Disney Professional Development Weekend

Steve White and I taught our first combined business and instructor Special Emphasis seminar at Disney World last weekend. Steve ran the Friday evening session and covered marketing principles, along with studio statistics, and developing an overall plan for your business. The session closed out with some social time with the Disney people providing refreshments. It was a chance for many of the participants to get to know each other, since we had five states represented and not only kenpo, but TKD and kung-fu people.

Saturday started at 9am, with the rest of the attendees checking in and renewing old acquaintances as well as meeting some new friends. The morning topics covered basics and forms but were related to the Laws of Learning and Levels of Learning, information that instructors should know. Lunch was arranged for us in the next room and was excellent.
The afternoon sessions topics were self-defense and the freestyle techniques, using a "model explosion" concept and demonstrating how to graft the freestyle techniques onto the standard techniques in the street freestyle section. Theories of retention and forgetting were introduced as well.
Every Professional Development student receives handouts in every PDS I hold and the end of class survey showed that they were useful, easy to use, and well received. In fact, one respondent called the seminar "very much above" others they had attended. See my website for other comments, http://www.leewedlake.com/index.asp?PageID=7.
At days end, verbal comments were that the event was very positive and opened a lot of doors. One person said they were going back home and immediately implementing what they learned about running their classes.
Some promotions were made. Bruce Meyer of Columbia, SC went to 5th black and his student, Jason Bright went to 4th. Other 4th degrees that day were all Florida people; Ed Cabrera, Mike Squatrito, and Kyle Zwarg. My fellow instructor, Steve White, was given a set of Mickey ears, see the photo below.



The prevalent comments were that the atmosphere was great, the people were friendly and good to work out with, the information was well laid out and the presentation was excellent. I'm looking forward to doing an expanded version of this later this year, again in the Orlando area. Steve and I enjoyed teaching it. We'll be teaching together again in California at Graham Lelliott's camp over Memorial Day weekend. His info is at www.glkenpo.com.

Adult Attention Deficiency Disorder

Years ago I was teaching a private lesson to an adult black belt. In the middle of doing a section of Form Four she comes over to me, grabs my sleeve, and asks me what the patch was on it. I was joking that she was ADD because she did that and a few other quirky things during her lessons. You may have experienced that as well, which is why I thought you might want to read this, sent by Tim Walker of Branford, FL.

Are You an ADHD Adult?
It’s Not Just a Kids Disorder
By Edward C. Geehr, MD
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Got the lunches made. Oops, forgot to let the dog out. Need to pick up the dry cleaning. Michael’s hair is a mess. Do I have to take the car in today? I’ll need to reschedule my manicure. Anyone seen my keys? Is the carpool here already? If this scatter of thoughts seems familiar, you may be one of the estimated six to 15 million adults with ADHD…Your inattention and restlessness may not only be the quirks of your personality. You may have ADHD (attention-deficit / hyperactivity disorder), a behavioral disorder that most of us associate with unruly children. But, in fact, about 65% of children with ADHD carry the disorder into adulthood, making it an adult problem as well.Although ADHD adults may develop better coping skills than they had as children, they still struggle to get through the day. Not only does ADHD interfere with organizing and completing daily tasks, but adults with the disorder are also prone to depression, anxiety, forgetfulness, and even an increased risk of divorce and car accidents. Even simple duties may demand great concentration and effort. In part, that’s because ADHD adults are easily distracted by sound, sight, or even touch. Whatever the stimulus, ADHD adults may be knocked off-course by even minor distractions.

The three core symptoms of ADHD are inattention, hyperactivity and impulsive behavior. The symptoms of inattention include losing track of thoughts or focus in the middle of tasks; missing details or making careless mistakes; inability to complete work assignments; forgetfulness; and difficulty following instructions.The symptoms of hyperactivity in adults are similar to those in children but more subtle: constantly shifting in a chair, tapping your feet or a pencil, playing or tugging at hair or clothing. Even those aware of their repetitive motions may be unable to stop.Impulsive behavior can be even more annoying in adults than in kids – and potentially dangerous. ADHD adults tend to bug the rest of us: We wish they would “grow up.” They tend to interrupt constantly or blurt out inappropriate comments. They can’t stand waiting in lines and may try to cut in front or find a “friend” near the head of the line. They also have trouble anticipating the consequences of their actions. Although this lack of foresight in children can be disruptive, in adults it can threaten families, jobs and even safety. A young ADHD adult paired with a car can be a dangerous combination.

