Holiday Specials
It is still not too late to take advantage of several Holiday Specials now through the New Year. One special is for new enrollments. We will be offering an introductory enrollment of six weeks for $45.00 for an Individual Plan and $99.00 for a Family Plan when you sign up on a six or twelve month plan.
The other specials are in the Holiday Gift Guide by Century Martial Arts. There are many new items for the holidays and a special sparring gear bundle for those that need to purchase sparring gear. Keep in mind that all of your martial arts needs can be purchased at the school and we also have gift certificates. If you are ordering gifts for Christmas please place your order by December 10th to ensure that your item is in stock or arrives in plenty of time. See Mr. or Mrs. Williams to place your orders.
H. JAMES YOUNG VISIT
Maryland based martial arts instructor and AKMS Student/Instructor made his annual visit to Hutchinson. Mr. Young is a welcome addition to American Karate. We had a great time exchanging ideas, exercises and techniques. We also appreciate his monthly contribution to the monthly newsletter.
HOLIDAY SCHOOL CLOSINGS
American Karate will be closed for the holiday season Wednesday, Christmas day until Monday January 6th. We wish all of our students and parents, friends and families a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! We hope that you come back with renewed goals and prepared to study and train harder than the year before.
TOURNAMENTS
Sam Price’s All Star Karate Championships
November 23, 2013 Hutchinson, Kansas
Chance Barr
1st Place 6-7 Novice Kata
2nd Place 6-7 Novice Kumite
CONSCIOUSLY DOING NOTHING
As of Dec 20, I will enter a long period of recovery from ankle surgery. Not only will the extra bone be removed, but the two ligaments on the outside will be repaired. Great! Oh, wait! 1 week of no weight bearing, 6 weeks of wearing a walking boot 24/7, then another 4-7 months of brace wearing and PT (Physical Therapy) until complete recovery. Oh!
After realizing just how this surgery will impact my training routine, I pulled out “Zen in the Martial Arts” by Joe Hyams. And, of course, the next chapter I was to read is perfectly timed.
Joe relates 2 conversations regarding consciously doing nothing – the first with Bronislaw Kaper and the second with Bruce Lee. Here’s what I’ve gleaned from his sharing:
Kaper imparted that consciously doing nothing compares to the necessity of a pause in music. A master musician knows when and for how long to pause in comparison to the overall musical piece. A martial artist, too, knows when to take a break – not just in overall training, but in a sparring match, in a kata, in learning – for the benefit of the overall journey. For me, I’ve always hated taking a break. For some reason, that has equated to failure for me, like I’m a failure if I can’t keep going. But the musical analogy deeply resonates with me as I am also a musician. So, I now am looking at this time of recovery as a gift. Overall, the first 7 weeks of recovery are but a blip in the almost 15 years that I’ve trained in total.
Consciously doing nothing gives a martial artist a chance to reflect, assess, watch the effects of a choice, and adjust. Bruce told Joe, “I include pause and silence along with activity, thus allowing myself time to sense my own internal processes as well as my opponent’s”. To me, this is the core of consciously doing nothing. It has a purpose, it is not pure laziness. I can take control of myself – pause, assess, respond instead of react. This puts me in the driver’s seat rather than the opponent. We must constantly pause and assess the effects our actions have on our opponents so that we can respond effectively – which puts us in control, not the opponent. It’s kind of like Mr. Williams teaching us to create our defensive space after we’ve been attacked and caught off guard – get your hands up, create your space, take a breath, assess the situation.
I practice this concept as a math teacher, almost daily in my planning time. Without it, I would not know where my students are, how to adjust lessons to meet their abilities, when to pause and let them wrestle with the material to master it. I also practice this as a youth group leader at church. So it is now time to practice what I preach for myself. The first 7 weeks will give me plenty of time to practice this: pausing (no weight bearing will help enforce this!), assessing myself and my opponent (whether that is my ankle, my training during this initial down time, or my frustrations and emotions), and responding accordingly. After that, I must pause, reassess, and respond as I work through PT, pain, limitations, and healing.
Growth requires down time. Our culture “preaches” against down time and floods our minds with messages of “keep going”, “don’t quit”, “move, move, move”, “this deal is only for a short time”. These messages in and of themselves are not bad unless they are out of balance – like they have been in my life. So I challenge you. Are you making time to consciously do nothing? If you aren’t, will you?
Cristine Warring, AKMS Black Belt
URBAN SELFDEFENSE (A Definition) Part I of II
What is Urban Self Defense (USD)? One may define it as something dealing with the inner city or the city outside of the inner city. In my opinion it could be a state of mind, because where ever you are whether it is in the city, the inner city, the country, the suburban environment your MIND will be there to respond to the situation at hand.
To draw this illustration, I will attempt to summarize with various thoughts of actions. USD is not always about fighting or defending. It includes preparation and mitigation for a potential situation, which may occur in an Urban (which, I use lightly) setting.
