European seminars

I'm back from a series of seminars in Germany, England and Ireland.
  I spent almost a week in Esslingen and Willich. Esslingen is near Stuttgart and my student, Marc Sigle has a studio there. Willich is near Dusseldorf, about 4 hours north. Thomas Kozitzky teaches up there.

  At Marc's I taught over the weekend, covering the techniques in Long Three and then the form. We even had some beginners who hung in and did well with the task. Grafting was on the menu, too. Mr. Kozitzky came down from Dusseldorf, Phil Buck was in from England and Chris Junge was there from Saarbrucken. We always have dinner Saturday night at Katerinelinde, overlooking the valley with a nice view of Stuttgart. Great food and good company. Got a couple of nice kenpo t-shirts from Lenny Steinke, too.
  Marc and his wife are moving into a new home as well as having a baby boy about 6 months ago. The boy has a great grin and makes me laugh.
  Tommy and I drove up north Monday  and I taught a small class for him that evening on general rules and principles. It gave me a chance to reconnect with Udo Zehl and a few others, as well as meet Chris Mueller, who would host me on Thursday.

  Tuesday night I taught at Peter Ritter's club and went over master keys. Wednesday I was at Chris Mueller's and the subject was angles and timing. Everyone in the Dusseldorf seminars were great to work with.

  I flew up to Bristol, England to meet with longtime friend, Gary Ellis, who picked me up and took me down to his place in Plymouth. That evening I taught a class for the kids and another for his tai chi class. Friday evening we did lock flow with the kenpo group. Saturday's classes were very full, with visitors from other groups. Ed Downey's reps came down from Birmingham. The subjects includes two man techs and knife work.

  Gary and I goofed off a bit Sunday before he took me back to Bristol. The next morning I flew to Dublin to work with Ed Downey's group. Last time I went to Ireland they lost my luggage and they did it again. Mr. Downey was good enough to give me a uniform to teach in. I always keep my belt in my carry-on because this isn't the first, or last, time my bag has been delayed.
   Ed took me on a quick tour of  a local university that looks like a set from Harry Potter. It has an impressive chapel. We had lunch with his two daughters. I had not seen Aisling in years. Then off to the studio to work on Form 5.
  Tuesday morning we went thru the knife work with a flow integration using standard techniques. That afternoon, Ed put me in the care of Darren Mahoney and Gerry Shanahan. Darren work at the Irish Air Corps base and he escorted us thru the museum and the hangars. Gerry is a pilot, too. I enjoyed the time with them both.

  Gerry and his wife, Helen Meade, run Trim Kenpo Karate, where I would be teaching in the evening. The town of Trim is known for being the shooting location of the film, Braveheart. They restored the castle there for the film and "unrestored" it afterward. Gerry gave me a framed aerial photo of the castle that he took from a Cessna 150. That's a pretty cool memory of Ireland. 

  The class for the kids was packed. Dorenda McGee gave me a hand with the demos and the kids were attentive. Easy to work with. The adults were working Triggered Salute variations with the them being an extract if my seminar on concussions. The McGee family gave me some nice souvenirs of Ireland to take home.     
  I was fortunate to get an upgrade to first class across from Dublin to JFK. Even with the gloomy forecast for bad weather in the US, none of my flights were delayed.
  My thanks go out to everyone who hosted and those who made the events a success. Your participation is appreciated. I renewed many friendships, made some new friends, got to catch up with the guys in England and had lots of laughs with our Irish friends.
  It's notable that it was not just my lineage people who made this happen. This was possible with the support of John Sepulveda and his AKTS, Ed Downey and his EKKA and the CKF and Larry Kongaika groups along with our own PKS people.
  I go back to Stuttgart in February and there are tentative plans for England in October.

