I just received my 1st degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do this weekend. I also hold rank in a few other martial arts. I've been studying various martial arts for 23 years.
This got me wondering what other hobbies y'all have other than harmonica (even if harmonica is your day job and not a hobby). I did a search, but couldn't find any thread on this topic.
Does drinking craft beer count? :) (was a freestyle wrestler in high school and 1 1/2 yrs of university until it hurt too much. Then did the kung-fu,tai chi thing as well..many years ago. Congrats!) ---------- MBH Webbrain - a GUI guide to Adam's Youtube vids FerretCat Webbrain - Jason Ricci's vids (by hair colour!)
Last Edited by bluemoose on May 05, 2015 1:44 PM
I took two weeks of Tae Kwon Do 15 years ago and got heel spurs for my troubles. I still have trouble with them sometimes. Walking and running don't bother them too bad, but standing in one place is murder. I've been trying to work back up to running. I loved it as a kid, as well as softball and volleyball but haven't been in shape to do much with it.
I play too many video games and spend a lot of time reading the news, particularly politics.
Competitive O-lifting is pretty badass. Much respect for reaching a competitive level in an extremely difficult/technical lift mate!
Last Edited by CarlA on May 05, 2015 1:22 PM
Personally I love to draw and do some creative writing hoping that I can be a published author one day. I'm not big on fitness though I need to be lol. I'm thinking of trying my luck with some cycling
Congratulations MichaelMc. Long time martial artist here too. Hold a 7th degree black belt in Goshin Jutsu Karate. retired from the tournament circuit about 8 years ago. Still workout and do the odd private lesson and clinic here and there.
My wife and I closed out our tree climbing academy last year. But I still like to climb for fun. It's rope and harness style climbing like what a tree worker or researcher would do.
@Goldbrick...I used to do a lot of the Olympic style lifts when I was doing tournaments. Great stuff for real strength and explosive power. Good on you man. ----------
I've been playing the harmonica for 43 years. I've been playing golf for 53. Tried for a PGA Tour Card twice back in the 70's. Never came close but I didn't want to get old wishing I had given it a shot. For you golfers, my current index is 6.7 which is the highest its been in 40+ years. By the way, I'm only 60 so I'm old, but not that old. Just started young. Like Greg, I also have 5 kids so I am currently in my 15th consecutive year coaching Little League Baseball. (might be my last) ---------- Tom Halchak www.BlueMoonHarmonicas.com
Last Edited by florida-trader on May 05, 2015 2:10 PM
When the weather permits, I spend inordinate amounts of time fishing for the not-so-elusive channel cat. Other specialties include sleeping, kicking back, and other forms of generalized Hillbillyesque behavior (it's my Ozarkian birthright . . . I figure).
Other than that I hang out with my dogs and build/play odd musical instruments. Here's a vid of one of them (featuring the late, great Jack the Dog).
Wilderness, though actually semi-wilderness, kayak trips primarily in Quebec. Did a fair amount of winter camping, snowshoeing mostly in Nh White mnts before that. ....Always looking to get off the grid...
...odd this disappeared 3 times and posted twice....
Last Edited by Spderyak on May 05, 2015 8:45 PM
Hey, Michael - actually, it isn't finished yet. I had a brain tumor discovered (and then surgery for it, which almost went south in a final way) and lost my granddad, my mum and dad in the 5 years since I wrote and made mock-ups for that book. Those things almost sucked all the fun out of life lol.
I'm slowly getting the motivation to get going on it and other projects. I'm in NZ but hopefully with modern things like the Interweb (ha!) I can sell much wider.
---------- My YouTube Channel - Any Likes or Comments appreciated. :) https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQ2_8CnjaiNLcPke4gWQ65A
@Danny...that is a nice piece of cover art. You have to finish it.
@Ozarkrich...My original post mentioned my studying philosophy too. It's one of the cool parts of martial arts practice/study. The martial arts are a moving philosophy. Or to put it another way, its philosophy in action. Or non action as the case may be. It can be a heady topic. ----------
My most prolific hobby is flower photography (www.arcouthaphotos.com). I once was an addicted audiophile and still have a huge collection of vinyl records( Merc's; Shady Dogs et al) and then 17 years ago I gave up my 40 year guitar playing passion when I broke my neck which resulted in my left hand not working. That's why I took up blowin' harps a year ago; I needed to make music again. ----------
Fishing, gardening , going to hear a band, at a bar, with beer. Sometimes I set in. Die hard do it your selfer, have a fab shop out back in a big ass building that I built, with help from my family and friends. Would like to get back into motorcycles.
