Dear Students, Teachers and Friends,

I am sending this letter out early as I will be out of the country
this weekend.

Akemashite Omedetou Gozaimasu – "Congratulations on the beginning or
Happy New Year". I hope everyone is looking forward to a great year
and has done their strategic planning and goal setting to insure
that it will happen.

Come and join Kyoshi Bryan and start the year off right with a New
Years day training class. Open to all students, the class will be
held at the Central dojo location and will run from 9:00-10:30.
Starting the year off with a good strong spirited workout is a
traditional concept handed down for generations in the martial arts
world. The central dojo is located at 2304 East Bijou, across the
street from the old Montgomery Wards building.

Next Belt test is the 17th of January. North school testing will
begin at 9:00 am and testing at the Bijou location will start at
11:00. The Leadership Seminar will be on Thai Boxing and will be
held at the Bijou location from 1:00 -2:00 on the 17th. This seminar
is open to all Leadership students.

Quotes of the Week

ABRAHAM LINCOLN:
The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present.
The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with
the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew.
ALAN COHEN:
It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly
secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is
no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and
exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is
power.
AMERICAN PROVERB:
It doesn't work to leap a twenty-foot chasm in two ten-foot jumps.
Lesson of the Week

Tamashii – Indomitable Spirit

In Japanese Tamashii translates as "Indomitable Sprit' and is the
real essence of the character of a true warrior. To accept ones God
given place on this earth and to proceed down ones path in life
based on your true principles, it is imperative that one does not
let anyone or anything prevent them from achieving their objectives.
This attitude is reflected in the warriors of old where duty and
loyalty dictated they did their best in battle, even if they knew
they would eventually die that day. This attitude to take on a
problem, enemy or task with the mental attitude of never giving up
is imperative to become successful at anything. Great achievements
are accomplished many times after several defeats or learning
experiences, and what separates the winners from the losers is the
attitude of trying your best and of never giving up.

Martial artists train their mind, body and spirit to understand the
way of Tamashii. We learn to turn our back to thoughts of failure
and to eliminate negative words such as "I can't" completely out of
our vocabulary. Instead we focus on words like how, or thoughts
about which tactics would help us reach our objectives quicker.
Slowly you will see the transformation in the nonverbal
communication… the body language where the self-confidence and
discipline shines through as the charisma of a confident and yet not
cocky warrior.

I hope each of you take on the new year with a renewed sense of
focus and confidence, knowing that as long as you don't quit
anything is achievable. Nothing is a problem, only a challenge
designed for you to sharpen your winning tactics on. If you
internalize the feelings of Tamashii in your life, you will find
that you will be able to accomplish more in a short period of time
than most people do in their entire lifetime.

Respectfully,
Terry Bryan