What was New

October 18, 1997 through February 15, 1998

February 15, 1998: Whew. . . that was close! But the site has survived the assault and attendance continues to grow. My philosophy in life is to try and turn adversity and negative thinking into something positive. Once in awhile it works.

I didn't "bury" the Critical Issues Forum. In its new location, on the "Political" site, people may evaluate areas that deserve exposure and discussion. Hopefully it can be done in a manner that will not alienate people. Hopefully we can discuss issues instead of personalities. Hopefully we can do this without reference to one's rank or status as a warrior. . . without chest thumping bragging about past accomplishments or special gifts based on "extraordinary" training on Okinawa or Mars. Just individuals discussing issues with other individuals! Sounds good to me. How about you?

February 11, 1998:  Has it been good for you? The ongoing verbal assault taking place in the forums, that is. Just when we thought the thread had played itself out, Neil decided to enter the fray by calling Van a racist! Mark and Bill have a private exchange of words resulting in Mark punishing me by pulling the Uechi web off his weblinks! Ron decides that the seniors are acting childish and requests that people spend more time working out and less time on the web. . . and asks to be removed as forum administrator.

 Now regarding the plea to stay off the site and work out more. (I've read this in newsletters (printed), in e-mail and on this site): In some cases, this is a good recommendation for people who need protection from the outside world and are better served by being controlled (mind and body) by their Sensei. If you are easily upset to learn that seniors are human and are capable of making mistakes, then by all means stay off the site and remain in the dojo 24 hours a day. But if you are allowed to read newspapers, watch TV, go to movies and are able to cope with the fact that President Clinton is not "ken" of ken and barbie fame, then you can probably handle 20 minutes of the web a day, along with your morning newspaper . . . just fine. And hopefully, you won't be so distressed in discovering that Van was accused of being a "racist", that you will forgo your dojo in pursuit of a new diet of "Physic Network", inflatable dolls and unspeakable websites.

February 8, 1998: Van Canna and I had lunch yesterday after my class. Most of the discussion focused on the recent maelstrom on the Forum feature, initiated by his "Dominion" editorial. Mark Brelsford took exception to what he considered was a blanket indictment of Okinawa and asked for clarification in a manner that Van considered inappropriate. (I'm sure you have read the "thread" and have formed your own opinions.)

A secondary discussion took place through private email, concerning my role, or lack of role, in this affair. Although I posted a statement regarding the discussion on the forum, I didn't take sides or chastise anyone for what was said. Yet, I did take issue with another person's post to Bob Campbell, which I thought was disrespectful and smug. One e-mail criticized my one-sided and apparent arbitrary handling of the forum activities as highlighted by these two examples. The comment is fair and one that deserves an answer.

In the first instance, I felt the person attacked Bob personally. . . not what he was saying. It wasn't a big deal and I reacted more emotionally to the words than did Bob. Ironically, Van was very polite and gentle in his response. In retrospect, I wish my post could be erased. It wasn't called for.

In Van and Mark's discussion, I tried to act in a more neutral manner, hoping that things would calm down without my intervention. First off, neither Van nor Mark were attacking one another personally. Van aired what he saw as being a problem involving Okinawa's lack of respect towards non Okinawan martial artist. Mark took issue with the generalization and asked for clarification. It was clear from the posts that the issues were not personal. Van didn't do anything, in my opinion, that warranted any meddling from me or the forum administrator. Two adults were engaging in an honest dialog in a calm, if perhaps emotional manner. If Van had personally attacked Mark with his words, I would have definitely said something. But discussing  a valid opinion and disagreement, is, in my opinion,  what the Internet is all about.

I don't believe in censorship of any kind. Every person may exercise his/her control over what they view by simply tuning it off! On the other hand, the Uechi Web will not exist very long with our current audience, if it sinks to the level of certain martial arts newsgroups where profanity is commonplace and people act like animals. Thankfully, people visiting here have been very polite and considerate, making it a place where anyone can ask a question and expect a courteous answer. There are no guidelines, but the common sense application of the golden rule seems to govern most people's actions.

It would be foolish of me to believe that everyone wishes the site well. Regardless how well we do, there will always be the furry, long tailed scuzzy rodents out there who are jealous of everyone and everything and will look for opportunities to say: "gottcha"! People who never do anything positive and are always in the middle of gossip and rumors. If they were on the Titanic, they would be the ones drilling holes instead of bailing! To these people, the recent exchange will be viewed and exploited as a weakness and fodder for the next round of rumors. Thankfully, the majority of you see Van's and Mark's disagreement for what it really was: People honestly engaging in a lively and human encounter.

I stand corrected regarding the recent workout in Virginiat:

George

A small correction. In your "What's New?", you congratulated us for the first Virginia regional workout. It was in fact the FOURTH Mid-Atlantic regional, attended by representatives of the spectrum of our sanchin art (kenyukai, pangainoon, shohei, uechi). We've had the pleasure of visits from both Frank Gorman and John Spencer in the last year.

Good people down here! Hope to get a few more of the luminaries in the near future to join in the fun. Bill Glasheen

Thanks for the correction Bill.

