The Grid, Music and Martial Arts!

There's alot of talk about dropping off the grid these days. I wonder if it is even possible to do such a thing. Sometimes I feel like I would like to to try but when it comes down to it I don't think it is very realistic. Yet, I think we should all consider planning ahead in case something drastic happens in America.

For example a major earthquake, hurricane, tornado or flood could destroy everything you own so it is nice to think you would be prepared for such a scenario. I mean by storing food and clothes somewhere other than home. Sounds extreme but how grateful would you be if your house was destroyed and all contents like in Joplin Missouri or in the recent tsunami in Japan. What if you had the forethought to store food, clothes, even money in a place somewhere other than your own home. Not saying that I have but the thought just came to me in this regard. I will have to ponder the logistics of such an idea.

Now moving on to lighter subjects, if you have ever read this blog you know I am into martial arts. I love to practice it and to watch it on TV or in person. I have been and am still pursuing black belts in two arts, Aikido and Combat Hapkido. I am still making good progress towards these goals and am about to test again in Combat Hapkido, this will be my Blue Belt. In Aikido I am still a couple of months away from my next test but it is a BIG one. First Kyu, which will be my last test before Black. Very exciting! My ultimate goal is to teach self defense. Private lessons or perhaps in a Dojo of my own someday.

One of my other passions is music. I have always loved singing, ever since I was a small boy singing around the house and to the radio. I had a knack for remembering lyrics even when I was six or seven. I began playing guitar at thirteen and only played about a year. I got good fast and even helped instruct in my music class in the 8th grade in Stockbridge Ga. but my circumstances changed and I moved away from Ga., back to NC. I lost interest in the guitar and although I usually had one in the closet I rarely took it out and played unitl a few years ago when I began playing again. I do remeber taking lessons about 20 years ago, I think I took two or three lessons but alas I once again put the guitar back up and failed to go any further.

Today I am into guitars BIG TIME! I own about five of them and I play every day! I love it more and more! I suppose there is a time for every thing and this is my time for the guitar. I intend to keep playing until I get good enough to be a professional. I am playing some small gigs now for very little money but it is a start. My goals is to make $5,000 a show! Someday I will get there.. (wink)

Been Away but I'll Be Back

Been away from this blog for quite a while. I suppose Facebook has allot to do with that. I thought I would do an update and try to start working my way over here more often.

First - Politics!

Life has been challenging for many of us self employed folks for the past two or three years. When the Democrats wind up in power business usually takes a hit so I was not surprised but I was surprised by the extent of damage they managed to do to the economy since they took over the congress in 2007 and then once Obama came into office.

Hopefully with the help of the TEA party we will see BIG changes in 2012 and perhaps business can begin to grow again in America. I know many people disagree with me on this and we can debate or argue much of this stuff all day but let me put it this way. It is VERY simple.

When you raise taxes on BIG business of any kind it will be passed on to the consumer, it always does. So, raising taxes on Big Oil, Big, Pharma, Big Teleco, Big Tobacco, etc, always comes back to hurt the consumer... Also, when you raise taxes on the so called "RICH", it hurts charities and investments. So it hurts the poor and those who are trying to start and grow businesses. Your not hurting the RICH because it really does not change their personal lifestyle but it does hurt those who they give money too and who they invest in.

If you can wrap your mind around that then you understand why conservatives are against raising taxes, period!

OK, on to other things.

Martial Arts

I am starting my preparations for my next BIG test in Aikido. This will be my 1st kyu test which will put me on step away from achieving Black Belt. This will be a challenge both physically and mentally. There are many techniques to memorize and demonstrate. I hope to be testing in 8 weeks or less. It all depends on Sensei Orlando. When he deems me ready he will let me know.

I am also training in Combat Hapkido in a distance learning program. I went to a seminar in Southern Pines two weeks ago. Really enjoyed getting to work with Grand Master Pelligrini again. I received my purple belt about a month ago and have been working on Blue Belt Arts since then. Will have my first MAT time on these techniques this weekend. This is the beginning of the advanced arts in this system and I really like it! I hope to move on to Brown Belt very soon.

