Dear Students, Teachers and Friends,

We have a tournament in Denver on February 21st. Anyone interested
in attending please see your instructor.

I am scheduling some training times for senior students and
instructors that want to personally train with me in Classical
Chinese forms and Wu Shu. Please contact me at Kyoshibryan@...
if you want more info.

A couple of up coming events to put on your calendar is the Pikes
Peak Tournament to be held here in Colorado Springs on March 13th
and our black belt testing and training camp to be held on April
16th and 17th. We have a great group of master instructors lined up
for training and many of our senior black belts from around the
country are flying in.

One of the new divisions we are going to be able to compete in is
Chanbara where competitors are able to spar with padded swords and
protective gear. This event is a lot of fun and we will be having a
seminar on Feb 14th at 11:00 at the Bijou school. The seminar is
free to Master Club, Leadership or Deshi members, $25 for everyone
else.

Quotes of the Week

BESSIE STANLEY (ADAPTED; ERRONEOUSLY ATTRIBUTED TO RALPH WALDO
EMERSON):
Success
To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of
children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal
of false friends;
To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a
garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded.
BILL COSBY:
A word to the wise ain't necessary, it's the stupid ones who need
the advice.

Lesson of the Week

The Law of the Farm

In the martial arts it is often quoted that respect must be given
before it is received. This is why great care is given towards
teaching student's protocol, etiquette and courtesy in and out of
the school. This process is a two way street as one must have self-
respect before truly respecting others. As we train in discipline,
self-respect and respect for others seems to grow together.

I recently heard Zig Ziglar say the same thing but with different
words. He calls it the law of the farm and basically it uses the
analogy of the farming and harvesting his crops. It is understood on
the farm that you plant the seeds in the spring, nurture your crop
during the summer and then reap the rewards of a harvest in the
fall. This basic knowledge doesn't quite understand those people
that expect to be rewarded before the work is done or things to
simply be given to them. That is just not the Tao, or the way things
work.

The martial arts, like farming were handed down from father to son
consisting of ageless principles. Only the tried and true methods
were handed down, insuring a good crop or success on the
battlefield. The true value of this knowledge handed down meant the
difference between life and death, and was not treated lightly. The
ultimate respect and true honor was given to the teachers that
passed on this information to their students. Even today, choosing a
teacher or mentor to teach you what to do in the spring time or
during the planning phase is a very important decision and should
not be taken lightly.

In real life, you must give before you get. Anything of true value
is earned and then it is appreciated. The path of success begins
with an idea of what you want and what needs to be done to get
there. Next you put it in writing and plan all the details with a
timeline. Then you do the work or create the action. Only through
this process is success inevitable. Farmers have understood this for
centuries. Only in modern society do we need to remind ourselves the
proper path or course of black belt excellence.

Respectfully,
Terry Bryan