We had our first advanced class last night July 5th.  We started out
by running 2 miles with sauna suits on.  We weighed in then worked on
our core and did 300 sit-ups.  Next we did 100 knees strikes while
holding a medicine ball.  We also got on the ground and tossed the
medicine ball up to a partner 100 times.  After that we worked on the
kimura (should submission).  Not bad for our first class.  Bill,
Elias, and Athena attended.  The next advanced class will be
Wednesday July 19th at 7PM.

Belt Promotions:  Testing was held June 27th.  Congratulations to
the following students on their promotions: John Boggs, purple belt;
Brandon Bumpous, purple belt; Zack Bumpous, purple belt; Athena Mouw,
purple belt.   The next testing will be held July 25th at 6:30 PM.
   On May 30th, 2006 the adult class did training on 10% OC (Oleoresin
Capsicum) pepper spray.  Congratulations to the following who went
through the class and got exposed to pepper spray:  John Boggs,
Athena Mouw, Kent Holland, Elias Rostad, and JD Shultis.  Everyone
who went through the class received a certificate.  Are your eyes
still burning?
   Etiquette:  Just a reminder that you are required to wear your gi
pants and obi (belt) during class.  You can wear either a plain
black, plain white or an AKKA t-shirt in place of your gi top but
shorts are NOT allowed!!
   Business:  Just a reminder that quarterly membership fees are due
this month.  Please try to have dues paid by July 6th or speak to Mr.
Lammon to set up other arrangements.
   For every new student you refer to the dojo you will get 10% off
your dues as long as that person stays a member.  Bring in 2 people
and get 20% off.  Bring in 10 people and you get to train for free.
   New t-shirts are available with a new design in electric blue.  A
great alternative to your gi top during the summer months and a great
way to show your support for kenpo outside the dojo.  These shirts
are only $15.
   Schedule:  NO CLASS July 4th.  Beginning this month we will be
offering an Advanced Class in addition to the Basic Class and Kenpo
Kids class.  The advanced class is designed for green belts and above
but anyone of any rank is welcome to attend.  Class times will be
held every other Wednesday evening for now at 7 PM.  The advanced
class will run 2 hours long and will be tough.  The first advanced
class will be on July 5th.  Plan to work hard.
   Kumite:  Congratulations to Murphy Lammon and Madison Lammon who
competed in their 2nd tournament in Clark, SD June 17th.
Congratulations to Elias Rostad who competed in his first
tournament.  Even though this was a taekwondo tournament everyone did
a good job of representing kenpo and all three competitors got 2nd
place.
   Upcoming Events:  We will be having our annual student appreciation
day on Tuesday July 11th.  We will  BBQ again and watch a movie.
It'll begin around 6:30 PM and last a couple of hours.  We will be
watching The Last Samurai which is rated R because of the battle
sequences, a few of which do have some blood.  It's a good story set
in the 1880's in Japan.  All students and parents are welcome to
attend.  You do NOT need to wear your uniform.
   The Rushmore Karate Open will be held July 22nd at Roosevelt Park
in Rapid City, SD.  It will include sparring and grappling
competitions plus traditional and freestyle katas, musical katas, and
weapons katas.  Registration begins at 8 AM and event begins at 9:30
AM.  Cost is $30 for one event, $35 for two events, or $40 for all
events.  Register by July 15 and receive a $5 discount.  Check out
www.rushmorejujitsu.com for more details or see bulletin board flyer.
   Bill "Superfoot" Wallace will be in Sioux Falls on July 22nd for a
seminar.  Cost is only $30 for children (age 12 to 17) and $60 for
adults.  He was a national undefeated karate champion with 23
straight wins before he retired in 1980.  He started training in
karate in 1967 after injuring his right leg in judo.  Although he
could never use his right leg in karate tournaments he was still able
to kick with his left leg in excess of 60 MPH.  He was able to fake
and use his left leg like most competitors use their hands.  He was
friends and trained with Elvis Presley.  He has written books,
starred in several movies with Chuck Norris and has been inducted
into the Black Belt Hall of Fame 3 times.
   There will be a Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournament in Sioux Falls
September 23rd, 2006.  Entry fee is only $25.
   The 11th Annual Fargo Open Martial Arts Championships featuring
will be held October 28th, 2006.  See flyer on the bulletin board at
the dojo for more details on all of these tournaments.
   Health & Fitness:  Remember to bring water to class.  Just a
reminder that everyone, regardless of age or rank, will be required
to have a mouth guard beginning July 1st.  We will also be taking the
KPFT sometime in August.

Here's a list of gear that is required for the advanced class.  Again
don't freak out and think you have to spend $300 to buy a bunhc of
stuff all at once.  A lot of the gear you will probably already have
and the rest can be picked up over the next few months.  So here it
is:

double mouth guard for MMA
single mouth guard is fine for regular sparring

sauna suit, again they are only $6 to $15 at Wal-Mart & Kmart.  You
will need this ASAP.

boxing style hand wraps.  I can order these if you don't need them.
Price usually runs between $5 to $10.  Color doesn't matter.

running shoes.  They don't have to be fancy or cost $150.  Simple
running shoes with the running toe cap is fine.  I got a pair of
Everlast brand at Kmart on sale for about $10.  Plan to have them
ASAP.

MMA gloves.  These will be the costly purchase but we won't need them
right away so start saving now.  Plan on spending $50 to $125 for a
set of gloves.

sparring gear: head gear, chest protector, forearm pads, hand
protection, groin protection, shin/instep guards.  Most of you should
already have gear if you are an upper rank.

notebook & pen/pencil.  We will be keeping a weight & training record.
Notebooks are cheap.  Plan to have one ASAP.  There is now a scale at
the dojo to keep track of your weight.  I'll post the weight classes
next to it.

Sweat pants and hooded sweat shirt.  Pullover or zipped is fine.  You
can use insulated sweatpants if you want or use the standard old
fashioned type.  Sweats are cheap.  Plan on these ASAP.

UnderArmor (UA).  Again it doen't have to be Under Armor brand.  The
no name stuff at Target is fine.  Highly recommended but not
required.  We will be training bare chested or with UA.  T-shirts
will not work, they will rip and you cna catch a finger and break
it.  Females will need UA for obvious reasons.

Boxing/MMA shorts.  Again not boxers.  I know someone is going to
show up wearing boxers.  Approved shorts do not have pockets.  That's
going to be the big thing.  No zippers either.  No fly.  The tight
fitting UFC shorts are also allowed if you want.  You can wear
spandex biker shorts under your boxing shorts if you want.  Maui thai
(split up the sides) shorts are NOT allowed.

Watch cap/beanie.  Standard stocking cap is fine.  UFC beanies are
available for $20.


That's about it for now.  At this point we will not be requiring the
leather shin guards or boxing type headgear.  And obviously bring a
water bottle.  You can still wear AKKA t-shirt during the advanced
class unless otherwise told by instructor.  Bring your full gi to
each class as we may need it for certain training.

Mixed martial arts is a legal, regulated sport in at least 20
states: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia,
Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Nevada, New
Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah and
Washington.

   The sport is not regulated in at least 20 states: Connecticut,
Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri,
Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, North
Dakota, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West
Virginia, and Wisconsin. These states have banned mixed marital arts,
have left regulation up to local communities or have taken no action.

   The six states that do not have athletic commissions — Alabama,
Alaska, Delaware, Minnesota, South Dakota and Wyoming — either allow
local communities to make the call or defer to Nevada or New Jersey,
the most respected regulatory commissions in the country.

   The athletic commissions in Maine, Maryland, Pennsylvania and
Vermont have not made a ruling either way.

   So is MMA legal in South Dakota?  Yes but not in Sioux Falls.  The
martial arts have endured for 1000s of years even if training had to
be done in secret.  You can train in MMA in Sioux Falls but MMA
fights/tournaments are banned in the city.  Who knows what impact
this will eventually have on the rest of the martial arts here in So
Dak.  We'll have to wait & see.

Dojo:  The dojo is moving to a new location, 506 NE 1st Ave.  The
building will hopefully work better and the operating costs will be
lower.  Because of rising operating costs (rent & utilities) at the
old building and recent decrease in membership we came to the
conclusion that either we raise monthly membership fees and start
charging testing fees or move to a different location.  We feel this
was the best and only decision under the circumstances.  You all know
how much I'm against belt testing fees.  Our phone number, 229-AKKA
(2552), will stay the same.  We hope this will allow us to get more
training equipment.  And yes we'll be able to hang heavy bags in the
new building.  Please excuse the mess and be patient while we get set
back up.  A new bathroom is currently being installed and we hope to
have it operational ASAP.
   Belt Promotions:  Testing was held May 23rd.  It was the last
testing held at 202 N Main St.  Congratulations to the following
students on their promotions: Paige Haugen, Jr orange belt stripe;
Shae Miller, Jr orange belt stripe; Brandon Bumpous, Jr purple belt
stripe; and Zack Bumpous, Jr purple belt stripe.  The next testing
will be held Tuesday, June 27th at 6:30 PM.
   VKA Hall of Fame:  Mr. Holland was nominated for the Valadez Kenpo
Association Hall of Fame.  I'm happy to announce that he was chosen
as the Karate Instructor of the Year out of all the nominees.  The
VKA sent the award to Mr. Lammon who presented it to Mr. Holland on
behalf of the VKA and the dojo on May 23rd.  Congratulations to Mr.
Holland!!
   Business:  Just a reminder that quarterly membership fees are due
next month.  If you are paying monthly please pay by June 8th.  Also
a few of you still owe money for class pictures and t-shirts.  Please
get these items paid for ASAP.  We will probably be taking another
order for rear window car decals in the near future for those of you
who missed out this last time.
   So was dad jealous of the Karate Mom t-shirts for Mother's Day?  If
so, we got the solution...Karate Dad t-shirts.  Father's Day is June
18th.  These t-shirts will also be $20.  Please have your order in by
June 6th so we can make sure they arrive in time.
   Student manuals will be available shortly.  All of the material up
through 1st degree black belt is done.  I'm just proof reading and
making small corrections now.  We will be holding off printing them
until we get moved in to the new dojo.  Price of the manuals will be
determined by printing costs.
   Schedule:  We are considering changing the days we have training
since many of you have conflicts on the current training days,
especially Thursday.  We looking for input from everyone on this.  We
don't want class to begin before 6:30 PM for the Kenpo Kids class
because we feel it's important that children have the opportunity to
have dinner with their parents.
   Also please be sure to refer to the calendar on back for class
times and events.  Remember that testing is usually the last Tuesday
of the month at 6:30 PM.  Please wear your full uniform for
testings.
   Upcoming Events:  There will be another taekwondo tournament in
Clark, SD on June 17th.  It will be held at the pool park.  It's only
a local tournament, no teams from out of state/country.  The entry
fee is only $18 and registration begins at 11 AM.  There will be a
pool party afterwards ($3 for a pool pass).  This would be an
excellent tournament to attend if you've never competed before.  You
will be required to wear protective gear so if you need anything
let's get it ordered ASAP so it's here on time.
   We plan on having our annual student appreciation day on Tuesday
July 11th.  We will  probably BBQ again and watch a movie.  It'll
begin around 6:30 PM and last a few hours.  We will be watching The
Last Samurai which is rated R because of the battle sequences, a few
of which do have some blood.  It's a good story set in the 1880's in
Japan and is roughly based on the history of the samurai.  If any
parent has any concerns with this movie please speak to Mr. Lammon.
All students from all classes are welcome to attend.
   We're still hoping to have the Karate Camp but because of moving
and the conflict with Aberdeen's 125th anniversary we're going to
push the date back to this fall.  Hopefully this will work better for
everyone.
   There will be a Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournament in Sioux Falls
September 23rd, 2006.  Entry fee is only $25.  The event begins at 9
AM.  See flyer on the bulletin board at the dojo for more details.
   The 11th Annual Fargo Open Martial Arts Championships featuring
semi-contact karate, taekwondo, and submission grappling will be held
October 28th, 2006.  Pre-registration fee is $40 by October 20th and
$50 after that date.  This tournament will also have a forms,
weapons, and breaking competitions.
   Kumite:  Just a reminder that sparring is done Tuesday nights at
approx 8:45 PM.  Sparring is required to get your green belt.  You
may want to start buying protective gear a little at a time as a full
set costs around $100.  There may be a tournament held here in
Aberdeen in August at the YMCA so it pays to start practicing now.
   Kobudo:  You are required to earn one kobudo weapons patch before
you can test for black belt.  Weapons practice is held Thursday
nights at approx 8:45 PM.
   Etiquette:  Etiquette in the dojo has been slacking a bit.
Remember to bow in before stepping on the training floor and bow out
when stepping off.  When instructors ask questions you should reply
with either yes sir or no sir.  During class you should be focused on
one thing-KARATE.  Please pay attention and train hard.
Remember...discipline is doing what is right even when no one is
looking.
   Health & Fitness:  In May students took a Karate Physical Fitness
Test (KPFT).  The KPFT is used to evaluate a student's fitness
level.  It's not a pass or fail test, just a tool used to help
students set goals to improve their fitness levels.  We will be
taking the KPFT a minimum of twice a year.  Also, be sure to bring
water to class.  You will be sweating a lot during class this summer
and need to stay hydrated.
   Housekeeping:  Everyone is expected to do their part to keep the
new dojo neat and presentable.  It's everyone's dojo so let's keep it
clean.  I will not allow the mess in the new changing room like the
one that was in the old changing room.  Hangers are there for a
reason.  Please hang your gi up on a hanger.  To assist you in
remembering to do this everyone will be assigned a hanger with your
name on it.  If you need more than one hanger, that's fine just let
me know.  Let's stay professional and disciplined.
   Other:  Our 2006 class picture was in the Aberdeen American News on
Monday May 22nd.  We have it posted on the bulletin board if you
missed it.
   As most of you are aware of Mr. Holland will no longer be with the
dojo.  His employer has transferred him to Arizona and he starts June
19th.  I want to personally thank Kent for all of his help and
guidance in founding the dojo and keeping it up and running over the
past year and a half.  His insights have greatly influenced the
curriculum and our overall training in a very positive way.  It will
be a great loss to see him leave but I feel fortunate to have known
and trained with him over the past year and a half.  Please wish him
luck and he knows he's always welcome at the dojo.  He was the first
person I've ever promoted to black belt and he's set the black belt
bar very high.
   On another sad note, Leilani Parker, wife of late Grandmaster Ed
Parker, has been diagnosed with cancer and has only been given 6
months to live.  Please keep her and her family in your thoughts.
Thank you.

