sensei8

Great post, Nidan Melbourne!! Thanks for your post!! Brings me back to the good old days of the SKKA Testing Cycle; thorough, long, and strict.

For as many years as I can remember, I’ve wanted to write my memoirs which would include some Shindokan history/methodology/ideology, my history (boring), and as well as the SKKA civil war. I was even entertaining to write 3 separate books. One book about Shindokan history/methodology/ideology. Another book about my MA history, it would be a real short book. A third book about the SKKA civil war. However, as many times that I’ve tried to tackle what seemed the impossible, I’d apply the brakes out of sheer ignorance and frustration of either my lack of writing skills in order to encompasses all that a great writer possesses. For many years, unsolicited companies that provide ghost writers have continuously approached me in the hopes that I’d hire them. While that is intriguing enough to consider their offers, I don’t know if I can trust them, or afford them, with how they’d handle and respect my history. Darn if I do and darn if I don’t!!

My wife and I saw Karate Kid: Legands today. Less than 15 in the audience, which was no surprise seeing that it’s Thursday at 12:30pm. We both enjoyed it, and we both got a kick out of the very end; quite unexpected but appreciated it. Some things I saw were quite very predictable and I found myself shaking my head in wonder, yet, the pace was well done…movie was 1 hour and 30 minutes which was refreshing when most movies are 2+ hours. Seems like the majority of the Karate Kid movies seem to be focused on a tournament, and the Cobra Kai series was no exception. All in all…I’d see it again!!

Panthers defeat Oilers for back to back Stanley Cup Title. I’m only glad the Panthers beat the Oilers because the Oilers beat my Knights!!

Wait until you watch The Accountant 2; great sequel.

No!! Hadn’t ever heard of The Silmarillion. I’ll check it out; thanks @bushido_man96!!

I don’t see Rodger’s taking the Steelers any further than where they ended up last season…not being able to advance from the Wild Card. Why?? I just don’t see that from Rodger’s.

Imho…it really was.

I’ve not seen it yet but my wife and I will eventually.

Not really!! It’s been an ongoing battle to get help!! It’s a sensitive topic to me. I finally got my cpap machine over 2 years ago, after a 1 year delay of getting mine because of a nationwide shortage. Then when I finally received mine,all of the plugs where NOT for USA but for Europe types. Took me anther 6-8 months to finally get the correct plugs. Had to also get 2 attachments that were not included in the kit…that took 4-5 months. Then did 2 more sleep studies, one without my cpap machine and a 2nd sleep study with my cpap machine. However, the 2nd sleep study kept getting canceled by my medical insurance. After the 2nd sleep study they were going to fine tune my cpap machine based on the registered data. No 2nd sleep study…no fine tuning my cpap machine and teach me how to use the darn thing. I’ve mild sleep apnea. So, I’ve complained to my Cardiologist many times, and he’s assured me he was going to make sure I’d get my cpap machine…never happened…he closed the one office that did the sleep study. He last told me he was going to schedule me anther sleep study but that’s not happened yet. Going on 3 years and my cpap machine sits under my bed in its nice looking case. I’ll be seeing my Cardiologist again on July 9th…I’m really considering of returning my cpap because enough is enough. If my sleep apnea was such a concern of both my Cardiologist and his Sleep Study office, he has many offices, then this roller coaster would have never started!! They seem to not care but I care!!

I watched a movie based on true facts today on Prime, “Samurai Marathon”. What is this movie about?? I believe that Prime describes it far better than I can, so I’ll leave that to Prime… ”Acclaimed filmmaker Bernard Rose has created a stunning visual feast complemented by a haunting score from iconic composer Philip Glass. Operating undercover in the court of an aging Lord during a peaceful era of Japan that is on the brink of change. After the Lord challenges his lazy samurai to a punishing marathon to toughen them up, the ninja finds his loyalties put to the test.” The Annual Samurai Marathon is held in the very same location, Annaka City. The race held by the Annaka clan in 1855 was the origin of the Japanese Marathon.

Finally on the 3rd J.R.R. Tolkien trilogy…”The Return of the King”

Maybe I don’t sleep much because I don’t want to miss anything, after all, there’s no guarantee that I’ll see another sunrise. Besides, whenever I do shed my mortal coil, I’ll get plenty of sleep.

Soon PJ will be singing “Take Me Out To The Ball Game” with great enthusiasm.

Thank you, Patrick!! It’s a very hard pill to swallow whenever it comes to accepting my challenges from where I once was to where I am now. Especially when the floor is considered. One day at a time.

For several years.

While I’m not a Raiders fan at all, I purchased 3 tickets yesterday for the Raiders VS 49ers pre-season game to be held here in Las Vegas at the Allegiant Stadium on August 16th, Saturday, at 1pm. My wife, Linda, is a die-hard Raiders fan her entire life…she’s no taste obviously and if she did, she’d be a Cowboy fan like our son, Nathan, and me. Linda has never ever been to a live NFL game, especially a Raiders game, and Nathan and I have never been inside Allegiant Stadium as a “fan”. Regular Raiders home game tickets are not cheap, about $300 and up per ticket…OUCH!! For the pre-season tickets I purchased yesterday I spent $383 total…$99 per ticket, $56 for fees, and $30 for protecting the tickets. We’ll park off site about 1 block from the Stadium. GO COWBOYS!!

At least the Rockies have a beautiful stadium to lose…I mean…play in.

No, I don’t have a long history of this!!

Admittedly, I’ve never followed the life of Ralph Macchio for no particular reasons. Watching a YouTube clip last night of The Kelly Clarkson Show, her guests were Ralph Macchio, Jackie Chan, and Ben Wang. Kelly starts her interview by asking Ralph, “4 years after the first movie, you earn something pretty big by, right? Which I thought was cool.” After 41 years, Ralph earned his black belt in Okinawa Goju-ryu this April 2025. Better late, than never. Ralph and his Karate Kid: Legends co-stars received an honorary black belt for the World Karate Federation (WKF) during the film’s New York premier in May 2025. Just for grins and giggles, at the shows first commercial break, the daughter, a black belt, and granddaughter, a blue belt, in full gi and Obi, of 9th Dan Grandmaster Kaicho Tadashi Nakamura, the founder of World Seido Karate took the show to break.

Well, I’ve given that some serious thought of writing my memoirs, as boring my life is, and how the SKKA civil war killed itself. However, some can write and some can’t; I’m of the latter, and ghost writers are not cheap. Maybe I will stab at it again seeing that I’ve a brand new laptop, and I get Word and Norton installed.

I’ve given it a lot of thought to writing my memoir before. However, some can write and some can’t; I’m of the latter. Ghost writers are not cheap!!

2.5 hours sleep last night!! Sheech!!

I do greatly appreciate and respect what all of you have said, means the world to me. You’ve all gave me somethings to seriously consider. In my mind, as feeble as it is, my not being able to do what I’ve been trained to do is quite inexcusable and unacceptable for me. I want to pass away like Morihei Ueshiba did…he was teaching on the day he died; he was giving a demonstration in Tokyo…he was on the floor. Yes, I can teach but I don’t want to do it from a wheelchair. Call me unreasonable…call me pig headed…call me despondent…call me what you will. I’m not giving up, no matter how despairingly I might appear to be, I need to learn how to chart a new found course and not to allow my limitations limit my abilities on the floor.

Now I’m on book 2 of the J.R.R. Tolkien trilogy…”The Two Towers”