Heroes

 It has been a long while since I have posted to this blog.  My focus was diverted from the blog to concentrate on some other life challenges but I plan to go forward with posting here.  Over the past two years I have struggled with my father’s cancer and eventual death from that disease.  I took time to care for my father and comfort him in the face of death.  I also managed to train for and achieve my Third Degree Black Belt while traveling through this life challenge.  I also have begun another chapter in my professional career.   I decided, after over nine years of service, to take a severance package from my employer.  The department I worked with was reorganized and relocated and I took the opportunity to move on.  I have just now begun a new chapter in my professional life with a new career in a new company.

I have been planning on writing a post for some time and a significant event prompted me to begin.  Many Martial Artists across the country knew Steve Lavallee.  On the morning of June 11^th 2012 he committed suicide.  It is a shocking event. We all may have skeletons in our closet.  Some closets are much darker than others.  Out of respect for Mr. Lavallee’s family I will not go over the turmoil surrounding this saddening outcome.  Instead I would like to turn this sad event into a reflection on how to live life.

How we deal with challenges that can threaten our way of life will define our true character, regardless of the public facade we create.  Walking through life is many times a very difficult adventure.  Adventure is the word we should use for life’s journey. Adventures teach us lessons and life should be lived as one long lesson.  On our adventure we should gather up the mementoes and cherish each event whether it is sad or joyous. We melt these things into our character.  Many stories and myths have the hero leave on an adventure full of challenges and obstacles.  The hero returns from the adventure reborn and enlightened.  We should all strive to be that hero.  

If our choice is to focus on negativity then the adventure becomes negative.  While sadness is often times viewed as negative let us challenge that perspective. Sadness should be embraced and experienced.  Let the tears fall but do not dwell there. Fighting sadness multiplies inside and prevents us from moving on. Sadness is like a boiling pot. Cover the pot and eventually the top will no longer hold the pressure.  The water will over boil and can extinguish our flame. If we uncover the pot and allow the steam to rise, the waters of sadness disappear into the steam.  What we have left is the memory of the boiling, a memory of the sadness.  We can look back at it without being consumed by it.  The energy of our sadness in the passing of a loved one can be turned towards a celebration of their life and lessons they gave us.  The sadness of betrayal can be turned to a lesson of how we ourselves should live to be trustworthy and never inflict that pain on others.  Sadness in the face of evil deeds and people should be turned to lessons on how to protect ourselves and others from evil and those who would do us harm.  The examples can come forth endlessly. Every negative encounter and experience can hold a positive energy.  It is our perspective and reaction that rescue us and find the positive. 

Forgiveness is another lesson we should take and embrace in life.  Forgiveness does not mean we condone evil behavior.  Forgiveness is about our ability to not be held captive by evil.  If we look to always embrace the hurt and pain we carry that on our shoulders it infects everything we do.  When we look for revenge or an apology that will never come, it darkens the mind with images of events that will never erase the reality of what has happened.  With forgiving we release the pain and let go of the control the evil and the evil doer have on us. Without forgiveness in our hearts evil and the evil people in our lives influence our everyday thoughts and actions.  Forgiving does not condone the evil acts.   Forgiving does not mean we allow evil ones to stay or come back into our lives.  Forgiving means we jettison the control evil’s influence has on us.  Malice in the heart towards any person evil or good only diminishes our character.  Do not allow yourself to be a victim of malice.  Become a survivor of evil.

Many times evil will hide behind the veil of trust.  Evil doers will present to the world greatness of character.  Whether this is an intention or not evil will use the good that they do to mask and conceal their evil deeds.  This takes many forms.  A business man or woman that speaks with motivational platitudes may very well be insidiously cheating and harming business associates for his or her own selfish gain.   People thought to be great leaders can easily hide their immoral and illegal doings.  We are all loath to believe that people we looked up to, counted on and may have even called a friend would betray our trust or the trust of many.  We, by placing people on pedestals make it difficult for victims of this darkness to come forward.  Often times a victim is looked at as a jealous rival or someone just looking to topple the royalty.  Victims that do come forward to challenge this false royalty are courageous warriors.  These victims are willing to stand up to the masses and the regime and know they face an army of ridicule and doubt.  We should never dismiss a cry for help.  Yes it could be false.  However if we see a drowning person we assume they should be rescued.  We should assume people crying for help deserved to be rescued even if it means rescuing them from a person we hold in high regard. We may love the water but we know it can kill.  We cannot allow the waters of friendship, respect, and love cloud our vision of victims that need to be rescued from the water.  

On our adventure and our journey we should remain the hero. Be a hero to those that need our help.  Heroic acts will take courage and we may face fires, obstacles and monsters.  We need to walk through the fires, go over the obstacles and slay the monsters.  There are obstacles of sadness.  There are fires of forgiveness. There are monsters of evil.   All these things take many forms.  They hide in places we never expect and will pounce on us in an instant.  We as Martial Artists train to protect ourselves our families and should be ready in an instant.  Protect yourself from all things in this world physical or otherwise.  Be prepared to always be the hero.  During your life adventure embrace, overcome, protect, rescue, and forgive. 

Marching On To a New Level

The journey to another level will never be easy. Progress is always full of challenge. Creating success happens when challenges are worked through, around, over, or chipped away at until resolved. I am realizing this again as I proceed forward in my journey to 3rd Degree Black Belt. I have never been a “natural” talent. My success has come from repetitive practice. Every step forward for me has meant repeating over and over again each Kata. I sometimes have to repeat a single move over and over and over until I have it down. I will practice the same sparring combinations for hours on end. I still, after twenty-seven years in the Martial Arts, practice basics in repetition several times a week. The hours of practice are what I need to do to overcome my challenge of lacking a talent in easily picking up new material.

