Ehm...something's missing?

My closest friend and me, at home in the Jundokan dojo, c2011

About this time each year, I've usually just arrived home from my annual visit to Okinawa: but not this year; this year, I have two of my sempai from the Jundokan visiting Australia. But their visit has only postponed my own trip north, that will now take place in November; when together with a lot of other people from around the world, I'll be celebrating the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Jundokan dojo, and commemorating the 15th anniversary of Eiichi Miyazato sensei's passing.

So, a busy but enjoyable time ahead for me. When my life returns to normal, I'll post more about the visit, and also bring everyone up to date with a final post on the new dojo...and Japanese garden... that it now sits in. Needless to say, it's a great feeling to once again have a permanent home for my karate. As I said to a friend just recently, I go to the dojo not only to practice my karate, but to sit and think, to read, to listen to Okinawan music, and sometimes to reminisce about the many wonderful times I've had as a result of training in karate.

Sitting still, and alone, in a quiet dojo after training....sometimes reveals the 'way' of karate far more vividly than any kata I know. When you allow your body to stop and your mind to become quiet, you can go to places and hear things that are otherwise missed in the everyday bustle of life.....I wonder, when was the last time you allowed yourself to be, just, still?