Our little choices affect the rest of the outcome

We may not think that it is important, but it is in the little daily choices that we affect the greater path of our life.

It is how we execute a stance, or a strike in the mundane basic training that makes or breaks a technique when we need to apply it.

So often we overlook the simple, and focus on the complicated.. but I have learned that it is through the simple that we will attain the more complex. This revelation explains to me the reason why the higher ranked Black Belts return their energy to a simple middle punch over and over again. The basic building blocks contain the answers to the larger picture.

It is important to realize, as Martial Artists, that the things that we learned as a lower belt need to become stronger, and not tossed aside being considered useless.

Skill builds up, and needs continuation from previous experience.

I really enjoyed the movie "Kung Fu Panda"

My whole family, and I ended off the summer holidays by going to watch the movie "Kung Fu Panda" together. Boy, that was something! We took up a whole aisle by ourselves.

The movie was fantastic. I loved how the interrelationships of the characters was so developed. I loved how Martial arts was both spoofed, and yet a gentle respect was maintained throughout the movie.

The main character, Po, is very charming, and lovable.. but I found myself adoring the old wise Sensei, Master OOgway. He stole my heart with his simple complexity.



It was a great animation that I will add to my collection of movies, and I'll be thrilled to share with my future grandchildren.

I am quite happy to hear that Dreamworks is working on a sequel to this movie. I can't wait to see more about the story of Po.

Working on my Chion Bo kata

After working on my Bo kata for over a year now, I have improved it to this level:



I'm quite satisfied with the progress, but I can still see many aspects that I would like to improve upon. I feel that this video is worthy of putting forth as a good sample of my efforts.

I can not dedicate as much time as I'd like to my weapons work as my main focus is my basics, and kata. Therefore, progress may be delayed when it comes to weapon handling.

In the next couple of days I'll be working at my job on a constant basis. Time will become even more precious. I'm actively looking for a place at my job site that has enough room, and privacy for kata practice during breaks. The washrooms are a "no go" here. It seems that the cleaning staff are taking care of the main washroom at the same time as my breaks, and the other washroom is too small for kata movement. Anyway, there are always ladies walking in and out of the washroom. It's such a busy place... sigh. I have tried to go outside to the parking lot but it's really busy there too with smokers coming in and out for their cigarette. I might just get to the desperation level where I practice my kata in the front lobby of the place directly facing the security staff. There's lots of room there... However, this is my last resort. I would like to find a secluded place if possible. My last workplace allowed me to go to the warehouse section. I haven't seen the whole facility yet, and I haven't discussed my options with my supervisors yet so I will not give up hope.

I have been hired..

If you notice a little bit of delay in postings on my weblog it is due to the fact that I have been hired as a permanent worker at a very lovely company. I'm going to be adjusting to the new schedule demands, and balancing my family, karate, and housework with them.

I'd like to share some funny little anecdotes from my interview which relates to Martial Arts:

I was asked to share some important things about myself with my 3 interviewers. The mention of 7 kids raised a couple of eyebrows. I saw a big response to the fact that I had homeschooled them for awhile. When I told them that I was a black belt in Karate, and that I was working towards my second Black belt. Wow! You should have been there! The room erupted in response. I couldn't speak anymore. I just blushed, and quietly waited as they spoke between the three of them spoke words of admiration, and positive support. Honestly, I felt like an Emmy winner at that point. My mind thought back to all of the pain, effort, and sweat that I had put into the past years of training, and I mentally agreed with the words that they were saying to me, but it was a shock to my system to be bathed in so much praise at once. It felt nice, but strange.

Admiration of talent, training, and dedication

I have stumbled across this video of the US Army Drill Team doing a demonstration, and I am honored to have witnessed such dedication, skill, and hours of training shown by their performance.

This, in my opinion, is a form of "kata" in a North American manner where each move has it's own reason for existing, and full concentration is necessary to achieve these amazing results.

