There's a warning label on my shoes

The world has gone crazy, ya' think?
Jan was complaining she didn't like the look of me in shorts and cowboy boots, so I broke down and bought a pair of Crocs. Not the ugly ones with the holes in the sides. These look like real shoes. Like most stuff you buy anymore, they had tags hanging off them. I think most of us just tear them off but I read them. I think that's a habit I acquired from aviation. I was taught to read the notes outlined in boxes in pilot operationg handbooks because that's where you really learn about an aircraft and the stuff that can kill you.
  Turns out these shoes won't kill you but they may hurt you. I had seen on the news that people were getting their Crocs caught in escalator steps. I guess the lawyers got involved and now the Crocs people have to put a warning label on their shoes telling me I should stand in the middle of the escalator step to prevent injury.
  That got me thinking about that label - pilots call them placards - that are now on the sunvisor of your car. It's in the black and yellow hazard colors and advises you that driving a car can injure or kill you. No kidding?
  Martial arts can injure and kill you, too. I was talking with a European kenpo instructor about liability and how an instructor can be sued in the US. He was surprised and told me you can't sue a karate teacher in his country. Apparently, their government thinks people are adult enough to realize there is risk in taking martial arts lessons and when they do, they release the teacher. I believe it must be to an extent because negligence is world-wide but stuff happens in class that an instructor just can't control. I'm sure you can think of an example such as the teacher being right there on top of you and someone simply slips and an injury occurs. That's why they call them accidents.
  In that same country they have no 4-way stop signs. They don't think they have to tell everyone what to do.  I think you get the point. If you look around you may be surprised to see just how many examples of the warning label are directed at you. Watch the ads for medication on television. You can take something for your condition but may, among other things, get thoughts of suicide, a heart attack or stroke or anal leakage.
  The world has gone crazy, ya' think?

Testimonial

I had the privilege of attending Lee Wedlake and Dr. Rowe's first ever "Functional Anatomy for Martial Artists" seminar. This is a must for all instructors and serious martial artists! Instructors often teach students that if they do "a certain move" on an opponent the effect will be a break or injury. However; if a practitioner themselves move in an incorrect way, the effect on themselves may also result in a break or serious injury.


Ed Parker often stated that; "The man who knows how will always be the student, but the man who knows why will continue to be the instructor." Taking SGM Parker's quote to the next level, participants in these seminars will learn the "hows" that make these "whys" work or in some cases not work.



I can't wait for part two of this seminar series.

Tim Walker, 4th degree black belt

American Kenpo Karate University, Inc.

Functional anatomy seminar

About a dozen kenpo and tai chi students attended our first functional anatomy for martial artists seminar here in Celebration, FL. The feedback has been  great! I was told Dr. Rowe kept what could have been presented as "over one's head" as very understandable and relevant to what we do.

   We used a combination of handouts, lecture, PowerPoint, anatomy models and hands-on in the sessions.  Doc and I are planning two more parts to the series and if there is enough interest, we can "take it on the road" to other parts of the country.

   If you're interested in attending the next one or in having one at your studio, please watch my website for dates or contact me at lee@leewedlake.com.

Hmm

Like the weather, there are all sorts of conditions in our personal lives: clear days, cloudy days, rainy ones, and stormy ones. These are all waves produced by the power of nature and are not things over which we have control. No matter how much we fight against these waves, there is no way we can make a cloudy day clear up. Cloudy days are cloudy; clear days are clear. It is only natural that thoughts come and go and that psychological and physiological conditions fluctuate accordingly. All of this is the very reality and manifestation of life. Seeing all of this as the scenery of life, without being pulled apart by it—this is the stability of human life, this is settling down in our life.


                                                                     Kosho Uchiyama

                                                                               Let go

Further Insights into Kenpo

My book of the title above has gone out of print. There are a few copies out there still for sale by some studios. You may find it through Amazon, Asian World or Ryukyu books.
  I don't have any plans to reprint it and I can't upload it to electronic delivery. Seems I was told the copyrights for the articles compiled in the book would revert to me after first publication in magazines but that's apparently not so.
   So, if you see one, grab it.

What's a Huk?

A Filipino rebel. Bet you didn't know that.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hukbalahap

Panther Kenpo Karate

Congratulations on 25 years in business! Steve Hatfield's Panther Kenpo Karate in Mount Vernon, OH, near Columbus, was established at the same time Steve came in under me to train. He's been with me since 2nd degree black and is working on his 7th.
   This past weekend I was up there to be part of the anniversary celebration. I taught a seminar on joint-locking techniques and their counters. I also worked with the instructors on Form Five.
   Steve has been assembling a list of the instructors he has been on the mat with over the years and there are some very well-known names on it. From kick-boxing there is Benny "The Jet" and Bill Wallace. In kenpo he worked with Ed Parker, Frank Trejo, Tom Kelly, Joe Palanzo, Huk Planas, Jeff Speakman and more. His experience in Chinese arts, particularly in chi-kung is deep as well. He's worked with Frank Chan over the past years. He's also done some Russian Systema. All in all, a prety well-versed instructor.
   You can see his website at http://www.pantherkenpokarate.com/.
Here's to many more years!