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Welcome back for another episode of The Exciting Adventures of JediNickD! It was a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away that I joined this site and started my first challenge.. World 1 was my first extended stay through 22 challenges. I took a hiatus from NF and came back with a new direction for my goals where I warped to World 2, which I defeated in a Boss Fight slaying some mighty big goals. In World 3, I continue to develop my fitness, getting my body in the best shape of my life, even with the Degenerative Disc Disease and crooked spine causing all types of pain in my back, hip, legs, neck, and shoulders. Through physical therapy exercises and karate, I maintain my spine and back muscles to slow down the advanced aging. I'm not planning to be playing rugby or football again in this lifetime, but I'm not giving up hope on the possibility either... Rebellions are built on HOPE! I'm just going to keep on L-I-V-I-N, fight the good (and healthy) fight, and level up my life! Challenge Lesson: Chirrut Îmwe: "The strongest stars have hearts of kyber." From Starwars.com: "At the heart of every Jedi lightsaber is a kyber crystal found on several planets, most notably the icebound caves of Ilum. This crystal is attuned to the Force, and connected to a Jedi Knight on a deeply personal level. In this way, a lightsaber is an extension of a Jedi's Force awareness. Because Jedi let the Force guide their selection of the crystal, the vibration that the crystal creates in the lightsaber blade helps Jedi center themselves and find balance in the Force. In this way, a Jedi can center his or her attention beyond the distractions of combat. A lightsaber crystal is colorless until first attuned and connected to a Jedi -- at which times it glows either blue or green, or in some rare instances, another shade. From that point on, it retains that hue." Kyber crystals are rare, powerful, and connected to the Force. When Chirrut says the quote, he is not referring to stars made of hydrogen and other gases. The stars he is referring to are heroes, philanthropists, and other role models who shine bright in the eyes of others. The strongest of them have hearts which are rare, powerful, and connected to the Force. [more to come] My Main Quest and Mission: My mission is to be the best Jedi I can be. My main quest is always to enhance my overall health, fitness, and knowledge to be prepared for whatever challenges life could throw at me. As a Jedi, I need to be able to help people, whether that is a life threatening situation or just a charitable one. There is no boss level in Jedi training, there is only tomorrow. World 3 Level 10 Challenge: FITNESS: Cardio: Speed and Stamina - 580 min total, 140 weekly. DEX +1, STA +1 Exercise: Lifting and Bodyweight - 300 min total, 80 weekly. STR +1 Flexibility: Stretching and Physical Therapy - 400 min total, 100 weekly. STR +1, DEX +1 Karate: Training and Practice - 720 min total, 180 weekly. STR +1, DEX +1, STA +1 DIET: Weight Control - Track weight. Complete measurements before or during Week 1 and again during or after Week 4. Watch portions and make healthy choices for 24 of 28 days. Track lunch portions, especially. Track "fasting" after dinner nightly. I'm looking to continue to cut down on snacking and desserts after dinner. I need to ensure I have a calorie deficit or I won't continue to lose weight. CON +3 LIFE: Get Stuff Done - Complete (or dedicate at least one hour to) 280 Tasks or Projects, with at least 70 each week, from any of the following areas (minimum for challenge): Toastmasters Communication Practice (8), Toastmasters Leadership Practice (8), Toastmasters Speech and Training Development (8), Mentoring (6), Charity Work (10), Jedi Training (8), Self Preservation (24), Reading (16), Church Work (14), Job Work (16), Business Projects (12), Dishes (20), Laundry (16), Cleaning/Dusting/Vacuuming (24), Other Chores (24), Yard Work (8), Animal Care (50), Home Renovation (6), Auto Maintenance (6), Family Activities (12), Adventuring (6). WIS +2, CHA +2 INCENTIVES! Working hard for CASH! ($178 carried over) REWARD 1: For each week I complete 75 or more tasks, I will put aside $10 to spend how I see fit. CONSEQUENCE 1: For any week where I complete less than 70 tasks, I will give up $10 of saved cash. REWARD 2: $5 for each Business Project hour: write/plan/record a 2018 Extra Life Kickoff Video get involved in Extra Life Baltimore Guild (missed kick-off meeting and will miss Cecil Con) revisit Wizard Laser Tag (look into Recoil game app and tech) for Epic Nerd Camp draw up plan for Jedi website VHS-to-DVD conversion CONSEQUENCE 2: Lose $10 for each week without a Business Project hour. REWARD 3: $1 for each hour working on Jedi Training lessons. $10 for each completed IJRS lesson. Need to get back to the formal training at IJRS. CONSEQUENCE 3: Lose $5 for each week without working on a Jedi Training lesson. REWARD 4: $1 for each night of fasting after dinner. Fruits and veggies allowed in small quantities, but no dessert or snacking. CONSEQUENCE 4: Lose $2 for each day without fasting. Lose $5 for eating more than 2 slices of pizza in any meal. REWARD 5: $1 for each day with a small, healthy lunch. CONSEQUENCE: Lose $2 for each day without a small, healthy lunch. BONUSES: Life: $2 for healthy grocery shopping $2 for healthy meal prep $2 for each Home Renovation and Auto Maintenance task. Workout: $5 for 10 or more sprints in one workout. $5 for running more than 3.5 miles in a workout. $5 for running below an 8 minute mile. $10 for running below a 7 minute mile. $5 for running 2 miles in less than 18 minutes. $10 for running 3 miles in less than 30 minutes. $10 for running more than 40 minutes. PUNISHMENT: Lose $10 each day with weight above 152.5 lbs.

In my past challenges, I have focused on goals for each week or even days at a time. For example, 50 katas a week or 10 kicks a day for five days and it seems that I do good for a week or two or three and then it goes downhill. Seeing how those challenges have turned out, this time around I am going to focus on goals for the entire challenge instead of daily or weekly goals. Since I couldn't really find any gifs of JCVD that fit my goals, him kicking the bad guy from Timecop seems appropriate. 1 - Kettlebell with kicks workout - 14 times Since the kettlebell with kicks training is going well and I am seeing great benefits from it, the new plan is get in 14 kettlebell workouts in four weeks. I would like to do this workout every other day and if I see myself falling behind, I can always catch up. 2 - Karate stance training - 10 times One of the most important things in my Karate training is great stances and I know that they have to improve if I want to be competitive again. My stances are lower than they have ever been but moving forward without bobbing up and down and keeping my posture has eluded me. The plan it to do katas while focusing on the moves between the moves and time on the floor is the only way to improve them. 3 - Mobility or Flexibility - 10 times I feel a little more sore than usual with the cold weather lately and I know that some focused mobility and flexibility training will help counteract the problem. I have a lot of programs to choose from and getting them in before doing the stance training should help that too. Extra Credit - Write four blog posts I am still behind on my writing but the old flame is starting to flare again. Four blog posts isn't much but it will end up being more than I have published in the last six months.

Welcome back for another episode of The Exciting Adventures of JediNickD! It was a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away that I joined this site and started my first challenge.. World 1 was my first extended stay through 22 challenges. I took a hiatus from NF and came back with a new direction for my goals where I warped to World 2, which I defeated in a Boss Fight slaying some mighty big goals. In World 3, I continue to develop my fitness, getting my body in the best shape of my life, even with the Degenerative Disc Disease and crooked spine causing all types of pain in my back, hip, legs, neck, and shoulders. Through physical therapy exercises and karate, I maintain my spine and back muscles to slow down the advanced aging. I'm not planning to be playing rugby or football again in this lifetime, but I'm not giving up hope on the possibility either... Rebellions are built on HOPE! I'm just going to keep on L-I-V-I-N, fight the good (and healthy) fight, and level up my life! Challenge Lesson: "I am One with the Force and the Force is with me." There aren't many quotes that can so clearly define a Jedi, but this is definitely one of them, spoken, repeated, and chanted by Chirrut Iwme throughout Rogue One. Chirrut is a Guardian of the Whills which is a religious order of monks and protectors of the Temple of the Kyber who preach about the Force to pilgrims visiting the holy city of Jedha. Chirrut is not a Jedi, though in the novelization of Rogue One he achieves a level of Force sensitivity to pull off a couple amazing feats. That level of Force sensitivity comes from his deep commitment to serving the Will of the Force evident in his chanting of the quote. He is not gifted in Force talents like the many Jedi, Sith, and Force-users seen throughout Star Wars, but he has a deep understanding of the Force being an energy field which connects and binds all things. He has deep beliefs that even if he is not gifted, that he can still feel and interact with the Force through being calm, focused, and committed. Commitment, Understanding, and Belief are the foundations for any religious or spiritual person seeking to connect with supernatural beings or forces, whether for prayers, enlightenment, or forgiveness. Chirrut follows the Will of the Force to be enlightened and asks the Force for protection in a few instances. I could go into the details of how Chirrut appears to actually be protected by the Force to serve a greater purpose in bringing balance to the Force (in delivering the Death Star plans to a farm boy on Tattooine), but deconstructing the Star Wars movies is not what I like to do with these lessons. Instead, my goal is to apply the quote in context to the real world for Jedi like me. For anyone seeking to accomplish a goal, Commitment, Understanding, and Belief are the foundations to build on. Commit to it by making it a priority over other matters, understand the resources, obstacles, stakes, consequences, and rewards for the goal to develop a plan, and believe that you can do it which may require you to take a leap of faith. I am One with the Force and the Force is with me. I am One with Life and Life is with me. I am One with my Goals and my Goals are with me. My Main Quest and Mission: My mission is to be the best Jedi I can be. My main quest is always to enhance my overall health, fitness, and knowledge to be prepared for whatever challenges life could throw at me. As a Jedi, I need to be able to help people, whether that is a life threatening situation or just a charitable one. There is no boss level in Jedi training, there is only tomorrow. World 3 Level 9 Challenge: FITNESS: Cardio: Speed and Stamina - 500 min total, 120 weekly. DEX +1, STA +1 Exercise: Lifting and Bodyweight - 300 min total, 80 weekly. STR +1 Flexibility: Stretching and Physical Therapy - 400 min total, 100 weekly. STR +1, DEX +1 Karate: Training and Practice - 720 min total, 150 weekly. *Belt test on January 28th, so I loaded an extra 120 mins to account for it. DEX +1, STA +1 DIET: Weight Control - Track weight. Complete measurements before or during Week 1 and again during or after Week 4. Watch portions and make healthy choices for 24 of 28 days. Track lunch portions, especially. Track "fasting" after dinner nightly. I'm looking to continue to cut down on snacking and desserts after dinner. I need to ensure I have a calorie deficit or I won't continue to lose weight. CON +2 LIFE: Get Stuff Done - Complete (or dedicate at least one hour to) 260 Tasks or Projects, with at least 65 each week, from any of the following areas (minimum for challenge): Toastmasters Communication Practice (8), Toastmasters Leadership Practice (8), Toastmasters Speech and Training Development (8), Mentoring (6), Charity Work (10), Jedi Training (8), Self Preservation (16), Reading (16), Church Work (14), Job Work (10), Business Projects (10), Dishes (20), Laundry (16), Cleaning/Dusting/Vacuuming (20), Other Chores (20), Yard Work (8), Animal Care (30), Home Renovation (4), Auto Maintenance (4), Family Activities (8), Adventuring (6). WIS +3, CHA +3 INCENTIVES! Working hard for CASH! ($160 carried over) REWARD 1: For each week I complete 70 or more tasks, I will put aside $10 to spend how I see fit. CONSEQUENCE 1: For any week where I complete less than 65 tasks, I will give up $10 of saved cash. REWARD 2: $5 for each Business Project hour: setup 2018 Extra Life donation page write/plan/record a 2018 Extra Life Kickoff Video get involved in Extra Life Baltimore Guild and Cecil-Con recruitment booth revisit Wizard Laser Tag (look into Recoil game app and tech) for Epic Nerd Camp draw up plan for Jedi website investigate VHS-to-DVD conversion CONSEQUENCE 2: Lose $10 for each week without a Business Project hour. REWARD 3: $1 for each hour working on Jedi Training lessons. $10 for each completed IJRS lesson. Need to get back to the formal training at IJRS. CONSEQUENCE 3: Lose $5 for each week without working on a Jedi Training lesson. REWARD 4: $1 for each night of fasting after dinner. Fruits and veggies allowed in small quantities, but no dessert or snacking. CONSEQUENCE 4: Lose $2 for each day without fasting. Lose $5 for eating more than 2 slices of pizza in any meal. REWARD 5: $1 for each day with a small, healthy lunch. CONSEQUENCE: Lose $2 for each day without a small, healthy lunch. BONUSES: Life: $5 for healthy grocery shopping (once a week only) $5 for healthy meal prep (once a week only) $2 for each Home Renovation and Auto Maintenance task. Workout: $5 for 10 or more sprints in one workout. (once a week only) $5 for running more than 3.5 miles in a workout. $5 for running below an 8 minute mile. (once a week only) $10 for running below a 7 minute mile. (once a week only) $5 for running 2 miles in less than 18 minutes. (once a week only) $10 for running 3 miles in less than 30 minutes. (once a week only) $10 for running more than 40 minutes. (once a week only) PUNISHMENT: After January 7th, lose $10 each day with weight above 152.5 lbs. Giving myself some time to get my weight back down, but I feel so much better when I have been below 152 lbs.

