AKS Quarterly Newsletter

"The Punchline"
Editorial – June 2010

The summer is here. This also means the year is half over. We just enjoyed our third Ohio seminar and the AKS Buckeyes once again provided some great training, as well as a fabulous pig roast. Sensei Palmer and his people deserve a hearty well done. Skip’s wife Debra was also a wonderful hostess and proved once again to be an outstanding cook. Fred, Tom and I wanted for nothing. We all are working off the calories we pack on enjoying her wonderful cooking.

In case some may not be aware, both Jude Gore and Rand Palmer received letters a couple of months ago advising them they’ve been nominated to receive “Outstanding Instructor of the Year” awards from the Academy of Masters during this year’s Master’s Hall of Fame ceremonies in Anaheim, California. This event will be in conjunction with the Disney’s Martial Arts Festival. Both of these men are more than deserving of this award. I know if Mr. Lieb were alive he would be just like a proud father. I see more such recognition for other members of the AKS as time proceeds. Please take the opportunity to congratulate both of these fine black belts.

The Annual Summer Camp is slated for the 16th through the 18th of July. We are presently planning on the following training sessions for those who are able to attend.

1. Wrist and joint lock combinations - taught by Sensei Jude Gore;
2. Blocking and striking combos - taught by Sensei Tom Twining;
3. MMA tactics - taught be Sensei AJ Eckhart; and
4. How to teach kids - taught either by Sensei Heinrich Reimer or Sensei Fred Reinecke.

We’ve received word Mr. Reimer and one of his black belts will be joining us for this year’s summer camp. For those who have not yet had the opportunity to meet Mr. Reimer you will find him both a marvelous martial artist, as well as a great person. In addition to Saturday’s activities there will be black belt testing on Friday afternoon, followed later by our annual black belt meeting. Sunday will see us back out at the park by Lake Michigan for brunch and training a al carte. ? All in all this year’s summer camp looks to be another great time of fellowship and training.

I’d like to close this quarterly editorial by commenting a bit more on fellowship. Whenever I travel to visit with and/or train with other AKS members I am received with warmth and genuine hospitality. For me it’s like returning home to family. I can’t express enough how much it means to me, or how pleased I am with the unity and friendship displayed by all. No matter where we meet, or how far people travel to join in, it’s always like a family reunion. I feel blessed to be a part of such a wonderful group.

To fill some "summer" space, here is a reprint from a past Punchline. Good advice is worth repeating. Enjoy!  [June, 2006]

Sunscreen

• Wear sunscreen.


• If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now.


• Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they’ve faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine.


• Don’t worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 p.m. on some idle Tuesday.


• Do one thing every day that scares you.


• Sing.


• Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts. Don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours.


• Floss.


• Don’t waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind. The race is long and, in the end, it’s only with yourself.


• Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.


• Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements.


• Stretch.


• Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don’t.


• Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees. You’ll miss them when they’re gone.


• Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t. Maybe you’ll have children, maybe you won’t. Maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else’s.


• Enjoy your body. Use it every way you can. Don’t be afraid of it or of what other people think of it. It’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own.


• Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room.


• Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them.


• Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly.


• Get to know your parents. You never know when they’ll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings. They’re your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.


• Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young.


• Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in Northern California once, but leave before is makes you soft.


• Travel.


• Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise. Politicians will philander. You, too, will get old. And when you do, you’ll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.


• Respect your elders.


• Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund. Maybe you’ll have a wealthy spouse. But you never know when either one might run out.


• Don’t mess too much with your hair or by the time you’re 40 it will look 85.


• Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth.


• But trust me on the sunscreen.

Karate vs. Bullying

Today more than ever, the media is replete with stories of schoolyard bullies and the effects on kids trying to get an education. Most kids just want to go to school and not be mistreated or abused. The stories making the national media often have dire consequences or tragic outcomes often involving firearms. Recently, I read a story of a father from Cadillac, Michigan, who is visiting high schools telling the story of how his extremely bright sixteen year-old son was tormented to the point of taking his own life.

