August seminars

I'll be traveling a lot this coming month.
August 3-4 I'll be at Marc Shay's American Karate in Broomall, near Philadelphia. Saturday seminars are open to all. One session for kids and two for adults. The adult sessions will cover Two Man Set and Grafting. Sunday is a Comprehensive Review seminar, Part One.

August 9-10 it's Coastal Kenpo Karate in Goose Creek, near Charleston, SC. Nick Dreiling hosts. Open seminar Friday evening along with classes for kids taught by Bruce Meyer. Adults sessions Saturday on zone theory, grafting and category completion.

August 17 I'm in Ohio at Steve Hatfield's Panther Kenpo Karate near Columbus, in Mount Vernon. Kids and adults sessions. Adults will cover line and flow drills along with technique extensions.

The AKTS camp in New York is the last stop for the month. This is John Sepulveda's camp and it's director is Tim Murphy in Rockland, NY. This will be a biggie and it's my first time teaching in New York state. Dates are 8/23-25.

Contact info for all the above is on my site at www.wedlakekenpotv.com/leewedlake/seminars-2

South Carolina PDS

Nick Dreiling hosted one of my Professional Development Seminars at his new location in Goose Creek, near Charleston, on Saturday, April 13. He was a bit under the weather but toughed it out.
A PDS is a small-group, intensive seminar very focused on a subject or subjects and this one was a continuation of detailing the original Ed Parker purple belt techniques.
Fourteen participants from all over SC and Genie Byrd drove up from Florida. Nick had lunch catered in. We ran about six hours and covered a lot of material.
Friday night we ran some seminars, too, with Bruce Meyer working with juniors and I taught a class on the freestyle techniques. It's always interesting to watch Mr. Meyer with a class and this time was no exception. He started to teach the advanced juniors a thesis form he's been working on. When I say started, I mean he gave them the first part. As I listened and watched I saw how well he had thought out what he had created, and that's what we want to see as instructors- what's come out of what we put in.
Thanks to Nick's wife Terri and his mom, Linda, for handling lunch. I think their baby girl, Lily, had a hand in there, too.  Nick's dad picked me up at the airport when Nick was feeling ill, so it was a pleasure to get a chance to know him, too.
I'll be back in SC in August, watch the website for details.

And I saw Bill Murray at the airport!

The KSC Sunday wrap-up

Some people had to bail early due to Hurricane Sandy heading for their homes in the Northeast. But the hangover-less ones met at 8AM for the "Iron Monkey". I led this forms workout, which was to run forms and sets back-to-back from One thru Six and the Star Block and Finger Sets. With a too-short break, my student, Bruce Meyer suggested we run them from the top down, Six to the sets. So we did. It took about twenty minutes and we had all ranks working. I salute those of you who got in there and did it with us. As I came up through the ranks it was a rare thing to see a senior run an entire form at speed. Since there are those who say the seniors sit on their butts, I want them to know "t'aint so".
  Tommy Burks from Ft. Worth, TX ran an abbreviated knife class. Good stuff. It was a pleasure to have him there. I hadn't seen him since the early 1990s in Pasadena and we reconnected at SiBok Tom Kelly's funeral.
  Tommy was followed by Tommy. Thomas Kozitzky of Willich, Germany taught his first seminar in the US. He is the highest ranking kenpo black belt in Germany at 5th degree. He chose footwork challenges in techniques as his subject. The feedback I got was that he fixed some problems for people.
  Those two classes concluded the event. Goodbyes were said, certificates collected and out-of-towners checked out of their rooms.
  There was some time before going to the airport, so the seniors and others had some time to hang out and talk. Brian and Lee Duffy got John Sepulveda and SiGung to the airport while I had the opportunity to take Bob White, Ron Sanchez and Graham Lelliott downtown. We went to the State Capitol for a look around and learn some Texas history. Turns out Mr. White comes from a line that came from Texas. We didn't get to see much as there was an event there that included Dan Rather speaking, so it was crowded. The guys managed to get their hands on some jalapeno candy, which drew an interesting reaction.

