, which was my first chance to really test my leg at one of our lacrosse games. I showed up late since I couldn’t leave until my classes were done, and I had trouble finding the field. I managed to roll into the parking lot just before halftime, so I was ready to start the second half.
I did worry about the leg…I mean, I need to be able to walk around to teach effectively, and pulling it on the lacrosse field would not be a good idea. I jogged around on it, did some juke moves and sideways shuffles, and everything felt pretty much like it always had. And it stayed that way throughout the rest of the game. My sprint wasn’t what it was a few weeks ago, but I did well overall. I felt good about a few spearing checks that made the opposing midfielders drop the ball a couple of times. My defense was good, but I still need some work on my offense. Our next game is this Sunday, so I plan to be ready to give ‘em hell out there.
Monkey is now with me during the daytime. He was having some trouble assimilating in his classroom at his last school, and we decided to pull him out for awhile. It’s been a great bonding time for us, and I’ve enjoyed it, although I’m still getting used to including him in all of my plans. I used to be able to get out and run the streets as part of my training, but now I’ll have to run on the treadmill at the Y so he can have a place to play nearby. No problem. Minor adjustments, really.
So all is well, life is good, and I’m looking forward to the week. Train hard, everyone. And maybe have some fun while you’re at it.
After my leg injury I spent all of last weekend hobbling around, and got almost no training done when my Sifu came to town. On that Friday, we did a little bit of tai chi, and he said that at least it looked better than it had looked last time he saw me perform that set. Not exactly high praise, but better than ‘wow, that sucks.’ My grimaces gave me away, however, and he spent a few minutes working on my calf before saying that, yes, it’s jacked up, and that our training time was pretty much over for the weekend. I had a choice to either rest it and allow it to recover or work on it, and have it really mess up. So, I sat on my duff during the entire fan seminar and allowed my friend and colleague Sifu Israel Flores to assist Art Laoshi while they taught my students the fan form. Argh. Very frustrating, that was. There was still a lot of good in the weekend, though. We did all manage to go see the movie ‘300’. Twice! It was even better the second time. Awesome, awesome show. Worth the wait. And we did some push hands work that will be quite helpful in addition to the other networking, business plans, and goal setting we did. Which reminds me, I need to get to work on our organizational mission statement ASAP.
So all of last week was spent with no lower body workouts. That was hard to take, especially since I’ve been working out far more consistently of late. I did work on some pushups, ab stuff, and pull-ups, but very little actual martial arts stuff that would inevitably stress my injured calf. I finally met up with Amy last Wednesday for a memorable and painful session, and then continued to stay off of it for the next couple of days. Then came Saturday, which was my first chance to really test my leg at one of our lacrosse games. I showed up late since I couldn’t leave until my classes were done, and I had trouble finding the field. I managed to roll into the parking lot just before halftime, so I was ready to start the second half.
I did worry about the leg…I mean, I need to be able to walk around to teach effectively, and pulling it on the lacrosse field would not be a good idea. I jogged around on it, did some juke moves and sideways shuffles, and everything felt pretty much like it always had. And it stayed that way throughout the rest of the game. My sprint wasn’t what it was a few weeks ago, but I did well overall. I felt good about a few spearing checks that made the opposing midfielders drop the ball a couple of times. My defense was good, but I still need some work on my offense. Our next game is this Sunday, so I plan to be ready to give ‘em hell out there.
Monkey is now with me during the daytime. He was having some trouble assimilating in his classroom at his last school, and we decided to pull him out for awhile. It’s been a great bonding time for us, and I’ve enjoyed it, although I’m still getting used to including him in all of my plans. I used to be able to get out and run the streets as part of my training, but now I’ll have to run on the treadmill at the Y so he can have a place to play nearby. No problem. Minor adjustments, really.
So all is well, life is good, and I’m looking forward to the week. Train hard, everyone. And maybe have some fun while you’re at it.
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Aaahhhhh, CRAP!!!
