Hall of Fame

Martin Carey in Ireland wrote me to say that I have been selected for the Official International Black Belt Hall of Fame for 2008. Thanks to my friends in Ireland.

Newsletter

There's a link available on my site under Resources and follow that to Newsletter to get a free e-mail newsletter. It's just gone live and the January edition is about ready to go out.
Have a Happy New Year!

New year, new stuff

Some of you may have received a newsletter from me through my website last week. I'll be able to offer a free newsletter that you can subscribe to through the site soon. If you're already registered, you may want to go in and check that your e-mail is current and/or correct since I got a lot of bounce-backs.
I'm working on a subscription version as well, something that will be of use to everyone, especially school owners. More info to come.
The new book is due here around 12 January and I'm looking forward to shipping it out to you. The pre-publication discount is still in effect.
Some more info is being developed for the member's only section of my website, too. Look for that soon.
More to come.

For our Systema friends

Friends of Laura

A few weeks ago some of you got an e-mail from me asking for your help. Laura Megard, a singer here in Ft. Myers, has a daughter in St. Louis who was hit by a drunk driver. She was later found to have leukemia as well. Laura needed help and an event was held to raise money. $4000 was raised in about 2 weeks through the efforts of Bo McCormick and the Special Forces Motorcycle Club.

Just thought you'd like to know. And thanks to those who helped.

You may need this

I found a tool that I feel is useful to anyone interested in communicating better. It's a free publication from the US Air Force called The Tongue and Quill. At almost 400 pages, it covers how to write and speak better, as well as research tips for helping you build your arguments. If you are looking for something to help improve your presentations on the mat, take a look.



http://www.e-publishing.af.mil/shared/media/epubs/afh33-337.pdf

Promotion

Mr. Gary Ellis of Plymouth, England recently promoted his long-time student, Mr. Mark Richards to sixth degree black. Mark has been training with Mr. Ellis since he was a teenager over twenty years ago. I was consulted on the intended move up and was happy to concur.
Congratulations to Mr. Richards!

How I spent (part of) the weekend

No, they didn't all get out of that airplane. These are the instructors and participants for a Civil Air Patrol Squadron Leadership School held at the Sarasota airport this weekend. I was asked to teach a section there on Professional Development. I had also been asked to do a presentation on overwater safety at an open house on the St. Petersburg/Whitted airport that same day, representing the Federal Aviation Administration (I'm a volunteer safety team member for them). It was a busy day, flying around Florida. The weather was great and I met some interesting people.

One participant at the school asked me what martial art I did because I had mentioned that I teach and that perspective is so important. We tend to look at things one way from the teacher's point of view and another totally different way is from that of the student, and teachers tend to forget that, which was my point. He guessed that I was a grappling guy. No, I told him. Shotokan? No again. He was at a loss so I told him Kenpo and he responded that he was a Tae Kwon Do person. I did not get to ask him why he guessed those other arts because we were interrupted. I'm curious as to his reasoning. Was it my body type or demeanor? Interesting.

The other interesting thing was the Whitted airport itself. It's a historic place because that's the first scheduled airline service was started almost 100 years ago. Cool stuff, this aviation thing.

Down time

Shaolin Temple

Ozzie Rivero, one of my Ft. Myers black belts who moved to Chicago, sent this. He's standing in front of the Shaolin Temple in China. That makes him the second one of my guys to visit there.

Tucson seminars

Shawn and Rebecca Knight packed their school when they hosted a successful seminar weekend in Tucson. I was there to teach with Steve LaBounty and Ed Parker. I met many new people from Arizona, New Mexico, and California. Frank Soto was there from Mexico, too. Dennis Conatser from Scottdale showed up; I hadn't seen him since Ed Parker's funeral in 1990.

What a great group they have out there. They remind me a lot of Steve White's group in New England. They are very cohesive, organized, and eager to perpetuate their art. One of their black belts, a girl named Candace, was found to have leukemia. They've been very supportive of the family in so many ways I can't describe. At the post-seminar dinner on Saturday night the young lady and her family came by for a few minutes. The school members had folded almost 1400 paper cranes for her, which they presented to her there. The cranes are significant in that they represent wishes for her return to health. One family is planning to go to Japan to a place where they hang these paper cranes outside. The wind and sun deteriorates them and when they break up, they believe the wishes are dispersed with the wind to spread the good wishes. That's just one sample of the family atmosphere of the AIK schools out there.

I was able to connect with my judo teacher, Carole Wolken-Melcher, who lives in Tucson. She came down to the studio and we had dinner together. She's 77 now, looks great, and we had a nice dinner and conversation. It was so good to be able to see her.

The seminars were very well attended, and seemed to be be well-received, based on the feedback I got. It was the first time I'd actually gotten to watch Mr. LaBounty teach. His session on what-ifs using forearms and elbows was right up my alley. It was a pleasure to watch. Ed Parker had the crowd going, with applause breaking out frequently.

Another really cool thing was going up toward Mt. Lemmon with some of his people and watching them run their forms out on the rocks up at 6,000 above sea level. The weather was nice and the view was spectacular.

All in all, it was a good weekend. I'm looking forward to seeing them again in 2009. Thanks to crew for hosting.

You have to know why

I do occasional flight instruction and a few weeks ago I was asked to fly with a lady that the regular instructor was having problems getting ready for her flight test. Since I didn't know her I felt that asking her about her motivation for learning to fly was fair game as she had close to 200 hours logged and had failed her FAA flight test three times. She had a nice Piper Cherokee 140 like what I had learned to fly in that her boyfriend had bought for her to learn in. He owns a Beechcraft Bonanza.
She told me that she got very nervous during an exam, and that she didn't feel the examiners had been fair with her. I questioned about what she thought she would do after she got her pilot license, since I had seen a bit of self-sabotage in both karate and flight training when someone got near a "promotion". She answered that her boyfriend, who was quite a bit older, had expressed the desire for her to fly his bigger, faster, more complex airplane in the event he lost his medical certificate. A medical is necessary for pilots to fly aircraft of the type most of us fly. She stated she didn't want to fly it because it scared her. So it boiled down to her training to get a license she really didn't want to fly and airplane she didn't want to fly.
We went out to fly and she did a fine job. When we landed I told her I thought there was no reason she couldn't be a pilot if she really wanted to. But I counseled her that she really had to want to do it for herself and nobody else. Yesterday I got a phone call from her flight instructor telling me that she and her boyfriend were selling both airplanes and she was quitting. "You nailed it" he said.
I've seen many a student in my studio who was there because someone else wanted them there; a parent, boyfriend, girlfriend, or spouse who was really into the arts and wanted this person to be as well. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. As my title says, you have to know why you're doing something. A little introspection can be a good thing.

Who would have thought?

Over the weekend I taught a seminar at Gulf Coast Kenpo in Cape Coral, FL, hosted by Mike and Renee Squatrito. Five schools were represented. I was a bit surprised by the turnout on a holiday weekend. Local students from Gulf Coast and K. Zwarg's studio in Ft. Myers were there in force. But out-of-state attendees came from Windy City Kenpo in Chicago, Keith Mathew's studio in Canton, GA, and Gary Bell, a Bruce Meyer black belt were there. Australia's Jack Nilon was there, too. It was good to see some people I hadn't seen in a while, including some of the younger students I had trained when I owned the Ft. Myers studio.

I covered some techniques and extensions from the original Ed Parker purple belt curriculum in two seminars. It would be impossible to cover all 32 techniques in any detail in three hours, so a few related techniques and others often misunderstood were the focus. There were some white belts present as well as up to 4th blacks, so everyone could pick up something. All attendees received a certificate of participation.
My niece was promoted there also. She's being trained by Genie Byrd, who did the promotion ceremony.

The doctor is in

Marc Rowe found this information and it's related to a tennis stroke but certainly applies to any motion.

