Hombu dojo of 
Shorin-Ryu Karate
    U. S. A.

Rolling with Life's Punches

Thirteen years ago, in my essay for my first green tip, I quoted a passage from "The Shorin-Ryu Karate Question and Answer Book" that said, "Karate should come second to the goals of success, family and education." I wrote in response that I was "not able to find a balance between my karate training and personal responsibilities." Over the ensuing years, my personal responsibilities grew enormously, from career man to husband to father to family man. I kept thinking that somewhere along the way I would find that perfect balance. 

Instead, as I approach a milestone birthday, my interpretation of Karate-do is simply rolling with the punches of life.

Every day, every week, every month, every year adds new dimensions to one’s life. There will always be an excuse not to train, whether legitimate or not. I think the transition of the Midtown Karate Dojo to our new location gave us all an excuse to stop training, and really served as an acid test as to whether we really wanted to continue on our martial arts journey. 

Hopefully in another thirteen years down the road, I will still be describing my unsuccessful attempts to balance my Karate training with every day life.