Hello world!

Every once in a while I'll check the viewer stats to see who might be reading my blog. It doesn't tell me who, but it does tell from which country they are. That's kinda neat. Who would have thought something I'd be typing as kind of an online journal could be read by people from the UK, France, Germany, South Korea, to name a few.

Most of my friends don't know I have this blog, but it's not like I tell everyone about it. Not looking to become any famous type of blogger. Just thought this would be fun. Something that would be really fun would be to get some comments about my blog, especially from anyone outside the US.

With that said, I hope everyone out there is enjoying this Easter holiday, whether Christian, Pagan, or any other religion with a holiday right around this time of year!

Kick it!

I'm not nearly as flexible as I used to be! In the past year while studying Aikido, I've let my kicking skills diminish, along with my leg flexibility. Years ago I could do a split, and do decent side kicks to my height (5'10). Now I can barely kick chest high on my sidekicks. My body opponent bag is a good measure for the height stuff. At least I can still kick head high with my roundhouse and front kicks. I can blame Aikido all I want, but it's really on me to keep up with the kicking skills.

In Aikido, there's no kicking. None, zero, nada. Aikido's focus of being in control of your center focuses on keeping your feet in proper alignment for your center. Kicking can take you off your center, or so Aikido's philosophy goes. In Ninpo Chuan Fa, kicking is a decent part of the self defense stuff. Not necessarily kicking high, but kicking consistantly with effect. The high kicking aspect of martial arts like Ninpo are mainly for exercise and flexibility, not so much as to be effective in defense.

So here I am, doing rounds of hundreds of various kicks after lots o' stretching, and I am tired! Doesn't help that I'm a pretty heavy guy these days. Not the heaviest I've been, but definitely not slim. Working on slimming down. Still continuing with the weights, and now yoga and my exercise bike have become steady fixtures in my workout routine. Right now the only movie martial artists I can be compared to are Sammo Hung and Kevin James (see "Here Comes the Boom"). If I'm going to be teaching this stuff soon, I've gotta get comfortable again with all aspects of the art. Maybe then I can look more like Bolo Yeung as far as physique goes

Gonna keep on kickin', kinda like a Rockette  :)

-Peace and Balance

Progress, and a tough conversation...

John and I have met a few times, and with his wife Mona we've had some good discussions on how the revival of Ninpo Chuan Fa will go. We settled on two evenings a week 6-730ish depending on the schedule at the WREN building we'll be using, with a "free practice" class that I'll run every other sat morning.

I've created a Facebook page for the program(gotta love free advertising) and have gotten some good feedback from old students and potentially new ones. Mona is using her artistic talents to update the former symbol of the school. We'll be discussing the schedule aspect soon with Laura, who's in charge of the WREN building. She's excited for our program to be a part of WREN.

With all this planning, I had to make a decision on whether to continue with my Aikido training. Ninpo will take the bulk of my time for enjoying the martial arts, and with the drive to Aikido being an hour away, it is more out of my way with the time I'll be commiting to the new program.

I sent an email to Jack, my Aikido instructor, explaining the situation. We talked on the phone not long after. He was pretty bummed out that I was leaving his Aikido program. He had been hoping that I would test for Shodan someday, which might have been within a couple years. It's a small program too, with only a few of us. I'm also the one running the facebook page for Mt Washington Aikido. We'll find a way so that Jack can take over the page. I'd been taking Aikido for a year now, and have enjoyed becoming friends with Jack and the others in the program.

While I've enjoyed it, I'm more excited about training in Ninpo again.

Silent Warrior Martial Arts

John, his wife Mona and I checked out the space at WREN we'll use to teach the program. The space will suit us well, with space for a class up to about 12 people. The ceiling is also high enough that we can do work with long weapons like the bo staff or three section staff. John commented that he thinks the space is actually bigger than the old school's.

We've settled on a few things. First, age range is fourteen and up. Starting off with this, we should hold back on a kids program until things are well established.

