NewsLetter
Home Biography Calendar Contact Us Karate Kids Kardio Corner Kobudo History Dictionary PKC Tournaments Newsletter Guest Book	Sensei Speaks — What’s Ahead Annually I try to fill you in on the things that will go on during the year. Some of the new students don’t know that I have a trophy business along with the Dojo. We begin the year with awards for PKC Region 1 as they host their first event February 18th and 19th. The following week I will be doing a weapons training session in Bryan, Oh. Generally, our newsletter will keep you informed of the times that I will be away from the Dojo and why. Whenever I am away the senior students will take the lead and run the Dojo for that short period that I am away. The only time that you would not have any prior notice that I will be away is an emergency. Regardless, March will be a very busy month. PKC Region 2 host the first tournament and banquet on March 3rd. All of the students at Bethea’s Karate Studio will be expected to support this event. The following week will be the camp hosted by Mr. Copp in St Louis. This is always an interesting and exciting camp with bigger plans for this year. The following weekend is The ISKA training session in Ft Wayne. The month will end with the Shorei Goju National Karate Championships. As said, I will get busy and in many cases gone for short periods. I will leave for Japan in April and returning on the 20th. The Phil Wade Memorial tournament is scheduled for the 21st. We will be doing the Kick-A-Thon in April. May gets us to our annual camp followed by The Spring Smash and The GLNKC in Chicago. It will be busy! The picture below was taken during one of my many visits to the Shuri Castle. This is where the king sat and would view the court yard. FIRST TOURNAMENT 2012 It is time for us to get ready for out first tournament of 2012. It is scheduled for March 3rd at Kokomo High School South Campus. All of us will not be ready for the first event but we will certainly be ready when the next event comes around. How do we prepare for competition? First, you must decide on what events you will compete in. I highly recommend that you compete in all events that you are familiar with. Then you start working on those events at home and each time you come to class. In kata you must work on getting the stances correct along with all basic karate techniques. Then you work on the flow of the kata. You must be patient and sincere to yourself. Otherwise it will all be for nothing. Secondly, there is preparation for kumite. You have to have guts to do kumite. You start learning how to run over people and make your technique work and ensure that it is first. If you are afraid you can not and will not win. This year will be like no year we have had in a long time. So, Bethea’s Karate Studio is rising to the top. Let’s go get’em everybody! Student Of The Month We have an exciting new group of students and they have hit the ground running. They all seem very eager to learn and already working hard at it. I have made my first Student Of The Month for 2012 selection from this group. That selection is Mr. Omari Solomon. This young man came in during the end of the year trial plan and has not looked back. He had some minimal training prior to coming with us but he has adapted to Shorinkan without question. He is regularly in class giving 110% to his training. When told to work on material he remains busy. Mr. Solomon is a one of a kind student for his age. He has developed a passion for karate that will carry him to great heights in karate and life. He is an example for all who will want to be the best. Congratulations Mr. Solomon on selection as Student Of The Month. I am proud that you have chosen Bethea’s Karate Studio as your place to train in the martial art of karate. You are an asset to karate and this Dojo. WELCOME TO OUR NEWCOMERS January has been an excellent month for new students and I am excited. Bethea’s Karate Studio is taking a moment to welcome all of you into our family. It is our responsibility to do our best to satisfy you in your martial arts training. I am confident that my years of experience will go a long towards accomplishing that goal. I want to remind you that you have obligated yourself to being the best that you can be. To accomplish that you must always train hard while you are in the Dojo. I realize that it will be the adult population who will understand more of what I have just said. All of the kids will look for some play time during class. There will be times that we can do that but you must cooperate. Parents, I would like for all of you to become familiar with KKI. This is a non-profit fundraising entity that is controlled by the parents and students. All funds raised by the group are used to cover a portion of the students’ cost to enter tournaments. Currently, Mrs. Wiles has been the key person for KKI. She is in the Dojo often and she is eager to get help and to help the students. They have done some really good things to maintain the functionality of KKI. This is everyone’s Dojo and it should always be treated that way. Again, welcome ! SPECIAL EVENTS February 1st — Workshop Kokomo Women’s Shelter February 6th — Graduation 5—7p.m. February 7th — Mr. Gruel’s Dojo 5 –7p.m. February 8th — Brown/Black Belt Class February 8th — All Kids Chanbara 6—7p.m. February 10th — Sensei Does Boo Reading At Bon Air School February 18th — PKC Region 1 Banquet February 19th — PKC Region 1 Cabin Fever Tournament February 22nd — Brown/Black Belt Class February 22nd — All Kids Chanbara February 25th — Sensei Does Weapons Seminar—Bryan, Ohio KARATE HISTORY—YOUR SENSEI Would you believe that I was an introverted person filled with negative and inferiority complexes? Yes, I was. Today, at