Weatherford Martial Arts Center - Peaceful Storm Dojo

August 29th 5pm at the dojo
Help celebrate Sensei Nathan’s Birthday!
Budo Beer Night!

Past and present students and friends are welcome to attend.
Open invitation!

Bring some booze, bring some snacks, bring yourself!

I had an absolute blast teaching the final session for today for North Texas Karate camp put on my GM Starnes put in Bridgeport! Large group of kids!

The students were very attentive and worked hard to understand what I was teaching.
They were picking it up and doing really well with it.

I taught some modified Tomiki Aikido Release ideas.

Also got to spend time with Don Oliver again. He’s a cool dude. We jived well and are planning a time we can get together to train some.

Overall, excellent Saturday!

Fantastic Aikido classes Tuesday and Today.
9 people on the mat on Tuesday, 7 on the mat tonight!
Several new members joined, fun to be had! Skills to be learned!
We are having a blast!

The newest student at Weatherford Martial Arts Center is excited and ready to start training!

We went to Arlington today to Lang Son Traders and got Nico a Gi. She is loving it!

Thank you Thang-Hoa for your expertise and kindness.
We always love going to your store, it is a staple in the DFW Martial Arts Community.

I will say, having spent a substantial portion of my life practicing and training martial arts, seeing one of my children take an interest is a wonderful feeling.
I’m not crying.. there’s something in my eye…

Seminar this weekend was great! Had to have been 30+ people on the mat.

Excellent time training and working with people I’ve never worked with. Made new friends, and reconnected with old ones.

It was a fantastic weekend, and now I board a plane to come home. Sore but happy :-)

Day two of the Daito Ryu seminar in Denton with Manny Jimenez Sensei.

Brett had fun and got worn out. 🙂

Excellent seminar so far.
More tomorrow!

Yesterday I received a very thoughtful gift from one of the karate students, this beautiful, incredibly heavy, cast iron Tetsubin-style Japanese tea set.

It may seem like a simple object at first glance, but gifts like this mean a lot to me. Our dojo is more than just a place to train. It is a place where memories are made, relationships are built, and little pieces of our shared story become part of its history.

I added a small paper note inside the teapot with Ethan’s name and the date he gave it to me, so years from now the story of where it came from will still be remembered.

Thank you, Ethan. I truly appreciate the gift, and it now has a special place as part of our dojo history.

I have always believed that the martial arts are a lifelong pursuit of knowledge.

Even though I have been fortunate to earn high ranks in a few other martial arts over the years, I still believe there is great value in stepping onto the mat as a student, starting at the beginning, and respecting the process of another art.

Tonight I tested for and received my gold belt in American Karate, and I am proud of that step forward. Not because of the color of the belt itself, but because of what it represents: continued growth, humility, discipline, and the willingness to keep learning.

The journey never really ends, and that is one of the things I love most about it.