Technique: The Kinetic Chain
10/12/04 6:57 PM
(The information in this article was taken or adapted from the High
Performance Coaching Program Study Guide.)
The parts of the body act as a system of chain links, whereby the
energy or force generated by one link (or part of the body) can be
transferred successively to the next link. The link system in the service
action, which starts from the ground, can be explained in the following way
(Elliott and Saviano, 2001; Elliott & Kilderry, 1983):
a.. Leg drive
b.. Trunk rotation
c.. Upper arm elevation
d.. Forearm extension, upper arm internal rotation and forearm
pronation
e.. Hand flexion
The optimum coordination (timing) of these body segments and their
movements will allow for the efficient transfer of energy and power up
through the body, moving from one body segment to the next. Each movement
in the sequence builds upon the previous motion and they all contribute to
the generations of racket speed.
This transfer of energy in sequential coordination is also enhanced by
the stretch-shortening cycle of muscle action. The stretch-shortening cycle
involves the active stretching (the muscle is activated but is elongated by
another force) of a muscle in a countermovement immediately followed by a
more forceful shortening of the muscle in the desired direction. In the
forehand, for example, the chest and shoulder muscles are actively stretched
(coaches often use the cue "loading" here) as the trunk rotates into the
shot and the inertia of the arm and racket cause them to lag behind.
The active stretch of the muscle stores energy in the elastic elements
of muscle and associated tissues such as tendons, which is reused as the
muscle begins to shorten. This sequence of muscular coordination tends to be
chosen naturally by the brain, but sometimes this must be coached in players
who develop pauses, that in turn lead to missed segment rotations or
problems in sequencing segments.
The most effective tennis strokes begin with leg drive generating
ground reaction forces that can be transferred up the segments of the
kinetic chain to the racket. Proper timing of the segments in the kinematic
chain and stretch-shortening cycle muscle actions maximize the transfer of
energy to generate the greatest racket speed.
Example-One-handed backhands tend typically involve five kinematic
links that the player has to coordinate (Groppel, 1992). In most cases the
one-handed backhand is based on a sequential summing of the motions of the
legs, trunk, arm, forearm, and wrist/hand. Two-handed backhands during
early learning use fewer body segments, so many young players find this
stroke easier to coordinate. In the modern two-handed stroke a similar
number of segments are rotated as for the on-handed stroke.

Happy Thanksgiving

I want to wish everyone a happy holiday!

The doctor is in

The following article sent by Marc Rowe essentially says that if you use imagery of doing something after you've physically practiced it well, it's more efficient when you execute it.

Nov 22, 2008
Motor Representations and Practice Affect Brain Systems Underlying Imagery:
An fMRI Study of Internal Imagery in Novices and Active High Jumpers.

Open Neuroimag J. 2008;2:5-13

Authors: Olsson CJ, Jonsson B, Larsson A, Nyberg L

This study used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate
differences in brain activity between one group of active high jumpers and
one group of high jumping novices (controls) when performing motor imagery
of a high jump. It was also investigated how internal imagery training
affects neural activity. The results showed that active high jumpers
primarily activated motor areas, e.g. pre-motor cortex and cerebellum.
Novices activated visual areas, e.g. superior occipital cortex. Imagery
training resulted in a reduction of activity in parietal cortex. These
results indicate that in order to use an internal perspective during motor
imagery of a complex skill, one must have well established motor
representations of the skill which then translates into a motor/internal
pattern of brain activity. If not, an external perspective will be used and
the corresponding brain activation will be a visual/external pattern.
Moreover, the findings imply that imagery training reduces the activity in
parietal cortex suggesting that imagery is performed more automatic and
results in a more efficient motor representation more easily accessed during
motor performance.

Tucson, AZ and other thoughts

I'm going to Arizona for the first time in two weeks to teach at Shawn Knight's camp there the first weekend of December. Ed Parker Jr and Steve LaBounty will be on staff, too, so I'm looking forward to that. I'm also looking forward to seeing Carole Wolken, my first Judo instructor, who is retired there. Carole lost her husband last year but she's doing well and we're going to have some time to hang out during my visit. If it hadn't been for Carole I'd have likely decided martial arts were not for me.
Just recently I was told some stories about initial experiences in the arts that defined perspectives on what the arts are about. I had a bad Judo teacher at the YMCA when I took my first few lessons. My mom thought I really liked it so she enrolled me at a full-time school, which is where I met Carole. She corrected my mistakes and I found that learning to fall and roll was fun, not painful. That may literally have been a meeting that changed my life.
A few days ago I took a flight check with an US Air Force officer/check airman, Major Carlos Salinas. He'd heard I'm a "karate guy" and I asked him if he'd ever taken it. He had when he was a teenager living on the US Marine base at Parris Island. He told me the first or second lesson he had with his friends and a Marine who taught the class they were learning to spar and the instructor broke his buddies nose with a spin kick. He decided that studying the arts was not for him.
That same day when my deputy director for Standards and Evaluation here in Florida Wing called me to see how my ride went we got to talking karate. Alan was US Army and kick-boxed in the service. He told me about how his first lessons with a military instructor when he was a teen were complete with kicks in the solar plexus when he or his friends were caught talking in class. It didn't stop him from continuing but he remembers it well as a negative experience.
I don't want you to think this is limited to military instructors. Lots of instructors think it's OK to hit their students in such manners. Maybe less today since people started to sue karate teachers but it's still happening.
A student I had in Ft. Myers had her nose broken in her first college Tae Kwon Do class. She quit but came back to it many years later with me, with a lot of encouragement (and courage). She's now approaching black belt with Mike Squatrito at Gulf Coast Kenpo.
Yes, we have to hit students when teaching techniques to show the physical effects to some degree. I've been hit plenty hard many times. I've have the chipped teeth, scars, and pains to show for it. But I don't hit kids and new students hard. I don't even hit the black belts too hard anymore though they tell me that even soft feels hard.
And my flight check? Successful. Major Salinas was very happy with me and my program here in FL. He told us at the hangar that he is inspired by the volunteers we have in the Civil Air Patrol. And I didn't even have to break his nose.

Pray Now

The snowbirds are coming back to SW Florida and the majority of them are older people. I was in traffic today and the car in front of me had license plates that said "Pray Now". I have to wonder if the owner is very religious or a really bad driver.

Who thinks of this stuff?

Cabrera seminars

Ed Cabrera did two nice seminars at Gulf Coast kenpo in north Cape Coral last weekend. He taught the kids class Friday evening the basics of boxing and power generation. On Saturday he did what he calls a boxing infusion. Ed has created a series of techniques using both Kenpo and western boxing principles. He used Raking Mace as his main example. You can see how he does it if you look for him on You Tube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSK_hX2pjIE

My next book

It's almost done! Lessons with Ed Parker is almost ready to go to print. It's close to 200 pages of his concepts, stories, ideas, insights into his personality, my experiences with him, and photos. I'm hoping to get it out by Christmas. The cover was done by Ed Parker Jr.

Watch this spot and my website for updates.

The doctor is in

Dr. Rowe sent this along. While some of it may not seem important, the information on how dancing helps can easily be related to martial arts instruction, showing further benefit to what we do.