age 68 I will be the first to admit that I have come a long way but there is more to go. That’s right, you would think that a person at my age would have overcome or outgrown his past. Well, I can tell you that my life is much better than anyone ever thought. I believe that God gave me karate to first find myself and then to help others to find themselves. I am continuing to find myself all of the time. As a younger person just getting into karate, I was ready to conquer the world. As I traveled to Viet Nam and completed my military duties, I learned to respect life. Only take a life if it was absolutely necessary. Before I retired from the military, I began competing. I competed for 5 years and did not place. I wondered and was regressive in my growth. However, I was determined not to give up. I knew that I had to give it my best and never give up. It was important that I establish myself with my family, friends, and the community. So I pushed and pushed myself until a change had to come. I trained hard in kata, kumite, and weapons. My time came and it lasted for a long time. I won many fighting divisions at tournaments along with kata, and weapons. I was best between the ages of 45 to 55. At no time did these wins come easy. I trained to be a winner building my spirit to always take me to the winners bracket. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to win a World Championship in front of Nakazato Sensei. This was in Atlanta, Ga in 2000. There is so much out there for us when we work for it. You must never just sit and wait for anything. Let history take you forward. STEP UP IN TRAINING I was recently in Washington, DC to teach at a Weapons Camp. It was a great camp and I enjoyed myself immensely. The other instructors who also taught were very interesting and we shared lots of information with the students. As we compared our thoughts on the camp it became evident that we have to take a closer look at the training that we do in the Dojo. I have really good students and you have poured yourself into your training. However, I am forever doing self evaluations and finding that I often fall short in my teaching. So when I say “step up in training”, that is what we will do. I will begin to address material a bit more in depth but on an understandable level. I don’t think that it will require much from you physically but you will have better knowledge of that particular subject. I want students to be confident in knowing their system and what it is all about. The system begins when learning Kihon and Fukyu Kata. There is so much to learn in these kata and they are so much easier than it seems. Although they are considered easy, most don’t pay attention to what is being taught in them. Consider all of our basics: fists, chambering, punching , blocking, stepping (forward and back), posture, and stances. Surprisingly there is more. BASIC KARATE TRAINING This article may seem redundant because of the article on page 2. How many of you have read your Training Record/Manual? In it there are many things that you should have read about your karate. Significantly there is quite a bit about kata in it. However, as we speak about basic karate we are talking A, B, C’s. Let’s just start with a basic fist and I mean tight with the first two knuckles sitting out front. Where is the chamber position? It is at the belt level and with the hip bone. As we learn Kihon 1, 2, and 3, our study of karate has begun. These address basics in finite detail but most students don’t pay attention to them. They teach steeping, stances, striking, chambering, body shifting, blocking. It is important to study The Kihons deeply. That is why they are reviewed every class. Fukyu Kata is an advanced Kihon which teaches you more about the system. You learn to execute combinations, the forward stance, turning, and stance transitioning. There is, as said before much more than can be written in this article. Each of you as students must pay attention to and study what you do. BEING THE BEST We live in a competitive world. To survive in this world we have to be always better than the next in order to survive. We begin preparing to be the best when we begin school. Our best effort is given to everything that we do in school in order to get the best grades. As we go up in grades we learn that there is a benefit to getting the best grades. That is, we begin recognizing that different college doors are opened. Scholarships are given to those with the best grades. By now you have gotten the idea of what I am talking about. So in karate, we are always pushing to be the best. We compete in and out of the Dojo ensuring that we are always at our best. If we are not , then we come back and work harder and never giving up. Are you pushing to be the best? Karate Morality Code The ideal of Karate is to cultivate noble character and conducts, the virtues of modesty and courtesy. No forestalling in Karate. Karate is the military art of self-defense to protect and preserve your life and never to attack others on your own initiative. Perseverance is the root of all the conducts. True patience lies in bearing what is unbearable. Put back your hands when you are full of fight and retract your fight when your hands itch to deal a blow. Softness is unity, Strength is unity. The ultimate object of human beings should be co-existence and co-prosperity in peace. All human actions, softness, and strength, should be united into peace. Avoid the fights and quarrels even if you were dared to. From The Kokomo School of Self Defense Training Manual By living the Karate Morality Code you will never fail in life. It will make you wise, confident, courageous, patient, a leader, modest, courteous, independent, and in control of your life.