Lots of new mail and new panel discussions in the ViewPoint! feature. Have fun and keep your sense of humor! GEM

February 5, 1998: Just returned from my annual trip to Vancouver B.C. where I conducted seminars and dantests for Sensei Jim Maloney and Chris DeLory's students. Although Uechi-ryu is fairly new to the B.C. area, Jim and Chris's dojo are filled with extremely strong and enthusiastic students. Jim is experimenting with some very exciting training techniques which he will be sharing with everyone at this year's camp. He calls it "new wave" Uechi-ryu and it does work!

I was pleased to see all the activity on the Uechi Web during the time I was gone. Its always interesting to exchange views in a public forum and I was happy to see Senseis Van and Mark begin to focus on specific issues and resolve many of their questions and concerns.

I didn't log on at all during the trip and when I did Wednesday, there were over 500 messages waiting for me! Many were relating to the new ViewPoint! feature and this month's subject, Dan Kumite. I was not surprised to learn that most people believe that the drill is very important, but was amazed to see how many of you believed that instructors do not stress the drill enough in class. Most also believed that instructors don't use the drill as it was intended.

I am very happy to report that the first regional workout in the Virginia area worked out very well. No politics. . . just sharing of ideas and physically doing their thing. Congratulations.

January 27, 1998: The Fall Dantest Certificates have arrived! Susan mailed them to the dojo today.

I just received a new book from Dr. Jerry Aiello, entitled "Heiho: Martial Arts concepts & Strategy". Good book with lots of inspirational information. However, Dr. Aiello's affiliation with an extremely controversial Isshinryu "master" and accepting a "hanchi" from this individual, detracts from the credibility of the book. After reading a lengthy interview in the book with "master" Harold Long, I decided to check out the best source of Isshinryu information on the web to see if sensei Advincula had read the book. Apparently he hadn't seen it, but most of the garbage in the interview were covered in Advincula's great editorial: "Lies, Lies and More Lies: Advincula replies to Harold G. Long".

Most of Isshinryu's problems today, revolve around inflated and fictitious rank that the pioneers of the art awarded themselves in the early 60's and 70's. During this early period of the martial arts in America, many people felt that in order to teach a style of karate, they had to be at least a 6th or 7th degree black belt. Once one person awarded himself that rank, the others felt as though they were being left behind, so they promoted themselves to 8th and 9th degree black belt. Finally, someone decided that he deserved 10th! Naturally, the others followed! So now, we have a bunch of 10th dan who have no where to go. And with no problems solved. . . no credibility gained. Once the precedent was set, students naturally wanted the same treatment. Soon Isshinryu had a whole army of 8th, 9th and 10th dan running around.

I'm not sure how many hours Dr. Aiello spent in a dojo, learning Isshinryu, but his "hanshi" and "9th degree" black belt will be a bitter pill to swallow for the small but increasing band of Isshinryu practitioners who take their rank seriously. If you want to bone-up on your Isshinryu history, check out "http://sanchin.com".

You might be wondering why I brought up this subject. After all, in spite of all of the problems Uechi-ryu has suffered during the past 10 years, phony rank hasn't been a major problem. In spite of our many affiliations, the Uechi world is pretty tight and small. The occasional "Bassgate" gets handled swiftly and thoroughly. A growing number of "eclectic" associations issuing rank is more of a problem. Recently a black belt Uechi student moved to another state where there were no other schools. He began teaching in a Community Center without fanfare. Before long he gets a call from an "Alphabet" association that wants him to join. In return for joining, the association will give him an inflated rank, based on the impressive telephone interview. Now this wouldn't be so bad, but the "Alphabet" association was going to award this student a rating in "Uechi-ryu"!!!

To the student's credit, he didn't take it. But many have!

Now, my question to you is: How important is rank to you? Is it important for you to know who is a 6th dan from a recognized Uechi organization and who cannot validate his claim for his/her rank. If rank cannot be validated. . . if rank is not all that important. . . if people will lie and commit fraud to obtain it, then maybe we should do away with it! Teachers can simply be referred to as "coach"!

Ironically, the Chinese martial arts normally don't have rank. However, because students are so taken with the idea of rank and belts, many Chinese schools now issue belts and rank. Truthful: How many of you would have joined a karate school that didn't award belts. . . where the teacher wore a sweat suit with no distinguishing labels or belt. Similar to your gym teacher who taught wrestling, football and basketball. How many of you were taken by the mystique of the martial arts and the strange customs and decided to join in part because of these trappings. Rank may not be important to those of us who have been around for awhile, but make no mistake: One of the primary motivating factors to students (under 5th dan) is rank! People create goals that revolve around rank. Although abused and over rated, rank is part of the martial art's culture that for better or worse, is here to stay! Lets try to figure out a way to deal with it. I have a few ideas which I'll be sharing with you in the near future.

Meanwhile, if you have any ideas or thoughts on this subject, please share them with the rest of us.

January 23, 1998: Sorry for this late update. The Kyusho seminar has been cancelled this evening due to the unexpected snow storm.