This time around, it's time to work on some more Karate to finish out the year. Even though my side thrust kicks have improved, they still need more work on the main focus this time is to make them better. 1 - 10 side thrust kicks or roundhouse kicks a day - five days a week When I kick, my kicks improve but I don't kick enough. Even though it only takes me a short time to do five of them with each leg, for some reason I just don't. This time around, it's time to change the habit of not doing them to doing them. 50 kicks a week isn't much but it is much more than I have been doing lately. 2 - Stance training - two days a week This training is a little harder to quantify but it will consist of any type of moving stance work and static training. I have learned a good amount about stance work over the last challenge and one thing that I found, that I need to work on more is pulling with my front leg when moving forward and with the back leg when moving backward. I try to do this every time I do my kata training but it need a little more focus before it becomes automatic. 3 - Everything else training - three days a week These workouts will consist of the GSP workouts, my hip training circuit, kettlebell / weights or any other form of training or flexibility / mobility workouts. And then I'll be doing splits like him below. Extra credit: Write and publish a blog post at least once per week Near the end of the last challenge, I wrote and published more in one day than I have in a very long time. I want to keep the momentum up and even one blog post per week is a low target, it's better than what has been going on.

Welcome back for another episode of The Exciting Adventures of JediNickD! It was a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away that I joined this site and started my first challenge.. World 1 was my first extended stay. I took a hiatus from NF and came back with a new direction for my goals where I warped to World 2, which I defeated in a Boss Fight slaying some mighty big goals. On to World 3 to continue to level up my life! Challenge Lesson: "Yoda and I will always be with you." Knowledge is passed from teacher to student. Steve Kamb has been a teacher through his articles for many of us. Our parents, school teachers, professors, coaches, and instructors are also teachers and mentors. Their lessons stay with us in our minds and our hearts. With those lessons is a part of the teacher. And that is what Obi-Wan means when he says, "Yoda and I will always be with you." Right after Yoda dies and fades away, Luke is the last living Jedi. On his shoulders rest the fate of the galaxy as physically alone he must defeat Darth Vader and the Emperor to destroy the dark side to bring peace and harmony back to the galaxy. Having been trained by Yoda and Obi-Wan, he will not challenge them spiritually or mentally alone. The lessons instilled in Luke carry Yoda and Obi-Wan's influence and memory. There is a double meaning there, too, in that Obi-Wan is a Force Ghost and becomes one at the end of the movie; however, as Force Ghosts they cannot influence the events around them physically and would be distracting to Luke when confronting Vader and the Emperor. They appear to only be able to connect with Luke (and in The Force Awakens through Anakin's lightsaber, they connect to Rey in a Force Vision). I think this ability may be addressed in The Last Jedi with Rey having another Force Vision. I think we will find out why Yoda and Obi-Wan's Force Ghosts (plus Anakin's Force Ghost) are no longer with Luke (or maybe they are in some not yet revealed in the teasers or trailers). But analyzing Star Wars movie plots is not what I do here. Thinking back to my education, there are several teachers who influenced me, encouraged me, and became a part of me. Thinking back to my childhood, there are several adults and friends who instilled in me life lessons, which I carry with me today. Thinking back to my athletics "career", there are several coaches and players who taught me about fair play, sportsmanship, playing as a team, and mental toughness, who I carry with me on the playing field. I'm going to turn this into a speech or two for Toastmasters, so I'm going to cap it here and just say more to come. With each lesson learned, there is a connection to another person built and carried with you in your heart and mind. My Main Quest and Mission: My mission is to be the best Jedi I can be. My main quest is always to enhance my overall health, fitness, and knowledge to be prepared for whatever challenges life could throw at me. As a Jedi, I need to be able to help people, whether that is a life threatening situation or just a charitable one. There is no boss level in Jedi training, there is only tomorrow. World 3 Level 8 Challenge: FITNESS: Cardio: Speed and Stamina - 500 min total, 120 weekly. DEX +1, STA +1 Exercise: Lifting and Bodyweight - 300 min total, 80 weekly. STR +1 Flexibility: Stretching and Physical Therapy - 400 min total, 100 weekly. STR +1, DEX +1 Karate: Training and Practice - 720 min total, 150 weekly. *Belt test on Sunday to start the challenge, so I loaded an extra 120 mins to account for it. DEX +1, STA +1 DIET: Weight Control - Lose 1 lb by end of challenge. Never weigh more than 153.6 lbs. Complete measurements before or during Week 1 and again during or after Week 4. Watch portions and make healthy choices for 24 of 28 days. Track "fasting" after dinner nightly. I'm looking to continue to cut down on snacking and desserts after dinner. I need to ensure I have a calorie deficit or I won't continue to lose weight. CON +2 LIFE: Get Stuff Done - Complete (or dedicate at least one hour to) 240 Tasks or Projects, with at least 60 each week, from any of the following areas (minimum for challenge): Toastmasters Communication Practice (8), Toastmasters Leadership Practice (8), Toastmasters Speech and Training Development (8), Mentoring (6), Charity Work (10), Jedi Training (8), Self Preservation (16), Reading (16), Church Work (14), Job Work (10), Business Projects (10), Dishes (20), Laundry (16), Cleaning/Dusting/Vacuuming (20), Other Chores (20), Yard Work (8), Animal Care (30), Home Renovation (4), Auto Maintenance (4), Family Activities (8), Adventuring (6). WIS +3, CHA +3 INCENTIVES! Working hard for CASH! ($264 carried over, but in Week 0, I spent $109 on new dress pants and XBox controllers) REWARD 1: For each week I complete 65 or more tasks, I will put aside $10 to spend how I see fit. CONSEQUENCE 1: For any week where I complete less than 60 tasks, I will give up $10 of saved cash. REWARD 2: $5 for each Business Project hour. CONSQUENCE 2: Lose $10 for each week without a Business Project hour. REWARD 3: $1 for each hour working on Jedi Training lessons. CONSQUENCE 3: Lose $5 for each week without working on a Jedi Training lesson. REWARD 4: $1 for each night of fasting after dinner. Fruits and veggies allowed in small quantities, but no dessert or snacking. CONSQUENCE 4: Lose $2 for each day without fasting. Lose $5 for eating more than 2 slices of pizza in any meal. REWARD 5: $1 for each day with a small, healthy lunch. CONSQUENCE: Lose $2 for each day without a small, healthy lunch. BONUSES: Life: $2 for each Home Renovation and Auto Maintenance task. Workout: $5 for 10 or more sprints in one workout. (once a week only) $5 for running more than 3.5 miles in a workout. $5 for running below an 8 minute mile. (once a week only) $10 for running below a 7 minute mile. (once a week only) $5 for running 2 miles in less than 18 minutes. (once a week only) $10 for running 3 miles in less than 30 minutes. (once a week only) $10 for running more than 40 minutes. (once a week only) PUNISHMENT: Lose $10 each day with weight above 152.5 lbs. TIME FOR SERIOUS BUSINESS!

The last challenge went well but there is I need some more work to continue on my journey. I don't have a good theme this but maybe I will find one before this starts. 1. Karate complexes - 3 times a week The kicking complexes do work well for me but I have to do them in order to get the benefits. On top of the kicking complexes, I plan to do katas on those days also aiming for 40 katas a week. I am also coming up with some stance training complexes that I will add to the mix once I figure out how to do them. 2. Circuit training - 2 times per week This time around, I am going to do some sort of strength training two times a week. It can be the inhumane burpee, a kettlebell workout or some form of strength work. 3. Active rest - 2 times a week What I have found in the past challenges is that near the start of week three, my training starts to fall off. I seem to be losing my motivation and my body is just tired. To fix this, I am planing on two days of active rest which will include stretching and mobility work. I have a lot of choices to choose from so this should be a fresh way to do something useful but not drain me like the full out training that I was doing six or more days each week. Teaching Karate might also count as an active rest day, since I am not really training but I am moving around. Extra credit - Write 500 words per week This is one of the things that I have to get back into. The last two challenges showed a little glimmer of hope but now it's time to get real.

