My internal martial arts training continued last night and today, albeit in an unexpected way. I’m now assisting my teachers/sensei in getting going on their book project. We got together last night for the first time, met for 1 ½ hours before class

Jan and Jay complement one another in many ways – now they are writing partners. As we talked, a look of consternation would cross Jay’s brow – Jan would then immediately pick up the cognitive slack, saying exactly what needed to be said. It was like she was reading my mind. The ball then got rolling again and consequently maintained its momentum.

We began the evening session by talking about the how, when, what, why, and where of the standing position, easily moving back and forth between the linked concepts of theory and practice. This just seemed like a good jumping off place for us. I did explain that this chapter might not be the first in the book, but may end up elsewhere in the book. However, it was an excellent jumping off point. The topic was one that left lots of leeway for discussion and the interjection of seemingly (but not really) tangential ideas.

We also talked at length about the form the book might take – informational material, poems, Jen’s artwork, these were just a few things in relation to this topic that we talked about. I added that some of their own stories would also be most useful.

Jen came up with the proposal for Sleeping Dragon press. What Jen and Jay don’t know is that knowing of a receptive editor is three quarters of the publication battle. I need to tell them both that this proposal can be a template for the project as a whole, an outline of sorts.

The most exciting aspect of this project (for me) is that I am going to learn a great deal about a topic that I know little of, which is martial arts. For instance, we talked some about the definitional aspects of being a warrior. I’d always shied away from the use of the term, particularly as a self-description, because I’d equated it with being warlike and adversarial. But as I was told, a warrior is at heart quiet and peaceful, using fighting only as a last resort. Sounds good to me, in fact so good that since our meeting I’ve been thinking that I a warrior. Furthermore, I am going to work hard at cultivating these more virtuous traits. Seems like the writing/learning exchange will be a good one.

Next: January 14, 2016: Bloody Nose