Mother nature has interfered again!!! Due to the predictions of severe storms on Friday, January 23, The Kyusho / Sanseiru seminar is being  postponed until Friday January 30 at the same time (from 7-9pm). Please inform anyone else that you know who would beinterested in attending the seminar.
Thank You, Steve DiOrio and Evan Pantazi

January 19, 1998: Lots of new mail in the January Mailbag. The ViewPoint! segment regarding Freefighting is FULL! If you have anything more to add, I'll include letters in the Mailbag. Don't forget to check out all the Forums. Each administrator brings a different perspective to subjects. All are extremely interesting and timely.

January 18, 1998: I'm preparing the February "ViewPoint!" topic this weekend. A number of interesting subjects have been kicked around on this Web and the Cyberdojo. I was thinking about continuing getting opinions regarding out dantest. . . perhaps looking at Dan Kumite's importance in the test as compared to freefighting.

Watch for the February ViewPoint. If you are not on the panel, you can still register your opinions and vote for the ViewPoint! that best represents how you feel.

January 15, 1998: All of New England is bracing for a huge snow storm! And I was hoping to be on the golf course soon! Oh well. . . Susan's happy, since I'll be able to clean the basement. (One of those tasks that seem to never get done.) Bob Campbell called from London. He will be away from his computer for about a week. He wants you to keep the posts coming in to his forum and he'll answer them all as soon as he gets back to Hong Kong. BTW, Bob is available this Saturday, if any of you Englanders want to get together. Coordinate the session through Terry Daly.

Evan Pantazi has been a big Uechi supporter for the past year. He has an excellent understanding of Uechi-ryu and the relationship between his Kyusho art and our system. Evan volunteered to administer a new Forum and I eagerly accepted. Check it out.

Because of the popularity of ViewPoint!, I've changed the link in the Table of Content so you can now go directly from the "Point of View" to "ViewPoint!". You can continue to reach the Forum Table of Content Page by clicking on "Dojo Roundtable". (Is that clear??? :))

January 13, 1998: The ViewPoint! feature has become one of the Uechi Web's most popular feature. I've just posted another batch of letters. Sensei Van Canna's hard-hitting reply to the freefighting question should be required reading for every teacher and student.

Lots of new mail to check out. On a sad note, another teacher has dragged the good name of Uechi through the mud again by using his position in the dojo to molest children! Lets not try to hide this issue by pretending it didn't happen or that it hasn't happened in the past or won't happen in the future. No amount of excuses and actions will eliminate the shame and horror felt by the families involved. We can only do what we can to make sure it doesn't happen again! Please read the messages relating to this issue on the Forums. Get involved! Share ideas and suggestions! Take action. . . Be informed!

January 11, 1997: Wish I had more time to spend on the Swain Family project. Worked all day Sunday on it and was able to scan and create quite a few pages to the growing website. I've only had the opportunity to read a few of the hundreds of documents. Of these, I've included the more interesting as a beginning to the site. If you know of anyone who can read very old and flowery script, please contact me. Many of the letters are very difficult to decipher.

. And if you would like to see how the site is shaping up, click here!

January 10, 1997: About 15 years ago, I used to attend lots of auctions, yard sales and flea markets. Although most of the time I went home empty handed, over the years I was fortunate in picking up some interesting treasures. I became friendly with a number of vendors and often they would call me if something Oriental showed up, giving me first crack at checking it out.

At "My Friend Ed" in West Bridgewater, (long gone) Ed would purchase estates. I picked up many great items by visiting his store on a regular basis. I happened to drop in one evening as he was unloading a shipment of furniture from a Whitman estate. I spotted a Seaman's Chest that his men were pushing to a corner and both Ed and I moved towards it to see what was inside. It was LOCKED! And Ed didn't remember seeing any keys. The chest was in pretty good condition and Ed didn't want to break the lock. He  informed me that he'd bring in a locksmith later in the week.

I checked out the rest of the estate while continually thinking about that chest. Being a "treasure hunter" of sorts, I wouldn't have slept not knowing what was in the chest. So I approached Ed and made him an offer.... $50 unopened, or wait and perhaps offer him much less if the trunk was filled with old clothes. Normally Ed's prices were very low. . . most often he would sell items for 15% over his cost. But he was also a very curious person and the trunk was bothering him as it was me. But the $50 was a huge purchase at the time for the kinds of inventory he handled. We negotiated back and forth and I finally bought the trunk, unopened, for $100! As I was walking out of the door with the unopened trunk, Ed yelled out... "whatever you find, don't tell me!"

When I got home with the trunk, Susan nearly threw me out of the house when she discovered how much I spent on an old trunk. Unopened or not, to her it was a "bad deal!" Undaunted, Bally, me and the trunk retired to the basement where I delicately removed the lock and exposed the trunk's contents. At first I was a bit disappointed. The trunk was filled with packets of letters, trinkets and memorabilia. As I opened up packet after packet, the history of a family gradually unfolded. The latest letter that I could find was dated in the 1940s. Most of the letters were over 100 years old. Although I enjoyed reading the letters, trying to imagine the people and events behind the faded, ornate handwriting. Initially I was more interested in the rare, unused stamps, tucked away in an old child's purse,  that the collector of all this memorabilia, purchased in various parts of Europe during her honeymoon at the end of the last century. But as I began to assemble a family tree and got to know them through their writings, I became more and more interested in the family itself. After working on the chest contents for a couple of weeks, making quite a few calls in the process, I determined that the family had died out in this area. . . at least no one in the area who had the same names were familiar with the family. Other things began to occupy my time and I returned the material to the trunk and put it in storage.

