I seem to be perpetually preparing for something or other. Don’t get me wrong, I love it that way. When I was a very young karateka I went to a course with Steve Cattle (RIP) who closed the class by saying how important it was to get the very most out of life. People who did this, who experienced as much as possible  made for more interesting individuals he chuckled. Steve passed away shortly after this course but his words remained with me-I do hope he got as much out of life as he could and had no regrets in his last moments.

It helps that I enjoy Karate in my search for life experiences, this year i get to add a huge experience to my chest of ‘interesting things to talk about’. This year, along with 16 members of our dojo we are going to Okinawa-the home of Karate.  I can finally now focus on this trip having spent the last 6 months or more preparing for my grading.