My Martial Journey begins anew

Today I have my initial “free lesson” at The Blast. This is a local martial arts academy here in Madison that offers complete martial arts training in a variety of styles and purposes. Kickboxing, Jiu Jitsu, MMA, self-defense, and Jeet Kune Do. It is the latter that has me interested. When I was in high school I became enamored of Bruce Lee. I loved his movies and was electrified to watch his skill on screen. Soon I came to love all martial arts movies, and am to this day a huge fan of them. But Bruce will always be my favorite, just as he is for a lot of people. During this time I took Tae Kwon Do for a few months, and practiced martial arts with my friends as often as I could. In those days I was able pick up on techniques by watching others do them and then practicing them.* I learned a lot just from watching Bruce, Chuck, Jean-Claude and the like.

When I was about 14 years old, I got the complete set of Bruce Lee’s Fighting Method books for Christmas. These were my collective bible, and I read and re-read them all many times. At this point, I was learning Jeet Kune Do on my own. I was studying the philosophy that Bruce developed, as well as the techniques that he used. Later in life I would take Hapkido for a time, and continue my eclectic learning and training. But I never got a chance to go back and really learn JKD. Now, I just may be doing that soon. Assuming the school is a good fit. I hope it is, because it’s the only place anywhere near me that offers it. I am very out of practice, but am eager to get back into it.

In somewhat related news, my birthday celebration is coming up in December. My awesome wife has planned a huge trip to Vegas. I’ll be there with a lot of old buddies, many of whom I haven’t seen in years, as well as some new ones. One of the things she has planned for “the guys” is to go to a place where we can shoot automatic rifles and firearms. I haven’t fired a weapon since 1995, so I am looking forward to it. Nothing feels quite like putting lead downrange with accuracy.

All in all, life is pretty damn good right now. Michele’s fitness journey is inspiring me, which is what lead me to look into martial arts schools. The kids are doing good, more or less. Had some drama with Faith recently, thanks to her mother. But, that will be resolved, one way or the other, next week. Sydney is doing good in school. She still struggles with anxiety, and her reading is a bit behind. But she is showing progress, and we’re all proud of that. Connor is growing like a weed and is a very smart boy. He already recognizes letters and numbers, and is getting better at articulating what he wants. He still wakes up in the middle of the night a lot, but lately it’s mainly because he has a cold and is all stuffy.

I’m writing a bit more, now that things are starting to settle into a groove with work and play. Worked a little more on a historical project I had started a while back. I’m also a bit inspired to work on my supernatural action/romance book. Sometimes I wonder if I will wake up one day and have like five books done without even realizing it…

*A bit of trivia, there is a character in Marvel Comics known as The Taskmaster who has this ability, but at a super-level. They call it “Photographic Reflexes.”