We are about to go into the bush for a few days for some camping and to let nature help heal Tara's leg. Also we just want to have some peace and quiet.

Last night we decided that instead of hiking and busing across Canada we will Bhike across Canada. No spelling mistake we will Bhike, this means we are going to bike and hike. So we will bike the time we would have been busing and hike around anytime we feel like. We will have to stash our bikes as we go but this will offer us a way to lighten the load when we hike, for Tara's sake, and we will still be able to cross Canada using our bodies and not a motorized vehicle. I am very excited about this decision and so is Tara. I am so excited about it because my favorite things to do are biking, walking, training in Martial Arts, and hanging with my girl. It is a change from what we had originally planned, but that is fine with us because we know we have to stay open to what may happen next or what may just have to happen next. It was perfect how we decided to do it. After getting groceries we sat beside the highway to "relax" when two people rode by on bikes with a small trailer behind each one. It looked so perfect and so fun. I had asked the universe for a way to make this trip happen because it was starting to look bleak, and what does it do but show us exactly what we needed. Thanks Universe! Everyday has something to give and we are in a place where we are ready to receive, so very exciting.

We will be back in about a week to tell you about our little break in the bush. The truth is in the bush :)

Self Defense
Martial Arts
Joe Self Defense
The Self Defense Company

We are now back from Amsterdam and it was awesome. I have never seen such a place. The buildings were so beautiful; very interesting architecture. I have also never seen so many different people from all over the world, and heard so many different laguages being spoken all around us. We figured in a 1km radius there was probably people from 30 different countries. The main purpose of our trip was to go to a Stuart Wilde conference, and for us it was the best part of our trip. I do not know how to describe Stuart Wilde so I recommend checking him out yourself. I will say though, that the people we met at the confrence were so amazing and so very wise. I made an especially good friend with a guy named Paul. For some reason I thought I reconized him, probably from another life but we seemed to hit it off right away. "Hey Paul, can't wait to hang out with you again, maybe at the next Aya ceremony!" We even walked through the red light district which was an accident. Very dark people walk through those streets; it's sad that people put themselves in places where they are exposed to that darkness. Not so accidental however, was our presence in the coffeeshops. They are everywhere! We checked out several and were more impressed by each than the last. It's true what they say about Amsterdam being a place that is very relaxed and unique.

We took a lot of pictures and will put them up shortly. The hotel we stayed at was called NH Krasnapolsky, which is right in Dam Square straight across from the Palace. It was very beautiful where we were.

Like I said, we are now back in Canada, Regina actually, which was the next place we would have gone if Tara had not gotten hurt. It is pretty nice here but we are going a little crazy because we are limited in what we can do. We are also waiting for our camping supplies to be shipped to us as we chose not to take everything with us to Europe. Quite frankly, after coming back from Amsterdam, Regina is not all that exciting. We are staying in a hostel and it is a pretty nice place with nice people. Nice people seem to pop up all over the place and I hope it keeps up.

Just a few thoughts that I would like to mention; when you are on the road the fact that public washrooms like to use newspaper or loose leaf for toilet paper is not appreciated. Yes, I know that is not actually what it is, but it sure feels like it on the ol' arse. Further, I believe that we should have a water sprayer above the toilet paper because wet toilet paper cleans better, you know, after #2. We could call it, A-Hole Lot Cleaner (thank Tara for that genius name). Lastly, we should change a lot of the stop signs to yield signs. Why? Because then we would save on gas (due to less starting from complete stops), and there would be less wear on brakes. That is all for now, thanks for hearing our rant.

Martial Arts
Self Defense
Joe Self Defense
The Self Defense Company

Just to let you all know we had to go back to Spruce Grove. Tara pulled a tendon in her leg so we need to get her better before we continue. She has been seeing the Physiotherapist and the Chiropractor for 2 weeks now. She is getting better but not fully healed yet. We did make it farther then what was written so I will fill you in a bit.

After NorthBattleford we went to Saskatoon which is a pretty cool place. It feels like it is a really big city but only has about 250 000 people. We spent 2 nights there just so we could prepare for the next stretch of trail. The next stretch of trail was along the side of Lake Diefenbaker and is about 60km long. The hard part was figuring out how to get there because the buses do not seem to go to too many places in Saskatchewan. We got a hold of a great guy named Al. He owns a company called Dusty Trails, where he picks up and drops off packages around Saskatoon and down to Outlook. Outlook is 40km north of the lake and that is where his route usually ends but, because Al is such a great guy, he offered to take us all the way after his route was done. He dropped us off at his house while he finished up his work and told us make ourselves at home. He showed us a walking bridge that you could see from his back deck, so we walked down the street to the old train bridge that was changed into a walking bridge. It is the longest foot bridge in Canada, well that's what he told us anyways. It went over the river so it was a pretty nice walk. When we got back, Al drove us to Danielson Provincial Park at the north end of the lake and dropped us off right on the trail. Thanks for the ride Al.

