Not much to report (and that feels kind of perfect).
Today felt like one of those rare days where nothing dramatic happened… and somehow that was exactly what my nervous system needed.
It was 85 and sunny, and I soaked up every bit of it — the warmth on my skin, the brightness of the sky, the way Florida light already feels different from what I’ve known my whole life. Softer. Brighter. Like it’s constantly reminding me to slow down and breathe a little deeper.
This morning I trained with Train Kali from 9–11, about a 45-minute drive away. The drive itself felt like a small ritual — long stretches of road, palms, blue sky, that sense of leaving the normal world for a few hours to go do something focused and intentional.
Training was hard. It’s always hard. Mentally and physically. Filipino martial arts isn’t something you casually pick up — it demands your attention, your coordination, your nervous system, your humility. There’s no autopilot. Every movement requires presence. Every mistake is immediately obvious. It’s challenging in a way that’s both frustrating and deeply satisfying at the same time.
After that I rushed home, stopped at the post office, and then sat in the sun with the dogs. I didn’t put music on. I didn’t scroll. I just sat there. The only sounds were distant cars, birds, and people walking their dogs. That quiet felt almost loud in the best way — like space finally opening up around me.
Later I went to the gym for a workout. It was almost empty, which felt like such a gift. No waiting for machines, no noise, no rush. I just moved through my workout slowly and deliberately. The gym has changed a lot since October — new machines, a full-time cleaning crew, and now they’re literally knocking down a wall and expanding into the space next door. It makes sense. The place is full of bodybuilders, powerlifters, and then people like me — just there because we love moving our bodies and feeling strong.
The evening stayed simple. I ran the dogs, ate dinner outside by the pool while the light softened and the air cooled just a little, and then came inside to unwind and get things ready for tomorrow. Nothing big. Just life, happening quietly.
One more thing before I close this out: I found two schools that teach JKD and Wing Chun. They’re both over an hour away, but the contrast between them — and the styles themselves — is interesting.
(For anyone who doesn’t know: JKD — Jeet Kune Do — is about efficiency, adaptability, and what actually works under pressure. It’s less about memorizing forms and more about learning how to move, respond, and think in real time.)
(Wing Chun is a Chinese martial art focused on structure, sensitivity, and close-range efficiency — learning how to stay rooted, relaxed, and precise while redirecting force rather than meeting it head-on. It’s subtle, technical, and deeply internal in its own way.)
One of the schools offers training four days a week — not mandatory, but available. It’s high-frequency, high-access, very structured. You could really immerse through repetition and volume.
The other is the place where you have to apply. The instructor only accepts serious students, and training is once a week for 3–4 hours. Fewer sessions, but deeper ones. More focus. More intention. More “this is a path” than “this is a class.”
Both have value. But right now, the second one feels more aligned for me — less about squeezing something in and more about choosing something deliberately.
I emailed him tonight to ask how to apply and told him I’m interested. We’ll see what he says.
It feels like a small thing… but it also feels like another thread quietly weaving itself into this new life I’m building here — one slow, intentional day at a time
