Punching the Clock

Punching the Clock

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When it comes to your fitness and health, consistency is king.

Maintaining a regular and consistent training routine is one of the most beneficial practices you can engage in, not only for the benefits this provides today, but also for your future.

Oftentimes my “older” fitness and wellness clients (“older” said with air quotes because some of my most chronologically advanced clients kick ass) will ask me whether the resistance training or walking or Qigong and breathwork they are doing today will be “worth it” in the future. In other words, will the work they put in today pay dividends as they get older?

My answer is an unequivocal “YES”!

The more work you put in today to improving your mobility, building your strength, enhancing your breathing, improving your resilience and ability to handle stress…the healthier you will be, over a longer period of time.

For example, study after study has demonstrated the criticality of beginning, or continuing, a resistance training program, no matter your current age. These studies have used different forms of resistance training, including free weights, machines, bands, bodyweight exercises, and so forth. The modality that generates the best results incorporates all of the above – in particular, a mix of free weights (barbells, dumbbells) with machines and some bodyweight exercises or calisthenics.

You need to push yourself first to move well (i.e., good movement form in the major human motions of squatting, hinging, pushing, pulling, and rotating)…then to move often.

Performing these major movements under load as part of a rational, progressive program is the best way to get results. In fact, more doctors and researchers have come around to the conclusion that lifting weights is the closest thing to a Fountain of Youth available to us today.

How Can I Maintain Consistency?

Many of us are excited when we first start an exercise program or begin a new athletic endeavor. Inevitably, however, the ardor diminishes as we run smack into the reality that training on a consistent basis – meaning multiple sessions per week – is harder than it may seem at first.

It’s typically an issue of both time and energy management. Making the time for your sessions, AND things like getting more sleep and eating better to help fuel your training.

Energy management, sleep and nutrition are food for other blog posts some other time. For now, I’d like to share with you a simple concept that has helped me through the years.

I first learned this some years ago from an older, wiser martial artist and weight lifter. It’s called “Punching the Clock” workouts.

The premise is, while you want to push yourself to do better and progress from week to week and month to month, you also don’t have to kill yourself every time you train. In other words, not every workout has to be a home run. You don’t have to set a new PR (Personal Record) every time you hit the gym.

Sometimes you just need to show up and punch the clock. You know, kind of like the attitude some people have when they are clocking into work (either literally or figuratively). Some days, you are full of energy and raring to go. Other days, you’re tired or dreading work or just feeling blah.

Well, just feeling “blah” never got me out of having to go to work. I needed a much better excuse than that… oh, something like calling in and saying I had explosive diarrhea. (Guaranteed NOT to get much questioning from your boss, by the way. They are quite happy you have chosen to stay home.)

Anyways, if you’re not feeling super energized or super stoked about training…just show up and put in a “Punch the Clock” workout. Decide you are going to clock in for at least 15 to 20 minutes.

Start light and easy and gradually build up. Then see how it goes. If, after 20 minutes, you’re still feeling crappy, call it a day and head for the showers.

I’m betting, however, that most of the time, once you get started and break a sweat and get into your routine, you are going to continue.

Once you get over that initial resistance you start to feel good. You complete a few exercises and think, “Ah hell, I might as well keep going”. Your mentality switches to completing your workout. As I said above, you don’t have to push yourself to set new PRs. Just complete your planned routine and then head on home.

And commend yourself for actually showing up and doing something good for yourself, something to which you committed. Well done!

You Can Do It!

Dr. Karen

From Shut Down to Heart Open

From Shut Down to Heart Open

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Hello Dear Reader!

I’ve been AWOL since September 30, 2024. I apologize for my absence.

I lost both my parents in the space of less than three months. While going through their passing and the aftermath, I felt like my ability to write was shut down. I typically try to write authentically and from the heart, sharing thoughts, ideas, questions, and information I think will be helpful to you. But this ol’ heart was breaking!

Here are my parents in the winter of their lives. Almost 65 years of marriage. What a partnership!
Here are my parents, Norm and Elaine: the happy couple, with all their hopes and dreams ahead of them.

I was very lucky in the parent department. They were always supportive and we retained a close relationship all of my life. My brother and I are grateful for how far into our adult lives our parents were around!

