Fifty steps, one hundred steps

I read an interesting Japanese saying recently; "Gojuppo hyappo" which translates as "fifty steps, one hundred steps" i.e. if you have taken fifty steps then make the effort to complete one hundred. This seems to be very apt as another year turns before us and we enter 2012. It is very easy to start something at this time of the year and then never finish it, whether it be that improved lunge, new diet, fitness regime, or that book you've been meaning to write. In fencing terms some budding fencers will walk into a salle for the first time ever this year, some student will win their first fight whilst other athletes will be hoping to stride onto the Olympic stage. Life is really nothing but a series of steps at the end of the day and whether you are taking a new path or struggling bravely along the old it serves well to take one at a time and keep putting one foot in front of the other. The path of fencing and indeed of life is really an endless one but it takes spirit sometimes to keep walking. Take all obstacles one step at a time; after all, we are all on the same path. Happy New Year to you all.