MARCH NEWSLETTER

YOUTH GATHERING FOR SPARRING & JUDGING

On Tuesday, February 18^th there was a gathering of Mr. Pina, Mr. Caldwell and Mr. Williams’ students. The purpose was for the youth ages 12 and under to get in some sparring time and the adult brown and black belts to get some experience judging and refereeing matches. The school was packed and the kids appeared to have a good time. The brown and black belts had a chance to work on some new skills that will need to be practiced often. We plan on having the next gathering in a few months with the focus on musical, team and individual kata.

FUNDRAISER

 This month we will be doing a fundraiser to raise funds for martial arts window graphics. Our goal is $2500.00 dollars. There will be incentives prizes for the most orders sold to the top three sellers. We will be doing cookie dough, boxed cookies and candles from “Celebrating Home”. These graphics will keep the school cooler in the summer months while giving us some added advertisement from drive by traffic. There will be more information in the coming weeks.

TOURNAMENTS

Mickey Gomez Wichita Open

Saturday, March 8^th, 2014

Army National Guard Armory

3617 South Seneca

Wichita, Kansas

CONTACT: 316-838-8210

Seibukan Karate Invitational

Saturday, March 22^nd, 2014

Holy Cross Lutheran Church

600 North Greenwich Road

Wichita, Kansas

CONTACT: 316-516-4101 Ksseibukan1@yahoo.com

St Jude Hospital Benefit Tournament

Saturday, March 29^th 2014

Christ the King Church

25^th and Wanamaker

Topeka, Kansas

CONTACT: Pam Johansen 785-844-0050

WOMEN’S SELF DEFENSE 

Each April, OVC, the Office for Victims of Crime helps lead communities throughout the country in their annual observances of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week (NCVRW) by promoting victims’ rights and honoring crime victims and those who advocate on their behalf. This year, NCVRW will be observed April 6–12, 2014 and the theme is "30 Years: Restoring the Balance of Justice." We will be having one of our two free workshops for Women’s Self Defense. This class will be Saturday, April 12^th from 9:30 am to 2:00 pm. This workshop is open to ladies ages 13 and over.

KANSAS SUNFLOWER STATE GAMES

The Sunflower State Games is the largest amateur multi sport event in Kansas conducted annually three weekends in July. The martial arts games are tentatively the second weekend of July. This year we plan to have as many of our students attend as possible. Start warming up at local area tournaments not so we can all make the trip to Topeka in July.

Mr. Williams, Chief Instructor

 PROMOTIONS

Saturday, February 22, 2014

GOLD BELT

Grady Allen

Jr. GOLD BELT

Caedan Griffith

Dylan Kiatoukashy

Brandon Kiatoukashy

Charlie Miller

Dominic Rivera

WHAT IS KARATE

Essentially the art of Karate is the art of self-defense.  Karate is designed for protective reasons and should never be used to attack an opponent.

One stroke of Karate properly delivered, will kill a horse or bull.  But the guiding principle of Karate never allows you to hurt others unless you are attacked.  The great ancient masters of Karate, Meijin and Tatsujin, were never known to use it violently throughout their lives.  Karate should not be violent; it should deny violence.  The guiding principle, “there is no forestalling in the art of Karate”.  The complete meaning of this idea of Karate is a little difficult to convey.

Most people believe that when you are involved in a fight, standing on the defensive after he starts attacking you, the chance of winning is assured chiefly to the one who first started to strike.  This is a common belief.  It is not so believed in Karate.  The moment you strike the opponent is the moment the opponent strikes you.  This is a very delicate point which must be understood by any successful exponent of Karate.

There is a secret principle of Japanese Kendo (fencing) called Aiuchi.  The usual interpretation of this principle is that you kill the opponent at the moment he kills you.  Aiuchi, literally means to smash the opponent’s bone just before he strikes your skin.  There is another secret called Go no Sen.  This means ‘Defensive is Offensive’, which means, you strike your opponent the moment you perceive the movement of his sword.

The ken (fist) of Karate and Ken (sword) of Kendo are completely in accord with each other in principle, which, you can interpret you will never be defeated if you attack the opponent as he is about to strike you or the moment he shows a movement to strike you.  If, you want to learn Karate, understanding of the secret of ‘no forestalling’ is an important concept.

Another ‘secret principle’ of Kendo says, “Serenity is the greatest human quality for which we can strive.”  The old masters had learned the art of Chinese Hsing-I (karate) and Ch’an (Zen), which developed them to believe they could do anything if they willed it, and only acted with self-confidence.

Man’s mental power is great; his body supported by this great power is mysterious beyond solution by science.  The essence of Karate is nothing else than a training of mind over body.  This is why Karate, is capable of such power, should not be used wrongly or violently.  The art of Karate seeks for something deeper than simple physical cultivation. 

H. James Young, Chief Instructor-Young San Karate

BELT RANK

What does belt rank mean and stand for? Belt rank means nothing more than what the martial arts school you study at appoints it to mean. It's an external indicator to you and the school of where you practice that there is an opportunity for advancement. The belt rank system was introduced as a step-up level system to signal a student’s progress in the study of the art.

Today’s system of belt colors, like the one used here at American Karate, is based on 18-20 steps. Ten for the Minor preparatory grades 10th Kyu through 1st Kyu and a further eight to ten for the Major grades 1st Dan through 10th Dan also referred to as degrees. The color of a student’s belt indicates their rank and in theory, their ability. Each step forward represents a further accumulation of skills and knowledge. Belt colors generally get darker through each level towards Black Belt. This may be symbolic of a time when a plain white cloth or belt was used to tie a plain white jacket, similar to a short bath robe, for practice.  If a student trained often enough, the white belt would eventually darken. This appears to be the reason for the Black Belt as we know it today which symbolizes the most advanced martial arts level. Belts are used to indicate when a student has been promoted to the next level. Improved techniques and deeper knowledge of the 3 elements of Kihon (basics), Kata (form) and Kumite (sparring) needs to be shown before the next Karate level can be awarded.

Twenty years ago there were only five belts to get to black belt in our school. Because the legal understanding and nature of my profession in the criminal justice field, I do not believe in promoting students to Black Belt under the age of 16. A that time I instituted additional belts referred to as junior level belts for the youth students under thirteen. This was so they could advance over time and not be held back forever. The truth of the matter is that I had students back then between twelve and sixteen that I could have promoted to Black Belt and not lost any sleep over it! Today…the work ethic and desire to excel to be better than they were is just not there. School teachers are seeing it, coaches are seeing it and employers are seeing it. I need all of these belts today just to keep our youth motivated. If they are not achieving something on somewhat of a regular basis they lose interest and drop out.

T. L. Williams, Chief Instructor