Lisa Clark's Journal

UBBT Praise Report

We've been training now for a month. We've all encountered struggles. Today it was all 13 months are already worth the struggle because I made orange juice! Silly sounding perhaps... Let me explain.

A family I watch was out of juice and the girls asked for the usual orange juice. There was a bag full of oranges for juicing. Their juicer is manual though. My whole life, my family has treated me as the weak one who wasn't strong enough to do it for herself. I usually wasn't strong… Continue

Added by Lisa Clark on December 31, 2010 at 10:00am — 1 Comment

Week 4- An Audience

It's normal in the dojo to do kata, practice our basics, even mount each other to practice a grappling self defense. I forget how these seem to other people...

My car wouldn't start Sunday. Thankful for AAA, I called for roadside assistance and had the usual hour long wait. What to do for an hour? Well, I hadn't practiced kata yet... the sidewalk was extra wide... time was plentiful... why not? So I did.

About 40 minutes in, a couple riding by on their bikes stopped to ask… Continue

Added by Lisa Clark on December 30, 2010 at 12:46pm — 2 Comments

Week 3 - Diligence, Teamwork and Kindness

This last week has been tough. Where to start!

Old injuries have been forcing creativity in the physical requirements. An unexpectedly busy week provided the perfect excuse AND reason to slack off. Between failing creativity and the unfriendly schedule, my miles, kata, push ups and sit ups have fallen behind, in that order. Something needs to be done. Though I'm not sure how yet...

An extra 50 sit ups and push ups a day will help. Longer sessions on the elliptical are… Continue

Added by Lisa Clark on December 19, 2010 at 8:46pm — 4 Comments

UBBT Week 2 Focus

My mom has joked about my selective hearing tor years. I would be so consumed by a task that nothing else existed. Not her voice, dinner, the cat jumping onto the table, my cup spilling, nothing. This might be considered focused. But lately I'm learning a different type of focus.

In yoga, the instructor guides the class through 26 poses with dialogue and encouragement. Today's instructor is very detail oriented. She reminds us to direct our gaze, engage our abdominal muscles, relax… Continue

Added by Lisa Clark on December 12, 2010 at 11:47pm — 2 Comments

UBBT Week 2

Lisa Spagnolo's journal mirrors my own thoughts. It was aptly titled "Repetition and the New Normal." My own life is restructuring. There is a new 'normal.' Its not just the UBBT requirements.

Financial ventures are new and more satisfying than before. I've wanted to nanny for a long time. Two families have recently presented the opportunity. Its developing deeper patience, greater understanding, inspiring laughter and meeting the bills. What could be…

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Added by Lisa Clark on December 10, 2010 at 9:30pm — 1 Comment

UBBT Day 7

Day 6 was hard. It made waking up today, Day 7, tough as well. Bodily aches and sore muscles are very satisfying though. Its like they're saying, "You survived yesterday's challenge. Get ready for today!" There was a lot to look forward to today.

I have started watching some very cute girls a couple days a week. They were the first chunk of the day. The family does not watch a lot of tv, and board games are a favorite activity. So on top of knocking out the 3 mile requirement walking… Continue

Added by Lisa Clark on December 7, 2010 at 10:37pm — 1 Comment

UBBT Day 6

Sore. Achy. Grouchy. Sunday's everything hit like a ton of bricks but I pushed through to finish the daily requirements before class. Even a little prideful that I did 6 miles instead of 3. My knees are suffering for my pride... Then in class we did a third set of exercises. Yes. A third set. All but the last crunches were completed to add to my suffering pride.

My lesson for today is a very human one with a little back story.

For a long time, I really believed "fake it til… Continue

Added by Lisa Clark on December 6, 2010 at 9:30pm — 1 Comment

UBBT Day 5

Sunday. Not a day of rest this last weekend. My aunt is moving rather unexpectedly and the whole family is helping. The day's objective was to move the garage, storage shed, books, games, movies, other media and glass into storage. An early start and off we went to Escalon with muscles ready.

I was a bit concerned when we left. My plan to start the day with at least half my requirements accomplished did not pan out. I woke up feeling achy, coughing, throbbing shoulder and head. What… Continue

Added by Lisa Clark on December 5, 2010 at 9:30pm — No Comments

UBBT Day 4

This first week of any new adventure is very critical. It is the time to establish habits, discover challenges, and learn how to have fun on the new journey. That is why I decided to journal daily for the first 7 days. It is the freshest, most inspired time for reflection. Today's reflection is on hydration, or rather dehydration.

An unlimited month long pass at a hot yoga studio was an early Christmas gift from my mother, with a matching one in her stocking from Santa. It has been… Continue

Added by Lisa Clark on December 5, 2010 at 12:15am — No Comments

UBBT Day 3

I long ago learned to listen to my old injuries when they started talking. And oh man! They are talking today. Yesterday was nearly a double dose of the exercise requirements between my own ambitious morning exercises, daily activities, evening karate class, and a late night hot yoga session. The UBBT is about pushing our limits, expanding them even. Yesterday was just a little TOO much though.

So today is my first lesson in how to take a break when you need one.