Preparedness mentally, in my belief is the ‘loins’ share of USD. If, a person has mentally, prepared for potential situations to defend themselves against, then it will become a reaction, because it is already planted in their minds. Of course, adjustments to any situation a person has prepared for is warranted.
In my daily walk in whatever setting, i.e. the office, home, streets, bus, car, restaurant, sitting on the toilet, sitting at a table, etc, I always visualize a technique or way to defend or escape from these settings. If, I am walking down the street day or night, I look for shadows and listen for sounds, which may be contrary to safe passage along that corridor. Also, if, I am the only person on this path, and I see a shadow overtake mine, then I know someone is approaching, now whether it be friend or foe is determined by several factors, i.e. rate of speed the shadow overtakes mine, spatial distance of the two shadows, left side approach vs. right side approach, etc.
In recalling techniques to use in an Urban Self Defense setting was when terrorist were bombing us (overseas environment), shooting United Nation’s staff in broad daylight; it was imperative that I provide myself with some tale-tell signs on my car should someone have planted a bomb under my hood. If, any of those tale-tell signs were tampered with or not, and my gut feelings were not to access the car, then I wouldn’t, and would walk to work or find alternative transportation.
USD could include mitigation of a potential hazard. One can avoid numerous hazards with some forethought and actions. For instance, approaching your car doing day or night in a parking area, store, home, etc at a predetermined distance, the person needs to observe his/her vehicle before actually approaching it. Look to see if, anyone is standing by your vehicle, and if not seen, if you see feet near the tires. This could indicate someone is crouching or kneeling out of sight for a possible attack or they are tying their shoes. You can prevent potential harm by assessing this situation before hand.
In conversation with a close friend of mine who conducts national workshops on Domestic Violence (DV), we concluded DV can happen at anytime and anywhere. Usually, it is in an office setting. And, when a perpetrator is adamant about causing harm to a person they are anger with or hurt by and others, they stop at nothing.
In one of my past employments, I had informed the receptionist to be prepared should a situation develop in a scenario of such; and the security guard is inattentive, gets ‘taken out’ before he/she can react, etc. In this case, I informed her to look at several points of escape. Play over in her mind what she would do should an aggressor broach the main door, and neutralize the security guard, whereas, even in her ‘terrorified’ state of mind her mental pre-planning (mitigation) takes over.
A few other instances of Urban Self Defense are to be able to profile a potential assailant. Have some idea of the psychology of an aggressor. Also, know some defense and offense techniques to use.
Another instance in defining USD is being prepared to mitigate for and against emergencies when your water is turned off or has been contaminated. How to survive when the gas is turned off or disrupted, shortage of food, and this list could go on and on with no ending.
In a so-called civil society and somewhat in a peace time status, people should have an emergency kit prepared, and at the ready. The kit should include the essentials, i.e. food, water, medication (rotated in for freshness), batteries, reading materials, radio, personal products for cleanliness, set of change clothing (optional), striking materials for starting fire and matches, and anything to prolong your survival capabilities.
Whether people accept it or not in our society, confusion does control groups and the masses through a theory I call Confusion Conspiracy (CC). I see how government and the events around the world are developing, which supports my theory. It is a form of control, and one must be aware of it to survive, as one of their USD techniques.
In one of my middle school karate classes taught to the students of a school in Texas, I attempted to prepare those urban city or suburban city students with good citizenship in the dojo, in their classroom, at home, and on the streets. Be a solution to a problem and not the problem itself. Be prepared mentally and physically, humble and kind, and tough when need be, as a ‘way of life’ as the Martial Arts would teach them.
My thinking pattern or philosophy is simple. I try to keep it simple, and I have always attempted to be a very peaceful person. Also, I have never looked for trouble; however, it has always found me. This was more so during my pre-teens to my early twenties. Everyone who was able to ‘fall’ the mountain, because, I am a big guy in statue, whether I knew the Martial Arts or not, I am rather strong physically, as my late grandmother would say, “strong as an ox”. The neighborhood boys would always attack me in groups of three or more or from behind. As a ‘gentle giant’, for a long time I didn’t know how to deal with my hurt, and rage for being picked on. I would be so angry, that I desired total bodily harm towards retaliation for my attackers. However, due to a strong minded Mom, an uncle, a sister, and Mrs. Johnson (neighborhood Mom); I never fulfilled my retaliation spree. I did have an uncontrollable temper, which almost killed a teenager. And, from that point on, I decided from within to be master over my temperament. Not to foolishly react in rage and thoughtless abandonment, even if I had only a few seconds to respond. In My Opinion, what do you think? Feedback at www.youngsankarate.com; provide comments on the Feedback page. (Part II of II in the next newsletter issue)
H. James Young, Chief Instructor, Young San Karate
