Teaching Karate Again!

This is turning out to be the best summer ever!
The reason is simple…I’m teaching again.

150 Kenpo Techniques matrixed ~ Click on the cover!

It feels so good,
after the shoulder injury and surgery,
to get back out on the mat.
If you don’t recall,
I fell off a skateboard
and killed a ligament,
and the whole shoulder went south.

BUT,
doc said surgery would get me back to 99%,
and he was right.
He was really right, because he had no idea
of the rigors of the martial arts.

What I did,
when I decided the time was right,
was go to a place in town,
walk in,
and ask if the guy needed help.

He said yes,
and after a few classes of helping,
I am sometimes being handed the class
and told to have fun.

And,
as all you guys know,
there is NOTHING as fun as the martial arts.

Here’s the interesting stuff,
the martial arts have totally changed
since I learned them.
I don’t consider all changes bad,
but there are things I have to accept
if I want to teach.
And,
there are things that have stayed the same,
which leaves a huge door for me
to introduce stuff that is so old it has been forgotten.

It is fascinating
to pull out an old drill,
hand it to the students,
and watch their eyes bulge.

But,
I have to present the drill differently
than how it was handed to me.

When I was learning,
the teacher gave you something
and you were expected to do it.
Didn’t matter if it hurt.
I mean,
so what if it hurt?
You’re here to learn karate,
so don’t waste time sniveling,
just do the drill.

And we would do the drill
with manic intention.

Now,
when I teach those drills,
I have to make them soft,
and very, very gently
lead the student to harder versions
and real workability.

Currently,
I am working on a series of drills
to bring fighters in freestyle closer together,
to cut down reaction time,
and make sure that blocks work,
and punches have the desired effect.

All without giving nary a bruise.

But,
I can’t tell you,
it is more fun than I have had since…since I don’t know.
After being sidelined for a couple of years,
limited to nothing but forms,
the feel of working techniques on real bodies
is absolutely and totally and utterly exhilarating.

So,
I get letters sometimes,
from people who can’t find workout partners.

I tell them:
teach your wife,
work with your brother,
or cousin or nephew or whoever.
Put up a flier at the local gym,
or the Y,
or just be seen working out in the park.

There are 7 billion people on this globe of dirt,
all will turn their head to a car crash,
many will become instantly fascinated by martial arts,
and you are telling me you are alone.
That nobody cares.

Don’t make me sigh.

Just get out there and do it.

And,
as this newsletter indicates,
you can always just walk into a school,
ask if you can help out.
You won’t make money,
but you can do the martial arts,
you can play with other people,
and the information will trade back and forth like magic!
That is a supreme blessing,
on this planet or any other.