Mandatory Equipment:
Competitors may only use UFC and commission approved 4-6 oz gloves,
designed to protect the hand but not large enough to improve the
striking surface or weight of the punch.
Commission approved MMA shorts and kickboxing trunks are the only
uniforms allowed. Shirts, gis and shoes, and the problems they
present for grabbing are not allowed.
And of course mouth guards and groin protection.

Some of you were asking about the rules and weight classes of MMA /
UFC so here it is:

Weight classes:  [Top]
Lightweight - over 145 lbs. to 155 lbs.
Welterweight - over 155 lbs. to 170 lbs.
Middleweight - over 170 lbs. to 185 lbs.
Light Heavyweight - over 185 lbs. to 205 lbs.
Heavyweight - over 205 lbs. to 265 lbs.

Bout duration:  [Top]
All non-championship bouts shall be three rounds.
All championship bouts shall be five rounds.
Rounds will be five minutes in duration.
A one-minute rest period will occur between each round.

Fouls:   [Top]
1.   Butting with the head.
2.   Eye gouging of any kind.
3.   Biting.
4.   Hair pulling.
5.   Fish hooking.
6.   Groin attacks of any kind.
7.   Putting a finger into any orifice or into any cut or laceration
on an opponent.
8.   Small joint manipulation.
9.   Striking to the spine or the back of the head.
10. Striking downward using the point of the elbow.
11. Throat strikes of any kind, including, without limitation,
grabbing the trachea.
12. Clawing, pinching or twisting the flesh.
13. Grabbing the clavicle.
14. Kicking the head of a grounded opponent.
15. Kneeing the head of a grounded opponent.
16. Stomping a grounded opponent.
17. Kicking to the kidney with the heel.
18. Spiking an opponent to the canvas on his head or neck.
19. Throwing an opponent out of the ring or fenced area.
20. Holding the shorts or gloves of an opponent.
21. Spitting at an opponent.
22. Engaging in an unsportsmanlike conduct that causes an injury to
an opponent.
23. Holding the ropes or the fence.
24. Using abusive language in the ring or fenced area.
25. Attacking an opponent on or during the break.
26. Attacking an opponent who is under the care of the referee.
27. Attacking an opponent after the bell has sounded the end of the
period of unarmed combat.
28. Flagrantly disregarding the instructions of the referee.
29. Timidity, including, without limitation, avoiding contact with an
opponent, intentionally or consistently dropping the mouthpiece or
faking an injury.
30. Interference by the corner.
31. Throwing in the towel during competition.

Ways To Win:   [Top]
1. Submission by:
            Physical tap out.
            Verbal tap out.
2. Technical knockout by the referee stopping the contest.
3. Decision via the scorecards, including:
            Unanimous decision.
            Split decision.
            Majority decision.
            Draw, including:
                   Unanimous draw.
                   Majority draw.
                   Split draw.
4. Technical decision.
5. Technical draw.
6. Disqualification.
7. Forfeit.
8. No contest.


Referee may Restart the round:  [Top]
If the fighters reach a stalemate and do not work to improve position
or finish.

Belt Promotions:  Testing was held April 22nd.  Congratulations to
the following students on their promotions: Wayne Krysowaty, green
belt; James Haugen, blue belt; John Boggs, orange belt; Shae Miller,
yellow belt.  The next testing will be held Tuesday May 23rd at 6:30
PM.  Again you are allowed to wear a black gi once you obtain the
rank of green belt.
   New Students:  Please welcome Shae Miller and Gene Bieber to the
dojo.  Good luck with your training.
   Student of the Quarter:  The Student of the Quarter award is based
on outstanding dedication and martial spirit.  The last person to
receive the award was Mr. Holland back in July 2005 when he was a
brown belt.  The criteria for the award is to be dedicated to
training and the dojo.  You should be trying to make the dojo a
better place for everyone and cultivate a positive learning
environment.  You need to have proper martial arts spirit and focus.
You need to give 110% every time you train.  With that said...Mr.
John Boggs has been chosen as the Student of the Quarter for
February - April, 2006.
   Schedule:  Due to a lack of participation beginning May 1st all
Saturday morning classes will be suspended until further notice.
Sparring classes will now be held Tuesday evenings at 8:45 PM and the
kobudo weapons class will be held Thursday evenings at 8:45 PM.
Please refer to the calendar on back for schedule details.  We hope
to add an advanced class in the future.  Also testings will be held
during the evening from now on.
   Business:    If you are paying monthly please have your dues paid
by May 7th.  Thank you.
   We still have a few Kenpo Karate Academy t-shirts available.  You
can purchase a t-shirt for only $15 and you can wear it in place of
you gi top (except for testings).  In the summer it does get hot in
the dojo.
   Mother's Day is coming up on Sunday May 14th.  Don't know what to
get mom?  How about a Karate Mom t-shirt.  It's a great way to thank
Mom for driving you to your karate lessons and to show support for
the dojo and the art.  These shirts are only $20 each.  Shirts come
in ash, white, red, blue, or yellow with lettering available in
black, blue, orange or yellow.  We can also get Martial Arts Mom t-
shirts which come in white with a pink and blue yin yang and hearts
in the center. Please order ASAP so we can get them here by Mother's
Day.  Watch out soccer moms, here come Karate moms!
   Class Picture:  We took the 2006 class picture on April 18th.  For
those of you who ordered photos and decals they should be here
shortly.  It should also be in the newspaper in the next few weeks.
We will NOT be able to get the trading cards printed because we did
not get enough orders.  Sorry for any inconvenience.
   Kumite:  Several students went to Clark, SD on April 29th for a
taekwondo tournament.  Congratulations to Ben Ramsey, Murphy Lammon,
and Madison Lammon who all competed in their first tournament.
   Upcoming Events:  We're still trying to arrange to have a Karate
Camp this summer.  We're now planning a one day seminar on Saturday
July 29th tentatively.  It's the same weekend as Aberdeen's 125th
anniversary so that's causing a few problems.   Location will
probably be the Washington Street Gym.  It has bleachers, hardwood
floor, locker rooms, dining facilities, and is air conditioned.
   If you got time check out our website:
http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/aberdeenkenpo/   Many photos of
the late Grandmaster Edmund K Parker have been added and photos from
our most recent testing plus the 2006 class photo.
   Housekeeping:  Please be sure to bring water to class to stay
hydrated.  It's going to get hotter in the dojo as spring turns into
summer.  If you drink bottled water please pick up after yourself and
throw the bottles away at the end of class.  Also the changing room
is getting a bit messy.  Please be sure to take your uniforms home
and wash them on a regular basis.  Please use the hangers provided,
don't just toss your gi in the corner or over the hanger rod.   Also
everyone in the basic class needs to bring running shoes to class as
we may go for a run or train outside depending on the weather.
   Thanks again to everyone for your continued business and support of
the dojo and the art of Kenpo.

***The following is from the instructors manual.  Even though it's
intended for instructors I thought it would be applicable after our
talk during the basic class on 3/30/06.******

   Etiquette, like various techniques, must be learned.  You can not
expect a student to have proper dojo etiquette without teaching them
that etiquette.  It is the job of the instructor to teach the proper
etiquette to the students.
   Etiquette is an expression of respect for the dojo, the
instructors, fellow classmates, and the art of Kenpo as a whole.  A
dojo requires its members to be disciplined.  One should display
honesty, sincerity, modesty and a humble attitude.  One should not be
loud, boastful or act in an irresponsible manner at anytime.
   When bowing you should stand at attention with your feet together
with your hands down by your sides.  You bend forward at the waist
keeping your head up, eyes looking straight ahead.  The junior show
bow lower than the senior.
   Starting at green belt students should bow displaying the hiken,
which is holding the right hand in front of the body in a closed fist
with the left hand covering it.  The hiken should not be displayed to
anyone lower ranked than green belt.
   When bowing to master instructors, 5th degree and up, one should
first assume the formal kneeling position.  Next you place both hands
on the ground in front of your knees, and bend all the way over with
your forehead approximately 1 inch off the floor.  In some schools it
is customary to clap several times before executing this bow.
   Smoking and drinking should be avoided.  Smoking may be offensive
to fellow students and instructors.  One should avoid drinking to
prevent any possibility of intoxication that would be an
embarrassment to colleagues or himself.  Alcohol has no place in
serious training.
   As an instructor you must be a model of respectability.  Your words
and actions are closely watched by your students and imitated.
Students must be consistently filled with hope, idealism, and
objectivism.  Attitudes of instructors should be clear, candid, and
honest.  Do not lie or trick students.
   As an instructor you need to observe problems in a student's home
life.  Problems in school, employment, or with relationships with
spouse, parents, or boyfriend/girlfriend can cause problems with a
student's training.  You may be able to assist the student in working
through their problem or improve the situation.
   As an instructor your should refrain from gambling, drinking, or
irresponsible behavior.  You need to cultivate in your students by
example a positive attitude, ethical behavior, justice, faith,
modesty, and loyalty.
   Students should not wear their gi outside the dojo except for
training purposes or with instructor permission.  The gi must be
clean and neatly worn.  If it becomes disarranged, one must stop
training at the appropriate time, face the rear of the dojo (or
training area), and fix the problem.
   Proper hygiene is a must.  Hair should be neat and clean.  If it is
long enough to be put in a ponytail then it should be tied back for
training.  Toe and fingernails need to be kept trimmed.  No jewelry
or any kind should be worn during training.  You should always
present a professional image.
   You should have a polite attitude when speaking.  You should pay
attention to what is being said.  You should smile and make eye
contact.
   During formal dining junior ranks should wait to eat until the
senior begins eating.  You should sit upright and chew with your
mouth closed.  The senior should be seated first.
   As an instructor it is your job to educate your students in the
proper etiquette of the dojo.  This also carries over to daily life
as the student's actions not only reflect on you as an instructor but
the dojo and the are of Kenpo as a whole.

***I originally posted this back in May 2005 but thought it would be
interesting since I've now posted a bunch of photos of Elvis training
in kenpo karate.***

   Under the guidelines of American Kenpo set forth by Ed Parker
limited the wearing of black gi's to instructors only.  But this was
not the case with many of his rich and famous private students. Both
Elvis Presley and his wife, Priscilla, were private students of Ed
Parker and both by preference wore black uniforms for their private
lessons.
    As fate would have it, Ed Parker went to Hawaii on vacation which
left Priscilla with no private lessons from Ed. Because Priscilla
wanted to work out and continue training during Ed's vacation, she
decided to attend a "class" run by one of Ed Parker's senior
students. When Priscilla showed up for class the Senior Instructor
was caught off guard. Only Instructors were allowed to wear black
gi's - but this was not an ordinary student: this was the wife of
the "King of Rock-N-Roll". So he chose to say nothing. But the next
day he phoned Ed In Hawaii to voice his concern about a "student"
wearing a black gi. The instructor then asked Ed what he should do
about it. Ed told him to "to use his own discretion" in the matter.
    The next time Priscilla arrived for class, she was informed that
she could not attend class wearing a black uniform, that it was
reserved exclusively for instructors. Priscilla was then told that
she was more than welcome to attend the class if she wore a white
uniform.
    Priscilla never took another private lesson from Ed Parker again.
While Elvis would continue to have a close relationship with Ed and
continue his training, Priscilla and Ed were now at odds.
    Because of the black gi incident, fate would take another path.
Priscilla wanted to continue training and at the same time get back
at Ed Parker. She then contacted Chuck Norris for lessons and through
Chuck met Mike Stone, who became her private karate instructor.
    The rest is history. Priscilla then started seeing Mike Stone on
the sly and one day she simply left Elvis and started living with
Mike Stone. And the end result was the divorce of Elvis and
Priscilla.
    When Elvis died in 1977 Priscilla arranged for a private plane to
take his friends from California to the funeral in Memphis. There
were only two people Priscilla would not allow on the plane: Elvis's
current girlfriend and Ed Parker.

Belt Promotions:  Testing was held March 18th.  Congratulations to
the following students on their promotions: Elias Rostad, green belt;
Madison Lammon, purple belt.  The next testing will be held April
22nd at 10 AM.  As mentioned before, even if you are not testing
please attend to support your fellow classmates.  As always, your
family and friends are welcome at testings.
   Schedule:  There will be NO class on Saturday April 15th because of
Easter and NO class on Saturday April 29th because of the taekwondo
tournament in Clark, SD (see below).
   Business:  Just a reminder that the new quarter for dojo fees
begins April 1st.  If you can not pay the quarterly rate you can pay
monthly for an additional charge.  Quarterly it's $200 per student or
$75 monthly.  The family discounted rate for 2 people is $325
quarterly or $125 monthly.  You do save money by paying quarterly.
Please have all dues paid the first week of April so we can figure
out the dojo budget.  Thank you.
   We are also going to offer a coupon for 20% off dues for every new
student you bring into the dojo who signs up.  So if you know a
friend who's interested in martial arts bring them to a class.  If
they join the dojo you will get a coupon saving you 20% off you
dues.  If you bring two new people in you get two coupons equaling a
40% discount.
   Class Picture:  We will be taking the 2006 class picture on April
18th at 7:15 PM.  Everyone please try to attend even if you can not
stay for class.  Full uniform required for the picture.  We are
looking at having baseball style trading cards made up from the class
picture.  In order to offset the cost we need enough interest and
people planning on ordering the cards.  We are looking at asking $1
per card, 12 cards for $8, 24 cards for $12, or 50 cards for $20.
These will be similar to the police trading cards.  If we don't get
enough orders we won't be able to order the trading cards.  There's a
4 week turnaround time on the trading cards.  We won't be offering
matted photos this year but will still offer the 5x7s and 8x10s.
   We are also looking at getting window decals.  These will be
similar to the soccer ones you see on the rear windows of vehicles
except they will be karate.  You can have your name also added to
them if you choose.  They will be white in color and will have a
silhouette of a karate figure.  They will probably run around $15 per
decal.  We'll try to get a sample sent to the dojo so everyone can
take a look at one.
   Upcoming Events:  There will be a taekwondo tournament in Clark, SD
on 4/29/06.  Registration begins at 9:30 AM and the competition
begins at 11 AM lasting until at least 5 PM.  This is a very large
tournament with teams from as far away as Mexico, Puerto Rico, and
Canada competing.  Spectator admission is only $4.  Except for black
belts this is a point sparring (no contact) match.  It would be a
good one to attend if you've never been to a tournament before.
Please speak to Mr. Lammon or Mr. Holland if you are interested in
going.  If we have enough interest we can carpool to Clark.  I
recommend going even if you don't compete.
   We've come up with a new tentative date for a Karate Camp this
summer.  We're now looking at July 28th-30th.  Hopefully this will
work better for everyone.  Let us know.
   Kumite:  Just a reminder that sparring is done Thursday nights at
approx 8:45 PM.  You need head gear, foot and hand protection, mouth
guard, and groin protection for males.  Shin guards are highly
recommended.  Chest protectors are optional.  You can get a basic set
of gear for around $80.
   If you got time check out our website:
http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/aberdeenkenpo/   Feel free to
add your thoughts or martial arts related stories, just no spam or
junk please.
   Thanks again to everyone for your continued business and support.
Don't forget picture day April 18th at 7:15 PM.

