Dear Students, Parents and Teachers,

I have included a couple of articles that I have received from a
couple of sources in this weeks newsletter, but will put them at the
end for those not wishing to read them. The first is an article is
actually a link to an article on Jeremy Glick, a fellow black belt
that lead the assault against the terrorist that ended up crashing
the plane that was headed for Washington. Jeremy had trained in a few
arts, and was a National champion in Judo. I also received a letter
written by the former Department Head for the History Department at
the Air Force Academy from Regan Salamander, who is currently
stationed in Okinawa.

We are working on the schedule and the downstairs of the dojo top be
ready to start having classes in Tai Chi, Shaolin Kung Fu and modern
Wu Shu, in addition to our karate classes. I appreciate all you help
in getting the word out that Master Gu Ping is here and ready to
teach. This is the first time this quality of Chinese arts is going
to be taught in Colorado, and we need to help him build his classes
so that he can afford to bring over his wife and child within the
next year or so. Next week I will have flyers and a final schedule so
you can pass it on to those interested.

It looks like our annual black belt graduation is going to have to be
relocated from the Air Force Academy due to security reasons. We are
currently looking at Liberty High School.

Our Lesson of the Week -The Pre-emptive Counter Attack – Be Active
not Reactive

The civilian is a reactor. Every time he experiences a stimulus, his
thoughts and behaviors run down the same old course. This reactivity
makes him predictable, weak and ineffective. By reacting to his
predicament he is the one being controlled – he is a victim not a
warrior. Reactivity intensifies conflict and builds resistance. When
two reactive individuals meet, the spiral of conflict increases as
each reacts to the other.
The warrior on the other hand, looks at each conflict with new eyes.
He learns from the past but does not give it more significance than
it deserves. Do not live in the past, fight today's fight today. A
true warrior does not act on impulse, but uses the time between
stimulus and response to develop the best strategy and tactics for
this situation. One needs to observe his reaction to given
situations. Do you respond the same way each time? Are you
predictable?

The key to transcending reactivity is Zanshin. Question both stimulus
and response. Calm down, relax. Time and patience are great warrior
strategies. Choose wisely which fights to fight, and which to
abandon.

Stephen Covey identifies being proactive as the first habit to
develop for highly successful people. In the Art of War, Sun Tzu
stated that the greatest general is not one that wins 100 battles in
100 conflicts, but the one that controls the environment so well that
a war never breaks out is a great one. In sport karate we talk about
techniques in reference to when we dealt with them. Go No Sen is
reacting after the technique has been launched at us. Sen No Sen is a
technique that counters an attack at the exact same time the
technique is thrown. Sen – Sen No Sen is a technique that nullifies a
technique before it is ever thrown. Average people react to
situations. Warriors with black belt excellence, create the world
around them by using their most powerful weapon, their mind. By
knowing what reactions each behavior will bring, allows this
individual to create their future based on their own script.


Story of Jeremy Glick

Please reads story at: http://www.msnbc.com/news/632626.asp#BODY



Letter From Lt Col Kern:

Attached is a short, historical perspective on the years to come,
authored by a retired professor of military history. Please read and
pass along.
Subject: Historical Perspective