I have yet to be lucky enough to witness a Martial Arts demonstration of Kobudo weapons done in such close range with such accuracy. Each one of those rifles has a chrome bayonets attached on the end of them. One mistake can cause some discomfort to either oneself, or others. I do hope that I catch something similar to this on Youtube in the future involving nunchuks, or Bo staff. I would be very amazed and thrilled to see a group performance of weapon mastery.

Relaxed training in the backyard

My daughter and I decided to enjoy some time training together in the backyard. My other daughter, the aspiring recording arts person, caught it on video. I edited her footage down to a few minutes for your entertainment.

We are kicking at a pillowcase filled with a heavy woolen crocheted afghan tied onto the kid's swing set with a white belt. Sure.. it's not the most refined equipment, but it was inexpensive, and handy.... and actually fun to kick at.

We were chased out of our dojo by the build up of mosquitoes as the evening descended.

Parents banned from being spectators

Just recently this year, in my province, parent spectators have been banned from watching their children compete in the sport of Lacrosse.

In British Columbia, the lacrosse league implemented a "Silent night" where parents were not allowed to clap, yell, or cheer during the competition.

In Los Angeles, coaches are held responsible for the behavior of the fans of their team in Youth Basketball.

In Soccer, "Several soccer coaches are dishing out lollipops to rowdy parents, with firm instructions to keep their mouths shut until the candy has dissolved. "

In Northern California, the city of Roseville will require parents of children in municipal sports leagues to attend lessons in sportsmanship.

There seems to be developing a general lower tolerance for unruly parents in the sporting areas.

Will this type of thing happen at Martial Arts Tournaments?

I have seen unruly parents at various Tournaments. Will we be seeing a similar ruling in Martial Arts as we have seen exhibited by the Lacrosse League? I'm talking about the rule of banning spectators from attending. I can't see that happening as the tournament would loose profit in this manner. Each competitor brings in a registration fee, and usually at least one, or two spectator fees.

I have seen "closed" belt rank tests where parents were not welcome to watch their child testing for the next rank. I don't understand the reasoning behind this from an onlooker's perspective. I have yet to see an unruly parent during a belt rank test. But then, I don't know what happens after the test. Perhaps the parent becomes upset that their child did not pass their test while another child succeeded.

Training and painting

Here are a few pictures capturing the many hours that I've spent in the past week on the activity of painting. I swear I will enjoy the result when I'm done, but the day to day hours of repetitive activity can wear out on a person. I've been putting in 5 to 6 hour days just scraping and painting on my own. In these pictures, two of my daughters came and helped me with the garage. I was astonished how much more difficult it is to paint stucco. It's like one has to fight for each 4 inches of painted space! I'm doing this alone so far because my husband's vacation doesn't start until next week. To be honest, I am trying to get as much as I can done before he goes on vacation so that his whole summer isn't spent working hard on the house.

I still train in karate. I take little breaks every 2 hours of painting to stretch out my legs, and do jumping kicks on a little makeshift "toy" that I made for myself out of doubled pillowcases filled with wool crocheted covers, and tied up with a karate belt to my kid's swingset. I'll try to capture what that looks like on video.. ha ha ha.. It must look strange, and unusual.

I've attended a couple of sessions of Yoga. I am amazed at how similar it is to Karate with the emphasis on proper breathing during movement, and on good posture. But then I realized "Doesn't almost every physical activity have this emphasis... like pilates, golf, dance, skiing?" Well.. perhaps it doesn't focus on proper breathing as much as karate, and yoga, but I bet you that deep diaphramatic breathing would help with those activities also.

It's been awhile

Yes.. I haven't posted for almost a good month now. I'm so extra busy lately with a house filled with kids on summer vacation, and working towards improving my house/garage. I've been scraping down, and washing down the walls of my home to get ready for painting. So many hours, and hours of dedicated time to prepare for improving the look of my house!