Some friends were visiting the other day and somehow or other, the discussion turned to antiques. Both of the lady visitors were in their 70s and were fascinated by anything older than they were! One thing led to another and soon I was rummaging through the attic, pulling out the large sack of memorabilia contained in that old trunk. We had a great afternoon of looking through these old letters, photos and other ancient items. One of the ladies suggested that I use the Internet to try and find any relatives of the family who might be able to fill in the missing pieces and link photos to names. (None of the photos were labeled)

I began to think about how I might share some of this discovery with you all! So I began working on a new webpage devoted to the items in this old trunk. I'm hoping that by publicizing the page and information on the family, others might be able to help track down surviving relatives who might enjoy learning about their long lost family. Stay tuned and I'll let you know when you can check out progress. GEM

January 7, 1998:  Susan and I had the pleasure of meeting Louis Colby this Sunday. Louis and his family are responsible for the famous Colby "Pit" Bull Terrier breed of fighting dogs. Although Louis doesn't fight his dogs any longer, they are still world renowned as wonderful pets. I've owned a couple of "Pit" Bulls and believe they are the world's greatest dog! They possess many of the traits we martial artist try to achieve. In Louis's book, "Coly's Book of the American Pit Bull Terrier" he recalls the recent controversy over the breed, while describing the breed's many strengths:

" . . .the sad truth is that while most Pit Bull Terriers retain their true trustworthy behavior toward children and adults, the trend toward game, calm, confident dogs has been replaced in many circles by those seeking "barnstormers" or "fight crazy" dogs. these highly aggressive, hyper dogs look game to the novice, but are more often than not displaying aggression due to some inner lack of confidence. Just as the confident man doesn't feel the need to threaten or intimidate others, the confident game dog is often the calmest and most relaxed dog. He doesn't perceive the world as a threat and sees no reason to threaten it. the temperament of the breed has been injured by those who would breed for "flash," and not "depth." ". . . the trend, in dog fighting is to breed today for the quick, flashy fighter, instead of the game fighter."

"Recently a "Pit bull expert" with a major United States humane organization stated that the "Colby dogs are wimps, they are too calm and not aggressive enough." The ignorance behind this statement is excusable only when you consider that the majority of the dogs this man has seen have been bred by novices, punks and newcomers, and his is unfamiliar with the true history, temperament and nature of the Pit Bull. To a novice, the Colby dogs with their inbred confidence and depth of character may appear "wimpy" as they do not feel compelled to come to pit side (or anywhere) snapping and snarling like a common cur dog. They wait, calmly, until action is needed, and then take care of business with confidence. Few old timers would be impressed with a dog that shows a "nervy" threat display."

I thought you would enjoy this description of the Pit Bull and it's fighting spirit. I've posted many new "ViewPoints!" today. Great information and lots of different views. Lots of new mail. Have you checked the Forums lately???

January 1, 1998: Hope you all had a great New Year's eve last night and are enjoying the bowl games on the "tube" today. Welcome to the many new Internet viewers. . . those who received new computers and Internet hookups for Christmas and are cautiously exploring this vast new world. Initially, you may get frustrated looking for the needle in the haystack, but after awhile you will learn to rely on search engines, such as "Yahoo" to do much of the work for you. Unfortunately, even narrowing your search through the use of a search engine, will leave you with potentially hundreds of entries. There are tricks to narrow your search. Each search engine has their own methods that you should learn.

Unfortunately, every website administrator's goal is to get as many people to visit their site as possible, figuring that a small percentage of the visitors might purchase their products. Millions of other sites have no products to sell, no service to render. They simply exist, taking up space and wasting the time of people who mistakenly click on the site, hoping to find information on "Ford" automobiles, only to discover "Jimmy Ford's" one page website featuring a huge image of Jimmy's pet Iguana! Web administrators register their sites with the various search engines, using tricks of the trade, to get favorable positions and multiple listings. The search engines, in most cases, are unable to distinguish between "Jimmy Ford's" site and "Ford Motor Company;s" site and you must learn how to recognize them to save time in your searches. As a veteran of the school of hard knocks, I suggest that you spend most of your initial training, becoming familiar with the various search engines on the web and how to fine-tune your searches. Often, getting into one of the sites that specialize in the product/service you are looking for, will have "links" to other sites featuring the information you may be looking for.

If you are a martial artist, welcome to the Uechi web. Take a few minutes and explore its many features. I highly recommend checking out the various Forums and Conferences. Don't be afraid to click on one of the many "Lets Talk" banners throughout the web,  transporting you to our live talk feature, allowing your to exchange ideas and debate issues with other martial artist.