As I move past the initial feelings of grief and loss, I’ve been able to focus more on the gratitude I feel for my parents, including all that they taught me and provided to me…their deep love for their grandson (my son)…and the example they set.

I once again feel the desire to carry on with my practice and writing, with the goal of helping my clients, students, and readers become healthier and happier. We each carry a divine spark, an inner wellspring of energy, healing, and power. But we may not know how to tap into it. Or we may have forgotten. My parents didn’t fully understand what I do, but I know they would want me to continue on with this calling. They knew how much it meant to me. They knew I could make a positive impact, because they’ve seen me do it before in other areas of my life. And they knew I approach everything I do with a sincere heart. I feel their encouragement even now, as I sit and type this out.

Until the past several weeks, I felt a heaviness I couldn’t shake. Fortunately, I did not make the mistake of trying to shut down or sublimate the grief. Rather, I reminded myself to let the emotions flow. I worked on keeping my heart center open and, whenever something came up, let it flow through my heart and then dissipate. No judgment about the emotion, no analysis. Just pure feeling and energy.

This was my test: Could I follow the practices I’ve learned and keep my heart open energetically? Or would I revert to my typical “stiff upper lip” MO?

I can’t say I was perfect. I mean, when I’m in a session with a client, the focus has to be on the client, not me! But overall, I think I’ve done pretty well.

And I’ve developed less risk aversion to keeping my heart open and sharing more. I’m typically a pretty reserved person and don’t always feel comfortable sharing a lot. Now my heart tells me it’s okay to be more open.

And just in time, because here we are, well into Spring – the season of growth and expansion. The rising Yang energy, the emergence of leaves, flowers, and plants, the increasing time spent outside in the fresh air and sun, all converge to pull our mood and energy levels up up up.

There’s a lightness I haven’t felt in a long time. I’ve got all kinds of good stuff to share. It’s good to be back in the saddle.

More soon!

You Can Do It!

Dr. Karen

Hurricane Helene Follow up

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Just a follow up to my previous post. We made it through Helene just fine, with winds and lots of rain, but fortunately no damage.

However, areas in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina have been devastated. Unprecedented rainfall led to tremendous flooding – “apocalyptic” flooding – which destroyed homes, businesses, entire streets of towns, bridges….leaving communities completely cut off. Even worse, leading at least 128 dead.

I made a contribution to the American Red Cross and wanted to share the link, in case you too would like to make a contribution.

And I send along my thoughts and best wishes to the ma

ny who have been impacted.

DONATE HERE!

Thank you!

Dr. Karen

Waiting for Hurricane Helene

Waiting for Hurricane Helene

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Last Friday, I flew from Austin to Panama City Airport (ECP) to visit my parents and brother. My brother picked my up at the airport and we made the drive from Florida up to the lower southeast corner of Alabama where they live. As we drove, I observed that there is STILL damage visible from Hurricane Michael, a devastating CAT 5 storm that hit the Florida Panhandle back in October 2018. Never expecting that…

…we would be in the path of a hurricane now!

Yes, Hurricane Helene is currently approaching the Florida panhandle, this time drawing a bead on the Big Bend area of the coast. She’s expected to grow to a CAT 4 storm with tremendous, possibly record-setting storm surge along areas of the Florida coast. She’s a “big girl” too – a huge storm whose winds and rains have been hitting our area in Lower Alabama for the past four hours. With more to come.

Our impacts here are yet to be seen, but we’ve been told to expect CAT 1 or CAT 2 hurricane effects. Fortunately, we will be on the west side of the hurricane and not feel the full force about to be endured in Florida and Georgia. Nevertheless, we completed our preparations yesterday. The schools and many businesses are closed today or are closing early. We’re as ready as we can be.

I feel for those folks along the Florida coast, many of whom have endured an increasing number and severity of hurricanes in the past five years. Idalia is the one most cited by folks in the Big Bend area, especially along the barrier islands such as Cedar Key. I hope and pray these folks battened down the hatches as well as they could – and then got the hell out of there!