Dang it!!! I decided to go for a timed run this morning, just to see if I’ve made any progress in that area. I’ve been running quite a bit lately, so I was hoping to see some improvement. I used to run 2 miles in about 13 minutes, so I decided to run just one and see if I could keep it under 7 minutes today. Well, I should have known something was up when my mp3 player suddenly went out as I started my run. Dang. I kept going, thinking that I was used to running without musical assistance anyway. My breathing became labored and my legs started to get a bit heavy as I went. Traces of the old asthma were still around. Double dang. I continued on my course, settled into a pace I could handle, and hoped for the best. As I turned down the last, long straightway that leads back to my house, I felt like I’d make it just fine. I refused to look at my watch out of principle, and kept going. With maybe 4 blocks to go, POP! goes something in my left calf. I had an instant of ‘DANG IT!’ before it started to hurt.
I’ve got it all strapped down now, with Nikken supermini magnets applied to the affected area. I’m hoping against hope for a cancellation at precisely 3:30pm today at Massage Envy because that’s the only time this weekend I can make it in for therapeutic massage.
Ah, well. Working out and being a martial artist brings dents and dings. It’ll be fine before too long, and I’ll add it to the list of long-forgotten injuries that have since healed up completely. I’m just complaining because I can.
I’ve got it all strapped down now, with Nikken supermini magnets applied to the affected area. I’m hoping against hope for a cancellation at precisely 3:30pm today at Massage Envy because that’s the only time this weekend I can make it in for therapeutic massage.
Ah, well. Working out and being a martial artist brings dents and dings. It’ll be fine before too long, and I’ll add it to the list of long-forgotten injuries that have since healed up completely. I’m just complaining because I can.
Busted the Bag and Dave Ramsey
It’s been a pretty decent week so far. Workouts have been good, wife is feeling much better, Monkey’s fine…all’s well. I was in my school earlier this week and have added bagwork back into my workout routine. I must say that tracking my workouts has made a huge difference, and I’m feeling better than ever at this point. I’ve been truly inspired since my last Shang Wu Association meeting, and I’ve seen dramatic improvement in my productivity in all areas of my life. I’m managing my time better, my business is improving, I’m keeping up with household chores better, and I’m in the process of using Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover to get a handle on our cash flow issues. More on that later.
But first, a word on Randy Couture vs. Tim Sylvia. GO RANDY!!! What a fight! We had a group at my home watching the UFC last weekend, and WOW…there were some good fights on. Rich Franklin is back on the winning track, as is Matt Hughes, but the fight of the night was Randy vs Tim. With his first punch, Randy put Tim on the mat! Is was all downhill from there for the bigger man as Randy proceeded to bully and manhandle him for the rest of the fight. Tim’s left eye resembled an eggplant by night’s end. Now, THAT was a FIGHT!
OK, back to the money stuff. You know, it really is amazing to me that we’re not taught more about how to handle our money. My Mom and Dad are actually pretty solid in that area, but I know they’ve had their share of tough times and used to carry far more debt than they probably should have. Like most of us. And I didn’t really learn that much about handling money at school or at home. It’s odd, but our culture is not about doing the right things to build true wealth…it’s usually about ‘Bigger, better, faster, more…’ and keeping up with the Joneses.
Now that I’m running my own business, I really feel like I need to do more than that. I need to provide for my family in a much more concrete and reliable way. That means no debt, making and using a budget, and slowly building a financial foundation that will allow us to build a new school on our own land, buy a house with some land around it, send Monkey to the Rodeo Clown school of his choice, and retire well.
DR’s plan isn’t rocket science. It’s just about being disciplined, diligent, and patient. Here’s a nutshell version:
1. Get current with your bills. You’ll have to make an honest, detailed budget. Ouch.
2. Put away $1000 for your Emergency Fund.
3. Use the Debt Snowball concept to eliminate your outstanding debt.
4. Finish your Emergency Fund (3 – 6 months of living expenses).
5. Get busy putting money away for retirement!
I was inspired to look over this material last year by a dear friend who has used it to become totally debt free and financially SOLID. I admire him greatly, and started to work with this concept. For one reason or another (OK, I just messed it up and didn’t follow through with it), it didn’t work that well for me at the time. Well, as the samurai said, ‘Fall down 7 times, get up 8.’ So I’m attacking this plan again with renewed vigor. For more info, you can hit www.daveramsey.com.