In the workplace, ADHD can erode performance. Some people with ADHD change jobs often or have trouble holding a job. The way they handle tasks shifts from one to the next: One assignment is done well, but the next is late, poorly done or incomplete. The ADHD adult feels like he breezes through some tasks but he can’t get any traction on or stay interested in others. Co-workers are puzzled by this variability, often attributing it to personal problems or even substance abuse.Unfortunately, scientists don’t yet know the cause of ADHD and laboratory tests can’t confirm a diagnosis. They do know, however, that the disorder runs in families. If you have a parent with the disorder, you have more than a 50% chance of having it as well. If you have a child with ADHD, you have a 25% chance of already having the disorder yourself. Unlike childhood ADHD, which affects three times as many boys as girls, adult ADHD is more democratic, evenly distributing itself between genders.Doctors diagnose ADHD based on family, developmental and childhood history, current signs and symptoms. Still, ruling out potentially serious and/or treatable neurological disorders that can mimic ADHD symptoms, such as Tourette’s Syndrome, temporal lobe seizures, early stage brain tumor, elevated blood lead levels, hypo- or hyperthyroidism, and hearing or vision impairment, is important.Most workups for detecting ADHD include a physical exam. Some doctors will also request an EEG (electroencephalogram, which records the electrical activity of the brain), CT (computed tomography, or x-ray procedure, that records cross-sectional pictures of parts of the body, in this case the brain) or MRI (magnetic resonance imaging, a diagnostic technique that produces cross-sectional images of any body part, in this instance the brain) to rule out other conditions.
ADHD has no cure. Fortunately, several drug treatments – primarily stimulants – are effective for both children and adults. Approximately two-thirds of ADHD adults taking stimulants experience significant improvements. And the drugs take effect fast, a remarkable finding. Few medications have such a profound and immediate effect. Unfortunately, most stimulants wear off quickly each day, returning adults to their usual difficulty of completing tasks and staying focused. Many ADHD adults turn to coffee. In fact, some can’t do without it; caffeine’s stimulating effect helps them focus and stay on task. In fact, some get so much relief from coffee that they become caffeine abusers, drinking excessive amounts of coffee each day.Stimulant medications, also called psychostimulants, include Ritalin® and Ritalin LA®, Methylin®, Metadate®, Concerta®, and Adderall® and Adderall XR®. Several of these brands offer long-acting formulations to reduce the need for frequent dosing. Only Adderall XR® is indicated for the treatment of ADHD in children, adolescents and adults.Non-stimulant medications are also available, including Wellbutrin® and Straterra®. Available since 2003, Straterra® is the first non-stimulant medication approved to control ADHD symptoms in children, adolescents and adults. Wellbutrin® is sometimes used “off-label” for treatment of combined conditions such as ADHD and depression. Off-label means that doctors prescribe the drug for disorders not officially approved by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA).Adults can also complement any drug therapy by using a few coping strategies. These include taking medications as directed (don’t double up if you miss a dose); making lists of tasks and keeping them nearby; taking a deep breath or excusing yourself from situations when you feel tempted to act out or interrupt; recognizing and minimizing stimuli that distract you (sounds, sights and physical sensations); and engaging in activities that you find calming or comforting such as gardening, walking or cooking.

Here are some questions to consider if you think you may have ADHD:
Does your mind wander while you are working on a task?
Are you easily distracted?
Do you tend to start a project and have difficulty completing it?
Does your attention stray in the middle of a conversation?
Are you forgetful about appointments and regular events?
Do you have difficulty relaxing?
Are you impatient when you need to wait?
Do you fidget and shift constantly in your seat?
Do you commonly lose track of keys, purses and other items?
Do you interrupt others before they finish speaking?
Is it difficult for you to manage or resolve conflicts?
If these issues sound familiar, you may want to consult a healthcare professional.

Resources:National Resource Center on ADHD Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (www.help4adhd.org)Attention Deficit Information Network, Inc. (www.addinfonetwork.com)

Fight or play?

Steve White sent this along. I don't know where he got it by the author's name is included and he gets all the credit for a nice article.

