We had a fabulous Boulder Quest Center graduation on Friday night. We had something like 12 people testing for new belts, and the energy was incredible. I guess it is credible, actually, because it's almost always like that - but it continues to amaze me. Here's my old man story: I think back to me, Aitoshi, and our first two students training in Scott Carpenter park on 30th street, next to the skate park and the SCA guys... and then I look around at a vibrant community of 130 practitioners in a stunning facility filled with reminders of our individual and collective successes. It's mind blowing, like my grandparents who sat with me to watch space shuttle launches after growing up before there were automobiles.

Truly, everyone rocked that night. Some standout moments to me include 15-year old Lia throwing big-man Randy with a ganseki nage, her younger brother Sam elbow-striking an incoming punch out of the way, and little guy Tallinn whipping Trainer Jenn Boughn overhead from a bear-hug attack. Adults rocked too. I always love the success of our senior-most women Kim and Jenn, who continue to deserve all praise. I also heartily enjoyed the bravery of Tony, a long-distance student visiting us from Santa Fe to demonstrate for his yellow belt in front of 40 strangers.

Our community is strong, talented, and supportive of each other. It is such a joy to participate in, let alone lead. Then on Saturday, Lia and Sam came to their first Level 3 class in green-white belts, Kim arrived in her new brown-white belt, and our two Boulder Quest black belts, Chris and Thomas, came as well. We had one of our best training sessions, with everyone excited to explore new material and try things out with new uke (Japanese word for "receiver [of a technique]").

So that's what I was really thankful for, in the spirit of the Thanksgiving holiday. A vision years ago has become a reality, and now the community inspires me even more than I inspire them. What a great position to find myself in!