In other news, I had a big macho moment this week…I kicked one of my school punching bags hard enough to bust it open. I didn’t realize what I had done at first, but I was working front kicks, and after a couple of shots, the bag rotated around so I could see the opposite side…it had split open like a wide grin back there. Don’t worry…I’m not getting a big head about it. Every student in my school has beaten the crap out of that bag, and I just happened to catch it the right way, I guess. Even so, it did make me chuckle at myself.
My Sifu and a fellow instructor are coming to town tomorrow, so we’re planning to get a ton of work done. Physical training, goal setting, business planning, as well as the fun camaraderie that we share, are all things that I really enjoy when we meet. Sifu is doing a fan seminar this weekend, in addition to the intensive training that Izzy and I will receive. I don’t know what the ‘theme’ for the weekend will be, but I’ll be sure and jot it down. On Sunday, we’re planning a group trip to watch the movie 300, and there’s a chance that I might have a lacrosse game right afterwards. Man, I feel badly for the opposing team members…I’m most likely going to be HUGELY fired up from the movie, and I’m gonna hit some folks!
OK, I’ve got work to do! More later!
But first, a word on Randy Couture vs. Tim Sylvia. GO RANDY!!! What a fight! We had a group at my home watching the UFC last weekend, and WOW…there were some good fights on. Rich Franklin is back on the winning track, as is Matt Hughes, but the fight of the night was Randy vs Tim. With his first punch, Randy put Tim on the mat! Is was all downhill from there for the bigger man as Randy proceeded to bully and manhandle him for the rest of the fight. Tim’s left eye resembled an eggplant by night’s end. Now, THAT was a FIGHT!
OK, back to the money stuff. You know, it really is amazing to me that we’re not taught more about how to handle our money. My Mom and Dad are actually pretty solid in that area, but I know they’ve had their share of tough times and used to carry far more debt than they probably should have. Like most of us. And I didn’t really learn that much about handling money at school or at home. It’s odd, but our culture is not about doing the right things to build true wealth…it’s usually about ‘Bigger, better, faster, more…’ and keeping up with the Joneses.
Now that I’m running my own business, I really feel like I need to do more than that. I need to provide for my family in a much more concrete and reliable way. That means no debt, making and using a budget, and slowly building a financial foundation that will allow us to build a new school on our own land, buy a house with some land around it, send Monkey to the Rodeo Clown school of his choice, and retire well.
DR’s plan isn’t rocket science. It’s just about being disciplined, diligent, and patient. Here’s a nutshell version:
1. Get current with your bills. You’ll have to make an honest, detailed budget. Ouch.
2. Put away $1000 for your Emergency Fund.
3. Use the Debt Snowball concept to eliminate your outstanding debt.
4. Finish your Emergency Fund (3 – 6 months of living expenses).
5. Get busy putting money away for retirement!
I was inspired to look over this material last year by a dear friend who has used it to become totally debt free and financially SOLID. I admire him greatly, and started to work with this concept. For one reason or another (OK, I just messed it up and didn’t follow through with it), it didn’t work that well for me at the time. Well, as the samurai said, ‘Fall down 7 times, get up 8.’ So I’m attacking this plan again with renewed vigor. For more info, you can hit www.daveramsey.com.
In other news, I had a big macho moment this week…I kicked one of my school punching bags hard enough to bust it open. I didn’t realize what I had done at first, but I was working front kicks, and after a couple of shots, the bag rotated around so I could see the opposite side…it had split open like a wide grin back there. Don’t worry…I’m not getting a big head about it. Every student in my school has beaten the crap out of that bag, and I just happened to catch it the right way, I guess. Even so, it did make me chuckle at myself.
My Sifu and a fellow instructor are coming to town tomorrow, so we’re planning to get a ton of work done. Physical training, goal setting, business planning, as well as the fun camaraderie that we share, are all things that I really enjoy when we meet. Sifu is doing a fan seminar this weekend, in addition to the intensive training that Izzy and I will receive. I don’t know what the ‘theme’ for the weekend will be, but I’ll be sure and jot it down. On Sunday, we’re planning a group trip to watch the movie 300, and there’s a chance that I might have a lacrosse game right afterwards. Man, I feel badly for the opposing team members…I’m most likely going to be HUGELY fired up from the movie, and I’m gonna hit some folks!
OK, I’ve got work to do! More later!
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