I know how you and Van and Bob and George thought about Bill. I felt the same way. Can we have some kind of memorial at camp?

The endgame is the most important part. Training is a path and, ideally, it should lead to increased mental and physical awareness. It is certainly true that most people wander off the path. But, to paraphrase Robert Frost, talking the road less traveled by makes all the difference. Martial arts tra...

Van, when I read your suggestion about hanging Bill's picture, it occurred to me that our liking him was not even the point. His was, perhaps, the best example of bushido, in the Uechi world we know. Samurai were taught to give themselves up to death when they went into battle, because one cannot fi...

I posted a similar thought on Van's forum. But I forgot to ask if there was a wake. I have been watching the Cape Cod Times and the Boston Globe , but I have not seen anything on Bill. Also, I think it would be great if we could do a celebration of Bill's life, at summer camp. People he touched migh...

The field is getting crowded. I do not know why I cannot reproduce the web page, but you can type in this address for more. http://www.venganza.org/ OPEN LETTER TO KANSAS SCHOOL BOARD I am writing you with much concern after having read of your hearing to decide whether the alternative theory of Int...

"Will I go blind?"

It depends on what you use the wrench for, and how often.

Blue skill saw. That would make the rest of you abnormal.

I study classical Wu style, with Calvin Chin, the 108 position form. I also study t.c. with Van Cana. I could not do t.c. karate without the understanding I have gained from T'ai Chi. Calvin says that most martial arts work from hard to soft (i.e., as one progresses, he learns to do more with less)....

I always thought that Jesus went out in the desert to meditate. And, by the way, the Cambridge Zen Center offers weekend meditation classes team-taught by a Zen monk and a Catholic monk. Dr. Herbert Benson, author of The Relaxation Response, teaches meditation with no mention of religion. Finally, i...

If you go to www.samurai-archives.com and click on "samurai family crests," you will find that it was the crest of the Bessho daimyo (bottom right, first page). This, of course, does not get you anywhere. The Besshos may have adopted the crest for its other meanings. However, you will also...

There is a difference between Geoghan's "getting what he deserved" (i.e., the kind of fear, helplessness, panic, etc. that he created in his own victims), and society's getting what it cannot tolerate (a prison system out of control). Innocent people sometimes go to prison, and people guil...

I started in martial arts for both self-defense and health benefits. I knew that I was not going to be catching bullets in my teeth (more than once). But I also knew (and know) that I could increase the odds of being able to protect myself and friends in most situations. And the health benefits were...

The problem is obvious. Ribs are not health food for Scots. You need to be eating haggis.

I think the connection has less to do with rhythm than with developing the right brain.

So, Van, you are also a master punster. . . in two languages! And Mary, better drink that wine: "Gather ye rosebuds while ye may," and all that sort of thing. Thanks for the good thoughts, folks.