Also, There has been a wedding in my relatives that I needed to prepare for, and attend. I had to spend hours shopping for nice clothes, and making sure that we were ready for the event. We went to 12 different stores to find our matching dresses, etc.

Karate: To my surprise I haven't slacked in this regard, I've managed to find time to practice my Bo, my nunchucks, my kata, my basics, my conditioning, and work on the research for the essay that I need to write for my next belt rank test. Yes, my online computer time has suffered for all of this.. sacrifice has to happen somewhere.. also, I've had less time to play any video games.

Latest Karate musings:

Motivation: Where does it come from? What causes people to invest themselves into a good cause, or a positive life choice, or a healthy habit? How can we support others in their good choices so that they continue in that direction?

I believe that the key to longevity is that these people are willing to look at reality. They open themselves to the possibilities of an activity, and also to the challenges, and responsibilities, and they embrace the whole package.

Karate, for example, involves the whole person. ( At least, in my opinion.) It isn't just that one hour at the dojo a few times a week that will create the karate ka that is desired, but an ongoing investment into the Art. It isn't just the movements of the techniques that make them work, but also the commitment of the mind, and spirit into the action.

Can Karate training be a "past-time hobby" that is put aside, and picked back up after summer vacation? I guess so.. however, I would say that this would mean that the person is willing to begin their training again from the start. They would have to renew, rebuild, and remember what they had achieved months earlier. Personally, I shudder at this thought. It has taken me so much pain, and commitment to gather what little I have now that I do not desire to put it to the side. I know that I would be quite saddened to realize that I had forgotten, or lost what I had gained. No.. I want to build on what I have so I chose to continue training on my own during those moments when summer holidays makes training at the dojo more difficult. In fact, I'm going to expand, and study into my Art to even improve over the summer so that when classes resume, I'm even MORE ready to take on the challenge.

A new branch on my path

I have been given a set of foam nunchuks like the ones pictured above...


I have one word for this:

COOL!!!!!!!

I'm not sure how much I will enjoy learning to swing the nunchuks around my head like that.. I remember how the Bo and I had our special painful moments of learning how to work together. I feel like I'm still a baby at manipulating the Bo.. and here I have a set of nunchuks?? I must be one of those few people who watched people spin the nunchuks around, and be thinking "Oh thank goodness that's not me in that swirl of motion!"

But it doesn't hurt to try.. I cannot dedicate too much time to working with the nunchuks. I really have to apply myself to my Belt rank requirements, to my kata, to my conditioning, and to my Bo... but it doesn't hurt once in awhile to swing a nunchuk.. :-) especially if something like THIS should happen to me...



Ha ha ha.. and this COULD happen to me!!

Wouldn't you know it! A blast from my past

Oh.. yes.. on a lark I decided to search up my name on the internet. I found the usual things, but then surprisingly to my joy, I found a list of competitors, and medal winners from a tournament that I had attended in 2004.

I'm listed in there as the silver medal winner of my rank division. My girls are listed there also as Gold, silver, and bronze winners.

This was my family's very first tournament. We had gone to others after this one. The medals from our experiences are many, and fill up the bottom of my dresser drawer. But, as I was taught by my first Sensei, it isn't the medals that I cherish, but the experiences, and lessons that I learned during the Tournament.

My little girls had challenged the Team Kata division. At the ages of 9,7, and 6, these little white belts went up and performed against the other Team kata of black belt level (Adults included). They didn't place at all, which I had expected would happen, but I couldn't help but admire their courage, determination, and willingness to try.

Sure.. all through their team kata performance, I could see one or two of my girls looking more at the judges, and crowds around them rather than focusing on their performance, but who could blame them? Everything was new to us at the time, and standing in that ring was quite daunting for any beginner.

Here are some pictures that were taken of the event:


Heian Yondan ( during competition)

The girls practicing before the event.

Wearing their medals


There is me at purple belt level.. Wow.. I didn't realize how much I would appreciate looking back at the past like this. I wish that I had taken pictures, and videos of my kata when I was a white belt. It's nice to look and see where I was, and how I have maintained, and improved over the years.