Also, an update to the old logo would be nice. The old logo consisted of a monk, sitting within a dream catcher, surrounded by the seven animals of Ninpo Chuan Fa: Dragon, Tiger, Snake, Monkey, Crane, Leopard and Praying Mantis. Mona's a good artist, so she'll show John and I some of her ideas. I'm hoping the theme will stay similar to the former symbol. I always liked the dream catcher as an ode to John's Lakota heritage.

We're slightly changing the name, calling the program "Silent Warrior Martial Arts", to acknowlegde the new chapter from the days of "School of the Silent Warrior", which was an established school and business. Our program is part time, after all, since John and I are both too busy with full time jobs to fully open up a new school.

Last thing, we take the next month and a half to train together before we start teaching. This will give us time get up to speed and time for me catch up again so I know all my forms, combinations and techniques. It'll also give us plenty of time to decide on other aspects: uniforms, our schedules, time and days of class, promoting the program. I'm sharing all my ideas, but ultimately it's John's art, and his decision on the direction it goes.

Once we start training this week, I'll have to let my Aikido instructor know that I won't be attending classes anymore. I've been training in Aikido for almost a year now, and it's an excellent martial art, with a unique philosophy that I still find fascinating. And while I've enjoyed my training in Aikido, I'm really looking forward to training again in Ninpo Chuan Fa.

Excellent...

Ninpo Chuan Fa will be taught offered to the public again!

My martial arts teacher John, his wife Mona, and I met today to discuss what we could do and what we will plan to do over the next couple of months. Very productive meeting! Tomorrow we'll check out the space at the local WREN center where we can teach. 

Stay tuned true believers!

Ninpo Chuan Fa... a new hope

Got a big surprise this afternoon by a call from my old martial arts mentor. I honestly wasn't all that positive that he'd call me back. Thrilled that he has though!

We had a short discussion on what equipment we could both bring to the table, the space we could use, and his plans for cementing the art. We plan on meeting in a couple days to discuss further what we can do.

This is exciting stuff. Really hoping we can put together a program that can be taught 2-3 times a week. I'm also excited to learn martial arts again from my original teacher. 

Yoga... why not?

Eight  years ago I took a friend's yoga class. She's a fellow black belt from the old school, and a dear friend who works as a massage therapist and yoga instructor. I figured I'd be fine taking this class, I'm flexible and stuff! The class she taught that day was , shall we say, and intermediate level yoga class... and it kicked my ass! Keep in mind I'm built like a linebacker, stocky, muscular, and also  someone who knows his way around a kitchen.

Lately I've been feeling very... stiff. And I'm certain that it's due to too much weightlifting. This happens in the winter sometimes... too much lifting, not enough cardio. It's been more apparent in my Aikido class. One of the guys that joined recently teaches yoga part time, and he looks the part. Skinny, but in shape, flexible and very calm . When he attacks me, it's way too easy to throw him around. It takes more to manipulate his joints for pain though, due to his flexibility. This inspiration by him and the noted feeling of being like a tightened rubber band has led me to want to give yoga another try

Haven't taken one of my friend's classes since that one time , mainly since her usual yoga classes run on days I work. Recently that same friend started a yoga workshop for beginners. It's running on thursdays for seven weeks. Figured I'd give it a shot again.

First off, I'm the only guy in the class, but I at least know the instructor, and I know four of ten students from that first session. It was nice. Nothing too strenuous, perfect for a beginner like me. It was nice, even rejuvenating. Felt like my circulation was better after the class. I"m going to keep up with this workshop.

On a side note, I did take yoga class last october that another friend teaches. Great class, and good instructor, but it takes place on thursday mornings, one of two possible days I get to sleep in. If my other friend doesn't teach yoga on thursdays after this workshop is over, I'll go back to that other class to keep up with crazy thing called yoga...

Keep or trade in?

