Martial Arts Life

A couple weeks ago I received an email from the reporter of our local newspaper asking if they could do a feature on me. This caught me by surprise because a lot of the work I do is in the background/behind the scenes and not many people notice or know about what I do. Or at least I don't think they do... I don't work for the recognition, or to be commended, or for the money really, I work for the experience and the sheer fact that I enjoy what I do. My work is not your everyday Joe's work, but quite the opposite, my job consists of improvising, adapting and overcoming. I make whatever I have work, and show the clients that though I am a student, I am just as capable of getting the job done as any other person.  When it came to the actual interview, I was beyond nervous and unsure, but lucky me, the reporter was the nicest person ever and made it feel like a normal conversation not an interview. I can't wait to see the article and how it turned out.  - Ami Minor 201...

Time, it seems as though there is NEVER enough. If we could only have 12 hours more in a day.  Think of how much more we could do.  Just when it seems we have enough time, POOF it's gone.  So much still to do, too little time!  Time stress because of time famine! How in the world does that ticking thing on our walls have so much power over our day?  Tick; I need to do this. Tock; I'm still on this and I need to get to that.  Tick; I still haven't done that. Tock; oh shoot you need this?. Tick; where was I?  Oh yeah I was doing that.  Tock; phone call.  Tick; text message. Tock; have I eaten today? Tick; I need to leave for this. Tock; traffic!  TICK, TOCK, TICK, TOCK, TICK, TOCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Tick; 7 am Saturday morning. Tock; hot pilates. Tick; deep breathing. Tock; hard sweaty workout. Tick; cool lavender wash cloth. Tock; Relax. Tick; big exhale. Tock; Thank you Ami, I needed that! Michele Normand 1st degree black belt candid...

Today is 2 months out from the finale of our test, and I am getting extremely excited and anxious at the same time.  2 months to fine tune the details.  2 months to work out the kinks.  2 months to put on a show.  :) I'm excited to watch the other candidates as they showcase the things they love, and are challenged by the things that require more thought, energy, and effort than they realize they are capable.  I'm anxious about making mistakes...they will happen...how we respond to them is what's important. Our attitude and our ability to manage our state of being will be highly important over the next few weeks.  If one of us is feeling stressed, we need to talk about it.  If one of us needs help, we need to ask for it.  If one of us needs to take a short break, do it! We are almost there; now is the time focus on the end of this journey, and take our first steps on the next path before us.

Some of my best memories as a parent was the 12 years I spent at the martial arts studio.  I had the opportunity to watch my son grow up and learn from some of the most amazing people I have ever had the privilege to know.  I loved to watch him practice! I admired the teaching and the skills of the teachers and the friendships that were built among students and parents.  I remember how proud I was of him as he went through the belts and how nervous I was each and every time! The joys, the tears, the injuries, the accomplishments, the fears, the hugs.  I was always there to encourage him and support him in any way he needed.  My son inspired me to take the leap in my 40's and step on the mat to train in martial arts and our roles reversed.  I look the picture below, he as a black belt and me as a white belt just starting my journey.  He has been there and encouraged me through each belt.   He has been here for me as I have gone through th...

I am a planner, I like to know what's going to happen and when. Saturday was definitely a struggle for me, as we (the 2019 BB Candidates) embarked on our 'Secret Event'. The uncertainty and lack of knowledge was getting to me, and I'm almost positive that the 3 hours of sleep I got the night before was not helping me either. We started off our day at the studio with a By-in of 100 Burpees as a team, luckily that broke down to 25 a piece. After our by-in, we gather up all of our belongings and headed out, all of us candidates loaded up into KJN's car and as if not knowing where we were going next wasn't enough, we were blindfolded. Now take a second to just imagine this, two adults and 2 teenagers blindfolded in the back of a car, not suspicious at all. After we were all buckled up, KJN drove us around, like a crazy person..., a sharp right turn here, a couple doughnuts in the parking lot then a drive through Gresham. I like to consider myself pretty direction...

Yesterday was so much FUN!  Our special black belt training put us first in the car with KJN Jeremy BLINDFOLDED!  As we are driving along to whatever destination we were headed we (the candidates) were trying to guess the direction we were going and where we might be going.  With a sharp turn here and a 360 there, I was lost.  It seemed to me that the other candidates had a good idea of where we were but again I WAS LOST! We were dropped off in Downtown Gresham where we were sent clues via a cell phone.  Luckily for me it was our youngest team members that knew how to work the technology or I may still be in downtown. Then there was the geocaching challenge.  We had to find a box somewhere in the park.  Although we had a google map with a red bubble to our location I can say I was still lost (though I tried to look like I knew where I was going :).  Thank goodness for my teammates or I may have never been heard from again!  Once we found the ...

This last week, I've been dealing with some back/joint pain, accompanied by headaches, exhaustion, and nausea.  I'm pretty sure I overdid things last week, working out 6 days, including Saturday with the special training and testing participation, and honestly, we didn't even do that much...at least I don't feel like we did.  It makes me somewhat worried about how things are going to play out as we get closer to the test.  It seems like every time I ramp things up, I have to slow down again. This is the first test I've had to reign myself in when it comes to physical exertion and the types of movements I'm engaging in, and I'm not doing a good job of it apparently, as this is the third time I've had to take a few days off due to pain/exhaustion.  However, I need to figure it out, because I can't afford to spend 5 days recovering from 6 days of consecutive exercise/intense special training...seems kinda counter-productive. Okay, so now that I'...

