Favorite Books: Byzantium, Sphere, Jubal Sacket

Favorite Quotes: (Not from a book, but there's not really a place on here for Favorite Quotes from martial arts class.) Wisdom of Master Mike: "Don't say you're sorry for getting it wrong. I know you can't do this yet. If you could do it, you'd be the one standing in front of class in the funny costume." "I'm a martial arts instructor, not a parent or a teacher. You tell a parent you're sore, they say, 'Oh, no, what happened?' You tell a teacher you're sore, they say, 'You must have done something wrong.' You tell a martial arts instructor you're sore, they say, 'Good. Training.'" "Were you able to keep up the count? No. If you had been what would have happened? That's right; I would have counted faster." "When the attacker punches, the first thing you do is pivot out of the way. Why? Because you don't want to be hit. Why do you need to come to Aikido class to learn that you don't want to get hit?" "See, it's simple. Why is Aikido so hard to learn? Because it's so simple." "One hand goes up and the other hand goes down. Now, look at the ceiling. That's up. Look at the floor. That's down. Why do I tell you this? Because in about five minutes when we're practicing you will be pointing everywhere but at the ceiling and the floor. The ceiling is up. The floor is down. One hand goes up and the other hand goes down." "Why do you raise your hands higher than your head when blocking an overhead strike? Because the strike is coming from higher than your head and you want to stop it from getting to your head." "Head turns, body follows." "Remember to thank everyone you worked with."