Welcome back for another episode of The Exciting Adventures of JediNickD! It was a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away that I joined this site and started my first challenge.. World 1 was my first extended stay. I took a hiatus from NF and came back with a new direction for my goals where I warped to World 2, which I defeated in a Boss Fight slaying some mighty big goals. On to World 3 to continue to level up my life! Challenge Lesson: "This is a dangerous time for you" Last challenge, I used the second half of this scene. This challenge, I wanted to go back and capture a lesson from a few lines earlier. From Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (bold emphasis mine): Quote [Yoda tries to convince Luke not to leave] Yoda: You must not go! Luke: But Han and Leia will die if I don't. [Obi-Wan's Force-spirit suddenly appears] Obi-Wan: You don't know that. Even Yoda cannot see their fate. Luke: But I can help them! I feel the Force! Obi-Wan: But you cannot control it. This is a dangerous time for you, when you will be tempted by the Dark Side of the Force. Obi-wan introduces a concept which is a common thread throughout the Star Wars stories. The Dark Side of the Force is tempting and seductive. It corrupts Jedi who wish to find the easy path, who wish to meet their own goals, and who wish suffering on to others. This does not directly relate to real world Jedi, because no one is wielding the Force; however, we do find ourselves in positions of power. How we wield that power determines whether we work towards the Light Side or the Dark Side. Using the power to serve one's self instead of helping others is not very Jedi. When first entering that position of power, it is a dangerous time, because one is tempted to complete their own personal goals before helping those they are in the position to serve. If one looks at the position as a service position as opposed to a ruling one, then that leader will work towards other people's goals first, with their own personal goals being secondary. As I compete and win in Toastmasters contests, I need to watch my ego. I do not want to brag about success. I do not want to overplay my hand either. I'm just going to keep working hard to develop my skills and find new challenges. After this competition, I need to write a new speech with new ideas. I certainly won't bring back the same punch lines next time as that would not be growing. As I accept more leadership opportunities at work, I need to watch my ego. When I was a kid, I felt I was born to lead. I was always Robin Hood to my band of merry friends. I was always Leonardo when playing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I was always barking orders and deciding where to go and what to do. I felt strategy and vision were my strengths. I showed those strength in sports and captaining several teams. I had an ego thinking my physical and mental abilities were reason enough for others to follow, but I was seen as arrogant and egotistical. Eventually, I learned humility and teamwork. As I progressed through school, I decided being the center of attention was not my strong suit, instead focusing on being a successful engineer. After working as an engineer for 5 years, I found I can't just keep my head down and do good work. Successful engineers need to sell their thoughts and ideas to others. I needed to get over my fear of public speaking and get comfortable supporting my arguments. Coming full circle after hammering out many of my leadership and communication faults though Toastmasters, I am working towards being a successful leader professionally, but I need to watch myself and remember what I have learned to get where I am. Leadership is not about being in charge. Leadership is a service to your followers, your clients, and your end-users. To be successful, leaders must coach and develop their team members through listening to them for ideas and innovations, delegating tasks which will challenge their skills to make them better, and recognizing their achievements in special ways. This past week, I have been inserted into a delicate situation where two team leads instructed a software engineer to develop a program to specific requirements which have been miscommunicated or misinterpreted on a few occasions, but the project is also not going to meet the deadline due to time mismanagement. Myself and two other program leads are working with the team leads and the software engineer to correct the miscommunication and mismanagement with a plan to simplify daily tasks and weekly goals derived from the project requirements. Unfortunately, there is a lot of finger pointing and hand waving going on between the team leads and the engineer, which is only making the situation worse. It will be difficult to get everyone to move forward as a team without a showing of good faith from each side. Mostly, this is a dangerous time for me, because I am at a point of saturation with my priorities. Everything seems to want to boil over at the same time and like I did at the end of World 2, I need to maintain my course, keep my top priorities straight, and give it my best each step of the way. When I come through the fire, I will be forged better and stronger for it. My Main Quest and Mission: My mission is to be the best Jedi I can be. My main quest is always to enhance my overall health, fitness, and knowledge to be prepared for whatever challenges life could throw at me. As a Jedi, I need to be able to help people, whether that is a life threatening situation or just a charitable one. There is no boss level in Jedi training, there is only tomorrow. World 3 Level 7 Challenge: FITNESS: Cardio: Speed and Stamina - 500 min total, 120 weekly. DEX +1, STA +2 Exercise: Lifting and Bodyweight - 300 min total, 80 weekly. STR +1 Flexibility: Stretching and Physical Therapy - 400 min total, 100 weekly. STR +1, DEX +1 Karate: Training and Practice - 600 min total, 150 weekly. STR +1, DEX +1, STA +1 DIET: Weight Control - Lose 1 lb by end of challenge. Never weigh more than 153.6 lbs. Complete measurements before or during Week 1 and again during or after Week 4. Watch portions and make healthy choices for 24 of 28 days. Track "fasting" after dinner nightly. I'm looking to continue to cut down on snacking and desserts after dinner. I need to ensure I have a calorie deficit or I won't continue to lose weight. CON +2 LIFE: Get Stuff Done - Complete (or dedicate at least one hour to) 240 Tasks or Projects, with at least 60 each week, from any of the following areas (minimum for challenge): Toastmasters Communication Practice (8), Toastmasters Leadership Practice (8), Toastmasters Speech and Training Development (8), Mentoring (6), Charity Work (10), Jedi Training (8), Self Preservation (16), Reading (16), Church Work (14), Job Work (10), Business Projects (10), Dishes (20), Laundry (16), Cleaning/Dusting/Vacuuming (20), Other Chores (20), Yard Work (8), Animal Care (30), Home Renovation (4), Auto Maintenance (4), Family Activities (8), Adventuring (6). WIS +2, CHA +2 I have a few major events this challenge: Toastmasters Speechcraft Interest Meeting at Work - Nov 2 Toastmasters Humorous Speech Contest at the District Conference - Nov 4 Extra Life Kick Off with RPG Night - Nov 3 Extra Life Game Day - Nov 4 Toastmasters Speechcraft Kickoff at Work - Nov 16 37th Birthday Celebration - Nov 18 Any events involving the selling of our old house - Closing by Dec 1 INCENTIVES! Working hard for CASH! ($209 carried over) REWARD 1: For each week I complete 65 or more tasks, I will put aside $10 to spend how I see fit. CONSEQUENCE 1: For any week where I complete less than 60 tasks, I will give up $10 of saved cash. REWARD 2: $5 for each Business Project hour. CONSQUENCE 2: Lose $10 for each week without a Business Project hour. REWARD 3: $1 for each hour working on Jedi Training lessons. CONSQUENCE 3: Lose $5 for each week without working on a Jedi Training lesson. REWARD 4: $1 for each night of fasting after dinner. Fruits and veggies allowed in small quantities, but no dessert or snacking. CONSQUENCE 4: Lose $2 for each day without fasting. Lose $5 for eating more than 2 slices of pizza in any meal. REWARD 5: $1 for each day with a small, healthy lunch. CONSQUENCE: Lose $2 for each day without a small, healthy lunch. BONUSES: $5 for each Home Renovation and Auto Maintenance task. $5 for 10 or more sprints in one workout. (once a week only) $5 for running more than 3.5 miles in a workout. $5 for running below an 8 minute mile. (once a week only) $10 for running below a 7 minute mile. (once a week only) $5 for running 3 miles in less than 30 minutes. (once a week only) PUNISHMENT: Lose $10 each day with weight above 153.6 lbs. TIME FOR SERIOUS BUSINESS!

