Kenpo 501 update

This artwork by Ed Parker Jr is a variation of the cover he designed for my Kenpo Karate 501 book. K-501 is scheduled to be shipped to me on Nov. 23 and in distribution just after Thanksgiving. Pre-orders can be made on my website a www.leewedlake.com. I'm looking forward to having it out and in your hands.
Recently I've gotten several e-mails and phone calls telling me how helpful my written works have been for students of all levels. They've told me the books have been easy-to-read, full of information, and have opened their eyes as to how much information is in our forms. They said they are looking forward to their progress and thanked me for helping to preserve our system. That's why I wrote them. K-601 is about done and another book about Ed Parker will follow.
Thanks for the feedback.

Interesting weekend

I left the house last Thursday with a full schedule ahead of me for the weekend.
The Disney Martial Arts Festival was happening in Orlando over the weekend and I was the Project Officer for the National Check Pilot Standardization Course being held in Lakeland, FL. My schedule called for me to speak at the Disney event on Friday then run down to Lakeland for the weekend school.
The Festival tournament had about 1700 competitors registered when I spoke with promoter Rob Hartman. They had about 500 rooms blocked out at the hotel there, too. I saw people from everywhere including overseas. It's a huge event. I was going to speak as part of their business symposium, then was scheduled to teach a seminar on Friday evening. Neither event happened. It seems the peripheral events such as these just didn't come off. There's another one of these scheduled for Disneyland in California in February. I'm invited to teach there, too. We'll see.
I went to Lakeland on Friday for my school. We got set up, had a little staff briefing, then dinner. Saturday came and we had weather problems that threw the schedule off a bit but we adapted. We got back on track Sunday. It was a big deal that took months of planning. It involved people, airplanes, logistics, communications equipment, coordination the the Federal Aviation Administration, the US Air Force, and the Civil Air Patrol powers-that-be. I pulled it off. I'm telling this story because if it had not been for my experience in holding kenpo camps it would have been overwhelming. Martial arts doesn't just teach people to kick and punch. It truly does (or should) teach discipline, patience, and self-control. I've found myself in a different arena in dealing with people, aircraft, and large facilities but past experiences allow me to cope. By being a teacher I can pass these lessons on. By being a leader I hope to be a good role model, too. It's a legacy we need to pass on a teachers and martial artists.

Dr. Gyi

I had the opportunity to meet and talk with Dr. Myaung Gyi, courtesy of Joe Palanzo when he had be teach at his recent camp."Doc Gyi", as they call him, is the REAL DEAL.
I was privileged to sit and talk with him privately a few times during the event. He is a PhD in psycholinguistics and has an interesting background beypnd the fact he is fluent in nine languages. He is widely known as a grandmaster of Bando, a Burmese art. One portion of it looks like Muay Thai, but like many arts, there is way more to it.I had seen bando back when I was a brown belt in Chicago and thought it was pretty exotic.
Dr. Gyi had been the chief instructor for the United States Karate Association (USKA) for 15 years. I remember the USKA from my days as a new black belt and it was one of the biggest karate associations in America. Odd that a bando man would hold that position? I found he had trained with Gogen Yamaguchi, "The Cat", a famous Goju-Ryu master. Makes sense to me. Gyi was the boxing coach for a university in Ohio for years, and he worked with the US military when he was young.
We spoke of other things and I'll pass that on here soon in a second article. I was impressed with the Doctor and I'm looking forward to meeting him again.

Professor John Sepulveda

Last week while I was away I got an e-mail from kenpo senior Mr. Steve LaBounty advising several of us that John Sepulveda had a serious accident. John had been thrown off his horse and severely injured his back, fracturing several vertebrea.
He is hospitalized but has spoken to Mr. LaBounty. We all hope he recovers soon and fully.
I first met John when he was at a promotion held at the West Los Angeles school. John was on the board with us, and it was at the test that Jeff Speakman was going for his third degree black. John's people did a nice job there.
It was not until later that I had a chance to sit and talk with him, only to find out we worked with some of the same people on our way up. As it turned out he worked for the same guy in California that I worked for in Illinois when that man relocated to the Midwest. That was interesting, and we had some stories to exchange.
I have always found the professor to be an up-front man, a good leader, and he is an excellent teacher and technician. He turns out good practitioners. We've had him down to Florida to teach at our events. John and I have crossed paths many times here and in Europe and we have an excellent rapport. He's also been on of the people I turn to to read some of my writing while in the draft stage, as I value his thoughts and advice.
Once again, the best wished from me and my associates for his recovery.

48 hours

It was just about the amount of time I had to travel to and from Baltimore for the WKKA camp. Joe Palanzo was at the airport to pick me up, which was a pleasant surprise considering that he had lots of people at his camp. We caught up a little in the car and when we got to the hotel I was on my own for a few hours.
In that time I saw Mr. Tom Kelly in the hallway and got myself introduced to Dr. Gyi. Mr. Kelly was Ed Parker's right-hand man for many years and we were up until midnight that night exchanging stories and thoughts on the art. Dr. Gyi and I spoke over the afternoon and during the next day. I was quite impressed with him and picked up many bits of information about Ed Parker and the arts. Dr. Gyi met Mr. Parker in the mid-50's and they were friends until Mr. Parker passed away. In fact, when Dr. Gyi taught his class and asked them to project an image in their minds of Ed Parker as a sign of respect during a salutation he was teaching, he knelt down and asked the class if they would kneel with him. When he finished he turned and wiped his eyes, saying that it always brings a tear to him when he salutes his friend.
I got re-acquainted with Joe Briedenstein, Ken Herman and some other people I hadn't see in a while. Joe's wife, Suzanne and his son and daughter were there as well. I hadn't seen the kids since they were very young and it had been years since I'd seen Suzanne. I was made to feel at home.
The visit was way too fast but I enjoyed it a lot. I was at the first camp 22 years ago and I hope to be at the next.

WKKA camp

I'm off to Baltimore for Joe Palanzo's Worldwide Kenpo Karate Association camp. I was pleasantly surprised to be invited. I'm looking forward to seeing some old friends and meeting some new people. Dr. Myaung Gyi will be there. I've heard about him for years and am excited about meeting him.
I'll recap when I return.

Secret life of the brain

Dr Rowe sent me this link. It has great 3-D graphics and a research function. If you're interested in how your brain works, check this out.
www.pbs.org/wnet/brain/3d/index.html