Now here I am again learning something new. I have never worked with nunchucks. I am now learning two nunchuck Katas. The weapon handling for this new weapon is the most difficult part of the new Katas for me. I have gone back, again, to my roots of repetitive practice. The goal is to have all the weapon handling needed for the two Katas down in two weeks, and perfected in one month. So far I am ahead of schedule for this goal.

The lesson I am once again being reminded of is: the Journey is full of hard work. I have never been able to easily learn new material. Most people who see me now do not suspect I have no natural talent. Mr. Rick Iannuzzo knows this. He has trained or watched my training for the past twenty-seven years. What I have done is create my talent. I created it by practice, practice, and more practice. Never giving up is another thing that has made my success a reality. I actually failed my first Black Belt test. I worked hard and made it on the second try. I also failed one attempt at 2nd Degree. I never gave up though. I picked up where I left off and made it, although my second attempt at 2nd Degree Black Belt took a few years since that is also the same time I left Lavallee’s to train with my friend Mr. Iannuzzo. Sticking to a goal is what gets you there.

Also since picking up formal training again in 2007 I have had to learn an entirely revamped system. While Mr. Iannuzzo has left much of his original material, he has also added many new things. Almost all of the “old” Lavallee’s Kyu rank Katas have been removed from the system and replaced by Mr. I’s original Universal Katas. Mr. I has kept the Kenpo two man form. These new Katas were created and developed by Mr. Rick Iannuzzo and his late brother Jeff. Even the beginner Katas are dynamic and fun to perform. One Kata left in the system is Ki Chung which came from Ernie Reyes Jr. & Sr. If you are now in the Lavallee’s system you might still see the Iannuzzo brothers’ influence. The three kick combos, the Kumite forms and much more reflect their influence and creativity. I still practice the “old” Katas side by side with what I call the “new generation” Katas. I have managed to remember the old Katas through repetition. The advantage of creating my own talent through practice is in the repetition. I have repeated these Katas so much over time I will probably never forget how to do them. I am now doing the same with the new generation Katas.The real story here is how a person, like me, with only a modicum of athletic talent has made it to beyond even Black Belt. If I can do this anyone can. That is why I encourage everyone to consider getting involved in a Martial Art. Striving to become your best will enrich your life. Once you realize you can reach Black Belt you begin to realize that nothing can stand in your way. Regardless of age or athletic talent anyone can reach Black Belt as long they are dedicated, motivated, and on a quest to be your best.

Create your own personal Health Care Reform - move more.

Failure Is Not Really Failure The Third Degree Journey 4/13/10

I Went to Black Belt Kata class today and made some great progress with the nunchucks. Thank you Mr. Nikko Iannuzzo. Learned that I need to spend some time on a bo Kata called BBC bo(Black Belt Club bo Kata). The BBC Kata is new for me but is a Kyu rank Kata in the new system. I have it down except that I am doing reverse butterflies where it should be just butterflies. Old habits die hard. Two man bo Kata went well I think I have shaken the rust off that one finally. Class was a great workout too. There was no running after class today. I will hit that up the next time there is one. I am still kick’n and heading in the right direction to Third Degree Black Belt. If this 50 year old 2nd Degree Black Belt can do this anyone can!

Failure is not really failure if you consider it a lesson - with this outlook forward movement will be your only movement.

In Memory of Jeff Iannuzzo

There is an old saying that says, “no one lives forever. “ However, many touch the lives and hearts of others and in that influence they live forever. Amongst us there sometimes walk immortals. These are our true heroes. They create in us a desire to become more, to become extra ordinary. They might be teachers, parents, coaches, co-workers, bosses, anyone even Karate instructors.

One of the most influential people I knew was a Karate instructor. He was one of my instructors, in fact one of the first. He was a performer and loved performing, earning him the nick name “hot dog”, sometimes we called him “dogger” or “dog” long before it was a colloquial expression. I was amazed the first time I saw him perform a Kata. It was 1984 and he was practicing a musical Kata to the Hawaii Five-O theme. Jeff Iannuzzo could throw a perfect round house kick or side kick vertically, looking like a perfect split position only he was standing. His Kata’s where similar to what we see performed at the top level tournaments and exhibitions of today. Mr. Iannuzzo’s Katas where perfect exhibitions of Karate and Martial arts. Each move was always precise, crisp and just perfect. From the moment I watched that 16 year old young man perform that Kata I wanted to be able to perform a Kata like that with kicks like that, even if I lacked the talent, I wanted to at least come as close as possible to that kind of performance. Twenty-six years later I am still working on that.

I was watching Mr. Iannuzzo be coached by Mr. Steve Lavallee who is now known as Kyoshi Steve Lavallee. I believe I was an orange belt at the time and still working on throwing a side kick above belt level. I was amazed that it was possible to move and put movements together like this young man was doing it. Today we see great performances on the tournament circuit, but to this day I have never witnessed the kind of energy and perfection in Martial Arts Jeff Iannuzzo had in his performance. There were more than difficult kicks and aerial demonstrations; there were precise correct Martial Arts movements, with the energy of a combat for survival. Watching “dogger” perform a Kata enabled a person to really see the raw essence of Martial Arts. I am privileged to have been influenced by these performances.

I also considered Jeff my friend, and now I am sad I will never have a chance to speak with him again. I am happy though to have his memory with me. Outside the Martial Arts he was far from perfect as are we all. However, he was a great person when he walked out of the Dojo too. Jeff’s energy filled a room like a moving wave of water. I know his art had this in it and that is why his performances were so inspiring. Mr. Iannuzzo was hot headed, he had a short fuse, he was impulsive, and sometimes he acted before he thought. However he was loyal, kind, inspiring, dedicated to his students, his art, and tied his whole personality together with his never ending humor.