Black Belt Promotion:  The Aberdeen Kenpo Karate Academy is proud
to have promoted it's first black belt.  Mr. Kent Holland was
promoted to shodan (1st degree black belt) on February 4th, 2006.
Mr. Holland has been training for over 8 years in kenpo.  He also
trains weekly in ATA taekwondo and tai chi.  Mr. Holland has also
received his full instructor license.  Mr. Holland received his
shodan certificate and was presented with a sword set to honor his
accomplishment of achieving his black belt in kenpo karate.  Mr.
Holland has contributed so much to the dojo on so many different
levels.  The late Grandmaster Ed Parker would be proud.
Congratulations Mr. Holland!
   Belt Promotions:  We had two testings in February.
Congratulations to the following students on their promotions: Cody
Wells, yellow stripe; John Boggs, yellow belt; Zack Bumpous, orange
belt; Brandon Bumpous, orange belt; Logan Ramsey, purple belt; JD
Shultis, purple belt; Wayne Krysowaty, blue stripe.  The next
testing will be March 18th, 2006 at 10 AM.
   New Students:  Please welcome Tyler Larson and John Boggs to the
dojo.  Good luck with your training.
   Schedule:  Just a reminder that Mr. Lammon will be at a PPCT
instructors course the week of February 27th - March 3rd and Mr.
Holland will be gone beginning March 25th for a Cane Master's
seminar.
   Thanks to Mr. Holland we now have several rebreakable boards at
the dojo.  You can train with these or bring your own wooden ones.
Wooden ones are required for testing but the dojo supplies them for
testing.  Board breaking is required to get your green belt and
above.
   Upcoming Events:  The tentative date for a Karate Camp this summer
is August 18th-20th which happens to be the ending weekend of the
Brown County fair.  Because of this we are also looking at a backup
date of July 28th-30th.  We'd like input from students on what you'd
like to see and do.
   Also we're planning on taking the 2006 class picture on April 18th
at 7:15 PM.  If this date won't work let us know ASAP.
   Business:  Just a reminder that the new quarter for dojo fees
begins April 1st.  If you can not pay the quarterly rate you can pay
monthly for an additional charge.  Quarterly it's $200 per student
or $75 monthly.  The family discounted rate for 2 people is $325
quarterly or $125 monthly.
   Kumite:  We are getting more people sparring now.  If you want to
spar all you need is some protective gear (which runs around $80 a
set) and be a minimum of yellow belt.  Sparring is required to get
your green belt.  We will be having sparring on Thursday nights at
approximately 8:45 PM after the basic class.  Sparring will last
until 9:30 PM.
   On another note, the terrorists responsible for planting the
roadside bomb that killed Officer Roland Barvels on January 18th
have been caught.  The Iraqi police squad that Officer Barvels
helped train caught the killers in a motel.  They were...let's say
interrogated.  Needless to say they didn't live long enough to see
the inside of a courtroom.  Justice moves swiftly in the middle
east.  There's also a Roland Barvels Memorial Fund set up at Dacotah
Bank for his children.
   As always thank you all for your continued business, hard work and
dedication to training.

Hey, Bill...

I enjoyed visiting your dojo last month and the opportunity to get to know each other. I had fun training with you... hope you had fun also. Perhaps we can get together again one of these days.   I will keep you posted on any seminars that we host down in this area in case you are interested.

Gambatte...
Ron Bergman, Shidoshi-ho
Bujinkan Kushin An Dojo

Belt Promotions:  The testing scheduled for 1/28/06 has been
postponed until 2/4/06 because of Officer Roland Barvels' funeral.
There will also be a testing on February 25th.  You are encouraged
to attend the testings even if you are not testing.  This way you
can support your fellow classmates plus see what to expect when it's
your turn to test.
   New Students:  Please welcome Cody Wells to the dojo.  Good luck
with your training.
   We did Redman training on 12/29/05.  Redman is a suit made by
Macho, a company that also makes sparring gear.  Redman allows
students to experience the stress of an actual attack.  It allows
the participants to try their moves at full combat speed on a
moving, reacting target.  Some pics of our training have been posted
on the website under a folder named Redman.
   Schedule:  Tentatively Mr. Lammon will be at PPCT (Pressure Point
Control Tactics) instructors course the week of February 27th -
March 3rd.  Also Mr. Lammon's full time job schedule has changed
thus this will affect training...in a positive way.  Mr. Lammon will
be teaching all night classes, for the most part, from now on.
This will begin the first week or so of February.  The police shift
is only set for 4 months at a time so it could change come June.
Also for now the 11:30 AM open workouts will be suspended.  If we
have enough interest we may go back to having an open workout
Wednesday nights.  We'll have to see how it all goes.
   We have also gotten a new Wavemaster style free standing bag since
the other one is getting worn out.
   Upcoming Events:  It looks like there will be a seminar in Clark,
SD on Saturday February 18th. The 9 AM-2 PM session will cover
taekwondo and the 2:30 PM-4 PM session will cover hapkido.  For more
info call Mr. Sanchez at 605-530-4559.  No word yet on the
tournament date.
   I'm also hoping to take the 2006 class picture this year in May.
Hopefully we can take it on a Tuesday night so everyone can be in it
this time.
   We've come up with a tentative date for a Karate Camp this
summer.  We're looking at August 18th-20th.  The camp will start on
Friday and end Sunday afternoon.  I hope this is enough notice for
everyone.  We are unsure yet of the location and if it will be just
our dojo or if we'll open it up to other martial art studios.
   Kumite:  To help keep your sparring gear in good condition wipe
down the foam dipped gear with a moistened baby wipe.  Sweat can
cause damage.  For the cloth style gear let it dry before putting it
back in your gear bag.  The mesh gear bags work great as they allow
air to circulate.  You can also put a new dryer sheet in with your
gear to keep it smelling good.
   If you got time check out our website:
http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/aberdeenkenpo/   Feel free to
add your thoughts just no spam or junk please.  One poster (who I
don't think is a dojo student) has been banned from the webpage for
posting inappropriate material.  Keep it clean and martial arts
related please.
   There have been 2234 US deaths in Iraq since the war started.  One
of which just occurred January 18th.  His name was Roland Barvels
and he was a friend of mine.  He was a former Aberdeen police
officer before joining Dyncorp and leaving for Iraq November 2005.
Prior to becoming a police officer Roland was a US Army Ranger and
after that a US Marine.  He was a warrior and will be greatly missed.

Aberdeen man killed in Iraq
Former police officer died when roadside bomb hits convoy near Basra

By Emily Arthur
American News Writer

A former Aberdeen police officer was killed on Wednesday in Iraq
when a roadside bomb hit a convoy he was riding in near the southern
city of Basra.
Roland Carroll Barvels, 42, was one of two men fatally wounded, an
official from DynCorp International - the security contractor
Barvels worked for - confirmed Wednesday afternoon. The other
American killed was identified as Richard Thomas Hickman, 52, of
Cave Spring, Ga.
Barvels was in Iraq assisting with the training of the Iraqi police
force. He had been assigned to the Civilian Police Advisory Training
Team, a group responsible for training and equipping the 135,000-
member force.
He leaves behind his wife Cindy of Aberdeen, two sons and two
stepsons.
Gregory Lagana, vice president of communications for DynCorp, said a
third American civilian was injured in the attack, as was an Iraqi
translator who was traveling with the group.
According to AP reports out of Iraq, coalition forces cordoned off
the scene of the Basra attack and took the wounded to the hospital.
An Associated Press photographer who was at the scene said two four-
wheel-drive vehicles were targeted near Basra, a Shiite Muslim-
dominated town about 340 miles southeast of Baghdad.
Lagana said the attack occurred at approximately 1:30 p.m. Iraqi
time.
Barvels, a law enforcement officer with nearly 20 years of
experience with various departments in the Midwest, had worked for
DynCorp since November, when he resigned from the Aberdeen Police
Department to take the job. Barvels started at the Aberdeen Police
Department in May
2000.
"The Aberdeen Police Department would like to express its deepest
sorrow to the family and friends of Roland Barvels," the department
said in a release. " ... During his time at the police department,
he diligently patrolled the streets of our city providing safety and
security to the citizens in our community. Roland possessed an
incredible ability to talk to people and (to) make anyone he talked
to feel at ease."
Barvels was instrumental in developing the South Grant Street
neighborhood watch area. He was also certified as a motorcycle
patrol officer.
Barvels, who was said to have enjoyed hunting, fishing, golf, hiking
and camping, started his law enforcement career in 1982 in
Minnesota. He also spent 12 years in various branches of the
military.
Fellow former policeman also in Iraq: Another former Aberdeen police
officer, Steve Pionk, also works for DynCorp and is stationed in
Iraq. Family members and friends said Pionk called them on Wednesday
to tell them he was fine. The American News also received an e-mail
from Pionk that confirmed he was aware of Barvels' death.
DynCorp International, which is headquartered in Irving, Texas, has
more than 14,000 employees in 35 different countries.
"These were courageous and dedicated men who were working to bring
democracy and stability to Iraq," DynCorp Chief Executive Officer
Stephen J. Cannon said in a release. "We are deeply saddened by this
tragedy, and our thoughts and prayers are with their families."
It's unknown at this time when services for Barvels might take place.
On Wednesday, administrators and officers with the Aberdeen Police
Department said they were having a hard time dealing with the loss
of their former co-worker and friend.
"Words cannot express the sense of loss we feel in his passing," the
department said in a release. "Our hearts and prayers go out to his
wife and children."

South Dakota Civilian Killed in Iraq
One of two American civilians killed in a roadside bombing today in
Iraq was from Aberdeen.

By Tom Hanson
KDLT-TV

Roland Barvels, who was 42, was working for DynCorp, a company that
trains Iraqi police forces. He was killed when a roadside bomb hit a
convoy near Basra.

Barvels was a law enforcement officer for 17 years with several
departments in South Dakota.

He served with the Aberdeen Police Department from 2000 until he
began his one-year mission with DynCorp in November.

Barvels and a fellow trainer, who was also killed, were working
under a contract with the US State Department.

Redman training pics and LEO training pics have been posted.  There's
over 30 new photos so check them out.  They each have their own
folder.  A few class pics were also added to the Training folder also.

Happy New Year!!
   Belt Promotions:  Congratulations to the following people on their
belt promotions: Athena Mouw, orange belt; Tony LaPorte, purple
belt; Murphy Lammon, purple belt; James Haugen, purple belt.  The
next testing will be held January 28th, 2006.
   We had our Christmas party on December 22nd.  We had pizza and
cake and watched Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  Cowabunga!!  We'll
have our student appreciation day again probably in July 2006.
   Business:  McElhone & Co. will be processing all membership dues.
Checks still need to be made payable to Aberdeen Kenpo Karate
Academy.  The other thing is that fees need to be paid via check or
money as they have no way to process cash.  Again if anyone has any
problems or concerns please let us know.
   Just a reminder that the dojo has a new phone number: 229-AKKA
(229-2552).  Also if anyone has moved or gotten a new phone number
please see Mr. Lammon to update your student file.
   Schedule:  There will be NO morning (11:30 AM) open workout on
January 31st or February 2nd.  Mr. Lammon will be at a Tactical
Ground Fighting Instructor Course that week.  Evening classes will
be the same times as usual.
   Upcoming Events:  There will be another tournament in Clark, SD
probably in March or so.  Last year I took several students to it
just as spectators.  This year I'd like to go again but take several
students to participate.  It will be taekwondo rules.  Again you
will need the required safety gear.  There's no contact at this
tournament for anyone under black belt level.  It would be a great
way to get your kumite feet wet.
   I'm also hoping to take the 2006 class picture this year in May.
Hopefully we can take it on a Tuesday night so everyone can be in it
this time.
   Kobudo:  Just a reminder that we have a weapons class Saturday
morning at 11 AM.  You do need to be proficient with at least one
weapon prior to testing for black belt.
   I got a question about Russian Systema.  Jim King trained under
Vladimir Vasiliev who trained under Mikhail Ryabko.  Ryabko started
training at age 5 with one of Stalin's remaining personal
bodyguards.  By age 15 he was going on Spetsnaz missions.  Ryabko
eventually became a captain of a Spetsnaz unit that dealt with
hostage rescue and counter-terrorist operations.  If it had not been
for the fall of the USSR it's unlikely that anyone would even know
of Russian Systema.
   Consider this: there have been a total of 2112 US deaths over the
past few years while the US troops have been fighting in Iraq .  The
firearm death rate in Iraq is around 60 per 100,000.  The firearm
death rate in Washington D.C. is 80 per 100,000.  That means that
that you are about 25% more likely to be shot and killed in our
Nation's Capitol than in Iraq, and our Capitol has some of the
strictest gun control laws in the nation.
   Conclusion:  We should immediately pull out of Washington D.C.!
Keep up the hard work and dedicated training in the new year.  Get
your kicks in 2006!!

The following are the required techniques for each belt level:

YELLOW BELT
Defense Against a Double Lapel Grab
Defense Against a Front Choke
Defense Against a Choke From Behind
Defense Against a Bear Hug
Basic Knife Disarm
Defense Against a Wrist Grab
Defense Against a Lead Punch
Defense Against a Headlock

ORANGE BELT
Defense Against a Shoulder Grab
Defense Against a Punch With an Arm Bar
Defense Against a Single Lapel Grab
Defense Against a Collar Grab From Behind
Outside Punch Defense With a Knee Strike
Inside Punch Defense With a Knee Strike
Advanced Defense Against a Punch
Defense Against a Headlock With an Arm Bar
Defense Against a Punch With a Choke Out

PURPLE BELT
Defense Against a Two Handed Collar Grab With a Takedown
Defense Against a Shoulder Grab With a Takedown
Defense Against a Lapel Grab With a Takedown
Boston Crab Headlock Defense
Defense Against a Hook Punch With a Takedown 1
Defense Against a Hook Punch With a Takedown 2
Defense Against a Two Handed Choke From Behind With a Takedown
Defense Against a Straight Punch With a Takedown

BLUE BELT
Takedown From the Guarded Position
Counter to an Arm Bar Takedown
Arm Bar From the Mount
Arm Bar From the Closed Guard
Kneeling Sweep
Counter to a Leg Takedown With a Guillotine Choke
Defense Against a Kick to the Ribs
Monkey Roll
Defense Against a Punch With a Chin Na Choke Out
Defense Against a Punch With an Arm Drag
Defense Against a Waist Grab From Behind
Defense Against a Small Impact Weapon
Ground Defense With a Cane Against a Standing Attacker
Counter to a Headlock With a Guillotine Choke
Ground Defense Against a Knife
Advanced Defense Against a Wrist Grab
Triangle Choke From the Closed Guard
Boston Crab Kick Defense
Side Shoulder Grab Submission Defense
Armpit Arm Lock

GREEN BELT
Defense Against a Gun From Behind
Defense Against a Club
Downward Stab Disarm
Underhand Knife Disarm
Knife Thrust Disarm 1
Knife Thrust Disarm 2
Cross Choke Chain Defense
Backhand Choke Out
Sergeant Major Knife Defense
Defense Against a Lapel Grab With a Throw
Defense Against a Hook Punch With a Submission
Pistol Disarm
SAS 5 Second Knockout
Rear Strangle Defense
Knife to the Throat Defense

*** Starting at green belt students will be required to do board
breaks and also kumite (sparring).  After a student is promoted to
green belt they are allowed to wear a black gi and should display
the hiken when bowing to senior students and instructors only.

