His style lives on stronger (though more fractured) then I think he could have imagined.  His burial site and memorial in Japan is visited often by practitioners.

While I am a Kyokushin practitioner, unlike some I do not revere the man, he was after all just a man.  His contribution and accomplishments however I will always hold in high regard.

Robert Steed did a great job!

I am not sure which Representative dais this, he is clearly visible in the video (if you know who he is please post it in the comment section), but his word choice was interesting:

“As long as we live in an open and free democratic society your not going to be able to get a handle on all of the violence in our society.  …You’ll  get a better handle on it in a Dictatorship where they take all your guns and watch your every move….” …”we don’t want to go down that road”…

I believe in reading between the lines, especially with politicians.  First I thought to even bring a dictatorship up in the debate was interesting, but notice his wording at the end.  …”We don’t want to go down that road“  Wouldn’t it have been more appropriate (if you felt the need to even go there) to end with, but that will never happen in here, in this country.

On March 19th he was back at it again…

In follow-up testimony Robert Steed again knocks the ball out of the park!  Here it is:

The point to sharing this video is control starts with practice if you want to perfect any discipline or technique.  Whether it is Karate, Ballet, Mathematics, a musical instrument or Knitting it all starts with practice.  Practice takes perseverance to find success, so commit to practising everyday so you can find your control and perfection.  You won’t regret it!

Even better when a wise @55 gets his!

Alright that didn’t happen quiet that way.  I am from a very small club, low budget, low body count.  What chance do we have at a competition?  Well if it is run fairly then a pretty good chance.  I have been to both, fair and unfair competitions, they look the same from the outside, they look the same to the crowd.  The illusion part is easy for the crowd, the contestants always know, but who do they complain to?

Democracy sucks.  The big clubs/schools, with the 500 students win.  The small clubs/schools don’t have a voice.  Democracy is High School, there are the popular kids (who can do anything up to and including murder), the normal kids (geeks – perspective people) and then there are the wanna-be’s (that is the crowd that want to be part of the popular kid club but are to self-deluded to see that they never will be and that the popular kids aren’t really that nice).  Yes I stereotype

Perhaps, a popular vote wouldn’t be all that fair for anyone other than the person who can gain 51% support.  In other words the club/school who brings the most members has the best chance of winning.  Not very fair for the smaller clubs/schools!  Does that mean the Karate Electoral College is actually more fair?!  This video may shed some light on the matter, let me know what you think in the comments section…

IF only our citizens would elect someone with this much honesty and fortitude.  Alas we would rather elect a celebrity than a leader or statesman.  How blind are ‘we the people’ that we continue to be so short sighted…

PS:  I’ve been looking for a reason to use the world minions!!

Enjoy and please post your comments and opinions here so we can have a conversation or flame war, your choice

1. The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

2. The Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

3. The Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

4. The Italians drink a lot of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans…

5. The Germans drink a lot of beer and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

CONCLUSION:
Eat and drink what you like.
Speaking English is apparently what kills you.

Relax, it’s Saturday…

Stay safe out there…

It is the classic question posed in hundreds of films like the Karate Kid.  The answer isn’t as crystal clear and the payout isn’t as dramatic in real life.  In real life Daniel Larusso (played by Ralph Macchio) would have probably lost.  That doesn’t mean he wouldn’t learn the same lessons, but it wouldn’t be a box office success!  This is something however you can’t read about, you have to experience it, even then very few look past the failure to learn anything.  If you are one that does than I commend you, you are on your way to Mastery of, well anything.  Where am I going with all this?

Why do we say study instead of train with respect to the Martial Arts?  Because we train to learn basic skills and physical movements.  We study so we can learn to extend, to go beyond what training alone can teach.  Kind of like the difference between Po and Tai Lung (in Kung Fu Panda), Po studied where Tai Lung trained.  Tai Lung was limited by his physical self.  Whereas Po went beyond his physical self, allowing him to push beyond his physical limits and succeed.  I know that is kind of deep and to some it will sound like rubbish, take from it what you will.

The point is, the martial arts teaches us to look within; evaluate our motives, behavior, beliefs, mindset, in total, our self.  Unfortunately for some this becomes a religious experience, it is not, nor should it be.  The martial arts can exist harmoniously with religion but using it to replace religion is to train without studying.  Ultimately the martial arts teaches us control of the Self.  This is similar to Self-Control but not the same.  When you are angry you demonstrate self-control by not hitting or screaming at the person who angered you.  When you are in control of the Self, you see the anger but are not affected by the anger, you are calm, cool and collected.  Think about a situation, which is more frightening, an opponent who is red in the face with anger or one who is calm, cool and collected?  That is what I thought.  What is it about the calm, cool, collected that you find so unnerving?  When you attain it you will understand that there is nothing and everything to be feared.  Bruce Lee was known for his control of Self.

The Martial Way is not easy.  First come training, which leads to Self-Control, more training opens the mind to Study, which if pursued, leads to control of Self.  Sounds easy enough, just five “simple” steps!!  But the way is hard; the way we live our lives; the society we live in makes it even harder.  There is to much noise in most of our lives, even if we don’t engage it, the noise is all around us (in Western Societies).  The Martial Way is quiet, reflective and simple.  Quiet the opposite of the way the world around us suggests we should live our lives!  Self-control is the first major hurtle and honestly our society and values of instant gratification and worldly pursuits make it a difficult hurtle to master.  Do you have what it takes?  Will power and focus?

What I am describing is not the Martial Arts of the MMA or UFC.  That is not to say those are dishonorable pursuits or lacking in any way, honestly I admire their training and dedication.  But they where the trappings of the world, lots of noise and little control of Self.  Could you see Bruce Lee in a MMA or UFC commercial?  Perhaps.  Regardless of the path you choose, the path always starts the same…Training!  That’s right, get up, stop reading now and Train. (but when you finish training come back to read some more)

First comes Training, so Study to Train!