Training in Quebec

Osu to all who visit my blog,

I just spent 5 days in the beautiful Montreal, Quebec, Canada region, and I am thrilled to share some memories, and pictures with you.

Thursday night, I was thrilled to be informed that I would be training at Sensei Jean Frenette's Dojo in Boucherville. I had given up the hope that this would be possible as my family event schedule was rather tight for the time that I was in Quebec. Here is a picture of me standing in front of the dojo door. Yes I am wearing a white belt. This is through my own choice. I felt that I had no knowledge of Goju Ryu, and that I wanted to express my respect for this dojo by entering it as a white belt.:


















When I first arrived there, I was not too sure if there would even be a class as the door was locked, and I didn't know if I was even in the right place. Soon, the karate students arrived, and warmly welcomed me. It was a joy to spend a couple of hours sharing the dojo floor with them. I learned more about the history of Goju Ryu, and how it has influence my chosen style of Kyokushin. I was able to partake in many new experiences through the wonderful guidance of the sempai there. Sensei Frenette was so kind, attentive, and supportive. I almost wanted to pinch myself every few minutes to see if I was dreaming.























Friday contained my first disappointment: I had scheduled a wonderful night of training under Sensei Dominic Morin's Kanreikai Dojo. Through our correspondence, I developed quite an appreciation for the personality of Sensei Morin, and I was happily anticipating meeting him face to face. However, family events, and conflicting schedules made transport to the dojo near impossible. Instead, I was "stranded" in the Sorel-Tracy area. I could watch the ferry heading towards Joliette, and Sensei Morin's dojo, but I could not travel on it. Instead, I walked around, and took some lovely pictures.





















































Saturday was a great treat: I joined Mat in the Chito Ryu Dojo led by Sensei Eric Lefebvre. Sensei Eric called forth a special class held on an island in a park. I was surrounded by the beauty, and sound of waterfalls as I tried to focus on my karate. I have to admit that more than once I lost concentration as I turned, and stopped in awe at how lovely it was around me. The grass had the early morning rain still dripping from it, and it felt lovely, and cool on my feet. The sun broke through the clouds to warm my shoulders, and to bring the colors around me into even greater life. It was a fabulous morning experience, and I saw drank in the joy of our Art. Mat and I were able to practice our self defense sequences on each other, and our gi became striped brown, and green with the mud, and grass stains to match the colors of our belts. I met such a group of inspirational, and dedicated karate ka that day, and I am so grateful for that experience.






































Sunday was dedicated to family visits, as I have a large family. Monday night, I was given the great opportunity to train at the West Island Kyokushin Dojo under Sensei John Kalaidopoulos. I was too excited about training here because I forgot to bring my camera with my dogi when I left my brother's car so I do not have any pictures to offer. I entered the dojo with both timidity, and excitement. I had been looking forwards to this moment for months, yet I wondered how my performance would compare to others who train in my own Art. I feared that I would embarrass my Sensei, and yet, I knew that if I put forth my best, he would be proud of me. I could do no more than this... yet.. how does one quiet the little voices in the back of one's heart? I was told that I could train with each of the classes starting with the young children's class, up to the advanced adult. This was 4 hours of training, and although a piece of me wondered if I could maintain the effort, there was a solid foundation within my spirit that nothing would discourage me from attempting this challenge. Sensei John was so gracious, and hospitable to me. I felt like a lost child that has found a home. He provided for my every need, even giving me permission to rest if I felt faint, and dizzy. This gave me a breath of peace as I knew that I could just train as hard as my body would allow. I was thrilled to find that I kept up throughout the majority of the demand. There was only one moment, by the end of the third hour when I was doing another kicking kata, where I suddenly felt the room spin, and my balance disappeared. With a few minutes of rest, and a good amount of water, I was able to come back into the class, and continue. It was quite an educational experience for me as I was treated to various new movements, sequences, exercises, and even Bo training to expand my experience.