HEALTH & SCIENCESteps to a nimble mind: Physical and mental exercise help keep the brain fitNeuroscience is uncovering techniques to prevent cognitive decline.By Kathleen Phalen Tomaselli, AMNews correspondent.
Nov. 17, 2008.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------The brain -- containing 100 billion neurons, 900 billion glial cells, 100 trillion branches and 1,000 trillion receptors -- reacts to stimuli in a series of electrical bursts, spanning a complex map of connections. Whether calculating an algorithmic equation or learning the tango, our brain continuously changes in response to our ideas, actions and activities.Each time a dance step is learned, for instance, new pathways are formed. "Dancing is excellent for the brain and body," says Vincent Fortanasce, MD, clinical professor of neurology at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. He wrote the Anti-Alzheimer's Prescription. "Not only are you moving around more, your brain is in constant motion as it recalls steps and movements."It's an example that highlights a wave of new thinking about the importance of brain fitness.
Until recently, conventional wisdom held that our brains were intractable, hard-wired computers. What we were born with was all we got. Age wore down memory and the ability to understand, and few interventions could reverse this process. But increasingly, evidence suggests that physical and mental exercise can alter specific brain regions, making radical improvements in cognitive function. "When you challenge the brain with new skills and new ways of doing things, it increases connections in the brain," says Ericka P. Simpson, MD, a neurologist who co-directs the MDA Neuromuscular Clinics and directs the ALS clinical research division at the Methodist Hospital System Neurological Institute in Houston. "It increases synaptic density."With nearly 72 million Americans turning 65 over the next two decades, physicians need the tools to handle growing patient concerns about how to best maintain brain health. Armed with this new brand of science, frontline physicians will be better equipped to address the needs of aging baby boomers, already in the throes of the brain fitness revolution. "They are the gatekeepers of information, and people listen," says Eduardo Locatelli, MD, MPH, a neurologist and medical director of the Florida Neuroscience Center in Fort Lauderdale. Dr. Locatelli implements brain fitness techniques for his postsurgery epilepsy patients as well as patients who present with mild- to moderate-stage Alzheimer's and dementia. "Encourage new experiences.
... Use it or lose it. Challenge it and gain.
"The plastic brainWithin the brain, the pathways and regions that are most utilized generally grow and become stronger while other parts shrink. "The brain is very Darwinian, it's survival of the fittest," says Edward Taub, PhD, a behavioral neuroscientist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, who has researched neuroplasticity since the 1970s. "At one time it was believed we did not use 90% of our brain. That is false. The brain is a zero sum game. Every part of the brain is used. It has enormous plasticity."Thus, by challenging the brain and forcing the use of different pathways, brain maps can be altered. And such changes offer young and old -- even brain-injured individuals -- an opportunity to learn or re-learn things. "Vocabulary can increase into age 90," says Gary J. Kennedy, MD, a professor in the Dept. of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He also directs the geriatric psychiatry division at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, N.Y. "As people age they may be slower, but they are capable of more and more complex projects."
Brain volume shrinks up to 1% every year after age 65.To best illustrate neuroplasticity, consider stroke patients with damaged limbs. Contrary to traditional therapy, which works to strengthen the good limb, Taub restrains the uncompromised limb, forcing patients to use the damaged arm or leg. The therapy, constraint-induced movement therapy, also known as CI therapy, helps to rewire the brain."The more you use it, more neurons are available ... the more demand for cortical space and the more the patient is able to use the [damaged] arm," Taub said. Over time, small steps lead to improvements in activities of daily living. Ultimately, the damaged limb, at least in part, recovers because, although the brain does not regrow damaged areas, it re-routes around them.When the brains of CI patients were examined, a tremendous increase in grey matter was detected, and interestingly, Taub says, the healthy part of the brain was recruited for the task. Some of Taub's research was published in the Nov. 1, 2006, Journal of the American Medical Association.CI applications are now being explored for other forms of brain injury.
Young brains, old brains?
Mental agility begins declining around age 24, says Dr. Fortanasce. But there is a big difference between agility and capacity. "I may be slower, but what I know now far outweighs what I knew at 24," he says. "Some individuals perform their greatest creative work in late life. Verdi, for example, composed Othello at 73 and Falstaff at 79."Greg Jicha, MD, PhD, assistant professor of neurology at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, shares related stories, such as that of an 82-year-old who learned to play the trumpet. "I've heard people say, 'You can't teach an old dog new tricks.' That can't be further from the truth," says Dr. Jicha, who also heads the healthy brain aging research group at the university's Sanders-Brown Center on Aging. "When you look at the plasticity of the adult brain, it is amazing."Mental agility, but not capacity, begins declining around age 24.But age also brings anatomic changes. Brain weight and blood flow to the brain decrease by 20%. The number of fibers and nerves decrease by 37%. And brain volume shrinks up to 1% every year after age 65. Dr. Fortanasce also points to hormonal shifts, with the presence of dopamine and serotonin diminishing as cortisol, an aging hormone, increases. "Between age 20 and 70, we lose nearly 90% of youth hormones."So what keeps some brains younger than their chronology? Experts point to a prescription of neurobics. This concept includes life-long learning, trying new things, a healthy diet, social interactions, sleep and physical activity. "Exercise can actually increase neurogenesis and increase the size of the hippocampus," says Dr. Fortanasce, who promotes isometrics and weight-bearing exercise. "Exercise also increases youth hormones. And novelty, doing new things, builds branches."In a 2006 study in the Journal of Aging and Physical Activity, Brandeis University researchers found that strength training increased the participants' working memory span. The higher the level of resistance, the more memory improved, suggesting that strength training benefits not only the muscles but also the mind.Dr. Locatelli suggests reversing daily patterns. People who take the same route to work every day need to push themselves beyond their comfort zones. A person can try to eat using his or her weaker hand, for instance. Or someone could listen to another type of music than the type usually favored. Activate unfamiliar areas of the brain, Dr. Locatelli says. The key is new places, socializing with different people, and reading new things.And primary care physicians can help communicate this message."When a patient expresses concern about memory loss, never cast it off as associated with age," says Tom Perls, MD, MPH, associate professor of medicine at Boston University Medical Center. Dr. Perls also heads the New England Centenarian Study. "This is an incredibly serious issue. Losing brain function is devastating." Ask about memory. And rule out other conditions like depression or low thyroid first. "Encourage them to exercise the brain in novel and complex ways," he says.
Exercising new connections
So what about dance steps? At McGill University in Montreal, researchers found that the tango may be better than walking for improving execution of complex tasks because it incorporates elements found in standard neurological rehabilitation programs. It's also fun and social.Participants, ages 62 to 90, were randomly assigned to a walking group or a tango dancing group, meeting two hours twice a week for 10 weeks. The tango group improved in balance, posture and motor coordination, as well as cognition.Physical and mental exercise improve cognitive function. According to new research published in the October issue of the journal Nature Neuroscience, University College London scientists say complex brain processes that enable the memorization and replication of activities such as playing the piano or riding a bicycle require the execution of complicated sequences of movements involving dozens of muscles. According to their research, pianists who learned and practiced their art from an early age had elevated amounts of myelin. This finding suggests that when people learn new skills, myelination might occur. Earlier studies indicated that brains of patients diagnosed with senile dementia had lowered amounts of myelin.The emphasis, though, is the importance of embracing the complex and novel. And Joe Hardy, PhD, a cognition neuroscientist who develops brain plasticity training programs, says some common-sense advice from physicians is not based on good evidence. "They often recommend doing crossword puzzles," he says. "But evidence suggests that crossword puzzles are not helpful."Hardy has been developing brain games for the San Francisco-based company Posit Science. The games -- the Brain Fitness Program and Insight -- have been tested in several randomized clinical trials funded by the National Institutes of Health. The results indicate that the brain age clock can roll back 10 years. "The key thing in terms of exercise for the brain: You need to do new things, thus forming new paths," he says.Some have even compared this new era in brain health to the 1950s, when heart health came to the fore. "New things are coming out all the time, and we are going to see a revolution in brain health," Hardy says. "I think this is going to change the way people age."

Knives

I have a set of three boxes of Hibben production knives I want to sell. Two are throwing knives and one is a claw. The set of three boxes are $100. Get them thru my website store. Gone in less than 12 hours!

In addition I have a hand-made Huk knife to sell for $400. It's marked with his name and "New Orleans". Contact me at lee@leewedlake.com or thru the website if you're interested. I'm told it's worth about $500 or so.

