The Two Men: New England Strange Fiction

New England Strange Fiction - the first part of this story is a real childhood memory. The rest is fiction.

I Want Better Adventures

I've spent a lot of time lately wondering what the hell I'm doing with my life. I'm thinking about selling my house. Eventually buying a van. Getting rid of most of the stuff I've accumulated. Traveling around the country. Training at different

The Most Dangerous Person in the Dojo is the Cooperative Partner

There’s a technique in ju-jutsu called ikkyo. It’s basically an arm lock, and when I first learned it, I thought I understood it pretty well. My training partner would give me his arm. I’d get into position, apply the lock, take his balance and bring him

Road Zero: Everything You Own Has Weight

I've lived in the same house for years, and apparently I've spent a good portion of that time quietly filling it with shit. Not intentionally. Nobody wakes up one morning and says, "You know what I need? Seventeen Tupperware containers with nine matching lids."

Your Flinch is Already a Weapon

Every new adult who walks into our school does the same thing on day one. They get tight. Shoulders up. Jaw set. Fists clenched before anyone has told them to make a fist. Every muscle in the body switched on at once, because somewhere along the way we all learned

I Hated Kata Until I Understood What It Was For

For the first 3 years I practiced karate, I didn't do kata. Almost none. I had seen others doing it, but most of my training was spent working with another person. We did bunkai (disassembly and analysis of a technique) and oyo (the practical application of a technique)

The Devil's Chair: New England Strange Fiction

Short story fiction about the Devil's Chair in Devil's Hopyard, in the town of East Haddam, CT.

When What Works Stops Being What's Right

I've spent a lot of my life in sales. And if you've spent enough time in sales, you've probably heard some version of this: That's just how the business works. I've heard it about scripts. I've heard it

What I'd Tell Anyone Who Thinks They're Too Late

I started martial arts at 40. Not 40 and in great shape. Not 40 with a background in wrestling or boxing or anything that would have given me a head start. Just 40—with a full time job, a mortgage, 3 dogs, and a body that had opinions about being

Why I Set My Paranormal Stories in Real Places

There’s a place in East Haddam, Connecticut called Devil’s Hopyard. The name alone sounds like somebody made it up for a horror story. They didn’t. You can get in your car, drive there, park, and walk into the woods yourself. There’s a waterfall called Chapman Falls

Six Broken Bones Later: What Injury Actually Teaches You

I’ve broken six bones since I started training in martial arts. I don’t recommend it. There are probably easier ways to learn some of the lessons I’ve learned over the last six years, but apparently I’m the kind of person who occasionally needs the lesson delivered

I Think It's Time to Get on the Road

For a long time, I've had this idea in the back on my head that eventually I'd like to get on the road. Not for a vacation. Not for two weeks with an itinerary and hotel reservations. I mean actually live on the road. My goal

Writing

Maisie Ruth the Amazing Girl Sleuth - A Free Children's Book

Maisie Ruth the Amazing Girl Sleuth Always searching for the truth She sneaks and she snoops To get all the scoops For curious kids like YOU!

Training

Age Uke Drills

Age uke drills are good for the dojo - get use to making contact with someone.

Life

Te Before Jitsu: Why I live by it?

Every person eventually discovers that life has a way of testing what they believe. It doesn't usually happen during the easy seasons. It happens when a plan falls apart, when you have to begin again, or when you're forced to decide whether you're going

Training

What Color Are You?

Understanding Awareness Before Self-Defense.

Life

5 Things I Learned Walking Into a Karate Dojo at 40

I started karate at 40 (like right after my 40th birthday) One of the strange things about starting something like martial arts at that age is that you walk through the door as an adult, but in that room, you're a complete beginner. You don't know

Training

The White Belt Mentality

The most important lesson you'll ever learn as a karateka (a person who practices karate) is maintaining a white belt mentality. Which simply means you are open to learning from everyone. Even as a black belt now, any new student who comes in wanting to learn from us,

Life

Starting Late

I was forty years old when I walked into a karate dojo for the first time. Starting late is better than not starting at all.