Life
How to Build Rapport but Not Connection
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...
Blog
Thoughts on swordplay, mastery, coaching, teaching, and living with intention.
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Relationships
Dating Your Friends
Recently a friend of mine commented that the only way to make friends in Vancouver was to sleep with them. This may seem like a crass comment, but he was genuinely saying that the closest people in...
Life
Hating What You Love
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...
Swordplay
Creating Focus and Ease
A few years ago I was in a very high pressure rapier tournament. It was the largest and hardest fought tournament in the Northwest with a list of 50 fencers who were arguably some of the best fencers...
LifeRelationships
Seeing and Being Seen
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...
Uncategorized
Resonate. Stillness in Life and Dance
I’m so used to filling space. I fill space with plans and work, conversation and music. A quiet space is quickly filled with people and activity. There can be an awkwardness to space. Drawing my...
DanceLife
Why Get Better? – Reasons for Mastery
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...
LifeProductivity
Be Emotional, Don't be Dramatic
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...
Dance
Transcending Technique – Music Instead of Moves
Tonight I chose to transcend technique. It’s so easy to get caught up in the rules, the steps, the movements, and the patterns of a dance. These tools are important for conveying the underlying...
Life
Sharing Your Need
“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...