Fresno seminars

I was hosted by Graham and Jaydean Lelliott at their Central Valley Karate Club in Fresno, CA last weekend. As always, it was a good time. All the seminars were well-attended. The Friday kids were a blast. The Saturday sessions went well, with one for mixed ranks and a family groupings seminar for the brown/black class. Sunday I did a lecture section on instructing for instructors. Afterwards we went to Fred and Julie Bell's home to have dinner with them and Marty and his wife Sheri, and Armen George. Fred has opened a class in his home in the west Fresno area, with his garage converted to a nice studio. We took a ride down the road to Madera to see Pete Valdez's new studio there, called The Dojo. (www.valdezdojo.com). Very nice facility; matted and they have an undersize boxing ring, too. The studio has a great look to it and I think they'll do well. His brother, Trini, was working hard when we were there and he'll be part of the success story.
Thanks to Fred and Kent for the t-shirts they gave me. Amy Long was there from Sacramento, too. Always good to see her and everyone out there.
The Lelliott's are holding their bi-annual camp in May on Memorial Day weekend at Wonder Valley. See www.glkenpo.com for info.

One of those days...

Super underwear

I started teaching Kenpo in 1973. One thing that is an absolute must for the guys to have and wear is a groin cup. Kids, too. In today's legal climate it's even more important. With having many a single mom bring their son in for lessons I found that many of them were not sure how to approach the subject with their boy about wearing a cup. After all, most of them had little or no experience with such apparel. (However, I did meet a woman in a Chicago school who wore one since it was a bit rough there and I found that many of the women in the school in Sweden I visited often used them, too.) Often the moms would want me to explain it to their son but one mom told me that she told her little karate master that it was "super-underwear". 'Nuff said.

Busy weekend

Last week I had the pleasure of reconnecting with one of my Chicago black belts, Peter Boczar. Peter has been living in Hong Kong for the last 14 years and was visiting friends in Miami. He hopped a commuter flight and came over to Ft. Myers for lunch. Jack Nilon and I picked him up and we met Kyle Zwarg and Frank Triolo for lunch. Many lies were told and lots of laugh had. Peter had been to the Olympics, Shanghai, and lots of other interesting places and had stories to tell. I hadn't seen him in about 20 years and it was great to see him again.

This past weekend I was conducting the National Check Pilot Standardization Course for the Civil Air Patrol in Lakeland, FL. It's a yearly school for our pilot examiners and quite a task but came off well. While I was there, right down the road at Disney World they were holding the Disney Martial Arts Festival.

Students from Gulf Coast Kenpo Karate and K. Zwarg's Karate Studio in Cape Coral and Ft. Myers competed. Kyle took a first in freestyle and third in forms as his student Maxx Pollack took a second in forms. Gulf Coast's Mike Squatrito had five students taking places all divisions entered. Congrats to them all!

A former student/assistant instructor, Rebekah Davies, was in town from Seattle for a wedding this week. I had a chance to catch up with her and she's doing great!

Connecticut Kenpo

Frank and Deb Shekosky own and operate Cromwell Martial Arts in Middletown, CT. I have been going up there to teach at their invitation and it's always a pleasure to be at at their school. Frank sent this link showing off some of their kids at a demo recently, which was covered by a local news channel that reaches about a million viewers. Take a look.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgTxIsPj7DY

Rules of Concentration

One item I learned years ago were the Three Rules of Concentration and added them to my kids class requirements (I believe I got them from Steve White). They are Focus Your Eyes, Focus Your Mind, Focus Your Body. I use them in seminars I teach in the US and overseas. I taught them in Germany and here is a response I got from Marc Sigle in Esslingen about the success of this tool.

Hello Lee,
Today, I've had a meeting with my assistants. Nadja told us that Christoph (you met him, it's the boy who has his good and his bad days...) said that his teacher at school uses the three rules of concentration. Nadja wondered where the teacher got the idea from and it turned out that Christoph taught them to his teacher. It feels great to teach something to a kid an have an impact. Thanks for teaching the three rules of concentration at our school!
Best Wishes,
Marc

Of course, there is more to it than just having them memorize the phrases. But I can't agree more with Marc - it does feel good to know you made an impact.

Know it all?

I was over at Mike Squatrito's Gulf Coast Kenpo in Cape Coral today. He had asked me to go over the Staff Set with him. This got me thinking about how people often seem to think that once they get to black, they don't need any more lessons.

I work with Mike periodically, and he does a good job sharing what he learns with his students. I teach Kyle Zwarg and Rick Stone at Kyle's studio in Ft. Myers. All my senior students, Steve White, Gary Ellis and Graham Lelliott get on the mat with me, and have done so this year. Steve Hatfield in Ohio takes a lesson when I go there and showed up in Chicago for a seminar this month, and he's a 6th degree. Two of my 5ths participated in the recent Chicago seminar, they being Kurt Barnhart and Ed Bilski - and they do every time they can.

Ed Cabrera is at every PDS I hold in Florida, so is Tim Walker. Keith Mathews in Georgia and Robert Wallace in South Carolina are working with me every time I go to Keith's. 5th black Bruce Meyer in South Carolina is on the floor at least once a year, usually more. Marc Sigle in Germany takes private lessons when I see him in Esslingen and when he comes over here. One of my newest guys, Brian Price, in Pennsylvania, takes some private time when I see him, too. So does Sam Babikian. Lance Soares from Massachusetts and Tony Velada from Chicago both come to Florida to train. And Australia's Jack Nilon spends six months at a time here in Florida, working with the two local schools and taking private lessons with me.

These people are second degree and higher, are direct students, and are not "sitting on their laurels". And I have people such as Frank Shekosky in Connecticut, who takes a lesson when I go there even though he's formally not a student of mine but he's looking for knowledge. Numerous others come to my seminars (you know who you are), sometimes from long distances, all wanting to improve. My point is, they are not sitting, they make things happen. They know they don't know it all, and neither do I. They keep me motivated to keep learning as well. After all, they're chasing me. I'm glad I don't have to prod them - not like one student of mine who hadn't taken a Kenpo lesson in almost two years and then left to open his own school. I'm proud of them, and I thank those who come to support my seminars. There's a lot left to learn.

I don't get it

I belong to several groups, clubs and associations, maybe too many. Lately it seems that most of them are suffering from in-fighting. Of three groups I belong to, two for aviators and one for motorcyclists, they're all having conflict. I'll bet that 50% of the phone calls I get for stuff for the Civil Air Patrol and our motorcycle club are about people having problems with other people. It's spread to the professional association I belong to for flight instructors. One is having a special election, another wants a vote of "no confidence" for the board, and the third I keep hearing about quitting. Even in Mensa, I've been reading about how people are dropping their memberships because the group is not moving in a positive direction. What's going on?

The one group I have not been hearing about friction in is the Kenpo people I communicate with. Now I have to say that's a bit unusual. I typically hear about this person or that, who's causing problems, and where the friction is. I haven't heard much along those lines for some time.

It's been said that when times get tough people act like this. But much of this has been brewing for a while, so I have to wonder. Bottom line - keep doing what you're doing, Kenpo people, because it seems to be working.

