AKS Quarterly Newsletter

"The Punchline"
Editorial – March 2009

The New Year is well under way. Plans for our second regional training seminar in Toledo have been set for the weekend of May 16th. I’ve made my reservations and plan on being there to see as many of you as can make it there. Sensei Rand Palmer will be providing the exact instructional areas for publishing on the events page of the AKS web site soon, so you’ll all know what we’ll be working on. In addition to the training will be the great fellowship we’ve all experienced at these get togethers.

Last years event was a great success. It helped Mr. Thomas, Mr. Reinecke and me to follow suit in developing the agenda for the summer camp. Since we’ve been holding these seminars in West Virginia and Ohio, many have commented on the improvement they witnessed within our organization and its camaraderie. We are a much closer nit organization as a result. The improved relations that have resulted in the senior leadership being able to get together more than once a year with the black belts in these key areas is clearly evident. We are doing a very good job in keeping Mr. Lieb’s dream alive and well.

Speaking of our Founder, plans are in the works for him to be inducted into the Academy of Master’s Hall of Fame in Anaheim, California this coming August. Once the official announcement is made I will pass it along to the rest of you. I know we all wish he were here to enjoy and appreciate the award and its accompanying accolades in person. Since he isn’t, the next best thing is to further solidify his name and accomplishments in the history of American Karate.

Keeping with a similar theme, we will be reinstating the AKS Black Belt of the Year award, as well as starting one for the Student of the Year. The head instructors have already been notified of the nomination criteria and time frame for getting it in. Both Mr. Thomas and Mr. Reinecke are in agreement with me that this is a good step forward. Mr. Lieb started the black belt of the year award some years ago. For reasons I’m unfamiliar with it hasn’t been awarded for some time. As the saying goes, “no time like the present." We’re going to start that ball rolling again. If you’re not sure what this all entails ask your instructor.

The AKS Student Handbook is nearly complete. We (the senior black belts) have been working since the beginning of 2007 on an updated and improved version of the student handbook. We are very close to finalizing this long-term endeavor; with the goal of having the new handbooks available at this year’s summer camp. Stay tuned!

Over the past several months, people seeking information about the AKS, with an interest in joining, have been contacting me. Two of these are gentlemen who run fulltime professional schools. If they become members, they will be the first of their kind. The history of our organization, and its makeup, has revolved around those of us with careers in other areas, who also have a love of karate and teaching it to others. Having members who make a living by teaching martial arts will be helpful to the rest of us. These sensei will be able to share knowledge and experiences that will assist us in doing a better job at attracting new students, as well as new schools interested in membership. I would love to see the AKS represented in at least half the states of our great country. Only time will tell whether this will come to pass or not. I’m hopeful these two Gentlemen will be able to join us in Toledo this May. Until then, I hope as many of you who can will make the effort to join us in Toledo on May 16th.

Respectfully yours in Budo,

Mike Sullenger 9th Dan
Chief Instructor

Even a Klutz Can Earn a Green Belt
by Michelle Morningstar
4th Grade Green

I was not born with any natural grace, nor did I ever learn to stop tripping over my own feet. I have an abundance of physical issues; most people do, but I take mine to the extreme.

A brief history of my ailments include: cancer that has spread to my bone, and caused me to break my back 8 years ago; bursitis in my hips and knees; and I fell last year and broke my elbow (see I told you I’m a klutz).   I am also not the most physically fit person. In fact, I’m overweight and I’m always in pain somewhere.

In October of 2006, I took the advice of a friend and instructor of the AKS. I stepped into a gym full of people for the first time where there were new white belts all the way up to the very intimidating black belts. Thinking to myself that I was way out of my league and about to make a fool of myself, I got in line and began one of the most interesting journeys of my life.

The few classes that I had told myself I would endure (just to say I did give it a try), suddenly became a “yellow belt” test. I was in a uniform tying on a colored belt and actually enjoying myself.

With my knowledge of Karate, my self-confidence grew. The intimidating black belts even became my friends.

Due to illness and injuries, I have had to take time off; sometimes months at a time. I have seen people speed past me earning their rank. One dear friend, who started around the same time I did, just earned her 1st degree black belt. I understand Karate is not a race, and I am so proud of her accomplishment. I understand that (as Mr. Thomas is famous for saying), “I have to work twice as hard to be half as good.”

I earned my 4th Grade Green Belt in November 2008, and I keep on showing up to class and learning everything I can . . . not bad for a Klutz with issues.

Moving Away

Karate is usually insulated from the turmoil of economic cycles and current political events. Unfortunately, the severity of our nation’s current economic crisis and the catastrophic employment market is beginning to intrude on the dojo floor. People are losing their jobs as well as their homes; families all over the country are facing extremely difficult times. Difficult times require difficult decisions.