You can set up your own private conferences, to debate topics you want to explore, or you may wish to simply schedule bull sessions with your buddies from Russia, Canada and England. Don't forget to visit the mailbag page once in awhile and drop me a line now and then, to say Hi. When you have a few minutes, explore the various other features in the Table of Content's Frame. Let me know what areas you enjoy most and any suggestion you might have to improve the site.

The web won't replace books, videos or magazines. It certainly won't replace your favorite teacher and your dojo! This site was designed to be an Interactive Information Library. By definition, it requires the interaction of people and information. This means we need you and your participation to be successful.

We are all teachers and we are all students!   This is the motto and philosophy that formed the foundation on which this site was created and continues to function. The Uechi Web allows everyone an equal voice, regardless of rank, style or affiliation. The only rule is to use your real name when participating in the forums and live chat page. Be polite and remember this is a family feature that is "G" rated.

Our first new feature of 1998 is a huge success! Over 60% of the people I asked to be on the ViewPoint! panel, responded with comments to the first topic, "Freefighting and the Dantest". Brooks Bowen posed the question a couple weeks ago and I thought it merited further discussion. Check out the panel's ViewPoint! and then vote your feelings on the subject. GEM

December 29, 1997:  Well, the old year is drawing to an end and 1998 is just around the corner. This has been a quiet and joyful week for me. A time of reflection and planning. 1997 was an excellent year for Uechi-ryu, finding many of us discussing ways to bridge political differences and cautiously looking for areas of agreement. 1997 was the year in which gossip and rumors were greatly reduced. The Internet became the sounding board for the quiet majority of Uechi-ryu practitioners. The gossip mongers were strongly neutralized in the cleansing light of exposure. I've been criticized for opening this door. Many feel that the "quiet majority" should remain blissfully ignorant. . . that they really aren't interested and would prefer to leave the "politicking" to those blessed with the talent for leadership or gossiping!

1998 will, I hope, be a year of healing and continued growth for Uechi-ryu. There will be an occasional "BassGate" episode which will ripple the smooth flowing waters, but the emphasis will be on positive and pleasant issues. I hope this site will continue to serve as a sounding board to the Uechi-ryu community, focusing on important and relevant issues affecting us all.

Watch for new and interesting feature to be added to this site in '98. Get involved yourself. Every voice is important. Every view is relevant. To all: A happy, healthy, peaceful and prosperous New Year. See you next year!

December 24, 1997: Have a happy and healthy Holiday season. GEM

December 19, 1997: Susan had a roll of film developed today that had been in the camera quite a while. I'd like to share the following picture with you of Alden "Windsong" Blake presenting me with my Birthday gift. [click on image to see full size picture]A handmade Traditional, Micmac Flute, crafted by the famous David Sanipass, world renowned flute maker! My flute, according to Mr. Sanipass, is made out of a very rare "Tiger" wood. It also contains maple, moose horn and walnut. A symbol on the sounding hole keeps "Bad Spirits" out of the flute! David is also a martial artist and plans to join us at camp in '98. He promises to entertain us all with ancient tales passed down from generation to generation and also will demonstrate the art of creating a flute from a chunk of special wood. (All wood must be carefully chosen from trees that have been struck by lightening!) Many thanks to "Windsong" and Rose Dyer (Colorado Uechi-ryu teacher) for this wonderful gift.

December 18, 1997: Received an interested letter from Brooks Bowen regarding dan test requirements. (see full letter in the December mailbag) Essentially, Brooks feels that everyone should "freefight" for the test, regardless of rank. He makes a compelling argument for this change by stating: ". . . I am very uncomfortable awarding a Dan rank (any of them) to someone I have not seen spar. I would happily give them an Honorary black Belt, but not a 'full' rank. the reason for this is sparring is the only unrehearsed, spontaneous part of the test and we should see how they handle themselves!" This brings up a host of interesting questions and issues revolving around the definition of what we are teaching and why. Should we only award a black belt to someone who is competent in the physical art of defense, or have we expanded the scope of our art and perhaps even redefined it, to a more cerebral art, focusing on the health benefits of the movements?

Is it fair to arbitrarily say that those students under the age of 35 must study for more physical reasons than their older brothers and sisters by forcing the former group to freefight for their rank while eliminating this requirement for students over 35?

The other side of the coin points at the unrealistic nature of sparring at best and the false sense of confidence it gives many as a good reason not to spar at all! Remember, that Uechi-ryu was the only style on Okinawa that had free style sparring as part of its training back in the 50s. (and if my memory is correct, Kanbun did not originally teach sparring. Tomoyose sensei did state that Kanbun did a "form" of freefighting in China, but did not teach it.)

I remembered visiting Master. Nagamine's dojo in the late 60's and discussing the pros and cons of sparring with him and Tomoyose sensei. Nagamine sensei was completely against the idea of freefighting, but quickly pointed out that he believed his philosophy was becoming unpopular with the younger teachers and students. Nagamine sensei explained that even his own son, against his direct wishes and orders, was experimenting with freefighting outside the dojo!

I'm pointing this out to emphasis that freefighting is not part of what we might call "traditional" karate, but grew in gradual acceptance over the years. The Japanese can probably take credit for introducing freefighting as a sport, and from there it spread rapidly throughout Asia.