Dear friends and fellow Americans 14 September, 2001
Like everyone else in this great country, I am reeling from last
week's
attack on our sovereignty. But unlike some, I am not reeling from
surprise.
As a career soldier and a student and teacher of military history, I
have a
different perspective and I think you should hear it. This war will
be won
or lost by the American citizens, not diplomats, politicians or
soldiers.
Let me briefly explain.
In spite of what the media, and even our own government is telling
us, this
act was not committed by a group of mentally deranged fanatics. To
dismiss
them as such would be among the gravest of mistakes. This attack was
committed by a ferocious, intelligent and dedicated adversary. Don't
take
this the wrong way. I don't admire these men and I deplore their
tactics,
but I respect their capabilities. The many parallels that have been
made
with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor are apropos. Not only
because it
was a brilliant sneak attack against a complacent America, but also
because
we may well be pulling our new adversaries out of caves 30 years
after we
think this war is over, just like my father's generation had to do
with the
formidable Japanese in the years following WW II.
These men hate the United States with all of their being, and we must
not
underestimate the power of their moral commitment. Napoleon, perhaps
the
world's greatest combination of soldier and statesman, stated "the
moral is
to the physical as three is to one." Patton thought the Frenchman
underestimated its importance and said moral conviction was five
times more
important in battle than physical strength. Our enemies are willing -
better
said anxious -- to give their lives for their cause. How committed
are we
America? And for how long?
In addition to demonstrating great moral conviction, the recent
attack
demonstrated a mastery of some of the basic fundamentals of warfare
taught
to most military officers worldwide, namely simplicity, security and
surprise. When I first heard rumors that some of these men may have
been
trained at our own Air War College, it made perfect sense to me. This
was
not a random act of violence, and we can expect the same sort of
military
competence to be displayed in the battle to come. This war will
escalate,
with a good portion of it happening right here in the good ol' U.S.
of A.
These men will not go easily into the night. They do not fear us. We
must
not fear them.
In spite of our overwhelming conventional strength as the world's
only
"superpower" (a truly silly term), we are the underdog in this fight.
As you
listen to the carefully scripted rhetoric designed to prepare us for
the
march for war, please realize that America is not equipped or
seriously
trained for the battle ahead. To be certain, our soldiers are much
better
than the enemy, and we have some excellent "counter-terrorist"
organizations, but they are mostly trained for hostage rescues,
airfield
seizures, or the occasional "body snatch," (which may come in handy).
We
will be fighting a war of annihilation, because if their early
efforts are
any indication, our enemy is ready and willing to die to the last
man.
Eradicating the enemy will be costly and time consuming. They have
already
deployed their forces in as many as 20 countries, and are likely
living the
lives of everyday citizens. Simply put, our soldiers will be tasked
with a !
search and destroy mission on multiple foreign landscapes, and the
public
must be patient and supportive until the strategy and tactics can be
worked
out.
For the most part, our military is still in the process of redefining
itself
and presided over by men and women who grew up with - and were
promoted
because they excelled in - Cold War doctrine, strategy and tactics.
This
will not be linear warfare, there will be no clear "centers of
gravity" to
strike with high technology weapons. Our vast technological edge will
certainly be helpful, but it will not be decisive. Perhaps the
perfect
metaphor for the coming battle was introduced by the terrorists
themselves
aboard the hijacked aircraft -- this will be a knife fight, and it
will be
won or lost by the ingenuity and will of citizens and soldiers, not
by
software or smart bombs. We must also be patient with our military
leaders.
Unlike Americans who are eager to put this messy time behind us, our
adversaries have time on their side, and they will use it. They plan
to
fight a battle of attrition, hoping to drag the battle out until the
American public loses its will to fight. This might be difficult to
believe
in this euphoric time of flag waving and patriotism, but it is
generally
acknowledged that America lacks the stomach for a long fight. We need
only
look as far back as Vietnam, when North Vietnamese General Vo Nguyen
Giap
(also a military history teacher) defeated the United States of
America
without ever winning a major tactical battle. American soldiers who
marched
to war cheered on by flag waving Americans in 1965 were reviled and
spat
upon less than three years later when they returned. Although we hope
that
Usama Bin Laden is no Giap, he is certain to understand and employ
the
concept. We can expect not only large doses of pain like the recent
attacks,
but! also less audacious "sand in the gears" tactics, ranging from
livestock
infestations to attacks at water supplies and power distribution
facilities.
These attacks are designed to hit us in our "comfort zone" forcing
the
average American to "pay more and play less" and eventually eroding
our
resolve. But it can only work if we let it.
It is clear to me that the will of the American citizenry - you and
I - is
the center of gravity the enemy has targeted. It will be the fulcrum
upon
which victory or defeat will turn. He believes us to be soft,
impatient, and
self-centered. He may be right, but if so, we must change. The
Prussian
general Carl von Clausewitz, (the most often quoted and least read
military
theorist in history), says that there is a "remarkable trinity of
war" that
is composed of the (1) will of the people, (2) the political
leadership of
the government, and (3) the chance and probability that plays out on
the
field of battle, in that order. Every American citizen was in the
crosshairs
of last Tuesday's attack, not just those that were unfortunate enough
to be
in the World Trade Center or Pentagon. The will of the American
people will
decide this war. If we are to win, it will be because we have what it
takes
to persevere through a few more hits, learn from our! mistakes,
improvise,
and adapt. If we can do that, we will eventually prevail.
Everyone I've talked to In the past few days has shared a common
frustration, saying in one form or another "I just wish I could do
something!" You are already doing it. Just keep faith in America, and
continue to support your President and military, and the outcome is
certain.
If we fail to do so, the outcome is equally certain.
God Bless America
Dr. Tony Kern, Lt Col, USAF (Ret)
Former Director of Military History, USAF Academy


Till Next Week,
Terry Bryan, Kyoshi