My plan is to acquire my Black Belt in both arts in early 2013 if not sooner. Once I do this I will begin offering personal self defense training here at my home dojo. Along with music lessons this is part of my retirement plan. Of course it will be another 10 years or so before I can really think about giving up my delivery business but I will go as the Lord leads me.

MUSIC

I have been working very hard on playing the guitar and singing. I have learned 30 to 50 songs over the last three years since I began playing again. I can do a short gig now and am working towards being able to do a 2 hour gig playing and singing. I also am giving guitar lessons. I have one student already and another who wants to start next month.

Well, that's enough for now. I have to get ready for Aikido.

In the words of the Terminator,

"I'll BE BACK!"

Until then may the Peace of Christ be with you and yours and may God Bless America!

2nd kyu ~ Tomiki Aikido

Greetings

Big News at the Dojo this week! Sensei's Tony & MaryAnn are leaving for Japan this morning to help with the disaster cleanup. They will be hauling supplies back and forth to one of the hardest hit areas and also helping with animal recovery efforts. We are very proud of them and we hope they stay safe and we know they will spread the good news of Christ while they are there. It will be different around the dojo with them gone for a month. I myself will take a week off after having my 2nd kyu promotion last night. I made it through the (test) even with a bad knee, thanks to many prayers and the grace of God.

I am looking forward to getting back in the groove and learnin my next set of techniques (Di Nei) for the 1st kyu promotion. Once that is behind me it will be black belt test next! I am very glad I stuck with this class. Not only have I learned excellent Aikido but I have made great, lifelong friends here, many of who are good christians like myself and we have a llot of fun outside the dojo too.

By the way, I passed my greenbelt test in Combat Hapikdo a few weeks ago and trained a bit for my purple belt last weekend. I am looking forward to a few more training sessions with Sensei Flagg and then on to test for purple at Master Doyle's dojo in Mooresville. This will be a fairly easy test for me since many of my aikido techniques are in this test.

Happy Easter Folks and God Bless.

OK, so it has been many months since I last blogged.

This blog has become mostly about my Aikido and Combat Hapkido training over the past year and I am happy to say I am still working on both arts, learning and improving at a fairly good pace.

I should be testing for 2nd kyu in Aikido within the next 6 to 8 weeks and my next CH test will also be very soon for my green belt or 7th GUP. I will update more on that later.

Today I want to work on my latest little experiment from a music site I joined recently called Reverbnation. I will try to place a widget here and see if it works.

Check it out!

Peace and Merry Christmas to you all!

JD Pearce

NMB ~ Under The Pier

Aikido update 2010

Greetings!

Well it's nearly Mother's Day and I am about to take off for Spartanburg, SC or near there anyway to visit my Mom. We will be taking off to Georgia to go to our annual family reunion later this morning. So Happy Day Mom, I hope the weekend is special for you and all the other deserving Mom's out there who work hard to raise their kids or have done so many years ago and are enjoying the grandchildren...

However I digress, I am here today to discuss my Aikido class. I finally was tested (and promoted) to Brown Belt last week. It was a grueling 1 hour test that really pushed me physically. I learned a thing or two about my cardio health no doubt. Yet I was very pleased with the out come. Sensei Tony was very gracious and said I did a really good job and he was very happy with my progress. I have been at this Dojo for 14 months now and I hope to continue for as long as I can.

The test itself consisted of the 15 basics right side only Tori and Uke. Then the solo Jokata, which is 21 techniques. After that I am paired up with Uke again and run through the more advanced 22 techniques both sides Tori and Uke. Once I was done there it was time for Randori or freestyle. I took on about 7 attackers one at a time for three go rounds, grabs, punches then knives. Then came the two man attacks for several more rounds. I did surprisingly well in freestyle and was able to show many different techniques as I fended off my attackers.

Aikido has become a way of life for me and I would not want to stop learning and practicing. It really helps my stay in shape and keep the extra weight off too! I also will be training for my orange belt in Combat Hapkido over the next few weeks. My CH Dojo was closed for a while but has re-opened now and I will be headed back up to Mooresville soon to work out again with Sensei Flagg.