So if Brooks' statement deserves discussion, we must first debate the merit of freefighting as a basis for determining self defense ability. I agree with Brooks that we should use all the tools at our disposal for determining candidate's skill. However, my feeling is that dan kumite, properly performed, is one of the best tests we have. One of the areas NAC is working on now, is to give dan kumite more weight in the test. Since freefighting has become an important part of our system for the past 50 years, it too should be made mandatory for all candidates, regardless of age. Brooks recommends that people with medical reasons, be allowed to spar with their instructor. This would give the board an opportunity to see everyone in action before awarding a dan rank.

Uechi-ryu is a wonderful and interesting way to get in shape and stay in shape. However, we don't award belts to people based on their good condition and health. We award dan ratings in a martial art. . . a physical skill involving self defense. If freefighting is the best way we have to safely test our candidates, then we should require all candidates to participate. There is nothing wrong with issuing "honorary" dan ranks to those who participate regularly in class but can never hope to physically pass a legitimate dan test. How do you feel about this?

Al Moulton called today, reporting that his computer is down and being repaired. He anticipates being on-line again by Christmas.

Attention to all you living in the Midwest: I'll be Dr. Jerry Aiello's guest this Saturday on his radio talk show. We'll be discussing this website and some of the issues being tackled on the forums. The show is on WPON, 1460 AM at 5pm. (EST)

December 16, 1997: Forgive me if I'm a little sentimental and philosophical today. I experienced what may be called an "enlightening" experience this afternoon while working on a time-consuming business project . This wasn't the first time such a  revelation crept up and jumped into my consciousness. . . Glimmers of similar reflections have been materializing with frequent regularity for the past forty years. Normally I can ignore the intrusion and get on with life, but today it hit me on the head like one of Van Canna's spinning kicks!

Now I am the "elder" and am telling you all those things which won't mean a lot to you, until you are ready to hear it. But I'll say it anyway: "Enjoy life. . . Cherish every minute of every day. Think twice. . . no ten times, before doing something that will hurt someone. Be a good friend and a lifelong friend. And finally, to quote my elders. . ." Life is short. . . don't screw up your priorities!"

Lots of new mail. Great "threads" in the Forums. Enjoy. . . GEM

December 12, 1997: I always took pride in the fact that this site has been fairly bare-bones. . . without all the bells & whistles found on other sites. However, today I received a call from a person whose computer crashes when he tries to access the Uechi homepage! Unfortunately, he uses AOL, so I don't really know what advice to give him. But on the other hand, lots of our viewers use AOL and don't seem to have a problem. I passed it off as another AOL experience and told Allan Azoff to get another browser. Then around 3pm today, I received an e-mail from a second person, apologizing for not being able to order a book through the website, because he had trouble getting on the site!!!! Now I'm getting nervous. Is the homepage getting too large? Too many memory hungry images? I would appreciate any feedback from you on this subject. . . especially if you have been having more than normal trouble getting on the Uechi site or any of its features.

I want to welcome our newest corporate sponsor, Aries Enterprises and its president Dan Bishop. Dan was one of the presenters at last month's Healing Arts Forum. Dan is in magnetic therapy, a very hot trend among professional athletes. Magnetic therapy is new to many of us, but the idea of using magnetic fields to increase blood circulation in injured tissue and encourage healing by stimulating the nervous system goes back thousands of years to ancient Greece and Egypt. The original Olympic athletes might have used magnets. and in the same way that today's top athletes influence fashion and language, their eagerness to embrace alternative healing techniques is influencing the public. According to magnet manufacturers, US consumers will spend more than $500 million this year on magnetic pads, bracelets, shoe inserts, back wraps and seat cushions.

The site is nearly completed. Dan will be able to take orders early next week. Check it out by clicking here!

For those of you who are in the Midwest, tune in to Dr. Jerry Aiello Show this Saturday at 5pm. (EST) I'll be Jerry's guest, discussing some of the issues we have been tackling on this website. WPON 1460 AM Radio!

December 7, 1997: Well, it must be that time of year again. As I write this, the Bob Rivers comedy troupe is singing a parody of the "Twelve days of Christmas" on the radio. . . a sure sign that the holiday season is officially here. I hope you enjoy the 1995 photograph of Chad Glasheen and Santa that I pull out every year to help make this site a bit more "festive". It is one picture that is indeed worth a thousand words.

I enjoy receiving e-mail . . . and the "Mailbag" relies on your writing to me occasionally. . . but for immediate feedback and ease of use, nothing beats the Forums and "Lets Talk" discussions features. For some people, direct access to the web is still terrifying. I still get many e-mail where the message begins with "... please post this to ...'s Forum." Last week I received four calls from people who were trying to access some part of the website and failed. In most cases, I was able to guide them to the site and onto the feature within a few minutes. In one case, I suspect a faulty Netscape configuration was the culprit. When people do get onto the Forum page, many still are unsure of how to actually leave a message or the difference between starting a new topic and responding to an old message. To those of us who have used computers for many years, the Internet is almost second nature. Navigating through the maze in hyperspace is as comfortable as driving to work. (and in most cases, a lot less frustrating)!

