Yesterday morning I caught the middle of an NPR newscast like most days. A woman was talking about a well-respected African American woman who continues to be honored for her contributions, long after her death. What stayed with me for the day was her description of an African phrase about three le...

Just received word of your diagnosis from a Uechi friend. I want to add my well wishes, Vicki. Hope you're feeling the warmth and energy of mental hugs from everyone. Frost: ... The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I...

I was sitting in a French restaurant In an historic French neighborhood in Canada His watch read ten of eleven I was wishing I felt in love Suspecting it was my own fault I didn’t The man across from me was irritated His patience with my defensive, girlish behavior Was wearing thin He was tired of ...

is a beautiful thing if

believe nothing, no matter where you read it or who has said it, not even if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.

- buddha

Mary, next to every man who posts stereotypes on threads like My Ideal Woman stands one or more women behaving in a way that feeds the creation of that opinion. The forum gives you the opportunity to educate them and let them know: Not every girl’s mother sends her to Cruella Deville’s private acad...

The little hen whistled out hot steam We like the sound it makes. I can’t bring my sister’s friend back All I can do is make her tea. Makes the flu seem trivial. Makes everything seem trivial. The Grim Reaper has a VIP pass, Priority admission wherever, whenever. He takes your hand and smiles coyly...

She cultivates orchids at the window’s edge A challenge for her black thumb, A reminder of the toil inherent in beauty, So lovely it draws her always to the window To dream. She used to look out at mystical stars And long for magically pure bliss. Now she smiles out over a dense forest Rich with wi...

I'm interested in this question you pose Laird, and hope to hear thoughts. Someone who wishes to improve him/herself will likely find martial arts a good opportunity to work on it. At the same time, there are hoodlums involved in evil deeds looking to learn how to do it better. How do you define hu...

I wonder if I could get a coalition of organizations together that would be interested in developing a social marketing campaign aimed at targeted groups of women and their significant referents to reduce the stigma of...being too nice. I think many would benefit from your efforts. Cessation of ope...

[quote="Dana Sheets] Why didn't I?[/quote] A close friend and I talked about how upbringing affected our decision-making in life. Similar to the woman in this post, she felt threatened when she was younger, tried unsuccessfully to address it and received ineffective help. She should have become...

Dana, Thank you for posting this. I've never read anything that dives so deeply into the complexity of a woman's mind in this type of situation. It's a well-articulated departure from from the unresolvable points often discussed. Some fundamental issues that martial arts can possibly address: engra...

Laird, please don't go. GEM, with all respect: please share with us what it is you'd like done on these forums. If everyone reinforces each other's thoughts on the same recurring issues pertaining to Uechi Ryu, what's the value of open discussion forums? What would you like to see the conversations ...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If writing was the thing to do and I could write only of you… I would write until I die. But life’s too ripe to plot the end, so instead we kiss again… embrassez-moi, mon amour. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~...