Sensei Handy and I are also working out in Monroe NC, most every Wednesday night in Tomiki Aikido. It is good to get the private instruction from him. He is a very talented 3rd Dan and helps me tremendously with my technique.

So now I often work out in Aikido @ the Dojo in Stallings, NC on Tues. & Thursday, Monroe on Wednesday and then Mooresville on Saturday in Combat Hapkido. Recently I have been invited to an Aikido Seminar on Saturday not too far from here in Weddington, NC just down the road a few miles.

Peace and Blessings

JD

American Thinker: Barack's Bi-Polar Nuclear Policy

This is an interesting article.

Some folks believe that Obama is using this call for new Nuclear plants as a ruse to lure in some independents and moderate republicans who have all but abandoned him completely. The new building of these new facilities will add thousands of jobs and take many years to build but once they are near completion we will find out that they will never be licensed or brought online due to massive amounts of government red-tape and of course the radical environmental lobby groups who are dead set against nuclear power. In fact Obama himself has said in the past he was NOT a proponent of nuclear power. If this is true it will be another colossal waste of government money and just more of the same dirty politics we have come to expect from Washington.

American Thinker: Barack's Bi-Polar Nuclear Policy

February 19, 2010

Barack's Bi-Polar Nuclear Policy

By John Leonard

President Barack Obama recently took drastic steps forward to carry through on his campaign promise to close the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste facility before it ever opens for business. His Department of Energy (DOE) successfully petitioned judges hearing license requests for the dump site to cancel the hearings. The final step in Obama's effort to kill the project for good will be to completely withdraw the DOE application for Yucca Mountain.

Yucca Mountain has been designed as a specialized storage center to keep nuclear waste safely contained in an underground facility deep inside a mountain, long after the material is believed safe and no longer radioactive. The storage center is on a military base almost one hundred miles from civilization (and that's Las Vegas, for what it's worth), in the middle of the Nevada desert.

It may sound like the Yucca Mountain site is in the middle of nowhere. Actually, it's under the middle of nowhere.

Interestingly, the actions of Obama's DOE are in defiance of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, which a bipartisan Congress overwhelmingly approved in 2002.

Gilles Whittel, reporting for the Times (U.K.) online, wrote the following about the Yucca mountain facility:

About $9 billion (£5.6 billion) was spent on the first phase of concrete tunnels and chambers designed to keep waste safe for at least a million years.[my emphasis] A 5 mile (8km) U-shaped tunnel was bored into the side of the extinct volcano, which is inside the Nevada nuclear test site.

Closing Yucca Mountain will leave 130,000 metric tons of nuclear waste stranded at 131 different sites spread across 39 states. The federal government will be at risk of breach-of-contract lawsuits for breaking agreements with utility companies. Some estimates indicate the potential for the Obama DOE could incur more than 50 billion dollars of legal liability in the case. [Hat tip: Nye County YMIC]

That is the biggest drawback to Obama's bright new idea for creating green power, which is to add two new nuclear reactors in rural Burke County, Georgia. What will we do with the nuclear waste produced by these new reactors? And for that matter, what about the waste from the current reactors in Tennessee and South Carolina?

One may be wondering how critical the problem of storing nuclear waste has become. According to an article on CNN.com, "Currently, 70,000 tons of radioactive waste are stored at more than 100 nuclear sites around the country, and 2,000 tons are added every year."

How is all this stuff being stored today? Expended nuclear waste is typically kept in special canisters stored above ground and constructed of concrete, steel, and lead at the reactor's plants, which generate them as a temporary solution. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has certified the expected lifespan of these containers to be ninety years, though how that number was determined is unclear. Nuclear energy didn't exist ninety years ago, and therefore nuclear waste hasn't been kept in one of these containers for ninety years to test the theory.

The rub lies in a fact that CNN also reported: "After uranium has been used in a reactor, the spent fuel remains radioactive for thousands of years."

Okay, so our means of storage is good for ninety years, but the threat from this radioactive material could last for two thousand or more. I'm not a nuclear scientist, but that doesn't sound like a viable long-term solution to me.