The doctor is in

Study: Zen Meditation Really Does Clear the Mind
By Charles Q. Choi, Special to LiveScience
Zen meditation discourages mental withdrawal from the world and dreaminess, and instead asks one to keep fully aware with a vigilant attitude. Typically one focuses on breathing and posture and aims to dismiss thoughts as they arise. Brain scans now show that Zen training leads to different activity in a set of brain regions known as the "default network," which is linked with spontaneous bursts of thought and wandering minds. Image credit: Dreamstime
The seemingly nonsensical Zen practice of "thinking about not thinking" could help free the mind of distractions, new brain scans reveal.
This suggests Zen meditation could help treat attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (so-called ADD or ADHD), obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety disorder, major depression and other disorders marked by distracting thoughts.
In the last decade, there has been a resurgence of scientific research into meditation, due in part to the wide availability and increasing sophistication of brain-scanning techniques. For instance, scientists recently found that months of intense training in meditation can sharpen a person's brain enough to help them notice details they might otherwise miss.
"It is important that this type of research be conducted with high scientific standards because it carries a long-standing stigma — perhaps well-deserved? — of being wishy-washy," said researcher Giuseppe Pagnoni, a neuroscientist at Emory University in Atlanta. "Constructive skepticism should always be welcomed as a great sparring partner."
Pagnoni and his colleagues investigated Zen meditation, which Pagnoni himself has practiced while studying for his doctorate in Italy.
The Zen of Zen
Zen meditation vigorously discourages mental withdrawal from the world and dreaminess, and instead asks one to keep fully aware with a vigilant attitude. It typically asks one to silently focus on breathing and one's posture with eyes open in a quiet place and to calmly dismiss any thoughts as they pop up, essentially "thinking nothing." One can over time learn how to keep one's mind from wandering, become aware of otherwise unconscious behaviors and preconceived notions and hopefully gain insights into oneself, others and the world.
To see what effects Zen meditation might have on the brain, scientists compared 12 people from the Atlanta area with more than three years of daily practice in Zen meditation with 12 novices who had never practiced meditation.
The researchers "had to screen — and discard — a number of colorful characters who during the interview declared that they were meditating regularly by screaming in a towel while stomping their feet on the ground, or that they were communicating frequently with beings of other planets," Pagnoni recalled. "Such are the unexpected joys of this research!"
As the volunteers had their brains scanned, they were asked to focus on their breathing. Every once in a while, they had to distinguish a real word from a nonsense word displayed at random times on a computer screen and, having done that, promptly try and focus on their breathing again.
Their scans revealed that Zen training led to different activity in a set of brain regions known as the "default network," which is linked with spontaneous bursts of thought and wandering minds. After volunteers experienced in Zen were distracted by the computer, their brains returned faster to how they were before the interruption than novice brains did. This effect was especially striking in the angular gyrus, a brain region important for processing language.
"The regular practice of meditation may enhance the capacity to limit the influence of distracting thoughts," Pagnoni said.
Posturing the findings
"What I find really interesting in this approach is that it stands to regulate the mind by regulating the body — posture, breathing," Pagnoni said. The neural circuits for controlling posture are quite distinct from those responsible for higher brain functions, "and perhaps shifting one's attention to posture or breathing facilitates a temporary quelling of mental chatter."
By teaching people how to clear their minds of interruptions, Zen meditation could help disorders marked by distracting thoughts, Pagnoni said.
"There is already some evidence that a behavioral therapy incorporating elements of mindfulness training derived from meditation can be beneficial in reducing relapses in major depression," Pagnoni noted.
Pagnoni added that the default mode network might be especially vulnerable to Alzheimer's disease.
"Although we enter the field of wild speculations here, could the practice of meditation, by providing regular intervals of respite in the incessant working of the default network, have — if mildly — protective effects for Alzheimer disease?" he conjectured.
Pagnoni noted one potential failing of the study was that the volunteers experienced in Zen meditation might have some innate capacity for controlling their thoughts, explaining the differences seen. Ideally, scientists could track novices as they grow experienced in Zen meditation, to see if their brains change or not, he said.
The research, funded by a National Institutes of Health grant, is detailed online Sept. 3 in the journal PLoS ONE.

Nuts!

Who thinks of this stuff?

New book

A new book will be released soon by ABC-CLIO entitled Martial Arts in Global Perspectives: Tradition and Change. It's a compilation of submissions from seniors in many systems. I contributed the section on American Kenpo. Tom Kelly and Steve LaBounty looked over the work and agree it is accurate. At this time I don't know when it will be released but will post that info when I get it.

The doctor is in

What's old is new again! Dr. Rowe sent this along. Interesting stuff.

Troops Use 'Samurai' Meditation to Soothe PTSD
By Noah Shachtman October 08, 2008 5:32:00 PMCategories:
Medic! It wasn't all that long ago that if you told U.S. troops to meditate, you ran the risk of being called a kook -- or worse, a hippie. Today, it's becoming increasingly-common advice, for soldiers and marines looking to deal with battlefield stress, and prep for war.At Camp Lejeune, "Warrior Mind Training," supposedly based on ancient samurai techniques, are being offered to marines with mental health issues."This is a way to turn off your thoughts and get razor-sharp attention. We kind of work out the muscles, before our troops ever see action, so that they have the mental skill set to stay focused in the heat of battle - and to be able to leave the horrors of war behind when it's time to come home," instructor Sarah Ernst tells the AP. "Our motto is, 'Take the war to the enemy, but leave the battle on the battlefield.'"The course is also being taught to marines at Camp Pendleton, soldiers at Ft. Bragg, and submariners at the Naval Submarine Base. And it's not the only alternative therapy being offered to troops with post-traumatic stress disorder. Walter Reed Medical Center uses yoga in its PTSD treatments. Darpa has invested millions into natural dietary supplements. Troops -- even flag-level officers -- have been known to do yoga on their own.Meanwhile, a $4 million Army investigation into non-traditional therapies attracted 82 proposals on everything "from art and dance, to the ancient Chinese healing art of qigong or a therapy of hands-on touching known as Reiki," USA Today notes.That list of therapies has been narrowed to 10. And it will "include how meditation can improve emotional resilience; how holding and petting an animal can treat PTSD; and how acupuncture pain relief can relieve headaches created by mild brain damage from blasts." About one-third of sailors and Marines use some types of alternative therapies, mostly herbal remedies, according to a survey conducted last year. A recent Army study shows that one in four soldiers with combat-caused PTSD turned to herbs, chiropractors, acupuncture or megavitamins for relief.It's a whole new world out there.

Kid stuff

Mark Richards in Plymouth, England is Gary Ellis' right-hand man. His daughter, Sophie, drew this and gave it to me after the seminars there a few weeks back. Thanks, Sophie!

Chicago trip

It was another great trip back home for me this past weekend. My hosts were Kurt and Barb Barnhart, who do so much for me to make my visits so enjoyable. The weather was nice, seminars went well, and the wedding I went to was a chance to see some old friends and students.

I flew up and back on Southwest Airlines, my new favorite. I have not had any of the problems with them that I've had with Delta, American, and USAir.

The seminars were held at Tony Velada's new studio in Worth. He and Aikido sensei Bob Garza recently opened the facility on Harlem Avenue and it's a nice looking, clean, and functional studio. The Friday evening and Saturday sessions were attended by about 25 people each and we had participants from three other systems, including Danzan-Ryu jiu-jitsu.

Steve Hatfield came in from Ohio, and we made some new friends from Missouri. Chris Dunham is a kenpo stylist from Springfield, MO, and he came up with three students and his wife. They seem to be a nice group, proficient, and I'm looking forward to working with them soon.

One of my old-timer black belts, Jon Landin, had invited the Barnharts and I to his son's wedding on Saturday. I was surprised to see one of my very first kenpo instructors, John Harrington, at the reception. John lives in Arkansas and had driven up with his wife. Later, I was tapped on the shoulder by a man I didn't recognize, and rightly so. I hadn't seen him since he was about 10 years old when he took my classes in Chicago. His name is Jeff Wichmann, he's Jon's nephew, and is a professional musician. He told me that my introduction to karate for him was the spark that eventually turned him to studying music and lived in Japan for three years to do so. You can read more about him at www.myspace.com/jwichmann.

My first tai chi teacher, Bill Grizzle, was at Tony's school on Saturday morning, teaching his class. I hadn't seen him in almost 20 years. It was good to catch up with him, too. A large group of us had lunch together on Saturday. There were karate, tai chi, kenpo, and aikido practitioners and nobody even threw any food at each other.

All in all, not just a fun weekend but a memorable weekend - and the Cubs even lost!

