During October of 2009, while training with Husfelt Sr. Sensei during Black Belt training, I was gifted with an experience that I can only call ‘magical’. We had been working on avoiding striking/punching attacks to the body – specifically the upper, middle and lower parts of the body. This particular exchange had me attacking Sensei with a lower punch with him avoiding the strike, grabbing my attacking hand at the wrist and taking me to the ground. I had punched at him several times in the process of him teaching the technique with a fair amount of speed. He asked that I come at him quickly and I did. As I came in to attempt to punch Sensei in the lower stomach, the world just seem to slow down for some reason. I observed that Sensei intercepted my wrist but was taking a long time in taking me to the ground. I swore I was standing there for 2-3 seconds before I observed Sensei starting to move. Next thing I know, I am on the ground but feeling very disoriented in my lower stomach and it radiating out to my body. I stand up and continue to have this feeling of something not right. Sensei asked how I was and I explained how my body was feeling.

I work hard at keeping my awareness open to all that is happening in class so I can learn from my time with Sensei. I was missing about 2-3 seconds of time with regards to the technique just demonstrated on me. Sensei smiled and said “I stopped time on you with that last technique”. My mind took a moment to understand Sensei’s comment but when trying to review what had just happened to me – I couldn’t come up with any other possibility. He had stopped time around me doing the technique. I then understood why the ‘jolt’ to my system had occurred – stopping and starting so “quickly” had taken me out of balance with myself and my body was still adjusting to the new experience. Not every day do you have to adjust for temporal time changes.

This is just one recent mystical experience that I have observed and/or been a part of during my many years of training with Sensei. Magic does occur – embrace the gift by studying with Sensei.

My deepest and humblest thank you Sensei for this recent experience.