I didn't make it back the next day because...

I have been putting in so much time on my website. I have been putting in several hours a day trying to overhaul it. The goal is to make it more useable for the students and make it look better at the same time.

Take a look at the progress I have made so far:

Blue Tiger Tactical Defense

I still have a long way to go before I'm anywhere close to done. Most of the pages are unfinished and some of them are blank. There are still others that need to be made. It's going to be a long process. My immediate goal is to change the format of the existing pages first, then work on content, and then work on adding the missing pages.

I'm probably looking at many months worth of work, especially since I will likely slow down once I have step one done. I have other things that I need to do after that, like sleep. =)

The belt test is quickly approaching

The test is one week from tomorrow. I always look forward to the tests because it is so fun to watch the students go all out. The intensity level rises on test day and the students really fly through the moves with speed, power and intense enthusiasm.

I love awarding the belts to them too. It is such a great feeling to see what they have accomplished and to watch them put their brand new belts on.

I am hoping to stay and visit with the students after the test. For the past few tests, I have been so busy that I have to leave immediately. This time, I will actually have a little time to stay around.

Our students are such great people that they are a joy to spend time with. There isn't time to visit during the test because there is always so much to cover. We move from one thing to the next.

Tomorrow, I'll talk more about the energy in the test.

Do you ever have a great idea that gets you in deep

When I started seriously studying martial arts, I was instructed to keep a notebook where I could write down the lessons from the class. Since then, I have filled three good sized 3-ring binders with information. Much of the information from one binder to the next were changes in information.

Additionally, students always wanted to know how I kept my information. What did I write down? How did I write it down?

To help with both of these things, I came up with the "great" idea to put all the information on a website, www.bttd.net.

I could update changes easily and students would be able to see what my notebook looks like, at least my online notebook. I changed how and what I keep track of, in an effort to be more organized.

In my mind, this was going to be such an excellent tool. I still believe that it is. You know when you see such an excellent end-result, it's very easy to overlook the millions of hours of work it's going to take to accomplish that result. =)

Millions might be an exageration but not by much. This could end up being a lifetime of work. It has already served much of the purpose that it was generated for and now I have added a new dimension where I am posting articles for anyone, not just my students, interested in the martial arts.

I have also put out an open invitation for others to write articles as well so that there is a more rounded view of the arts instead of just what I have seen.

I hope that one day, my website matches the greatness that I originally pictured in my mind.

Working in the background

As I mentioned, there is plenty of work to do outside the martial arts classroom.

This week I redesigned my belt rank certificates. They look much nicer now and I think the students will appreciate it. They have our tiger head logo on them which will attract attention to them if posted on a wall. People will probably naturally walk over to see what the certificate is. If you're going to post your certificate on the wall, you probably want it looked at. =)

I also wrote another article.

Self Defense - Martial Arts an Answer?

You would think it's a no brainer but in today's kinder and gentler world, studying a martial art doesn't necessarily prepare you for combat.

Getting ready for a belt test

Blue Tiger has two schools currently operating and we always combine the classes for belt tests. This has worked well for keeping the expectations for both schools the same. In fact, students try harder this way because they will be performing in front of another school.

This month, the other school will be hosting the test. I have two students that will be testing and a third that thinks she might be ready. She has about three weeks to figure out if she will be ready or not.

The other school will have one or two ready for their first test.

The test in August, hosted at my school, should be a large one. There will probably be close to 20 people testing for a higher rank. That's going to be quite the test.

Another article written moslty for my students

but which others may find beneficial.

The Three Stages of Learning a Self-Defense Technique

I have been promising to write this article for them for quite some time now.

People ask me how much time I spend teaching karate. If you only count the time spent in the classroom, then the answer currently is 12 hours a week. Good hours for a part time job. I use the term job loosely since it's really a hobby. =)

When you consider the time outside the classroom, working on articles and newsletters, keeping the roster up to date, ordering supplies, and my own practice time, it really adds up. Martial arts and writing are both passions of mine and the time spent on either is well worth it. It is my hope that someday, they are my full time "job".

A word about my computer

Which did not want to cooperate with my blogging attempts. I'm not sure if it was the blogging that caused my computer to go on strike or if it was some other process that it did not want to undertake. The one thing that I am certain of is that it truly did not want to work anymore.

It has taken me nearly two weeks to get it convinced to once again work.

Now that it is up, I will be back to regularly updating my blog.