Another good one

Lance Soares is a paramedic who was on the call that was written about in this story. The interesting part is about how "The homeowner had a bloody mouth and had cut his right hand when he reached for the suspect's weapon. The gun's hammer caught on the webbing of his hand, witnesses said."
http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080924/NEWS/809240336/-1/TOWN

Gotta read this

This was sent by Tony Velada in Chicago and pertains to a story about a man who broke in to rape a 17 year old girl and her dad got hold of him.

http://www.theindychannel.com/news/17576601/detail.html?taf=ind

On the Continent

I've been in Europe for the last week or so. I was over at Marc Sigle's school in Esslingen, Germany last weekend. Marc had a great turnout there, with students from his studio, Chris Junge's club in Saarbrucken, Mike Haselwanter's club in Austria, and some of the Dusseldorf people. All the classes went very well. The theme of the classes were based on my book in the works, with subjects from the book including sophisticated basics and zone theory.
Marc and his wife, Isabelle, are wonderful hosts and I enjoy the time I spend there with them.
I headed up to England via Berlin, with an overnight there. I had a little time to look around there and then went off to the UK. Edinburgh, Scotland was my next stop for two days. That's a truly interesting and historic place to visit.

I flew down to Plymouth, England to spend some time with Gary Ellis and his people. The guys there are a fun bunch to work with and we had a lot of laughs. The weekend classes were spent on working the weapons techniques. Udo Zehl came over from Germany to attend, having missed the Esslingen event.
It's been good to see some friends and meet some new ones. I've had a chance to see some historic things, go to museums, and get a feel for the countries as well. Plans are in the works to go back next year, with a camp in England in May and one in Austria in July. Thanks again to those who attended the seminars and to Marc, Isabelle, Gary, and Sarah for putting up with me.

Bruce Lee

This was a training device used by Bruce Lee. Note the weights attached, which apparently gave it some resistance when struck. One of my black belts, Peter Boczar, lives in Hong Kong. He heard about the new Bruce Lee museum opened in China and went there. It took a 2.5 hr boat ride and 1.5 hrs by taxi to get there. He says it's in an ancestral Lee family home.

Peter is also a black sash in Fu Jow Pai, the Black Tiger system. Coincidentally, a magazine sent to me with an article in it about Glenn Wilson, whom I wrote about recently, had an article about Peter's FJP teacher in New York, Wai Hong.

Book review

Marc Rowe sent this review from the Asian Journal of Martial Arts.

Meditations 0n Violence:A Comparison of Martial Arts Training and Real World Violence by Rory MillerYMAA Publication Center 2008, 181pp. 6" x 9"ISBN 978-1-59439-118-7 paperback. $18.95Available from:YMAA Publishing Center P.O. Box 480Wolfeboro, NH 03894 USA Tol1-free: (800) 669.8892www.ymaa.comReview by John. Donohue. Ph.D. D'YouviUe University:YRory
Miller's Meditations on Violence is a serious, unflinching look at the realities of violent human confrontation. Its stark, accurate analysis of the multidi­mensional character of violence serves as a brutally frank critique of the fantasies and suppositions most people~specially martial artists-hold about fighting. The book is a must read for martial artists who are serious enough and honest enough to ask tough ques­tions about themselves, their arts, and real fighting.Any committed martial artist should ask him or herself: how much of what I do is martial and how much is art? It's an important question because it can lead to a better notion of who you are, what you're up to, and why. Rory Miller's book takes a cold-eyed look at the dynamics of real vio­lence and, in the process, strips away the most cherished fantasy of dojo warriors everywhere that our disciplines are involved with making us capable of confronting the chaos of human violence.This is not a comforting book to read. Miller has tremendous experience confronting human violence. A veteran corrections officer, martial artist and leader of a Corrections Emergency Response Team, his observations, analyses and opinions will chal­lenge all martial artists to rethink their assessment of the martial element in their arts. Miller's book is based on personal reflec­tion, fighting experience, and objective analysis that are grounded in a reality few of us will ever glimpse. He clearly and con­vincingly demonstrates the limi­tations and delusions inherent in various approaches to dealing with violence. Whether we train as boxers, UFC fighters, or in a classic dojo, each approach limits itself to one small portion of the huge spectrum of human vio­lence. Violence, as the author cautions us, is big, complex, and dangerous. No one system can really cope.The author does a nice job of walking readers through these complexities: physiological issues, psychological and social influences, assumptions and beliefs. He lays bare just how challenging it can be to respond to actual events, not the simulated play­acting or set piece drills so com­mon in much of martial arts train­ing.Miller succinctly critiques the training assumptions in most mar­tial arts systems and briefly out­lines a training blueprint for real­istic preparation. It includes not only knowledge of the legal rami­fications of violent conflict, per­sonal decisions about a willing­ness to fight, and operant condi­tioning, for example, to develop a small number of counter attacks to assault, but also training in thepost-event consequences of vio­lence. Only such a comprehen­sive approach can even approach preparing people for violent assault and response.I have long maintained that martial arts are widely misunder­stood by practitioners and non­practitioners alike. They are physical arts, true. They are inspired by fighting techniques of varying types. They involve us physically, mentally, and emo­tionally. But they are largely ritu­al, symbolic acts that help us define ourselves and help us craft stories about bravery, endurance, and the triumph of good over evil. Think of it as something analo­gous to a roller coaster ride: phys­ically and emotionally involving, even scary, but safe. True violence is not riding a rolIer coaster, it's more like being trapped in a car that's run out of control and is about to plunge off a cliff. At the end of a ride on a rolIer coaster, you go get ice cream. At the end of a ride in a runaway car, you're dead. There's a big difference. Rory Miller's insights may come from a different perspective, but they make the same point.And here is the real value of this book: it clearly outlines for the reader the ultimately evil nature of violence and the toll it takes on the humanity of predator and victim alike. It prompts us to ask ourselves how (and whether) we will be able to confront such an evil should it befall us.Toward the end of the book, Miller says that there are people in our communities who routine­ly deal with the wild beast of vio­lence. It takes a toll, but they do it so the rest of don't have to. They carry the baggage of the rhi­noceros, he maintains, so the restof us can believe in unicorns.This martial artist is grate­ful for the service of people like Rory Miler and the insights his book provides.

Who is that masked man?

1990. Pennsylvania, after his black belt test. Ed Parker and Eddie Cabrera!

Florida black belts will know Eddie, or recognize his name, because he's been around the kenpo scene here for years. Ed's currently working on a book about kenpo and Western boxing. He's also one of the few East Coast instructors who actually met Ed Parker. Ed's doing seminars on his boxing and boxing infusions. You can find his contact info on my website in the studio directory.

Mural

In one of my books I mention a life-size mural that was done on the wall of Bruce Meyer's studio in Irmo, South Carolina years ago. The artist was Jim Middlebrooks and the drawing was taken from Ed Parker's Infinite Insights Vol. 5 of me doing the salutation. Here is one photo, more are on my website in the photo gallery.

That's some thinking

Years ago when I lived in Chicago, and instructor from another school stopped by. He was a somewhat frequent visitor and we got along fine. One day we were talking about tournament competition and he stated "I am undefeated." That's pretty impressive, huh? He followed with, "I've never competed in a tournament, so I can say I have never been defeated."
That's some thinking.

Sifu Glenn Wilson

I recently reconnected with an old friend, Sifu Glenn Wilson. We met way back in the early 80's through Al Villacampa, one of his black sash level students from Miami who was living in Chicago. I saw Glenn and his students compete when I was down in Florida for tournaments and they were strong. Over the years I'd see his name from time to time. As it turns out, he's still in Florida and is now the head of his system. If you'd like to check it out, see the website below. Al had told me there was some Kenpo influence in there and that Glenn had studied it. I know that Master Daniel Pai was an acquaintance of Ed Parker's and that the system, Pai Lum, bears his name.
Good to make the contact, and I plan to get with Sifu Wilson soon on a trip to Orlando.

