Tatsu Dojo Martial Arts And Fitness

The air was thick and wet in the tiny garage that served as a makeshift dojo for a committed group of young men.  Like so many other summer days, this one was particularly brutal, mainly because we were nearing the end of a belt test for two boys.  One was attempting to achieve black belt, the other, brown (one grade below).  What these two did not know at the start of the test was that I had garnered the help and support of a couple of other seasoned martial artists; two strong men who...

How many of us go through each day thinking about the possibility of not being here tomorrow?  Something like a cancer diagnosis will definitely give you a different perspective, regardless of the severity, and no matter how much people love and care about you, they cannot understand that perspective unless they’re dealing with something similar.  But the rest of us go on with our day, trying to make it to Friday, to vacation and eventually retirement when we can lay it all down.  We’re busy...

Kashiima City Shrine, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan I had my first taste of Aikido summer training in Kashima City near Tokyo in August 1993.  Though not new to martial arts, I was very new to Japanese Budo , the “path to enlightenment through martial training.”  Training took place at a very old dojo near an older Kashima Shinto shrine and on our last day of training, we invited to partake in a ceremonial blessing.  I had never seen anything like and I was completely fascinated, so much so that...