TX State Capitol with Ron and Graham

   I was pleased to get some time to get to know Bob White better. We've been crossing paths for years but never really connected. Better late than never. Meeting Ron Sanchez was good, too, since I remember seeing the captain of the Bob White team just kicking butt at the IKC in the 70s and it was Ron.
  The event was a success. We originally planned to move this around the country, this Kenpo Senior Conference concept, and we probably will. But Steve White and I plan to hold KSC-Texas here in Austin again in 2013.
  The four seniors are definitely of like mind with a vision of the future of kenpo. The instructors behind us are doing a great job and the system is expanding to meet the needs today. The grappling/ground work is addressed through people like Steve White and Glenn Haley. Instruction technique is addressed by myself and people like Bruce Meyer. Freestyle applications well-covered by Bob White and his crew. Integrating Western Boxing was illustrated by Ed Cabrera. Understanding conceptual basics was well-done by Graham Lelliott and Tom Graves. The psychology of combat as taught by Ron Sanchez and SiGung Steve LaBounty was impressive. Contact manipulation and nerve center work by Brian Duffy and Marc Sigle, along with the weapon work and foundational work of Tommy Burks and Thomas Kozitzky go to show "We have it covered."
   Future KSC events will include internal aspects, anatomy/physiology, and we're planning to get one or two female instructors on the staff.
  Thanks again to our seniors and the other instructors who volunteered to be a part of the event and make it a success. Of course, without the support of those who came from near and far, we'd be almost alone out there, so thanks to you all for choosing to spend your money and your time with us here in Texas.

KSC 2012, Pt. 3

The 9ths and their lieutentants.

Saturday morning saw the group meeting at 0845 for introductions and etiquette meeting. The day's schedule was four 1.5 hour seminars, lunch break, photos/autographs and then dinner.
 Mr. Sepulveda was the first teacher and his subject was Variable Expansion. I took the second spot and did a session on Principles of Instruction.
Steve White and I had decided that it was better to provide lunch than have people out looking for a place to eat, so we arranged it with the hotel. During lunch, the seniors met and discussed the future of kenpo and what we saw as out parts in it. One result of the discussion was that our lineages are becoming more cohesive. As we meet again in the future, a better picture will appear.
After lunch, Mr. Bob White taught entries and closing the gap. The final session was with Mr. LaBounty, "The SiGung" (teacher's teacher) on takedowns. He had some people in tears with his commentary. Closing his session he got into the heads of the participants with his "not me, not today" drill. You had to be there.
We had students of intermediate ranks all the way up to 8th blacks on the floor and working (yes, the 9ths work, too) during the sessions. You didn't see the red leaning against the walls.

2012 Kenpo Senior Conference

At the conclusion of the last session Mr. LaBounty promoted Mr. Gary Swan of San Antonio and Mr. Brian Duffy of Austin to 8th degree black. It was good to be present for this.

Next section will be about the dinner.

Charleston seminar

Another good one at Coastal Kenpo Karate in Goose Creek. These people worked hard and the white belts hung in, too.
Nick Dreiling was my host. Bruce Meyer and I had the opportunity to spend some time together on the ride down from Columbia. It's always good to talk with Bruce.
Chuck Peterson is always present and he's been working on a project that contributes to Bob White's charity efforts as well. Chuck and I get to trade aviation stories, too.
I'll be heading back in late June and I'll see how Nick and Terri's baby is doing. I'll bet she outgrows her kenpo jumper by then. You can see it on facebook.  Too cute!

Double Whammy

I was up in Spartanburg, SC over the weekend to teach seminars for Robert Wallace at Spartanburg Martial Arts. Friday night I did an intro to Russian Systema and Saturday we worked the Leaping Crane family group and "running the line" variations. We participants from Atlanta and all over South Carolina. It was really good to see that nobody, from the beginners to the high ranks, hestiated during the spontaneous self-defense. Nice job!
   I promoted Bruce Meyer of Columbia to 6th degree and Rober Wallace was presented his 6th degree certificate. Both these instructors teach the rules and principles and I see the results in their students. Too many teachers get the information but don't pass it on. It is a pleasure and and honor to have them both in my lineage  and wearing the rank.

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.

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.

This is too cool

In my years in the martial arts I have met some really interesting people. "Interesting" includes the good and the bad. The majority are good people, with interesting life experiences, personalities, abilities, and goals. My friend, Bruce Meyer, in Columbia, SC is one of those people.
Bruce has had many in interesting story to tell me over the years I have known him. A few years back he told of a rather strange coincidence he experienced on a trip to Florida on his honeymoon. That moment changed his life. Thinking about it, Bruce has had many a life-changing moments in the years I've known him and this wasn't really a surprise. But the events following that day are worth reading about and will inspire you.
Challenges have been raised and Bruce has met and dealt with them head-on. If you have a few minutes, go to the following link and read the story. Keep in mind that if you think you have obstacles you might take a hint from Bruce.
http://www.erbzine.com/mag20/2090.html