HOLIDAY CLASS SCHEDULES
American Karate will be closed Monday New Years day, January 1st. Classes will resume Tuesday with the Adult classes on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday being open 6:30 to 8:00 on Tuesday and Thursday and 7:30-8:30 on Wednesday. Lil’ Dragons and Youth Karate hours will remain the same.
Holiday Schedule for 2012
There will be no classes on these days.
| New Year's Day | Monday | January 2, 2012 |
| Martin Luther King Day | Monday | January 16, 2012 |
| Memorial Day | Monday | May 28, 2012 |
| Independence Day | Wednesday | July 4, 2012 |
| Labor Day | Monday | September 3, 2012 |
| Veterans Day | Monday | November 12, 2012 |
| Thanksgiving Day | Thursday | November 22, 2012 |
| Thanksgiving Friday | Friday | November 23, 2012 |
| Christmas | Monday | December 24, 2012 |
| Christmas | Tuesday | December 25, 2012 |
CHANGES AND ADDITIONS FOR 2012
There will be a few changes for the New Year. This will be the year for upgrade programs. Weapons training will be an upgrade program. Weapons training start at purple belt level. The Leadership Program will be an upgrade also starting at the purple belt level. This program will work on enhancing the students leadership skills. These programs are additional to your monthly tuition. Those students that are purple belt level and above prior to classes starting will be grandfathered in with no tuition change.
Weapons Class $10.00 per month
Leadership Program $10.00 per month
Dates and times to be announced.
BUSHIDO VIIRTUE #4 Rei - Respect
I’ve had lots of people ask me why we bow in martial arts. What I never knew until now was that the commanding word in Japanese that a sensei uses to instruct his students to bow – “rei” – is also the word for respect, the “why” we bow.
Dictionary.com states that respect as a noun means “esteem for or a sense of the worth or excellence of a person, a personal quality or ability, or something considered as a manifestation of a personal quality or ability” or “deference to a right, privilege, privileged position, or someone or something considered to have certain rights or privileges; proper acceptance or courtesy”. As a verb, respect means “to hold in esteem or honor”, or “to show regard or consideration for”, or “to refrain from intruding upon or interfering with”. The kanji character is also translated as “thanking; gratitude”. This is what we learn bowing is all about – thanking our sensei for teaching, our fellow karate-ka for working out with us, whoever pays the bills that keeps our dojo open, all those who’ve trained before us so we can learn, etc.
Interestingly, Nitobe treats this virtue as politeness. He says, “Politeness is a poor virtue, if it is actuated only by a fear of offending good taste, whereas it should be the outward manifestation of a sympathetic regard for the feelings of others. It also implies a due regard for the fitness of things, therefore due respect to social positions; for these latter express no plutocratic distinctions, but were originally distinctions for actual merit”. Basically, I believe this means that respect means nothing if it’s only given because you feel like you have to, or you’re scared into it. It’s supposed to be a reflection of what you really feel – an admiration, an appreciation for the person, place or thing.
The rituals that we have in martial arts were developed as training devices for youth and produced “power in repose”. As you practice the seemingly mundane and monotonous motions of a ceremony (or kata perhaps), you begin to understand what Nitobe describes: “[the ceremony] denotes the result of long observation as to the most appropriate method of achieving a certain result. If there is anything to do, there is certainly a best way to do it, and the best way is both the most economical and the most graceful”. Our elders, senseis, instructors, and the great masters of old have learned, fine-tuned, and passed on to us this knowledge (basics, kata, dojo etiquette, etc). We show them respect when we give 110% in our efforts to practice what they’ve taught us. We also show them respect when we respect others in martial arts, no matter their background, style, or differences.
So, gi (rectitude) is the compass that points north, yu (courage) is the gut-level decision to go north, jin (benevolence) is the mindframe of helping others on their journey north with you … then let’s add to that – rei (respect) is the outward actions shown by you to your instructors, fellow karate-ka, and yourself as you journey north.
What does this look like? We bow when we enter the dojo, the training floor, before and after kata, to our partners, to our instructors. We line up our shoes as carefully and meticulously as we can. We keep our uniforms clean and in good repair. We stay silent during class so we can listen, then learn, then practice. We bow to black belts when they enter the room. At tournaments, we still practice what we’ve learned even if others don’t. We dig deep and practice with all that we have.
Be prepared for those who claim you are OCD. Even Nitobe noted Western criticism for the seemingly ridiculous attention placed on Japanese ceremonial observations. But remember – respect is not something you demonstrate to win someone’s approval. Again, bushido is a way of life and can’t simply be checked in and out at the dojo door. If respect is simply an outward manifestation of rectitude, courage, and benevolence; then we should be showing a lot of respect.
Now that we’ve investigated where we are regarding the previous three bushido virtues, let’s begin looking at where we can improve how we let it show in terms of respect. Start by thinking through all the little bitty details at the dojo. Are you just going through the motions of bowing, putting your shoes in line, etc? Or are you aware of the respect attached to these actions? Where can you take this into your life outside the dojo?
By Cristine Warring, AKMS Sedan, Kansas
MARTIAL ARTS MASTERY
Karate's great wisdom is that physical ability alone does not qualify an individual for the title of " Master". We have seen and known outstanding technicians who have worked long and hard to achieve mastery, and failed because they could not conceive that physical ability is only the first step on the ladder. Wisdom is the combination of the physical and spiritual, to which moral qualities such as humility, courtesy, sympathy, patience, and impassiveness must be added. When these elements art combined, mastery are in reach.
In the East, Karate was not a hobby to be sampled then discarded. It was viewed as a labor of a lifetime, and a voyage of discovery, that started from the acheivements of those that have gone before. There was no quick way to "mastery"; progress came slowly and painfully, not lessening in severity, intensity, strength, or pace. Being exposed to many sources of knowledge over an extended period, the student became an instructor as naturally as a blossom becomes fruit, never rushing the normal progression of time. Depth of knowledge was prized. As Shotokan founder and master, Gichin Funakoshi stated, " The old masters used to keep a narrow field but ploughed a deep furrow. Present day students have a broad field but only plough a narrow furrow."
If you or your employer would like to make a donation to the school to help purchase equipment or help a disadvantaged youth take martial arts lessons please fill out this form or pick one up at the school.