We got dropped off at about 5pm and we walked for about 45 minutes down the trail untill we got to the campsite. By now, Tara's leg was starting to hurt pretty bad. The campsite was completely empty so we had a peaceful night alone. The next morning we started our walk which was about 35km to the next town and it took us about 2 days to do it. The first day we walked 15km which was as far as Tara's leg could handle. It was the perfect distance because we got to camp on the beach that night. By the way, Lake Diefenbaker has 500km or so of beach and it is a beautiful clean lake, a hidden paradise really. The next day we walked 20km to a little town called Elbow. When we got there and Tara took off her pack she was in so much pain she couldn't even walk, what a trooper. We stopped in a restaurant called The Boat House, it was awesome there. The waitress made us feel like we were at her house for a party and she was the best hostess ever. She became our friend, Moni. She also got us a hotel room and got one of the cooks to drive us to the hotel. Even the other costumers in the restaurant were kind and very concerned for Tara. We ended up staying in Elbow for 3 nights because of Tara's leg. Elbow is a very cool town. We half wanted to rent a place and stay for a bit, but we felt it was just too early in the trip. I recommend checking that place out, everyone that we dealt with there was very nice and accepting.

After the 3 nights and 4 days of Elbow, Tara felt good enough to continue on to Douglas Provincial Park which was about 15km away. She was in a lot of pain during this part of the hike as well, so we decided when we got there that we were going to have to go home and get her checked out by a doctor or two. We spent 2 nights at the campground there. The beach was so amazing. The water was low so it made the beach even bigger. We spent a lot of our time there wading in the water which was so clear, and looking up at the sky and at the shore. When we looked back onto shore it reminded us of being in the Dominican Republic, we couldn't believe how beautiful this place is. Like I said, it is like paradise there. Another good thing was that it was Monday when we got there. Being so early in the week, there were not very many people there at all and we basically had the beach to ourselves. I recommend going to that place as well. When we left Douglas we got a ride from one of the women working in the park office, her name is Jen, and she drove us back to Saskatoon which was about 150km away. She said she had to go to the city anyway but still it was very nice of her and we really appreciated it. Thanks for the ride Jen.

When we got on the bus to go back home, Tara ran into a friend of hers from high school that she has not seen for about 10 years. The fact that we had to go home does suck but there is a reason for everything and meeting up with her friend like that was one of many things that proves it. We have had a chance to see more friends that we did not get a chance to see the first time around, and I have been training with the Chinese Boxing Connection in Stony Plain. I didn't know it was there until 2 days before we left the first time, so I took advantage this time. The next step is a quick trip to Amsterdam for a 3 day conference. We will be there for 5 days in total. Why only 5 days? Because we are only going there for the conference and then back to our journey which we are looking forward to very much. We will tell you all about our trip to Amsterdam when we get back. Also we will put up some pictures shortly.


Self Defense
Martial Arts
Joe Self Defense
The Self Defense Company

I recently read a great paragraph in a book by Stuart Wilde, which I will quote below, called "Whispering Winds of Change". The chapter is entitled, "Minimalism: A Survival Technique for the Future". I feel it sums up the self defense that we teach quite well. Now the chapter is not about self defense, but it works.

"Minimalism in music is a composition, simple in structure and form, in which the main motif is repeated continuously, rather than the theme extrapolating outward to more and more complexity. In design and style, minimalism is expressed through the concept of using the simplest or fewest elements to create the maximum effect. Minimalism is uncluttered, often clean and pure, and is considered somewhat stark by some people. A typical minimalist home would have stone pieces of furniture-only as many as are absolutely necessary. The old traditional homes of Japan are models of minimalism: tatami mats , bare rooms, simple lines, and form."

Our self defense is based on gross body movements which is the natural movements of the body that can be performed in stressful situations, like when your life is on the line. It consists of the most effective and simple techniques to accomplish your goal, which is to survive. If it is over complicated it just will not work. Sure the complicated stuff looks cool but it is not effective. Just ask my sensei or anyone that has been in a fight for their life. KISS or, keep it simple stupid, is another way to put it. Minimal training for maximum effect; a hand full of techniques for a thousand situations. Just another couple of ways to describe what we teach. Minimalism is a beautiful thing and can be had or done by anyone, just like the self defense that we teach. I hope I made myself clear and you can see what I am trying to say.


