Dang! I’ve gone too long without writing a post!

I’ve been buried in more work than usual over the last few months, juggling work across three municipalities. The summer months were especially intense. Things have slowly been returning to some normalcy – only a year or two before I retire for good. I think I see the light at the end of the tunnel….or is that a train coming at me?

Anyway, it helps that, within the past week, one of the municipalities changed my schedule in a very favorable direction, a change that will give me more time, among other things, to resume blogging. This change has been set through the end of January 2026 and hopefully beyond.

In addition to my work, I’ve been teaching private lessons and classes, leaving little time for blogging. Straight up with you, I’ve been often exhausted at the end of the day.

I’ve got a few topics lined up and hope to return to regular blogging from here on out. Stay tuned!

If you are not able to view this video, go here.

I recently watched the above video, and I have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, I like Shaolin Master Shi Heng Yi’s emphasis on self-mastery. At one point in the video, he states that martial arts training is different than sport training. I understand where he is coming from, but I slightly disagree with this point. More specifically, he believes that there is no element of “walking through the valley of pain” with sports training.

Some of you know that I played football in high school. The infamous “dog days of August” practice is akin to walking through the valley of pain. We often practiced three times a day (a 2-hour morning practice, a 1-hour midafternoon special teams session, and a 2-hour late-afternoon practice). Let me tell you, I learned several life lessons that have stuck with me to this day.

Otherwise, I do agree that martial arts training is invaluable in building character. It’s just not the only way to build character. I like the rest of his disquisition on mastery, respect, the meaning of being a true master and being a student.

Give your thoughts and impressions of the video!

Lastly, my apologies for my blogging absence. Stay tuned!