Harry Reid chimed in on the debate and said, "Leave it on-site where it is. You don't have to worry about transporting it. [Not transporting nuclear waste s]aves the country billions and billions of dollars."

Harry, I never claimed to be a math whiz, but the numbers just don't seem to add up. It might save a few dollars in transportation costs over the short term, but what happens in thirty or forty years when these temporary above-ground containers expire?

Why would Obama close the only viable answer to long-term storage of nuclear waste while he simultaneously calls for additional nuclear power plants? One reason, though not a very good one, is that he made closing Yucca Mountain a campaign issue. Another would be his obligations to radical environmental groups opposed to the facility. As for rational reasons, I'm still trying to think of one.

America on the Brink!

We are living in unprecedented times. Our political class has failed us, no let me re-phrase that. They have lied, cheated, robbed, and molested us all the while enriching themselves. Most of them should be in jail for what they have done to the country and to us, the citizens of this great nation.

Let’s face it folks, America is BANKRUPT! We owe more money than we can ever pay. If you add up all the un-funded liability of America’s social programs and the debt we have accumulated over the past several years it is well over 100 TRILLION dollars. Yes, it is true. However the politicians still refuse to stop spending money we don’t have and cut the programs that got us in this mess. I’m not here to blame one party or the other, they are both guilty of this malfeasance but I will say the party in power at this moment is the worst I have seen in my nearly 50 years on the planet.

With all that said here is where we are today. There is a movement in America called the Tea Party movement. Although it has been impugned by the so called Main Stream Media, which if you have not noticed lately is no longer main stream, it is a movement of grass roots people. Regular folks like you and me who love America and want to see her restored to her former glory. We have awakened from a long slumber and we don’t like what we see around us today. For far too long politicians have been allowed to run roughshod over us and it is time to take America back.

This is just the beginning, we have allot of work to do. I will be writing more on this in days and weeks to come. For now I just want to encourage each and every one of you to get involved in some way. Try to spend some time, if only and hour or two a week, getting informed and preparing yourself for what is to come. Like I said earlier America is BANKRUPT! We will have to suffer some dire consequences before we can re-right this sinking ship. We may crash before we can rebuild so be ready for the worst. Prepare yourselves for a rough ride in the next few years.

Start by reading our history. Read about the original Tea Party movement and what lead up to the Revolutionary War. You will see many parallels in how we are being treated by our leaders today and how England treated the colonists. We The People will have to take our country back from the crooks in Washington, they will not give up their power easily. Knowledge is power and history repeats itself. We can learn what is to come by knowing what has happened in the past.

Peace through preparedness!

JD Pearce ~ Patriot

American Thinker Blog: Evidence of Climate Fraud Grows, Media Coverage Doesn't

You would think the American media would want to cover this story. FOX News has and talk radio has but the MSM is MIA....

American Thinker Blog: Evidence of Climate Fraud Grows, Media Coverage Doesn't

Aikido ~ Hapkido Update

Greetings

Just wanted to update my progress in the world of Aikido and now Combat Hapkido.

I am now working towards my brown belt in Tomiki Aikido at the Carolina Martials Arts Dojo in Stallings NC. My first year anniversary is fast approaching and although the past few months have been very slow progress towards my brown belt it seems that Sensei Orlando has finally decided to allow me to work on my kata and other techniques needed to test.

It looks as though it will be a lengthy test including the basic 15, the dynamic 22 and then some weapons technigue as well. The final phase of the test is usually free style so I can imagine it will take a full hour or longer depending on how I do.

If all goes well I would hope to be testing next month around the last week or perhaps the first part of March.

I also have been working at the Flagg Dojo in Mooresville training for my first test in Combat Hapkido. I probably would be testing next weekend for my yellow belt but I have a conflict with my Church schedule so I will have to put it off another month. I am really enjoying that class and look forward to my continued progress there. I am already into the orange belt techniques and will probably be ready for both tests by the time I get to meet with Sensie Doyle of whom I have not had the pleasure as of yet.

