tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9148854789473628533.post1139983809649774315..comments2023-09-10T01:32:11.328-05:00Comments on The Broken Bokken: The Rhinelander Dojo: the Early YearsDavid "Shinzen" Nelsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17361987240669832512noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9148854789473628533.post-59607580810861268012009-03-18T18:48:00.000-05:002009-03-18T18:48:00.000-05:00Yes, I believe I started at the perfect age when I...Yes, I believe I started at the perfect age when I was rubbery. I can't imagine starting later in life...kudos to those who do.<BR/><BR/>After your comment it dawned on me we actually do recycle our belts and gi's. As some of the younger ones grow they donate them to me and when the right student comes in we have a belt and a gi for them. I never gave much thought to it, but perhaps it does go back to Sensei giving me his hand-me-down.<BR/><BR/>Thanks...I like your words 'mythical backdrop, the stuff of sweat-drenched poetry.' Perfect.David "Shinzen" Nelsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17361987240669832512noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9148854789473628533.post-19689318948023482132009-03-18T18:04:00.000-05:002009-03-18T18:04:00.000-05:00Those rites of passage, although sometimes brutal,...Those rites of passage, although sometimes brutal, prove crucial in the long run. Everyone I've met who has stuck it out, meaning that they made karate a part of their lives, were all initially put through a wringer. You entered at the perfect age, when a lot of the pain slakes off in the shower.<BR/>Those years are our mythical backdrop, the stuff of sweat-drenched poetry. And that thing about sensei and sempai giving their belts to lower ranks, I wonder if they still do it.Jorge Morales-Santo Domingohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07844979115789448716noreply@blogger.com