Mr. I was a tough instructor, he demanded you give your best. I believe he demanded that from himself and that is why he demanded it from his students. His talent was magnified by his dedication. Rick Iannuzzo, Jeff’s brother, told me once that his brother would practice one kick, one movement, or one section of Kata for hours on end. I am convinced this is why his Katas were always outstanding. He did not sit back and depend solely on his talent he worked hard to make his performance perfect. I lack the talent that Mr. I had but I try giving this same dedication to my performance. It is also something to strive for in other life skills. Those who add to their talent with never ending enthusiasm will always be in the lead.

Jeff was also one of the fairest and giving Martial Artist I had the privilege of training with. There are stories enough to fill a novel about the “Adventures of Dogger”. There is one story that lights the way to how Mr. I really was as a person. I hope to tell it here in way that conveys just how great a man he was. It was at one of the many tournaments the Lavallee’s team attended. There was always a great buzz at these local tournaments, that in those days most students and the school as a team always attended. Competitors milled about getting ready for their events warming up, watching others. The Black Belt Kata competition was usually first. Many were standing along the sides of the gym watching the Black Belts perform. Mr. I was doing a spear Kata when the sharp tip of the weapon came loose flying off striking a young boy student from a competing school in the ankle. The child had to be taken to the hospital for stitches. I am not sure how or why, but the child was brought back to the tournament to watch. He never had his chance to compete that day. I know Jeff must have been crushed by the accident. He knew that the child would not be able to perform his Kata or get in the ring for a chance to win a trophy. Jeff went on to win Kata Grand Champion. He gave that trophy to the boy.

There are far more stories to tell about this Karate instructor. He was an adventurous individual. He always pushed the limits in everything. All of my friends, fellow students, and instructors that knew him have stories to tell. He always made us laugh, all the while pushing us to be great. Many of his students became great competitors too. Jenny Hughes was a great talent he coached to perfection, along with John Swistak and too many more to list.

The sad calling hours at his passing was a tribute to how he touched people. I arrived as they began. As I drove down the road past the funeral home I could already see a line of literally thousands of people with sad and blank faces. Most faces I recognized even if I did not remember all the names. Many I did remember as we all trained together for many years. I felt very sad that for many of us it had been years since we had been together. Now we had come together to morn the passing of our friend and Instructor. The thousands of friends, students, and family stood in line on a hot summer day to say goodbye, too soon, to the Last Dragon. A seemingly indestructible person was gone.

Inside the funeral home the line wove in and out of different rooms. As the line snaked around the rooms again I was able to see so many people Jeff had somehow touched. Students and Instructors from other schools we all competed with in the past were there. Black Belts that had not actively trained in years stood in line and talked about coming back. We shook hands and talked about the “old days” as the “new days” would now go on without our friend. I came to the end of that day’s long journey three hours, maybe, standing in line to say goodbye and to try to give some comfort to the family. I hugged Rick, and his mother and his father, and Jeff’s very good friend Scott Ogata and fellow Black Belt. I left with sadness, but also with determination that I would never again walk away from the Martial Arts. Thank you My Friend, my Instructor; you will always be an inspiration. You are truly “The Last Dragon”. You will also live forever, you are still in the hearts of all who were and are inspired by your life.

This post is dedicated to Mr. Jeff Iannuzzo January 25, 1968 – June 29, 2007.

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2007/06/tractortrailer_crash_near_scra.html

A New Year New Goals... Lets write them down and get to it!

A new year is here and it is a time for reflection. Many people choose this time to set new goals. Some will stick to their goals others will fall by the wayside. I have never really been one to set New Years resolutions but this year I decided to take this time to renew some goals I have set on the “back burner” for a while. One of them was this blog. I will make a commitment to set something down here once a week, at the very least.

Goals are something we all need not only in our Martial Arts training but in our daily lives. Life is often times difficult to navigate and to get through good times and bad we need to be the “driver” behind the wheel of our own life. Actively choose not to be the passenger that is just along for the ride, get behind the wheel and direct your life and keep it on the road of your choosing. Keep your internal talk positive, and when things seem to be against you, remember nothing worth achieving is going to be easy. There will always be days that you may not perform your best, or keep on track. We all have times when we can get out of focus. They key to overcoming the “dips” and “valleys” that are a natural part of the journey of life and the Martial Arts, is to just pick up where you left off. Do not dwell on a failure as negative or of lack of motivation on one day as failure. View failure as a learning experience and incorporate that into life and training. One day off is just that one day. Success or failure is not treading on the action you take on one day but on the action you take over time. The most successful people have often times failed to succeed a number of times. The reason they eventually made their goals happen is: they never gave up. They took what they had learned from their experience and moved forward from that moment, that place and that time. Soichiro Honda, the founder of Honda Motor Company, failed many times on his way to success and his quote “Success is 99% failure” points to the direction of real success. Be prepared to fail in order to succeed. Do not fear failure, embrace it. Failure will give you strength as long as it is embraced and dissected into a self teaching experience. Don’t ask “Why did this happen to me”. Ask, “What choice will put me back on track now”. When you miss one day of training, one run, one work out, just come back to it the next day. Do not let one day’s lack of motivation derail your goal. Write down your short term goals and when that day comes, and it will, that you lack motivation go over what you have written down, reenergize yourself with the excitement you had at the moment you wrote down those goals and the feelings you had when you originally went through that process.

We all want to reach our goals, but wanting it and making it happen sometimes get separated. The way to keep the want and the reality together is to break the large goal into a series of small goals and set tangible time frames for those small goals. Each small goal is a step on the stairway leading to our final long term goal. As each small goal is achieved celebrate and reward your achievement and then get to work on that next small goal. Make the goals specific too. A goal that is not well defined becomes unwieldy and easy to abandon. Make sure these goals are realistic too. A goal to loose 30 pounds in one week is good example of an unrealistic goal. It is not only unhealthy but is not practical either. That is why self analysis of your goals is very important. Review your goal well and determine the reasons achieving that goal will be of benefit to you.