Fighting or Playing?The Martial Art vs Sport Debate
By Neil Ohlenkamp

Many people think of Judo and Taekwondo as sports because they are included along with other major sports in Olympic competition. Boxing, wrestling, Judo, taekwondo, and kickboxing are examples of martial sports. I often hear martial artists who use the term "sport" as if referring to a game with no usefulness. The implication is that a sport is only for "play" and cannot be effective for self defense, fighting or combat. Many martial artists think that the distinction between sport and martial art is that martial artists train for real life.
Actually the distinction is more complex and rather surprising. In discussing it I will make generalizations that may not apply to the way you train in your sport or martial art. However I hope to give you a new way to look at the potential value of sports principles for martial arts training.
One of the primary differences between martial sports and arts is in the value of the training methods. Because of their alleged danger or lethality, many martial arts engage in artificial and even counter-productive training which involves "pulling" techniques, modifying the point of contact, and adding in a precautionary element of movement that, rather than training the body, can inhibit its natural action and the ultimate conclusion of a technique. Slow, careful, non-contact training is not an effective approach to prepare for actual fighting situations that require the opposite reactions. Typifying this approach is a student who falsely equates the ability to break boards with the ability to punch a person in the face. As another example, I have never seen realistic training in throat strikes or eye gouges in any martial arts class, even though these are often recommended for self defense. The teaching generally done for these techniques helps students to understand what to do, but does not provide effective results for fast, reflexive and accurate application of these techniques against an unwilling opponent in real life combat.
Sport, by removing some of the potential dangers, achieves the opposite. That is, sport more typically produces natural, fast, reflexive movement with full power application, achieving a result against a struggling opponent who is also utilizing full power while engaging in strategic and tactical resistance using all of his or her resources and training. Techniques that don't work are soon abandoned, and successful skills are honed against different attackers under a variety of conditions. Maintaining control in various combat situations, both in attack and defense, is difficult when faced with the unpredictable nature of an opponent's efforts, but facing these situations in contest prepares you for similar situations. Each opponent in competition is operating at the limit of physical and psychological skill. By pushing that limit contestants are continually realizing and expanding their potential.
Sometimes the "combat" arts substitute intellectual perception, a highly subjective and deceptive frame of reference, for genuine training of the body and mind. Some martial arts don't train effectively for self defense and combat because they can't train for combat without severe risk to training partners. Many martial arts have instead adopted highly stylized, ritualistic, and even dysfunctional training methods. Ironically, martial sports may provide the superior training in effective combat techniques because martial arts can't be practiced in a real life way without injury.
In martial sports, one purpose of competition is to take the place of the older shinken shobu (life-and-death fights) in developing technique, knowledge, and character. You never see yourself so clearly as when you face your own death. Competition can provide a safe, controlled glimpse at this kind of defeat. Fighting spirit can be developed only through fighting. Surely it is not the same as the battlefield, but it serves a similar purpose, and it is closer to a combat situation than any other form of training.
Of course this can go wrong. Winning and losing can become too important and start to pervert the training process. The ultimate goal should not be the winning of medals. Using sport competition as a metaphor for real fighting can be quite different from playing it as a game. Matches, along with free practice and sparring, are simply different methods for training the mind and body to deal with the adversity of fighting situations.
Just as non-competitive martial arts training may not provide the benefits of competition, training for sport competition may not provide the full scope of self defense training. Martial sports often include non-competitive components. For example, competition is only a part of the Judo curriculum, and Jigoro Kano, the founder of Judo, was very concerned about preserving those self defense techniques that could not be used with full force in competition. However, Judo remains a remarkably effective self defense training, even after the development of other modern "combat" methods, and even when Judo is practiced today largely as a sport. Jigoro Kano applied modern sport training methodology to the traditional koryu jujutsu and found that it produced a better combat art, which has proven itself again and again over the last 120 years.
Although martial arts and sports both have loftier goals, it is still a fact that many people train in martial arts primarily for self-defense. For those who have never used sport training methods, or those who have never explored traditional bujutsu training, it is easy to discount the effectiveness of the other. As martial artists we should continually seek opportunities to challenge ourselves by examining the weaknesses in our training and keeping our minds open to other methods. I encourage you to discover for yourself how "playing" with a partner in sparring or free practice, or competing against an opponent in contest, can be an effective method of training for self defense.

Did Ed Parker have synesthesia?

I was having dinner with Steve Hatfield and his students a few years back after a seminar at his studio in Mt. Vernon, OH. One of his black belts is Dr. Jeff Bowers. Jeff is the County Coroner. I enjoy my conversations with Jeff. I asked him if he thought Ed Parker could "taste" motion. That piqued his interest.

I asked because I know how much Ed Parker liked to eat, and he made analogy to a fight as being like a meal. Those of you who were in his seminars will remember his saying the prefix was like the appetizer, entry moves were soup and salad, then the major moves were the main course and an eye hook would be dessert. But what stuck in my mind was watching him at the end of Larry Tatum's first video, running a "form" at Pasadena. It was either something he put together for himself or an extemporaneous thing, which is what I think it was. You can see that while he's running it he's licking his lips, obviously enjoying what he's doing.

Now, in my silly little mind, I'm thinking something else might be going on there. Which is why I asked Dr. Bowers the question.

He thought about that for a minute and said he thought it was possible. Jeff was good enough to order a book for me entitled The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales. The author is Dr. Oliver Sacks. It's a collection of case histories of bizarre neurological disorders. Very interesting, but the situations are rather extreme. It does illustrate the possibilities of how brains can be cross-wired, which lends some support to my theory that Mr. Parker may have actually "tasted" what he was doing.