Several weeks ago, one of my Black Belts told me that he would be moving to the East Coast for a new job. He had been with one company for a number of years but he was laid off. For the last several years in order to remain in the area, he found sporadic temporary employment, but nothing consistent. It has been difficult because he is married with two young children. I have known him for over six years; he is committed to being a good father and husband. His new plan was to establish himself in a new job and have his family relocate at the end of the school year.

He told me that he was going to miss training and the fellowship of our students and Black Belts. I told him that we would keep in touch and maybe he would find time to attend one of our AKS Regional Training Seminars or even come back for the AKS Summer Camp. He has always been a dedicated Black Belt willing to help anyone that asked. We will all miss him very much.

But, having to move 800 miles away is by no means the end of our relationship. People that train together, earn rank together and share the American Karate experience have a shared life-long bond. After 38 years, I will see or talk with Black Belts or former students that I have not seen in years but it is as if we had seen each other only last week. When we get together at Summer Camp or the Regional Seminars and though months have past since our last meeting there are handshakes and hugs all around. Each time we meet, we renew our commitment to the American Karate System and to each other.

In the AKS, we are as close knit as any family. So I said goodbye to my friend who had worked hard to become a very good Black Belt. Though I was sorry to see him go, I wished him well in this new chapter of his life. I know when we meet again it will be as friends and as brothers in the martial arts and it will be as if no time had past at all.

I wish you well my friend.

Dave Thomas
8th Dan
Assistant Chief Instructor

Update – I wrote this after Shawn left town, a week later he was back. Unfortunately the company he planned to work for, had a slow down as well and was not able to offer the position they had promised. The day after he goy home, he was back in class and we were all glad to see him. Now we will try and help him find a new job in the area so we can keep him here.

PROMOTIONS!!

Congratulations to all students who have been promoted this past quarter.  Best wishes in your continued training.

The AKS at Culver Summer Schools & Camps, Indiana
By Chief Instructor Mike Sullenger

Last summer I spent about seven weeks at Culver Summer Schools and Camps. My purpose was to initiate a brand new martial arts program for the Upper Camp (ages 13-17). Culver is a beautiful campus of some 1800 acres situated on the banks of Lake Maxinkuckee. The lake is a natural spring fed body of water that measures just over a mile and a half one-way and just over two and a half the other. You may access Culver's web site by going to www.culver.org. Once there take some time to browse around and learn about the schools history, its accomplishments, and all the wonderful things Culver represents and offers. There are some great pictures that will give you some sense of the size and beauty of the campus.

There is an attachment to Culver for me that goes back more than forty years. After the death of my father in 1962 my mother sent me to spend eight weeks during the summers of 63, 64, and 65. It was during these summers I grew in my understandings of purpose and dedication. I wore navy whites, learned how to march, sail, use semaphore flags to send messages and a host of other things. I also learned how to become a member of a team, as part of Naval Company 1. Something else I learned at Culver was boxing. I was already involved in learning martial arts, but Culver didn’t offer anything along those lines.

Over the years I returned to visit the campus and relive many of the memories of those summers when I was a midshipman. In 2001 and 2002 I was fortunate to return as a senior counselor to Naval Company 2. It was during these summers I re-familiarized myself with the many activities offered to the campers, during what had become six weeks camps. Sadly there still were no martial arts classes. It was during this time frame I began making suggestions about adding a martial arts program to the curriculum. Last summer saw the establishment of that dream.

After discussions with the Upper Camp director, Coleman Knight, I arrived to teach two periods of circuit weight fitness, and three periods of martial arts. I focused the classes on self-defense, teaching the students how to react to a variety of situations. The six weeks was divided into two three-week sessions, so there wasn’t time to really teach traditional classes. While this was taking place I was asked to write down how the classes should be structured, and what they would be focused on. I divided this into three-week self-defense classes and a six week tradition karate class. Time will tell how successful this will be. It is my hope to get other AKS black belts involved at Culver as well.

As you look at the pictures that accompany this article you’ll see a view of the campus along side the lake, and some of the students who participated in the classes. Over all, I have taught around sixty students during the two three-week sessions. If you have any questions please feel free to call or e-mail me with them. Being an associate professor at a community college allows me to take summers off. Were it not for that, I would have not been able to enjoy these wonderful experiences.

If you are free in the summer and would like to explore this possibility as well please contact me.

The Nunchuck
by Laura Werner

From time to time, I come across something interesting. The two-section Staff, also colloquially called "nunchucks", "numchuks", "nunchukkas", "chucks", "chain sticks", etc., is a traditional weapon of the Kobudo weapons set and consists of two sticks connected at their ends with a short chain or rope.

For anyone who has picked up this weapon as a novice martial artist will recognize it as the "wrist" smacking, "elbow" crushing, "shoulder-blade" whacking Nunchuck.

Here is a little history . . . a short demo . . . and the master. Enjoy!

Note: There may be a short "commercial" before these videos.

What are Nunchucks?


Short Demo Video


Bruce Lee plays Ping Pong with Nunchucks!!    Amazing!!

Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.
       -Joshua J. Marine