Self Defense
Martial Arts
Joe Self Defense
The Self Defense Company

We are now on our journey! We left from Spruce Grove on a bus to go to Lloydminster, where we spent the night. After dropping our packs off in the Hotel we decided to go for a walk through town. I have been there quite a few times so it was not exciting or anything. The next day we took a bus to North Battleford, SK. This was when we started walking on the Trans Canada Trail. We started about 6 or 7 km out of town and then walked into town. Most of the trail there is within city limits. Since it was the beginning of our trip, we figured this was the best way to start. We are guessing that we walked about 15 or 20km throughout the area. North Battleford and Battleford, which are separated by a river, are very nice places. There is a lot of Native heritage, mainly Cree . We spent about 3 or 4 days in the area and enjoyed ourselves the entire time. We spent 3 nights in hotels and 1 night in a campground. At the campground there were benches that overlooked the valley into the distance. When we sat on the bench before sunset, we noticed we could see the entire trail that we had walked that day. It made us feel very accomplished. Sitting on the bench reflecting on the day reminded us that the "walk" is only a means to experience the freedom we seek. Walking through town does not offer many places to camp. This was fine for us, as we are just getting started and need time to build up strength for the longer hikes which we will eventually be taking.

Already this new life style is going great. Freedom is something that we actually did not fully understand until we stepped out of the everyday life that society had offered us. Believe me when I say it is much better being outside looking in, than being inside looking out. Just to add to that, the night before we left I barely slept because of thoughts and fears going crazy in my mind. We are all comfortable living in the "tick-tock" and that is what the powers in control want, but that is not what is best for you and me. It does not allow for us to become truly strong in mind, body and spirit. We must step outside and learn who we are and what the world really has to offer. There is a lot of mind numbing stimulus keeping us entertained and weak. Some people say they wish they could do what we are doing. What they really mean is they wish they could be doing what they want to do, and not what they think they should do. So, empower yourself to do what you want, even if others think you shouldn't. It is your life; it does not belong to anyone else.

Just so you know, we are farther along then we are writing. We feel it is safer to share our stories after we have already left the area. It is for our own safety.


Martial Arts
Self Defense
Joe Self Defense
The Self Defense Company

It is now April 29th and we are almost on our way out of Fort McMurray. The past couple of weeks have been very busy and very exciting. We have been visiting alot of friends and family. I can't believe how many amazing friends we have and the fact that we are leaving them is making it that much more obvious. We will miss everyone of them very much.

We had our goodbye party almost two weeks ago and it was awesome. I wish I could have a party like that every weekend. So much fun and alot of heart felt goodbyes. It's in these moments that show you how much your friends and family really care about you.

The day of the party we also had a garage sale where we sold almost everything that we own, minus a few things that we just don't want to have to buy again when we are finished our journey. It felt great stripping ourselves of all those useless possesions that we made so important all those years. It is so good for the ego to just let go. Ever since we decided to take this trip our lives have been so much more exciting and full. Don't get me wrong we did our best to remain in the moment for many years now but the difference is we are finally doing something that feels truly write and necessary. Working everyday and living in the tick tock of daily life just doesn't cut it and I am sure most will agree.

We had dinner the other night with Al Hancock, he is a man that has climbed the seven summits and is planning on climbing everest again. Very cool guy and the tips he gave us were awesome. The coolest part of the meeting was that he is proud of what we are doing. He is a person that can really appreciate what is we are doing, since he has first hand experience doing things that most would call crazy or would not even consider doing. Most people are excited for us but none of them have ever done such a thing. Usually it is fear that stops most from stepping outside of the box as Al said to us. We do feal scared and nervous but who wouldn't, the most important thing is that we don't allow such a thing to stop us. Anyway fear isn't even real, by the time you experience what is you are fearful of you are no longer scared. Fear only exists in the mind and never in the moment. There is no room for fear only action. I try to teach about fear in my self defense classes so people can rise above it and not allow it to control there lives. It feels great to face your fears and rise above them.

Well the next month we will be in Edmonton visiting Tara's parents and all our friends down there. After that we go visit my mom in Smoky Lake then to Loydminister to start our Journey, I'm so excited:)

Martial Arts
Self defense
Joe Self Defense
The Self Defense Company

Getting Started

For the last six months we have been planning and training in preparation for our big journey. This have been moving very fast lately and they have become evermore exciting. This is like a dream coming true. We have pretty much everything we need to survive from backpacks and hiking shoes to self defense tools. We just sold our house about two weeks ago and that was the biggest things that needed to happen. Now we just have to finish off our time at work visit family and friends, then we are on our way.

We will be starting at Lloydminster Alberta and we will be heading east. Most of hiking will be on the Trans Canada walking trail. We probably won't walk the whole way. We may hitch hike or take buses when ever we feel like. Basically we are going to be free to do what ever we feel like. I can't wait to feel that freedom. Escape the tick tock world and do something exciting and what so many people seem to think is just crazy. A little different sure but not crazy really. I know there are lots of people doing such things and I'm sure they don't think it's to crazy just exciting. Well I guess you can follow along and enjoy the trip with us and maybe we will see you on the way, and hopefully I will have a chance to teach you or train with you.

Next step is the first step.

Martial Arts
Self Defense
The Self Defense Company