It's just a theory, a somewhat idle speculation. I have put a link here for your education about synesthesia. It's an article in one of the premiere scientific magazines, Scientific American. By the way, those of you who are educators may want to read Scientific American Mind, too. Synesthesia is a condition in which the brain is cross-wired and people may see colors with musical notes and the like. So, did Ed Parker have it? You decide.

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=0003014B-9D06-1E8F-8EA5809EC5880000&pageNumber=1&catID=2

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Lee Wedlake has been teaching Kenpo Karate for over 35 years and has written a variety of Kenpo Books about different kenpo katas and kenpo concepts. Mr. Wedlake has worked directly with Ed Parker and is generous with his knowledge and his time. He is available for Kenpo Seminars and camps.

Frank Trejo

I met Frank in 1977 when I walked into the Pasadena studio at Internationals time. I introduced myself, "Hi, I'm Lee Wedlake from Chicago." His reply? "Yeah? So what?" Frank later told me that he had so many people coming in at the time around the tournament, many with huge egos and wanting some kind of special treatment so many times he reacted like that.

When I started working with Ed Parker directly in 1979 I spent a lot of time at the Pasadena studio. Frank taught me a lot and got my fighting skills shaped up. I could go on with the stories of what kind of misadventures Frank and I had but I'll spare the gory details. Suffice to say there was a lot of "research" in the bar environment, technical arguments in the studio office - some of which were settled on the mat, and some great times hanging with Frank. This photo is from that time.

I brought Frank out to Chicago to teach many times and later to Florida after I moved there. Frank's first exposure to snow was in Chicago. Unfortunately, it was about -30 at the time, too.

Frank brought John Conway Jr with him once and those two started fist-fighting and grappling while watching TV in my living room. That was a sight.

Ed Parker told me to learn the techniques from Frank and then come back and show me what I'd learned so that he could check what was being taught. Frank spent many hours teaching me the material above purple (Mr. Parker taught me the yellow and orange personally) and I thank him again for that. He let me teach there at the studio when I was in town and all the guys in the famous Friday night class helped me, too. Eventually I was tested for third black and Frank was promoted to fourth at the same time. That's when he passed his belt to me. He did it again when he went to fifth and I went to fourth. Frank was there in Chicago when I was promoted to fifth by Mr. Parker, Joe Palanzo, Huk Planas, and Frank. The photo of them is from 1986 at my school in Oak Lawn, IL.

Frank is like a brother to me. We don't keep in touch as much as we did. I wouldn't trade my time with him for anything and truly appreciate what he did for me. And he didn't even get me arrested or killed.















How many people can you identify in this photo of the 1986 Chicago seminar?

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Lee Wedlake has been teaching Kenpo Karate for over 35 years and has written a variety of Kenpo Books about different kenpo katas and kenpo concepts. Mr. Wedlake has worked directly with Ed Parker and is generous with his knowledge and his time. He is available for Kenpo Seminars and camps.

Texas seminars

Rick Fowler hosted me and Al McLuckie for his event last weekend in the Dallas area. I taught a kids' seminar at PowerKenpo in Carrollton on Friday evening to start the weekend.

It's a nice group of people there and they combined the seminar with fund-raising for St. Jude's hospital.

Saturday morning I started off with another group of children, a rather sizable group as you'll see from the picture. They were pretty well-disciplined and easy to work with. Al worked with groups in the Russian system, and I took them through some drills, line-pickups, alternate applications, and so on.

Al and I have known each other for 25 years and have worked together in the same systems at times. We are able to refer back and forth to what the other is doing and make relationships of concept, principle, or movement to facilitate the learning process for seminar participants. We even demonstrated techniques on each other. When have you seen something like that at a seminar?

I met an old friend there at Rick's as well, "Goldie" Mack. I hadn't seen Goldie in probably 20 years. We first met at a karate tournament somewhere, he'd had dinner with Ed Parker and I at a Chicago seminar in the late 80's and that was probably the last time I'd actually seen him.

We've kept in touch intermittently over the years. Sifu Mack brought a good group to the seminar, and he and I had some laughs together. He's been teaching in Denton for years, and from the looks of him, he'll be teaching for quite some more. It was good to see him.

My thanks to all the people who made the event a success and the trip an enjoyable one.

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Lee Wedlake has been teaching Kenpo Karate for over 35 years and has written a variety of Kenpo Books about different kenpo katas and kenpo concepts. Mr. Wedlake has worked directly with Ed Parker and is generous with his knowledge and his time. He is available for Kenpo Seminars and camps.