I am so grateful to all of the Sensei who provided me with such a good vacation, and great training. Osu

Supergroup7 is headed to Quebec!

In the first weeks of June, I'll be making my appearance in Quebec. Hopefully, within the busy activities of visiting friends, and family, I'll have time to train in karate at various dojo. I'm looking forwards to this short, but sweet vacation from the everyday.

When I get back, I'll be sure to post up some photos, and give you some stories about my trip.

Until then, Aloha, everybody!

Seienchin in the snow

Wow! Just WOW! Beautiful.. Awesome kata done in what looks like freshly fallen snow!!

That's Kyokushin training! OSU!

I haven't had to do a kata in snow, but I have trained in it. It's a totally different sensation entirely! I haven't seen the snow fly around me like puffs of cloud before.. Oh my goodness that looks so beautiful!

I'm grateful that Sensei Steve has allowed me to embed his video on my weblog.

Thank you so much, Sensei Steve!!!

There is sport, and then there is something else...

My latest posting on tournaments brought up some thoughts about different philosophies while training in Martial Arts. I am grateful to Steve for planting the seed of this discussion in one of his comments.

As one trains in a Martial art they will find themselves attracted to the various avenues that is provided by this time consuming activity.

Some center themselves in life and death applications that could save them in a violent encounter. Their own lives depend on how well that they know their Martial art. Usually we'd see these as soldiers, or police, but there are others who chose to focus their training in this direction. This kind of training could never be performed at a tournament as the main rule is that there are no rules, and that all actions are fair in the heat of battle. These people seek to turn themselves into effective weapons of quick decisive destruction as is a necessary skill in the demands of their lives. I would call this as "survival" oriented.

Others enjoy the thrill of competition. They train in order to become the most skilled at their Art. They improve themselves with the goal of winning the most medals, trophies, and acknowledgement for their abilities. Each new challenge motivates them to look for better ways of expressing their Art at a higher level. I would call this kind of philosophy as "sports" oriented.

Some train in Martial Arts because they have noticed that it helps their bodies to stay in shape. They've noticed that training in the Arts has had a positive effect on their flexibility, stamina, strength, and even their ability to think. They faithfully come to the dojo each class knowing that they are investing into their future. I would call this kind of philosophy as "health" oriented.

Then, there are people like me. I understand, and appreciate all of the philosophies that I've listed so far, but my focus is different than that.
How can I describe this in words???

I am "spirit" oriented. I look towards the development of my character into a more positive me. I use the tools that Karate training offers to help me learn patience, perseverence, humility, courage, wisdom, etc. Through my efforts to improve myself, I find that I gain the benefits of learning self defense skills, expressing my art at a higher level, and increasing my health. The benefits are not my focus, they are like a wonderful by-product. Karate is part of "me". My lifestyle, my spirituality, my daily work, my mothering, my interactions with others, etc. all of these things fuel my journey in the Way of Karate. Street effectiveness of a movement is not as important to me as the performance, and understanding of the movement. Winning medals is not as important to me as how the person wins. Health improvement is not beneficial ( in my eyes) if the person treats others with disdain, and disrespect. For me, Martial arts are centered on courtesy, and respect for oneself, and for our neighbour. I see that it is the lack of courtesy, and respect for others that has been the cause of every single confrontation, war, and negative event in the history of humanity.

Is one philosophy better than the others? Well.. obviously, I prefer the one that I am walking upon or I wouldn't be so involved into it, but that doesn't mean that there isn't goodness in the other paths. I know what I want from myself, and my training, and I seek my goals. This is what I'd desire for everyone else.

Kata concepts caught in animation

Beautiful! I love it! I love the symbolism! I love the movements! I love the animation! I love the music! I love the message! I love the impact of the whole scene!

Fantastic standing applause to all those who helped create:

Avatar: The Last Airbender Book 3: Ep 13: The Firebending Masters.

