Life Outside the Lab: the Industry's 'Last Samurai'

For over 20 years, laboratory owner Michael Kazmer, Kazmer Dental Lab, Lancaster, CA, has nurtured a passion for Iaido, meaning "lightening draw," a Japanese samurai's martial art of the sword and way of life that dates back to the 15th and 16th centuries. Requiring a concentrated discipline of both the mind and body, the most important element for mastering Iaido is the development of zanshin: a calm, reflective state of mind.

"Iaido is a discipline of steel, the mind and the body. You don't get startled, you just react. You don't think, you just do," says Kazmer, who is a fourth degree black belt and has studied with some of the masters in the field. It has taught him control, patience and concentration, which have also helped him in his lab. "If I have a difficult case, instead of getting frustrated, I work my way through it and, in what feels like five to 10 minutes, two to three hours go by," Kazmer say. "Iaido carries over in everyday life."

Kazmer teaches Iaido...