Skip to main content

Earning My Karate White Belt

 Bobby Lawrence Karate White Belt Class Experience

After having attended only two classes at Bobby Lawerence's Karate Center in Orem, I earned a white belt and participated in the sacred ritual of board breaking.

Breaking a board is a metaphor for passing through the trials/illusions in our lives. My illusion is that I lack the self mastery to the art of exclusive focus. If I could wave a magic wand and change one thing about my self, at this time, I would wish for great concentration and ability to focus on a singular thing or event at the exclusion of all else. When I study my academic readings, I am too easily distracted.

This principle of focus has many levels. The most basic is that of exclusion. It is represented by the white dot on a black background on the symbol for Yin Yang. Focus of awareness is represented by the black dot on a white background where you are "at one with the universe" and are able to sense all things simultaneously.

Having only experienced 1 1/2 hours with Master "Lo" [Lawrence], I can confidently say that I would have sacrificed my participation any other sport growing up to have practiced Karate (with the exception of Football).


p.s. Thanks Ryan for going with me. You were terrific! Keep working on that jump kick.

The After Party

Upon returning home that night, I was so excited to tell my friends what I had done, I broke this board with my head.



Here is the same video from a different angle to prove that this really happened and is not some brilliant video editing job.


Comments

  1. Best night ever. Do you still want my copy of this video?

    ReplyDelete
  2. You look pretty natural in your white karate outfit....

    ReplyDelete
  3. Congratulations! Btw, how thick was the board? I wish I'd known to get you Karate lessons!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Please share your thoughts.

Popular posts from this blog

Rummi-"CUB" vs. Rummi-"CUBE"

The "Rummikub" Pronunciation Debate Affirmative Constructive: "Cub" For years, I have been a firm advocate and defender of the pronunciation, Rummi-"CUB".  The game box I grew up with spelled it, Rummicub  on the box. However, other productions of the game have variant spellings: Rummykub , Rummy Kube , Rummy Tiles , etc.  Based solely on box spelling, the game's true pronunciation is open to interpretation. Therefore, Rummi"cub" is equally acceptable to any other given pronunciation. Negative  Constructive : "Cube" My opponents argue that since the game originated over seas, we ought to respect and maintain its original pronunciation. Affirmative Rebuttal: Americanization of the Term When the game was brought to America and given Americanized rules, its name was also Americanized. Pronunciation loyalists then counter my rebuttal with, "there are lots of adopted foreign words that have retained their original pron...

The Secret Reason Why "Good Witch" Feels Emotionally Off

TL;DR It's the Botox. For the past 3 months, my wife, Stacia, and I have been watching  Good Witch  (via Netflix and Amazon Prime). Stacia adores winding down to "Hallmark-y shows." We can rely on Good Witch episodes to always resolve happily. The episodes are never too intense. The height of conflict revolves around things like someone's inability to locate the perfect spot to snap a romantic photo for a new tourism brochure. I consider my time watching these shows spouse bonding time , and emotional training. My favorite thing about watching feel-good shows with Stacia is getting to observe her facial reactions to the on-screen drama. When two people lean in for a long-anticipated kiss, Stacia tucks her knees into her chest and frowns with her forehead while lifting her chin and bottom lip. While I'm typically unable to suspend my disbelief, Stacia seems completely entranced by the various characters' emotions. Wishing I could join her in being swept aw...

Who's Got The Funk?

I am an amateur guitarist, and I've got no funk. My musical skills seem to lacking that special something . Great musicians have it . Those fortunate enough to have gotten hold of  it , create timeless hits. While musicians without it  fade into oblivion. After spending hours searching through Blues history websites and 1970's band documentaries online, I discovered what that special something  is thank to a (70% Man, 30% fish) character from the BBC show "The Mighty Boosh" named Old Gregg. He identified that  thing  as  The Funk ! But what exactly is The Funk ? Here is some dialogue from the show to help explain its origin and purpose: Old Gregg: You're a musician, yeah? Howard: Yes I am. Old Gregg: Butchya ain't very good, are ya? Howard: I'm one of the best in town. Old Gregg: Come on, I read your reviews. Hmm? You know what your problem is? Howard: What? Old Gregg: Ya ain't got the funk. You're all rigid. Hmm? You're l...