I understand the desire to stay and ride it out, in order to protect your home or business and be on the ground to begin recovery. We went through the same when my parents first retired and build their dream retirement home along the coast in North Carolina. The decision to stay or evacuate can be an agonizing one. You scrutinize each new update, trying to decipher whether you can ride it out safely OR you better leave. If you wait too long to make that decision, you then get stuck in massive traffic as folks evacuate. Or, worse yet, you are stuck and forced to ride it out.

One more data point: when I was age 9 to 11, we lived in Tallahassee, Florida. One of the key things I remember about living there is the proliferation of beautiful, stately trees. Especially the oaks with the Spanish moss hanging off the branches. Tallahassee will be right in the eye of this storm as it passes through. I fear many trees will be uprooted or damaged.

Anyways, I wish the best possible outcome to the people about to be impacted.

In the meantime, I did a little training out on the back porch. It’s the first time I can remember actually working out during a hurricane.

A little back story: It is said that the founder of Shotokan Karate, Funakoshi Gichin, would stand out on the roof of his house on Okinawa during monsoons (the Pacific ocean version of hurricanes). He would grip a tatami mat with both hands, which acted like a sail, and would strive to hold his horse stance on the roof.

As described by an observer and martial arts colleague:

“Now the young man on the roof assumed a low posture, holding the straw mat aloft against the raging wind. The stance he took was most impressive, for he stood as if astride a horse. Indeed, anyone who knew karate could readily have seen that the youth was taking the horse-riding stance, the most stable of all karate stances, and that he was making use of the howling typhoon to refine his technique and to further strengthen both body and mind. The wind struck the mat and the youth with full force, but he stood his ground and did not flinch.”

OK, I know my performing techniques and forms on my parents’ back porch – BEFORE the hurricane even arrives – is nothing like what Funakoshi did.

However, I can report that, energetically, training in the wind and rain felt different. It felt exhilarating. You can sense the current energy as well as the impending energies to come. I plan on periodically going outside for as long as I can and to breathe, stand, and experience the wind, energy, and power of Mother Nature.

Bless all of those in the path of this storm.

You Can Do It!

Dr. Karen

Re-Connect with Your Center

Re-Connect with Your Center

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As we move from the heat of July and August into the not quite-so-hot warmth of September, I’d like to remind you of the “season” of Late Summer.

Late Summer is the last season within the Five Elements Cycle (or Wuxing) and is associated with the Spleen and Stomach organ system (which also includes the pancreas). This season corresponds to the late summer, early Fall, Indian Summer time when we are wrapping up the summer fun and beginning to harvest the last of the fruits, veggies, wheat, etc.

This season is also associated with the Earth Element. It’s important to get in touch with the Earth – and a wonderful way to do this is through Grounding.

Grounding is one of the most fundamental aspects of practicing Qigong, as well as working with patients within the Medical Qigong paradigm.

Grounding is the ability to fully connect with the Yin energy of the earth. Through a simple grounding meditation, we center and relax, connect, and allow ourselves to feel the warm, comforting embrace of Mother Earth’s energy. When you are grounded, you feel a sense of stability, of being safe, secure and protected, and of being whole.

An interesting aspect of grounding is that we are connected through our lower dan tien or energy center, which is in the middle of the lower abdomen. This is our physical center of gravity, our center. It is also related to our essential essence or “Jing”, the life force or vital energy that we are born with. When we ground, we automatically support and enhance our Jing. But we are also connecting with our spiritual side, albeit in a subtler way. When we ground, the energy moves from our lower dan tien, through our root or base (Huiyin point at the perineum), and then up through our heart center and all the way to the crown of our head – the Baihui point, which is analogous to the crown chakra in yoga.

Hence, the feeling of wholeness we enjoy when we are fully grounded is not just physical wholeness or stability, it is also mental and emotional wholeness and stability. In our paradigm, body (physical), heart/mind (emotional and mental), and spirit (higher consciousness) are inextricably connected. When we give ourselves the gift of grounding, we impact our entire being.

When mind, heart and body are coordinated, you are grounded. Some wonderful manifestations or signs of being grounded include:

-You feel safe.

-You feel present – your mind is focused on the here and now, not drifting to the past or worried about the future.

