Last week I decided to begin training again in karate. It's been about 17 years since I last trained. You can see some old pictures I scanned in from the old days of training here. I googled my old instructor and found his school in Hollywood. That's a bit too far for me to drive for classes a couple of times a week. I did some more searching and found one of his students, Les Cheek, who teaches in this coral springs school. I drove on over to the school and started training immediately.

There is a beach workout coming up on July 12^th. A few different karate schools will be meeting up for a workout on Hollywood beach. These workouts are tough. We'll be getting our uniforms soaked with water, then once we're nice and heavy, we'll go ahead and run for a while on the sand. In order for me not to lose face, I'll have to train intensely over the next two weeks in order to keep up with everyone else. I quit smoking (again) today; so far, so good. I've already adjusted my diet. I'll be picking up a heavy bag after work today to put up in my garage. I'll also be going to the gym daily for strength and interval training.

There's a few more dimensions to martial arts training than simply the physical. For one, there's the spiritual dimension. I'm almost done re-reading the late Master Peter Urban's The Karate Dojo. I've already ordered Goju Ryu Karate Do Kyohan by Gojen Yamaguchi and hope to receive it by the weekend. Shortly after my 2-week physical and spiritual cram session, I'll focus once again on the remaining aspects of martial arts training.

Wish me luck, I'll need it!