My last post wasn't meant to scare anyone off from testing for black
belt.  I posted it to show you that black belt isn't given to
anyone.  Well hopefully not anyways.  You have to earn it like
anything you do in life.  That school isn't a traditional martial
arts school.  They don't even bow in before training.  It is
designed to fight through everything and don't stop until that
person is out of it.  That is street fighting, and what you are
learning is self-defense.  There is a big difference between the two
and maybe Mr. Lammon can explain that or maybe he already has.
Anyone can fight through an encounter and come out victorious.  It
takes someone with some discipline to know when to defend yourself
and when to preserve your life. Preserving your life calls for
drastic measures and you might have to fight through the encounter
instead of maybe takeing someone to the ground with a armbar and
holding them their until help arrives.  It is up to you as the
martial artist to know what to do in each encounter.

Anyways to the other question.  I don't believe I'll be teaching at
the dojo.  I do check on this board and see what is happening and I
have stopped in once i believe to see how things are going.  Good
luck with the training.

Ho, Ho, Ho!  Merry Christmas Karateka!
   Belt Promotions:  Congratulations to JD Shultis on his orange belt
promotion.  The next testing will be held December 17th because of
the Christmas, Chanukah and New Years holidays.  That date is not
that far off and the following testing won't be until the end of
January 2006.
   Mr. Lammon has also become a certified instructor in PCR (Physical
Conflict Resolution) under Mr. Jim King.  Many of the principles
behind PCR fit very well with kenpo concepts.  We will incorporate
any appropriate material into our system where we best see fit.
Much of PCR is based on Russian Systema, which is the martial art
taught to the Spetsnaz (Russia's special forces commandos).  Mr.
King, a former US Army Ranger, trained in Russia for 5 years.  I
hope to bring him to the dojo next year to teach a seminar on
Systema.
   On November 29th Mr. Holland arranged for Vicki Danburg to come in
and teach tai chi during the basic class.  From time to time we hope
to continue to bring in outside instructors to allow you to
experience different styles.  The class was great and really showed
a connection between kenpo and tai chi.  Vicki was presented with a
Kenpo Karate Academy t-shirt at the end of class as a thank you for
her services.  We hope to bring her back in the future.  She does
teach tai chi classes at the Parks & Rec if anyone is interested.
   Schedule:  There will be NO CLASS Saturday, December 24th
Christmas Eve.  We will have class on December 31st however.  It
will be the last class of the year.
   The dojo has a new phone number: 229-AKKA (229-2552).  Also if
anyone has moved or gotten a new phone number please see Mr. Lammon
to update your student file.
   You still need to bring water to class.  Please have it in a spill
proof container.  Just because it's cold outside does not mean that
you can't get dehydrated.  Thank the Ramsey's for the cases of
bottled water.
   Business:  As mentioned in the November newsletter beginning
January 2006 the dojo will be using an outside source for our
financial business.  Again this includes collecting and processing
student membership fees, which will be on a quarterly basis (every
three months).  During the past year we've had several occasions
where checks have bounced, people have not paid until the end of the
month, and a few have been behind by several months.   Our purpose
for the dojo is to teach martial arts, it's not about making money.
However, we have yet to pay our landlord on time and the rent keeps
going up along with other operating costs such as utilities.  Part
of being a martial artist is being responsible and fulfilling your
obligations.  For us that means paying our rent and utilities on
time.  No one will be turned away for inability to pay but a few
people have taken advantage of the situation. If you are unable to
pay the quarterly fee all at once monthly financing will be
available.  Also since we will be using an outside source we will be
charging sales tax on any gear/equipment ordered and on the
membership fees.  This will be the breakdown (prices include sales
tax):
Individual Membership Fees: Family Membership Fees:
Monthly: $75.00  Family size     Monthly        Quarterly
Quarterly: $200.00 2         $125.00           $325.00
         		 3              $175.00           $475.00
Private Lessons  4              $250.00           $700.00
$100 per hour  5              $325.00           $925.00

   The quarterly single fee breaks down to $66 per month, $4 of which
will go for sales tax.  The family quarterly discount for 2 breaks
down to $108 per month, $7 of which will go for sales tax.  We will
also be going back to charging by size for uniforms.  Prices for
student uniforms are as follows:
Size  Price 	 Price
000-1    $25.00 	 Instructor Gis
2-3          $30.00 	 (black or white)
4-5          $35.00 	 $50
6-7          $40.00 	 $65

   Just a reminder that you can switch to a black gi at green belt.
We still will not be charging a testing fee, unlike most dojos.
These prices will be in effect beginning January 1st, 2006.  If you
have any questions or concerns please let us know.  We'll do what we
can to work with you.
   Equipment:  You can wear kung fu shoes during class this winter if
you choose as the hardwood floor is hard to keep warm.  All that we
ask is that you don't wear them outside to avoid tracking in dirt,
mud and snow.  They're under $10 a pair.  Tabi boots are also
allowed but they run around $50 a pair.  You may want to invest in
sparring gear also.  You will need it and be required to have it by
green belt.
   Kumite:  Sparring will be required at green belt level.  Again
this is not a full contact fight to knockout match.  It's designed
to get you thinking while moving.  The amount of contact will be
determined by each participant's rank, age, and experience.  You can
spar prior to green belt if you wish but you must have the required
safety gear and be a minimum of yellow belt.
   Upcoming Events:  We will be having our Christmas party on
December 22nd starting at 6:30 PM.  We will not have class that
night.  Everyone (both the kids class and basic class) is welcome to
attend.  As with our student appreciation day back in July the dojo
will provide food (if anyone has any food allergies please let us
know ASAP!!).  We will also be watching a movie, most likely Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles this time, which is rated PG.  Plan on the
party lasting until roughly 9 PM or so.
   As mentioned previously I'd like to host martial art camp this
summer (2006).  I've been making contacts with potential instructors
in various arts.  Right now I'm still only in the planning stages
but hope to have a three day event, like Friday, Saturday, and
Sunday.  Anything longer than three days would be difficult for
adult students to attend and younger students may get homesick.
Location is unknown right now but a possibility of having it at
either Richmond Lake or Mina Lake.  I'd like to have it close to the
area for logistical reasons.  I want to keep the cost down so I'm
considering opening up the martial art camp to other schools.  I
would like to hear everyone's input on this.  Let me know your
thoughts and what you'd like to see or do during the camp.
   Demo Team:  Do to a lack of interest and participation we are
going to cancel demo team meetings until further notice.
   Kobudo:  Just a reminder that we have a weapons class Saturday
morning at 11 AM.  We normally just don't have time for this type of
training during the regular classes.  You do need to be proficient
with at least one weapon prior to testing for black belt.
   If you got time check out our website:
http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/aberdeenkenpo/   Feel free to
add your thoughts just no spam or junk please.  Regarding a post on
the website by former instructor Lance Aeschliman I've gotten a few
questions.  The first question is if he will again be instructing.
No, Lance is not coming back to the dojo that I'm aware of.
   The second question is on our black belt promotion process.  Lance
and I both had understanding when we founded the dojo in December
2004 that we wanted to teach real martial arts.  We did not want to
water down the content to make it easy for people to obtain a black
belt.  I've seen schools that had out black belts to anyone as long
as they pay the testing fees.  There are many minimum requirements
which are outlined in the student manuals but I'm going to take it a
step further.  As I've mentioned many times before, all we are doing
is teaching concepts via techniques.  What we are looking for is a
good understanding and working knowledge of the concepts.  You have
to understand the concepts in order to really train in karate.
Being able to use force and violence to end a situation requires no
skill.  A white belt can use violence to win a fight.  A black belt
uses words.  A master does not need to use anything as he simply
avoids the possibility of a confrontation.  So don't worry about
having to fight for hours or have you faced smashed in to prove how
macho and tough you.  That's not to say that the black belt test
won't be tough, it will.  Again all I'm grading on is your
understanding of the concepts.  You don't have to master every punch
or kick and have every technique down perfect.  Maturity level,
attitude, and dedication to training are also a big parts of being a
black belt.  As Bill "Superfoot" Wallace wrote in an article for
Black Belt magazine in November 1998, "There are certain
responsibilities a black belt should strive to live up to.  A black
belt should be able to demonstrate and teach his art effectively.
That's part of wearing the rank.  He doesn't need to be a fighter-
some people are fighters and some are not.  Only approximately 5
percent of karate students have aspirations to compete.  Of all the
karate schools I've visited, I haven't seen one where the advanced
students were disrespectful or annoying.  The challenges of wearing
a black belt can be just as great as the challenges of earning one.
In the martial arts, the road to progress is never easy."
   Other News:  Noriyuki "Pat" Morita, who played Mr. Miyagi in the
Karate Kid, passed away November 24th, 2005.  The film changed
people's perceptions of the martial arts in North America and
Europe.  Prior to the Karate Kid movie most people though karate was
only about full contact fighting where participants end up bloody
and bruised.  The film, particularly Mr. Miyagi's view on martial
arts, helped show the public that martial arts were about self
development.  Because of this film parents started enrolling their
children in martial arts studios throughout the country.  The
underlying message the film embraced continues to influence students
and their parents even to this day.
   I'm in the process of printing and binding student manuals as we
speak.  They will contain material up to your current belt level.
We will be charging $15 per manual since the cost of producing the
manual is up there because the end product will be roughly 100
pages.  The fee will cover any future supplements.
   We hope to be able to offer the belt material on DVD sometime this
next year.  We're checking into various video transfer production
facilities to keep the cost down.  We hope to offer yellow and
orange belt on volume 1, purple and blue belt on volume 2, and green
and brown belt on volume 3.
   Because of your hard work and dedication the dojo has been here a
year now.  This time last year I didn't know if it would even make
it a month.  Thank you for your business and dedicated training.
Have a Merry Christmas, happy Chanukah, and a happy New Year!

From Associated Press:

Actor Pat Morita, whose portrayal of the wise and dry-witted Mr.
Miyagi in "The Karate Kid" earned him an Oscar nomination, has died.
He was 73.

Morita died Thursday at his home in Las Vegas of natural causes,
said his wife of 12 years, Evelyn. She said in a statement that her
husband, who first rose to fame with a role on "Happy Days,"
had "dedicated his entire life to acting and comedy."

In 1984, he appeared in the role that would define his career and
spawn countless affectionate imitations. As Kesuke Miyagi, the
mentor to Ralph Macchio's "Daniel-san," he taught karate while
trying to catch flies with chopsticks and offering such advice
as "wax on, wax off" to guide Daniel through chores to improve his
skills.

Morita said in a 1986 interview with The Associated Press he was
billed as Noriyuki "Pat" Morita in the film because producer Jerry
Weintraub wanted him to sound more ethnic. He said he used the
billing because it was "the only name my parents gave me."

He lost the 1984 best supporting actor award to Haing S. Ngor, who
appeared in "The Killing Fields."

For years, Morita played small and sometimes demeaning roles in such
films as "Thoroughly Modern Millie" and TV series such as "The Odd
Couple" and "Green Acres." His first breakthrough came with "Happy
Days," and he followed with his own brief series, "Mr. T and Tina."

"The Karate Kid," led to three sequels, the last of which,
1994's "The Next Karate Kid," paired him with a young Hilary Swank.

Morita was prolific outside of the "Karate Kid" series as well,
appearing in "Honeymoon in Vegas," "Spy Hard," "Even Cowgirls Get
the Blues" and "The Center of the World." He also provided the voice
for a character in the Disney movie "Mulan" in 1998.

Born in northern California on June 28, 1932, the son of migrant
fruit pickers, Morita spent most of his early years in the hospital
with spinal tuberculosis. He later recovered only to be sent to a
Japanese-American internment camp in Arizona during World War II.

"One day I was an invalid," he recalled in a 1989 AP interview. "The
next day I was public enemy No. 1 being escorted to an internment
camp by an FBI agent wearing a piece."

After the war, Morita's family tried to repair their finances by
operating a Sacramento restaurant. It was there that Morita first
tried his comedy on patrons.

Because prospects for a Japanese-American standup comic seemed poor,
Morita found steady work in computers at Aerojet General. But at age
30 he entered show business full time.

"Only in America could you get away with the kind of comedy I did,"
he commented. "If I tried it in Japan before the war, it would have
been considered blasphemy, and I would have ended in leg irons. "

Morita was to be buried at Palm Green Valley Mortuary and Cemetery.

He is survived by his wife and three daughters from a previous
marriage.

Happy Thanksgiving Day to everyone.  Just a reminder that there will
be NO class tonight.  We will have class Saturday morning as no one
will be testing.  Again have a good turkey day.  Gobble, gobble!!!

