Tuesday, August 30, 2016

First Class Back

So I am a white belt karate ka again.

I didn't realize how much I had forgotten, or how much I would remember.

What I do know is that it was wonderful to be in karate again. One of the things I had forgotten was how much I loved doing karate.

I am badly out of shape, and sweated like crazy. My old gi still fits, but is more snug than I remember. I had to use the Tae Kwon Do pants, because the elastic in the waistband of my karate pants was rotted out and brittle.

Still, the sweat and exercise feel great.

Somehow, I think the gi may fit better in a few weeks.

I realized tonight that it has been eight long years since I was in Sensei Beghtol's class.

My heart is happy to be back in class, period.

Sayonara,

Dan

Monday, August 8, 2016

Videos of Soke Murphy (Founder of Isshin Shorinji Ryu Okinawa Te) Doing Kata

Huge THANK YOU to Wiggy / Carl over at the http://www.fightingarts.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=15981830&site_id=1#import discussion forum for bringing these to my attention!

Video of our founding father doing kata can be seen here (thanks to Russ Tippett):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwGQhY7GN_Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I25pzKHHhIw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7X3WusnCSRo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ktweyig3fjg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY-fJDlcreY

Sayonara,

Dan

Re-Starting Karate!

I am super excited! I will be starting Karate again on August 30th of this year!

A lot has happened since I last took Karate in 2008.

  • We moved to Oak Brook, IL in July 2008.
  • A schedule change at work stopped my Tai Chi Chuan class dead in its tracks after only three months.
  • I left my telecommunications career in December 2014.
  • We moved to Temecula, CA in January of 2015 to be near our young granddaughters who live an hour away in California now. They're 5 & 7.
  • I started a Windows computer repair business in April of 2015.
  • I started a Web Design business in April of 2016. (I now operate both)
I just got tired of  waiting "for the right time" to get back into the martial arts and started looking online for a Tai Chi Chuan class to at least work on fitness and flexibility. I couldn't really find one along that line which suited me, but then I made a wonderful discovery!

The City of Temecula Parks and Recreation department has a Shorin-Ryu Shorinkan Karate class at a price I can afford! The class is taught by Sensei Julio Miranda. I have yet to meet my new Sensei, but I look forward to it.

I don't know for certain, but this style looks to be fairly closely related to the Isshin Shorinji Ryu Okinawa Te that I was taking in Plainfield, IL until I broke my left ankle in 2008.

I still have my uniform and gear. I am totally looking forward to August 30th!

Sayonara,

Dan