The "Lets Talk" live discussion program is even more threatening. We don't want to look stupid by making a mistake that others will laugh at! We can't spell very well and most people don't type very fast. At least with e-mail, we have a chance to double check our messages and no one is on-line, waiting for a quick and witty reply.

In a way, its like being called on to perform a kata in front of the whole class. . . all by yourself! Anticipation, concern, butterflies! You find yourself in the center of the room. You bow. You set yourself into your Uechi-ryu mode and all else is wiped out of your mind. You flow through the movements without hesitation or concern. You bow and proudly walk away.

Ask anyone who has published anything. . . be it a book, an article, a post to a forum or simply entering a dialog with someone on the live discussion chat page. The same process takes place. And the same sense of accomplishment and pride follows the completion of the task. To those of you who visit this site and haven't participated: "Your turn to go to the middle of the dojo and 'do it'!"

December 5, 1997: Congratulations to all the students who were promoted to dan ranks this Fall. Uechi-ryu may not be the largest style, but we are growing at a record pace. At the local dantests I was able to participate in, the quality of the Uechi-ryu was also at an all-time high. Keep up the good work and lets keep getting better!

December 2, 1997: Had some time this weekend to create some still pictures from the video tapes taken at the Healing Arts Forum last month. Click on the Forum site above to check them out.

November 30, 1997: Not too early for preparing for the '98 Camp. If you wish to give a very special gift this holiday season, why not a gift certificate to the camp. We have three different programs for you to chose from. Click on the banner at the top of the page for details. Susan has just ordered some very special Uechi-ryu ties, with the same embroidered calligraphy that is on our newest shirts. (see close-up on the main page of this site) Send Susan an email if you are interested in purchasing one or more of these ties for the holidays.

November 28, 1997: Lots of new mail. Also finished work on the all new secured "shopping cart" products page. You can now safely send credit card information when ordering product or registering for events. Hope you all had a peaceful and happy Thanksgiving.

November 24, 1997: Thanks to all of you who participated in yesterday's Healing Arts Forum. Everyone had a great time and are looking forward to our next gathering. I'm looking at the possibility of offering a Healing Arts Camp the week before or after our regular Martial Arts Festival. I will keep the Healing Arts link active and will post email, articles and future activities to this site.

Had time to set up the December mailbag a little early. Check it out. Also, if you are looking for holiday gifts, check out the all new "Books and Products" section. The order form has been updated to be much more "user friendly".

November 15, 1997: Finalized the schedule for next Sunday. Looks like the Forum should be very interesting. Hope you can join us. I created a page containing the names of the presenters, their specialty and the times they will be working. Click here to view.

I've been spending more time participating in the on-line Forums. Some great "threads". If you get a chance, check them out and get involved. Although I've received lots of mail, I haven't had time to upload them. Hopefully things will get a little slower after this Sunday.

November 7, 1997: Applications for the Healing Arts Forum are coming in at a good pace. We are up to 35 participants already, and our mailing is just being received this week. Don't put off sending-in your application. Space is definitely limited! Check out the Healing Arts Page for an update on presenters.

All the presenters are either in the martial arts or have a fairly extensive understanding of them. This forum will focusing on the healing arts as a part of the martial arts. . . the part many of us never had the opportunity to study. In my case, I was told about this connection by my instructor, Ryuko Tomoyose, but wasn't very interested at the time. Even if I had been interested, there was very limited information available through the martial arts' teachers at that time. In many cases, the people who went to China for training, were more interested in the "fighting" side of the arts than the "healing" aspect. With few exceptions, the martial arts and healing arts developed separately outside China. I suspect that even in China today, there are few traditionalist who practice both.

I hope you will be able to join us on the 23rd to reconnect the link!

Susan asked me to announce that for the next week she will be selling our new embroidered sweat shirts for only $40! Because we must special order these items, you must order early for Christmas. Click here to check them out.

Bill Bauknecht (6th Dan/renshi), although suffering from terminal cancer, has been playing golf with me every week (27 holes on Monday!!) and teaching karate classes in Falmouth on a regular basis. He worked out with me in Natick a couple weeks ago and certainly doesn't look sick! He attributes his upbeat attitude and fighting spirit to his Uechi-ryu training. While in Brockton yesterday, following 18 holes of golf, I showed Bill the ABC's of the computer and Internet. Like so many other people, Bill has a computer and connection to the web, but is a bit fearful about clicking on those mysterious "links" and terrified of leaving a message on one of our forums! After a half an hour though, Bill was answering posts by Van Canna and talking about hosting his own forum, where he might be able to inspire others who suffer from disabilities or health problems. . . encouraging them not to give-up.

Most importantly, he wants to get the message across to "... keep your body healthy while you can!" We all know the famous saying. . "If I'd know I was going to live this long, I'd taken better care of myself!" This is a very true statement. With today's medication and treatment, we are able to keep people alive longer. Unfortunately, there isn't a "quality of life" pill doctors can give to these people. You must rely on your own "bank" of health, to draw on when a problem occurs. Bill doesn't blame himself for getting sick. It can happen to the healthiest of us. But Bill's lifestyle helped prepare him for the illness that should have killed him! I'm not sure how many 20 year old kids out there will take up the martial arts because of what Bill has to say, but his message certainly should reinforce the reasons why we study and should help us stay with it. . . even during those busy times of life when it is so much easier to simply go home after work and vegetate in front of the "tube" with a six-pack!

