I'm rolling out a new feature where we meet our students by doing a little question and answer.  This week we meet Matt Lattin.  Matt is a mainstay of our club.  He assists me during both the Broadsword class and the Self-Defense class and acts as a feeder with  the other guys in our Women's Self-Defense seminars.  Matt is a Dog in the Dog Brothers and will most certainly be a full Dog Brother before too long.  Matt's focus may not be to learn every nuance of every drill, but his heart as a fighter cannot be questioned.  I've seen a lot of growth from Matt and I look forward to seeing what his future in the Martial arts holds. 

So class format is a thing I have been playing with from the first day I started teaching the club full time.  In all of the martial arts classes I have ever attended, I have been a part of many different teaching formats and styles.  There is usually a pretty standard list of parts to the class, no matter the art being taught.

I'm not particularly religious, but I find inspiration strikes no matter what your intention.  Turns out it's Easter.  Now for many kids it's where they search every blade of grass in the back yard and find 50 eggs in 4 minutes, when it takes these same kids 11 hours to clean their rooms.  However for many others it signals a renewal.  New beginnings.  A second chance. 

Civilization has made us soft.  Yes, we have antibiotics, microwaves, and 401k's, but as individuals, we've essentially traded some pretty interesting things for this.  There will be some strong arguments around this topic, and the points they make are likely as correct as mine.  I'm speaking primarily about protection of ourselves.  Yes, civilization good.  Uncivilized bad.  Yes, technology is amazing and look at all we've accomplished.  But has trading our personal protection, or at least coming to rely on others for it, diminished our self-confidence behind the false feeling of security?

So I've decided to try my hand at doing a blog for the club.  This will serve a few purposes.  I intend on using it as a 'state of the club' page and as a place to chat about various topics.  My posts will be admittedly unpredictable, subject to the whimsy of time and my ability to sit down in front of a computer.