-You feel comfortable in your own body.

-Your biorhythms, such as heartbeat, breathing, and blood pressure are entrained, stable, and slower.

-Your personality manifests as someone who is stable, reliable, and down-to-earth.

Unfortunately, our modern lives have caused most of us to lose touch with Mother Earth, to lose this connection. We spend more time inside…we are on our screens much of the time…we don’t walk around barefoot like we did as kids.

Simple But Powerful

One of the first things I teach a new patient – and one of the first exercises I teach in my Qigong courses and classes – is a simple grounding meditation. This exercise is powerful. Restoring the connection to the earth can result in dramatic changes and experiences.

A key to grounding is simple awareness. Through your breathing and gentle intention, you relax, center, and get calm inside. This helps open the channel to the earth’s energy.

Another key is to have a direct connection to the ground. Whenever possible, go outside and stand (or sit) with your bare feet solidly on the ground. Or you can sit on the ground with the bottoms of your feet and the palms of your hands touching the ground. If it’s cold outside, wear socks or moccasins that don’t have a rubber or synthetic bottom.

A third key is to center your intention gently into your lower abdomen. Breathe in and out of this area. Allow your breath to become longer and fuller. But don’t strain or push. Just gently breathe in and out through your nose (which helps you relax) and be open to the connection with Mother Earth.

I teach an effective (and fun) grounding meditation and have included it in one of my courses, Breathing and Qigong for Health and Energy (click here for more information). This course provides the foundation for a wonderful, effective, and fun Qigong and Breathing practice. It’s taught in a short four weeks and will introduce you to a proven health and energy cultivation method impacting body, mind, and spirit, which hopefully becomes an ongoing, consistent practice you will enjoy and benefit from.

Give yourself the gift of breathing. And add the power of “plugging in” to Mother Earth through grounding.

You Can Do It!

What’s the Best Way to Exercise in the Summer?

What’s the Best Way to Exercise in the Summer?

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In my last post, I regaled you with the benefits of the “best time” to exercise each day. (Click here to read it.)

Now let’s discuss the best WAY to exercise – from a seasonal perspective.

According to the Five Elements Framework – a foundational approach to health within Classical Chinese Medicine and Clinical Qigong – our activity should change with each season. The four seasons provide us with variation and different energies.

Here in the Northern Hemisphere, we are smack in the middle of summer. How should we adapt our exercise during the summer?

For many of us, exercising involves working around the high summer temperatures, which can mean exercising indoors. This may also involve exercising first thing in the morning or later in the evening. The long summer days, with their earlier sunrises and later sunsets, help us feel more energetic and want to engage in greater physical activity.

The summer season is referred to in classical medical texts as “the season of fully flourishing, as all living things in the world are prosperous and beautiful”. The summer season is more yang, reaching its apex of yang energy at the summer solstice. This is also when yin energy begins to emerge. So summer means the intersection of yin and yang energies. This combination causes living things to blossom and yield fruit.

Key to this season is to go to sleep at night after the sun has set (which is later during the summer months) and get up early in the morning with the sunrise (also earlier during summer). Keep the mantra of “growth” in your mind at all times, so as to align with the summer energies promoting growth for autumn’s harvest.

When it comes to exercise, this means get out there and sweat!! Perspiring helps release yang energy and avoid heat becoming stagnant inside your body. You can train hard. In fact, you will notice your body naturally wants to train harder, go longer, and sweat more. This harder training helps boost your overall fitness by conditioning your heart and lungs. It also serves to release toxins and literally purify your system.

When it comes to your Qigong or Tai Chi practice, bear in mind that summer corresponds to the Fire element and the Heart organ system (which includes the Heart, Small Intestine, Pericardium [Heart Protector], and Triple Warmer). Practice your Tai Chi with strong movements and enhanced breathing. Include some of the more physically demanding Qigong exercises or forms. And take some time in each session to stand, breathe, and tap into the Heart virtues of Joy and Peace.

The Heart energy is a pulsating energy. It wants to beat, expand, and communicate. Utilizing the extra energy you feel during summer to stimulate your heart function is much better than during the winter, when your heart energy is naturally lower. Maintaining appropriate activity levels helps enhance your heart’s function, promotes your body’s metabolism (especially fat metabolism), and can help prevent atherosclerosis.