VA school shooting

What a horrible, horrible thing to happen. My heart goes out to everyone there.
I believe we're going to see some knee-jerk reactions to this, and not particularly well-thought-out ones, at that. This ties in to the Imus thing of the last few weeks. A man was interviewed on television and said that the pendulum has swung as far as it will go in regard to how our society has become violent and crass and that we need to start pulling ourselves together. I agree. What does this have to do with the shootings?
Read Grossman's books, On Combat and On Killing. In there he states, and backs up with evidence, that we have given our children the tools to create a new phenomena, something never seen until recently; the school massacre. We allow them to daily use the same technology we used to train snipers as far back as Vietnam - it's in their video games. We let them watch ever more violent movies. (I saw a small part of Saw III and was appalled.) They watch and imitate Jackass, and are bombarded with "extreme" this or "no rules" that. No wonder they are rude, disregard each other, and commit acts of violence.
We do need to pull ourselves together. I've found that younger people are not being taught many things that they should be taught, and even that they are but the peer group pressure is helping pull them away from such social niceties as shaking hands with the right hand, removing a glove when doing so, greeting someone at their job or even saying thank you.
One of my black belts, Bruce Meyer, was in the grocery store and spent his hard-earned money. The young cashier didn't even acknowledge him and just dumped his change in his hand. Bruce had enough. He said, "I spend my money here a few times a week and you can't even say "Thank you". The kid says "Sorry". Bruce replied, "If you say "thank you" more often. you'll say "I'm sorry" less often." The people in line behind him applauded.
I could go on and on. Most likely if you're reading this you're a martial artist. Part of our "job description" is to educate others, instill discipline, and be a role model. Apply this to your young students. Teach them to look in the eyes and use a good grip when shaking hands. Teach them about respect. Tell the boys that when a girl says No it means No. Advise the young women that they do not have to put up with being referred to as "slut", "bitch" or "ho". If we don't, who will? Seems lots of parents and teachers aren't. Most are trying but it's tough and they need our help.
Got get 'em.

Chicago seminar

I was back home over the weekend and it sure was good to see some of the old bunch. I did two seminars, one on the Two Man Set and another on the Staff Set. While I was there I promoted Kurt Barnhart to fifth degree, Manuel Rivera to third and Brian Fox to second.

Kurt has been around forever and has been the glue that's held the group together since I left Chicago in late 1991. He and his wife, Barb, are my hosts and I can't thank them enough for what they do for me and the art. Manny has been teaching over in the Western suburbs for years. He's a police officer there. Brian was one of the first two black belts I had promoted by Ed Parker back in 1980 or so.

It's a great group of people to work with and these guys have been friends as well as students for years. While I don't miss the Chicago weather, I do miss the people. And the food.

Before, with Tony Velada, who was the youngest black belt we had, promoted by Mr. Parker at the age of 14.

After - he asks a lot of questions.

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Lee Wedlake has been teaching Kenpo Karate for over 35 years and has written a variety of Kenpo Books about different kenpo katas and kenpo concepts. Mr. Wedlake has worked directly with Ed Parker and is generous with his knowledge and his time. He is available for Kenpo Seminars and camps.

"Your sword is upside-down."

I was in Chicago this past weekend to teach some seminars and while I was there I had the opportunity to participate in an Iaido class. This is the Japanese art of the sword, not to be confused with kendo. Iaido is translated as "The way of harmonizing oneself in action." I am sure there are other translations but this works for me.
Kurt Barnhart invited me to go along with him to their Sunday morning class and meet his instructors and fellow practitioners. Kurt is a long-time friend and student and has been in the arts for many, many years. The sensei is Bob Garza, who was very nice and allowed me to fumble around without laughing. I was made welcome, shown the formalities and followed as best I could.
The 90 minute class went very quickly and I was introduced to a lot of fascinating aspects of this art. Sensei Garza knows his stuff. I asked a few questions and was given some well-thought out answers and comparisons to other methods of using the sword. Very interesting.
I picked up some basics cuts, blocks, footwork and how to draw and sheath the sword. That's where I was told my sword was upside-down. Not ever having any real instruction in this I had put the sword in my belt and when I was attempting to do something one of the guys advised me of my error. That fixed, the rest of the class went OK.
It's not at all like the other weapon systems I've done. Most of it is solo work, I'm told, and it's done slowly, with a lot of consciousness of every move, much like tai chi. And it's not always slow, they do the sequences at speed and have some interesting cutting drills.
It was a good experience, very positive and in a nice atmosphere. My thanks again to Kurt Barnhart, Sensei Garza, and the Japanese Cultural Center.

Today is my father's birthday

Eighty years ago today, April 12, 1927, my Dad was born in Waukegan, IL.

When he was 17, his parents signed him off early to join the Navy. He served in the Pacific, through the invasions of the islands like Iwo Jima, and went on to be a part of the occupation of Japan. He's got a bunch of medals to show for it.

