April 14 was Rumiko’s and my 30th wedding anniversary. We celebrated with joy and then were dismayed to hear about the Tibetan earthquake tragedy that day. More than 1,700 people have died and an estimated 10,000 mostly ethnic Tibetans were injured and left homeless in near-freezing temperatures after an earthquake struck a region of Kham, […]

I failed my second belt test in the martial arts. That was back in the mid-1960s. I was a teenager. I trained harder and more diligently than most every other member of the class. I was good, maybe very good. To qualify for my second belt (what would be Yellow & Black Belt in what […]

In Bloomington the night before the Dalai Lama teachings on the Heart Sutra? Do not miss this opportunity to experience the soul-stirring artistry of Michael Fitzpatrick. Check the poster. I certainly will be there.

Here’s a brief follow-up to my admonition to remember to include greenery on your martial arts dojo kamidana spirit shelf. A few friends wrote and chided me for not personally teaching them what they needed on that shelf. “How are we supposed to know? We didn’t live all those years in Japan like you did,” […]

Daughter Reina is the safest happy girl in Atlantic City between friends Chuck Zito (see him on “Entourage” with Dennis Hopper?) and Dan Severn (see him win the UFC TV cagefight championship?), our neighbors on the Action Martial Arts Hall of Fame celebrity table aisle A business friend recently asked how my family was doing, […]

I told my friend Jack Hoban that I am getting a lot of questions from my friends about our up-coming ethical leadership seminar. Martial arts practitioners and spiritual seekers alike want to know why I have chosen to make such a boldly different move in my presentation for this event. I tell my friends I […]

My perception is that we are in the midst of one of the lowest points we have ever experienced in the world when it comes to demonstrated noble big-vision leadership. When I say “we” I mean all of us alive now, from the newest baby to the seniormost life veteran. Whatever happened to ethics? Whatever […]

Here’s a trivial note for friends with martial arts schools that feature a Japanese-style kamiza “spirit focal point” shelf on the main wall of their training space. As described in the book Enlightened Self Protection, a kamiza can be compared to the family mantelpiece tradition familiar to American and European homes. As the mantel holds […]

I have known fighting and fitness trainer Scott Sonnon for some years, and I am impressed with his work. He has developed a physical fitness program called TACFIT, based on natural body weight movement, as opposed to iron weights or lever/pulley equipment. Over the years, several of my friends have asked me for this kind […]

I had a conversation with a person who commented that our taijutsu looked “too slow” to him. He felt that for a real fight, we should be practicing with what he called “realistic speed”. I understand how he could feel that way. Once upon a time a long time ago, I too studied a less […]