Mr. Lammon

As some of you may know I attended a PCR class and have become a
certified instructor.  So what exactly is PCR and how will it impact
training at the dojo?
   PCR is nothing more than a politically correct title given to a
style of fighting for the street.  It was developed over the course
of 10 years by US Navy SEAL Ken Good.  He saw a need to practical
hands on combatives that really worked with the least amount of
effort or time.  He started pulling from various martial arts to
develop this system.  PCR was developed for the militaty and law
enforcement.
   Some of you may have heard about PPCT (Pressure Point Control
Tactics).  PPCT is a good start but it's way different than PCR.  The
idea behind PPCT is very limited to the fact that if a techniques
doesn't work, it's not the technique that is bad, the person doing it
is not doing it properly (hard enough).  So the only advice from PPCT
is to strike harder.  IF it still doesn't work strike even harder.
You can see the probelm with this...excessive use of force.  PCR is
different.  It will flow very good with our training in kenpo.  PCR
is principal based just as kenpo is concept based.  You simply use
what is needed to end the confrontation.
   So what was training like?  In one word PAINFUL!  My instructor Mr
Jim King uses the Russain method of training.  Mr King was a US Army
Ranger then went on to Special Forces.  He got out of the Army and
began training in Russian Martial arts and training in Systema for 5
years with the Spetnaz (Russia's version of Green Berets or Navy
SEALs).  He was one of the best instructors I've come across in a
long time.  Training was 8 to 10 hours a day.  By the end of class
each day you could barely move but it was worth it.  It was great to
train with 15 other guys that were there to train and train hard.
They were motivated and dedicated.
   Many of the PT drills we will be incorporating into our warm ups.
Some of the other material will also be put in to the material where
we feel it fits best.
   This was not watered down typical DT.  For example we started
working with training knives then went onto real knives.  Yes real
knives that could cut you.  The movements don't change but the fact
that it's a real knife messes with your mind.  Firearm work was the
same way.
   Everyone got over any problem they had with hitting or getting
hit.  Full contact without any pads.  But it worked.  By the end of
the week no one hand any fear of taking a full power punch or
delivering a full power punch.
   I spoke with Jim King after class who lives in Missouri and he said
he'd be willing to come to Aberdeen for a seminar or for karate camp
next summer.  I think everyone will be able to learn a lot from him.
If he does end up coming I recommend having ice packs ready because
you will get black and blue and get some cuts.  I split my lip open
the first day.  It was painful training but it was worth it because
it was great and kicked butt!!

The following is from the brown belt portion of the student manual:

The American popularity of Asian martial arts may have caused some
considerable problems around the world.  Many instructors shake their
heads in disapproval when a child is said to have earned a black
belt.  Some people admit to having earned their black belt after only
a year or less of training.  Articles have appeared in many martial
arts magazines about children being state and national champions,
weapons experts, and even earning their black belt as young as age
six.  One child, a taekwondo student, was the Arkansas State Champion
five years in a row by age 12.  Are these children really that
talented or have the standards of the martial arts fallen to a lower
level?  Has the American influence on martial arts hurt more than
it's helped?
   The first large group of Westerners exposed to Asian culture were
American soldiers stationed overseas.  A large number of these
servicemen found an interest in Asian self defense.  When they began
to study self defense they were introduced to Asian instruction
methods, training discipline, class structure, and organizations.  As
Americans they were used to staying on their feet and fist-fighting.
The Asians used kicking, jumping and various hand techniques to fight.
   The US students could easily learnt he physical aspects of the
martial arts because the Asian teaching method relied simply on
mimicking the instructor and other students.  Repetition was the key
to learning in Asian marital arts.  In American schools the teacher
speaks while the students sit and listen.  A very clear understanding
of the English language is needed to learn in American schools.  This
is not the case in Asian dojos.
   Each student is allowed to progress at his or her own pace.  Unlike
American academic schools where children are grouped together in
classes and are passed from one grade to another, martial art
practitioners are allowed to advance at an individual rate.  The time
spent in training is just as important as the techniques learned.
Ancient teaching shows that with long practice and study came
maturity and wisdom.
   The concept of winner and loser, as in American sports, does not
exist is Asian martial arts.  The principle of right and wrong is not
used in dojos.  Students learn by example from the instructor.  If a
student can not properly perform a certain technique, they are not
doing it wrong.  The student is simply provided more time and
opportunity to perfect the technique.
   American sports require no more than a slight interest to
participate.  They are offered free at most schools.  Often, children
switch activities every few months.  Most of these have a couple
month long season.  All of these sports may be participated in during
a single year.  Many people try them to see which one they enjoy the
most and want to continue.  True martial art study, once started,
lasts an entire lifetime.  It's not designed to start at the
beginning of one month and stop at the end of the next.  It requires
year round training unlike most sports.
   Most American sports rely on teams.  Martial arts rely on the
individual, not a team, to excel.  While a teams main goal is winning
a game or a match, the goal in martial arts is to better oneself,
physically, mentally, and spiritually.  Unlike most sports that end
when you graduate high school you can continue your budo training
until you die.  You don't see too many professional athletes over age
40 still competing yet it is very common to see martial arts students
training well into their late 80s and early 90s.  Again this reflects
a different ideal of what perfection is.  Skill is great but there
are many other factors that make up a black belt or master.
   Almost all American sports require players to have some skill in
order to participate.  Martial arts are different.  The average
person with no training can practice and even people with
disabilities can still participate.  Very few other sports can make
such a claim.
   In Asian culture the reward comes from simply participating and
putting forth the effort to learn.  Asian training places the
greatest emphasis not on the participant's physical skills but on
such things as social interactions, how long each has participated,
wisdom, mature and responsible behavior, thoughtfulness, respect,
honor, discipline, control, and trust.  Individuals gifted
athletically are not rewarded anymore than the typical student.
Asian training awards students with advancement in rank, position,
respect, and responsibility that demonstrates their interest,
ability, behavior, and sincere commitment.
   American training is now made fun for children in order to maintain
interest for continued training.  Some students compete in
tournaments to win trophies, ribbons, and notoriety.  The cost to
operate a dojo is astounding and it requires escalating fees to
remain open.  Many people start training only to stop a short time
later.  Many instructors have changed the focus of the school to
maintaining student enrollment rather than maintaining proper focus
on the spiritual and emotional growth.  There is a lot of frustration
and struggle for students just to maintain regular class attendance.
Tournaments provide some quick rewards like trophies or ribbons to
keep students interested and motivated.
   In Asian society there is absolutely no social reward when physical
aggressiveness is used, even for children.  Asian society demands
that every individual must always do the right thing.  Westerners saw
this as a way of improving society back home.  They saw unconditional
respect and consideration that was based on time in training rather
than just physical achievement.  The most honored person in the dojo
was honored for his position, not for winning the most trophies.
   It is individual behavior that is rewarded.  The concept of winner
and loser does not exist.  The student simply does what they can do
and that is enough.  Students progress over time, dedication, and
sincerity.  It's very different from other sports that focus only on
winning.
   The focus of training in the US has changed from complete self
development to only self defense.  Some instructors are reducing the
intensity and seriousness of what they teach to keep high attendance
but this impacts the effectiveness of martial arts negatively.  It's
unacceptable to train people, many of whom are children, in
techniques that can result in serious bodily injury or even death
without training them mentally and spiritually to accept
responsibility for their actions and to have the discipline and moral
character to only use those skills as a last resort.  Further the
sport aspect of martial arts training in America has diminished the
respect once held for the black belt.  It has also given too many
practitioners a false sense of security when in reality their skills
would not protect them outside of the dojo.
   Everyone needs to be able to protect himself or herself in life
threatening situations.  People can be trained sufficiently in self
defense without becoming a black belt.  The path to earning a black
belt does not stop when a person gets to wear one.  It's a life long
journey that never ends.  True martial arts training is a way of
life.   As Master Gichin Funakoshi once said, "to win 100 victories
in 100 battles in not the highest skill.  To subdue the enemy without
fighting is the highest skill.  The ultimate aim of the art of karate
lies not in victory or defeat, but in the perfection of the
characters of its participants".

Some students might be asking your two instructors what it takes to become a black belt and what do you need to do for the testing.  Here is a little message from a Krav Maga school on what two people had to do for their black belts.

Here's the text:

"Since people were interested in black belt information, I wanted to post something on a black belt test we just gave.

Of the 6 or so people at the lace w:st="on">lacename w:st="on">Nationallacename> lacename w:st="on">Traininglacename> lacetype w:st="on">Centerlacetype>lace> currently working toward BB, two of them tested last Saturday.

Their test was about 5.5 hours long with only three 2-3 minute breaks. It covered everything from yellow belt up through black. Both of them did very well and showed great heart.

One of them came into the test with an injured shoulder. His arm was hanging down at his side in pain in the first 15 minutes of focus mitt work, but he kept going for the next 5 hours.

The other, a woman, took two round kicks to the leg from a man 100 pounds heavier than she, got dropped by them, and came back up both times fighting. (Some of us have taken kicks from someone 20-30 pounds heavier...can you imagine taking a kick from a proficient fighter who is double your weight?)

They made self defense against chokes, headlocks, bear hugs, full nelsons, tackles, take downs, and more. They defended against guns, knives, and sticks, including long guns, sub machine guns, and bayonet stabs. They made defenses against live attacks with sticks, including free work against multiple attacks when they did not know what attack was coming. They made defenses against knife attacks when the attacker was free to include punches, kicks, and knife attacks at will. They did work against knife attacks with the attacker using a real folder.

They did gun defenses under high stress with the attacker protecting the weapon and pushing, slapping, kicking; they had to absorb until a chance to defend presented itself; they were put under high stress with multiple gun threats requiring immediate responses from unpredictable angles with hand gun and long gun. They had to defend against hand gun while being restricted, held in headlocks, etc.

They had to make defenses against two attackers armed with a stick and knife, both rushing at the defender.

After about 5 hours of nonstop testing, they had to fight. They fought multiple rounds with each other until they were exhausted, then multiple rounds with a fresh fighter larger and more experienced than they. His job was to break them. Both of them got dropped (remember, they had been going for five hours and their opponent was totally fresh), but got back up and kept fighting.

After these rounds, they had to fight against two opponents. If they stopped, they got pounded. Rounds varied between 2-3 minutes, rest periods were only 30 seconds.

Black Belt is not about time in the system. It is about guts and heart and fighting through pain and exhaustion. It means, in the middle of high stress training, suddenly being asked to explain a principle of movement. It's about knowing before the test starts that you can't lift your injured left arm, and then fighting for 5 hours anyway. It's about getting clocked with a hard right cross from a man who outweighs you by 100 pounds, landing with a fall break and trying to kick his knee from the ground before he knows he's even hit you, then jumping back up and kicking him in the balls.

The people who tested on Saturday are black belts.">>

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

"A guy walks into a dojo and asks the instructor 'How long does it take for the average person to become a black belt?' The instructor replied simply 'Average people don't become black belts.'"

I think the last statement pretty much sums it up. 

Belt Promotions:  Testing was held October 29th.  Congratulations
to the following people on their promotions: Zack Bumpous, yellow
belt; Brandon Bumpous, yellow belt, Derek Johnson, yellow belt;
Athena Mouw, yellow belt; Shawnee Edge, yellow belt; Logan Ramsey,
orange belt; Casey Hundstad, orange belt.
   Please welcome new student Shawnee Edge to the dojo.  Also welcome
back Wayne Krysowaty and Athena Mouw to the dojo.  Good luck everyone
with your training.
   Schedule:  There will be NO CLASS November 24th because of
Thanksgiving Day.
   The dojo has a new phone number: 229-AKKA (229-2552).  Also if
anyone has moved or gotten a new phone number please see Mr. Lammon
to update your student file.
   Thanks again to everyone for being understanding while we remodel a
bit.  The changing room has new walls, ceiling, and light not to
mention much needed insulation.  Hopefully it will be much warmer in
there than it was last winter.  The same thing was done in the
instructor's room.
   You still need to bring water to class.  Please have it in a spill
proof container.  Just because it's starting to get cold outside does
not mean that you can't get dehydrated.  Thank the Ramsey's for the
cases of bottled water.
   Business:  Beginning January 2006 the dojo will be using an outside
source for our financial business.  This includes collecting and
processing student membership fees, which will be on a quarterly
basis.  We feel that this will allow us to focus more on teaching,
training, and coaching students in the martial way.  We also hope
this will allow the dojo to meet it's financial obligations (rent,
utilities, etc) on time from now on and give us an opportunity to
acquire more equipment.  We will continue to strive to offer the best
quality training in the area at a reasonable price although the cost
of running the dojo has gone up a lot over the past year.  More
details on these changes will be in the December newsletter.  If you
have any questions or concerns please let us know.
   Equipment:  Just a reminder that students are required to do board
breaks starting at green belt, which many of you are close.  You can
begin practicing any time after you become an orange belt.  Boards
used are #2 pine roughly 1"x12"x12".  The dojo will supply boards for
testing but it is your responsibility to provide your own boards for
practice.  If you are unable to get your own boards or get them cut
please speak with Mr. Lammon.
   Also starting at green belt students will be required to spar.  You
will need protective gear.  It can be either  cloth or foam dipped
vinyl, it's your preference.  You must have headgear, mouth guard,
shin/instep protection, hand guards, cup & supporter for males.  A
chest protector is optional but highly recommended for children and
those who have never sparred before.
   You can wear kung fu shoes during class this winter if you choose
as the floor is hard to keep warm.  All that we ask is that you don't
wear them outside to avoid tracking in dirt.  They're under $10 a
pair
   Upcoming Events:  We will tentatively be having our Christmas party
on December 22nd starting at 6:30 PM.  As with our student
appreciation day back in July the dojo will provide food.  We will
also be watching a movie, most likely Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
this time, which is rated PG.  I hope this date will work for
everyone.
   Feel free to add your thoughts or ideas on martial arts to this
site, just no spam or junk please.
   As always, thank you for your business, hard work, and dedicated
training.  Keep it up.

Effective Oct 18th the dojo has a new phone # 605-229-AKKA  (229-
2552). The old number will still be operational for a few more weeks.

Hi,

I'm gnostic and I would like show link beetween kung fu and
spirituality.

So, read this fabulous article:


An interview with Vernon Kitabu Turner
by Simeon Alev

WIE Magazine n°20

Source:http://www.wie.org/j15/turner.asp


TITLE : A MIND LIKE WATER


"Yeah, I know Vernon," said the voice on the other end of the line.

I was talking with Detective Willie Mills of the Portsmouth,
Virginia, police department's Crime Prevention Unit, a martial
artist and former student of the renowned jujitsu master C. O. Neal.
Until I'd managed to get Detective Mills on the phone, I'd been
batting zero. Now I was excited. Mills had witnessed, over twenty-
four years ago, the legendary public spectacle in which a fresh-
faced young poet named Vernon Kitabu Turner had accepted challenges
from top martial artists throughout the metropolitan region known as
Hampton Roads—and defeated each of them in a matter of seconds. And
even more amazing and mystifying than the haste with which Turner
had dispatched his dangerous opponents was the way he was alleged to
have done it: With one finger!



I apologized to Detective Mills for sounding skeptical. I'd already
spent a beautiful day visiting with the extraordinarily gentle
Turner in downtown Norfolk the week before, and trying to verify his
outrageous claims after the fact was making me feel vaguely guilty.

"You don't have to apologize to me," said Mills. "I'm a policeman. I
check everything out. I'd be checking him out if I were you."