I've had the same two vehicles since 2005. My car is a 2003 Pontiac Vibe. It's basically GM's version of a Toyota Matrix. They're essentially the same car, but with a different shell and logo on the steering wheel. Great little wagon with All Wheel Drive that has been excellent in the winters of northern NH

I got the car when I came home from Iraq in early '05. It was my father's car that he bought new. I let my younger brother borrow my Kia Rio while I was away and he was in college. I had my heart set on buying a Jeep Wrangler. Always loved those vehicles! My father talked me out of it though. He was biased on one hand. He shared a couple stories with me about trips to Canada with my Uncle Rick, his older brother , and having to travel in that jeep with a broken heater in the middle of winter. That and he'd seen one of his co-workers have consistant problems with his Jeep.

I just knew I wanted either four wheel drive or all wheel drive, but I'm not a truck guy. Me in a pickup truck just didnt seem to fit, like knowing what kind of leather jacket or hat looks good on you. The pontiac was a good deal: I take over the payments, which actually equaled to what I would have paid had I bought it used. Plus, my old man takes care of his vehicles. My old man bought my Kia Rio for what it was worth and gave it to my little brother. Good deal all around... then I realized no one bought me a car when I was in college! First world gripes :)

The Vibe has been excellent to me. It runs great year 'round, awesome in the snow and doesn't kill me on gas. Only got about 106k miles on it, and since it's technically a Toyota (says so on the engine) I could run it for years. Overall it's been the right decision too. My car is so much more user friendly than a jeep would have been. And besides, if I bought a jeep, I probably never would have bought a motorcycle, since in my reasoning there'd be no point in owning a motorcycle if I had a 4x4 convertible. Now, my car is like a swiss army knife: it can do a lot of things pretty well, but it's not the kinda vehicle that's there to show off.

Now the motorcycle. The Honda VTX 1300s that I bought was the second bike I'd owned, the first being a smaller Kawasaki Vulcan 800with a chain drive that I wasn't thrilled with. All in all, I think I should have kept that bike, but I felt like I needed a bigger motor and gas tank.

Nearly 8 years later, the bike just feels right in so many ways. The ergonomics fit me perfectly for my stocky 5'10 frame. The center of gravity while riding it is perfect, and that big gas tank means a lot less stops at gas stations. I usually get around mid 45 mpg on it too, so I occasionally call it my hybrid. Also incredibly reliable. I'd test ridden other bikes, Harley Davidson, Yamaha, Kawasaki, but the Honda just felt right, plus Honda is known for reliability, where as Harley Davidson definitely not. One good point as well: my bike was built in Maryland, so I can throw that into any conversation with a Harley owner whose bike has just as many foreign parts as mine.

As much as I love my vehicles, I still like to look around. Funny thing is, I'd only replace my vehicles with clones of what I got now. Like a subaru type for the car and any decent cruiser for the motorcycle with a 5 gallon gas tank and either belt or shaft drive. Eight years is a long time to own any vehile though. Strangly enough, I could probably get eight more good years out of either vehicle, but more and more I feel it may be time to trade my reliable steeds in for new ones.

My parents never keep a car more than a couple years. They trade in vehicles often, and always seem to make a good deal on them. I've seen my old man trade in a Prius for a Diesel big cab pick truck, and have the dealership owe them money! I'm odd though, I get stay attached to inanimate objects. I still keep and use a generic backpack I bought during my one failed semester at Keene State College back in '97. Since then, that back pack carried uniforms to martial arts classes, books to culinary school, miscellaneous stuff while I was in Iraq, and my books for Paramedic school.

This could be the year though... some new rides possibly...

Waiting... patiently... kinda

Just like the last few times, I was hoping my old martial arts master would reply about teaching again, I wait for a response, but more than any of those times before I'm pessimistic that he'll follow through with me on this. Still hoping that isnt the case. He's an extraordinary talented martial arts instructor, and I'm not happy about the art of Ninpo Chuan Fa essentially laying in a coma.

Aikido is going well. My instructor and I are teaming up next month to teach an hour and a half "Women's Self Defense" class for a day at the local WREN building (Women's Rural Entrepenureal Network). We've got to get the particulars together for flyer we could post around town. Should be fun when it's all set.

Also, sometime in May I'm going to assist him with another self defense workshop to run a couple days a week for two weeks for a night school program in Conway. This one will be more Aikido based than the one day class we're going to do in my hometown of Berlin.