November European visit

Howdy y'all,
   I've got a bit of a long trip in mid-late November this year to see friends in Germany, England and Ireland.
  The weekend of 15-17 November I'll be at Marc Sigle's studio in Esslingen, Germany, outside Stuttgart. It's a weekend thing with classes Fri eve and on Saturday and Sunday. John Filipidis from Greece has indicated he may be there, too.
  That Monday I'm off to Willich, near Dusseldorf with Thomas Kozitzky. I'll do some evening classes Mon-Tues-Weds.
  On Thursday, 21 Nov I'm off to Gary Ellis' club in Plymouth, England. Then it's over to see Ed Downey in Dublin on Monday and Tuesday.
  Subjects are set for the Plymouth and Willich seminars. That info and contacts are on my seminar page at www.wedlakekenpotv.com/leewedlake/seminars-2
  Since I'm coming back to the US the day before Thanksgiving I'll be in Ft. Myers, FL for the holiday.

April's Germany Visit

Marc Sigle flew me over to Esslingen, near Stuttgart. I went a day early and he and I went screaming down the Autobahn to Friedrichshafen, on Lake Constance.

Lake Constance

 

Marc's parents have a condo down there so we had lunch, went to the Zeppelin museum, http://www.zeppelin-museum.de/dasmuseum0.0.html then out to the airport there for a huge aviation expo they happened to be having. On the way to the condo we stopped at the church at Birnau, famous for its Baroque architecture. http://en.seeferien.com/Cultural-activities/Birnau-The-pilgrimage-church-and-baroque-jewel-of-Lake-Constance

 

We went back to Esslingen on Friday to start the weekend off with a children's class and one for the adults on the gun defenses. By then, Thomas Kozitzky and Claudia Neumann had arrived from Willich as well as Phil Buck from England.
Saturday and Sunday were full days with more gun defense, forms work, and an emphasis on working with the Web of Knowledge. Saturday night we went to our usual dinner spot at Katerinalinde, which overlooks Stuttgart with a beautiful view.

 

Working the gun techniques in Europe is always a bit different because they don't have the widespread ownership and have less experience with handling guns than many Americans. I spent extra time on the handling and the psychology of a gun fighter or criminal. I have gotten good feedback on this approach.

Phil Buck bet me I couldn't work a line from a Monty Python movie, of his choosing, into my seminar; "He's not the Messiah, but he a very naughty boy." He lost. Below, he has a light snack at Barista in Esslingen.

 

 

 

There was a all-over positive atmosphere the entire weekend. Maybe it was Kirsten's cookies. But everyone had a great time. Marc is a wonderful host and I can't thank him enough. We both thank everyone who supported the event.

 

 

Look Out Deutschland!

I'm on my way to German this week to see our people over there. Marc Sigle hosts at his studio in Esslingen, near Stuttgart. Phil Buck will be down from England. Thomas Kozitzky and Claudia Neumann will be there from the Dusseldorf area and we may have reps from Athens, Greece.
Always fun with this group. Be there if you can.

Kenpo and the Weihnachtsmarkt

Marc Sigle invited me over to Germany with a visit to their Christmas Market (Weihnachtsmarkt) in Esslingen on the schedule. Esslingen is an old town and much of the area has been preserved as it has been for hundreds of years. They recreate the market of the Middle Ages, complete with torches, food, drink and people dressed in character. Pretty cool. It's reputed to be one of the best of its kind in Germany.
   Marc picked me up at the airport and it was snowing, as it did most of the weekend. That was a switch from the Texas weather I'd left, where it was almost 80 degrees and sunny. We met up with his wife, Isabelle and his student, Lenny and had lunch at the market.
  Over the weekend I taught two children's classes, two technique classes (one on some knife defense and another on extensions), an in-depth basics class, one class on Short Two, another on Long Three and another two on the Two Man Set. That one was very well-received and I had Tommy Kozitzky and Marc assist. We had a special black belt class on Form Five, too.
   Phil Buck was down from England, he's a Gary Ellis black belt. Phil writes horror and his books are available on Amazon.
  Tommy Kozitzky and Claudia Neumann came down from Dusseldorf, too. Claudia has been instrumental in producing the German translation of my book on the base forms, Kenpo Karate 201. The weekend was the initial debut of the book, the first kenpo book in German. That was pretty special.
  As always, the food was good, the people were great and I got to work on my German some more.
We have sets dates for 2013, in April and November. Steve White will join me in the April trip.
  Thanks to Marc and everyone who participated!

