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.