My No. 1 hobby is tube amp repair, restoration, and building. Have a near mint 65 Supro Tremo-Verb on the bench now. It was on the curb for the trash man! Not mine but I have been entrusted to get it running like new! Just have fun!...BN
Now Retired so have time for lots of interests. Motorcycles Travel, Dual Sport, Scooter and Vintage. Riding to Blues Music (Juke Joint Festival) or Blues Festivals. 40 year collector of Antique Automated Musical Instruments. Think Music Boxes, Phonographs, Victor Talking Machines, Juke Boxes, Reproducing Pianos. 18 year University of Florida Master Gardner. Home repair and fix up. Furniture restoration. Motorcycle Restoration. Phonograph Restoration. If is is broke---I will try and fix it.
Congratulations MichaelMc! I have been training in Tae Kwon Do for about 8 years now and I hope this is the year I will make it to black belt. I find the martial arts and music to be very complimentary and more similar than many might realize.
I also enjoy cycling, both road and track, though I have not done much lately.
Well as far as martial arts goes i have a Black Belt in Origami...and the paper to prove it. Other than that a severe lack of hobbies..music and the History Channel keep me sane..mind you i do enjoy my Water garden and the fish keeping side of it. Breathing is a good hobby to keep up,i'm working on that..
We are a busy and creative bunch! Impressive pedigrees guys. Other than playing harp- approx 43 years, with about 20 of that as a band mate. Vocals nearly as long, about 15 years writing songs, with the last 10 or so actually recording, and the past 3 to 4 actually self producing our work- cd #2 almost ready to release. Also an avid freshwater fisherman, emphasis on the mighty bream and crappie, and the old standby channel cat. Trout in there, used to go for pike and walleye, smallmouth bass as a kid. Bought a 10' sit-on-top fishing kayak last year and so at age 60 I will be making a fool of myself trying to manage to *gracefully* enter and exit the thing. Last year was great comedy, oh for a video, oh well. Back in the day I learned to cross country ski in the northeast. Next year saw me moving to Texas sad to say. Still miss it! I have grown some fairly wicked habanero peppers and slapped some sort of sauce up every year for the past few. Personal use only. Dangerous, vinyl gloves a must! We bought a '78 Argosy 28' travel trailer a year and a half ago, but it began to look like a huge and expensive rehab which I was not up for. Sold it off and brought home a near- new Coleman travel trailer last fall, 19', just right for the two of us, music and fishing gear. Plan is to go full time gypsy in about two years, play and fish as we tour the USA. Very active subculture of folks doing this so it should be a cool deal. Some of you may see us at some point as we quarter the compass.
I have been a jack of many skills and master of none. From pushing a broom and washing dishes, to roofing and other light construction, to rebuild of industrial sewing equipment, building satellite dishes from 2 meters to 9.4 meters, to self employed wholesaler, to my latest gig, about 13 years at various firms doing warehouse/parts/pickup/delivery. At age 59 I got an offer which I took to move up a bit. At 60 an even better offer which I also took. Retire in 2 years even so. I tried my hand at optimizing harps before it had a name, which pretty much met with several dead harps. I leave that for more capable folks.
Quit smoking nearly 3 years ago so I'm with Indigo, breathing is a great hobby! ---------- http://www.reverbnation.com/jawboneandjolene
I've spent a lot of time working with logic circuits and C programming. Now I play bass guitar.
I'm starting to think that I'll latch onto anything that let's me use an unreasonable amount of graph paper. It's gotten to the point where I think graph paper is my real hobby.
I find this very fascinating. It's especially interesting to think that, with such diverse backgrounds, we have all found our way to harmonica.
In addition to martial arts, I am be able to hold my own in a jam session playing: drums, saxophone, mandolin, and (of course) harmonica. I also play keyboard, though not very well.
