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I bet you thought this would be a Dan-themed challenge, didn't you? You were wrong. This also isn't going to be about going beast mode, either. So, what's going on here? What is often overlooked in Blanka's character is his love of family. He may be a bestial, green-skinned, lightning-shooting, monster-looking fighter, but he joined the Street Fighter tournament looking for his mother. If you beat M. Bison with Blanka, you saw him reunited with his mother, who saw him televised during the tournament. In Super Street Fighter IV, he left his village to travel the world and, after winning the tournament, returned home and the villagers played with him. This is not a monster. This is not a killer. This is a man who fights and seeks to be recognized as a person by those he loves. We Monks are often an insular group. For those who are not part of our dojo, dojang, club, school or studio, we often don't really care how others respond to this perceived violent or dangerous hobby. But that doesn't change the fact that there are people in our lives who, while they may not understand, are with us every step of the way. The parent who drives to tournaments and gradings. The friend who is always happy when we hit that next rank. The spouse or significant other who pushes you out the door when life is making it hard to train. This week is about those people. Let's make some time to tell those people how much it means to us. Let them know that their support makes us better at what we do. And that we love them for it. Now, I have it pretty easy. I have all these nerds from outside the Monks who make a point of following along, making alarmed faces when I talk about what I'm learning, but still cheer pretty loud. Lots of you have those, too. My wife is also on NF, and was actually the reason I joined in the first place. So that's even easier. But I'm going to make some time to tell her that I love her for pushing me out the door even when she wants me at home. I know she doesn't read the Monk mini-challenges, but I'm still going to say it here. And then say it right to her face. Also, pets don't count. Especially dummies like this: Fur affection is too unconditional. Who supports you through thick and thin, Monks? Tell us and then tell them. Your stories matter.

Originally I wanted to give the Druids a try and posted there. They are great folk over there, but I kept checking out my friends here. So, sorry for leaving you guys and going over there. I am a monk. It hit me like a ton of bricks! The urge to mastery. I have studied and practiced taijiquan (tai chi chuan) for almost 30 years and I cannot manifest the empty mind consistently in combat. I have on several occasions had bullet time happen and evaded things that made me see the promise and potential of taijiquan. Now I want to manifest that empty mind on command. I really resonate with Richard Dragon (DC Comics) here. I need to leg go of my past and the tragedy of my Army unit getting wiped out. To that end I will begin practicing taijiquan 3 times a day for 40 minutes a shot. This is probably against all the good advice I have heard all my life, but I used to practice more than that. As I said, I have almost 30 years experience with taijiquan. This gives will give me over 1000 minutes of practice a week and over the 6 week challenge it will add up to over 100 hours. Along with this I need some strength training. The arthritis in my hips and shoulders is making me take a break from trail running and I also really hate to run in the cold. I have a great program called Convict Conditioning, so I am going to follow it. It is basically body weight stuff and perhaps someday I can do this like my hero.... Finally, weight loss. In the last 6 months I have lost 45 pounds going from 250 down to 205 pounds. I am using a calorie counting app called Lose It and I love it. I am getting a normal shape again and that is a good thing. I really need to be fit to keep up with these guys. This series really inspired me. So: 1- Taiji 4 times at 40 minutes a shot a day. 3 points Wisdom (Why wisdom? Its a moving meditation.) 2- Convict Conditioning. 1 points Strength. 3- Keep logging the calories and daily weighings. 2 points Agility. Skinny equals more benefit from the agility aspect of practicing so much Taijiquan. Not sure on the points, because I skipped a challenge and forgot how to do it. I'll figure that out later.