Many of us know how important goals are and if you have been in the Martial Arts you are well aware of goals and how to reach them since you walked that path from belt to belt. Even if you have been in a program that did not emphasize goal setting you obviously set them even if it was not a conscious effort. It is always effective to remind ourselves of how important goal setting is. That is part of the reason I put this all down was to remind myself of this. Keep on your journey move forward and never give up. Write down your goals. Review what you have written and keep setting new goals. I will see you all in 2010 and I hope we all achieve the goals many of us are setting right now. My quest this year will be the achievement of my Third Degree Black Belt. My plan is to reach this by the third quarter of 2010. (The Final date is to be determined by my Sensei, Instructor and friend Rick Iannuzzo.) I will document much of my journey here. I will see you on the path and on the Journey in the Martial arts.

What Does it Mean to Achieve a Black Belt

What does it mean to achieve a Black Belt? Why pursue this goal? We pursue many things in our lives and set many goals. Achieving a Black Belt is usually a special goal. It takes years of practice and dedication. Along the way we will learn much about ourselves. We will push our minds and bodies to the limit. I think the pursuit of reaching Black Belt mirrors our human experience. Life is a struggle, we work against challenges and strive to succeed in many things, family, work, spiritual, and personal goals like that of a Black Belt. On the road to Black Belt we learn how to dedicate ourselves to a goal; we can transfer this learning experience to our everyday lives, in work, family, and spiritual endeavors. The struggle of life is what makes it interesting. Sometimes the struggle is self imposed other times we struggle against odds and circumstances we wish didn’t exist. Challenge and strife often times create who we are for better or worse, and everyone will experience it. A life without significant challenge would be boring and without meaning. We all need challenge, we all need to move forward in our lives, when we stand still we become “stale”. Like standing water, we will eventually begin to stagnant, and move backwards.

Working towards a Black Belt can precipitate the evaluation of life goals. Many people set no life goals. Martial arts students will begin to set goals while on the road to Black Belt. Like life our success on the road to Black Belt will be determined by other people. Success in life is often judged by others. If we run a business the success of the business is determined by our customers. If we work for someone else our success is judged by the individuals running the business and individuals we report to.

The requirements for achieving a Black Belt will vary from one organization to another. All reputable organizations will have a very specific set of requirements that must be met before the student is considered eligible for Black Belt. Testing and/or judgment of how a Black Belt is awarded will vary from school to school but in the end, achieving this goal in a good institution will be challenging, difficult, and fair.

There are many advantages to working towards a goal of achieving Black Belt. What it means to reach that goal go hand in hand with the advantages. Black Belt it is a goal reached that was most likely only a far off dream when you first stepped through the door of the dojo. The old saying is: “goals are dreams that have a deadline”. The dream of achieving a Black Belt is no different. At first it is just a dream and then training begins and it becomes a long range goal with the focus on each step along the way. After many short range goals and small steps you reach the point where Black Belt is the next step. All your training becomes fine tuned and you condition your body. It is the peak for that final sprint. The sweat, pain, and obstacles have been over come. You are now a Black Belt. It means you have achieved a goal. You have overcome obstacles, personal, physical, mental and spiritual, everything has played a role.

Achieving a Black Belt means you had the discipline few individuals possess and you were willing to put in the work to conquer something that wasn’t easy. You put yourself to the test and with perseverance, indomitable spirit, honesty and integrity a passing grade was awarded. Some people go in front of judges for gold, silver and bronze metals, some people run races and some people test for a Black Belt. It is a test for yourself, to achieve something special, achieving it means that your struggle has paid off. Pass on what you learned along the way and the meaning of achieving this goal grows beyond just the personal reward. Everyone you contact can benefit and in a small way each Black Belt can enhance the experience of all their friends, family, co-workers and community. Worthwhile endeavors create strong character. True Black Belts have strong character that is one reason they were able to do what it takes to get there.

Achieving a Black Belt is also the beginning of journey. It is not only a journey in the martial arts, but it can also be a journey in life. No one is perfect, Black Belts are not perfect. People with character know this very well. Well rounded people also know that striving for perfection should still be the goal. That is the journey. Take the tools needed to achieve Black Belt and apply them to life. Conquer challenges in everyday life the same way they are conquered on the road to Black Belt. Grow with your experience in the martial arts and life.

Achieving a Black Belt is this: a journey to get there, a journey to stay there and a journey to move forward from there. It also a goal and goals are never ending. The goal and the journey are the challenge. Black Belts in life and the marital arts conquer the challenge and meet the goal. Black Belts give back to the arts and give back the people around them. Achieving a Black Belt means you have and created the strong character needed to excel beyond the ordinary.

Do We Need Martial Arts and The Martial Way?

The Martial Way in modern times may seem, to some, to be unnecessary. We no longer need to defend a village against aggressors and wars are no longer fought with swords, shields, spears, and the like. Regardless of what some people “selling” self defense might lead you to believe, it is pretty unlikely you are going to meet that fabled “street fighter” and engage in combat. Unless you live or work in an area that is plagued with high crime, chances are very good you will not run into a “mugger” in the near future. Also, most criminals are not going to wear a sign that says – “I am here to harm you now”. If you are unlucky enough to be targeted by a professional criminal the attack will be done and over before you even have a chance to react. The “pro” will pounce on you like a cat and then be gone. All predators, human and animal, will not put themselves at risk. They will stalk and attack when the prey is unaware; if the prey becomes aware they will give up the attack. This is the end of the self defense lesson. I will leave that discussion for another time. Here I am laying the ground work for a discussion on motivations and reasons to follow the Martial Way in modern times. I would like to leave behind discussions on “self defense”. Too often people speak of physical self defense as if it is a necessary life tool. While I am certainly an advocate of learning physical self defense, the truth is: most people get by fine without it. The Martial Way can, however, provide many benefits in modern life if applied in a meaningful manner and without the fantasies portrayed in movies and self defense ads seen in every M.A. magazine.

