+1 / -1 – A Year In Reflection

I guess I should start with a ‘Happy New Year!’ to all and sundry. So it’s 2008 now eh? Doesn’t it feel different? ;).

In some ways the last year has flown by, in others not. I sat down the other evening and tried to think of all the things that had gone on during 2007, as off the top of my head I was really struggling. When I put my mind to it though, and went back through photographs, emails and blog posts, there was a huge amount there. My training’s gone from strength to strength in many respects, and succesful gradings and competitions are my evidence for this. Just under a year ago I entered my first ever competition, and despite having the worst nerves of my life so far (yes, even more than getting married), I came through it with a trophy. I graded all the way to 4th Gup which fills me with pride, because I know how hard we work for our achievments at our club. And once again we visited the Seni expo, where we’ll be in attendance again this year. For anyone in the UK with even a passing interest in martial arts, it’s an absolute must, the real high point of the year. This year we’re working hard towards getting our own full-time premises, and an inter-club summer camp. It’s going to be a busy year as far as Tang Soo Do is concerned and no mistake.

On a personal level, I’m finding it hard to say whether I had a good year or just a mediocre one. My car got broken into, the house got flooded and took six months to make habitable again, and other various things have gone on, but on the whole it was a good year. I spent a lot of good time with some really good friends, and I look forward to doing the same again this year. I managed to shift three stone over the period of a few months in the middle of the year which I’ve kept off, and is going to be real inspiration for me for the coming year. Lord knows I could do with some. We also welcomed Murphy, our new spaniel pup into the house and lives, and I’m so glad we did. He’s an absolute gem and I wouldn’t be parted from him for the world.

It’s customary to make resolutions at this time of year, so here are mine.

• Train hard, lose weight.  I’m determined to be a lot, lot closer to my ideal weight by the time I grade for my first senior belt, my red belt. The only excuse I want to have for not being able to hold those roundhouses at head height is my old age ;).
• Run. I’ve already committed to entering the Great North Run, and regardless of whether I get a place or not, by October I’m going to be running at least 10 miles further than I can at the moment.
• Write more. One of my real loves, writing, has fallen by the wayside a lot over the last year. Having BBM take me on board as a reviewer has given me a good kick up the backside and reminded me how much I enjoy it, so there’s going to be plenty more output from me. I really want to neaten up and adapt my style too, I don’t like a lot of what I’m writing now, on this blog especially.
• Get organised. For too long I’ve been a bit of a slob when it comes to keeping myself organised. This has to change, and will.

That’s about it for now, and I think is plenty to be getting on with. I’ve had losses and gains over 2007, from the very start to the very end, but I’m going to focus on the good stuff now, the things and people which mean the most. I think I can consider myself another year wiser.