Glenn C. Wilson
Grandmaster – Pai Lum Tao
Chairman – White Dragon Warrior Society
President – Glenn Wilson’s Martial Arts Academies International
955 West Lancaster Rd. #5
Orlando, Fl. 32809
407-856-9040
http://www.pailum.org/
GlennCWilson@pailum.org
http://members.aol.com/GlennCWilson/

Check this out

Monroe couple describe how they fought off armed man
By Jackson Holtz, Herald WriterMONROE -- A few hours before Donna Angevine smacked an intruder in the head more than 20 times with a baseball bat early Thursday, she was sparring with her tae kwan do instructor.He had to egg her on."Hit me," the instructor told her. Be aggressive.The self-defense and martial arts training paid off for the Monroe woman, 45, when she and her husband, Roger Angevine, woke up to find a man in their bedroom."I'm here to rob you," they remember him saying.Nearly a week later, the couple has stitches and deep purple bruises. Donna Angevine has a black eye. Her husband, 48, has a foot-long bruise on his side and a bite mark on his thigh.The carpet in their bedroom, where the attack occurred, was removed. Police said the blood from the fight rendered it a biohazard and it needed to be destroyed.The intruder is behind bars.Taking a break from mowing their lawn Tuesday, the couple -- he's a retired business owner and she's a doggie fashion designer -- recounted their ordeal.Roger Angevine said at first he thought maybe the intruder was a friend pulling a prank. He asked the man if he was serious."Does this feel serious?" the stranger said.Angevine felt the sharp slap of a baseball bat against his torso.The blow triggered a 15-­minute struggle.The man ordered the couple, who were naked and unarmed, to the ground.That's when Roger Angevine decided to fight back.He tackled the intruder, hitting him with such force that he knocked the man's head through the drywall."My goal was to grab onto his wrists and hold on," Roger Angevine said.An avid snowmobiler, Roger Angevine said he knows how to grip handlebars strong enough to save his life. Grasping the man's wrists was similar.The couple was able to take away the intruder's gun and baseball bat."Hit him! Hit him! Hit him!" Roger Angevine yelled to his wife.Again and again, Donna Angevine swung the bat at the man's head. She pleaded with him to stop fighting, but he continued."Please stop fighting," she said. "I don't want to hurt you anymore."The fight went back and forth from the bedroom into an adjoining weight room. The two men wrestled while Donna Angevine kept swinging the bat.At one point, the intruder bit Roger Angevine's thigh."That's actually what pissed me off," he said.Finally, the intruder succumbed. The couple hog-tied him with belts and Donna Angevine sat on him until Snohomish County sheriff's deputies arrived."I came to make a quick buck," the man, 24, told police, according to court papers.He said he walked from his Bothell home to the couple's residence at the end of a long private road in rural Monroe, the documents said."You have a lovely home," the man told the couple during the robbery attempt. "I thought you'd have lots of cash."The intruder was hospitalized Thursday with a head wound. On Friday, he was booked into the Snohomish County Jail for investigation of first-degree burglary, first-degree robbery, second-degree assault and possession of a stolen firearm. He was being held Tuesday on $100,000 bail.Police found in the man's backpack a knife, plastic zip ties, white nylon rope, black duct tape and a single roll of toilet paper, potentially for use in gagging his victims.Roger Angevine said he finds it hard to believe someone would randomly stumble upon the house he and his wife built eight years ago. The intruder also seemed to know the layout of the house.The man slipped in through an unlocked door, fetched a slab of bacon from the kitchen to lure the couple's three dogs away and found the bedroom amid the sprawling floor plan, Angevine said.Snohomish County detectives continue to investigate the break-in. The Angevines acted in self-defense and will not face charges, officials said.The couple said they're locking their doors and have beefed up their security plan.They hope their ordeal will provide a cautionary tale to others."You can't rely on locked doors to stop a guy with a gun, baseball bat and a mission," Roger Angevine said. "You have to be able to defend yourself."On Tuesday night, Donna Angevine said she continued her self-defense training at a session for women at Tiger Rock tae kwon do in Monroe."The guy just picked the wrong people to mess with," she said.

Mini-camp success!

The Labor Day weekend mini-camp was attended by 15 children and 20 adults from six states.
Steve White's seminar for business owners was very well received. The children's seminar was co-taught by Florida's Tim Walker and South Carolina's Bruce Meyer. Bruce remarked that one of the kids talked with him afterwards and told him the last time he had visited he was a yellow belt and now he's going for brown. All the kids had a good time and got participation certificates. Thanks to K. Zwarg's Karate and Gulf Coast Kenpo for their support. (That's Tim in the photo).
Saturday's seminar was kicked off by Mr. Meyer, who taught aspects of developing and executing self-defense demos and competition routines. The battle cry was "You gotta sell it!"
Steve White followed with a dynamic presentation of how to increase your knowledge by looking into your sequences instead of just collecting more "stuff".
A lunch break included some presentations. Jim Middlebrooks, an artist from South Carolina and black belt under Bruce Meyer, was present. Jim does portraits of fallen soldiers for the families and gave me a book of them. Two members of the Special Forces Motorcycle Club were on hand to be part of the presentation, Bo McCormick and Bill Hood, shown in the photo below. SFMC is giving Jim a certificate of appreciation for his efforts. We had all the veterans of the armed Forces present jump in the photo too, also below.


Brad Congress of Bradley's Fine Jewelry here in Ft. Myers presented Steve White with a Five Swords pendant. Steve's birthday was recent, so we had a cake for him and Brad gave him his gift.

Ed Cabrera taught a great class on infusing boxing into Kenpo, followed by my presentation on the overkill principle. The seminar was concluded with a short session in which some of us present who knew Mr. Parker told a few stories and answered questions. Ed Cabrera, Lance Soares, Tony Velada, Bruce Meyer, Dr. Francis Rene, Steve White, and myself comprised a panel, which was a lot of fun.
Many in the group joined us for dinner that evening. Sunday morning the out-of-state participants left, some of them had to change their flights home due to Hurricane Gustav.
Below is an e-mail I received after the camp.

Dear Mr. Wedlake: I just want to drop you a short note to tell you how much I enjoyed the camp.
"Drinking from a fire hydrant" is a big understatement! Each one of the segments presented by you, Mr. White, Mr. Meyer and Mr. "Eddie" Cabrera was unique and well thought of with many useful 'take away' concepts.
Just as important, it was a lot of fun to work out with buddies from all over the country and exchange ideas with them.
Finally, getting insights about Mr. Parker's life and personality from people that met him was a wonderful ending.
All in all, it was a terrific experience... Thank you for making it happen!
Cordially / Carlos
If you were there, thanks for your support. If you missed it, I hope you can make a future event.

Labor Day

Gulf Coast Kenpo in Cape Coral will be on television locally in Ft. Myers on Monday, Labor Day. They've raised money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association and will do a demo at Florida Gulf Coast University in conjunction with the MDA tele-thon. Should air around noon-1pm on Monday. 239-573-0005 for info, talk to Mike or Renee.

Manchester seminars

As always, we had a great time at Steve White's Manchester Karate Studio in New Hampshire over the weekend. I was not sure I was going to get there due to Tropical Storm Fay coming through Florida when I was due to leave but Southwest Airlines got me there. (Love those guys!)
Good crowds for all three sessions, and a surprise birthday cake for Steve Friday night. Francis Rene from New Orleans was there and had gotten a handmade knife to give to Steve that evening. The knife was made by Zach Whitson and is a scaled down version of the Parker knife. Very nice.
I taught some club defenses Friday, a family class on Saturday and some related technique concepts on Saturday afternoon.
Good weather, good food, good people. Steve will be here this week to teach at our Labor Day mini-camp. Hope you can make it.

Doting a bit

My niece, Serena, has been away most of the summer going to this activity or that with the Civil Air Patrol cadet program. She attended Cadet Officer School, Honor Guard Academy, summer encampment, and a career shadowing at MacDill AFB in Tampa. At MacDill they were given the opportunity to shoot a handgun.

She described herself as being "all hard-core" when she picked it up, and aimed. See picture #2 for the aftermath.

Kids, gotta love 'em.

The doctor is in

The excerpt below was sent by Marc Rowe. I read a study not long ago in which the researchers were looking at what luck is. They concluded that luck is largely due to the subject having picked up certain subconscious cues and acted on them, stating that luck is largely based on observation. In my mind, the following article relates to that. The point here is that we have to pay attention and act on given information, consciously or subconsciously.