We have many challenges in modern life. Many people have anxiety and take a variety of prescription drugs to combat and alleviate stressful feelings. [The CDC numbers indicate 118 Million prescriptions a year are written for antidepressants, in the United States.] Anxiety disorders top the list for mental disorders in the U.S. [Also per the CDC]. For advice on treating stress, anxiety, depression, and other emotional issues people should always seek the help of a mental health professional and/or a physician. However, the Martial Way offers another option to cope or add to an already medically suggested course of action. In fact the American Psychological Association claims relaxation and breathing techniques are often used as successful treatment for panic disorders. Many martial arts incorporate breathing and meditation as part of a training regiment. Exercise is also often suggested as away to help with everyday stress and the Martial Way includes great exercise. It is easy to see that M.A. practitioners have an extra tool available to meet modern life’s challenges.

To face life’s challenges with the outlook of predicting your success is a part of the Martial Way. A warrior would never enter into battle with defeat as their mind set. A warrior may have been ready to die in reaching success but that was not defeat. If we apply the warrior mindset to our own daily endeavors we can effectively reduce the amount of stress we have. Much of today’s stress is created by our own minds and the thoughts of failure we interject to any task or challenge. What if we loose? What will happen? Facing these questions is essential and how we answer these questions will determine our mindset when we enter into “the game”. If the end outcome is not what we desired are we prepared to just give up? If we are committed to the Martial Way we will not give up. We will learn why the outcome was different than what was expected and take that experience forward. The true practitioner in The Martial Way will incorporate the experience into the learning process and pick up “the banner” and begin again. This is honor. As long as our effort was true and we applied our best knowledge there is no failure. Enter into a challenge knowing you will put forth your best effort and know that each step is a learning step and the fear of failure lessens. As the old warrior did not fear death do not fear failure since there is no failure if your intentions are honorable and honest. If you know you took the effort to prepare for the challenge and worked with integrity and indomitable spirit to achieve your goal there is no reason to fear an unexpected outcome. Many times new opportunities and “doors” are opened when one opportunity ends and/or an unlooked for outcome occurs. Defeat is never an option when we have applied ourselves with honor. New learning experiences are the only outcome of an honorable effort.

With the fear of failure removed the feelings of anxiety in general will also be removed. Without the fear of failure anxiety has no place to “sneak” into our thoughts. This also creates a greater level of concentration, since without anxiety we can focus on the task at hand. Our minds will not be preoccupied with thoughts of “what if”. Freedom from this type of stress will help keep us healthy. The CDC tells us stress can have many ill effects on our bodies. The Martial Way in the modern world is a survival tool just as it was in ancient times. Here I have discussed only one way M.A. can help us in our everyday lives. There are countless other advantages when we make the Martial Arts a way of life. If you are already a Martial Artist take inventory of the advantages the art provides for you. If you are not involved in the Martial Arts, jump on in, the water is great!

Finding Time for Kata Training

I was reading a blog of another martial artist talking about finding time to work on Kata. This prompted me to think about the time I spend training. In the past I have always found it a challenge to fit in my karate training. When I was also an instructor and working another full time job it was next to impossible. That was 20 years ago. Luckily my life has changed. There are no longer any children at home and I have a regular 9-5 type job. I no longer instruct and that leaves even more "open" time. Let us also say that I am now a "mature" person. Also, I only live six miles from my work so I have almost no travel time. (I do drive to work since the route includes a major highway with a 65 mile an hour speed limit and I can't pedal my bike that fast!) This means: I am lucky that it is now easy for me to carve out time to train.



Still however, now that I have been training for many years I also have a lot of material to cover. I have been training with most of my katas for over 20 years. Having taught them trained with them with etc. over the years they have become second nature. Although I still search for details and try to always improve them. One thing that does keep me going is: with this familiarity, I can almost meditate while doing them. I can get lost in the kata and follow each of my movements in fine detail. I am able to clear my mind and focus on doing just the kata. In the past I was always working on keeping my mind clear while doing a kata, but having a mind that just races along, made it a challenging endeavor. I would guess that "maturity" has helped me reach this ultimate goal as some of my AAD tendencies seem to be subsiding with age.




What I find that works for me is looking at "kata time" as my time. This is time to relax and meditate and be "lost" in the movement and the moment. For me sitting and meditating is just out of the question I just have to be moving. Even at work I fidget and move in my chair I am one of those people that is constantly on the move. Among many other things, this is one thing, even if I wasn't aware of it exactly at the time that brought me to and kept me in the arts for so long. So, combining my meditation time with kata becomes an effective time management tool. I also use this method for running and biking, heavy bag work, basics work, and so forth. I take all of the day's worries and pressures and wash them away with all my training. This approach I find refreshing. It makes me really want to train every day. The mind set of training to relax and relieve life's many worries just creates its own time.



I found I needed this time during my wife's battle with breast cancer. I was and am always supporting her in the battle against the disease. I am her main care giver. I owe her the responsibility to keep her care giver healthy. That is one more reason for me to remain training. We all have such responsibilities. If you are a parent and/or a spouse you have the responsibility to keep yourself healthy. If your family depends on you for support and love they want and need you to be healthy and to be the best you can be. To reach and maintain this goal we all need our own time. Having your own time recharges you and enables you to be a better spouse, parent and person. For me, this wipes out any feeling of guilt about what else I should be doing, since I should be training for my own health and my family needs my health too.


