I AM SO LOST

Not sure what I'm gonna do this week- the do jhang is closed for world competition in Little Rock, and I am moving this weekend, so I'm sure my training schedule will be the first to go to crap! The good news is, with all the moving, I should be losing a few extra lbs. this week, which will make returning to the program next week a little easier. I want to be 299 by the end of next week. 10 lbs. to go.

My martial arts inspiration for the week comes from the movie "The Last Samurai". I make it a habit never to recommend or endorse Tom Cruise films, but I will make an exception for this one. I know it's got Hollywood all over it, and I'm sure the historicity could be called into question, but for sheer action-movie goodness, this one is gold. Check out the aikido sequence in the village, the first katana "lesson" in the rain, and my personal favorite, the main battle sequence, specifically when Ujio's (pictured above getting ready to whoop on Tommy-boy) horse is speared and he falls, and in one movement he rolls, is up on his feet, has both swords out, and dispatches about 7 or 8 guys in a row with such fluidity and grace (if killing can be graceful....oxymoron?). That scene in particular was inspring for me as I work on forms and techniques- you see that character throughout the movie practicing and always using proper form, even using a paper fan to move through a kata. I know it's just a movie, but that kind of discipline is what makes it LOOK like you know what you're doing....because you KNOW what you're doing.