Dear Students, Teachers and Friends,

The Pikes Peak Karate Championships will be held on November 22nd at
Coronado High School. See your Sensei for a registration form. There
are individual and team divisions at the tournament. This is open to
all our students. We also have a sign up sheet at the schools if you
want to help with score keeping or time keeping.

Quotes of the Week
AFRICAN PROVERB:
It takes a village to raise a child.
MARK TWAIN:
Always do right--this will gratify some and astonish the rest.

Lesson of the Week

This week's lesson comes from Jhoon Rhee, the Father of American
Taekwondo. Master Rhee came to this country in the early 50's and
was the teacher of my first instructor. I feel his work on the
qualities of a champion is very good.

The "Seven Qualities of a Champion" encapsulates Grandmaster Jhoon
Rhee's personal philosophy about the keys to happiness, which, he
believes, are created when we transform our highest ideals,
thoughts, and emotions into physical action. Martial arts are an
educational tool to discipline and unite the mind and body. Martial
arts training develops seven basic physical qualities that can be
transformed into corresponding human emotions that, over time, will
create positive human qualities that will become engrained in our
character.

Master Rhee originally presented the full text of "Seven Qualities"
at a Tools for Achievement seminar in Greenbelt, Maryland, on
September 21, 1995. Below is a condensed version of that original
presentation.

Knowing the purpose of life is to find happiness, and the basis for
happy living is a healthy body. Knowledge in the mind, honesty in
the heart, and strength in the body build true confidence. If our
lives embrace these three basic human qualities, we will never bear
the twin burdens of regret for the things that we did in our lives
but know in our hearts that we should not have done and those things
we should have done but we did not do. If we develop this way of
living, nothing will ever bother us again.

A true human being is an educator not by words alone but by serving
as an example to others. The purpose of knowledge is to take action
from good habits. The martial arts are an action philosophy, and the
soul of martial arts is discipline. An individual without discipline
is like a piece of steel without carbon or a tree cut off from its
root.

Generally, there are seven basic physical qualities developed
through martial arts training. These physical qualities can easily
be transformed into their corresponding human emotions, and over
time, these emotions will create positive human qualities that
become ingrained as part of our character. These seven qualities of
a champion are:

1. Quickness, Alertness, and Market Change Awareness

Mind and body must be synchronized so that thought and the resultant
action becomes virtually one. In today's fast-paced business
environment, deferring action on a decision made today until
tomorrow often means a lost opportunity.

2. Endurance, Perseverance, and Persistence

Just as development in the martial arts requires long hours of
practice, success in life often requires perseverance. Research has
shown that 80 percent of sales are made on the fourth or fifth
approach to a customer, and only 20 percent are made on the first,
second, or third sales attempt.

3. Timing, Punctuality, and Delivery on Time

The discipline to respect our own use of time is one way to develop
self-respect, the first step toward respect for others. Being
punctual is the first basis for success in business; it is one of
the major building blocks upon which our business reputation is
built.

4. Power, Knowledge, and Financial Strength

Knowledge and wisdom are built by listening to reason and
conscience. Knowledge and wisdom are like power a student develops
through practice in the martial arts: constant exercise of our
abilities leads to success and happiness.

5. Balance, Rationality, and Balancing Supply & Demand

A balance of wisdom, good character, and health are essential to
build a rational and productive life. If our words and actions are
at odds, we introduce irrationality and instability into our lives
and society.

6. Flexibility, Gentleness, and Adaptability

Gentleness goes hand-in-hand with flexibility, the ability to adjust
and respond naturally to whatever circumstances and events we may
encounter in life. Like water, if we learn to yield to others, we
can learn to work together to build a better world of truth, beauty,
and love that leads to happiness.

7. Posture, Honesty, and Business Integrity

Honesty and posture derive from balanced beauty in mind and body.
The posture of integrity in business is an important key to success.

The purpose of knowledge is to take action. A great source of human
energy results when we set our minds on a specific goal and set out
to accomplish it. Energy follows thought like a heat-seeking
missile. The determination to succeed will immediately be followed
by the energy to succeed. Success breeds more success.


Thanks for the advice Master Rhee. Until next week.

Respectfully,
Terry Bryan