Kaze Uta Budo Kai Forum Archive

I think New Years resolutions are at the same time a wonderful thing, and also utterly retarded.

But I have set myself some Budo goals for this year, and have taken a month or so to solidify and reality-check them and prune out the most un-workable ones. I figure to post them here to maybe start a conversation about what all of us want to accomplish during this year and to provide myself with some accountability.

This year I am resolved to...
* move my dojo to a new location in a commercial site
* earn my nidan in seitei jo
* attend or host at least one Modular Blade Concepts seminar with Bram Frank
* attend the October George Ledyard clinic at OKC
* get my oldest 2 sons into at least 2 judo competitions
* promote and support our new judo club at Union University in Jackson TN however I can, including attending their events and teaching a seminar there this fall.

For a while now I have felt like I've sorta been coasting wrt my personal development in the domain of budo but now I am feeling energetic and ready to launch into a new growth phase. I know that my newly-official membership with KUBK will be instrumental in this.

So, what do you guys want to accomplish this year WRT your budo development?

OK, so where have I gone this year in relation to my goals of a year ago?

*Commercial Dojo? Nope, not gonna happen anytime soon.
*Nidan in Jo? Nope, though I have learned a ton and improved dramatically - so much so, that I think my Jo of a year ago is almost not recognizable. Seriously, I've progressed more this year in Jo than I have in the last10 or 15 years! But I'm still not ready for nidan... maybe next year.
*seminar with the knife gurus? Nope
*ledyard seminar? Nope. But I did get to okc twice this year - for ichikata and for jw bode, and both of those were amazing learning experiences.
*kids in judo competition? Nope. I'm pretty damned ambivalent about the state of the competition scene. I keep thinking it would be fun, but then I look at the injuries and the cost and the foolish incompetence, and say, screw it!
Promote the Union univ club - check! I've actually been to two clinics up there and going back next month. Those guys are doing great!

So, one out of six - utter failure or moderate success?

I would say it was an amazing, unqualified success!