Welcome back for another episode of The Exciting Adventures of JediNickD! It was a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away that I joined this site and started my first challenge.. World 1 was my first extended stay. I took a hiatus from NF and came back with a new direction for my goals where I warped to World 2, which I defeated in a Boss Fight slaying some mighty big goals. On to World 3 to continue to level up my life! Challenge Lesson "You Can't Win, Darth": In A New Hope, Obi-wan Kenobi encounters and battles Darth Vader in lightsaber combat. Amid the battle, they trade some banter, the most important being the line from Obi-wan: "You can't win, Darth. If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine." Of course, if you have seen the movies you know what Obi-wan is referring to. Obi-wan becomes a Force-ghost to help and train Luke Skywalker in ways he could not in his physical form. Darth Vader has no idea how influential a dead Jedi Master could be, so he strikes Obi-wan down, which happens to be the beginning of the end for Darth Vader and his master, the Emperor. Turning the focus away from the fictional world to see how this statement could apply to real life, I could think of one area in particular that it relates to: learning through failure and defeat. In victory, you may feel successful and accomplish the extraordinary, but you will learn very little from success. There is much to learn from defeat. In failure, you have mistakes to learn from and experience to build on, but most importantly, you must find the strength and courage to get back up and do it again. Even in the lowest of lows, you can always rise back up. In The Dark Knight Rises, Alfred tells Bruce Wayne, "Why do we fall, so we can pick ourselves back up." Bruce recovers from a broken back in a pit, then climbs out to redeem himself as Batman. He learns from his failure and succeeds in the end. I like to think of myself telling failure that it can't win, because I can always get back up and try again. You are only defeated if you cease trying. In the end of the Original Trilogy of Star Wars, the overall lesson to learn from the series is similar. The dark side can never conquer the light. As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr once said, "Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that." And from the animated Disney movie Robin Hood, "Love conquers all!" Darth Vader has gone completely to the dark side, but it is his love for Padme and eventually his son, which brings him back to redeem himself. Redemption and rising from failure always starts with love for yourself and a desire to grow. Vader hated himself for turning on everything to save Padme (from his nightmarish vision of her death), only to let the dark side consume him to the point that he threatened her life (and indirectly killed her). He finds the love for himself through his son's love for him. And his heart grew 10 times... ;-) I know I am interpreting a lot here, but read the novelization as it has more details on Vader's thoughts. Lastly, a creed from my Karate Budo school teaches the same lesson: I am not judged by the number of times I fail, but by the number of times I succeed. And the number of times I succeed is in direct proportion to the number of times I CAN fail and KEEP ON TRYING. My Main Quest and Mission: My mission is to be the best Jedi I can be. My main quest is always to enhance my overall health, fitness, and knowledge to be prepared for whatever challenges life could throw at me. As a Jedi, I need to be able to help people, whether that is a life threatening situation or just a charitable one. There is no boss level in Jedi training, there is only tomorrow. World 3 Level 5 Challenge: FITNESS: Cardio: Speed and Stamina - 500 min total, 120 weekly. DEX +1, STA +2 Exercise: Lifting and Bodyweight - 300 min total, 80 weekly. STR +1 Flexibility: Stretching and Physical Therapy - 400 min total, 100 weekly. STR +1, DEX +1 Karate: Training and Practice - 600 min total, 150 weekly. STR +1, DEX +1, STA +1 DIET: Weight Control - Lose 1 lb by end of challenge. Never weigh more than 156.0 lbs. Complete measurements before or during Week 1 and again during or after Week 4. Watch portions and make healthy choices for 24 of 28 days. Track "fasting" after dinner nightly. I'm looking to continue to cut down on snacking and desserts after dinner. I need to ensure I have a calorie deficit or I won't continue to lose weight. CON +2 LIFE: Get Stuff Done - Complete (or dedicate at least one hour to) 200 Tasks or Projects, with at least 50 each week, from any of the following areas (minimum for challenge): Toastmasters Communication Practice (4), Toastmasters Leadership Practice (8), Toastmasters Speech and Training Development (8), Mentoring (6), Charity Work (2), Jedi Training (8), Self Preservation (8), Reading (16), Church Work (14), Job Work (10), Business Projects (8), Dishes (18), Laundry (18), Cleaning/Dusting/Vacuuming (18), Other Chores (18), Yard Work (8), Animal Care (16), Home Renovation (4), Auto Maintenance (4), Family Activities (8), Adventuring (6). WIS +2, CHA +2 INCENTIVES! Working hard for CASH! ($296 carried over) REWARD 1: For each week I complete 55 or more tasks, I will put aside $5 to spend how I see fit. CONSEQUENCE 1: For any week where I complete less than 50 tasks, I will give up $10 of saved cash. REWARD 2: $1 for each Business Project hour. CONSQUENCE 2: Lose $10 for each week without a Business Project hour. REWARD 3: $1 for each hour working on Jedi Training lessons. CONSQUENCE 3: Lose $5 for each week without working on a Jedi Training lesson. REWARD 4: $1 for each night of fasting after dinner. Fruits and veggies allowed in small quantities, but no dessert or snacking. CONSQUENCE 4: Lose $1 for each day without fasting. Lose $5 for each weekend day without any fasting. Lose $5 for eating more than 2 slices of pizza in any meal. REWARD 5: $1 for each day with a small, healthy lunch. CONSQUENCE: Lose $1 for each day without a small, healthy lunch. BONUSES: $5 for each Home Renovation and Auto Maintenance task. $5 for 10 or more sprints in one workout. (once a week only) $5 for running more than 3.5 miles in a workout. $5 for running below an 8 minute mile. (once a week only) $10 for running below a 7 minute mile. (once a week only) $5 for running 3 miles in less than 30 minutes. (once a week only) PUNISHMENT: Lose $10 each day with weight above 156.0 lbs. TIME FOR SERIOUS BUSINESS!

Oh right these things start on Sunday now So! Hello again everyone. Hope things have been awesome. I spent the past couple weeks just chilling and not making a topic because I didn't really know what I wanted to do. Or, I knew, but I didn't know how to articulate it. Mostly, I've just been watching myself and seeing what works and what doesn't, what is right and what is wrong, and simply striving see things w/o any sense of judgment. I've made the terrible but necessary decision to suspend TGUs for a while because I can't find a way to do them that doesn't bugger up my elbow. Oh, to be clear, I've really refined the movement a lot in terms of how I load and unload the bell onto my body - the arm I pull with and how I let it fall off of me - but like I said. Anyway I do it causes the golfer's elbow to get upset. So, I have to let the loaded version go for a bit in favor of the shod version (read: doing it with a shoe to keep the mechanics I've learned integrated in the system). Because frankly there's value in that. Elements of the TGU show up in newaza, and there's no reason not to keep practicing how to get up off the ground. Interestingly, I've found that after refreshing myself on how to do inverted rows in the GB style that it made my elbow feel better. It's probably something to do with the fact that I'm only doing it once a week and allow for loads and loads of rest in the meantime. The only way I was able to learn all this was to relax my grip on what I thought I had to do and to be honest with what was helpful to me and what wasn't. So, the theme of this challenge is to simply relax into my life and let happen what will. GOAL 1: MODIFIED S&S I can still swing. That's good news. I've concluded that this ability to swing is what's really made me into a beast that can go from strength work to fighting work to running work to helping someone move without any real trouble. I'm still on track to go for the 88, because there's no reason not to unless I hurt myself. The only catch is, I can't do TGUs with any weight right now. So, modify it. Goal is to take steps toward 100 swings in a row w/ the 70. Once I can do that, then move on to the 88. In the meantime, keep practicing those good mechanics w/ TGUs - pull with the opposite arm, keep the loaded arm socketed in the shoulder, and let the bell shoe slide off when I unload. GOAL 2: SATURDAY I've been going to the dojo pretty consistently and I've got a feel for how things work there. Now I know that if I want to go to randori, I'm going to have to hit up Saturday classes. This is not so bad, but I've a tendency to squander that day. But there's more going on than just judo. Work has offered overtime as well, meaning I can hit time and a half. That's not insignificant and I can make a big dent in my caseload if the building is open. The only way I can take advantage of either of these is if I get the eff up on Saturday mornings and don't stay up late. And to be frank about it, there's no percentage in it anyway. Going to bed earlier just makes me more rested and happier with life in general. The goal is to get to bed at the normal bedtime - somewhere between 2300 and midnight if not earlier - and to be constructive with my time. GOAL 3: CLEAN I let my foot off the gas with this goal. Need to put it back on. Get that last corner cleaned up. There's no need for that stuff to be there. And then... gulp. The storage unit. Dad's been hinting at me that I need to get that cleaned up anyway, so. GOAL 4: WRITE AND LEARN Duolingo put in a Japanese mod. I'm so freaking stoked. Study on casual 5 minutes a day. Also, need to keep working on the story and writing scenes. One a day. No excuses. GOAL 5: PLAY THIS FREAKING GAEM Okay, so. I got into this game. It's called Cross Code. It's really, really good. Think Seiken Densetsu/Secret of Mana IN SPACE, with a physics engine to boot. Oh, and I don't know if you can tell from the trailer but it's Dark Souls-hard. I'm not kidding. Reviewers have noted the exact same thing. The combat revolves a lot around noticing enemy tells and countering them proper, but that's not easy when you're swarmed with enemies and they all have different tells. But it's a game, and I enjoy it. I want to find some time each week to keep playing it. Even if it's in beta and unfinished right now. It's that good. And... yeah. That about does it for me this time around. Let's go to work.

Welcome back for another episode of The Exciting Adventures of JediNickD! It was a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away that I joined this site and started my first challenge.. World 1 was my first extended stay. I took a hiatus from NF and came back with a new direction for my goals where I warped to World 2, which I defeated in a Boss Fight slaying some mighty big goals. On to World 3 to continue to level up my life! Challenge Lesson: In Episode IV: A New Hope, Obi-Wan Kenobi is training Luke Skywalker in the fundamentals of the Force and Jedi. Aboard the Millennium Falcon, during a lightsaber training exercise, Luke is able to use the Force to deflect laser bolts while blinded. Han Solo is unimpressed calling it luck. Kenobi responds, "In my experience, there's no such thing as luck." His experience is that of a Jedi Master, listening to the "Will of the Force" and being able to predict or anticipate future events. Using instinct, intuition, observation, and knowledge, one can predict and anticipate future events like a Jedi. Maybe not deflecting blaster bolts, but predicting the motives or actions of another person can be fairly helpful in many situations. I don't rely on luck unless I'm playing a friendly game. It is better to create your own luck by understanding the circumstances and generating favorable odds through use of instinct, intuition, observation, and knowledge. My Main Quest and Mission: My mission is to be the best Jedi I can be. My main quest is always to enhance my overall health, fitness, and knowledge to be prepared for whatever challenges life could throw at me. As a Jedi, I need to be able to help people, whether that is a life threatening situation or just a charitable one. There is no boss level in Jedi training, there is only tomorrow. World 3 Level 4 Challenge: FITNESS: Cardio: Speed and Stamina - 500 min total, 120 weekly. Again, I will aim to push these harder than normal with some incentives. DEX +2, STA +2 Exercise: Stretch and Strengthen - 500 min total, 120 weekly. STR +2 Karate: Training and Practice - 500 min total, 120 weekly. Spar is a lot of fun and may result in me altering my Fitness numbers around mid-July. Pray I don't alter it any further. STR +1, DEX +1, STA +1 DIET: Weight Control - Lose 1 lb by end of challenge. Never weigh more than 156.4 lbs. Complete measurements before or during Week 1 and again during or after Week 4. Watch portions and make healthy choices for 24 of 28 days. Track "fasting" after dinner nightly. I'm looking to continue to cut down on snacking and desserts after dinner. CON +2 LIFE: Get Stuff Done - Complete (or dedicate at least one hour to) 180 Tasks or Projects, with at least 45 each week, from any of the following areas (minimum for challenge): Toastmasters Communication Practice (2), Toastmasters Leadership Practice (8), Toastmasters Speech and Training Development (8), Mentoring (4), Charity Work (2), Jedi Training (8), Self Preservation (4), Reading (16), Church Work (8), Job Work (10), Business Projects (4), Dishes (18), Laundry (18), Cleaning/Dusting/Vacuuming (18), Other Chores (18), Yard Work (8), Animal Care (12), Home Renovation (4), Auto Maintenance (4), Family Activities (8), Adventuring (2). WIS +2, CHA +2 INCENTIVES! Working hard for CASH! ($107 carried over) REWARD 1: For each week I complete 50 or more tasks, I will put aside $5 to spend how I see fit. CONSEQUENCE 1: For any week where I complete less than 45 tasks, I will give up $10 of saved cash. REWARD 2: $5 for each Business Project hour. CONSQUENCE 2: Lose $10 for each week without a Business Project hour. REWARD 3: $1 for each hour working on Jedi Training lessons. CONSQUENCE 3: Lose $5 for each week without working on a Jedi Training lesson. REWARD 4: $1 for each night of fasting after dinner. Fruits and veggies allowed in small quantities, but no dessert or snacking. CONSQUENCE 4: Lose $5 for each weekend day without any fasting. Lose $5 for eating more than 2 slices of pizza in any meal. REWARD 5: $1 for each day with a small, healthy lunch. CONSQUENCE: Lose $1 for each day without a small, healthy lunch. BONUSES: $5 for each Home Renovation and Auto Maintenance task. $5 for 10 or more sprints in one workout. (once a week only) $5 for running more than 3.5 miles in a workout. $5 for running below a 7 minute mile. (once a week only) $5 for running 3 miles in less than 30 minutes. (once a week only)

This is supposed to be about focus and I ended up posting under the last challenge. The last challenge of no focus didn't go too well overall. I liked the idea of doing whatever I felt like doing but that turned out with me sitting in my chair most of the time doing nothing. After my learning experience with the last challenge, I need the focus of Bruce Lee to get on the right track! 1. Improve my Karate fundamentals For the next three months, I am not taking any formal Karate classes. I will still teach but I don't have the money to pay for classes this time around. With that said, I will do at least one formal Karate class at home. A full hour of basics, kata and one step. Along with that, I will still do my weekly kata training and work on stances and kicks at least two other days each week. 2. Complexes At least three times each week, I will do some form of barbell, dumbbell, body weight, or kettlebell complexes. I need a fast but effective workout to give me some extra muscles and burn some fat. 3. Mobility training At least three times each week, I will do some form of mobility or flexibility training. I have been doing a lot of the Pavel stuff and it seems to be working pretty well so that will be one of the main tools I will be using. Extra credit Check in at nerd fitness more often. I haven't been good at posting my workouts or checking in here and I want to check in here every time I workout.

