I was going through some old video on my phone and came across some early video in November, 2019, of my daughter, Leanna, training with her Swordmaster, Greg. Then I found some video from six months later of my wife and daughter learning to use the long sword. Swordfighting is hard work and I am so impressed by both of them and their skills. (Remember it is about 100 degrees in Arizona at 8:30 am and they are fighting in full protective armor.)

My daughter had only been training for a couple months in the first four segments of this video, but, I was impressed at how agile and effective she had become in such a short time. She is currently serving a church mission, and has taken a pause for a year and a half from her martial arts training to serve in the Missouri area.

I was struck by how emotionally precious these little snippets of video of my wife and daughter are to me. . .

Leanna is really the one that spurred on our training in fencing and martial arts as a family over the last two years. I have come to love this martial art and have such great respect for Greg, our teacher and Swordmaster.

So, I put this video here to remind myself how far we’ve come as a family, and to remember how powerfully children can influence our lives for the better. It is profound how much joy I feel watching my children and my wife learn new skills.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.