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February
2006 Newsletter
Remember to attend and / or participate in the Golden
Rule Karate Tournament, February, 5, 2006 - at Warren Hills High School.
Master Duessel’s seminar is March 11, 2006. Adult
students if you want to go, we leave my house at 5:15 A.M. and return from
Pittsburgh the same day about 9:30 P.M.
Black Belts - there will be two days of training in
Manchester, Maine this June 30th and July 1st. We will be training with
other black belts who are apart of our association with Master Duessel. He
will also be presenting many seminars during this time. We will be driving
to Maine on June 29th and returning July 2nd. Rob Pushard has a student who
has a hotel close to his dojo, where the events will be conducted. See
Kiyoshi Hughes for more details ASAP.
Congratulations to:
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Junior Green Belt # 1 - - Joey Reinbold
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Junior Green Belt #2 - - Richard Couillard
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Senior Green Belt - - Eric Banta, Kate Lynn Martin
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Senior Brown Belt #1 - - Jason Reinbold
Promotions are granted when the student demonstrates the
proper techniques and a continued advancement of practice and training,
inside and outside of the dojo
IF LOOKS COULD KILL - a story from BEYOND BLACK BELT -
HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR TRAINING - by William H. Duessel, 9th Degree Black Belt,
Isshin-ryu Karate.
The book created by Master Duessel was decades in the
making. It contains insights from his 40+ years of Isshin-ryu training and
martial art’s training before that.
It has been said, “The eyes are the window to the soul.”
Through our eyes we can project the seriousness of our intent, or detect the
same in others. The look in Tatsuo Shimabuku’s eyes as he performed Sanchin
Kata at a demonstration in 1964 left an imprint on my friend, Chuck Wallace,
that is still vivid today. “Terrifying,” is how he remembers it. That is the
power held in a gaze.
An offensive technique of deadly force, which requires
concentrated penetration, must be accompanied by the piercing focus of the
eyes. They are the guidance component to your weapon’s system. However, the
gaze should take in the whole person. Don’t become fixed on the weapon,
hand, or foot of an opponent. The stare reduces your perceptive ability,
which delays your reaction time.
For defense against an attacker wielding a knife, maintain
constant eye contact. Tatsuo Shimabuku personally related this to me.
Because of the impression made upon Chuck Wallace, it is something he
successfully integrated into his practice; another detail that increases
proficiency. Make it a part of your training.
* * *
in the martial art’s world, it is very important to use our
eyes in a number of ways. We should train ourselves to keep an open mind to
see realistically what is happening around us. Begin to train so the mind
will permit the eyes to see all sides, as the code of karate states. When
training concentrate your eyes on yourself in the mirror so each punch, kick
or block is done to the best of your ability, being delivered to the proper
point with power, precision and focus. While doing each kata, begin to
visualize an actual opponent. See the attacks being delivered at you so when
you respond your actions will become more than memorized movements. As this
advancement takes place, we will be more able to perform at higher levels
while sparring and also be able to protect ourselves if attacked outside the
dojo. As Henri Bergson said, “The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to
comprehend.” As we open ourselves to this advancement our training will
reach new heights and begin to have meaning and purpose.
The thought that the eyes are the window to the soul is also
a proverb that has been traced in English to the “Regiment of Life (1545),
but sources also relate this saying to Cicero (106 - 43 B.C.). The essence
of this thought helps to reveal who are you and what type of person you are.
A person’s eyes reveal a great deal about the inner self. People are able to
tell when something that is said is true by what an individual’s eyes do.
The eyes show when we are thinking, creating, recalling and much more. |
