Dear Students, Teachers and Parents,

I want to congratulate everyone that attended the tournament this last
weekend. Sorry I was unable to attend but heard everyone did great.

Mark your calendars! Our black belt weekend is coming up May 9th and
10th. Friday night several of our students will be testing for black
belt
or their higher levels of black belt. This will take place at
Timberview
middle school. The following day we will be hosting a seminar with
some
greats in the karate world. Currently scheduled are Shihan Johnson – 2
time world champion in Jujitsu, Kyoshi Dan Kennedy – one of our
nations
top weapons masters in the country, Kyoshi Roger Greene – one of the
countries top competitors and coaches in sport karate for over 30
years,
and Kyoshi Raymond Montoya – Kyoshi Bryan's senior student and one of
the
top arnis instructors and police instructors in the country. Don't
miss
this opportunity to train with these top master instructors.
Saturday evening we will have our famous black belt dinner. A nice
meal,
awards presentation, and a chance to meet and greet our guests from
around the country.
To sign up for the dinner or seminar, please see your Sensei or talk
to
Mary Britton. I am hoping to be released from doctor's care by then,
and
hope to see you there.

On a personal note: after several years of being together, Diana and I
made it official and got married this week. Please feel free to
congratulate her, (I think) or at least give her a hard time when you
see
her.

Lesson Of The Week

The 4 D's of Success

In a recent conversation with one of my black belts, we were
discussing
why it seems that the demographics of the modern martial artist seems
to
indicate a higher level of success than the average person. Maybe it
is
learning the art of goal setting, or maybe it's the combat strategies
within the arts, but whatever the method it does seem that black belts
tend to be more successful in reaching their person, family and
business
goals than the average civilian.
As I look at the success qualities of my senior black belts, whether
it
was in the competition arena or their personal lives, I tend to see
the
same qualities come to bear over and over again. The 4 D's of success
seem to be – desire, decision, discipline and determination.

The first quality is desire. Without a passion, a person will only
strive
so far in any endeavor. To put in the time and energy to be successful
requires one to want it bad, to have a burning desire to achieve
success.
This one quality separates the gold medal winners from everyone else.

The second quality is decision. Many people today are frozen with
indecision, never knowing what is the right course of action so they
do
nothing. One thing we have learned in self-defense … do something! It
is
always better to do something than to do nothing at all. The
sophisticated warrior takes time to look at all the information, then
makes a decision and takes action without delay.

The third quality is discipline. Most of us know what is the right and
true thing to do in most situations, but the one quality of discipline
separates those that put that knowledge into action and those that
follow
the easy path. It is easy to quit and much harder to endure what it
takes
to reach success, but the real successful person knows that discipline
and delayed gratification are the hallmark of long-term success.

The 4th and final quality is determination. The highest quality in
self-defense is the ability to settle for nothing less than victory.
There is no second place in a life and death situation and determining
ahead of time to do whatever it takes to survive is the foundation of
success. To decide in advance to never quit till success has been
achieved is a quality understood by all successful warriors.

The 4 D's are imperative in the martial arts and other areas of ones
life. The 4 D's are the foundation of black belt excellence.

Till next week.

Respectfully,
Terry Bryan

Helping empower people to achieve more through classical martial arts
training and
success principles education.
www.Street-Wise.org