Last Tuesday was my Last First day of school (K-12). It's crazy to think that I am now in my Senior year of high school, and about to close this chapter of my life. For the last 13 years come September, I've had the same daily routine. Wake Up, Eat, Good to School, Go Home, Repeat. To think that in eight shot months, that will come to an end is bittersweet. School for me is fun, it's a place to grow, learn, and constantly add new tools to my tool box. I remember on my first day of freshman year, my mom telling me that these next four years will just fly by. I also remember thinking to myself, there's no way it's going to fly by, four years is a long time. Well, I was wrong and my mom was right, these past three years have gone by in the blink of an eye, I still remember my first day of Freshman year, and it seems like yesterday. Yesterday! Over the last three years I've grown in so many ways, physically (well maybe not in height), mentally, and emotionally. I h...

We are down to the last 11 weeks of the test and it's go time. With less than 3 months left, it's all feeling so surreal and the pressure is on. During this time it is very easy to become overwhelmed and stressed out (trust me I know), but now more than ever we need to remember to breathe. There are still 4 weeks in a month, 7 days in a week and 24 hours in a day. The days aren't getting any shorter, though it may feel as so, and the weeks aren't getting any longer. As school has started, time management is becoming more and more important. Looking at the big picture there is still so much to do and it seems like not enough time to do it. However, if there is anything that I've learned from my past black belt tests and the last 11 years of school, it is that all you need to do is to keep moving forward. Not so much of looking at the big picture but setting goals for each day and completing those goals. If you complete your daily goals, soon you'll find that your...

  Attitude -  "We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it."  How many minutes and hours do we spend every day dwelling on something that happened in the past, what another person has said or done or stewing about a situation that is not going as we think it should.  Can we change any of those things? Is it helping to let them interfere with our lives, our goals, our relationships?   "The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life."   We can  choose an attitude of self-encouragement  and self-motivation, or we can choose ones of self-defeat and self-pity.  We all have power over our attitudes.  Each of us experience hard times, hurt feelings, heartache, and physical ...

September 03, 2019 During the first week of my freshman year of school, I was trying to figure out how my schedule would work inside of school and outside of school. Inside of school, I needed to figure out where all my classes are and memorize the path, memorize music for band, remember the homework from my classes, and more stuff probably as the year goes on. Outside of school, I needed to get used to getting up at 6 AM, I need to get homework done, find time to do forms, write blogs, do chores, and go to the studio for classes. For me, school started on Tuesday the 3rd and I had a band performance on Friday the 6th at the first football game of the season for my school. So that is only about 3 hours of practice for the band as a whole. Also on that Friday, the band played at the assembly at the school and the band was told the day of about this. Nathan Minor 2nd Degree Black Belt Candidate 2019

Went back to the podiatrist today, and I've been cleared to run again, which is really exciting!  So, now I get to start over...yet again.  Ha ha, it seems like I start to make progress on my running, and something comes up to interfere with it; I suppose eventually I may have to stop running altogether, and stick to the lower impact activities of rowing and biking, but I just love running so much...not being able to do it is defeating. Running is how I began to get into better shape after college (before I started martial arts).  I was fed up with being overweight, and tired all the time.  After I graduated, I spent some time living with my Aunt in Soldotna, Alaska, and she was very much into running and eating healthy at the time.  That summer was the first life changing journey to a healthier me (lost 30 pounds between May and September), and I have been in love with running ever since. Unfortunately, my body has decided that running is not something I ge...

Earlier in the test, we talked about the idea of food as fuel.  At its most basic level, that's exactly what it is, and it should be easy to treat it that way, right?  You only eat what you need to fuel activities such as work, school, exercise, etc.  If only it were that easy...  Like many other people, I really love eating for enjoyment, and I also stress eat, so eating only what my body needs is a constant battle. Last week, we were asked to keep a food journal, and it definitely helped me see that I'm letting things slide more than I thought.  For example, I'm trying to cut out added sugars, but I realized that I sometimes have 2 chai and nutmilk drinks a day (as opposed to coffee), which has a small amount of added sugar in the chai mix.  While I'm getting the extra protein from the nutmilk, I'm also consuming more sugar than I really want.  Also, I still don't eat enough vegetables every day; it's more than I used to eat, but I know that eating...

One of the best things about testing is having the opportunity to build and grow your relationship with not only each team member but to be able to grow as a whole team. Black Belt testing is as much of an individual sport as it is a team sport. Your team will always be by your side cheering you on, but if you're not 110% committed to the test, the chances of you finishing the test are slim. You have to be fully committed to the test before it even starts, to be able to get in the right state of mind and prepare yourself for what's to come. This takes self-discipline - doing things without being told, being able to set goals and standards for one's self and continuously pushing ourself to reach and surpass those goals with flying colors. Now, the first set of goals you write down may not be the goals you end with and that is okay. The 4th step of the Black Belt Success System is to make a change is it's not working . If we were to jot down a set of goals and not be open...

Life is not perfect, life will have challenges and we will have to change directions constantly.  Our so we thought straight road to where ever it is we are traveling seemed straight at the time we jumped in our car and headed out.  But like every road we will at some point encounter roadblocks, unforseen traffic jams, hairpin curves, a flat tire, steep mountains, potholes, construction, accidents, and possibly road closures.  If we experience one of those circumstances (and we all will) how we handle those situations will either get us to our destination or not.  Do we give up and go home?  Do we wait patiently for the road to clear? Do we flag down help? Do we speed up?  Do we slow down? Do we sit in our car and cry or yell and do nothing at all? Do we reevaluate and take another route?  Picture your martial arts road from belt to belt, seems straight right?  Go to class, learn the curriculum, have a positive attitude, practice outside of ...