New England Open 2007

Results:

Creative Weapons: 2nd Place
Traditional Japanese/Okinawan Form: 4th Place

Review:

Only you know deep down inside if you're truly giving your best effort, and who you are today is a result of the decisions that you made in the previous days. I was not completely happy with the results at the tournamet. I trained for the tournament, but I knew it wasn't the hardest that I could train. The results show. I've come to the conclusion, if I want to be the best, I better be training harder than anyone else.

I heard someone say the competitors at the tournaments are professional athletes. It rang true with me after this competition. I better train like a pro, I better have desire like a pro, I better win like a pro.

Next tournament, Bluegrass Nationals - Louisville, KY. What price am I willing to pay to get better results? I'm training 2 hours a day to prepare. One in the morning, one in the evening. I'm trading two hours of my time that I could use to relax, sleep, be comfortable for something that I really want.

If you're not getting what you want, you have to pay the price to get it. You have to try something different. In my case, train harder and more purposefully. I've made the plan. I'll let you know how it goes.

(fist raised in the air),

Late Night Working Out

My first workout today was kinda iffy. I did it after morning class, and I didn't eat breakfast. I normally don't eat a big breakfast. The first workout, though, was bad by my standards. I practice with the fire that I normally do, and I just kinda pushed through the workin out for an hour.

It got my juices flowin, though. So I was pumped for teachin some good classes. Afterwards, I spent some time emailin and then off to my 2nd workout -- WHICH WAS A KICK BUTT, SWEATY SHIRT WORKOUT!

I worked out from 930 pm to 1130 pm gettin my new moves in my trad'l form clean and ready to roll. During the workout, I made it a point to draw a

Success Picture

A success picture is an image of yourself doing exactly what you want to do in the future. So really it represents your goal. I figured out that sometimes when I workout, I lose my focus; I lose my motivation; I lose sight of my goal. I plan to use more success pictures to channel my energy towards my goals. Remember, you're either gettin closer to your goals or further away. I was pumped. Plus, I stopped to see my mom for lunch, and she made me a KICK BUTT LUNCH that supercharged my fuel cells.

To Your Improvement,

Preparing for Boston

I'm getting my body and mind ready for the New England Open on May 18 - 19 in Marlborough, MA.

You cannot place enough value on training with experts for self-improvement. That's why I train my students. That's why I continue to train with experts.

Last Sunday, I trained with Suzann Wancket-Yue in Minneapolis and made some changes to my traditional form. It was a 3 hour workout which blasted my quads especially my right one because I'm working on a new move that's low to the ground. It's a squatty, spinny, turny move -- very cool. I'll show it off to the people who show up at my Secret Moves Workout on Friday, May 11th.

Mr. Nicklaus introduced me to Suzann years ago. She's an 8 time World Champion and just amazing to work with. I'm glad that I have the opportunity to train with her. In the next month, I'm also looking to train with John Sharkey, Jr. (Suzann's Instructor) in Chicago and also Michael Bernardo - another mentor that Mr. Nicklaus introduced me to.

John Sharkey, Jr. has probably trained more champions that anyone else in North America. He always gives great advice. Mr. Bernardo helps with my bo training. Notably, Mr. Bernardo trains Team Canada for World Competitions.

Well, I'll keep you posted.