Category Archives: The Lobo Chronicles

We all have our own story, and this is mine in the telling. As narcissistic as it is, I’m hoping that one day my son will read these words and maybe understand his old man better.

Lobo Chronicles, part 13 – A New Horizon

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Next entry in the Chronicles. The UWM event had now finished; where to from here?

Leading up to the Unified Weapons Master event, I had put as much focus as I could on my training. This enabled me to get into good shape and a decent technical level, which was obviously of great value to me when the time came to fight in the VTC (Vital Target Combat) event. However, this gain came at a price – for some time I had barely scraped by at work and at home, as the training and diet often left me mentally and physically drained. Continue reading →

Lobo Chronicles, part 12 – Good times ahead

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It has been a long time since I wrote on these Chronicles. Almost two years have passed since my last entry, and there has been some water under the bridge.

Since getting a black belt in Kung Fu, I’ve kept up my training and even passed a few black belt gradings. As always, it’s very satisfying to learn new forms (especially when they involve weapons) and I would also like to think my sparring skills have improved. Even went competing again the other year, but the tournaments have lost their luster.

Tempted to turn them into action figures for my son

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The Lobo Chronicles, Part 11 – The Road to Black Belt

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Getting towards the end of my story, but it isn’t over yet!

Having recovered from my knee injury (to a degree) and scored some trophy loot, I could see the next big challenge looming on the horizon – the legendary Black Belt.

Even though I had been training since my teenage years, I actually had never had the opportunity to attain it. There was always something that got in the way, such as my school shutting down, me moving to another city, and so on. Even though my Capoeira blue belt could be seen as the equivalent of a black belt (as it marks you as a graduado, a graduate) it was still not a black belt. But now the time had come. Continue reading →

The Lobo Chronicles, part 10 – From Chump to Champ

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The part of my story where I am finally able to return to where I belong – and doing so in style. Sort of.

After having suffered a knee injury and getting a handle on parenthood, finally things were turning around – after not being able to do any martial arts training for such a long time and pinballing between physios and specialists that could not help me, I found myself at the office of a Dr Kuoh. I told him my story and the nature of my knee issue, and to my amazement he found the issue straightaway. A quick test confirmed that the problem was that my kneecap wasn’t tracking right and so it was grinding bone on bone, which caused the swelling. By taping the knee I could move again, not to the extent of my former capability but with some rehab it’d be enough to take up Kung Fu again! Continue reading →

The Lobo Chronicles, Part 9 – When Disaster Strikes

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Darkest chapter in my story so far, where what comes up must come down.

For as long as I can remember, I have always loved martial arts. It is my passion, pure and simple, as it is what truly makes me feel alive. Regardless of style, all martial arts bring with them a seemingly endless array of challenges and rewards – which is what makes it all worth the effort. Continue reading →

The Lobo Chronicles, Part 8 – Kung Fu Fighting

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The next chapter in my story, when it becomes apparent that it is time to move on.

I am far from what you would call a spiritual person, and as a happy agnostic I feel that there must be something greater than us that started it all, but until I feel certain of what that certain is I will keep myself open and accepting of most possibilities (except Scientology). But when it comes to fatalism, I do pick a side – as a big fan of the concept of ‘free will’, I put my faith in the belief that although we are born into circumstances out of our control, we are still able to make our own choices throughout our lives and influence our future. The idea that we would all be subject to a predetermined fate irks me. When astrology claims that my ‘Leo’ personality is defined by how the planets were aligned at the time of my birth, it feels like an insult to my ego and independence (which, ironically, is very much typical Leo behaviour).

Eye of the Leo

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The Lobo Chronicles, Part 7 – Brothers in Arms

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The continued Capoeira adventures in my story. If you wish to know more about Capoeira, read this.

After moving from Sweden to Sydney, I joined forces with Pipoca straightaway. Once my sister and my friend Jimmy arrived as well, we went househunting and soon rented a flat right by the famous Bondi Beach. A job had already been found for me, which was a shock compared to Sweden, and I soon got into a routine between work and training with my friends. In the next 6 months we enjoyed the beach life and went on adventures, such as snorkelling at the Great Barrier Reef. After struggling in Sweden for so long, it was a relief to be able to bask in the sun for a while. Eventually my sister and Jimmy went back to Sweden, and life settled down to a routine with just Pipoca and I. But now that I no longer had the company of people from my own Capoeira group, how was I to continue my training? Continue reading →

The Lobo Chronicles, Part 6 – There and Back Again

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The continued Capoeira adventures in my story. This is the part of my story where I meet my wife, and I’m publishing this on the day we’re getting married. If you wish to know more about Capoeira, read this.

Allow me to apologise – I omitted a very important part of the most recent chapter of this story, namely how I met someone most special during my time in Australia. I first met her when I was visiting one of the Capoeira subgroups out in the suburbs of Sydney, and I remembered her from that visit from the passion and joy that she just couldn’t contain during the class. Suitably enough, her Capoeira nickname was ‘Pipoca’ (which means Popcorn).
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The Lobo Chronicles, Part 5 – a Capoeira love story

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The continued Capoeira adventures in my story. If you wish to know more about Capoeira, read this.

Capoeira has a very strong social nature, with groups developing very strong internal cultures – you will see a lot more events, dinners, post-workout drinks, demonstrations, workshops and collaborations with other groups than what you see in your standard martial art. I hadn’t been with my school for more than two weeks before I found myself throwing kicks and cartwheels before an audience! Although I was deeply nervous at most of the demonstrations, it was also quite the kick to show your stuff to others. And a lot more demos were to come further down the track in all kinds of locations – theme parks, schools, fashion nights, shopping centers etc along with a number of festivals in Sweden. Continue reading →

The Lobo Chronicles, Part 4 – Becoming Lobo

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The part of my story where I come into contact with the Brazilian martial art Capoeira. If you wish to know more about this martial art, read this.

Just like a lot of capoeiristas (Capoeira players) my age, my first contact with the art was through the movie ‘Only The Strong’, which was a fantastic and epic action movie with the most bizarre and impressive fighting style that has ever been shown in any movie, ever. Or so my teenage brain though anyway. Filled with backflips, spins and head-over-heels spectacular fight scenes (and the compulsory montage, of course) it left most viewers with a sense of wonder. Continue reading →