Dear Students, Teachers and Friends,

World Cup Jamaica:
We took 12 competitors to the World Cup and brought home 10 medals…
not bad. Results follow:
Terry Bryan – Gold Medal Sparring, Gold Medal Kata, Bronze Medal
Weapons
Diana Bryan- Bronze Medal Kata
Jennifer Yi – Silver Medal Weapons, Bronze Kata
Rebecka Barrowclough – Bronze Medal Weapons
Brett Dawson – Gold Medal Kata
Deanna Wells – Bronze Medal Kata
Virpi Matson – Bronze Medal Sparring

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

EPICTETUS:
First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have
to do.
J.R.R.TOLKIEN:
It will not do to leave a live dragon out of your plans if you live
near one.
The Hobbit

THOMAS ALVA EDISON:
Being busy does not always mean real work. The object of all work is
production or accomplishment and to either of these ends there must
be forethought, system, planning, intelligence, and honest purpose,
as well as perspiration. Seeming to do is not doing.
Lesson of the Week

Kamae – The Fighting Posture

Martial arts tactics dictate that the time of when you respond to a
situation has a direct correlation to the success rate of the
outcome. In other words, dealing with a situation when it is a small
problem takes less work and insures victory at a small cost of time,
energy and resources. Waiting until a situation grows into a large
problem automatically means it will cost more to resolve and with a
lesser chance of success.

Sun Tzu stated that the greatest general was not one that wins 100
battles in 100 encounters, but one that controls a situation so well
that war never breaks out in the first place. This is indeed the
number one goal for all serious martial artists and we avoid
conflict if at all possible. However, we also understand the
principles of self-defense and must be prepared in case we are ever
attacked.

A kamae is a fighting posture used to protect yourself and to
dictate where you will be attacked if you are attacked. For example,
if you engage in a fight and your hands are down, then you will
probably be attacked towards the head. If you have your hands down
because you do not know better, then this could be a serious
mistake. If however, you are using this tactic to bait your opponent
to attack high because you have a counter waiting, then this can be
a very useful strategy.

Understanding the use of postures in your life increases your
chances of understanding what is truly going on in any situation and
allows you to protect yourself as you move forward in life towards
your goals. I was once told that an average pool player thinks about
how to make their next shot while a good player thinks about where
to leave the ball after the shot to insure successful shooting of a
couple of more shots. The expert sees the table and can tell you how
each shot is going to be made for the entire game.

In life, postures are communicated through physical, mental and
spiritual ways and once you begin to see that you are in complete
control of the postures and behaviors that you perform, and
therefore are in direct control of other people's actions. You
postures dictate what comes into your life and sets the groundwork
for your future success. This is why successful and positive people
surround themselves with other successful and positive people. This
is the path to black belt excellence.

Respectfully,
Terry Bryan