Just saw this great set of videos from a series orginally broadcast on the BBC in the 1980's, called the Way of the Warrior.  It features our school of karate, Goju Ryu, in the traditional Okinawan form.  'Karate' translated means 'the of the empty hand."  Hence this amazing fighting style...
Here are the links to the first four parts of the series. Each segment is about 10 minutes long and really interesting to watch, particularly the detail around sanchine kata in Part... Read full post

"On Thursday afternoon a small group of players led by Steve Fehr, the union’s special counsel, met for about an hour at the N.H.L. office in Midtown Manhattan to discuss penalties for teams caught hiding hockey-related revenue." [NY Times]  
This particular sentence caught my attention in reading through today's article about the potential of a 48 game schedule this season.  It is telling that such a discussion is even needed!  That owners would/could stoop so low as... Read full post

The New York Times states that "Bettman was hired 20 years ago Wednesday [today]. Since his first full season as the commissioner in 1993-94, 2,224 regular-season N.H.L. games have been canceled because of lockouts in 1994-95, 2004-5 and 2012. That is 9.7 percent [of all league games scheduled under his tenure]"! Incredible at best; intolerable at worst... 
20 years is a long time...  Boards of companies large and small, governments, and other institutions around the world all... Read full post

I can't believe that the International Sailing Federation would flip flop on such an important issue as replacing one Olympic sailing sport with another!  It was such exciting news six months ago when the ISAF confirmed the kiteboarding (sport of the future) would replace windsurfing (sport of the past) at the Rio Olympics.  However, apparently as a result of intense lobbying, yesterday the governing body reversed its decision and went back to the status quo...
Here is the link to... Read full post

Sitting in the comfort of my mom's living room in Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, far from the flooded, dark streets of New York, I watch the devastation on television like any other viewer from any other part of the world.  It is hard to believe that just 48 hours ago Ombretta and I were hurricane refugees living in our darkened, communications-less apartment with candles, flashlights and our fireplace to keep us in light and warmth.  Our cell phone batteries, along with those of our... Read full post

So this is the latest on the NHL owners play on the lockout: 
http://deadspin.com/5951872/inside-a-secret-nhl-focus-group-how-a-top-gop-strategist-is-helping-hockey-owners-craft-their-lockout-propaganda
  It's just NOT right!

Well well... Here we are - finally - at 250 push ups!  It's been an amazing exercise in will power, but the physical effort and beneficial results - including the severely calloused knuckles - are something I can take pride in...  With this final 250 push ups today, we completed 1,580 for this week and an astounding 6,400 push ups in total, if my count is right, over the last 7 weeks!  August 25th was our start date and October 13th our finish. 
I send my heartfelt... Read full post

The Challenge seems like the Italian words "sensa fine" - without end!  Today is 235, which means that Saturday, October 13th is the day we hit our target!!  That day can't come soon enough for me...  The issue is not so much the push ups themselves, it is more keeping track of how many I have done as the day progresses.  When you are doing so many reps to make the count in one day your mind starts to play tricks on you... As in: Did I just do that rep or did I just think... Read full post

Just posted my full set of left handed custom-made Ping golf clubs (Irons 2-PW) from 1977 on eBay.  For anyone who is in to collectables, this set is a one-of-a-kind!  They're here if you are interested:http://www.ebay.com/itm/1977-Collector-set-left-handed-custom-made-Pro-Ping-Karsten-II-irons-2-PW-/300791919901?ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:US:1123  Happy to give a "family price" to friends!
The reverse direction Orizaba Baskwerd putter, Model 1, is A-MAZING!  Truly a... Read full post

So today's count is 200 push-ups...  I can honestly tell you that at this point it is a grind.  I'm doing 8 reps of 25 to get there and have two more reps to do as soon as I finish this posting.  Jeremy, one of the big, young bucks at Koguma Dojo told me last night in class that he is banging out the whole count in approximately 30 minutes each morning!  But then (I'm guessing) Jeremy is in his late 20's, early 30's, and I'm just shy of 60, so reps of 25 works for me.  ... Read full post