Dear Students, Teachers and Parents,

Congratulations to all those that tested and earned a new belt rank
this weekend. Everyone looked great.

Remember that we are having a sai seminar next Saturday at 1:00.
Please let us know if you are planning on attending.

The Friendship tournament is going to be held in Denver on Sunday the
3rd of February. To get a registration form, please talk to your
Sensei.

We are also going to host a seminar taught by Howard High on the 2nd
of February from 3:00-5:00 pm on Kenjitsu or the art of the Samurai
swords man. Seminar fee will be $30 and limited space is available.
Please call Mary to register.

Lesson of the Week

Understanding the Postures

I have learned that the true essence of Okinawan karate is in
understanding the Kamaii, or the fighting postures of the kata. In
fact, I have come to believe this is true of all classical martial
arts and life itself. Learning to read postures, understand their
intent and being proactive in their use is the mark of a true warrior.

In western thinking, we believe that when a person has self-
confidence, his posture changes and he projects that confidence in
the way he sits, stands and walks. In Eastern thought, if a person
improves his posture in sitting, standing and walking, his self-
confidence improves. Whatever your school of thought, there is a
direct correlation between posture and self-confidence. Seasoned
opponents recognize this and many time will avoid a conflict with a
person that exerts a confident posture.

To understand postures is to understand the truth. The warrior is in
constant pursuit of the truth, not as things seem to be. He
understands the ways of deception and how a cleaver opponent uses
them. Hiding the real and concealing the truth is a cleaver tactic.
In the animal word, they show false strength by posturing. Humans
show false strength with exaggerated postures and overblown words.

Showing false strength is a bluff, and works at times in the natural
world – like a blowfish or a bear standing up on two legs. In the
word of man however, this tactic can have some significant
weaknesses. First, it is relying on the opponent's sense of
rationality. This is a gamble, and may actually trigger the attack
you are trying to prevent.

Showing false weakness, on the other hand, is a more effective
tactic. Lao Tzu said, " Pretend inferiority and encourage his
arrogance." This is the demeanor of the Chinese master that appears
to be old and slow, but in reality is agile and powerful. This tactic
can be used to pull an opponent in. Birds do this by pretending to
have a broken wing, to pull intruders away from their nests. If you
intentionally show a weakness, you have a high probability of knowing
what your opponent is going to do, which gives you a tremendous
advantage.

It is said that the stalk of rice with the most fruit bows the
lowest. The warrior that has the most confidence in his abilities to
fight, is usually the most humble person you will ever meet.
Successful people set high goals but take their accomplishments with
a grain of salt and give credit to others.

Respectfully,
Terry Bryan, Kyoshi