Why not click here and visit "Bill's Page". Say hello and encourage him to keep going. . . keep inspiring. . .
November 3, 1997: Although TKD has been receiving a lot of national attention, the City of Brockton has been kind to me the last few months. Following the Summer Camp, the Brockton Enterprise did a nice story on me and last week the City presented me with a beautiful commendation. In spite of all this publicity, the city had to present a contract to a TKD teacher for a program involving youth in the area. Dick Linehan, a local Uechi student/teacher and Brockton policeman was expecting to teach this program, but was informed of the change of plans late last week.

As I said, it was really nice to have the city honor me with a citation and front page article, but would rather they showed their appreciation by appointing a Brockton Uechi-ryu police officer to the youth program instead of bowing to state political pressure and selecting a out-of-town TKD instructor to the position.

I really wish that a group of Uechi activists would begin a publicity campaign highlighting the benefits of Uechi-ryu for our youths. In the future, there will be more programs in communities targeting the kids. If the government pays for these classes, they will be competing with our dojo for members. We should do everything possible to make sure our instructors are represented in these programs.

If you have any ideas, suggestions or contacts, please contact me. Lets see if we can be part of the future as well as the past.

November 2, 1997: Its been another busy week. Received confirmation from two more presenters for our Healing Arts Forum. (click here for details) Also purchased a new "cat's meow" desk top computer. This one has all the features I've been living without for the past couple of years. . . 65 meg ram, 6 gig hard drive and a 233 mh processor! In spite of its many wonderful features, though, the computer has a "dark side".

On Al Moulton's recommendation (well, he said lots of nice things about it), I downloaded Microsoft's new Explore Browser, version 4. It works great off-line, but whenever I use it on the Internet, it crashes my computer! So. . . back to Netscape for the time being.

Lots of new and interesting mail in the November "mailbag". There is continued interest and activity in the "Point of View" forum, for Van Cann's Defensive Strategies series. One of the most interesting and informative was the article submitted by Jay Salhanick, which I've posted in the forum and "Articles" feature. Enjoy.

October 26, 1997: Steve's new forum on the History of Karate is up and running. The first question asked is about Shushiwa. Lots of new mail. Drop in for a chat tonight at 8pm. Later. . .

October 22, 1997: Lots of new mail. Steve DiOrio is in the process of setting up a new Forum dealing with the history of the martial arts. Steve has been doing lots of research while preparing his Kyoshu video tape series relating to this subject and is eager to share his findings with the rest of us. Should be ready by this weekend. Check it out.

Can you believe. . . Christmas is not that far away! If you are planning to purchase any of the martial art jewelry in the products section, please remember that many of the items are in short supply. Give us as much notice as possible so you won't be disappointed.

Where did all the visitors come from? 613 people logged onto the main page today! That's an all time record. Thanks to you all for making this site one of the (if not THE) most popular martial arts site on the Internet!

If you happen to be looking for an antique player piano, one was just listed on the Emporium. Great gift. . . great price.

October 20, 1997: I'd like to welcome Van Canna to the Uechi website and thank him for his contributions to the "Point of View!" forum. I've also posted his initial two "Defensive Mindset" articles to the "Articles" section. I urge you to check out the forum and let Van know how you feel about his views. Van has never been one to mince words and can always be counted on to "say it like it is!" Here is a wonderful opportunity to ask one of the most respected Uechi-ryu instructors in the world, his opinion on any subject!

I also wish to thank Joe Bellone for contributing a very interesting article on "Internal" Power. Click here to check it out. Lots of new mail and contributions to the Forums. Have fun!

October 18, 1997: Busy, busy week. The "Healing" arts Forum is moving along just fine. We've selected a new location. . . Doubletree Guest Suites in Waltham. Their food is better than the Sheraton and they will create a lunch selection that will include a vegetarian meal. While working on this project, I've met many interesting people in the healing arts. Most of the people I've contacted have expressed interest in our project and are planning to participate on the 23rd.

Went to Steve DiOrio and Evan Pantazi's Kyusho seminar last night, featuring the kata Seisan. What a great presentation! No surprise to learn that Uechi-ryu is a no-nonsense self defense system, but few people understood just how deadly the style really can be. Evan showed a few techniques off-camera, that were devastating! He kept the program that will be published as a video to safer, but never-the-less, extremely effective moves. The philosophy behind Kyusho is that its a lot better to subdue an attacker with simple and relatively safe knockout techniques rather than having to bust them up with kicks and punches. After watching the demo last night, I have to agree.

I'd like to formally welcome the Great Britain Uechi family to our growing NAC group. NAC has recently voted to create an umbrella organization, encompassing Uechi-ryu Chapters world-wide. NAC will continue working with the North American dojo. A formal letter from the Great Britain group can be found in the October Mailbag.

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