I admitted I was having a difficult time visualizing Turner's one
finger technique.

"Have you ever seen someone get stabbed? It's hard to see what's
going on—kind of like two people dancing," Mills explained. "The
knife does all the work. It don't look like much—but it's very
detrimental."

"Oh," I said, still finding it hard to imagine Turner wreaking such
invisible havoc on his opponents, particularly since he himself had
told me that his victims feel no pain, sustain no injuries and never
inspire anything but love in his heart.

"Well," said the Detective, "Vernon does have an unusual skill.
Unusual—but not unheard of. It's called `a mind like water,' and if
you're just learning about all this for the first time, then you're
about to embark on a fascinating journey."

As I reflected on the day I'd spent with Vernon Turner, I realized
that it had indeed been only a beginning, and that for some
mysterious reason, Turner—not only his incredible feats but the man
himself—remained in some ways as much of an enigma after our meeting
as he had been before I'd flown to Virginia, half expecting to be
greeted at the airport by a larger-than-life hybrid of Kung Fu's
Kwai Chang Caine and Superman. If everything I'd read about him was
true, I'd mused that day on the plane, then Vernon Turner was indeed
the closest thing to an authentic superhero I was ever likely to
meet. . . .

Vernon Kitabu Turner was born in Portsmouth in 1948, and as he drove
me to my hotel from Norfolk Airport this past September, his
descriptions of the neighborhoods and landmarks passing by outside
my window recalled the trials and indignities of his boyhood in a
segregated South—"during a time," he reminded me later, "when black
people had no enforceable rights and our lives were cheap." It was
under these circumstances that he had vowed, at the age of nine, "to
become the protector of the weak," giving himself to the art of self-
defense "with no less devotion than the samurai of Japan." This was
a big decision for a bookish weakling who, because of his long,
unaccountable silences and a peculiar sense of detachment from his
own body, had always been considered "weird" by his family and
friends.

Turner was first introduced to the late Master Neal, who maintained
a dojo [martial arts school] in his neighborhood, when he was twelve
years old and something of a prodigy. Neal recognized the boy's
potential, but Turner chose not to study with him, maintaining
instead a close but informal relationship with the well-known
teacher while practicing on his own and devising workouts from the
ancient Japanese martial arts manuals he'd discovered at the public
library. (It was in one such text that he first learned of Bushido,
the way of inner cultivation.) Then, at the age of seventeen, after
having spent nearly two years in the hospital with tuberculosis,
Turner left Virginia for New York City where, armed only with the
phone number of a friend of his mother's, he began a new life in the
gang-ridden Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. Within weeks of
his arrival, he told me, he'd already begun to fulfill his childhood
promise, earning a reputation in the streets of an unfamiliar city
for his bold willingness to stand up to "practitioners of violence
and other forms of stupidity."

During his time in New York, Turner completed high school and
college and worked as a writer and editor, contributing his literary
and theatrical skills to the burgeoning Black Arts movement. He also
had several unusual and seemingly coincidental encounters with
itinerant spiritual teachers from the Near and Far East, the most
powerful of which was his fateful meeting with the Zen master Nomura
Roshi in 1967. In his book Soul Sword, Turner writes: "Family
problems triggered emotional conflict that gave me no peace. Then
one day after praying for guidance or relief, I was led by the
spirit within me to travel twenty-five miles to Greenwich Village. I
met a man, dressed in a kimono, sitting with folded hands on a bench
in Washington Square Park. The air around him was charged with
peace. I was in bliss in his presence."

Turner had been meditating, by his own estimation, since he was
three years old and had always felt isolated from others and unsure
of his place in the world because of his inward-directed and deeply
spiritual nature. In the presence of Nomura Roshi, who had just
arrived from Japan the day before, Turner received instant
confirmation of his own experience and promptly accepted him as his
teacher. "After being initiated into the way of zazen [meditation]
by the Master," he writes, "I continued to practice martial arts and
do shikantaza [formless meditation] as if there were no relationship
between the two. Imagine how surprised I was when one day as I sat
in meditation there was a melting away of barriers, a blaze of
light, and I immediately understood the secret of self-defense from
the inside out. There was no mystery. When I arose from my seat, I
felt as if everything was clear to me." With virtually no formal
training in the martial arts, the youthful Vernon Turner had
apparently—in "a blaze of light"—become a master.

I already knew the story's ending. Turner had spent the next several
months seeking out martial arts masters willing to put his
realization to the test—and meeting every challenge. Then, when he
returned to Virginia, his old friend Master Neal arranged a trial by
combat through the Board of United Dojo Organizations (BUDO), "a
council sanctioned by the highest-ranking sensei [teachers] and
masters in Hampton Roads." Turner was pitted against "seasoned black
belts, at one point against six black belts at the same time." At
the end of his ordeal, the council met. "Thanks to the graciousness
of the masters and the direction of my Inner Master, I made the leap
from no formal rank to black belt and fourth degree in Wa-Jitsu (The
Way of Accord) and Aikijutsu, and was awarded the Ronin (masterless
warrior) Award by the council." Soon after this, Turner had the most
decisive encounter of his life. He met his beloved Indian guru, Sant
Keshavadas, who recognized him as a spiritual teacher in his own
right and blessed his mission to "heal the African American soul."

As we continued to make our way downtown, I found myself becoming
more and more eager to begin our interview. My "traveler's mind" had
settled down, coming to rest on the challenging questions that had
brought me here. What was the "secret" that the soft-spoken man
sitting next to me had understood? Was it enlightenment? And if so,
what was its relationship to a mastery of self so consummate that
within days of his revelation he had been willing to submit it to
such a grueling series of ultimate tests?

As I recalled the superhero images that Turner's prose had inspired
in my mind, I also couldn't help but wonder how closely the
impeccable, divinely inspired warrior who had written his way into
my imagination would prove to resemble the flesh-and-blood human
being with whom I was about to spend the afternoon. For while I had
little doubt that Turner's epic journey was as authentic as it was
amazing, I could never entirely forget that I was in the presence of
a talented poet who, blessed with the heart of Odysseus and the
tongue of Homer, might have been tempted by the muse at every turn
to take part in the creation of his own legend.

The essence of Turner's attainment, as he himself describes it, is
the realization of "no-self," the experiential understanding that he
is "but an instrument, grass blown by the wind: the grass is taking
the bows but the wind is doing all the work." He is adamant in his
unwillingness to accept credit for his accomplishments—much as he
clearly enjoys talking about them—and relentless in his insistence
that his actions are solely manifestations of "the Spirit, the Lord
God, Ultimate Truth." And in fact, in the course of our short
journey together, I'd already developed the distinct impression that
there are two Vernon Kitabu Turners: one, a bemused and humble
observer of human nature, and the other—fleetingly revealed by the
sidelong glances I occasionally cast in his direction—a genuinely
powerful and far more mysterious presence that seems to transcend
the confines of any isolated human personality. Even when we were
face to face, I was to witness this extraordinary alternation
countless times, eventually with a frequency that made it all but
impossible to doubt Turner's assessment of his own experience. For
all of his vaunted ability, the force that animated this unusual man
appeared to be that of being itself or, as he preferred to call
it, "Not I." And for all of his many triumphs, the essence of his
victory appeared to be surrender to a power far greater than his
own. "The Unborn," he writes, "the mind like water, is real only to
those who can experience it as a living reality. To attempt to grasp
it as an intellectual concept is to murder it. . . . When I stand on
the mat rooted in the grace of this awesome experience and see my
opponents fly through the air and fall at my feet without conscious
effort on my part, when I feel my body rise and fall like the cosmic
breath, I am humbled by life. I realize that somehow, mysteriously,
I am a partaker of something greater than I can comprehend."

Turner is well aware, he told me, that the depth of his absorption
in the forces that guide the universe will probably never be more
than a bizarre and purely hypothetical notion to Westerners who view
self-mastery as the apotheosis of autonomy and control. "But this is
because," he says, "they fail to listen. If we allow it to be, there
is an indomitable spirit present within all of us or noone would
have it." And he is also aware that those who are impressed by his
feats in the ring would probably find his susceptibility to
spontaneous meditation more difficult to appreciate. "I'll give you
a recent example," he told me as, ensconced in my hotel room, we
were about to begin our interview. "I was sitting in Dunkin' Donuts
holding a cup of coffee, and when I looked up, there was a policeman
standing in front of me. So I said, `Yes, Officer? May I help you?'

"`Is everything okay?' he asked.

"`Well, yes,' I said. `What's wrong with drinking a cup of coffee?'

"`Nothing is wrong with drinking a cup of coffee,' he told me. `It's
just that you've been looking at that cup for the past eight hours.'

"I thought to myself, `Oh, my God. Eight hours have gone by. I'm in
a public place. People are working here. They've been watching me,
but I haven't been aware of them at all.' And then I said to
myself, `Vernon, you'd better be careful, because you're not in
Asia, where they understand these things. You're in the U.S. of A.—
where they definitely don't.'"

interview

WIE: What, in your view, is the relationship between enlightenment
and self-mastery?

Vernon Turner: Well, enlightenment is first of all coming to
understand that there is no self in the conventional sense. People
tend to think of the self as, "Well, I'm the guy who went to this
high school and had these parents, and I'm the guy who's got an
accounting degree, and I worked my way through it all and achieved
these things." Now that's purely an illusory self that we're talking
about. Enlightenment is coming to understand or experience that
there is no objective self—there is a being, but there's no
objective self—and it's in the process of letting go of that notion
that one experiences what one truly is in the universal sense.
That's when enlightenment comes—when you realize that you are not in
control. And because of that, you are very much in control.

WIE: And how would you distinguish that from self-mastery?

VT: Well, the difference may be more in terms of language than
reality because enlightenment is the opening up of the eye of
perception to the ultimate reality of existence itself. But on the
finite scale the application would be self-mastery. In the
enlightenment aspect of it there's no one there: There is no you to
operate as opposed to this person or that person; your experience is
complete, it's whole, it contains the cosmos. But when this
enlightenment expresses itself in form, as in walking down the
street, speaking and carrying oneself, then its light shines through
the eyes of a single entity, and that is when it is known as "self-
mastery."

WIE: Do you think that perhaps the distinction may also go deeper
than that? The reason I ask is because conventionally, self-mastery
is associated with the achievement of a powerful and overwhelmingly
positive sense of self, and certainly a very clear notion of oneself—
an identity—while enlightenment, even when it is manifested in the
world of time and space, is traditionally understood much as you
have described it: as the dissolution, or the transcendence, of any
separate sense of self, be it positive or negative.

VT: When an enlightened person is still, that's enlightenment, but
the moment they move, it becomes, as I said, self-mastery, because
the moment you move, you have to act in the world of particulars—you
have to walk, talk, work, do all these things. Now people who
observe your ability to function in this world are going to see you
in this heightened state of reality; they're going to see the way
you carry yourself and they're going to attribute extraordinary
things to you. The point is, though, that in enlightenment you
wouldn't necessarily attribute these things to yourself, and that's
the main difference. But also, the enlightenment experience doesn't
apply to anything in particular, whereas self-mastery can be divided
into certain fields. So you could have mastery in many different
fields, and yet, even with that mastery, not be enlightened in the
true sense.

WIE: Someone like Anthony Robbins might be an interesting example in
this context because what he teaches—theoretically anyway—would seem
to transcend the parameters of any particular field. We're talking
in this case about an individual who presents himself as, and who to
all appearances seems to be, the master of himself. And it would
seem to be the case that whatever he's got, whatever realization
he's had, covers very systematically every aspect of his life and,
as far as he's concerned, of life in general. That's more the kind
of mastery that I'm interested in trying to distinguish from
enlightenment. Would you say that someone like Anthony Robbins is
enlightened? Or is there an attainment that lies beyond the kind of
self-mastery that he has achieved?

VT: No, I would not say that's enlightenment. I would say that
Robbins has an uncanny ability to master through emulation, to model
that which already exists. It's like two people who play a musical
instrument: One has studied at Juilliard, but the other one has the
gift; he can just pick up the instrument and start playing. Of
course the other one can play too—he just picks up a sheet of music
and starts playing. Well, most people would say that the guy who got
his degree from Juilliard is a superior player because he's got his
degree. But in reality the person who gets his inspiration directly
from the source is the superior one because he doesn't get it in a
secondary way. We human beings have the ability to pick things up
from each other—we do that in the first grade, we do it from our
mother when we learn how to talk, and Dr. Shinichi Suzuki used the
same method when teaching children how to play violin. So Anthony
Robbins has learned what triggers that response, a like response,
and has been able to pass that secret on to a lot of people.

But enlightenment is not about being able to perform tricks like
that, you know? It's beyond that because it's all pervasive, and
it's beyond any particular ability because it encompasses all
abilities. From my point of view, everybody is playing the music,
everybody is building the houses, everybody is putting together
computers and all these things. They're all "me" in the first place—
I have all those abilities—even though they're not all "Vernon
Kitabu Turner." It's just that since I have many bodies, I don't
have to do all those things in this body because one body over here
is working on this part and another body over there is working on
that part, and I'm reaping the fruits of it because I'm sitting here
in a hotel that I did not personally build. But man built it. And
because man built it, yes, I did build it, because I'm man!—I mean,
who else could I be? So in that sense, enlightenment is the
wholeness of what we are; it's understanding and appreciating the
essence of what man is. There's a scripture that asks the
question, "What is man that thou art mindful of him?" In other
words, "What is man in his essential nature?" And the particular
expression of that would be, "What are you doing with this same
ability and power?" Well, I can feel that essence coming through you
in your work and appreciate and know it for what it really is—a part
of ourselves—and I can appreciate the same thing in another person
as something else. And when I express that essence, for me it is
being able to flow with everything, knowing that there is nothing
else but this, letting it flow through this body, act through this
body, be this body wholly without having to look to the left, look
to the right, ask permission from anybody because it's all me, and
I'm giving my whole self to it.

WIE: So practically speaking, the difference between the kind of
mastery that I've used Robbins to exemplify and the condition of an
enlightened individual would be—

VT: That the enlightened being encompasses all beings in one, while
mastery is focused only on the individual being. So if you're a
master flycaster, you know that I'm not getting any fish on my end
because I can't even get the fly to go on the water right. You have
mastered that body. But if I'm going to do that myself, I'm going to
have to apply myself as you have, learn the techniques that are
necessary to gain mastery over that particular field—or whatever
field.

WIE: No matter how total or comprehensive that field might be.

VT: Right, because even then we're still talking about mastering
that field and then applying it to a particular goal or a particular
life. Enlightenment is not a form of mastery in that sense, because
in order for there to be a form of mastery, there has to be someone
who's standing above it, and if you're already everything, then how
could you stand above it, you see? If you're already everything,
then why would you need mastery?

