Sorry I’ve been disconnected lately, but I’m back.
Here is some news for you, plus a start of a new training tips series down below. Enjoy!
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THE PLANNING
Just got back from a trip my family and I have been planning (and saving!) for over 2 years. It all started a couple years ago as my parents were turning 60 and my mother was coming up to her retirement as a grade school teacher (my father has been retired from law enforcement for about 6 years). My mother has always wanted to visit Europe, but I?ll admit, I?m not a Europe fan. Besides some political differences I?ve had with many of their governments, their history has rarely intrigued me.
However, when you?re talking about ?mom?, you tend to bend your rules. I didn?t want to do the France, Spain, Germany etc. thing so I started to plan to visit a couple countries my mom has always wanted to visit (Italy and Greece), while also hitting a couple which do intrigue me such as Turkey and Egypt (although I would love to see more of the Middle East ? which has my political reasons of staying away from some of our European ?allies? seem like a total paradox).
As a result, I found a cruise which hit all of these countries, plus had history and leisure time built in, so it was a no brainer. Stephanie and I set a strict ?no vacation? goal for 2 years, as we needed to save up to do this trip. It finally started to sink in that what others have told me for years is actually true? children are expensive. Schooling, health care, and holidays aside? vacation prices are double. Double flight costs, lodging, food, etc.
Thank God I have a ?penny pinching? wife, as our ?no vacation? diet helped us save the money needed for those two years. Add in putting everything we did spend on our United Miles credit card, and a generous 25,000 mile ?donation? from my parents, and all 4 of my family members had ?free? flights to our destination.
Stephanie did a great job planning all of the details, choosing the excursions, and making sure all of the fine print was properly addressed. In our marriage, I?m the ?visionist?, she gets us there day by day. I?m like: ?I want ______, but I have no clue how we?re going to do it?. She brings my goals a bit down to earth, and with her support and great record keeping we get there. Raising the businesses, children, and almost everything else has proven that we make a good team.
Ok, back to the trip?
ROME AND BOARDING THE SHIP
We left Monday, June 22nd, and flew into Munich, and then to Rome. Not sure what Steph and I thought about handling a 2 ? and 4 ? year old on an 11 hour plane flight (14 with layover)? but we did it with just Jack in 2005 for our last big trip to Australia? and he did better than we ever dreamed (he actually slept most of the way of the 19 hour flight to Sydney).
But, this was two kids? just old enough to drive us nuts for the whole flight. The good news is that with the exception of a slight 15 minute breakdown by our youngest, Max, everyone did alright. We arrived in Rome in the evening on the 23rd and made our way to the hotel. Jetlag was minimal for the adults (Steph and I, my parents, and my sister), but the kids had some trouble getting to bed.
The next day we hit Rome on our own. No tour guide, just my sister, who has visited the city before. The Coliseum was incredible, just as my first truly ?Italian? meal the night before. We quickly saw a couple other historical landmarks, but took out a chunk of the day to see the Vatican. We finished the day with another nice meal just outside the Spanish Steps, and I got to personally find out how confusing the city grid was, as I hauled my family around most of the day without a taxi.
Check back in soon, as I’ll be picking up from here with the trip!
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Looking to use the 2nd half of summer to increase your martial arts skills? Here are some quick tips:
1. Use time outside of class: Sounds simple right? The secret is to work it into your regular schedule. Plan it. Best to schedule it right when you get up or before/after a weight lifting/cardio workout. Don’t workout besides at EDS? Come 15 minutes early to class and get in some extra sparring time – work flight time with a new drill. If you would do that two times a week for three months, that would add another six accumlative hours onto your training!
2. Teach a family member: “When you teach, you learn twice” is the old saying. Teach them close quarters, defang the snake, or have your child teach you what they learned in class. Or, have them ask you questions of how you would get out of that hold, or this situation… The partner wins, you win, we all win!
3. Carrenza: If you don’t know this drill, ask. Here is a challenge, work carrenza once a day, every day for 2 weeks for just a ten minute session. Your skills will make a jump… your coordination, footwork, weapons handling, etc.
4. RAT Shadow Boxing: This was the drill which I did over and over when starting out… it is still a part of my weekly workout. Kids can do it… adults can too… no age limit… everyone benefits.
Stay tuned, as I’ll be writing up more tips in the weeks to come on the blog. Sign up for the RSS and make sure you get the news first. For now, work on these, and I’ll see you in class!
Lee, Love and Life,
Sifu
[...] Details on my summer trip. [...]