I have also found over the years that many people will miss a couple of days and begin to feel guilty and discouraged. The couple days turn into a week, a week turns into two weeks then a month and so on. If you miss one day or two days remind yourself that its O.K. Life's commitments can and do override training. There is always tomorrow. If you miss a day or even a week, just wipe the slate clean. Start fresh the next day you can. Relax and enjoy training its fun, rejuvenating, and stress relieving. For me training keeps me from becoming fat and happy and eventually fat and unhappy.

Mcdojos, Martial Arts, Self Defense, Fighting, Sport, Hobby, Art

There are many terms thrown around regarding martial arts, self defense, and martial arts schools. If you were new or are new to the world of martial arts it can be a very confusing landscape to navigate. I have been involved in the martial arts for over 26 years and a fan of the martial arts for many more years. I also have extensive training in the legal world. My education in law came about after my expertise in the martial arts had been obtained. One thing to get out of the way: I am not an attorney and if you need legal advice about the martial arts and self defense contact an attorney.

A derogatory term used a lot in internet forums and other places is the “Mc Dojo”. There is some truth in the “standard” definition of Mc Dojo. A large chain of Martial Arts schools whose main purpose is to make money. Obviously Mc Dojo is an analogy to fast food. An argument made many times is that the instructors teaching at these commercial schools are not qualified to teach or instruct the martial arts. Let the question be: if you are learning from “some dumb guy” in his garage for free what are his qualifications? Most experts in any field have received their education from an institution that also makes money. So gaining your education in the martial arts from a school that also makes money is not necessarily bad. Necessarily is: the qualifying word. There are many martial arts schools that have a poor product and for the trained eye they are easy to pick out. For someone who has no experience in the field it would be difficult to distinguish what a good product is versus a bad product. Make no mistake, martial arts schools produce a product. The product produced is: black belts. This is exactly what many would say is the exact definition of a Mc Dojo. We call them schools. The product of a school is graduates. How would we rate an educational institution that never graduated any students?

There is nothing wrong with someone making money from teaching Karate, Judo, and Tae Kwon Do etc. Just as there is nothing wrong with teaching dancing, gymnastics or boxing for money. As long as all involved are upfront about what they are teaching. Beware of the person who wants to teach you his super kung fu skills so no one will ever beat you up. As with the purchase of any product research it and then choose your purchase carefully. Most people will research the purchase of a big ticket item but will plunk down their hard earned money to the first “Karate” school they find in the phone book. Most people would not buy a car without test driving it. Test drive your Karate purchase. Whether it is for you or your children watch and listen to what the school teaches. Ask other students and parents what they think about the establishment. Keep in mind many schools have good sales people. If you are wary about what a car sales person says be careful about the salesmanship of the Dojo Master. If they use high pressure tactics to keep you from shopping around, leave and don’t go back. If they have a quality program they should be confident. They do not need to pressure you to sign up now.

If the assumption is that an institution is producing a product then, only the quality of the product should determine how good or bad that institution is. The problem with many critics and people using the term “Mc Dojo” is: they are not judging the same product. Some are assuming that the purpose of learning the martial arts is to become the ultimate street fighting machine and every black belt should be that street fighting machine. If you want to become an ultimate street fighting machine/ultimate urban warrior you won’t need to spend your money on the martial arts. The best method for becoming the best street fighter is to get into a lot of street fights. If you are not arrested, killed, or maimed you will become a really good street fighter. You could then use the money you saved for your hospital, legal fees, and funeral costs.

I trained under Kyoshi Steve Lavallee for about 7 years. He told me he could teach, a talented athlete, everything physically needed to become a black belt and/or good fighter within a year’s time. However, the mental fortitude, discipline, humility, and all else that makes a real black belt takes much longer. This is why it takes several years to become a black belt. Exactly how long it should take to become a black belt is another argument for another time. The point is: there is more to becoming a black belt than knowing how to kick and punch etc. Now we come around to the misconception that the martial arts in our modern world are about fighting and/or self defense. The origins of the arts certainly go back to combat but in the 21st century the arts have evolved. The skill we learn can cross over to a self defense situation but I would say if you have found yourself in that situation you have already failed at self defense. Marc “The Animal” MacYoung has written much about the topic of real self defense and discusses this topic in detail on his website. I suggest this as a place to start if self defense is something you want to learn about.

There is a big difference, legally, between what is deemed self defense and what is deemed fighting and/or assault. As an example let me use one of my favorite Kenpo self defense techniques. The technique is called the dance of death. Right away, just from the name we can assume that this technique might be overkill and it is. The technique ends with your “opponent” on the ground. Once the alleged dirt bag is on the ground you side kick/stomp on his head and then hop over him and stomp/side kick his head again. If you did this and the cops show up you will be seated in the back of the squad car with your hands cuffed behind you. Your next “dance” is likely to be with someone named Buba. Once an aggressor’s attack is stopped, any action beyond that point is assault. Another technique I learned was for a gun being held to your head. The technique ends with you holding the gun and then shooting the “attacker” who is on the ground at that point. A law enforcement official, training with me at the time, pointed out that if you did really shoot the attacker, after disarming said attacker, you would definitely be charged with murder/man slaughter and hauled off to jail. While this gun defense technique looked cool in a demo it was neither practical nor legal.