WIE: The martial arts, though, would also seem to represent a
particular form of mastery, and yet you've described them as a path
to enlightenment. What is it that makes the martial arts a path to
transcendence, or the experience of "no-self," rather than simply
another powerful means of developing one's strength, one's skill,
one's mastery or sense of personal accomplishment?

VT: It can be approached from both directions. The average person
who studies martial arts today, and even those in ancient periods,
did so because they wanted to have physical strength in order to be
able to subdue an enemy or protect themselves, or to have a sense of
personal power. And there was also the aspect of being aggressive or
warlike as a way of earning one's living, and in that case it was a
career. But then, on the other hand, you had the spiritual people.
People forget that Bodhidharma, the twenty-eighth patriarch of the
Buddha, was the one who introduced the foundation of what is known
as Shaolin Kung Fu today. On his way to China he became aware of the
dangers on the road from robbers who would try to attack him in
order to get the very important records that he carried. So he
meditated, and it was revealed to him to study the animals, and in
time he developed what came to be called the "Eighteen Movements of
Lo Han." And these Eighteen Movements evolved into Shaolin Kung Fu
and inspired many other martial arts after that. The idea was that a
person who is working for the good of humanity does not develop an
aggressive nature but a peaceful center, and his purpose is to
defend, not to attack—to defend his own body, to defend loved ones,
to defend those who are weaker than himself, and never to desire to
do harm even to the one who is attacking you, never to allow
yourself to become like the evil ones who would destroy you. It's
when you've developed that resolve that the spiritual path reveals
itself to you and begins to lead you in the right direction. You'll
say, "No, I will do no harm to others. I will not be a person who is
aggressive and violent. But neither will I sit here and watch
someone be destroyed when I know I should reach out and offer a
helping hand."

That's exactly what happened with me. When the bullies saw me
sitting under a tree or reading a book, for some reason they
couldn't stand that, and they'd come over and kick the book out of
my hand and fight me. I used to get beat up all the time. So one day
I initiated this prayer in which I said, "Teach me how to defend
myself." I'd read in the Bible that David was a great warrior and
there was a scripture, Psalm 144, that said: "Blessed be the Lord,
my strength, who teaches my fingers to fight and my hands to make
war." So I said, "I'm your son; teach me, too, and I will never
abuse it." Then I went out in the backyard and I began to work out
and practice, believing that I would be led into the right moves and
that I would come to understand. And the result of that was that
eventually the bullies couldn't defeat me anymore.

Now when you take that spiritual path, the action does not come from
you. I remember the first time I became aware that my body could
move but that I wasn't moving it because when a person threw a
punch, my hand blocked it and threw them, and I didn't even know
that move. And then as I began to let go more and more, I found out
that the mastery was already there; I just had to get out of the way
to let it emerge, to show itself. Pretty soon I was able to use this
as a platform to teach others about spirituality as a practical
reality. The Japanese call it "mushin"—the art of no-mind. That's
when there is no conscious attempt to act, and yet you move anyway,
when the action comes from such a deep place that there is no one to
take credit for it. The experience of this coexistence—of this
protection that is there within you—is very powerful, and it
reaffirms many of the ancient works and scriptures that say, "He who
is within you is greater than he who is in the world."

WIE: How exactly is it, though, that this spiritual approach to the
martial arts becomes a path to transcendence or enlightenment?

VT: Well, when you find out that you are faced with danger—when
you're thinking, "What am I gonna do?"—see what happens if you
say, "I'm not worried about it. I don't have to do anything. It'll
be done." See what happens if you clear your mind and allow yourself
to do exactly what is necessary, exactly what is correct. If you can
do that, then when it's all over with, you'll discover that you're
just there; you're an observer. And you'll discover that you've
observed more than you've actually participated—that you have
learned to still your mind so that the spirit can act. The spirit
does not deliberate, only the mind does, and this is what you'll
discover.

WIE: Traditionally I know it's said that from the enlightened
perspective, the minute you think you are the doer—the minute you
identify yourself as the one performing an action—in that moment you
become the very expression of ignorance itself. Yet even after
everything you've explained, I find it difficult not to suppose that
the mastery of a challenging discipline like a martial art requires
a strong sense of oneself as a powerful individual, a clear and
focused understanding of what one is doing, and the will and self-
confidence to prevail. Looked at in this way, of course, there seems
to be an inherent contradiction between enlightenment and the
mastery of a martial art. But your experience seems to suggest that
this simply isn't true.

VT: It isn't. It just depends on how the person approaches it. Most
people approach it on a finite level—as a physical or mental
ability. They develop their speed, their agility and their grace
through physical exertion, working out, all those things. These are
the people who come on like, "I'm the toughest guy in here. I can
take all of you guys on." But the person who approaches it from the
spiritual is humble, and if they were to come to him and talk that
way, he'd say, "You probably could; I can see that. Look at all
those muscles. Look at all that. Hey, you're too great for me." But
if they were to try to attack him, they wouldn't find anybody there
to attack—even though they're physically looking at the person! I've
been tested by seventh-degree black belts and other top masters, and
I've asked them to explain what they feel when they attack me. They
say, "It's like you're not there." They say, "I thought I had you,
but then you were gone!" This is because the movement comes from a
higher place and it knows what the other person is going to do. I
don't know what the other person is going to do—but when they try
it, they discover that it's counteracted. A lot of people say, "I
want to learn your technique; it's a wonderful technique." But I
say, "I don't have any techniques. Yes, you saw what appeared to be
a technique. But it's not a technique because I did not apply it.
What you need to learn is how to come from that place where all the
techniques already exist, and where the proper one will be there
when you need it." And I also try to teach people that there's a
difference between being a martial artist and being a warrior. A
martial artist is exactly what it says—a person who studies the arts
of war. But a warrior is the person himself. He doesn't have to have
a black belt to be a great warrior; he has the attitude of a
warrior, the spirit of a warrior. And he doesn't have to be a great
athlete either because he has the heart of a warrior, and the soul
of a warrior, so that when the time comes, when he faces danger, he
turns to steel and does what he has to do without fear. If you're a
martial artist twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, then
that's all you project and that's all you are. But if you're a
warrior—if you're a father when your child comes up, a husband when
your wife comes up, a friend when your buddy comes up—then you adapt
yourself to all of those different roles and yet none of those roles
are you. That's the kind of mind that when the battle starts, you're
ready. Because you're not holding on to anything, you have
everything at your disposal. That's how it works.

WIE: In your book Soul Sword, you describe yourself as having
been "a legendary defender of the weak" who "did not hesitate to
come to the rescue of victims of gangs or other practitioners of
violence."

VT: Yes, I kept that promise I'd made when I prayed to God as a
child. When I went up to New York in the sixties, it was completely
gang-ridden, and whenever anybody was being beaten up, I never
hesitated to get in the midst of the fight and take the person off
of them. You see, the thing about the spirit is that the spirit can
say things you would never say yourself because you know you
couldn't back them up—probably you'd never even think them. So when
the local gang made a circle around me in the basement of
Livingstone Baptist Church after I'd been in New York for just a
couple of weeks, I said, "How would you like me to handle this?
Would you like it one-on-one, or do you want the group plan?" Now
everybody's standing around thinking, "Boy, he's either got to be
very good, or he is crazy." Then this guy called Karate came in,
their warlord, of whom people said, "He's a killer; he's been in
jail for murder." I'd heard of Karate—his name was written on all
the buildings in graffiti—so this was one of those movie moments.
They were all saying, "He's the one, Karate! Kill him! Make an
example of him!" So Karate looks at me and says, "I'm going to kill
you." And I said, "Well, you may do that, but before you do, I'm
going to take so many pieces out of you that forever people are
going to know you were in a fight with Vernon." I looked at him and
he looked at me, and then he just came up and put his arms around
me. He made room at the table and said, "Get us some drinks!" He
made peace with me. He offered to give me a girl—I said, "No, thank
you." He offered to give me an apartment—you know, the gangs control
these things. "No," I said, "I have my own, but I really appreciate
the honor."

So they made me an honorary warlord and they never bothered me
again. Instead of them shooting me, instead of them making an
example of me, they honored me because in none of the fights that
I'd been in with any of those people did I ever gloat or anything. I
always helped them up and apologized, and told them that I had no
desire to hurt them but that they'd put me in a position that gave
me no choice. I always treated them as gentlemen, so they didn't
want to kill me. It was a winning experience, you see? Because they
respected me, and if anybody was to say, "Well what about this guy
who came in from out of town and beat all of you up?" they'd
say, "He's our warlord, he's one of us." But I wasn't no gang
member; it was a compromise.

WIE: What was the source of your confidence? Has it always been the
same, or did it change at some point?

VT: There's a difference between the source of my confidence,
period, and my confidence in my ability to defend. They began at
different times. I was born into a Christian family and we went to
church all the time—I mean, when the door opened we were in! And we
also had worship services in our house; before we went to bed we had
to have prayer and Bible study and all that—so I came from that kind
of a family. Now what I didn't come from was a family who sat in the
dark or under trees meditating, and no one could figure that out.
But in that meditation, in that stillness, I connected with the
source of life within me, and my relationship to that was direct, so
in that quietness and stillness I felt secure and whole, and when
people began to attack me, I had two feelings: One was that I knew
exactly what to do to stop the attack, and the second feeling was—
not wanting to hurt anybody. Anyway, every time someone was going to
hit me, I would know what was going to come, and I would also
know, "I could stop this."

But even with all that, I still didn't have the confidence to act.
It was only when I began to seek, and to realize, that I actually
got tired of getting beaten up, or tired of trying to stop a fight
and getting beaten up, because by then I had discovered the means to
ask God, "If you teach me, I will protect people." I'd heard about
the Kitty Genovese stabbing, in Queens, and that moved me. I was
only nine years old then, and I felt hurt that nobody who saw it had
tried to help her. That was what triggered me to seek to be strong
enough to come to the aid of anyone who was in trouble; I didn't
want to pass by a person in trouble, and I would rather die in the
struggle of trying to save them than walk away and die all my life
knowing I'd never even tried. So as I began to probe into this and
to practice, things began to change inside of me, and this was all
part of a grand experiment in which I wasn't the one experimenting,
I was simply putting together what had been there all along. See,
these things were taught—they were in the Bible—and when I went to
church I heard them all the time. What I began to understand was
that people didn't apply the teachings to themselves. They believed
that David could bring down Goliath but they didn't believe that
they could. But my feeling was that the same spirit that was with
David was also with me, and therefore to doubt that the spirit
worked for me was to insult the Creator. In my thinking, it was very
simple: If the Creator is in me also, then why am I looking at David?

WIE: You've written that a transformation in your martial arts
practice occurred sometime after you met the Zen master Nomura
Roshi, a transformation catalyzed by your initiation into the Zen
meditation practice known as shikantaza and, in particular, by a
powerful satori [awakening] you had while doing that practice. Did
the goal of your martial arts practice change in any substantial way
after this experience, or was it more or less the same as it had
always been?

VT: The goal of my practice didn't change because I had never wanted
to be a bully in the first place, and I had the ability to fight
before I had that experience in shikantaza. What happened, though,
is that it deepened. My early meditation had given me my own abode,
but I still needed something else, and when I met Nomura Roshi, I
suddenly became aware of something outside of me, something that was
beyond what I was experiencing, and I saw that I needed to take a
leap. I had built up walls around myself that needed to be broken
down, so for two years I practiced letting go, or dropping—dropping
body and mind. I remember that when I was sitting, I began to become
afraid at different times because I sensed I was dying. I was very
afraid. I said, "Oh, my God, I'm going to die, something is
happening to me, I'm going to die." But I was advised to go ahead
and die, so I decided to do just that. I said, "Well, the next time
this occurs, with the life I'm living now, I'm just going to let go.
I don't know what I'm doing here; what's it all about anyway? If I
die, then okay." So an initiation came through Nomura Roshi that
brought me into a new level. Before, I'd been more conscious of the
things that were happening. Now all of a sudden it became one with
me, and there was no "art" to be known as a separate experience. I
became the art, wherever I went and whatever I did.

WIE: After your realization, did you continue to practice forms?

VT: Yes, but when enlightenment hits, forms disappear; it becomes
formless. Even though what you're doing is a form, you don't cling
to it, and that's the difference. There are constant and endless
variations on the same theme as you come to master the principle—
that's the way of the spirit. You may have a principle there because
the body can only move but so many different ways; but once you've
mastered that principle, it's just water flowing through, and you're
not interpreting it, you're following it.

WIE: Before you had this experience in shikantaza, did you already
think of yourself as an individual who had "mastered himself"?

VT: I never thought of myself in those terms. In fact, it was only
when I met the Roshi that, being in his presence, I saw myself. And
I mean that literally. For the first time I experienced myself
because his being was like my being, and therefore it was like two-
way communication without a word being spoken. And in that way I
became defined, in a sense, because when I was a loner, there was no
one like me, and I had no way of knowing who I was. But when I saw
Nomura Roshi sitting there in the park, I could feel our
relationship, and all my questions being answered with no questions
being asked. Then I understood that I was functioning on a plane
that was different from the everyday plane that my friends and
associates were functioning on—and that was my salvation because now
my purpose was becoming clear. Before that, there was nobody to even
give me the hint of who I was or what I was doing. All those years
that I had been meditating, I had been sitting in shikantaza,
without ever knowing that such a word even existed.

WIE: One could say, then, that in that meeting, you actually
acquired a notion of self.

VT: Yes, but in a very different sense. "Self" with a capital "S."

WIE: In light of the discovery you've been describing, I'd like to
try to distinguish in a very specific way between the two
attainments we've been speaking about. It would seem that an
individual who has achieved an unusual degree of self-mastery—
perhaps we could again use the example of Anthony Robbins—tends to
demonstrate certain qualities: charisma, confidence, positivity,
creativity and a kind of dynamic freedom. He doesn't seem to be
limited in the way that many people are. But all of these qualities
seem to arise from the discovery—to use Robbins's words—of
one's "personal power": the individual has developed a very deep
conviction that could be articulated as "I Can." Enlightened
individuals often seem to express similar qualities, but their
source, you seem to be saying, lies in a different place—in the
discovery of being itself, in "I Am."

VT: Or "Not I."

WIE: Yes, that's true. "Not I."