Bottom line: during summer, train hard and sweat freely!

You Can Do It!

Dr. Karen

The Best Time to Exercise

The Best Time to Exercise

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What’s the “best” time to exercise?

Most fitness and health professionals will say the best time is the time of day that YOU will follow through and exercise. You should choose a time that works for you based on your schedule and energy levels.

Good advice! However, I’d like to make a case for exercising first thing in the morning.

I wasn’t always an early morning exerciser. However, as I got deeper into my Qigong practice, I began to follow the traditional advice to practice Qigong first thing in the morning, preferably as the sun is rising. The air is fresher and cooler, the Yang energy is rising, and you can relax and focus without interruption – which isn’t always the case later in the day.

I then tested this approach with exercise, such as walking first thing in the morning. Lately, I’ve been getting up at 5:45am to join my sensei and other Uechi instructors and students to participate in a virtual morning workout. I alternate days: Uechi workouts three mornings per week, walking the hills in our community three mornings per week. Finish with some Qigong. Head in for a cold shower and get ready for my day.

Central Texas Heat Wave Makes You Adapt

Here in Central Texas our summer came early! In fact, we’re already in the middle of a four or five day HIGH HEAT INDEX event.

We’re experiencing heat indexes of 113 to 115. Sheesh! They are running out of colors for the heat maps. We’re seeing more dark burgundies and purples on the weather maps. Southern California and Arizona are just as bad.

Even though I love the heat and love summer, I wave the white flag once the temps get up over about 92 or so. Walking in the hot Texas sun with temps in the 90s and heat indexes over 100? No thank you!

Many folks retreat inside and do their walking or jogging on a treadmill. I can’t stand walking or running on a treadmill! I used to do it when I had to, for example when I was traveling and wanted to get in a workout at the hotel gym. No, for many of us, it’s outside, fresh air, trees and natural beauty – or bust.

When you exercise first thing, you have to arise earlier than usual to fit in your exercise session and have at least a little time to cool off before you jump in the shower. You typically train in a fasted state, with perhaps a cup of coffee or tea as your only sustenance, so you feel lighter. Your body actually LIKES to move first thing! Although it may not feel that way at first, trust me: once you get through the first several days of moving within minutes of awakening, you will begin to enjoy the feeling.

It may take some effort to sell you on trying this out. So here goes. Following are just some of the wonderful benefits you’ll experience when you work out first thing.

Benefits of Exercising First Thing in the Morning

  • Cortisol levels are highest in the morning. Cortisol is the hormone of fear and stress. Exercising first thing, even just for 20 minutes or so, significantly lowers your cortisol levels.
  • Sweating from a good workout releases BDNF – Brain-Derived Neurotropic Factor – which can enhance your cognitive abilities. BDNF repairs brain cells damaged by stress; accelerates the formation of neural connections; and promotes neurogenesis (growth of new brain cells). So you think better and faster.
  • Intense enough exercise first thing (i.e., break a sweat, get out of breath for at least part of the workout) causes the release of dopamine, the “reward” chemical which helps promote our drive to accomplish tasks, and increases the amount of serotonin, the “feel good” chemical that regulates mood and happiness.
  • Early morning exercise helps to boost norepinephrine which improves your attention and leaves you feeling calmer. In turn, this makes you more productive and focused throughout the day.
  • Working out first thing elevates your metabolism. Working out first thing in a fasted state helps you burn fat for energy. And that metabolism bump continues for hours after.


Perhaps the most important benefit: You win that “First Victory” – following through on a commitment you have made to yourself. This helps fuel other accomplishment and goal achievement throughout your day.

Give it try!

You Can Do It!

Dr. Karen

Discover the Master Blueprint to a Powerful Health Practice

Discover the Master Blueprint to a Powerful Health Practice

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I’m super stoked to be presenting a seminar on “The Five Elements Approach to Better Health, Energy, and Longevity” this Saturday, May 4th, at the Northwest Family YMCA, where I teach most of my group Qigong classes.