I have also been working with Sensie Handy off and on at the Dojo in Monroe, NC and intend to start training with him regulary on Wednesday nights as soon as he is back from vacation. This will be advanced training in Tomiki Aikido.

I am healthy and mostly injury free at this time other than my old shoulder, neck and lower back issues I have leanred to live with. My flexibility is improving and I am looking forward to a great year in martial arts.

Peace

JD

Here are some pics from the Seminar and from my latest workout at the Flagg Dojo. I have decided to go ahead and start the Combat Hapiko system this month. I have trained 4 times in the past two months and am ready to get the process started so I can get my belts and certificates so I can use the training I have up to this point. It is somewhat costly but I think I can work it out.

The belts are:

white

yellow

orange

green

purple

blue

brown

red

red w/black stripe

black w/white stripe

black

1st dan

2nd dan

etc...

It will take about 3 years or more to get to shodan or black belt. This is of course if all goes well and I can stay on course and injury free (Praise God). Once shodan is reached then it is only the beginning! (smile)

I have been working on the twenty two of the Tomiki Aikido system on Tuesday and Thursday nights for the past couple of weeks. I am learning these quite well and hope to get the first two sets (11) down in a couple more weeks and then work on the next two sets. It is very exciting to delve into the martial arts finally. At my age it is good to have so many things to learn and to keep me working hard and staying in shape. It is so easy to get out of shape and can happen very quickly. You have to mantain a regular routine of working out to keep fit these days. If I can get control of my diet I will have it knocked! That seems to be the hardest part for me. I travel a lot and it is so easy to eat badly. Yet I am more determined than ever!

Grace and Peace

4th Kyu Test

Greetings

An update on my Aikido training. As of 9/17/09 I have been training at Carolina Martial Arts under Sensei Orlando for 6 months. I was tested for 4th kyu on Tuesday night of this week and received my new stripe last night. Now it is onto the next step which will be brown belt. The new techniques are the twenty two. At this point we go from a static starting position to Uke attacking from a moving or fluid attack. This should really help me to improve my free style and become more fluid myself. Hopefully the next six months will allow me to learn to relax more, be less stiff and more circular in my movements...

I have enjoyed the first six months, the class is good. Maybe a bit too slow paced at times for me but overall I am well pleased. I intend to train hard and reach brown belt as soon as I can, perhaps in six months or less.

I have stayed injury free for the past few months and I hope it continues. I really need to work on my cardio but my flexibility is really good now compared to the beginning. My goal of black belt is in sight and I hope to reach it in three years or less. Many have said that this particular martial art is very difficult to learn and I felt that way at first but now I am feeling much more confident about my own ability to learn Aikido.

I am also working with another friend of mine who is a 2nd dan in Combat Hapkido. I attended a seminar in High Point NC about a month ago where I met and trained with Sensei John Pellegrini, Grand Master of Combat Aikido. It was a great seminar and I am now working with Sensei Flagg to learn this art too. I hope to move into this art as soon as I can for certification. I will train in both arts for now but my goal is to reach shodan in both forms of Tomiki Aikido and Combat Hapkido.

In fact I am traveling to Mooresville tomorrow morning for a two hour work out with Sensei Flagg, this will be my second work out with him since the seminar.

Peace

Conservative America awakened?

I have often wondered what it would take to wake America up. Many of us said before the election of President Obama that we believed it might take America, seeing first hand what a true radical liberal would do to our blessed country, before we would truly wake up and then stand up to these secular progressive liberals and take our country back.

Well it looks as though we were right. Obama and his radical ideas as well as the leftists and communists he has surrounding him in the Whites House and in Congress are pushing the limits of what regular hard working Americans can stand and I believe the sleeping Dragon has awakened. You are now seeing the beginnings of a revolution stirring at these town hall meetings across the nation. I say this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Obama and the liberal left are not only pushing the envelope they have gone over the cliff and are trying to take the country with them. The policies they are forcing on America make no sense whatsoever. Instead of doing what we know would stimulate the economy today they are enacting policies that is crippling America. Many of us believe they are trying to create a vast number of Americans, even more dependent on government for their sustenance so that they in turn can offer more policies like universal health care, welfare, Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security and all of the new deal type social programs that have put America in debt to the tune of 100 trillion dollars! Yes, it is true! 100 trillion dollars of unfunded liabilities are tied to just three of these programs. Now that our unemployment is over 10% they try and push through cap & trade as well as universal health care two programs that will increase our debt and tax burden by trillions more. This is a purposeful plan to ruin the American economic infrastructure so that they can rebuild it in their own way, a dependent America who can do nothing without the government providing for all the people's needs.