Spring is here!

Thank heavens for the warmer weather! I've been able to get outside and train with my Bo. In fact, I've gotten more training on my Bo in the past 2 weeks than I've managed to scrounge up in a winter month!

The only downside is sometimes the strong winds will blow grit and sand into my eyes as I turn in my pattern. So I've had to learn to compensate by closing my eyes whenever I turned into the wind. This is not a good habit to develop. I could just see myself performing my pattern in class in this way. Luckilly the wind isn't always from the same direction each day.

I love training outside. I'm so glad that spring is here.

Tournament support

I attended my daughter's tournament this weekend, and I witnessed things that I feel inclined to give my impression. Of course, I will not mention all of the wonderful, positive moments because I could fill the weblog with those. I appreciated all of the good things that I saw, and I want everyone to know that my daughter walked away from the experience with great memories. However, there are a few things that I would like to mention that I feel could be done with more focus on the positive. Please understand that my following thoughts come from the various tournament experiences that I've had in general, and not from this specific tournament that my daughter attended. Attending this tournament just brought forth some personal considerations in my mind:


A)Noise behavior: It astounds me that the crowd feels that roaring at the competitors helps them perform. Personally, I couldn't understand this need to scream "GO.. Hit HARDER! KILL them!" at the people sparring... so instead, I stood quietly, and witnessed the moment with a deep respect to the effort, and courage of both competitors. As I stayed there with that deep silent calm filling me inside and out, a picture flashed in my mind. I remembered the movie "The Karate Kid" when the character, Sensei Miyagi, was a still presence of power amongst the noise of the crowd watching Daniel-san fight. It felt so proper to do this, to be silent and to witness with every ounce of energy, and showing both fighters the same respect. When the encounter finished, I exploded in applause, and sound cheering both for their performance. I valued the skill shown by the ones who had trained for this moment, and I encouraged them to continue working on their efforts.

B) Parental/Instructor behavior: I witnessed positive support, and cruel pressure. I have to state that I disagree with threatening a child with punishment if they do not win a medal. I also have to state that there is no justifiable reason for treating a child badly before, during, or after the tournament.

C) Competitor behavior: I watched a negative scene where the winner crowed in triumph, high fived his fellow students, and showed no respect to his opponent. I can understand feeling the thrill of winning, but in my opinion, we are martial artists, not football, or soccer players. There is a different philosophy, and meaning to what we do. I turned to my daughter and spoke to her in severe warning. I said "If I EVER see you treat your opponent in such a manner, I guarantee that I will refuse to allow you to receive your medal, we will leave the tournament immediately regardless of where you rank, you will receive a lecture all of the way home, and probably will hear of my displeasure for the rest of the year. Karate centers on "Rei". Without courtesy, and respect then you are not doing Karate, and I would be greatly embarrassed by your actions."

D) Judge behavior: Perhaps it is my youth in Martial arts that is speaking, but I feel that being a judge in a tournament is a honor, and a responsibility. No matter the age, or skill of the person performing in the ring, it is his/her expression of her ability. A judge should give an honest, and unbiased assessment of the competitor. In my eyes, this is a moment of truth, and that needs to be respected. Points should not be given based on friendship, compassion, or other reasons. Reality is that such things do happen. I can only state that if or when I am asked to judge, I will live up to my values as best as I can. Perhaps, in the situations that I have witnessed in the present, it would be better that I avoid being a judge at a tournament.

Personally, although I am aware that it was only a movie, I want to imitate the honor, respect, and courage that I saw portrayed by the characters of the Karate Kid movie, Sensei Miyagi, and Daniel-san during the tournament scene. I feel that the Cobra Kai dojo portrayed in the movie reveal all of the attitudes, and behaviors that I would ashamed to see in myself, and in my children.

