Dear Students, Teachers, Parents and Friends,

Hope everyone had a great 4th of July. Many people do not appreciate
this country until they live somewhere else for a while. I hope you
took the time to celebrate living in this great country.

Belt testing is scheduled for next Saturday beginning at 9:00 am.
Please make sure you have all your stripes and have pre-registered
so we can assure we have your new belt on hand.

To all children and parents of children: We are pleased to announce
that Jennifer Yi will be coming on board to teach the children's
programs at the north school. Jennifer previously ran a very
successful kids program for years at the north school and it is
great to see her come back on staff.

The 2304 Bijou location is now open. Please excuse the mess as we
remodel, but renovations should be completed within a couple of
weeks. For more information, contact Sensei Derik at 390-0200.

Please register for the Colorado State Games as soon as possible if
you are planning on competing or volunteering to help. The event is
going to take place at Coronado High School on the 2nd of August and
I think we are having opening ceremonies on Friday night with all
the other athletes from the other sports.

Lesson Of The Week

The Warrior's Vision

There is an old saying that goes something like this," It is not
what you don't know that hurts, its what you don't know that you
don't know that gets you in real trouble." In the martial arts we
have what is known as "Omote" or surface teachings. These are the
basic fundamentals that all students learn and only after a student
has shown the proper attitude, discipline and respect does a Sensei
begin sharing the Okuden or the hidden knowledge within a system.
This holding back of knowledge is an age-old method of sharing the
priceless gift of the martial arts to those he deems best to pass it
on to the next generation.

Each of us limits our abilities by living our lives not as we
should, but as we perceive that we should. We do not see the world
as it is, but as we think it is. The Sensei's job in the martial
arts is to open a student's eyes to the true potential they have
within them. The philosophy at the American Black Belt Academy is
that we challenge a student, guide them with positive reinforcement
and in this manner they slowly begin achieving successes they never
dreamed of. Most of my senior black belts came in to learn a little
self-defense and then slowly set higher and higher goals, and ended
up becoming senior teachers.

I recently was reminded of a story about a rancher in Australia that
entered a 200 kilometer race. As the old man, in his 60's at the
time, showed up to run in his bib overalls and glossers, the media
thought that this would make good entertainment and began
interviewing him. They asked him how he trained and what made him
think that a local rancher could compete with world-class runners.
He simply said that on his station he didn't use horses to gather up
his cattle, but instead simply ran.

Well the old rancher went on to win the race but that's not all – he
beat the record by a day and a half. You see everyone else knew that
the way you run this type of marathon was to run 16 hours, rest 8
and then continue. Well they forgot to tell the old man that he was
supposed to stop and rest and although he was not really that fast,
he just kept going. The next year, his record was beat again,
because now everyone else had a different understanding of reality.

We all see the world as we think we should. Our beliefs about
certain things are established by what other people tell us and we
tell ourselves. It is only by using positive self-talk and truly
believing in ones unlimited potential that we are able to bridge
from living a common life of those that set their goals and limits
based on "omote" thinking. The ultimate Okuden, or hidden secret, is
to believe in yourself and to know that anything is possible once
you put the power of the mind to work.

Dream big dreams, set specific goals, develop a written plan, and
then take action with the mind-set of never stopping until you have
reached your goal. This is the backbone of black belt excellence,
and the key to success for the modern warrior.



Respectfully,
Terry Bryan