The struggle is real. The struggle is real, and it continues. But what is life without it? So the theme of this challenge is something @Kyellan said, about emptying the cup of oneself that one approaches an art with. During that time, I could feel a lot of ego trying to come up in me, and that's something that's come up in me before, to my detriment. I need to throw that away and be willing to learn, because I'm beginning to think that good movement is good movement and that really the arts are just ways to bridge the various places where one moves. From strike to clash. From clash to clinch. From clinch to throw, and all the permutations thereof. Here's why. Remember when I said last challenge that I was going to change up my lifts and such like that? Try to make more time for martial arts? Well, it worked! After a fashion. Last night I went and practiced my lifts and did the things that I wanted to do. I even added in some plyometrics at the start to warm up the CNS for this kind of work, and it turned out great. It feels perfect, actually. And I finished with so much time to spare that I actually decided to go off and do Kali last night. (turns out it actually is full blown Kali). And it was fun. No real randori to speak of, but as a movement and flow discipline it's a lot of fun. After discussing some theories of movement and such, he put me to work with a drill where I had a stick and a bolo knife (practice knife, of course, not the real thing) and flowing into cuts and control on a staff held to resemble sugar cane. The clack and shing of metal and wood clashing against each other... it was awesome. I was shit at it. BUT IT WAS AWESOME. But the best part about it, to me, was that he wanted to find ways in which Kali could work with kickboxing (which is basically what I do. Kenkojuku-lineage Shotokan, but it's basically kickboxing) and with judo. One of the judo brownbelts practices with this guy and it's apparently made his judo just... sick broken. I actually got to see them practice it. Essentially, it's a very hyper aggressive form of grip fighting. In judo, you fight for grip on the sleeve and lapel of the judogi. When you mix kali into that, your approach is such that you don't necessarily need the lapel anymore. You make a trade instead for an aggressive sleeve grip - wrist and elbow as opposed to elbow and shoulder. If you apply leverage and footwork in the right ways, the result is apparently a kuzushi - unbalancing - that is so radically different from what orthodox judo does that you can execute a throw before the other guy even knows what's going on. As far as kickboxing is concerned, I think it would ultimately work in terms of training the concept of getting off the opponent's center line and staying a step ahead in your timing. Also, in the clash - being ready to punch and kick and apply leverage as opposed to just trying to go and smother on a clinch. Mind, I don't know how well it would translate. He's about being quick and letting a knife do his cutting as opposed to generating lots of force, and we're kind of the polar opposite of that. But I think there's value in it and it's worth trying to find some bridges. Here is how I will attempt to put myself into positions necessitating an empty cup: GOAL 1: MANAGE MY WEEKEND BEDTIMES I thought that if I got more sleep during the week, this would translate into a need for less sleep during the weekend. This has proven wrong. I stayed up late again and slept through judo again. So, that confirms it. I need to get to bed early enough on Friday nights that I don't have the excuse of staying up late. Truthfully, in a lot of ways this could be challenge enough on its own. It's just one day a week, but making this work is going to require a lot. If I lift on Fridays and then do kali afterward, that's going to mean getting a lot of food in a very short period of time. I honestly don't know what approach is going to work here. Batch cooking won't work because the only day I have to do that is Sunday and all the food will basically have expired by the time I get to Friday. Chipotle could work, but it'd be pretty pricey too. Also, it's a lot of sodium, and I'm kind of growing suspicious of it. I could stick some chicken breasts in the microwave after thawing overnight, I guess, which might wind up being the solution to all this. I dunno. Gotta keep playing with this. GOAL 2: MANAGE MY PAIN I have pain in my left elbow, right shoulder, and my lower back. The good news is that they are responding to treatment. The left elbow is finally, finally starting to relax. My right shoulder stopped hurting this week. The lower back is new, but GB came to the rescue by forcing me to confront myself with the fact that I bit off more than I could chew with the SL progressions. Weighted Russian Twists are just too much for me right now, and the prescribed integrated mobility doesn't work for me. Fortunately, I'm not alone in this. I just tried out one of the forum solutions to the problem and my back pain almost completely resolved. I'm... really happy about this. I was afraid I'd have to indulge my ADD again, or worse, be stubborn and try to soldier through it. But yeah, mostly this goal is about emptying my cup of my training ego and to be mindful and listen to my body. To take my time and build well. If that makes any sense. GOAL 3: PLAN This is in reference to my writing. I'm at the point now where I'm writing scenes out, but I'm pretty arrogant about how this kind of thing works for me. I'm used to planning out chapters in fanfic style where you can build this episodic approach into things. It's not exactly how it's done in novels, though. There's a definite aspect of scene to scene to scene, each of them meant to build toward something. It's a different approach, and I need to be willing to try new ways to get there while at the same time acknowledging that it might take a while and that I might need some help. Beyond that, though, I want to plan out at least one scene a day. More is permissible. Less is inexcusable. GOAL 4: CLEAN Taking my time with the cleaning is making it happen, but that doesn't mean it's done. Keep going. ... And, that should do it. Cool. Let's empty our cups that they may be filled again.

I thought I was posting this in the current challenge forum. Ugh!

Welcome back for another episode of The Exciting Adventures of JediNickD! It was a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away that I joined this site and started my first challenge.. World 1 was my first extended stay. I took a hiatus from NF and came back with a new direction for my goals where I warped to World 2, which I defeated in a Boss Fight slaying some mighty big goals. On to World 3 to continue to level up my life! Challenge Lesson: In Episode IV: A New Hope, Obi-Wan Kenobi is training Luke Skywalker in the fundamentals of the Force and Jedi. Aboard the Millennium Falcon, Obi-Wan dispenses this very important description of the Force during a lightsaber training exercise: Quote [Luke is training with his lightsaber and a laser remote aboard the Millennium Falcon.] Ben Kenobi: Remember, a Jedi can feel the Force flowing through him. Luke Skywalker: You mean it controls your actions? Kenobi: Partially, but it also obeys your commands. [Luke gets shot by the remote.] Han Solo: [laughs] Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid. Skywalker: You don't believe in the Force, do you? Solo: Kid, I've flown from one side of this galaxy to the other. I've seen a lot of strange stuff, but I've never seen anything to make me believe there's one all-powerful Force controlling everything. There's no mystical energy field that controls my destiny. [Kenobi smiles] Anyway, it's all a lot of simple tricks and nonsense. Kenobi: [gets up and takes a blast helmet] I suggest you try it again, Luke. Only this time, let go your conscious self and act on instinct. [puts the helmet on Luke, which covers his eyes] Skywalker: But with the blast shield down, I can't even see! How am I supposed to fight? Kenobi: Your eyes can deceive you. Don't trust them. [remote shoots Luke] Stretch out with your feelings! [Watches Luke succeed in blocking the lasers] You see? You can do it. Here, Kenobi is teaching Luke to trust his feelings to train him to tap into the Force. Acting on instinct is to react without thinking about how to react. The word instinct might not be the best choice, but Kenobi is just relating the concept to something Luke is familiar with. In my Jedi Training, we work on tapping into our intuition and to trust it in a similar manner as Jedi use the Force. Instinct, impulse, and intuition are all very similar concepts with subtle differences. Sometimes first impulse is correct, sometimes it is off. This is because it is untrained. Impulses are formed by instinct and intuition. Instinct are reactions breed into a being from years of survival. Intuition are learned reactions based on knowledge and experience. Meditation can help quiet the mind to understand the subtle differences in your instincts and your intuition. Quieting your mind and carefully listening to your intuition can assist you find an answer to a problem quickly, even without all the logic and reasoning worked out, because your intuition is tapped into your stored knowledge. The information is there in your brain, but accessing it takes time. Your intuition can access this information and bring the answer quicker than you can actually think through the process yourself. Also, it is important to trust your mind, sometimes over what your other senses may be telling you. Your eyes and ears could be missing something or picking up something false. Trust your intuition to discover the missing pieces or illusions. My Main Quest and Mission: My mission is to be the best Jedi I can be. My main quest is always to enhance my overall health, fitness, and knowledge to be prepared for whatever challenges life could throw at me. As a Jedi, I need to be able to help people, whether that is a life threatening situation or just a charitable one. There is no boss level in Jedi training, there is only tomorrow. World 3 Level 3 Challenge: FITNESS: Cardio: Speed and Stamina - 500 min total, 120 weekly. I will push these harder than normal with some incentives. DEX +2, STA +2 Exercise: Stretch and Strengthen - 500 min total, 120 weekly. I will look to set PRs in my bodyweight exercises. STR +2 Karate: Training and Practice - 500 min total, 120 weekly STR +1, DEX +1, STA +1 DIET: Weight Control - Lose 1 lb by end of challenge. Never weigh more than 156.8 lbs. Complete measurements before or during Week 1 and again during or after Week 4. Watch portions and make healthy choices for 24 of 28 days. NEW: Track "fasting" after dinner nightly. I'm looking to cut down on snacking and desserts after dinner. CON +2 LIFE: Get Stuff Done - Complete (or dedicate at least one hour to) 140 Tasks or Projects, with at least 35 each week, from any of the following areas (minimum for challenge): Toastmasters Communication Practice (2), Toastmasters Leadership Practice (6), Webmaster Work (4), Mentoring (4), Charity Work (2), Jedi Training (4), Self Preservation (2), Reading (16), Church Work (4), Job Work (10), Business Projects (4), Household Chores (24), Yard Work (8), Animal Care (12), Home Renovation (4), Auto Maintenance (4), Family Activities (8), Adventuring (2). WIS +2, CHA +2 INCENTIVES! Working hard for CASH! ($129 carried over) REWARD 1: For each week I complete 40 or more tasks, I will put aside $5 to spend how I see fit. CONSEQUENCE 1: For any week where I complete less than 35 tasks, I will give up $10 of saved cash. REWARD 2: $5 for each Business Project hour. An extra $5 for each Wizard Laser Tag hour. CONSQUENCE 2: Lose $10 for each week without a Business Project hour. REWARD 3: $5 for each week working on a Jedi Training lesson. CONSQUENCE 3: Lose $5 for each week without working on a Jedi Training lesson. REWARD 4: $1 for each night of fasting after dinner. Fruits and veggies allowed in small quantities, but no dessert or snacking. CONSQUENCE 4: Lose $10 for each weekend without any fasting. Lose $5 for eating more than 2 slices of pizza in any meal. REWARD 5: $1 for each day with a small, healthy lunch. CONSQUENCE: Lose $1 for each day without a small, healthy lunch. BONUSES: $5 for each Home Renovation and Auto Maintenance task. $5 for 10 or more sprints in one workout. (once a week only) $5 for running more than 3.5 miles in a workout. $5 for running below a 7 minute mile. (once a week only) $5 for running 3 miles in less than 30 minutes. (once a week only)

