Posts Tagged ‘karate’

Mike’s Break — Tetsui
Originally uploaded by MikeOliveri.
I’ve been looking forward to Break Day all year.
The Academy of Okinawan Karate only does break day once a year, so I made sure my travel plans weren’t going to throw it off. Even the Midget has been calling it his “favorite season” and asked me if it was [...]

You know it’s been a long week when you’re looking forward to going back to work and settling back in to a normal routine.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s been a good week. It’s always good to see Brian, Coop and Mikey and spend a few days with good food, good beer, and good cigars. I [...]

I spun the motorcycle up to 40 miles an hour today. Yeah, I’m flying now! I best be careful before I break the sound barrier and piss off the neighbors.
Okay, in all seriousness, I’m finally putting in some real seat time after several weeks of storms, rain, trips, and projects, and my comfort level is [...]

I had a good time at Wizard World, but man did I miss karate class.
I walked into the dojo for the first time in a week tonight, and I hadn’t done so much as a punching exercise or push-up in the meantime. A week may not sound long, but I felt out of touch. I [...]

Wizard World starts today. I most likely will not have email or Internet access through the con, but I will be able to post Twitter updates from my cell phone. Because I’d like to give you all a flavor of what I’m up to this weekend, I’ve activated the blog post digests of my Twitter [...]

My Motorcycle Safety Foundation instructors hammered a phrase home: “You go where you look.”
It reminded me a bit of the old saying “keep your eyes on the prize,” but the difference is you can actually feel the motorcycle maxim at work every time you turn. If you’re not looking at where you want to be, [...]

I am officially the worst carpenter on the planet. I’ve done several small projects around the house, but if it involves cutting wood, I’m pretty well screwed. As such, I’m surprised my new makiwara came out as well as it did.
I’ve been thinking about building a makiwara — a board for punching practice — for [...]

I’ve become addicted to The Ultimate Fighter. I can’t stand most reality shows, but this one’s pretty simple: get a bunch of thugs together in one house, watch them screw with one another, then watch them vent their frustrations in the ring. No getting voted off islands, no silly games for immunity, no ridiculous challenges, [...]

I’ve got karate class tonight, and I can’t stop thinking about a lesson my sensei learned the hard way on Tuesday night.
Sit-ups compress your guts, see. So when poor, hapless Sensei Miller paired up with me for the night’s workout and said we were going to do sit-ups, I felt a small pang of pity [...]

Sai Master
Originally uploaded by MikeOliveri.
I’ve not played with it a lot yet, but I’m already in love with my new Canon EOS Rebel XSi. It’s pictures are light years ahead of what my old PowerShot G2 could accomplish (not unexpected), and it amazes me how much faster it is in everything from starting up to [...]