And I am soooooo looking forward to getting my motorcycle out next month! I've about had my fill of winter, despite my plans to do some snowshoeing with my lovely lady on this sunny day in northern NH.

Van vs. Box

There are various types of ambulances used in the US. The company I work for happens to have three ambulances, all different styles. There are really four styles.

First one is the big rig size ambulances used by major hospitals and some fire departments that do heavy duty stuff. I had the opportunity to work on one for a fire deptartment in one of the bigger cities in NH while doing my ride time for paramedic school. At 5'10, I had inches to spare standing straight up in these rigs, with room on both sides. Great to work in, but a fortune to fuel I'm guessing.

Next step down is the box truck, built on a van platform. Our main transfer truck at my full time job is one of these. I can almost stand straight up and have room on both sides to work, although just one side to sit. Good solid trucks. I also work for a municipal service in the smaller town next to us every other sunday. Awesome trucks. Room to sit on both sides. Also ridiculously spoiled with a drop down DVD player, which is great for our patients when we have long 2-3 hour transfers. When I'm on those transfers I like to joke with our patients that we have a decent selection for the "in-flight movie".  Side note: the cartoon show "King of the Hill" works for every age, creed, religion, and political affiliation.

Next step down there is a box truck built on a truck chassis, with the front cab seperated from the back. We have one as our main 911 truck, with 4x4 (we live in the wintery north, much needed). Ours works well, but has a very short box in the back. I constantly hit my head in that one.

Then there's the bottom-feeders of the bunch, the van type ambulances. Cramped, tiny, with only one side to work on. The one we have at my full time job needs an extension cord to plug in an IV pump if attached to our stretcher. Quite annoying. Had to do two ALS (advanced life support) transfers in our van last friday, since our main transfer truck was down. The company will be replacing the old box truck later this year, and I seriously hope they don't replace it with another van.

Our rides aren't as "cool" as cop cars and firetrucks, but we tend to be happy with our ambulances as long as they run properly and give us the room to work freely around our patients in what are essentially "mini-emergency rooms on wheels".

yeah, I'm a lazy blogger

Yup, I made a sweeping declaration a few months ago that I'd be blogging more often. And I have no good excuse besides just enjoying life.

I started dating a beautiful and intelligent young woman in October. Things are going very well and I'm very happy on that front. We met through mutual friends, and I occasionally thank these friends for that setup. She's smart, calm, well spoken, classy and all kinds of other positive adjectives! Feeling quite lucky these days with lady like that.

Work is good. Adventures as a Paramedic in the north country of NH has it's good and bad days, but I'm the kind of medic that has that odd sense of humor, so it fits me well. I am contemplating taking an online bridge course from Paramedic to RN, which I can do mostly online. RN's make more money and don't have to go out in the middle of  nowhere to take care of someone (offroad trails, mountains and such). I'll either start said program this fall or early next year.

Aikido is going well. We've added a few more students, so we've got a nice small regular class. Much needed. While it was kinda nice getting private lessons for a few months, Aikido works better as a class with more people.

All the while I still miss training in Ninpo Chuan Fa. Recently I'd been in contact with my old teacher about possibly starting up the program again. This time I have volunteered to assist as his assistant instructor and teach on nights that he wouldn't be available. I'm at an age now where I feel mature and comfortable enough to teach. We both work full time jobs, and it's best that we find a good balance in our offtime for that. A new space has become available that we can use for very cheap at a local community center.

As is, it's been a waste that he hasn't been teaching martial arts. He's an incredibly talented instructor and martial artist, with an impressive resume and what he taught being a practical and well stylized martial art that covered many bases from striking, to ground combat, and the spiritual aspects of martial arts.

If we're able to make his program start again and sustain with our combined effort, I may drop the Aikido classes. A lot of it will depend on scheduling, but Aikido will not be the priority if we can achieve a regular Ninpo Chuan Fa class.

We'll see how it all goes, but I've got high hopes... just how I roll