Since my schedule doesn't conform to my workouts, it's time to do some unconventional training. Knowing that I cannot train like I want to each day, I have to find a way to continue to improve with little or no energy after a long day at work. This goal for this challenge is to do something, even it's only for a few minutes each day. I know that I can at least do something since I have been doing katas every day for the last three years now and I figured I can do some type of training, even if it's only a few sets or a small group of movements. 1. Do some form of mobility / flexibility training three times a week. I am seeing a lot of improvement since I started doing Pavels' programs and I want to keep them going. If I get in at least three 15 minute sessions a week, I will be happy. Any more is extra credit. 2. Time to get big and strong I am feeling kinda small, especially my arms and I need to fill out my old shirts like I did in the past. The plan is do some form or kettle swings five days a week and throw in some pulling, pushing, squatting and loaded carries along with the hinge movement on days that I have the energy. 3. Karate, Karate and more Karate Kicks still need to improve and stances could be better too and those will be focused on throughout the day along with some focused training on at least two days each week. I used to do kicks in the bathroom at work along with some stance work and I think that has to happen again since I am work for so many hours. Since 50 was a big number for me, over the last year, I want to get in 50 of these mini workouts over the next four week. Life goal Get off my ass and work on alternate forms of income. I'll be honest, I like my job and what I do but I cannot keep working longer hours each week. My work / life balance sucks and all the hours at work is making me tired and crabby at home. This is a wake up call for me and I need to at least try something to move me toward this goal. It's time to stop wasting my off hours sitting on my ass and start doing freelance work building websites and writing content again which I really enjoy.

Are there anny other shotokan karateka's here? i was hoping to find some fellow karateka's

Still reeling from my Feelings on this game. So, that's the theme music. Deal with it. So, basically, I've been struggling with balance. Sleep and food and weights and martial arts. It's a lot of fun, but the truth is, I want to skew more toward martial arts. And, looking down the line, one other thing that I'm going to want to do is to get into flexibility training. Right now, there's no way that the current schedule is going to let that happen. Also, I'm about as heavy as I was back in high school, and it's not muscle that's making the difference. I want to fix that. I looked into all the various things I'm doing, and I've realized that there is a way to do it, but it's going to involve a pretty radical shift. It's going to involve stepping off of Leangains, setting my own calories and macros, adjusting 5/3/1 to 2x/week, and adjusting GB to fit that, as well as making sure that I get enough sleep. Fortunately, this isn't even remotely impossible. I remember the past experiments and what they've taught me. And I think I can do it. To be clear, it's gonna be tough. But I spent most of last night hyped up on the idea and brushing up on the things that I think I know. I think I can make this work. But it's going to involve a lot of discipline and some effort on the front end as I adjust the things. But I genuinely think there are rewards to be gained from trying this. I think I'll be able to do Judo on Wednesdays again, and the habit of going back there will make further training possible. I also think I'll be able to avoid the wait at the... weight... racks, and just be able to focus on going out and kicking butt and taking names. And hey, who knows? I might just be able to finally find my way to the not-Kali that we offer at the dojo. And maybe even getting this writing ish figured out too. So. Here are the goals. They're training goals... except they're life goals too. Hooo boy. GOAL 1: HOMEBREWED INTERMITTENT FASTING Caloric average set at 1950. Macros adjusted to suit, based on past experimentation that has shown me what my body responds to. GOAL 2: PRACTICE Monday: Rest Tuesday: KB snatches/GB(SLS) and Karate Wednesday: GB(Core) and Judo Thursday: S&S/GB(Upper Body) and Karate Friday: 5/3/1 BP and DL Saturday: S&S/GB(Handstand) Sunday: 5/3/1 Squat and OHP Now, this looks like a lot. And that's because it is, in fact, a lot. But it's not as much as it looks like. Most of this is actually over and done with pretty fast - anywhere from 5-20 minutes. The stuff that takes longer is slated to take place on days when the time should exist for those things to be done with their due diligence. These adjustments have been made based on my observations of the gym's peak times as well - Wednesday is a stupid-busy time to do barbell training, for instance, so compensate by doing something quick that doesn't require any equipment at all. By contrast, Friday and Sunday are relatively dead times, and I've never had trouble getting a rack on those days. I also think that doing 5/3/1 twice per week feels more Soviet anyway. Wendler says that there's no need to do deloads unless "you need to" and that frees me to wave my training up or down based on the input that my body is giving me. Honestly, the trickiest part about this is the nutritional aspect. I've stacked it so that I have a lot of lower calorie days, with Friday and Sunday being the days for lots of calories. It's not as crazy as it sounds, though - work loves to feed me, coworkers love to feed me, fam loves to feed me, and there is food everywhere. Honestly, it's pretty rare for me to have a week go by the way I plan it, so I've basically planned for it to go sideways. BRING IT. GOAL 3: CLEANLINESS Get the room cleaned up. Get the gi taken care of. Get the extra clothes gone. Get some frickin' sleep. (what. sleep hygiene is a thing). With the sleep in particular, I want to make a point of getting down to bed before midnight on the weekends. I just don't gain anything by being up that late, but I do lose a lot of time and momentum. GOAL 4: WRITE So, hey guys, writing characters is actually forcing me to think and dig into my story and it's making me better. But, I'm still struggling with consistency. Like always. So, we're going to make this stupid-easy - just work on one character every day. It can be the same character if it has to be, but Always Be Character...ing? Welcome to English, where everything's made up and the grammar don't matter. And with that, we enter into what might be the strangest adventure yet.

The last challenge went pretty well overall and I made a lot of improvements so I'm going to do it all over again. Like Bill Murray in Groundhog day, I am going to keep doing it until I get it right. Focus area #1: Stances and kicks five times a week Since these are the areas that I need the most improvement in, they are going to be the main focus. 50 kicks a week for each leg, especially side thrust kicks and both stationary and moving stance work. The kicks will be done slowly, since doing them slow is harder than doing them fast. The stationary stances will most likely be timed and the moving stances will be done slowly for reps. Focus area #2: Flexibility or mobility five times a week Stretching and mobility does help when I do it and I have enough programs to keep me busy but I just have to do them. Five days a week is going to be a little hard to hit but if I want to improve, I have to do it. The Pavel programs have been working well so I am going to focus most of this area on those. Focus area #3: Don't loose what I have - glute and hip workouts twice a week I do not want to loose the improvements that I made and there is a lot of value in workouts that I have been doing. I am pretty sure that twice a week will at least maintain the gains I made and it should not overload my stance and kick training if I keep the frequency low. Extra credit: Meditation five times a week Using Headspace has really been helping and it helped me come up with the idea of working on what I need to improve instead of just working. I need to training smarter and harder and I think the meditation is helping. I have over 50 days in a row doing meditation each day. Life goal: Rekindle the writing fire Writing has been working so far so good. I haven't published anything yet but I wrote more in the last four weeks than I did in the last two years.

It's fun to do music in my challenges again. I missed it. So, gonna keep this short and simple because I've started parts of it and I'm on a short amount of time. Yes, time. I was staring at my schedule - all the things that I wanted to do and want to do still - and it finally occurred to me: life would just be easier with more daytime in it. And the way that happens is to go to bed earlier. But it's not just about going to bed earlier. The truth is, a lot of my life is messy. I'm thinking about that a lot I guess because, well, my bro and I are looking at moving out of the parent's place. Yup, that's right. Now that Dad's back to dying as slowly as we can ask him to, it's feeling a little crowded under this roof. He, I, and a third roommate are looking at places where we might want to live where the rent doesn't suck. And I want to leave this place as well as I can. That'll be a lot easier if I clean my end of things up more. So. Clean time, clean house. Let's get to it. GOAL 1: CLEAN UP MY TIME - BED BY 11 GOAL 2: CLEAN UP MY SPACE - ONE WALL OF MY ROOM EACH WEEK GOAL 3: CLEAN UP MY GUT - ONE SERVING OF SAUERKRAUT A WEEK GOAL 4: CLEAN UP MY CATALOG - FINISH UNDERTALE TO MAKE ROOM FOR ME: ANDROMEDA Bonus-That-Isn't: 4 written pages a week. And with that, we're off to the races.

