Chicago trip

It was another great trip back home for me this past weekend. My hosts were Kurt and Barb Barnhart, who do so much for me to make my visits so enjoyable. The weather was nice, seminars went well, and the wedding I went to was a chance to see some old friends and students.

I flew up and back on Southwest Airlines, my new favorite. I have not had any of the problems with them that I've had with Delta, American, and USAir.

The seminars were held at Tony Velada's new studio in Worth. He and Aikido sensei Bob Garza recently opened the facility on Harlem Avenue and it's a nice looking, clean, and functional studio. The Friday evening and Saturday sessions were attended by about 25 people each and we had participants from three other systems, including Danzan-Ryu jiu-jitsu.

Steve Hatfield came in from Ohio, and we made some new friends from Missouri. Chris Dunham is a kenpo stylist from Springfield, MO, and he came up with three students and his wife. They seem to be a nice group, proficient, and I'm looking forward to working with them soon.

One of my old-timer black belts, Jon Landin, had invited the Barnharts and I to his son's wedding on Saturday. I was surprised to see one of my very first kenpo instructors, John Harrington, at the reception. John lives in Arkansas and had driven up with his wife. Later, I was tapped on the shoulder by a man I didn't recognize, and rightly so. I hadn't seen him since he was about 10 years old when he took my classes in Chicago. His name is Jeff Wichmann, he's Jon's nephew, and is a professional musician. He told me that my introduction to karate for him was the spark that eventually turned him to studying music and lived in Japan for three years to do so. You can read more about him at www.myspace.com/jwichmann.

My first tai chi teacher, Bill Grizzle, was at Tony's school on Saturday morning, teaching his class. I hadn't seen him in almost 20 years. It was good to catch up with him, too. A large group of us had lunch together on Saturday. There were karate, tai chi, kenpo, and aikido practitioners and nobody even threw any food at each other.

All in all, not just a fun weekend but a memorable weekend - and the Cubs even lost!