I remember him telling me a story when I was young and just getting into karate. He was in Japan and saw two big Marines hassling a Japanese man. As you can imagine, the Americans were much bigger than the man. As my dad tells it, the little guy had about enough of that and dropped thse two Marines with some karate techniques. My dad said "He dusted himself off, straightened his suit, bowed and walked away. That was the first time I'd seen karate".

Dad got out after WWII but went back for Korea. He was what they called a "re-tread".

As it turns out, his older brother, my uncle Jim, was a black belt in ju-jitsu. There is a pretty strong possibility that he trained at the same time as well-known martial artist Robert W. Smith in the Judo club in downtown Chicago. Read Smith's Martial Musings, he refers to his time there, which was about the same as my uncle's.

I dedicated my latest book to my dad. It came out just in time for his birthday. He's my hero.

Dad gave me that good information that a dad is supposed to give, and I appreciate it. You'll see from the photo below that he was a Shore Patrolman in the Navy. He passed on some good things to know about keeping back to back with your buddy in a fight, and the timeless advice that "If you can't make a meal out of him at least get a sandwich."

Dad's going strong at his age and I believe he's going to be around for quite some time. He's sharp, and health is still pretty good. He's a great guy and I want to wish him again; Happy birthday, Dad!

Chicago, Chicago...

I'm headed off to my home town this weekend. I told my friend Pete Tomaino, who live there, that I was looking forward to the trip. He said" You must not be watching the weather." While it's been in th 80's lately and low humidity with clear skies and beach bunnies everywhere since it's spring break here in Florida, I don't mind the cold much. Unless it's -80 with the wind chill.

In fact, the first trip Frank Trejo made to Chicago for a seminar at my school, the temps were about 30 below zero, and Frank had never even seen snow before. That was quite a sight. He was bundled up so much all you could see was his eyes, and we were in tank tops and cut-offs, setting up a backyard BBQ for him.

I've got a solid core of guys up there who come out of the woodwork for every seminar. Funny thing is, these guys never pre-register. The day before a seminar it looks like five people might be there, then the place fills up the day of. I've been working with some of these guys since the mid-Seventies. Some were kids when I taught them and now have families of their own, with their kids starting to train. There are some clubs they run in the suburbs such as LaGrange Park, Palos Hills, Lyons, and Burbank. You can find two classes at the Japanese Cultural Center on Cicero Ave in the Burbank/Oak Lawn area. Contact info is in my website directory.

They're a great bunch of guys and we always have a good time. Since the pizza in SW FL sucks they take me to Giordano's for a deep dish pie after the seminar. A man's heart is reached through his stomach, I guess. The Discover Channel did a show a while back about the rivalry between Chicago and New York pizza. They picked two better known pizza joints, one in each city, to provide the pizza. Discovery said they were the best, but as you know, that's opinion. So they need an impartial crew to taste test the pies. So they give them to Los Angeles firefighters to eat and pass judgment. The verdict? They said NY pizza is better. What do they know?

Hey guys - sorry about the picture of the North side.

Interesting quote

I had a conversation with Dr. Marc yesterday when he came in for class. He and I have been working for almost a year on an article about carotid chokes, i.e. "sleeper holds". I have learned a lot about how the body works from this man, and he says he is amazed at what we, as martial artists, can do to other people with these techniques. He asked me some questions about the application of the hold and I showed him some variations and mentioned that the sleeper may be prefixed or suffixed. That information told him that there can be considerable complication to the situation surrounding the application of the hold. He came out with a quote that he had learned from the professor who taught him about surgery. "Do what you need to do, not everything you can do."
This triggered my response that there is a force progression that martial artists are supposed to be familiar with. Many Kenpo techniques are unsuitable for "everyday" street situations. You really can't justify doing Dance of Death on a guy who throws a simple right punch. You have to have a pretty unusual set of circumstances to justify its use.
Given the implications of a sleeper hold and how it is applied, etc., you have to be careful with how you use it. In other words, you "do what you need to do, not everything you can do." Sometimes a kick in the groin is all you need and sometimes you have to run the system on the guy.
Often enough we see demos of Kenpo in which the attacker takes everything in our Vocabulary of Motion. Fun to watch, and guilty as charged. Ed Parker said "Overskilled, not overkill".
But that gets obscured at times.
Anyway, I thought it was a pretty good quote and worth passing on.

Hmmm, Marc again.

A few weeks ago I wrote about one of my students, Dr. Rowe. He has a very inquisitive mind and has been collecting medical data from articles on the effects of tai chi and meditation, as quantified by Western scientists. The following article raises his question as to whether tai chi would be better than the meditation method mentioned in this article.