Like my good friend The Rock says I have found the main thing that has kept me from improving all the time I have been doing these challenges. It's not a total lack of focus but lack of focus on the areas that I need to improve. I have improved a great deal since I started doing these challenges almost five years ago but I am not where I want to be. The main problem is, I have been searching for the magic potion that will improve my kicks and my stance for Karate but even though they both improved, they aren't good enough. I like doing the workouts that did over the years and even looked forward to them but it's time to do the things that I don't enjoy. The reason that I don't enjoy doing the things I need to do is, to be honest, they are hard and I suck at them. I guess that nothing in life is free and if I want better kicks and stances, I need to focus on kicks and stances. Focus area #1: Stances and kicks five times a week Since these are the areas that I need the most improvement in, they are going to be the main focus. 50 kicks a week for each leg, especially side thrust kicks and both stationary and moving stance work. The kicks will be done slowly, since doing them slow is harder than doing them fast. The stationary stances will most likely be timed and the moving stances will be done slowly for reps. Focus area #2: Flexibility or mobility five times a week Stretching and mobility does help when I do it and I have enough programs to keep me busy but I just have to do them. Five days a week is going to be a little hard to hit but if I want to improve, I have to do it. Focus area #3: Don't loose what I have - glute and hip workouts twice a week I do not want to loose the improvements that I made and there is a lot of value in workouts that I have been doing. I am pretty sure that twice a week will at least maintain the gains I made and it should not overload my stance and kick training if I keep the frequency low. Extra credit: Meditation five times a week Using Headspace has really been helping and it helped me come up with the idea of working on what I need to improve instead of just working. I need to training smarter and harder and I think the meditation is helping. Life goal: Rekindle the writing fire When I started writing, almost 12 years ago, I did it with the intention of making it my full time living. After doing it for more than a few years and realizing that it wasn't working as an income source, I started writing for the joy of it. Over the last two years, I haven't done much writing and it certainly feels like something is missing from my life so it's time to get the fingers moving on the keyboard.

Welcome back for another episode of The Exciting Adventures of JediNickD! It was a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away that I joined this site and started my first challenge. Upon my return, I have decided to revisit some of my challenge themes to turn them into lessons as I had been doing more recently. I feel it is a good way to reflect on my own learning and progress to write about and share these lessons, but I also have another objective. I am cataloging these lessons in a document which is now up to 188 pages. The plan is to use this document as a reference for my personal Jedi training and to pass on for my Padawan training. It isn't just my Nerd Fitness challenges. It includes every Jedi-related writing I have done, training I have worked through, and documents I have collected (which are not protected but have sources noted). Challenge Lesson: In Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, Luke and Obi-Wan have this exchange: Quote Luke: Ben! Why didn't you tell me? You told me that Darth Vader betrayed and murdered my father. Obi-Wan: Your father... was seduced by the Dark Side of the Force. He ceased to be Anakin Skywalker and "became" Darth Vader. When that happened, the good man who was your father was destroyed. So what I told you was true... from a certain point of view. Luke: A certain point of view? Obi-Wan: Luke, you're going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view. In explaining to Luke why he hide his father's identity from him, Obi-Wan instills a simple lesson which every Jedi must learn. Many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our point of view. These "truths", whether based on fact or opinion, could be seen as false from another point of view where there are more (or less) facts or just a difference of opinion. It is common for a Jedi to practice looking at a situation from different angles to find the appropriate solution. My Main Quest and Mission: My mission is to be the best Jedi I can be. My main quest is always to enhance my overall health, fitness, and knowledge to be prepared for whatever challenges life could throw at me. As a Jedi, I need to be able to help people, whether that is a life threatening situation or just a charitable one. There is no boss level in Jedi training, there is only tomorrow. World 3 Level 1 Challenge: FITNESS: Cardio: Speed and Stamina - 500 min total, 120 weekly. DEX +1, STA +1 Exercise: Stretch and Strengthen - 500 min total, 120 weekly. STR +1 Karate: Training and Practice - 500 min total, 120 weekly STR +1, DEX +1, STA +1 DIET: Weight Control - Lose 2 lbs by end of challenge. Never weigh more than 158.0 lbs. Complete measurements before or during Week 1 and again during or after Week 4. Watch portions and make healthy choices for 24 of 28 days. CON +3 LIFE: Get Stuff Done - Complete (or dedicate at least one hour to) 100 Tasks or Projects, with at least 25 each week, from any of the following areas (minimum for challenge): Toastmasters Communication Practice (2), Toastmasters Leadership Practice (6), Webmaster Work (4), Mentoring (4), Charity Work (2), Jedi Training (4), Self Preservation (2), Reading (16), Church Work (4), Job Work (8), Business Projects (4), Household Chores (24), Yard Work (4), Animal Care (8), Home Renovation (4), Auto Maintenance (4), Family Activities (4), Adventuring (2). WIS +3, CHA +3 Added two new categories. Reading for entertainment is something I have been neglecting. Business Projects includes a few ventures I am working on with the Wizard Laser Tag, a Jedi Training Website, and a Life Coaching Website. Each could result in extra cash if they reach they maximum potential, but personally, that is not the overall goal for any of them. INCENTIVES! REWARD 1: For each week I complete 30 or more tasks, I will put aside $5 to spend how I see fit ($260 carried over). CONSEQUENCE 1: For any week where I complete less than 25 tasks, I will give up $10 of saved cash. REWARD 2: $5 for each Business Project hour. CONSQUENCE 2: Lose $5 for each week without a Business Project hour. REWARD 3: $5 for each Jedi Training lesson. CONSQUENCE 3: Lose $5 for each week without a Jedi Training lesson. REWARD 4: $5 for fasting on each weekend night after 6pm. Fruits and veggies allowed in small quantities. An extra $10 for all three nights. CONSQUENCE 4: Lose $10 for each weekend without any fasting. Lose $5 for eating more than 2 slices of pizza. BONUSES: $5 for each advancement in the Speech Contests. Another $5 for first place finishes. $5 for Home Renovation or Auto Maintenance tasks.

Hi guys! So, it happened like clockwork, just like I said it would - the fat loss stalled out on 02/11. That was kind of weird. Knowing my body as well as I do, being able to have it down to the day. Wasn't quite prepared for that. So now I need to figure out what to do next. I could lower the calories, but the yield on that is going to be comparatively small at this point. I don't have a lot of reason to do something like that. But I still want to cut. The temptation is to attempt recomp, but everything I've ever seen about that assumes a specific training modality to go with it, and that's not me anymore. So, I don't think a traditional recomp is in the books for me. Instead, I'm going to try something different. Once, a long, long time ago, I tried my hand at Leangains. This is the father of most IF protocols that you see being bandied about in the fitness world these days (with Pilon's Eat Stop Eat being the granddaddy). I didn't stick with it because it didn't work because I didn't understand a lot about what it takes to make most nutritional protocols work. And interestingly, the cutting protocol would still wind up being more calories than I normally take in anyway, which I suspect is where I need to direct my efforts next. So, you know. Maybe do that and see what happens. There's a bunch of other stuff too. I need to fix some problems with my body, and the dojo's moving. There will be more training opportunities, and the more time I can spend on the mats, the better off I'll be. I'm going to have to account for that. I want to be the best martial artist I can be, but I also need to be the best me I can be for the people in my life who need me. In addition to promotion being somewhere in the cards this year, I've been challenged to participate in the TSC coming up in a couple of months, and the Dragon OCR coming up after that. One other rub as well, and probably the most significant as far as the year's Epic Quest is concerned. I need to honestly assess my finances and determine whether or not I need to pursue alternative income in addition to what I'm bringing in now. On paper, I'm making a lot more money than I was, and I'll admit I've got a lot more breathing room than I previously had. But in practice, a lot of what I make goes to taxes and benefits, and taking up my car payment in addition to putting away for savings and paying my folks for what living space isn't exactly making things easier. Why would I need more income? Because the goal is to free myself before the year is out. Right now, I'm thinking I might be ahead $150 to $200 a month, and that's not gonna work. I could probably cut back on the quality of food and such like that, but truthfully, that's not a cut I'm willing to make, and I don't know what else I can cut that I'm willing to. (I don't need a gym membership. I don't need to eat well. But, well, I make my choices and I'm willing to live with the consequences). Fwah. Okay. So. I need to get stronger, run farther, fight better, acquire currency, and not get sick no matter what. Because the world needs the best of all of us, and even me. Piece of cake. Goal 1: GAIN LEANLY Basically, Leangains is a super-flexbible IIFYM diet that focuses on intermittent fasting and maximizing whatever metabolic processes are engaged on any particular day. The temptation to misuse this flexibility is awful. Goal is 90% adherence to macros on any given day, and to not get so bent out of shape when I get invited to eat outside of my chosen eating window. Goal 2: RUN Running doesn't suck. Since the goal is to get better at distance, I will take up the 100m-800m run protocol as listed in this article. I can use the treadmill at the gym for this - I no longer subscribe to earlier statements I made about losing hamstring strength. I already know I can do 100m at 12 mph, and could probably do it faster if the damn thing could keep up with me. Goal 3: SNATCH The goal is to get to the point where I can do snatches for five minutes straight. Most of what I've got to play with as far as KBs go mean getting good w/ the 24kg, but... I don't know whether to go for the Novice or for the Open divisions. (Novice is 5 minutes w/ 20kg versus the Open's 24). Either way, I need to get good with the 24, and I need to get to a point where I can snatch continuously for time rather than treat it as power work. I miss my hang cleans. Goal 4: WRITE AND EDIT I think that whatever path I take to acquiring extra currency, it's going to involve doing things that I do already. Bump up the writing to 4 pages and figure out (and take) what steps are necessary to freelance as an editor. Okay. Okay. Here we go.