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.

Seminars in Germany

 I was at Marc Sigle's Bushido ES studio in Esslingen, Germany. This print on the left was given to me by Claudia Neumann and Thomas Kozitsky. They had come back from India just a day or so before coming down from Dusseldorf for the seminars. They got this and the hand-carved block below in Nepal and presented it to me. Marc got one of the prints, too. Pretty cool.The escrima stick was burned with a dragon and tiger by Kirsten Steineke. Her husband, Lenny, has been training at Marc's and is closing in on black. Kirsten jumped in the seminars Saturday and I believe I saw her from the corner of my eye throwing an almost vertical side-kick. Thanks to all of them.

This flyer was done by Lenny and the back was signed by the participants. It translates as "Thanks very much for the great lessons". Phil Buck was down from England and it was good to see him. He and the rest got along quite well, judging from the laughter and those dragging in on Sunday morning. The subjects I covered included some extensions, tai chi applications, forms, basics, technique analysis and some classes for the kids. The "kinder" gave me some pretty good Texas-style cowboy yells, too.

Saturday night we went out to dinner at our usual place which is situated on a hilltop outside town. It has beautiful views and the sunset is hard to beat. The schnitzel is very good and the company makes the time go too fast.

Deutschland this coming weekend

I am looking forward to visiting my friends in Esslingen, Germany at Marc Sigle's school there. Marc always greets me on arrival with a "Welcome Home". We have a quick breakfast ( it's an overnight flight to Stuttgart) then head off to the studio, where I beat him up for a few hours. I take a short nap and then we go beat up the students, especially Lenny.
   Can't wait.

  

Marc Sigle's BushidoES group in Esslingen is always great to work with. This is a shot of the last class on Sunday. We had spent time on forms Long 2 and Short 3, some extensions and freestyle techniques over the course of the weekend.

Saturday evening we spent at a restaurant on a hill overlooking Esslingen and Stuttgart. It has incredible views, especially as the sun is going down.

I sat with Marc and we tested two of his black belts for second degree, Nadja and Paul. They did a fine job. I had tested Marc during the day and the three of them were promoted on Saturday morning. Their photos are below.

In one of the funny moments that all seminars have, I was demonstrating Dance of Death on Paul and had him on the ground. Marc held up a blue card. Nobody seemed to know what that meant but Marc educated them by telling the group that "Blue is a healing color." Just an example of the Gemutlichtkeit our German friends are known for.

Germany this weekend

Ja!
I am going to see Marc Sigle and his group in the Stuttgart area this weekend. Kenpo and weinerschnitzel; what's not to like?
 If you're in Europe and want to attend, contact Marc at BushidoES@aol.com 

European visit

Thanks to everyone at Bushido ES in Esslingen, Germany and Plymouth Karate in Plymouth, England for turning up at my classes in these schools recently.

At Marc Sigle's school in Esslingen, I sat on an exam board. Marc now has a new black belt, Andy Kissler, who did a fine job.He's intense and a hard hitter.
Marc also had a 40th birthday that weekend, you can send a birthday wish or a razz to BushidoES@aol.com. 

As part of his birthday celebration several of us taught classes over the weekend. Below you'll see Toni Deitl (excellent Shotokan instructor, myself, Marc and Andy Guettner (he did a great job teaching Filipino concepts).

   I went over to England to see my old friend Gary Ellis in Plymouth. He's been renovating his house and here's a photo of what he's accomplished.

Gary and his lady, Sara, hosted a kid's class on Friday that was well-attended. We had some classes on tai chi and extensions to techniques for the adults.  It was good to see Mark Richards and Felix Bishop there, too. Both are good guys.
 Gary and Sara went out of their way to show Jan and I a good time, taking us to country pubs and driving up to Bath to meet us. Gary drove us out to Tintagel, up on the north Cornwall coast, where the legend of King Arthur lives. The scenery is spectacular. That's Gary soaking up the energy, below.