Shihan Hanshi John Taylor, and his newsletter

Shihan John Taylor is an Icon in the Kyokushin Karate Martial Arts World. Words can barely describe all of the progress, and evolution that he has created within Kyokushin Karate. Last year, he was promoted to 9th Dan under Kancho Matsuchima in recognition of all of his contributions to Kyokushin. He mentions this wonderful occasion in his frequently released newsletters called "Shin" where he describes the admirable attributes of Kancho Matsuchima. I will quote just a few words from his article:

"Kancho’s movement among the students and his attention to detail, as well as his humour, gave students a glimpse of the profound impact that Sosai Oyama has instilled within him. Kancho’s technical excellence and immense power confutes the fact that he undertook a serious neck operation several years ago. “I had felt pain in my back and sometimes I couldn’t walk normally.” Deterioration in the neck vertebrae had caused numbness in the hands and required immediate surgery. “From two months after the operation, I started to teach Karate. The training of Karate Kihon was good for rehabilitation.” If Kyokushin can be credited with the power to assist healing, one must also acknowledge the power of an individual to mentally overcome adversity. Kancho’s swift return to training portrays the measure of the man’s physical control and mental tenacity; is it no wonder that Sosai Oyama chose Kancho to appear in his now priceless 1970 Karate manual, “Advanced Karate.” For a man with such a revered history in Kyokushin, Kancho’s admiration for his Australian Branch Chiefs and the standard of their students is evident. “All Australian Branch Chiefs are Senior Masters from Sosai Oyama. Their teachings are the same as Japan.” In fact, it is Kancho’s lack of ego and support of his Branch Chiefs that inspires such confidence in him. Being the only Kyokushin 9th Dan in the World, Kancho Matsushima deemed it necessary to honour Hanshi John Taylor with the same rank last year, acknowledging his contribution to Kyokushin. With the assistance of Hanshi John Taylor, Kancho Matsushima has been responsible for the growth of Kyokushin in the last ten years, amassing 60 countries and 120 Branch Chiefs."

This "Shin" newsletter also contains various items of interest such as different exercises which can help with training goals. The April newsletter explains, in diagrams, and words, how to perform an inverse pull. The February issue shows how to do a Romanian Dead lift. March offers a variety of stability core exercises.

Shihan Taylor offers the reader experienced information, and guidance on important ideas such as Karate Breathing techniques, or which type of bath is better when suffering with sore muscles, a cold or a hot bath?

In every newsletter, there is a touch of humor to make the reader smile, and even break out into a laugh.

It also keeps our Australian Karate Ka aware of the latest happenings in their part of the world.

If you would like to download the April/2008 issue you can just click here.

If you would like to look through the earlier issues of this newsletter from Shihan's desk, follow this link:

http://www.akka.com.au/newsLetter.php

There is so much wonderful information to look through in this collection of thoughts, and guidance from the mind of Shihan Taylor! There is so much to read, and a great amount of the guidance crosses into the general range where any Martial Artist could take advantage of what is offered, and improve their training methods. The newsletters are short, easy to read, and very efficient in getting the message through. Perhaps this might be an indication of what facing Shihan Taylor in Kumite would feel like..

The mousetrap

I am hoping that I have found the author of the following prose so that I may give proper honor to the right person.

"The mouse and the trap
Sis Katibah

Friday, March 28, 2008

A MOUSE looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package.

It was a mousetrap. So, retreating to the farmyard, he proclaimed the warning: "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!"

The chicken clucked. "Mr Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it."

He turned to the lamb who sympathized but said, "I am so very sorry, Mr Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured you are in my prayers."

The mouse turned to the cow who said, "Wow, Mr Mouse. Im sorry for you, but its no skin off my nose." The mouse turned back dejected.

That night a sound was heard throughout the house, like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey. The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see that it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer's wife. She was rushed to the hospital and returned with a fever.

Everyone knows you treat a fever with chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient. But her sickness continued, so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the lamb. Still the farmer's wife did not get well; she died. So many people came to her funeral that the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for every guest. The mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great sadness.

Mutmainnaa