The… Continue

Added by Lisa Clark on December 3, 2010 at 5:28pm — No Comments

UBBT Day 2

Balance has been a struggle since an inner ear infection at the age of one. 12 years of dance, various sports, and now karate have helped. But! Nothing felt quite right until tonight. Yoga.

A while back I told someone I was thinking about trying yoga. They responded by saying, "Yoga is for flexibility. You're already flexible. Why do yoga?" That comment is like saying karate is about fighting. Yes karate is about fighting and yoga is about flexibility. Yet karate is about discipline,… Continue

Added by Lisa Clark on December 2, 2010 at 11:00pm — 1 Comment

UBBT- Day 1... It has begun

I've been all aflutter this last week in anticipation of today. Some nerves but mostly excitement! So when I woke up this morning, I was surprised. My thoughts did not mimic the excitement, the thrill of the challenge. No. I very negatively thought, *Oh, now I have to do ____.* My first test of motivation.

Whenever I had trouble with a report in college, or got stuck on what to bring to a potluck, I started by taking inventory of what I already had. Today was no exception. Inventory:… Continue

Added by Lisa Clark on December 1, 2010 at 11:16am — 2 Comments

UBBT Journal 1: Why?

The closer December first gets, the more overwhelmed I feel. What did I commit to?! Can I really do this?! The real question is why should I do this.

What first attracted me to the challenge is the intensity. Lately I've felt unbalanced in my own body. The weight I carry is heavy on my thin bones so it is top priority to reach my ideal weight... only it is hard for me to lose weight. So the level of fitness required in the UBBT may be exactly what I need.

Mr. Oliver's… Continue

Added by Lisa Clark on November 27, 2010 at 7:25pm — 1 Comment

UBBT- Death and Rebirth

The Ultimate Black Belt Challenge is some strenuous requirements:

50,000 push-ups

50,000 sit-ups

1,000 miles via running/walking/biking/swimming

1,000 kata repetitions

1,000 Acts of Kindness

15 minutes of daily meditation

10 short films

10 books focused on personal development or martial arts

3 Personal Goals

1 weekly online journal

1 Community Service Project…

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Added by Lisa Clark on November 23, 2010 at 3:00pm — No Comments

Kicking Butt

Lately, I've been meeting a lot of new people at work. Word got out that I 'do karate' so people have been asking about it. They start with 1 of 2 questions: What belt are you? Or You could probably kick my butt huh?

These 2 questions have made me appreciate our dojo so very much.

Mr. Oliver doesn't focus on belts. He emphasizes character, technique and practical application. Zen Martial Arts is not ranks, trophies, or where we stand when we line up. We're not Cobra Ki… Continue

Added by Lisa Clark on November 4, 2010 at 2:00am — 1 Comment

Something New

"Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow." ~ Ronald Ostrom

The quote above reflect my current sentiments. For too long, I was in a rut and didn't even know it! Life's patterns started to become stale, routine, boring... I lost a few very important things because I took them for granted. I didn't appreciate them for what they were. Hindsight can't get them back.

It is up to me to cherish the things I still have though. My… Continue

Added by Lisa Clark on September 30, 2010 at 10:31am — No Comments

The C Word

A few months back a friend posed a question. I was sharing my excitement about a potential camping trip. It was to be a weekend backpacking trip somewhere local. Backpacking is something I have never done and wondered about.

In the natural flow of conversation, my friend asked me in a serious, doubt-filled voice, "Yes, but can you do it?"

That one question planted a seed of doubt in my own mind. I considered it on my own for quite a while. The more I thought about it the more… Continue

Added by Lisa Clark on September 27, 2010 at 11:00am — No Comments

Mental vs Physical

Today in class Mr. Oliver described karate as 90% mental and 10% physical.

How many times have I made it easier on my body physically because my mind it necessary? It's as simple as relaxing a horse stance during star blocks kata, or not bending as deeply in the last squat, or throwing a punch at half power to "save energy" for the next one, or passing the medicine ball in an arch instead of a straight chest pass. Yes, I've been slacking, cutting corners, easing up, or however you want… Continue

Added by Lisa Clark on September 14, 2010 at 9:30pm — No Comments

What does karate mean?

Mr. Oliver often asks the Little Dragon class. The translation is empty hand. That's only one meaning though.

I was talking to someone the other day about what karate meant to her. She was trying out some dojos in the Sacramento area since she moved her recently from the bay area. She liked karate because it stimulated her mind and body. Admittedly, she was pretty hard core during warm up exercises. Her discipline showed through too.

That was a few weeks ago and it got me to… Continue

Added by Lisa Clark on August 27, 2010 at 8:56pm — No Comments

States of Awareness

Its a nice, easy walk from my house to the dojo. A scant 10-15 minutes of peaceful exercise through the well landscaped UC Davis Med Center. This little exercise has been wonderful. The time allows me to release the day, warms the legs up for seiza, think over the week's lesson and generally prepare for the class ahead. Mr. Oliver's recent journal on the colors of awareness has made me walk this regular route a little differently.

A casual observer may have been deceived into thinking… Continue

Added by Lisa Clark on August 11, 2010 at 2:18pm — No Comments

Lisa Clark's Journal (46)