Is that the America you want???

If we do not throw the liberals out of office in 2010 we are in deep trouble. I myself am a Glenn Beck fan as well as Rush Limbaugh. Although I don't always agree with everything anyone says I think these two for the most part have it right about Obama and the radical left. They must be stopped. Their polices will destroy America as we know it so it is time America to stand up and shout! We must not be afraid to speak our minds and to go down to City Hall or wherever we have to go to make our voices heard. We must let the liberal politicians know that we the people want our country back and we will do what we must do to protect the Constitution of the United States of America!

Let's go America! Obama has also said he wants to build his own civil army as large and well funded as the military. What does he mean by that? Let's not wait to find out. Let's throw these liberals out of office in 2010 and in 2012 we will put a real conservative in the White House! We must start today!

Update on Aikido and life

I'm back! I have ignored this blog too long. It is time for an update.

Aikido training is progressing at a slow but steady pace. I thought I would have tested by now but it looks like it could be another month or so. I just past the four month mark and it looks like six months is a more realistic time frame for the second test. I am on number eleven (Kote mawashi, hiki taoshi) of the fifteen basics and still need much work on these in order to do well on the test yet I am getting much better each time we work on these techniques. Numbers eight, nine and ten are somewhat complicated and it is taking me some time to really get the mechanics worked out.

I am also working out with Jeff now one night per week until further notice. I have to start choir practice again in a few weeks on Wednesday so that will throw a monkey wrench into the schedule but I will still try and go at least once or twice a month if I can work it out. Jeff just began teaching at a school in Monroe a few weeks ago and I made it to his class last week. We had been working out at his house previous to that. The other Jeff and I had lunch Friday and I hope to attend a Hapkido seminar with him and the guys later this fall.

Life is good right now although a bit complicated and busy. Allot going on between Aikido, Church, Business and life in general. I suppose it is good to stay busy, keeps one on his toes! I am in the process of trying to sell one business and start up another, this too is keeping me very active these days.

So that is it for the update. I hope that by the next time I write here I will be 4th kyu and on my way to brown belt.

Peace

Aikido Update!

Greetings

Just dropped in to update on my progress in the dojo.

I am very pleased to say I am still hanging in there and very eager to go each week to learn more and work towards my next test. I am studying the 15 basics in the dojo and enjoying the company of many other students at all different levels of the art. Sensei Tony is a super guy and his wife Maryann is also very nice and personable. It is a great pleasure to work out with this bunch and I am progressing well with no major injuries so far (knock on wood) to prevent me from continuing. I have learned about 6 of the first 15 so I hope to be ready to test in about a month. My birthday is in 5 weeks so perhaps it will be a nice birthday surprise to be able to test for my next stripe.

I also am working out again with my friend Jeff who is a 4th degree Shodan in Tomiki Aikido, one hour every two weeks. He is teaching me some more advanced techniques I will encounter later on to give me a head start on my testing at the dojo and some good street self defense.

Peace and Prosperity!


JD

Aikido is like Marriage

Greetings!

It is Saturday and the weekend brings time to do some work around the house and reflect on the week past. It was a slow work week for me which is good and bad. Joe, my main IC, was out all week due to his wife being hospitalized, we certainly wish her a speedy recovery and pray for God's healing. Since Joe was out it seems that it was a good time for business to slow down. I hope it is not a trend however since the bills must be paid and therefore business must pick up to get it all done. Let's hope that May will see a nice pick up and we can all get back on track in this withering economy.

