June marks two milestones for me. I started martial arts study in June of 1976, so that means this year I got 32 years martial arts experience. But---maybe the bigger milestone is, I was born on June 16, 1958, which means I it to the half century mark, 50 years on Planet Earth.

Although truth be told, I still feel in my mind like I am in my early 20s!. Which I guess is a good sign. In any event here are the before and after photos taken 30 years apart.

Choy Li Fut butterfly knives, San Diego, 1978
http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q48/brianlkennedy/yang%20taiji%20pics/1978brian.jpg

Pakua sword, San Chung City Taiwan, 2008
http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q48/brianlkennedy/R001-029.jpg


One thing I would mention is martial arts has always been a major part of my life and I really give a lot of praise and respect to martial arts for keeping me in good physical, mental and spiritual health. I have learned so much from martial arts and met so many great people. The world of martial arts (the Wu Lin, the Martial Forest) is so broad and so deep; it has room for everyone and it has something to offer everyone at all different stages of their lives.

Making 50 has really motivated me to get moving on the next book, which will be a history of the Jing Wu Association and to renew my dedication to martial arts, and by the way, to my family.

Take care,
Brian

Congratulations on both milestones, and best wishes for many more milestones in both areas :asian:

Congratulations youngster.

Keep practicing and enjoying the world of Martial arts, It has kept more than a few of us feeling young

Congratulations.

I hit one of those milestones myself this year (the half centruy mark). And I agree, I mentally feel as though I am in my twenties...now if I could convince my body of that....:wink2:

- Jeff -

Respects and Congratulations! Something for all of us to emulate!

:asian:

nuff said

Congrats....:bangahead:

Great! Thanks for sharing some inspiration!

Congratulations

:asian:

Congratulations on both accomplishments. Although 'making' 50 just seems to seek up on ya, doesn't it? ;)

Congratulations! Nice pictures, too.

I echo everyone else's sentiments, Mr Kennedy. You looked cool in the 70's and your look distinguished in 00's. No man can ask for a better transition through the decades :sensei rei:.

Brian, all I can say is... enjoy the rest of your youth! As someone born 11 years earlier than you, I'm absolutely serious!! :)

(And btw: I also feel as though I'm still in my 20s... my early twenties. In our minds, I think, we stay the same age we were when when we first emerged from the chaos of adolescence. I doubt that anyone ever feels themselves to be old, or even 'older'. I sure don't....)

Congratulations on both milestones Brian, and great pics :D

Thanks so much for the super wishes, I appreciate them one and all. And thanks too for the advice from my seniors! In particular the advice from Exile to “enjoy the rest of your youth”.

No fooling, that is very good advice. And in a very real sense I have been putting together a plan to follow that advice. The plan includes learning new systems (Taiwanese Crane Boxing), getting three solid days a week of basic conditioning (the USMC D-16 program, it is the Marine Corps basic daily calisthenics program.) and trying to add some depth to my pakua training.

All of which is aimed at enjoying the rest of my youth and using it wisely. Again thanks much to one and all. The fine wishes made for an excellent birthday week.

Sincere thanks,
Brian

By the way, all due respect to the old timers tshadowchaser, exile and all the rest who reflect remarkable youthfulness :D, but we want to remind ourselves also of the many hard-won gains that come with age. Western society does all in its power to downplay them, but the benefits of age are powerful and myriad. Again, best wishes and thanks for sharing your birthday week.

Thanks so much for the super wishes, I appreciate them one and all. And thanks too for the advice from my seniors! In particular the advice from Exile to “enjoy the rest of your youth”.

No fooling, that is very good advice. And in a very real sense I have been putting together a plan to follow that advice. The plan includes learning new systems (Taiwanese Crane Boxing), getting three solid days a week of basic conditioning (the USMC D-16 program, it is the Marine Corps basic daily calisthenics program.) and trying to add some depth to my pakua training.

All of which is aimed at enjoying the rest of my youth and using it wisely. Again thanks much to one and all. The fine wishes made for an excellent birthday week.

Sincere thanks,
Brian

Sounds like a great plan, Brian. One rule of thumb that's never let me down is that as long as you have a goal that you're driving towards, something you're really, even desperately committed to, you retain, almost magically, the kind of energy and... maybe verve is the word I'm looking for... that we associate with the very young/barely born (you know, the people in their early 20s :D). I know that's been true for me, and I see it with other people too. The trick is to be able to keep your sense of aspiration and quest evergreen. And it sounds like that's exactly what you've been able to do with these new MA achievements you've set your sights on! It's the best gift of all, I think. The flip side is, look at people—and we all know a few like that, eh?—who don't possess that gift. The ones like that whom I know all seem old and... grey, grey on the inside. May that never happen to any of us....

By the way, all due respect to the old timers tshadowchaser, exile and all the rest who reflect remarkable youthfulness :D, but we want to remind ourselves also of the many hard-won gains that come with age. Western society does all in its power to downplay them, but the benefits of age are powerful and myriad. Again, best wishes and thanks for sharing your birthday week.

This is profoundly true, KW.

Our lifespans have increased drastically. The cliché 'Forty is the new twenty' is a cliché precisely because it's true. And as the lifespan increases, that delicate optimum point between youth and experience has moved up the decades along with it. A lot of people, me included, believe that—assuming you're looking after yourself physically in the way we now know we should, particularly in the matter of training so that muscle atrophy doesn't set in in our thirties—the 'best of both worlds' age is somewhere in the late 40s, or even later, depending.

One of the big tricks that the next few generations are going to have to work out is recalibrating social notions of careers and career paths to catch up with this relentless drive towards longer lives and multiple lines of accomplishment that are now possible. Brian's MA and other accomplishments show exactly how wide-open this new world is going to be... good on ya, BLK! http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/images/icons/icon14.gif

Exile, what you say about goals, and goals that you are really striving for, is so true. Although the book is quite "dated" by now (a lot of the science in it is now far surpassed), I have always enjoyed reading Dr. Maltz's book PsychoCybernetics. And the reason I have found it of such great value is the focus he puts on goal striving. "Verve" and "vitality" and goal striving I am sure are all interconnected, like you talked about.

take care,
Brian

Congratulations!