So in response, school administrators adopt a “zero tolerance” policy for any in-school harassment or violence. So if the kid defends himself against the bully, he gets tossed out of school as well as the perpetrator. In this regard, I defer to Mark Twain who said, “First God made idiots, that was for practice. Then he made school boards.” I am not advocating violence in school, fighting should always be the last resort. But I want to see the kid who fears going to school have some recourse when all other avenues fail.

So what does the concerned, yet frustrated, parent do? They bring their child to your karate class so he can learn how to take care of the bullies. Sounds like a movie script doesn’t it? Unfortunately, we can’t fix all that is wrong in two hours.

As responsible martial arts instructors, we teach our students how to avoid conflict and altercations. We tell them that fighting is a last resort and give them the alternatives to help them not be a victim. We caution our students that we do not train students to injure others; we train them to keep from being harmed. We also show them the techniques and movements to use when there is no choice but to defend themselves. We tell them that a condition of attending class is – if there is an altercation, they must report it to their instructor.

In the process of learning to kick and punch, there is a fundamental change tat takes place in every serious student. They begin to grow and mature in their attitude. They learn that they do not have to live in constant fear.

Training yields self-confidence; so that when the schoolyard thug approaches them, they know not only what they can do, but also what to expect from the bottom feeder that is tormenting them. Most of the time, genuine self-confidence was what they were missing from the beginning; which gave them the victim’s persona. Bullies are adept at targeting someone that is fearful and withdrawn.

Karate builds self-esteem; it is always an amazing process to watch a student grow and develop as they begin to do skills they didn’t think they could ever do. Through the training and support, they learn to like themselves. They begin to appreciate that their hard work is rewarding them with rank and possibly trophies.

They learn greater self-discipline; to keep going even when it hurts or isn’t fun. I tell parents one of the first benefits they will typically see in their child from karate training is improved grades in school. They learn to meet their responsibilities first before pursuing their recreations.

As the student assimilates self-confidence, self-esteem, and self-discipline, it promotes self-respect. This is not a byproduct of training. It is a direct, intentional result. A good self-image will help the student make better choices and walk away from some name-calling dimwit without having to use misguided violence to defend his reputation or honor. It takes two to fight; you are not required to participate.

Mr. Lieb always said, “You truly can’t respect others, until you first respect yourself.”

And what does this mean when some future felon comes up and says he doesn’t like you or anything about you? The student should look him (or possibly her) in the eye and say, “Why do I care what you think?”

I tell my students, “What they think about you doesn’t matter. What YOU think about you does!” If our students will remember that when they are faced with a contentious situation, then we have trained them well.

I also tell my instructors, “You are making a huge difference in the lives of your students. You may not see it today or next month, but you are making a difference by taking away the fear and giving them positive attributes. That’s why we, as instructors, have to do our best every time we can.”

Respectfully,

Dave Thomas
8th Dan AKS

Do You Have a Question?

We invite you to send in your questions regarding karate and the A.K.S. so that we may respond here in our newsletter. If you have a concern, question or suggestion, please let us know and we will address it here in the Punchline.

If you don't want your name published, please let us know and we will be happy to withhold that information from print. However, please be respectful when submitting your queries or suggestions to us by including your name so that we may understand your questions and/or circumstances.

Please send your questions to Laura Werner, and I will forward them to the person who can provide the appropriate response.

We look forward to hearing from you!

PROMOTIONS!!

American Karate Club
Ross Park Elementary - Muskegon, Michigan

Tri-Cities Family YMCA AKS Karate Club
Grand Haven, Michigan 49417

Salem Karate Club
Salem Park Barn - Moore Street - Salem, West Virginia

Mountaineer Karate Club
Lumberport, West Virginia

West Toledo YMCA Karate & Self Defense Program
Toledo, Ohio

All-Star Karate Family Center
Livonia, Michigan

To fill our summer Punchline, here is another worthy "Blast from the Past"   [March, 2008]

Comments in Passing
by Dave Thomas

Below are some of the "real world " experiences and comments compiled over a number of years. They are short in content, but they speak volumes.