I've been going to England for almost 25 years now and each trip is always a pleasure. If you're going to be there, drop in and see Mr. Ellis. He's probably the most knowledgeable Kenpo man in Europe (although Britain is technically not Europe) and moves like Mr. Parker. 

Europe visit

I'll be over in Germany to see Marc Sigle this weekend. It's his 40th birthday! He's got some instructors teaching seminars this weekend and I'll be doing some teaching. You can drop him a Happy Birthday e-mail at BushidoES@aol.com.
   I'll cross the Channel to England to see my old friend Gary Ellis in Plymouth, too. It's been too long. I'll do some classes in Plymouth the following week. Hope to see some of you there.

European Kenpo

I was over in Athens, Greece this past weekend. John Fillipidis had me as his guest. I was able to work with John privately and you can tell he's been paying attention to his lessons. His students know quite a bit about concept and principle, which shows me he's passing it on. They have depth of knowledge. John and his people ask good questions. I believe it's ingrained in the Greek mind to think deeply; Socrates, Plato and others come to mind. Their physical skills are very good and they have solid stances and footwork.

    Marc Sigle, from Esslingen, Germany came along with me. We had a great time in Athens. The people there were friendly and went out of their way to show us a good time. John took us down to the Acropolis area to walk around the Plaka and stroll through the Agora. It's a park today but many, many years ago it was where the market, Senate, temples and more were located. John told me it was where Socrates and others spent their time. It was a treat to walk the same ground.

   The lessons I taught were well-received. It was cool to work with guys named Panos, Yiannis, Achillies and Adonis. John himself is a craftsman, he works with wood. He made this for me, and the Ed Parker image for Marc. His attention to detail carries over to his teaching and execution of the art. John is intense.

On the way home I stopped at Marc Sigle's studio, where they are no less excited about Kenpo. I taught a big class or two there. Marc's people hit and they're fast. And it's good to see people I have come to know over time like Nadja, Paul, Lenny, Hannah, Paula, Griet, Andy (both of them), Anka, Friedeman, Kevin and the rest. It is interesting to see the cultural differences in the countries there and compare them to home. People are the same all over in many respects but they are also different. I ame very fortunate to be invited to the schools and privileged to carry the flame of the Parker system forward. I never thought I would be in these places, teaching the artt, when I first started.

Germany trip

I was over at Marc Sigle's studio recently. It's always great to visit his studio. I've made some friends over there and hanging out with them is fun. Turns out Marc even has a student, Lenny, who speaks Klingon and has even been on TV as a consultant about it. Who knew?

   Marc is always a great host and took time out of his schedule to spend a day and we went to Zurich, the capital of Switzerland. Along the way we stopped at Rhienfall, where the water from Lake Constance creates a beautiful waterfall and flows on to become the German Rhine. Zurich is a classic European city and the weather was exceptional for winter. The sky was blue and the weather was warm enough to go without a jacket at times. The snow-covered Alps in the background made for a memorable view.


  The classes I taught were well-received and we did a lot of varied material. Marc's people are coming along and I see improvement in those who are newer black belts and the browns coming close. Thomas Kozitsky from the Dusseldorf area was there and we had some interesting chats. He's an engineer by trade and asks good questions.
     Airport security has been stepped up over there, too. If you're going, get to the airport a little earlier.
All in all, another great trip.

Success stories

I will be at Marc Sigle's school in Esslingen next week. It's just outside of Stuttgart. Marc has a very successful, well-run school there. Much of that is due to Marc going out and getting the best education he can in the martial arts business and the arts themselves. He then trains his staff and implements what they have learned. I've seen many people go for education and training and then come back and do nothing with it. Not so Marc.
It amazes me that someone would spend time, effort and money to go to a business seminar, for example, then say that the success of the speaker is due to luck or location. I have two students who are now both very successful that had small studios when I met them. Both worked regular jobs and had part-time schools. With a good martial arts education (what we call a strong floor or what you teach) and business skills learned by taking business seminars, visiting successful schools and modeling after them, and networking, both these men grew part-time schools into flourishing studios with hundreds of students. That's not luck, that's work. Steve did this with a second floor location and Marc did it in a basement location. They have good staff, ongoing training and a positive attitude.
All that said, I enjoy my trips to see them both and am looking forward to seeing Marc and his group again. Besides, my weinerschnitzel levels are low. I have to go there. I think they put something in them to make it addictive.