If the Martial Arts are not about fighting and not about self defense what does that leave us with? I would say it is a sport and a hobby. I now train under Rick Iannuzzo and he once pointed out to me that training for most people, like myself, is a hobby. Many people would admonish me for having this opinion. Real combat now does not involve swords, spears and hand to hand fighting. Real combat in the modern world has nothing to do with what was the origin of today’s modern martial arts. I would also say that what we learn is an art. Expression of movement is an art. That is what we have now. Sure many of us enter the Arts to learn self defense but if you stick around long enough you find that is not what keeps you training. Training will keep you healthy and active; training will help you gain a feeling of achievement. The martial arts can push you to discover your physical and mental limits. Learning some new technique or kata keeps your mind fresh. Learning to concentrate during a sparing session also keeps your mind far more active than just sitting and watching T.V. Also being active with something that motivates you and is interesting keeps your body moving. Keeping your body moving keeps you healthy. If you attend a good studio you also have the benefit of being surrounded by good people. So now the Martial Arts are both a sport and an art and will have the benefits of both. The art will keep you thinking, learning, and expressing. The sport will keep you competing having fun and being in a social environment.

Now, if what you want is real self defense do not look at the modern martial arts school. Also you must decide if you really need to learn physical self defense. Are you in law enforcement? Are you a prison guard? Do you work in a mental institution? These types of professions do need to know how to handle a violent person’s attack. If you are in one of these professions your organization will, in most cases teach you what you need to know, if not ask them to hire a professional that does teach self defense. In most cases this does not mean a martial arts professional. For the rest of us we need to know how to avoid these attacks and stay out of situations and places were these attacks might occur. That sometimes is not a simple task and if what you are really interested in, is self defense than look for books and writings of people qualified in that field. In almost all cases your martial arts instructor is not that person. Sure there are martial arts people that do know a lot about real self defense. If your instructor says they have this training just be sure they have proof of those credentials. Otherwise trust that your Martial Arts instructor is just that a Martial Arts professional and that, as I have discussed here, is something other than self defense.

Why do I train in the Martial Arts

Over twenty-six years in the martial arts. Why have I stuck around so long? I first started because I loved the skill I had seen in my youth. I always wanted to do something extra ordinary in my life. The martial arts gave me that opportunity. I was lucky that I found a great school that trained excellent Black Belts. I was longing for a sense of accomplishment. I had decided to drop out of college after receiving a two year Associates Degree. I had left my prior career plans unfinished and jumped right into the work world. I felt incomplete and inadequate.
On the outside my reasons for wanting to train were physical fitness and self defense. Deep down, even if I wasn’t conscience of it at the time, I wanted to accomplish something special. Soon I found myself very satisfied with learning katas, kicks, punches, and self defense techniques. I was amazed that I could really do all the things I had seen and been awed by in the past. Each belt promotion gave me a new feeling of achievement and motivated me to keep going. I also had great instructors that emphasized a positive attitude and goal setting. I was not a natural, each movement I learned took hours of practice, but I kept it up because I wanted my skills to be just like the Black Belt and Brown Belt instructors teaching me. Every time it was possible, when the school did a demo or tournament I was there. I watched the upper belts carefully and tried to copy their movements. During class I paid close attention to the instructors. I would not always get the moves right away, but I kept at it until I got it right.
It was hard work but the reward of the accomplishment kept me going. I also found belonging to the school comforting. It was a family like atmosphere. When you where learning something new everyone would help. The higher ranked students would always point you in the right direction. I struck up friendships with other students and my instructors. We would gather socially creating relationships many of which are still active today. The friendships, family atmosphere, and the satisfaction of reaching challenging goals kept me returning to class.

As I kept going I also kept growing. I was learning discipline which had been missing in my life before karate. I was learning how to persevere through the difficulties of achieving a challenging goal. I was now able to set goals and map out a path to that final destination. My life outlook had changed. Prior to training I had no direction. We were taught about the wheel of life. The wheel of life needed balance. Each section of the wheel, career, spirituality, family, finance, martial arts/physical fitness needed even attention otherwise life became out of balance. When one part of your wheel was out of balance life goals became more difficult to achieve. I was learning these lessons and started to become a better person in all parts of my life. I pursued betterment in my career. I went back to college and with my new found discipline achieved a 4.0 grade point average. When I was laid off from my long time job I had the discipline to turn job hunting into my job. The martial arts had taught me to climb life’s mountains and break through barriers. What had started out as just a way to make me feel better about who I was had actually redefined my entire outlook on living. Instead of a wandering soul I had become a focused driven individual.

Now when people ask me about the benefits of training in the martial arts I have a very affirmative answer. I have my own example to hold up as proof of the value the martial arts can add to your life. The martial arts provide lessons on mapping out and achieving goals that bring focus and direction to your life. Instead being a ship with no rudder you become a person who will navigate through life’s challenges. Martial arts will give a person direction, motivation, indomitable spirit, perseverance, integrity. These are the attributes of a Black Belt in the martial arts and in life.

Why Train in The Martial Arts?

What makes a person want to start training in the Martial Arts? What makes a person stay in the Martial Arts? Many will say self defense. Others will say fitness. Some will say it was their children’s involvement that drew them to and kept them in the Arts. What if we strip away all these superficial reasons? I believe those of us who started in and stayed in the Martial Arts met a need we had. Meeting this need kept us sticking with it. When we lift the layers away, basic emotions are the core of every Martial Artist’s desire to train.

Fear is an emotion and great motivator. Many people have fear in their lives. Fear is brought into life for a whole variety of reasons. Maybe being bullied when they were young created fear. Maybe some other life changing event introduced fear into a person’s being. Where the fear came from doesn’t matter. What is important is: this drove them to start training. You start training and then start believing you have the ability to defend yourself. The fear dissipates. The dissipating fear keeps you training. Some people are looking to belong. We start training and find we belong to this group and belonging will most certainly keep a person coming back. Others feel inadequate. Training will make a person feel more adequate as they are rewarded for progress with advancement through the ranks and belts. The list of emotions that bring and keep a person training could be endless. Most times it is not just one emotion or need but several.

