Everything intertwines

This won’t come as a surprise to black belts but it’s amazing how everything you learn ties in to everything else. Last night my instructor in Tang Soo Do was showing us to open our hands in response to an attack, making use of the body’s natural “flinch” response. Opening your hands in response to an attack, or a wrist grab, is exactly what the master instructor has been teaching us in Hapkido class on Saturdays. But all martial arts seem to be intertwined. When I studied fencing (foil and saber, not Japanese fencing) they stressed only parrying (blocking) far enough so that your opponent’s blade would just slide past you, just like they teach us in class about blocking punches and kicks. And that your riposte (return attack) should immediately follow your parry – so that the entire action becomes one motion – parry riposte, not parry and riposte - just like in our classes when they tell us that our block should flow smoothly into our attack, as if they were one motion.

On the passage of time

When you're young you think the universe will never move on. Things may change, at least a little, but not a lot. But one day you realize that the world has moved on, to quote Stephen King. You have, somehow, grown older. The things you remember are changed or gone. People you thought would always be around aren't because they've died, or you've quietly moved on to separate lives.

It brings home that the only moment we have is now. Yesterday is gone, and you can't go back no matter how many movies they make of people doing so. And the future might only be a moment away, but you don't know if you'll see that next moment or not. Or what might change before you do.

All you can do is make use of now.