Dear Students, Teachers and Parents,

The week day Tai Chi classes will be held on Wednesdays not Tuesdays
as previously mentioned. Classes will be held on Wednesday 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 232-1882 or e-mail jwader@....

New location! ABBA has partnered up with Kyoshi Larry Lamz of the
Institute of Martial Arts and will be opening a martial arts center
at 2304 E. Bijou. This location will help us serve our customers
closer to the center of the city. We are hoping to have classes
beginning some time in July!

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

The Tamashii of the Mongudai

Tamashii is the Japanese word for indomitable spirit, the ability of
using persistence to achieve your goals in the face of tremendous
opposition. A great example of this attitude is found in the story of
the Mongudai, Genghis Khan's special operations team.

The Mongudai were born in a battle against the Karaites over 800
years ago. It seems the Karaites had mustered a force of over 30,000
solders and were rapidly approaching Genghis Khan's band of only 3000
horsemen and their families. Restricted from movement because of
having women and children with them, they used a variety of
strategies and tactics in order to stay just out of the reach of this
overwhelming opposition. Eventually they found themselves face to
face with an enemy that outnumbered them ten to one.

Genghis Khan, a veteran of many battles, understood the severity of
the situation, and called a meeting with his troops. He asked for
volunteers who would be willing to sacrifice their lives for the
other Mongols. He picked 50 of these volunteers and explained their
mission to them: "You will filter through the front lines of the
enemy and attack the main body of the enemy of over 20,000 soldiers.
None of you are to be taken prisoner, none of you will return. You
will strike at the enemy until the last of you falls in battle."

This small band of warriors made their way through the front lines
and did attack the main body of the Karaite. Thinking that this
attack was a spearhead of a much larger force, the Karaite responded
by sending over 10,000 of their forces to repel the attack. The
Mongudai were eventually destroyed but not before cutting down over
1000 of the Karaite troops. Their action however, allowed the rest of
the Mongols to escape.

This victory lead Genghis Khan to create special teams called the
Mongudai that were the epitome of true Tamashii. They possessed the
ability to dedicate themselves to victory no matter what the odds may
be.

I have personally witnessed this attitude during my 36 months in
Southeast Asia during the Viet Nam war. I can assure you that I am
alive today because dead men kept fighting. This self-sacrifice and
dedication to one's buddies, no matter what the cost is as alive
today in the modern military as it was on the battlefields a thousand
years ago.

I see this same attitude present in the youth of this country today.
It is true, that the tactics to survive the streets of the modern
world is much different than on the battlefield, but the attribute of
having an indomitable spirit is very much the same. As I look into
the eyes of our young students, I see this same spark of energy. This
Tamashii is evident in many of their actions. This attitude is
evident when they demonstrate their willingness to go to the aid of
their friends and help them during troubled times, even if it just to
have some one to talk to. It's in their ability to set goals and
achieve them, in the face of overwhelming negative peer pressure.
It's demonstrated by their attitude on the dojo floor as they give it
their all trying to master a new skill.

Unlike a lot of naysayers that see the society falling apart, I see a
bright future for this country because of the strengths of our youth.
They are spiritually strong, ethically driven and possess the one
quality that will insure their future, Tamashii – an indomitable
spirit.

Respectfully,
Terry Bryan