Discovering the true motivational emotion that keeps you training will help you continue that motivation. Throwing away the superficial, will bring a person to enlightenment. When training becomes difficult and when you begin to doubt there is any reason to train, bring yourself back to the moment you first put on that white belt. The open mind a white belt has and that emotion will reenergize your training. When there is doubt and obstacles, knowing what brought you to where you are in your Martial Arts journey will lift you up. Discover what the Arts have done to change your life for the better and that will keep you training. When you continue to train you will keep reaping the benefits that originally brought you to and kept you in the Martial Arts.

Everyone's Journey to Black Belt Has its Own Path

Recently a person who trains in one of Mr. Steve Lavallee’s USA Black Belt Champions Schools was asking a question in his blog about a teenager being informed of a need to wait to test for a Black Belt. Apparently the teenager had some maturity issues that needed work. The question is: should problems at home or in life be considered and is this too much to ask of the teenager at this point in their life. The answer to that question is difficult. Not knowing all the details makes answering it even more difficult. Each individual is different. The road to Black Belt is not always clear cut. Now I have seen some people denied black belt that should have achieved it. I have also been witness to people being awarded black belts that in, my opinion, did not deserve the promotion. In the end it is what is in your own heart as to whether you deserved your own promotion to black belt that really matters. The decision process is very subjective. I was on the inside track of this having been a staff member asking to grade people to determine their readiness to test. Of course the head instructors and/or senior black belts always gave the final “thumbs up” or “thumbs down”. The only way for me to answer this question of readiness for black belt is to explain one person’s journey.

My friend John C. had started training just prior to when I had started. We became friends and enjoyed many good times training together. We sweated together and went through our third degree brown belt test together. We had both been promoted to that last level prior to Black Belt.

John was older than I was a being about 40, I believe, at that time. I was twenty-eight. The requirements in those days included running three miles in twenty-one minutes or less. John meet all the other requirements but being a former body builder he had a large frame and running did not match up with his body type. I would have called John very fit, especially for his age. He was told he needed to improve his running time to break the threshold to black belt.

In December of 1988 I was promoted to black belt. This had been my own second attempt. John was still not considered eligible for promotion. He had been side by side with me the whole way. He did have many good talents. He was an excellent fighter. He had very good timing with an awesome reverse punch. He was not a great kicker, but 40 year olds are not likely to be showing off ninety degree angle kicks. John also knew every kata and self defense move inside and out. The only thing holding him back was his running times.

John never gave up. He tried time and time again. He certainly displayed black belt indomitable spirit. My friend Al and I started training together. Al was also having trouble getting by the final barrier to black belt. Al had other issues working going to school and raising a family. He did not have the time necessary to devote to the training needed to break over that barrier. He watched John’s struggle and finally stopped training. Witnessing John’s struggle had discouraged Al and he felt the process had become unfair. Al dropped out from training.

It had been about two years since I had been promoted to black belt. Al had become discouraged and was no longer training. He had a meeting with Mr. Lavallee about his training. Mr. Lavallee allegedly suggested to Al to quit taking college courses so he could devote more time to training. Al never returned to training after that. I was training for my second degree at this time and again was training side by side with John. We both missed Al. The three of us had always been training partners and with one person missing it just was not the same anymore. I was having my own difficulties at this time. I no longer paid for lessons since I had been a staff member. I was however being asked to devote many hours to teaching. I was now married and working nights. I could not keep up with this. I eventually stopped training too. With me it was not a conscience decision. I jus t stopped going to class on consistent basis. I then began to feel guilty about not devoting time to teaching class since I no longer paid for my training. Finally I just never went back to Lavallee’s.

All this time John had continued. He would not give up. He had been through many life changes. He had a divorce, his daughter had become an unwed mother but John kept trying he kept training. He had proved he had more perseverance than either Al or me. Still Mr. Lavallee would not award John with a black belt. John succumbed. He stopped training. He told me his knees could not take running anymore his hips hurt his back hurt, his body was giving up on him.

I had stopped training although I still practiced all my Katas and material on a consistent basis. I missed the interaction of learning. I knew all the material for second degree since I had been almost ready to test when I left Lavallee’s. I had been working out at Rick I’s gym all along. Rick was now teaching Karate again. I decided to train with Rick. His teaching style was more like the “old days” at Lavallee’s. The reason the teaching style was like the old Lavallee’s was because Rick was the old Lavallee’s. I was on the road to second degree even if I was starting from scratch again. In December of 2000 I acheived my second degree black belt.

I ran into John from time to time and always encouraged him to start training again with Rick I. Finally between Rick and me we must have convinced John and he returned to the martial arts. I had been working at a job that prevented me from getting to class at times class was held. So my own training was on hold for awhile. While I was away John was training with Rick. Rick was about to promote John to black belt. His promotion was just on the horizon. John’s body however was giving him trouble. Keep in mind John was now about Sixty years old. Rick told me John came in just prior to his test he was almost in tears. John told Rick he could not do the test. His hips had given out and the doctor had informed him he needed a hip replacement. Rick said he had already ordered the belts with the names stitched in. Rick said “John you deserve this” and he handed him his black belt. Rick had been there for most of John’s prior attempts to make black belt. He knew John had never given up. He knew that no one had ever put more into trying to achieve this goal than John. John had always had the spirit of a black belt. No one but Rick had ever recognized it.

This does not directly answer the question about the teenager. What I was trying to convey is what goes into the decision to let someone be awarded this level of achievement. Each person is different each journey has its own life. Should this teenager wait? That is hard to say. Is Lavallee’s asking too much of this teenager? Only the teenager and his instructor can answer that for sure. Hopefully he has an instructor like Rick who recognizes the real meaning of this achievement.

Keep reading I will write about what it means, to me anyway, to be and achieve a black belt.