Dear Students, Teachers and Parents,

Tai chi classes will begin this week for anyone interested in
attending. Classes will be held on Tuesdays at noon and Saturday
mornings at 8:00 am. Tai Chi is a martial arts form that is performed
very slowly and is known for its health benefits.

Grandmaster Kise, a 10th degree black belt from Okinawa, is coming to
Colorado Springs and Kyoshi Ader is hosting a seminar at Sabin Middle
School on the 12th of June and all students at ABBA are invited to
attend. Kids will train from 6-7 pm and adults will train from 7:30-
9:00. Cost is $10 for kids and $20 for adults. I hope you get a
chance to attend and help celebrate Grandmaster Kise's 50-year
anniversary of teaching the martial arts. For more information
contact Kyoshi Ader at 232-0190 or e-mail jwader@....

Mark your calendars – Saturday July 5th we will be hosting a training
camp up in Crystal Park. Training in the morning, a cookout at the
clubhouse at noon and then a mountain hike in the afternoon for those
interested. A $20 charge will cover the training, clubhouse fee and
food. No extra charge for the clean air and beautiful view.

Lesson Of The Week

Heiho – Strategy

This week we saw many of our students and their friends graduate from
high school and look forward to the next stage of their lives. Some
are going away to college, some the military and others starting a
career. We hope that their martial arts training will give them an
edge and ensure all the successes they could ever dream of in the
future. I am reminded of what someone told me years ago and that it
was not about the amount of knowledge that you have with you when you
graduate, but the ability to find the knowledge when you need it.

All great accomplishments began with a person's simple thought and
became a reality when this idea was combined with strategy of how
that thought could become a reality. While it is commonly stated that
knowledge is power; that is not totally true. It is the combination
of specific knowledge with plans of action that leads to all great
successes in life. For example, knowing all the moves does not make
you a great martial artist, but the ability to apply these tactics in
a self-defense situation that leads to victory.

The ability to think about what you would like to see happen and then
create an action plan to ensure that it has the best chance for
success is one of the most powerful concepts a person can ever learn.
Heiho, or strategic planning, is designed to save you an enormous
amount of time and energy as you move forward towards your goals. In
the business world, the purpose of corporate strategic planning is to
increase return on equity, making a profit with minimum costs. The
purpose of personal planning is return on energy, or accomplishing
maximum results with minimum energy. Weekly and daily planning,
prioritize and take action on the most important tasks is important
in this process. In karate, this term is known as chinkuchi – maximum
efficiency with minimum energy.

There are numerous responses available in any given situation, but in
classic martial arts theory, there exists one perfect solution, which
will generate the best response with the minimum energy. As we learn
the art of heiho or strategy, we get better and better at choosing
the best response in any situation.

For those members of our karate family that are leaving us to venture
out into the real world, I hope you take this martial arts concepts
of strategy with you and are able to see how these principles can be
a guide as you make life choices in the future. This is key towards
the path of black belt excellence.

Respectfully,
Terry Bryan