Impairment
Researchers at Penn's School of Medicine are examining the effectiveness of meditation on early cognitive impairment. Once this new study is completed, the results could help answer lingering questions over whether or not stress-reducing techniques and mind exercises can lessen or even prevent cognitive decline. This is the first study at Penn's new "Center for Spirituality and the Mind," which evolved from work initiated in Penn's Department of Radiology, to embrace and encourage researchers from the fields of medicine, pastoral care, religious studies, social work, nursing, and bioethics to expand knowledge of how spirituality may affect the human brain. "We'll be looking at patients with mild cognitive impairment or symptoms of early Alzheimer's disease," explains Dr. Andrew Newberg, associate professor of radiology, psychiatry, and religious studies, who also directs the Center's investigations and is principal investigator of this pilot study. "We'll combine their meditation with brain imaging over a period of time to see if meditation improves cognitive function and is associated with actual change in the brain's activity levels. Specifically, we'll be looking for decreased activity in specific areas of the brain."The dementia process causes a decreased function of neurons in the brain and can result in problems with memory, visual-spatial tasks, and handling emotional issues. As it worsens in a patient, it can also eventually lead to the need for round-the-clock care.
In this study, investigators want to look at the early symptoms of dementia. Study participants will learn a particular kind of meditation, called Kirtan Kriya, identified as one of the most fundamental types of meditation practice. It is a repeated chanting of sounds and finger movements designed to help the mind focus and become sharper. Study participants will perform this meditation program every day for eight weeks to see if this relaxation technique can change the brain's response to different tasks. "This is a form of exercise for the brain which enables the brain to strengthen itself and battle the unknown processes working to weaken it. We want to keep the mind sharp and work that muscle," Dr. Newberg adds. "We might see improvements in baseline activity levels in the brain and these patients might be able to activate their brain in a more robust way in particular. So if this kind of meditation is successful in helping patients with neurological problems, it could then someday become a low-cost additional treatment to current therapy."

Years ago, Herbert Benson wrote a book called The Relaxation Response and he, at the time, was laughed at. 25 years later people are on his bandwagon. One of the points he made is that relaxation can positively affect the health of a person by reducing stress, which directly affects the immune system. This article shows that meditation may have even more far-reaching effect. Now the question is: How much of this effect can be achieved by using other art forms such as kenpo?

Ignorance

Years ago at I was a large camp, watching another of the staff instructors speak. This was a high-profile but lower ranked member of our system (at the time). As he demonstrated he made a comment that truly grated on me. He said "We are the only ones that...", and I don't want to pass on the rest because it may reveal his identity if some of you happened to be there.
My opinion became one that he was competent but ignorant.
Now, ignorant does not mean stupid. Here's a definition.

ig·no·rance /ig ner uh ns/ –noun
the state or fact of being ignorant; lack of knowledge, learning, information, etc. Random House Unabridged Dictionary

This instructor is far from that, but he was and maybe still is, ignorant.
Making a statement such as his pre-supposes that in all the years of human history and research in martial arts, that nobody ever, ever thought about the particular concept he was illustrating. That alone can be considered egotistical, daring, ignorant, stupid, or a host of other descriptive words.
He made reference to the fact that Ed Parker used the personal of height, width and depth to proportion our stances and that "We are the only ones that" do such a thing in the arts. I was shocked, and a bit insulted. I'm sure that practitioners of other arts would have been insulted, too.
The best example I can use if that of the "body ruler" principle in Yang tai chi. They use your body dimensions to construct the stance in proportion. It's the same idea as in kenpo. They use dimension to set up their two-person push-hands drill, just as we have the four ways to face off (rt to rt, lt to lt, etc). And tai chi has been around many more years than American Kenpo.
The human race has been mightily involved in the quest for proportion for thousands of years. I give you painting, sculpture, and architecture as examples. How can one possibly say that we are the only ones who figured this out after two thousand years of human combat? It's ignorant.
The big problem with this is that this person teaches seminars to hundreds every year and his word has weight. Ignorance will never go away, but the teacher is obligated to be informed better than that.

I passed my test!

On Thursday I took another "checkride", a flight test with a Check Pilot that includes some exams, questioning, and flying the airplane. This was an "Initial" ride, my first one in what is known as Technologically Advanced Aircraft. This particular airplane is a Cessna 182 G-1000 model, "glass cockpit". It's called "glass" because of the computer screens on the panel instead of the round dial gauges airplanes have had for almost a hundred years. That's me in the blue shirt for those who don't know me.

So what's the big deal? The presentation of the information needed to fly the airplane is different, so you have to re-train yourself where to look to get the information. And not just where but how it's presented. The other arrangement used was a standard six-pack of round dials. This airplane uses vertical tapes. AH! Linear versus circular!

