It’s been a rough year for Sensei Sandra. But most people probably haven’t even noticed.
A few months prior to the Soke Cup (Chito-Ryu Karate World Championships), she got the news that her Mum had been diagnosed with terminal cancer in the final stages and was given just 3 months to live.
For a little while there, Sandra’s life fell to pieces.
Thankfully, Sensei Sandra is the kind of person who always looks for the positive in everything. The eternal optimist! Drawing off the strength that her Mum has shown she looked deep within herself to find some answers.
And oh boy, did those answers come!
Sensei Sandra’s Mum is a fighter. She’s one tough woman. Throughout her whole life she’s had more than her fair share of challenges. But she always seems to come out on top. I guess that’s where Sandra get’s it from.
Anyway… in the midst of multiple trips down to Newcastle Sandra continued to prepare for the Soke Cup. Not only as a competitor herself, but also as a coach.
Then, during this period of less than ideal preparation, about 5 weeks out from the Soke Cup, Sensei Sandra sprained her ankle quite badly. After a trip to the GP, she was once again devastated by more bad news…
“It’s going to take about 6 weeks to heal. Stay off it as much as you can.”
So with the prospect of no training during her final stages of preparation before heading to the World Championships, Sensei Sandra was thrown another challenge. Most people I know would just give up, but not Sandra. For her, this was yet another opportunity to look deep inside and grow her mental and emotional strength.
All the while in the background, Sensei Sandra’s Mum was continuing to defy the odds and even now she’s still going strong.
Sensei Sandra went on to compete at the Soke Cup, winning silver in the ladies black belt kata division and was also part of the bronze medal ladies black belt kumite division. And the team of course came back with a swag of medals, making it our most successful team ever.
But right now, you’re probably wondering what’s all this got to do with you.
So here goes…
With all of this going on, Sensei Sandra has been developing a plan to keep herself feeling great and being productive, no matter what life throws at her. And now she wants to share some of that plan with you, so that you to can experience a new way of living.
The philosophy of Chito-Ryu Karate-do is the kind of thing that pervades everything you do. Over many years of training, it starts to become part of who you are. You look at everything you do and start to judge it from that frame of reference.
On the surface it’s quite a simple: peace, perseverance, if you work hard you will achieve your goals.
But, the deeper you look, the more profound it becomes. And it was as a result of looking at life from this perspective that Sensei Sandra started asking for answers she needed when life got tough for her. And when you ask the right questions, the answers come.
Rather than giving you the answers right now, I’m going to ask you to start to ask yourself the important questions, start looking within for the answers. Maybe one day we’ll share some more of Sensei Sandra’s wisdom, but for now, the wisdom is going to come from you.