Last fall, in Spanish, we worked on the conditional sense. We spent an entire class answering hypothetical questions, “What would you do if…” One question was an imaginary situation where you broke something very expensive and it cost your employer money, but nobody knew it was you. Most of the people in my language lab were idealistic 20-year-olds and quick to say that they would confess. I think it’s my age, not my writer-brain, but I first wanted clarification. “Will I lose the job, and it’s my last hope?” “Are my kids starving?” “Is it under an unfair regime, the job is not my choice, and they’ll kill me for failure?” Of course, I do not have that much vocabulary click to continue reading…
Category: Martial Arts
Tang Soo!
A year ago
It has been nearly a year since I posted. Beside finishing another round of edits on my latest, our two oldest kids moved out, I tested for my third dan, I’ve traveled quite a bit (Pacific Northwest), and lost three family members. I had been looking forward to turning 42 (since it is the meaning of life) but now that it has happened, I have the additional outlook that a new year means a new season. I think I’m looking forward to Christmas for the first time ever. Anyway, I updated my website in preparation for publishing a brand new series next year. I know I haven’t started the third in the Breaking Bonds series, but this new story started click to continue reading…
Enough knowledge to hurt someone
In martial arts we have a joke: Orange belts only know enough to hurt someone. You might think the point of martial arts is to hurt — but it any yahoo can hurt. Just get behind the wheel of a car and start texting. An orange belt is the first color belt in Tang Soo Do. Generally, it means 3-6 months of training and 1 or 2 tests. Sparring an orange belts means bruises up and down your arms. They are thrilled to make contact. What they don’t always notice is that while they are smiling about their fist hitting your shoulder, you pulled a kick that would have taken their floating rib. A quality, higher belt can tap all click to continue reading…
The number 10,000
Micheal Hyatt’s Blog on Friday was part of a two day post about “Why Real Creativity Requires Work.” He mentioned a book which discusses a 10,000 hour rule–the time required to become good at any task. The reason the number jumped out at me is because we have a saying in martial arts: When you practice a form 100 times, you begin to understand the moves. When you practice a form 1,000 times, you begin to see an opponent. When you practice a form 10,000 times, your spectator will see your opponent. My husband grew up studying the same style of martial arts and it was a saying often repeated in his school as well. Of course we say it click to continue reading…