Thursday, July 16, 2009
Well today was the start of my new beginning. I'm ready to "take back my life". Since I left Canada, friends, family and a part of myself, I've become someone different. So along with the loving support of my husband, I'm going to re-do some things.
Prior to moving to the States, I was heavily into the martial arts and was very happy with everything in my life. People think of it as just a sport. I see it as a way of life. Not only is it physical, but it's mental and spiritual and I believe without these three aspects in your life, you are not a whole person living up to your true potential.
I went to Appleton today to check out Original Martial Systems, its a traditional dojo that teaches Shuri Te. One fo the older karate styles out there. Isshinryu is the common one in the Dryden area. Isshinryu was created in the mid 1900s, Shuri Te is one of the three styles that Isshinryu derived from.
Upon walking into the dojo, I was anxious, excited and a bit apprehensive because I've looked for something similar to the style I was accustomed to, and was met with much disappointment when checking out the clubs in the area. Don't laugh when I say this, but everything is sooooo Americanized. Remember the Karate Kid movie, and the bad, disrespectful kids and how their dojo was, well for the most part that's what I was finding. So I gave up the search to head off any future disappointments, until recently. Anyway, I digress. Having all these doubts and hopes in my heart and mind at the doors, I was relieved as I walked into the dojo. I felt a sense of calm and peace as I walked in. Sensei Joe looked up from his teaching, waved and smiled. He was working with the two little boys in the children's class. I watched and found it interesting how he was dealing with the boys. He then left the boys and walked over to me, and invited me into his office. We talked as he watched his students. Let me tell you, I haven't felt that comfortable with a complete stranger in a long time. As we talked about the style and training, I felt that this just might be the place for me, my new home, like the last 10 years of non training didn't exist anymore. He was telling me about the kata and forms they teach, and there were some I already knew. He then told me to stand up, so I did. He told me to start Wansu kata, a green belt kata in Isshinryu, and after 10 years I still remembered it. We talked some more as he learned more about who I was, he let me know that it was his gain and all the other dojos losses when i walked into his dojo. He accepted me as one of his students and on Saturday, I will be back into karate, not as a blue belt in Isshinryu but a white belt in Shuri Te.
Wish me luck, it's going to be a long road but he says with hard work and determination, he can see me as black belt in 4 years, about the time my little Kira will be one of my students....
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