I was talking with my dad recently (I take dad out for lunch once a week) about how only he, my uncle and aunt, remain from his generation of relatives that I grew up with. Of course, it’s a natural thing, and no one lives forever…however, as the members of a particular generation dwindle off to a precious few (dad will be 86 in January) of our kupuna, it becomes more evident that a special generation is leaving us by ones and twos. Dad and others who are 80+, belong to what Tom Brokaw called, “The Greatest Generation”, folks who had lived through the Depression, fought in World War II, helped fuel the economic/political/military giant that America was in the 1950’s and 1960’s, ushered in the Space Age, the Age of Television, and the Age of Computers, and so on. Most of us alive today, belong to the Baby Boomer generation, or possibly the Gen-Xer’s. We have inherited all the good they accomplished, mixed in with some of the not-so-good. My dad said that within a few more years, they’ll all be gone and, with them, I suppose, the passing of an age. In that light, I was a little [...]

Well, I’m back after a couple of back-to-back trips to Las Vegas and Colorado Springs, respectively; one for vacation, one for work. Both were quite enjoyable, and I learned a lot, though I missed several karate training sessions. Fortunately, I had great coverage from Sempai James (thanks James!). I am very happy to be back home and to be back at training. The week in Vegas was a great time spent with my son Matt. We had conversations over meals and walking through the downtown area and the Strip. I also met up with my in-laws (Matt’s grandparents), who were there for a high school reunion. I was able to make progress reading through a couple of books and got to visit the the Palazzo, one of the most recent hotels on the Strip, adjoining the Venetian. The week in Colorado Springs was work-related and quite busy, but very enjoyable as well. I hadn’t been in Colorado Springs since 1992, when we went up as a family, to visit my brother-in-law’s home there. It had changed a lot over the last sixteen years, but remains a largely rural area dominated by the hills surrounding Cheyenne Mountain. My room had a [...]

I usually forget to remind everyone that it’s gonna be the first Saturday of the month (this weekend), which means…two hour training available for everyone to train together. So here’s your reminder that this Saturday is double the fun, double the exercise, double the blessing of being able to stretch, strengthen, move and learn something new. Anyways, I was thinking of all the things we should be thankful for when we arrive for training: 1) A great place that’s large enough to accommodate our group…with covering too. 2) The blessing of good health which allows us the freedom to enjoy a great, stress-releasing workout. 3) Having/making the time in our busy day, to be able to come to the ministry once or twice a week. 4) The blessing of fellowship, received from those who are training next to us (obviously, we’d be hard-put to come out and train all by ourselves each week). 5) The sempais in our group who willingly share their knowledge with the kohais, purely out of the desire to help their progress. 6) The kohais in our group, who, during the process of being taught, help teach the sempais too. 7) And most importantly, the Lord, [...]