Gamen

“Our sandals change, but our journey continues on the same.” Okakura Kakuzo As I write this, I am two days removed from my sixth lower abdominal surgical procedure in less that three years. There were...

New Dojo in the St Louis Area

Kokondo Sandan Mr. Chris Dodds begins teach in St. Charles/St. Peters in a couple of weeks. We wish him the very best of luck with his classes.

Facing life. Facing loss.

There are certain aspects of life that we simply cannot avoid, though often, we try to ignore.  Death is probably foremost on a long list.  Rationally, we understand that it is the logical conclusion to...

The Voices………..

The Voices began early in life.  I cannot remember when they weren’t with me.  At first, The Voices came from living, breathing people. They were directed at the skinny kid with the big head, the...

It has been a long time.

Wow. This weekend we held our annual Midwest Seminar here in St. Louis. We also celebrated a special anniversary. This month marks the 30th anniversary of the founding of the St. Louis Kokondo dojo. We...

Cross Training?

No, not that kind.  What I’m talking about is using other forms of physical exercise to enhance and improve our martial arts training. Why, you ask?  Let’s start with one of my favorite little tidbits...

Practicing kata……….

The Kokondo Karate system is very kata-heavy.  We have a large number of them as compared to most systems.  We practice them a lot as compared to others.  The reasons we do vs. the reasons...

The difference a day makes………..

………..or 7,305………. whichever. For those that keep track of such things, as well as for those that don’t, today marks the twenty year anniversary of the first time I bowed in a class as head...

Going places and doing things…..

One of the things I enjoy most about my journey through the Kokondo system is the opportunity to travel and participate in our various seminars and workouts.  I have literally gone to the four corners...

Vincibleness………

As some of you may know, I am the last person on earth who has the right to an invincibility complex.  For those of you unfamiliar with my history, I seem to almost invent ways to...

The new year begins!!

We’ve completed a great 2013 and now look forward to an even better 2014. The weekend of March 7 & 8 will see us visiting our sister dojo, Twin Lakes Kokondo, in their home of...

Core statements……….

In my grownup job as an accounting manager, I visit different websites or otherwise take advantage of various professional publications in order to both keep my professional edge and, hopefully, get information about the economy,...

Variations

When I arrived at the airport in Hartford and approached the baggage carousel, I flashed back 15 years.  I saw the Lady that would eventually become my wife enter through the doors, preceded by a...

Our worst work………..

I had the opportunity this past weekend to travel to Kansas City with my wife.  She is a quite accomplished artist and wanted to see the Spectrum Fantastic Art Live expo.  I tagged along as...

A presentation on Confidence……………..

On Wednesday, April 10th, two members of the dojo made a presentation to the youngsters at Wyman Elementary School in Rolla, Missouri.   The theme of the event was “Confidence” and was part of their...