Welcome back for another episode of The Exciting Adventures of JediNickD! It was a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away that I joined this site and started my first challenge. Upon my return, I have decided to revisit some of my challenge themes to turn them into lessons as I had been doing more recently. I feel it is a good way to reflect on my own learning and progress to write about and share these lessons, but I also have another objective. I am cataloging these lessons in a document which is now up to 185 pages. The plan is to use this document as a reference for my personal Jedi training and to pass on for my Padawan training. It isn't just my Nerd Fitness challenges. It includes every Jedi-related writing I have done, training I have worked through, and documents I have collected (which are not protected but have sources noted). Challenge Lesson: From Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back: Luke: There's something not right here... I feel cold. Death. Yoda: [points to a cave opening beneath a large tree] That place... is strong with the dark side of the Force. A domain of evil it is. In you must go. Luke: What's in there? Yoda: Only what you take with you. Luke enters the cave with his lightsaber as he is afraid that he may need to defend himself. He encounters Darth Vader. Igniting their lightsabers, they duel. Luke ends the confrontation quickly by beheading Darth Vader. The mask on the head explodes revealing Luke's face under the helmet. There are several lessons inside the cave for Luke to learn. The most obvious is that his fear and anger will lead him directly to the same fate as his father, Anakin Skywalker, who fell to the dark side and became Darth Vader. Of course, Luke can only figure out the "fear and anger can lead to the dark side" part at the time. He'd later learn the other parts from Vader himself. Another lesson within the cave is that Luke showed courage to enter the cave, but hid behind a crutch (the lightsaber). Would Vader have appeared with lightsaber drawn if Luke entered without his lightsaber? We'll never know, but Luke was certainly fearful of the dark side when he entered with his lightsaber. He learned this lesson well following the concluding events of Empire Strike Back. In Return of the Jedi, Luke is clearly embracing his fears of losing the Rebellion and his life by confronting Darth Vader and the Emperor as their prisoner. On two occasions, he removes his crutch from the equation showing real courage, when he surrenders to Vader on Endor and when he defeats Vader in their duel, then turns to confront the Emperor, he throws his lightsaber aside and says he'll never join the dark side and that the Emperor has lost. There is a line in the novelization, "Fear is a great cloud. It makes the cold colder and the dark darker, but let it rise and it will dissolve." For my fear of public speaking, I had to embrace it. Preparing, practicing, and executing public speaking on repeat for 4 years was the only way to beat that fear into submission. I found when I acted confident and comfortable, I eventually felt confident and comfortable. It's the "fake it, until you make it" mentality. I used to be a little afraid of roller coasters. The thrilling rides just weren't my thing when I was 8-11... until I went on a real thrilling water slide called Geronimo, where you basically free fall for a second down this completely vertical slide. After that ride, I decided to give roller coasters a try and haven't looked back. Heights were a problem, too. Everyone has these life preserving fears. Everyone has fears of embarrassment. Confront it with confidence, survive, get more comfortable with it, repeat. Eventually, you confront it without any crutches and conquer it never looking back. A third lesson is in what Yoda says, "Only what you take with you." We humans carry fear, anger, and hate around just as a Jedi would a lightsaber, but it is a lot more difficult to leave these emotions behind. Courage, forgiveness, and knowledge are the ways to leave fear, anger, and hate in the past where they cannot effect the future. Identify fears and find the courage to conquer them. Quell anger with forgiveness. Alleviate hate and ignorance by acquiring knowledge of the situation and circumstances. Check your suitcase. What are you carrying with you? Do you have heavy burdens? Are you collecting and bottling emotions? Do you have fears? Do you know how to unpack the suitcase and lighten your load? Think about what you are taking with you into the unknown. My Main Quest and Mission: My mission is to be the best Jedi I can be. My main quest is always to enhance my overall health, fitness, and knowledge to be prepared for whatever challenges life could throw at me. As a Jedi, I need to be able to help people, whether that is a life threatening situation or just a charitable one. There is no boss level in Jedi training, there is only tomorrow. World 2 Level 10 Challenge: This challenge I am confronting as a Boss Fight. I have some huge milestones and life changes coming to a head this month. When it is over, I will have slain a large beast, gained valuable experience, and uncovered new tools and artillery for future challenges. First, my job is in transition to a new work with my current contract expiring on the 12th. My company plans to move me internally, but I've been there before. I'm on the hunt for new work. I've already interviewed with one company and awaiting client and prime contracting company approval for an offer. I have another lead which could materialize quickly. And I have a few other opportunities which I have yet to pursue. I really wanted to stay where I was though. It is really hard to find a supervisor who truly appreciates and trusts you. It is really hard find work where you are part of a team that is working together with no internal fighting or bickering. It is really hard to find a job which is rewarding in that you can see the difference you are making in the lives of others. I have all that here. I hope to find it again, but I'll really miss what I have here. Second, it is Toastmasters contest season and I am planning to compete hard with my new speech. I have a message which I want to give to the world and make it better. I want a first place trophy outside the club this time. Third, August is coming soon and the Wizard Laser Tag project needs to make some significant progress this month to stay on track for a successful prototype test in March. We have a major design flaw to figure out. I've got ideas, but it is time to work through them. Fourth, I am working towards earning my Yellow belt in Karate class. I have two stripes left, but before the test at the end of February, I want to get my form and balance fine tuned. There is a level of execution expected at Yellow and I want to be the model student. Fifth, with my job transition, my gym time will be effected since I will lose access. I'll need new solutions starting next week. I've been thinking about heading to the YMCA in the mornings, but it'll add a lot of time to my commute, but my hours will be different, so it may not make a difference. Working out at home is an option, but I need to be careful about noise not to wake the wife and kids. I could move workouts to the evening and try to sleep in (good joke there). I am going to keep tracking the same for consistency. The focus is on the life goals so I moved some points around and added some bonus incentives. FITNESS: Cardio: Speed and Stamina - 500 min total, 120 weekly. DEX +1, STA +1 Exercise: Stretch and Strengthen - 500 min total, 120 weekly. STR +1 Karate: Training and Practice - 500 min total, 120 weekly STR +1, DEX +1, STA +1 DIET: Weight Control - Lose 2 lbs by end of challenge. Never weigh more than 158.0 lbs. Complete measurements before or during Week 1 and again during or after Week 4. Watch portions and make healthy choices for 24 of 28 days. CON +3 LIFE: Get Stuff Done - Complete (or dedicate at least one hour to) 90 Tasks or Projects, with at least 20 week, from any of the following areas (minimum for challenge): Toastmasters Communication Practice (2), Toastmasters Leadership Practice (6), Webmaster Work (4), Mentoring (4), Charity Work (2), Jedi Training (4), Self Preservation (2), Reading (16), Church Work (4), Job Work (8), Business Projects (4), Household Chores (20), Yard Work (4), Animal Care (8), Home Renovation (4), Auto Maintenance (4), Family Activities (4), Adventuring (2). WIS +3, CHA +3 Added two new categories. Reading for entertainment is something I have been neglecting. Business Projects includes a few ventures I am working on with the Wizard Laser Tag, a Jedi Training Website, and a Life Coaching Website. Each could result in extra cash if they reach they maximum potential, but personally, that is not the overall goal for any of them. INCENTIVES! REWARD: For each week I complete 20 or more tasks, I will put aside $5 to spend how I see fit ($200 carried over). CONSEQUENCE: For any week where I complete less than 20 tasks, I will give up $10 of saved cash. BONUSES: $5 for each Business Project hour. $5 for each advancement in the Speech Contests. Another $5 for first place finishes. $10 for fasting on Saturday nights. It is the unhealthiest night of the week. Time to change that. Fruits and veggies only after 4pm.

The title refers to an online article I recently re-read: http://www.aikidofaq.com/essays/polishing.html While the author was talking about aikido training, the concept applies just as well to karate, or any kind of training. There are times to polish the mirror, and times to grind the stone. For me, I need both. Goal 1: Karate practice 5x/week. In an average week, this will mean 2 times at the dojo, and 3 times at home. Dojo practice tends to be more "grinding the stone" where as my home practice is a mix of polishing and grinding, maybe with more emphasis on the polishing. There are exceptions of course, but this is usually the case. As life can be unpredictable, if for some reason I have to miss a planned evening in the dojo, I will simply make up the time with home practice. So long as I am taking time out of my day to practice karate 5x/week, at home or at the dojo, I will be whole. Goal 2: Yoga practice 3x/week. In past challenges I would shoot for 4x/week. However, since I am ramping up the karate a bit, I feel I have to take away somewhere. Always trying to do more all the time isn't healthy for me. It's give and take. Practicing yoga 3x/week at home will be a solid compromise. And I intend to go for more quality with my practice than quantity. More focus on refining my poses, stretching deeper, and breathing correctly. Goal 3: Daily meditation. This is a habit I had down pretty well in the past, but lost it. I brought it back about mid-way through the last challenge to combat the stress I was feeling with work. And it's been working well. A good reminder that meditation is a habit I need to keep in my life. Setting my timer for 6 minutes seems to be the way to go. I almost always reset it for another 6 minutes after the first, and sometimes even a third, making it a respectable 12 - 18 minutes of meditation. But for some reason setting it to 12 or 18 from the outset just doesn't work as well. It's intimidating. So we stick with 6 and do what we can. I am now using the Tapatalk app on my phone to keep up with Nerd Fitness, so I hope to be wandering around the monastery more than I have in the past. Namo Amitabha.

So, the idea after last challenge was to celebrate New Years and come on strong here in the new year. I had every reason to believe I would. The training was fun, molding itself around what I wanted it to be, and I was pushing hard and everything was great. And then last Monday I got a scratchiness in my throat. It spread from there and it's only now really on its way out. I've followed Sickness Protocols, which means no training if it makes your symptoms worse. Well, shock and awe, training did. Even yoga did, although that might have been a case of the wrong yoga for the situation. Wrong medicine, etc. Anyway, the past week's been kind of slow and boring as these things go. I'm honestly feeling kind of stir-crazy, raring to go back to work, which is better than the alternative I guess. Not exactly the start I wanted to the year, but it's not about how you start. The big goal for this year is... ulp, financial. I'm finally in a position to start attacking this thing that's been around my neck for years. With that freedom... man, I dunno what I'd do. What a wonderful problem to have to solve. Of course, can't attack the whole thing in one challenge. This is gonna take a while, and TBH I don't know if I'm going to get the whole thing done or not. But any steps taken are better than no steps taken. Here are the goals for this month: GOAL 1: DON'T GET HURT Not training for a week has been good for one thing - that golfer's elbow is pretty much resolved. I want it to stay resolved. Especially given that my training has shifted over to this practice-based thing. I've been thinking a lot about training and pain and strain and injury and how all of that ties together, and basically there are some places in the body that need to feel something, and there are some places in the body that need to not feel something. I really need to be mindful and get the difference, understand where a sensation is coming from and what it might mean. On those lines... GOAL 2: SLEEEEEEEEEEEEEP Yeah, this has to happen more. I think part of the reason I got sick is that I just got wore down. My sleep schedule is a mess, if I'm honest: I get 6-7 hours when I need 7-9, and I freak out if I try to get more - my body wakes up crazy early if I try to do more, like I'm afraid that I'm going to miss out or something. Goal is to have the screen off by 2245 every night. I don't need the distraction of this thing to keep me awake, and I could be way more efficient than I've been. GOAL 3: WRITE One page a day. I need to do more than what I've been doing. No real blurbs or anything, but yeah. GOAL 4: LINE UP FINANCES So I've got the money going out to all the places. Now the goal is to consolidate as many of them as I can, so that they come out on the same day. I want as few surprises looming in the wings for me as I can manage. I have a feeling life will throw enough of those at me without my leaving myself open for them. By the end of the challenge, the goal is to have as many of my bills coming out at the same time of the month as possible, that time being the 1st of the month. And... that's the game this time. Okay. Let's see what happens.