Business and life are challenging at times and we have to learn from the good and bad experiences, very much like a marriage. Marriage is not always good, so to make it work a man and woman have to learn to blend with his/her spouse. This is the essence of Aikido, blending with Uke or your partner.

For those who are not familiar with Aikido it is a martial art that teaches us to blend with our attacker and use their energy and momentum to our advantage. We do not confront power head on and collide but circumvent and blend using our opponents energy to our own advantage or to diffuse the attack. Like in marriage when confronted with a problem you do not crash into your spouse you find a way to avoid the pain of a collision by blending and diffusing. It is simple and effective.

I have recently passed my first test that takes my rank up a notch to 5th Kyu. I am now learning the first set of techniques that I will test on for the next stage of the Kyu system. I have been working on the first 15 techniques for one week now and have learned the first eight of the 15. Hopefully I can learn the rest in the next two to three weeks, take another week or two to polish them and then test by the end of May or early June for my 4th Kyu. I am very excited (and sore) form all the workouts and back falls. (smile) It is challenging for me but I am very eager for each class and really hope to continue this for a lifetime. I think Aikido will be the key to keeping me focused on my health and living a better life into my 50's and beyond. I have lost about 15 pounds and am feeling pretty good. I still have some issues I am working through, neck and shoulder, hip and lower abdominal but I will continue to fight through the pain and make it work, no excuses.

I want to thank all my new friends at Carolina Martial Arts for being so supportive and teaching me each week as we all prepare to advance to our next levels. I also want to thank Mr. Handy for working with me and giving me a head start. I hope that he and I will be able to continue our advanced Aikido workouts beginning sometime this month.

By the way ~ I have a family reunion coming up May 23rd. Looking forward to seeing everyone again. I am bringing my guitar and have learned a bunch of songs for the event. I hope to get a sing-along going and some of the other folks will also have their guitars. Should be lots of fun!

The very next week I will be going to Jacksonville Florida for my Son's graduation from Navy Air School. I am also looking forward to that. In other news I have a colonoscopy scheduled next week, not so much looking forward to that. Getting old is fun! (grin)

Peace and Grace

JD

Torture vs Morality

As I rode around today in the Van I listened to NPR and a show concerning the release of some classified memos by the Obama administration. The pundits on the show debated the issue of torture and whether it was a good idea to release these memos. At least two of the debaters made statements on several occasions that America, under the Bush administration had lost it's moral bearings by using harsh interrogation techniques to gain information from captured terrorists. They in essence were lecturing those who think it is OK to use enhanced techniques on these people in order to get information that could save lives.

Now from what I gather the techniques used included water boarding, slapping, humiliation, sleep deprivation and even caterpillars. Now from what I have been told our soldiers go through training that is worse than this in their military careers to prepare them for the battlefield, especially Navy Seals, Army Rangers and other Special Ops soldiers. Not to mention we have people in our culture that pay to have stuff worse than this done to them in fetish type sex businesses.

Now here's where I get angry! I am sick and tired of being lectured by a bunch of people who support murdering tiny babies in the womb and outside the womb in abortion clinics yet they want to tell me I have lost my moral bearings!

Give me a break!

(AP) Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama may have a lot of explaining to do.He voted against requiring medical care for aborted fetuses who survive. He supported allowing retired police officers to carry concealed weapons, but opposed allowing people to use banned handguns to defend against intruders in their homes. And the list of sensitive topics goes on.

Someone needs to get a clue and speak the truth to these elitists liberals and tell Obama and the rest of his minions to their faces what hypocrites they really are on this subject. The truth is 99% of those people would sacrifice or torture anyone of us to save the lives of their loved ones if it came down to it. Yet they want to preach to use how morally Superior they are on this subject....

I hate to say it but this one really burns me up!

What say you?

Greetings

After only three full weeks of Aikido I am progressing well. I have begun preparing for the test which will grant me the 5th Kyu or first stripe on my belt. It will be another 4 weeks or so before I have the time in to test according to the requirements. That should give me enough to to try and gain a better understanding and practical application of each hand and foot movement, judo taiso and the first eight quick release techniques. I feel sure I will be able to perform these requirements in that allotted time.