The Five Elements Framework is ancient and deeply woven into the fabric of Chinese and Eastern cultures. Five Element theory is the foundation of disciplines such as feng shui, the martial arts, and the I Ching (The Book of Changes). It provides a comprehensive template that organizes all natural phenomena into five master groups or patterns or phases in nature: Metal, Water, Wood, Fire, and Earth.

From a health enhancement perspective, the Five Element Framework provides a master blueprint that diagrams how nature interacts with the body and how the different dimensions of our being impact each other. Within Classical Chinese Medicine and Medical Qigong, it provides a diagnostic framework to recognize where imbalances in the body, mind, emotions, and spirit lie…the “prescription” for returning the individual to full health and energy…and practices that promote longevity and quality of life.

What are The Five Elements?

The Five Elements follow the seasons and include the five Yin organs (and their corresponding Yang organ pairs) and address the interconnected relationships between them:

Metal: Lung – Large Intestine / FALL

Water: Kidneys – Bladder / WINTER

Wood: Liver – Gall Bladder / SPRING

Fire: Heart – Small Intestine / SUMMER

Earth: Spleen – Stomach / LATE SUMMER

In the seminar, we’ll provide an overview of each Element / Organ System and how it impacts your health and wellbeing, including:


-Physical, mental, and emotional characteristics.
-Potential strengths and challenges from a health and energetic perspective.
-Nutritional requirements and recommendations.
-Personality typing: explore which “element” (or mix of elements) you are.

This will be interactive! You won’t just be sitting listening to me lecture. (Although, as a recovering consultant, I WILL have some slides I present with. Just can’t help it…)

We’ll be learning / practicing one of my favorite sets of ancient Five Elements Dao Yin exercises, which are simple but powerful movements that help to support and regulate each specific organ system – which in turn can help you achieve better health, enhanced energy levels, and greater longevity.

How Can I Participate?

If you’re interested in attending this fascinating look at an ancient, proven, alternative health and wellness paradigm, contact the Northwest Family Y member services desk at (512) 335-9622 and ask them to sign you up for the Qigong Seminar this Saturday. The member price to attend is $35. (If you’re not a Y member just ask them for the non-member price.)

Then show up at the Northwest Family YMCA at 5807 McNeil Drive in Austin this Saturday, May 4th. Seminar time is 1 – 3pm in the Bowen Room.

And May the 4th Be With You!

Tai Chi It Up!

Tai Chi It Up!

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Did you celebrate World Tai Chi Day this past Saturday?

We had a great crowd at the Northwest Family YMCA World Tai Chi Day and Qigong Celebration.

I took the group through a couple of Qigong segments, including an Eight Pieces of Brocade (Ba Duan Jin) series performed outside under the lovely oak trees. It got too windy though, so we regrouped inside for more Tai Chi and Qigong, including a flowing progression through another famous, wonderful Qigong form, the Yi Jin Jing (Muscle-Tendon Changing Classic).

We also reviewed the Tai Chi 10-Form and Simplified 24-Form, plus enjoyed other Tai Chi and martial arts demos.

All in, a great morning and a winderful way to come together and celebrate these health-enhancing practices.

Qigong Class Times

If you’re interested in learning Qigong or Tai Chi, you can check out our classes at the Northwest Family YMCA at 5807 McNeil Drive in Austin. Contact member services at (512) 335-9622. You can ask for a free day at the Y and take classes, swim in the pool, or workout in the newly renovated fitness center.

Our Qigong classes meet at 2pm on Sundays and 9:45am on Wednesdays.

Tai Chi classes meet at 5:15pm on Wednesdays and 11:15am on Saturdays.

I also teach at the Lago Vista Fitness Company on Friday mornings.

Get Started with Online Qigong Courses

If you’re interested in learning more about Qigong, a great way to get started is through the online courses I offer on this website. Visit our Products and Programs page and explore the courses available to you. With each course, I guide you through a set of weekly curriculum so you can learn at a measured pace and not get overwhelmed. You also have access to me via email each week with any questions on the exercises.

Start today! These life-transforming instructional courses can help you reduce stress, achieve optimal health and wellness, and overcome chronic conditions. Or go deeper in your Qigong or Breathing practice – from form to energetics to inner teachings – and develop a robust, sustainable practice.

