Local Martial Arts Masters Hold World Class Seminar to Help Save a Leukemia Patient
If you live in the midwest, more specifically within driving distance of Omaha, Nebraska, there is a martial arts demonstration fundraiser going on this weekend put on by several martial arts masters, my sensei included. This is open to anyone from any art who would like an opportunity to train with many great martial artists in arts from around the world. The purpose of this event is to help raise money for a 14 year old boy with leukemia. Besides the martial arts demonstrations, there will be a garage sale and a bake sale.
Here is a message from Greg from the website.
“I have leukemia, a cancer of the blood. I underwent chemotherapy for 2 ½ years starting in May of 2000. I was in remission for fifteen months and then had a relapse. I underwent another 2 ½ years of chemo because a bone marrow donor was not found. I was in remission for 17 months after that chemo; unfortunately, the leukemia relapsed just after Thanksgiving this year 2007. This means that it is very resistant to chemo and is considered VERY HIGH RISK. The best chance for a cure for this disease is a stem-cell or bone marrow transplant. You can learn about Greg at www.greghatchey.com.
Well I’ve found a couple of cord blood units…but read on.
Translated: that means I’ll be in Seattle for awhile (possibly up to a year).
I’m told that the likelihood of finding a match for me is like winning the lottery, but in the last couple of years, they have made some significant advances with cord blood.”
I was fortunate enough to enjoy a weekend of sitting around and doing nothing. I noticed the History Channel was having one of their “We’re All Going to Die” weekends, which I suppose is better than 72 hours of Hitler, since it was Veterans Day weekend. One of the dooms day shows they were playing was “10 Ways the World Will End”. One of the ways is an asteroid, of which they discussed that Apophis will dip below our satellites as it passes through earth orbit on April 13, 2029 (Friday the 13th). Then, if it continues on it’s path as expected, it will hit the earth and kill us all. Only a handful of people are actually preparing to defend the earth against Apophis. They believe that by flying a ship close to it, the gravity of the ship will be enough to pull Apophis off course so that it won’t hit us. This theory is untested, and scientists only think it will work. But that’s not the the odd thing that came to mind.
Every week, during class, our sensei likes to impart some wisdom for thought. These lessons typically apply in the dojo, but also can apply outside the dojo. This week he told us a story about a student who became upset when they were unable to perform a technique on another student, simply because the other student knew how to counter the technique. The enraged student is a high ranking student, but sensei talked to us about how it is not just how well you know the technique, but how you act, especially in the face of failure, that truly determines when you are ready to test and increase your rank. Testing is just a formality to obtaining your next rank, but it is the time you spend in practice that is the real test.
We used to get about 2 credit card applications every day in the mail. We would shred them, but they would always just send us another “invitation” the next week. Finally we got sick and tired of them sending us junk, so I started writing with a sharpee over the application porting in big letters “NOT INTERESTED.” Then, I tear it up, being careful that the part with my name and address is still in tact, and then pack it all back in the envelope and send it back to them. Since the envelope’s postage is already paid for, you just help them waste their money. I write over the application part both for emphasis and to make sure someone doesn’t try to take out a card in my name. It’s quite calming to come home from work and release a little stress by tearing up an application and sending it back to them. Since doing this, several companies have cut down on the number of requests they are sending us. If they don’t stop, I am going to start filling the envelopes with shredded paper bits from my shredder, or just burn the application and send them the ash. Try it yourself if you’re tired of all the spam. 