I have enjoyed each class and look forward to each new workout. Although I am working through some injuries I hope that I will be able to attend each class without missing any until at least May when I have to go out of town to see my son graduate air school in the Navy.

Our class is a good one and all the people are very easy to get along with and helpful. I hope to make some lifelong friendships here. The Sensei and his wife are both really good people and fun to work with.

I will continue to post as I progress.


Peace

Recently I was chatting with a friend and told him I was taking Aikido lessons. He responded negatively which surprised me some but I tried to explain to him why a man my age, 47 , would want to do this.

There are many reasons:

One ~ It has been a lifelong dream of mine to be an expert martial artist but one I have failed at achieving so far and I want to rectify that failure.

Two ~ I like the discipline that it brings to my life when I am part of a Dojo and practicing on a regular basis. I leads me to be more responsible in my eating habits as well as exercising and keeps me in much better shape.

Three ~ I have always been a big proponent of self defense, especially in such a violent culture as we live in today. The wife and I like to travel and we often find ourselves in places we have never been. Over the past several years we have been to Memphis, Chicago, Nashville, Washington, Sedona, San Francisco and many other places. I have been in situations where I was not totally comfortable with my surroundings as we explored these cities. If I were to be attacked I want to be able to protect my wife and myself from harm. It would be easy to just not go places that might be dangerous but I am an explorer at heart so this is really not an option for me.

There are other reasons but I will leave it at this for now. Aikido is a very effective art from what I can tell. It is so much different than the other forms I have seen and participated in and I really enjoy the sense of camaraderie at this Dojo. With me getting close to 50, this seems like the right time in my life to try and kick things up a notch or two and be more active and healthy. I am looking forward to some day achieving the goal of black belt and then progressing even further in the art. Wish me luck!

The Martial Way

Aikido, "The Way of Harmonious Spirit".

Ai = Harmony

Ki = Spirit or Energy

Do = The Way

I have been interested in Aikido for over 20 years and have been a martial arts fan since the days Bruce Lee was introduced to America as "Kato" in the "Green Hornet" TV show back in the 60's. Unfortunately that show was canceled but Bruce Lee went on to become a legend in the area of martial arts and still 35 years after his death is talked about and seen in martial arts magazines around the world.

Steven Segal brought us Aikido back in the late 80's with his first movie "Above the Law". He, being a 7th degree black belt and Aikido Master was the first westerner to open a Dojo in Japan. I had dabbled in jujitsu and karate but never seemed to find my place in the world of martial arts until a few years ago. I met a fellow who is a 3rd dan in Tomiki Aikido and he and I started working out together. We did this off and on for a couple of years and I recently joined an Aikido Dojo here in the Charlotte area where I am starting from scratch to earn my credentials in Aikido.

Although I have some serious training like anything else you must practice constantly and often to acquire the skills necessary to achieve a high level of skill. I will be documenting my progress through this Aikido school here from time to time so check back in when you can to see what happens next.

One thing I like about Aikido is that it is a defensive art. The training provides you with a way to neutralize and attack from one person or multiple attackers, yet it allows you to defend yourself without causing serious injury to the attacker unless you choose to do so. In most cases it is not necessary to break and arm or dislocate a joint but if your life or the life of a loved one is in jeopardy then you do have the skills to eliminate the threat completely.

Aikido teaches you to evade and attack and re-direct the attackers energy and momentum. The key is the balance point and Aikido training teaches you to know where that point is and to take advantage of your opponents weakness in this regard. One other key to Aikido is recognizing that your strength comes from your core or center. This is where the Ki originates and is the fulcrum for all your Aikido techniques to be performed.

I Am looking forward to each training session as I try and learn these skills and perfect each technique available to me. I am grateful for this opportunity to learn from an experienced Sensei and some of his excellent black belts.

I am not mentioning any names as I do not have permission to do so and it would be disrespectful to the both Sensie's and the Dojo until I have that permission.

Aikido is also an art that promotes peace and well being, as a harmonious spirit is a peaceful spirit.


Peace be with you!