The airplane doesn't fly differently than another Cessna 182 but the flight deck is significantly different that it's required we undergo specialized training to get signed off to fly it. It's really down to knowing where to look and what button to push when, something we didn't have to do much of in the older airplanes. I don't want to get into much more detail since this isn't an aviation article but there is a point to this, martial arts-wise.

I took the ground school, spent some time with an instructor learning the systems, and then took the test. Sounds like working through some belt material, doesn't it? And that's my point.

I see how martial arts is a way of life, not just something you do two nights a week. It is a microcosm of daily living. If you want something, you can work for it and get it. That's whether it's an object, or a skill. I have found there is much value to constantly working toward new goals. It puts me back in the student's seat, which obviously gets me new knowledge, but also perspective. I get the boredom of talking heads, the excitement of new knowledge, the satisfaction of being able to apply that knowledge or skill.

Of course, it needs to of interest and relevant to my life as well to maximize the experience. I am taking an Air Force distance-learning course at this time. I'm working on my specialty track in Safety. It's a five-volume course and there's a lot of information in there that just isn't relevant to what I'll be doing in my job as a safety officer for the Civil Air Patrol. I just don't need to know how long the emergency cooling system in a Minuteman missle silo will work on emergency power. (It's six hours, in case you were wondering.) I learned that, I know that, but I'm pretty sure I will never need that information in the real world.

If you learned the Orange belt, the way it was originally structured, you probably won't need much more than that for "real-world" self-defense. There are so many rearrangements, opposite sides, and category completion techniques in the system that I have to say that information is for instructors. For Joe Average, who most likely will never get in a fight, Lone Kimono and Five Swords will get him by if he did. The rest is "extra"; nice to know, mental stimulation, good exercise, fun to do, confidence-building, and satisfying to know you passed your tests.

I guess I wanted you to know I'm down there in the trenches with you. I know about frustration, bad instructors, test anxiety, memorization, and all that. I don't look at myself as one of those people who got a high-level rank, who know it all, and who now get a "pass" on having to really do anything. Every day is a test of some sort. Every time you get on the mat, it's a test. You'll have your good days and bad days. Got test anxiety, butterflies in the stomach? Make them fly in formation! I passed my test, you can pass yours.

Daddy's Home!

That's Ed Parker with Dennis Conatser at Hanauma Bay, Hawaii in 1986 or 87. I like this photo because it shows him at home on his island. I have another one that I love of him alone, looking over the bay. I chose this one for you because you can see his face. The other one has his back to the camera but I know it's him because I took it.
I like these pictures a lot because I can vividly imagine what is going through his mind.
Hanauma Bay is not far from where he had a house on the island of Oahu that his daughter, Yvonne, and her family were living. It's a distance from where he grew up in Kalihi , but I'm sure he had lots of memories of the beach and the water there at the bay. I left him alone to muse for a few minutes as I took the shots so he could enjoy those memories. And I enjoy remembering that time.
We were on the way back to the US from our first trip to Australia. We had decided to stay in the Honolulu area for a few days. Frank Trejo and I shared a room at a local hotel on Waikiki, as did Dennis and his wife.
We did a bit of touring, and Frank and I did a lot of drinking. It was quite a sight to see Trejo strolling down Prince Kalakaua avenue in his jams and sunglasses. He had gotten quite tan, and even the locals thought he was an island boy. When we went down to Hanauma Bay, where the snorkeling is excellent, we walked over to a place called The Toilet Bowl. The bowl is a lava tube on the far side of an outcropping of the bay. The tube eroded through on top, so when the waves come in and out the tube empties and fills, much like a toilet bowl. I wonder what they called it before we had toilets. You can sit in it, like a hot tub, and about the same size, and ride the flushes. Frank managed to come up with a $10 bill during one of the flushes. That's Trejo.
It was a nice stay, and an opportunity to see the "Old Man" at home. By the way, the term "Old Man" is not one of disrespect. It is commonly used in the Navy to refer to the captain of the ship. It is a term for someone in a capacity of responsibility, decision-making, possessed of wisdom, and of respect.
I was recently sent an e-mail that addressed the term and refuted the fact that Ed Parker was an "old man" back in the 60's. I think they missed the point. And I miss the "Old Man."

European Journey

A few weeks back I was told that a European version of The Journey was being done and was near completion. I just got this and want to pass it on.

Hi Fellow Kenpoists Martial Artists, “The Official European Kenpo Karate Journey” is now available. This book is the full true and accurate history of Senior Grandmasters Ed Parker Kenpo Karate in Europe. Price: 45 Euros including P&P only available in hard back and presentation Folder. To order send Cheque or Postal Order To Martin Carey 42 Monastery Crescent Clondalkin Dublin 22 Ireland.
(All Cheques made payable to Martin Carey)


That's just over $60 for you Americans; and wait until you see what the shipping is!