謹賀新年！HAPPY NEW YEAR 2019！

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Hello everyone. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

It's been about two and half years since I went into the hospital and had emergency surgery. The survival rate for the aortic dissection that affected me is under 5% and getting through the surgery was itself was a small miracle. But even beyond that, there were many things that day that were very fortunate for me. From the cab that happened by at the exact right moment to the team of specialist doctors that just happened to be there for another surgery, everything went my way. Today I still am reminded again and again how fortunate I have been not just on that day, but every day since.

All your support has enabled me and my family to recover and go on pursuing our lives and passion for the martial arts. I have been truly blessed by all the people who have helped in so many ways. Your help with donations from around the world, including students both recent and from long ago, friends, and even many people I have never met, made a huge difference for us. Thank-you again for all you have done for me and my family.

I am visiting the doctor regularly now for scheduled check ups. So far, everything has been good and the checkups will become less frequent now that it has been a while with no signs of trouble.

Hiromi, Mikomi and I are thriving here in Tokyo even though we miss California and all our friends there. Unfortunately, I cannot travel long distances, especially by plane. The surgery repaired two tears in my aorta, but a third that could not be fully repaired remains. So although I cannot travel too far, I am very happy that many of you have come to visit us here in Tokyo.

Of course, I have adjusted my diet and reluctantly toned down my exercise regimen in keeping with doctor's recommendations. With steady progress over the last few years, I have been able to resume teaching on a regular basis and I feel good. Sometimes my students tell me they would never have known I had a problem.

While I have to be careful not to exert myself too much, I have to keep training because a bird is not a bird if it can't fly, a fish is not a fish if it can't swim, and a martial artist is not a martial artist if they do not train.

Let's walk on together!

2018, December 25th

Yorinaga Nakamura