I first met Shihan Robert Edwards as a child.  My sensei brought me to his school, and what I remember from that brief introduction is how amazing his physique was.  Even as a child, I could tell that he was a man of incredible presence, and undoubtedly, extraordinary skill.  Over my years of training I continued to hear accounts of his ability and stories of his incredible success as a competitor.

Unfortunately for me, I did not interact with him again until many years later (shortly after I became a Shodan in Isshinryu Karate) at a George Shin kata tournament.  As I was leaving the building, Shihan Edwards asked who my sensei was and casually invited me to his school.

I did not visit his school until a couple years later, and I now wish I had gone there sooner.  Eventually, I began attending his class regularly and he visited my school on several occasions.  During that time, I can’t say that I learned or practiced anything “advanced” or even really new, but I began to understand karate in a way that I had never imagined possible.

It was astounding to me how much material he could extrapolate from something as “easy” as an outside arm block.  I was amazed at the intricate thought processes and martial arts strategy that he developed and deduced from less than 10 simple movements.  I realized very quickly that I had a lot less knowledge of Isshinryu than I had previously thought.

Shihan Edwards showed me that the only wisdom in martial arts is the wisdom that comes from humility.  I was watching one the most accomplished Isshinryu men on the planet tear down and rebuild an entire martial arts system in just his white belt curriculum!  How could this be happening?  I had spent so much time trying to become more “advanced” as a black belt that I had assumed away all the most important elements of Isshinryu.  Being part of Shihan’s class opened my eyes to the real value of Isshinryu karate as a martial art.

Beyond the precision of his technique, Shihan Edwards was the first Isshinryu Sensei to treat me as man first and a student second.  He was also the first Isshinryu man to recognize my training in other martial arts as an asset to my Isshinryu karate, rather than as a distraction from it.  I continue to look to Shihan for his guidance as I strive to develop my understanding of Isshinryu karate, and I believe that he understands the spirit of karate better than anyone else I have ever known.

Physical fitness is certainly part of a healthy lifestyle, but it is essential for martial arts students.  I have created the Youth Fitness Stars Program to motivate our youth students to focus on their fitness level.  Although his is a new program, just launched this year, we already have our first certified Fitness Star:  Sam Mohit (Yellow Belt).  Way to go Sam!

To earn his Fitness Star awards, Sam had to complete 10 fitness challenges for the year including:

• 90 second wall sit (ouch)
• 3 minutes of jumping jacks
• 15 correct push-ups

Congratulations to Sam – hopefully there will many more students who follow your lead.

In the US – most sports are seasonal in nature – fall is for soccer and we play basketball in the winter and spring is tee-ball/baseball season.  Then summer comes and we want to goof off.   Americans have very short attention spans, and we find it hard to concentrate on anything all year-round.  There is something we like about knowing that our activities have an end date and that we can put them aside until next season.

Martial arts training, however, is not a seasonal activity – a person can practice martial arts any season of the year or in any season of their life.   It takes discipline and commitment to stick with karate  year-round and to be at the dojo on those beautiful summer afternoons – but it pays off.  In my experience, the key to developing skills is to practice, practice, practice – no matter what the weather forecast is.

At my dojo growing up, our summer classes were very small and our winter classes were large.  Most people came and went, and they never really became skilled or fit.  Many times in the summer it was just me and the Sensei working out.  Over the years, my consistent attendance (not my ability) helped me surpass the other students.

Those small group summer training sessions were some of the best learning experiences of my early karate days because I learned the importance of regular attendance (and witnessed the disadvantages of seasonal commitment).   Often, when other students returned after a summer I had earned a new belt while they stayed at the same level.

I teach about 11 hours/week of you karate classes, and in that time I hear some really great quotes from the kids.  This is a running post of some of the best lines we hear during training.

“I know that move – it’s martian arts!” – GHKA Orange Belt

When leading the class in a combination, this student came up with her own move and named it the “Lima Bean Punch.”  I guess when you practice “martian arts, you use the “lima bean punch”.

New quote from today – when describing a traditional karate weapon called “kama” (cicle) a purple belt said – “That’s the Grim Reaper’s popsicle.”

Recently we learned a new block called the “reverse hammerfish.”

When prepping for a tournament we always practice presenting ourselves to the judges – “Judges, my name is . . .” one young yellow belt came up and said “I am a judge.”  He got a good score for that one!

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