The other day one of my students had a rather scary moment after class, we’ll call him Bill. While performing a demonstration Bill nearly injured another student by going faster and harder than he was planning to. The other called out and left the room nursing a sore arm. Bill turned white. He stammered an apology and looked at me Read More …
If you want to make a big transformation in your life. The most important thing you can do is to create a rhythm around that change. Success in transformation does not come through revolutionary action, it comes through creating a system of small steps forward. Set a time to meet with yourself or better a coach or trusted friend every Read More …
I have a friend that I frequently have lunch with. She’s a live wire, thoughtful, artistic, and always challenges me. She is wise and creative and 30 years older than me. When we go out I am not infrequently asked during or after if she is my mother. We don’t look anything alike. She’s a foot shorter than me, round Read More …
Open the door for others to share but keep your door closed. Being a good listener is a profound skill and so many are hungry to share and be heard. You can easily be the one with whom everyone shares their secrets and in that cloak you can stay hidden. Love outward but not inward. If you focus your time Read More …
In the pursuit of a passion it’s inevitable that you might have some time where you hate what you love. There are times in both fencing and dancing that I have truly struggled to stay in a place of enjoyment. Meaning I have struggled and failed. I have had days and weeks of being truly dissatisfied and even a period Read More …
How special a thing it is to be truly seen and in that seeing to be taken and accepted as you are. I feel this is one of the truest ways we can express love for another. Much of our time as modern humans is spent creating and maintaining a projection of ourselves even to those we feel closest to. Read More …
What is your motivation for excelling and improving? Note this is not the question of “why you do this”. There are tons of good reason for that (fun, connection, fitness, etc) but why get better at it? Once you get to a certain level, why pursue greater mastery? One of the most compelling and long lasting reasons I have continued Read More …
Almost every project I have worked on needs more emotion. We’re a culture deprived of healthy emotional expression and connection. Much of what we produce is flat and devoid of true passion and colour. People are hungry for it, our work is hungry for it. Let me make a distinction: Emotional expression is the healthy and natural feeling of anger, Read More …
“I don’t want to admit this — because I don’t like to need things — but this is exactly what I need.” said a private student of mine after a recent session of learning to use a longsword. There are times when we need to do something physical to feel connected with ourselves. Not just physical with our own bodies Read More …
Sometimes when we hear an idea to truly understand we have to try it on. We want to see if that idea fits, if it’s comfortable with our world view. How it matches the other ideas we wear. It feels really good to try on an idea that matches your style. You feel validated. You can look at the offerer Read More …