Deutschland

I was over at Marc Sigle's school in Esslingen last week. Marc's school is "smoking". He's got many students and the place is packed every time I've been there. I taught some classes and I think everyone enjoyed them, I know I did. Thomas Kozitsky was down from the Dusseldorf area, too. Always good to see him.
   Marc took me over to the Porsche auto museum on Friday. That was a treat to see the first cars they made, the race cars and the one-offs. If you get to Stuttgart check out the porsche and Mercedes museums, they're worth a look even if you're not particularly into cars.

Austria camp

I was at Mike Haselwanter's Sommercamp in Lustenau, Austria over the 4th of July weekend. That's Mike on the right. You can see he's a strong boy. I've known Mike for years and I finally got a chance to meet his family. He has a lovely wife and two good-looking children. He even gets along with his in-laws!
With the help of his team, he put together a very well-organized weekend event. I heard many comments on how well it came together, from class timing and subjects, food, location, transportation, the Saturday evening party on the edge of Lake Konstanz. People are already looking forward to next year.


Much of the event was held outside on a soccer field next to the Rhine river. You could see the Alps from there and the foothills of Switzerland, Austria and Germany. Kenpo people from Dusseldorf, Saarbruecken and Esslingen attended.

Subjects covered included extensions, lock flows, Staff Set, my defending the third person concept class, question and answer sessions and more.

Friday night in Esslingen, near Stuttgart, I sat on an exam board at Marc Sigle's Bushido ES. Three people were tested and all passed. I congratulate Friedman, Nadja, and Paul.

It was a great weekend. I can't say enough good things about the hospitality. You may want to think about going next year.

Promotions

I'm back from Germany. It was a great trip and the weather was even warm. In fact, they thanked me for bringing it from Florida. We had a nice turnout with people from Marc Sigle's school in Esslingen as well as his black belts' clubs in Austria and Saarbrucken, Germany.
I tested Marc for his third degree and he passed. I promoted him in front of the group on Saturday. Marc holds a fourth degree from the German Karate Association but not in kenpo. He'd been a kenpo black belt for 10 years with four of those as a second degree. Based on his physical performance, his technical knowledge, and what I have seen him produce as the next generation of kenpo practitioners, I had no problem with moving him up. This puts him on my family tree, which you can see on my site.
That same weekend, Ed Cabrera in Tampa promoted Mark Brewer and Al Jenkins to third degree black. He contacted me before doing so, a courtesy I appreciated, and I concur with his decision. I see Mark and Al regularly, since they attend my seminars in Orlando. Mark is off to Taiwan for a year to teach English and Ed wanted to get him promoted before he left.
Congratulations to all three gentlemen.

Germany

I'm off to Stuttgart to work with Marc Sigle and his groups from the Saarbrucken area and Austria. Marc has been steadily making his school in Esslingen one of the most successful in Germany. He was mentioned recently in one of the martial arts professional magazines as being one of the two who are bringing martial arts knowledge back to Germany from the US.
My schnitzel level is running a bit low so I'm really looking forward to the trip.

German Shogun

You just never know when something is going to pop up. Marc Sigle in Esslingen, Germany sent this to me. I was over there in June and this article in the German martial art magazine, Shogun, just came out.
Marc was just mentioned in a guest column in MA Success published last week. The author cited him as one of the German instructors with a successful school who travels to the US to import martial art and business knowledge.
I enjoy seeing the people affiliated with me get their mentions and I do what I can as well to see they do. Thanks to Marc for sending this in.