VT: Well, then, too, you're talking about a difference in purpose.
Those who function in the capacity of a spiritual teacher, of
course, would be coming from "Not I" because they are speaking from
the fundamental source. But where Anthony Robbins is speaking from
is the point of reception—"I've got this. I'm using it." And that's
what he demonstrates. If there were music but nobody who believed
they could actually play it, we wouldn't have any music, because
even though music could theoretically exist, there'd be nobody with
enough confidence to pick up an instrument. So on this end when a
person wants to do something or achieve something and they don't
have any confidence, they run to Anthony Robbins and he tells
them, "You can achieve anything. If you believe in it, you can do
it. Who's your example? Who would you like to be like?" He's showing
them how to focus in order to get past their doubt and express
something.

Now that's different from dealing with humanity in its wholeness,
from trying to heal the soul of humanity. Because if you're honestly
concerned with humanity in its fundamental nature, then it's not you
as an individual who has the authority to speak on that; you have to
become the vessel through which that is transmitted. And that's why
there is this concept of "Not I," or "neti neti" ["not this, not
this"], or "I'm just an instrument." Because it really is that way:
You don't know these things, but the wisdom comes through you.
Similarly, when Sant Keshavadas held me in his arms, my bond wasn't
with him but through him. It was like God the Father holding me in
His arms, using the body of Sant Keshavadas in order for me to be
embraced by the same spirit I'd been listening to ever since I was a
baby. And now I do the same thing. When I open my arms for someone,
I don't open my arms so that they can be grabbed by Kitabu; I open
my arms so that God can hold them with my body—so that they can feel
Him, not me. In this way, Sant Keshavadas became the link that I
needed for the rest of the journey, the link that connects you to
the Higher—so that no matter what's going on down here, no matter
how hard the struggle gets on the bodily level, it doesn't matter.
You're linked, and you have a job to do, and you understand that
whatever it is that needs to be done can only be done by a human
being who is willing to be God's instrument in this world. You're
what the Buddha called "middle ground," precisely that point between
earth and heaven where you are both and neither. And that's how you
can help people: you can identify with their pain and suffering
because you have pain and suffering, and yet . . . you really don't
at all. There's a sense of having always been, of experiencing this
so-called "now" from a point in eternity, and experiencing the fact
that if we human beings are made in the likeness of the Creator—and
we are—then we are really reflections of that eternity. We may allow
ourselves to become cluttered with the impermanent, but when we
clean off the mirror and let it turn toward the eternal, then we
realize that although we walk around in these physical shells, we're
not bound to them.

WIE: In your view, is it possible for these two fundamentally
different orientations toward life, "I Can" and "I Am," to coexist
within a single individual?

VT: Well, they do all the time. For example, some of the greatest
spiritual masters write books, and when they sit down to write those
books, they have confidence in their ability to translate their
experience into a publishable work that people can read and
understand and enjoy. So it's coming through them—as a conduit—but
at the same time, if it doesn't become personal, it has no reality
base; it's just talk. So when they can say, "I had this experience,
I know," then we see that it's actually possible for something that
is universal to be experienced by an individual being. And as we
listen to these people talk about their transformation, it begins to
take place in us. It becomes real. It's no longer something beyond
the cosmos that's happening totally unrelated to anybody in
particular.

WIE: I understand. But I was speaking more in terms of the
individual's fundamental relationship to life. Is my relationship to
life based on "my ability to do something"—in other words, "I Can"—
or is it based on the recognition that, "prior to anything I do or
say, I exist, and that what's being expressed through me is the fact
that I exist—I Am"? It's clear from what you've just said that these
two relationships to life do, practically speaking, coexist, but
much of what you've said also seems to suggest that on a very
fundamental level, one may at some point find oneself having to
choose between them. This is not to say that action would then be
excluded from one's repertoire, but that where one stands—where one
locates the essence of one's being—is something that needs to be
decided because what one's life is actually going to express depends
upon it. Does this kind of decision accord with your own experience?

VT: Yes, in the sense that if you get even a hint of what
enlightenment is, you'll give up everything for it. Because
everything that isn't enlightenment is vanishing all the time. At
this very moment there's hardly ground beneath our feet, and what
ground there is, is vanishing as we speak. People think they're
awake when they're walking around in the street, but actually
they're asleep then, too. Awakening is when you see through it all—
the dream when you're asleep and the one when you're "awake." Then
you understand that the viewpoint we have of ourselves is based on a
misconception—that because we perceive our personal experience as
the ultimate reality when in fact it's not, we don't approach life
as we should. That's why we need enlightenment to straighten us out.

Now of course I'm not saying that you and I don't exist, or that
your experience has no reality. It's not the molecules and the atoms
that are going to go away, but the delusion in your mind. The
molecules and the atoms will remain as hard or as soft, as light or
as dark as they always were. But how you see them will be different.

WIE: Let's speak for a moment about surrender, which is
traditionally thought to mean the giving up of control, whereas
mastery is generally associated with the cultivation of perfect
control—even more so, generally speaking, in the martial arts, where
winning clearly involves asserting one's own will over the will of
one's opponent. What is the role of surrender in a practice that
seems to be oriented almost inevitably toward the visible
demonstration of mastery and control?

VT: In a state of surrender, you're not attacking, but neither are
you defending, because the action does not take place from your
consciousness. On our own scale, we may look upon someone who does
the Lord's bidding as a murderous person, but on the higher level
where it's all played out, we are sometimes instruments, and if you
are the Lord's instrument, you are not striking, which means not
that you're merely saying you're not striking—you really aren't. You
are not moving, but your body moves anyway, and things definitely
happen. So when people say, "That was great, that was a wonderful
move," you say, "Well, I cannot take credit for that. It wasn't me."

WIE: Could someone be an instrument of evil and be said to be
surrendered?

VT: Yes, in the sense that if a person is an instrument of evil,
then they've surrendered to evil. And if we're talking about the
mastery of a particular art, or a skill that comes totally under the
control of that person's ego, I suppose that's possible. But if
we're talking about spiritual mastery, that's a misnomer in a way
because spiritual mastery makes you an instrument of the Divine, and
you could not use it to do what God would not do. Your mastery takes
the form of a servant—you reach out to people, you love people, you
try to help transform them; you work with them, not against them—and
you would never do anything to harm anybody because you can't make a
distinction between them and you, not even if they're bad. It's all
you because it's all one. If you were to attempt to harm someone, it
would pain you as much as it would them because you would feel their
pain, and you wouldn't want them to suffer. So it would have to be
taken out of your hands, because you'd let yourself get annihilated
rather than bring harm to another.

WIE: Is that what is known as the "warrior ethic"?

VT: Yes. In Bushido, the word "bu" means to cease struggling—it
means that there is no one to struggle against. Now, not all
warriors embrace this ideal at the highest level, but at the highest
level it's said that the true master of the sword carries no sword.
It isn't needed, because he's the weapon. His weapon is his
continence, his stillness. His enlightenment is really something
that is not of this plane at all, and for that reason it's not
something that people can easily recognize. People can recognize
mastery, because mastery manifests on the physical plane, but people
generally don't beat a path to an enlightened person's doorstep
unless they are spiritually seeking. There are enlightened people in
the world today, but most of them don't have a highway coming to
their house because most people are looking for things in this
world, and when they see somebody who seems to know how to get these
things, they're very interested. But an enlightened person is really
not that interested in this world, and in a sense the enlightened
person draws people away from the world, not into it. You see, as
long as you want to be in the world, and of the world, you can't
really be enlightened because the demands are different. In mastery,
you have to focus body and mind, and in enlightenment, you've got to
let go of them.

Now the "letting go" we're talking about here is a letting go of all
those preconceived concepts and limitations that frame our mind into
a channel that repeats itself over and over again and keeps us from
experiencing ourselves holistically. When people hear the
word "surrender," they sometimes say, "Oh, if I do that, I'll have
no mind!" Well, if you have no mind, you have the right mind. And
it's not so much that there is no mind as that there is no
preconceived concept, no defining mind, nothing there to know what
mind is. It still works, though. It's still functioning. It's just
that the mind that's functioning is no longer obtruding on its own
self. Then if you do something extraordinary, someone may
ask, "How'd you do that?" and you'll say, "How'd I do what? What'd I
do?" They'll want you to explain, but you'll know that that's a
different kind of monster you'd be creating; you'd be using your
mind to create "yourself" when in fact you are yourself without
having to do anything at all. It's like the mirror reflecting the
mirror: you see an infinite number of images, but there's really
only one—and it's not in any mirror! That's what we've been doing
with our mind. We don't really know the true state of our being
because we've been reflecting upon reflections that are reflections
of other reflections. When we can remove all those, there'll be
nothing but what is real.

WIE: When did you begin accepting challenges?

VT: When my first book of poetry, Kung Fu: The Master, came out in
1975, the martial arts were beginning to become quite popular, but
they were always being emphasized as a violent sport. And whenever I
would do talk shows, people would ask me, because of the title, "Do
you do martial arts?" I'd say, "Yes, I do," and then the host would
say, "Could we get a demonstration?" "A demonstration? A poet
demonstrating martial arts?"—that was their idea! So I began to do
more and more of these demonstrations, but for only one reason: to
point out the unlimited freedom and power of the spiritual way, of
the Zen way. Then some people started talking in the martial arts
world: "Is this a joke, is he a charlatan, is this for real?" So I
said, "It's not me that they're attacking, it's the truth, so I'll
tell you what: I'll accept any challengers, day or night, twenty-
four hours a day." And then I started getting them!

I accepted those challenges. I allowed people who were at the master
level to challenge me, to bring me into their schools to test me; I
accepted challenges on television, I even went to prisons. A local
newspaper, the Virginia Pilot, sponsored an event at the public
arena—a night of poetry and "defense of the title"—in which I took
on every challenger from every martial arts school that chose to
attend, and all of them were defeated. I even allowed myself to be
blindfolded! But only to demonstrate one thing—what I'd been telling
them all along—It isn't me! I'm not that good! But when Zen taps the
spirit within, then all things become possible. So what I was trying
to show them was the potential that lies within us, not trying to
say that I'm that great.

Still, you walk down the street and people say, "See him? He's the
deadliest guy in Hampton Roads." I say, "No, don't say that. Please
don't say I'm dangerous. I'm not dangerous." There are a lot of
martial artists who are more terrifying—fancy techniques and all
that kind of stuff. That's not what I represent. I go to a school; I
see somebody with all the fancy techniques and everything. I praise
them. And I say, "Strike me, hit me, kick me." Then I knock 'em down
with one finger. They say, "Well, how'd you do that?" I say, "Now
you're asking the right question! Tell me, what did you feel when I
struck you?" They say, "Nothing." I say, "Well, if you felt nothing,
then why did you fall?" "I don't know." "Why didn't you resist?" "I
couldn't resist." I say, "Well then, that should answer your
question. It wasn't coming from my physical body, otherwise you
would have felt a blow." That's what I try to point out to
them: "No, it's not from my physical body. Were you just pretending?
Were you just trying to make me look good? Did you just fall on
purpose?" "No!" I've thrown policemen around in demonstrations,
three-hundred-pound policemen, with one finger. This is something
that is real.

I've often wondered how a person who was a ninety-pound weakling
could have become so associated with the martial identity. I've
tried to draw it aside and could never do it because no one lets me.
And I think this relates back to the karma of my own people. Sant
Keshavadas told me, "Your mission is in America, and especially to
black Americans who could benefit from learning about the dharma."
You see, centuries of enslavement are also centuries of distortion
of the mind, and a misperception of self even more profound than
that which occurs in other people because of these extraordinary
circumstances. The most terrible thing that happened to the African
American male was the loss of his sense of manhood. Every man wants
to feel like he's strong enough to take care of his family, to
defend his honor, to protect his loved ones. If called to go to war,
every man wants to be a warrior. Nobody wants to be a wimp. But when
it has been bred into you through psychological and legalistic means
that you cannot raise your hand, you cannot defend yourself, that
you have no right to any kind of power, then although that natural
sense of manhood is still there, it becomes suppressed, and it can
become self-hatred; you hate yourself for never acting on it, and
you're scared because you feel surrounded by a power that you
believe to be only in other people. Well, one of my ancestors was
Nat Turner, and Nat Turner was a mystic as well as a warrior. His
prayers and meditations prepared him for his battle. I had a
visitation from him. I saw him standing in flames with chains on,
and I said, "What's wrong with you?" He said, "My people have
forgotten me." And I said, will not forget you."

So before I can be a guru, I must first be a man. Let me express
this manhood before other men, so they can see that inner light and
respect me for that—then they can take in the rest. But to have a
priest who is himself a wimp is not real; it doesn't go deep
enough. "Turn the other cheek" means nothing at all if the other guy
can slap you around at will. It only means something when you're so
strong that you're gonna have to turn it for them to get to it—you
just allow them, you see what I'm saying?

So what I've come to understand is that this warrior aspect is not
something that I personally want; it is something that is necessary
in the healing of the African American soul; it's a part of genuine
manhood. And you cannot separate manhood from the spiritual part,
you see, because we've always had adversaries. There are angels in
the scriptures who choose to make war because if they just stood
there, the other guys would own the place. They have to say, "No,
you're not coming any farther than here because we're gonna stop
you." So you have the bad angel and you have the guardian angel, and
the guardian angel has to be stronger than the other guy; otherwise
he can't guard you. What good is a guardian angel if, when the bad
ones show up, they punch him out and get you anyway? You want to be
able to hide behind the guardian angel! So that's what we're talking
about—being an angel—and implied in that angelic nature is the
strength to defend the children of the Divine.

Some of you may notice changes to the techniques for each belt
level.  We are doing this for several reasons.
   First, the higher belt material builds on the lower belt material.
Therefore there are certain techniques and concepts that you must
learn as a student before you can learn a more advanced technique that
relies on that concept.  You can not build a building without a good
solid foundation.  You can't become a black belt without a good solid
foundation either.
   Second, some of the material fits better at a different belt level.
Therefore some of the techniques are simply getting reorganized.
   We will be adding some techniques.  Again this is not meant to draw
out the time it takes to learn the material but there are certain
things that you just need to know by black belt.  As our upper ranked
students have noticed each belt level focuses on a certain concept.
Yellow and orange cover the basics.  Purple covers takedowns.  Blue
covers gound fighting and grappling.  Green covers weapons.  Brown
covers CQB and multiple attackers.
   As mentioned numerous times in class here you will earn your black
belt.  But when you do get promoted to 1st dan you will be a true
black belt.  I'm not about to just had out black belts to people to
keep people happy or to say I turn out X number of black belts a year
like typical shopping mall martial arts studios do.
   To put this into perspective...I've been studying martial arts for
over 15 years and I'm still only a 2nd degree black belt.  Mr. Holland
has been studying for over 7 years and is still a brown belt.
   For our new students you will not even notice the changes.  Again I
hope to have a student manual to everyone that whats one by the end of
the year.  Small changes like this keep coming up.  But that is the
nature of kenpo...it keeps changing with the times.