Students, Teachers, Friends and Parents,

The first Saturday of every month is belt testing, so no regular
classes will be held for our Kempo program. One month will be testing
for the main school and the next month will be testing for the clubs.
Saturday February 2nd will be club testing.

Sensei Barrowclough is continuing the Plum Blossom Saber training on
Sunday evenings at 6 pm. Those that are interested please talk to her
or Mary.

Howard High is coming here from Kansas City to do a seminar for us
next weekend. Friday night from 6-8 he will be teaching two WKF
forms – Sepai and Jion. This seminar is open to brown and black belts
only. On Saturday from 3 – 5 he will teach a class on the samurai
sword. This is open to anyone and the cost is $30 to help cover his
expenses.

On Saturday February 2nd from 1 – 2:30, we will be having black belt
pre-testing. This is open to all brown belts and mandatory for anyone
wishing to test this May.

On Sunday Feruary 3rd some of us will be going to Gary Tsutsui's
tournament in Denver. Good luck to all our competitors.

If you are interested in our ski trip coming up February 9th please
talk to Mary.

We will also be doing a demo at the City Auditorium for the Chinese
Culture Center as they celebrate the Chinese New Year. This will be
on February 17th and we have tickets on sale at the main dojo.

Sensei Richardson is teaching a Tonfa seminar on the 23rd of
February. See Mary for details.


Lesson of the Week

The Wisdom of the Crane

"The crane's beak is long and pointed, a stabbing weapon useful for
self-defense. She is calm and poised, balanced and disciplined. When
attacked, she knows she cannot meet force with force. She therefore
controls the fight by yielding, until an opening appears, then
counters immediately." - Fred Absher – Kojosho Kempo

Calm, balanced and disciplined – what better attributes could you
want in a fighter? The crane is a master of angles. She has learned
to wait till the last second and then by making a slight movement or
shifting of the body, the stronger and more aggressive attacker
simply throws himself off balance. A tremendous amount of mental
practice is necessary to remain calm as a serious attack is
approaching, and yet not physically reacting too soon is the key to
success. There is a saying that an attack of 1000 pounds can be
redirected by an ounce of energy, if you use proper angles and
timing. Learning to redirect a superior force with minimum energy,
as well as optimizing effectiveness of its strikes based upon proper
angles and points of attack is the key strategy of the crane
stylists. She knows that the best defense is "Don't be there", and
has developed that strategy into a fine science. The crane has the
ability to stand on one leg for hours at a time while she stays
motionless and totally aware of her surroundings.

As we try and figure how this attribute of balance applies to a
person, we first learn that in order to be in balance, one needs to
know where the center is. Physically, the center of balance is
located two inches below the belly button. Most classical martial
arts spend a great amount of time working on kuzushi, or breaking
your opponents balance.

Each of us must learn to create balance in all areas of our lives and
not focus too much on any one area. Balance between work and rest,
family and business, as well as the correct amount of time spent on
mental, spiritual and physical training is absolutely necessary to
maintain balance.

Mentally, the center is based on your true values. Once a person has
identified what he/she feels is most important in life, then it
becomes imperative to make sure that these values are up held in
every part of their life. Understanding our major definite purpose in
life and working towards that goal while staying true to our values
is what balance is all about. Only then will balance be achieved and
the true essence of the crane understood.

Respectfully,
Terry Bryan