You Can Do It!

Dr. Karen

Resilient Wellness Qigong Featured in New Book

Resilient Wellness Qigong Featured in New Book

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My Uechi-Ryu instructor, Grandmaster George Mattson, known as “The Father of Uechi-Ryu Karate in America”, just published his fifth major book, titled “The Dynamic World of Martial Arts: Unleashing the Power Within”.

I’ve immensely enjoyed reading the book. It’s a mix of Mattson Sensei’s experiences over the years as one of the leading proponents of traditional martial arts in the U.S.; his perspectives on the changes we’ve seen over the decades in how martial arts are viewed, practiced, and taught; and a deeper view into his own training and mindset practices that have helped him achieve such longevity as a martial artist, instructor, and leader.

Mattson Sensei asked me and a few other instructors to provide some sections for the book. I was honored to be asked AND I’m thrilled that Resilient Wellness Qigong is featured in its own small chapter within the book.

Why Uechi?

I first trained in Uechi Ryu Karate back in the early 1990s. (Yes, I am dating myself). I was already a Second Degree Black Belt in a traditional style of Tae Kwon Do and was interested in studying a martial art that would be a good complement to the medium to long range strategies of my primary art. Uechi is an infighting style with roots in Southern China. It’s also a “fighting style” with a focus on developing actual fighting skills and reactions with many open hand techniques, low kicks, and simplified stances and footwork.

My first Uechi instructor was Sensei John Carria who is one of the leaders within the Uechi community. John was (and is) an excellent instructor and continues to learn, develop, and share those learnings through teaching and his own book that came out last year. (Click the book cover to the right for a link to John’s book.)

When I first started learning Uechi, I truly felt like a fish out of water. It was so different from what I was used to. But it also intrigued me. I trained hard and eventually earned a First Degree Black Belt under Carria Sensei’s instruction. I knew I still had a lot to learn and sensed a depth to the art that would take some years to fully understand and appreciate. And it has not disappointed.

When I became a mom, I took some years off from formal training. I would train on my own and hit the bags, and sometimes work out with my son. But it was years before I got the bug to train formally again as a student. As I searched for and considered options for training, I happened upon Mattson Sensei’s virtual dojo, AtHomeKarate.com. I saw that he had pioneered virtual instruction years prior, long before advancements in remote communications technology via the internet made virtual communications easy and inexpensive. Through his early experimentation, George developed a highly effective approach for teaching and coaching long-distance, helping students and black belts from all over the world either commence their martial arts study, OR continue their Uechi-Ryu development.

“Call Me George”

One of the things I love most about Mattson Sensei is how down-to-earth he is. The first time we spoke on a coaching call, I addressed him as Sensei. He immediately said, “Call me George”. He has no need for the “Grand Poobah”, “Super Mega Grandmaster” titles that seem to have proliferated in the martial arts. Given his stature within the Uechi world, and martial arts world in general, this was so refreshing – and a testament to the quiet confidence he enjoys after many decades of contribution.

He is also super supportive and uplifting. I came back to Uechi as an out-of-shape mom and businesswoman who wanted to train in a meaningful way but did not have a good dojo or training opportunity close by. Would I be able to train martial arts again without injuring myself or looking like an idiot? George assuaged my concerns. His approach is to get going and start training and, as he says, “Train Smart. Train Often”. His key lesson is consistency. Do something every day, even if it’s just your three Sanchins and some pushups. And build from there.

I also appreciate that George calls you on your bullshit. He lets me know if he thinks I have not trained as hard as I should have or progressed on something like I should have. We all respond better to someone providing clarity and honesty in their feedback, because we want to know where we stand and how we are doing.

And George models everything he pushes his students and instructors to do. He’s 86 years young, still trains every day, still loves to teach, and continued to inspire and empower so many of us through his instruction and example.

Anyways, I highly recommend the book for any and all martial artists. And if you’ve never trained, I still recommend it. Who knows: the stories, advice, and perspectives George provides through the book may inspire you to learn more or even begin training.

(And be sure to check out the Qigong chapter starting on page 41!)