ScienceDaily (Mar. 6, 2008) - Most of us experience 'gut feelings' we can't explain, such as instantly loving - or hating - a new property when we're househunting or the snap judgements we make on meeting new people. Now researchers at Leeds say these feelings - or intuitions - are real and we should take our hunches seriously.According to a team led by Professor Gerard Hodgkinson of the Centre for Organisational Strategy, Learning and Change at Leeds University Business School, intuition is the result of the way our brains store, process and retrieve information on a subconscious level and so is a real psychological phenomenon which needs further study to help us harness its potential.There are many recorded incidences where intuition prevented catastrophes and cases of remarkable recoveries when doctors followed their gut feelings. Yet science has historically ridiculed the concept of intuition, putting it in the same box as parapsychology, phrenology and other 'pseudoscientific' practices.Through analysis of a wide range of research papers examining the phenomenon, the researchers conclude that intuition is the brain drawing on past experiences and external cues to make a decision - but one that happens so fast the reaction is at a non-conscious level. All we're aware of is a general feeling that something is right or wrong."People usually experience true intuition when they are under severe time pressure or in a situation of information overload or acute danger, where conscious analysis of the situation may be difficult or impossible," says Prof Hodgkinson.He cites the recorded case of a Formula One driver who braked sharply when nearing a hairpin bend without knowing why - and as a result avoided hitting a pile-up of cars on the track ahead, undoubtedly saving his life."The driver couldn't explain why he felt he should stop, but the urge was much stronger than his desire to win the race," explains Professor Hodgkinson. "The driver underwent forensic analysis by psychologists afterwards, where he was shown a video to mentally relive the event. In hindsight he realised that the crowd, which would have normally been cheering him on, wasn't looking at him coming up to the bend but was looking the other way in a static, frozen way. That was the cue. He didn't consciously process this, but he knew something was wrong and stopped in time."Prof Hodgkinson believes that all intuitive experiences are based on the instantaneous evaluation of such internal and external cues - but does not speculate on whether intuitive decisions are necessarily the right ones."Humans clearly need both conscious and non-conscious thought processes, but it's likely that neither is intrinsically 'better' than the other," he says.As a Chartered occupational psychologist, Prof Hodgkinson is particularly interested in the impact of intuition within business, where many executives and managers claim to use intuition over deliberate analysis when a swift decision is required. "We'd like to identify when business people choose to switch from one mode to the other and why - and also analyse when their decision is the correct one. By understanding this phenomenon, we could then help organisations to harness and hone intuitive skills in their executives and managers."The research is published in the current issue of the British Journal of Psychology. The article comprises a critical review of previously published theory and research within psychology and the wider behavioural sciences.Journal reference:Hodgkinson, G.P., Langan-Fox, J. and Sadler-Smith, E. (2008). Intuition: A fundamental bridging construct in the behavioural sciences. British Journal of Psychology, 99, 1-27.

Kick-a-Thon

Mike and Renee Squatrito at Gulf Coast Kenpo in Cape Coral, FL held a kick-a-thon for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) Saturday. The studio raised $2500 for the charity, with their student, Kimmie King, raising $443 herself. One of the prizes for the student collecting the most donations was a private lesson with me.
MDA is a charity close to my heart. One of my childhood friends, Danny, succumbed to the disease when he was 16 years old. But he didn't go easily. Muscular Dystrophy essentially deteriorates your muscles, eventually making it difficult, if not impossible for you to do such things we take for granted, such as standing up. Danny forced himself to stand up for hours on end. He had a hook-up to school since he couldn't attend but surpassed all the kids in class regardless. He was acknowledged as being a brilliant student. Who knows what he could have accomplished if he had lived.
I've supported MDA for many years, in many ways. I hope you will, too.

Shot (Strike) Placement

Tim Walker sent this in. It's about shot placement and refers to handguns but the information as to psychological "Superman Effect" is also applicable to unarmed combat. This is just a part of the article, published by Frontsite, and shooting school in Nevada. One of my friends went there recently and said it's worth going back to take again.

Pay close attention to the following facts:
1. Range was 20 feet.
2. Three officers involved.
3. One adversary, 18 years old.
4. Officers used M4s with 55 grain and 75 grain .223 ammunition and Glock 22’s with Speer 180 grain Gold Dot ammunition.
5. Adversary used .45 ACP handgun.
6. Trace amounts of marijuana in adversary’s system.
7. 107 rounds fired by two officers with 17 rounds striking adversary (16% hit ratio).
8. Of the 17 hits, 11 created exit wounds.
9. NO HEAD SHOT DELIVERED by officers at range of 20 feet from either their rifles or handguns.
10. Adversary fired 26 rounds and reloaded magazine from a box of loose ammunition.
11. Incident lasted approximately 3.5 minutes.
12. When adversary was no longer able to return fire, officers still had to “fight” to get him handcuffed.
13. Interesting tattoos on very dedicated adversary.
14. I would add under the FBI’s Lessons Learned Section that when you do not inflict immediate, incapacitating damage to your adversary, you often create a “Superman Effect” in your adversary from the normal physiologic response to significant, but non-life threatening injury.
I experienced this myself when I broke both arms in an all terrain vehicle accident 20 years ago. I distinctly remember looking at both wrists, twisted and broken, but remarkably felt NO PAIN. I was so surprised by the lack of pain that I actually shook the wrists a bit in disbelief! I then crossed my arms, holding the wrists close to my body for support, and JOGGED back toward camp for several minutes before the pain began and then quickly intensified to the point where any movement of my body was extremely painful. It is during this brief but significant period of NO PAIN that your adversary can fight you like a “Superman” even though you may be continuing to deliver hits to his body.

The Kenpo Continuum is out!

Amy Long has sent out the new book she has just completed called The Kenpo Continuum. I wrote a cover blurb for it and refer to it as a version of The Journey for the rest of us. Lots of bios on practitioners from all over the US and abroad. Some of my students are in there, and I wrote the bio on Rick Stone.
The book is available on Amy's website at http://www.sacramentokenpokarate.com/ and a few copies will be available through my site as well at http://www.leewedlake.com/ in the online store.

Response to Kenpo 601

Thank you all who sent your comments in about K-601. The response has been very positive. I received one from Si-Gung Steve LaBounty who said he likes the writing style. More importantly, he said he considers himself to still be a student, which is what I feel every day.
It's great to get notes of appreciation like that, and all those I get from people who buy and read the books, then take the time to write and let me know how much they help. That's why I wrote them.
Thanks again to you all.

New studio opening

One of my students, Tony Velada, and Aikido sensei Robert Garza are opening a combined studio in Worth, Ilinois, a Chicago suburb. Tony started with me when he was eight years old in Chicago, back in the 1980s. He met Ed Parker there when Mr. Parker would come to teach. Bob Garza is a practitioner I met a few years ago through Kurt Barnhart in Chicago. I went to a few of his sword classes there and really enjoyed them.
Between their enthusiasm and abilities, I'm sure the school will be a success. They have a Grand Opening coming up soon. Check their website at www.worthmartialarts.com.

" A Center for the Martial Arts "
Home of Soseikan Dojo and Windy City Kenpo

11425 S. Harlem Ave.
Worth, Illinois 60482
708-827-5559
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Cape Coral seminar

Gulf Coast Kenpo Karate is across the river from Ft. Myers, so it was nice to not have to jump on an airplane to go there. (Last week I flew Delta "Don't Expect your Luggage To Arrive" and they lived up to that.) We had two successful and enjoyable seminars, one for the kids and another for the adults. I presented Mike with one of the two author's pre-publication copies I received of Kenpo Karate 601 for his part in producing the book. He did the graphics work.

Mike and Renee Squatrito have a nice, clean, good-looking school that's well-organized. The students' material looks good, so it's obvious Mike is doing a good job transmitting the system. Their students are doing well in tournaments, too.

Drop by if you're in town or check out their website at http://www.gulfcoastkenpo.com/.