An AKS Blacks Belt was walking toward the gym for his 4th Dan Testing when a member of the board asked him if he knew an obscure Chinese term?

He answered “No, that’s why I took American Karate.”

A Black belt from another style would often visit class to chat and would continually regale us with stories of his intrepid fighting skills, stars he had trained with and all the opponents he had defeated.

One of the AKS Black Belts told him “If you’d put on a uniform, you wouldn’t have to talk about it.”

Upon hearing of how one of our Brown Belts subdued three armed assailants with a Bo; an Instructor said, “See what happens when you bring a knife to a stick fight!”

One evening an AKS Instructor was teaching his class self-defense; both empty hand and against weapons. A father, two daughters, and his 18-year-old son watched in the gallery. The son, a self-proclaimed gang-banger, warned the 5th Dan Black Belt Instructor, that if he had the knife “none of the karate junk” would work on him. The Black Belt handed him the knife and then front snapped kicked him in the groin.

The father stood up and said to the Instructor, “I’m sorry for his behavior.” He then looked at his son moaning on the floor and said “You are an idiot!”

A Black Belt and his wife were attending a hockey game when the four people sitting behind them started to shout profane comments and insults at the opposing team’s players. The wife said to the husband, “You would think they could be a little more civilized.” One of the four heard the comment and then started threatening and swearing at his wife. This went on for about 10 minutes when she looked at him and said, “How long are you going to let this go on?”

The Black turned sideways in his seat facing his wife, but making sure those behind him could see and hear, and in a very quiet voice said, “I have to be very careful, being a Black Belt and getting into a fight I could lose my school and get thrown out of the American Karate System.” He saw one of the people mouthing silently to the rest of the group, “He’s a Black Belt.” Five minutes later they were gone.

A young lady walked out of her business to get the company mail. There was a group of construction men working on the street nearby. A big burly guy walks up to her and says, “Hi, you work around here?” She said yes she did, she had a business. He continued, “You’re cute and you have a great figure.”

She told him thanks, she took karate and that was how she stayed in shape. Slightly shocked, he excused himself and said he had better get back to work.

Trying to get his yellow belts to kiai, an Instructor told his students that they could practice at the library, they wouldn’t disturb anyone.

A student was going through his Black Belt test in front of Mr. Lieb and a board of Black Belts. He had completed his forms, basics and self defense and he was sitting on the gym floor answering questions about history and philosophy. At this particular moment, a spider walked across the floor and meandered to his left. The student tried to smack him, missed, but nailed him the second time.

“Did you have to hit him twice?” Mr. Lieb asked.

“Yes, Sir.” the student replied.

“Twenty-five push-ups! My Black Belts don’t miss.”

The Black Belts were lined up for sparring at a tournament when the competitor next to the AKS Black Belt introduced himself and said, “I have seen you fight, and you are really good.” The AKS Black Belt graciously thanked him for the compliment. The competitor continued, “I am really good too, this should be an excellent match." They bowed in and thirty seconds later the match was over, 3 to 0. As they walked out of the square, the fellow looked at the winning AKS Black Belt, “Whew, that was close, it could have gone either way.” The AKS guy smiled and nodded.

An AKS student had flown to Pasadena to attend the Rose Bowl and to meet a former college roommate. At the game, he found out that, in the years since college, his friend had joined a martial arts class and had earned his Black Belt. As they were standing in the concession line, a guy bumped into his friend; he asked, “Are you okay?” The stranger said, “You better be careful. I hold a Black Belt in karate.” The friend said, “No you don’t or you wouldn’t act the way you did.” The stranger lowered his head and walked away.

A.K.S. Web Address(es)

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