I actually started taking harmonica "seriously" a few years ago when I decided to cut out all the instruments that I have no desire to become great on. I gave up every instrument save harmonica and keyboard.
I am now good enough on harmonica to realize how bad I truly am. :)
I like that last line MichaelMC - "I am now good enough on harmonica to realize how bad I truly am." That certainly applies to me as well. Well, let's see - to begin with I was a tennis pro (mainly a teaching pro but some money tournaments back in the 70s). Since then I've been a road racer (running), bicycle racer, and soccer coach and player. I still play tennis (not enough), run every day, and do other fitness things. Starting in '02 I got really interested in traditional archery - building and shooting wood bows - and I shoot every day. These days I am most obsessed with harp - practicing every day, going to jams and playing in a blues band. Oh yes, I also babysit my 10 month old granddaughter who loves the blues, especially Howlin' Wolf. I am teaching her to play drums - quite a feat since I don't play them. She has progressed to the point where she hits things more often than chewing on the sticks.
When I starter I studied to be a professional biologist and harmonica was my hobby. Now harmonica is my job and biology is my hobby, I read books on natural science. Also getting interested into business now and ways how to become happy and successful, reading some MBA stuff. I like to sing and play guitar, but I still far from being enough good to do it onstage. ---------- Excuse my bad English. My videos.
I've been a harmonica player for the better part of five decades, and I have been a writer almost as long, in many areas, poetry, journalism, music-book-film reviewing, playwright, advertising. I even augmented my income on occasion with activities that are essentially passions more than anything else. Lately I have taken to photography. To this day, I still play harp, write and snap pictures. You have to have a passion , or passions plural. ---------- Ted Burke __________________ ted-burke.com tburke4@san.rr.com
From a young age I've always wanted to get into film making but never pursued it seriously.
I did however still try my hand at making my own short movies - back when we didn't have the advantages of digital technology.
I wrote and directed a 20min film on a short course I attended in the early '90s. Since then, most of my planned projects never came about - it's hard to do this stuff without a dedicated core team and ample free time. Most of what I did manage to complete came in the form of amateurish impromptu sketches or skits with the kids from my extended family.
I've also dabbled in 3D animation, and combining CGI with live action footage, an example below...
My job is also my other hobby. Freediving. I teach it here in the UK and all over the world. I wrote a book on it a few years back which was well received and ever since I have been called to talk on the subject as a lecturer and appear on the occasional TV programme. I actually got in to harmonica on a spearfishing / freediving trip to Thailand. We were staying on a remote island with a local tribe with nothing to do in the evening other than play music, sing, dance and drink horrible local rum! The harmonica I purchased on a whim before we left the UK ended up being a prized possession whilst we were there. I left that harp with the tribe. So who knows.... Maybe there is a Moken tribesman playing the blues on a beach somewhere!
@Harmlessonica - That was really cool! I assume those were your children? The "monster" was really well done. I don't know anything about film making, but I would assume the programming for the monster was pretty intense.
@Ian - That's a very cool job! I've always had respect for harmonica, even before I wanted to play it, for the very reason that it's so portable and can be taken anywhere. I guess you proved me right. :)
My other hobbies and interests are : swimming : bush walking : travel : caravan travel around Australia : photography.
Whilst my photography covers a wide range of subjects I have a keen interest in bird photography. This is a link to some of my pictures of Australian Birds:-
@Aussiesucker, as a Kiwi with a thing for Aussie girls, I clicked on the link expecting a different kind of Australian Birds. Really nice pics though :)
---------- My YouTube Channel - Any Likes or Comments appreciated. :) https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQ2_8CnjaiNLcPke4gWQ65A
@Danny That's a good selection of work, thanks for sharing. When I did art at school, I had hopes of becoming an illustrator or comic artist, but I could never settle on a distinctive style. In the end, I kinda fell into graphic design instead...
@MichaelMc Thanks. My two daughters starred, alongside my sister's kids at a holiday cottage. The other adults went shopping, so we did the shoot in a couple of hours - improvising as we went along.
The post-production was mostly done during lunch break at work. The creature was modified from a character from the Halo game, using Blender open source software. Overall time taken was around 9 months...
