My Martial Arts Journey - Part 2: A Necessary Introduction

Yes, I decided a little introduction was necessary to set the stage. Sorry for the interruption.

Many of you may now be wondering about my psyche after being bullied for a number of years. Every now and then I get fired me up when I hear of a child being bullied. What makes it worse are parents who don’t do anything to protect their children.

Enough about this now, let’s get back to my martial arts 'introduction'.

In reflection, the early to mid-80’s were really good to me. I got to meet some wonderful people who understood where I had been, bullied-wise.

One of those people was my first Sensei, John Koga, whom I met in 1982. Mr. Koga and his wife lived a half-mile from my house. I first met him while riding my bike, through our neighborhood in Chicago, while on my way to a summer job. Mr. Koga, or Sensei Koga as I called him, was from Kyoto, Japan. He was here in the States, while working for IBM, and to study business economics.

I don’t exactly recall how he noticed me, but he stopped me one day, while I was riding home, just to say, “Hello” and introduced himself. I immediately noticed his thick accent. He went on to say that they were new in the neighborhood and how much they loved the area.

Now to a 13-year old, you are either amazed someone stopped you, just to introduce themselves, or you think someone’s trying to waste your time. At that time, I was a shy, yet respectful kid and my ears were open to Mr. Koga. After chatting for few minutes, he offered me to stop by their home in the future and talk.

As I rode home, all I could think about was this nice couple and the positive attitude they projected. They were humble and full of life. After all, this was their first time living in a different country and not used to ‘American’ customs.

About a week later, as I was riding home again, I saw Mr. Koga in front of his home doing yard work. His wife was trimming rose bushes while he was cutting the grass. He fervently waved at me and I stopped to greet him. We were both sweating from the heat and he invited me inside.

Note: I don’t recommend anyone doing this as we are all taught to be wary of strangers. Since I was not a street-smart kid, and didn’t have the confidence to kill an ant, I figured it was okay.

What I walked into, from that day, was a new world. Imagine walking into a home decorated, from top to bottom, with Japanese art and furniture. I thought I was in a museum and afraid to touch anything. I kept hearing my mother’s voice saying, “Keep your hands to yourself so nothing gets broken.”

Mr. Koga asked that I remove my shoes before stepping inside. He gave me a glass of unsweetened ice tea, with no sweetener. As a diabetic, I was glad it wasn’t sweetened, but the bitter drink made my lips purse. He didn’t offer a lemon either.

Amidst many silk screens and scrolls, I observed a few black and white pictures, on their family room wall, of what appeared to be men in long black skirts with white shirts on. To many of you already familiar with the Japanese martial arts, you’ll immediately tell that these men were wearing gis with hakamas. Well, I didn’t know that! Who knew?

Mr. Koga keenly noticed my interest. That’s when I received my first dissertation on budo, or, The Way of War. I learned such terms as bushido, bujutsu, samurai, and Miyamoto Mushashi. Mr. Koga told me stories of studying the arts, as an adolescent, and the training he experienced.

As our time wound down together, he offered his training to me in a gesture of friendship and trust. As I left the Koga’s home that day, with a head full of knowledge and amazement, I knew I had been blessed with something great.

From that day on, I began studying bujutsu. Bujutsu is a culmination of ancient Japanese martial arts. Such arts that fall into this category are: Kenjutsu (sword), Jujutsu (grappling), and Taijutsu (body). With each category having it’s own sub-forms.

More modern Japanese arts, such as Karate, Judo, and Aikido, are sometimes mentioned as budo as well. This is another debate for another time. Personally, I don’t believe Aikido is a warring art. It’s predecessor, Daito ryu, is.

Okay, enough for now. Yes, this is all true and no, Mr. Miyagi won’t be making any appearances in this story.

Next, Part 3: The Training Begins.

My Martial Arts Journey - Part 1: The Bullying

In July, of this year, I will have been a student in the martial arts for 24 years. You may be asking, "A student? Why aren't you teaching?" Well, as Morihei Ueshiba, founder of the martial art, aikido, used to say, "One never truly stops learning".

In the world of the martial arts, this statement is very true. The martial arts keep growing and changing for our benefit. No matter how young or old you are, there is a martial art to study.

As best I recall, in May of 1982, I made a conscious decision to sit in the back seat of our school bus, before our ride home. I always wanted to and, besides, my friends wanted to as well. Most of us were in the eighth grade and high school was around the corner. At that time, our junior high school shared buses with the local Catholic school. After school, students from the Catholic school would board after us. No problem, right?

There were two seventh grade boys, who boarded the bus that afternoon, who weren't too happy that we took 'their' seats. And me being smaller (and fatter) than the other boys, well, I was easy pickings. Both kids were much taller than I and built like football players. They asked me to leave their seat. I knew trouble was coming and as I got up, I was forcefully pushed back down into it.

That's when the beatings began. One would hold me against the seat while the other punched. Then they would switch. For what seemed like hours, amidst the name calling and my friends watching helplessly, I was punched from top to bottom. Through the attack, the bus driver never stopped to help. I guess she feared she couldn't control the situation by herself. To this day, I still don't know why.

When their stop came, they immediately stopped hitting me, gathered their backpacks and left. Everyone on the bus was silent except for the sounds of my weeping. I had blood dripping from my lips and numerous bruises on my face. As I walked off the bus that day, no one said a word of condolence to me. No one.

As I walked into the front door of my home, my mother instantly knew what happened. She did the best she could by cleaning my wounds and comforting my tears. This was not the first time I had been bullied, but it was the first time I was badly beaten.

In previous bullying accounts, my parents would go to the Principal and complain. At each school I had previously attended, the Principal would say the same thing, "This is not a matter of the school's. Deal with it yourselves."

This time, however, my parents knew that the end of the school year was rapidly approaching and nothing would be done. No punishment would ever take place.

For a long time afterward, I chose to sit in the front seat of the bus, always behind the driver. Summer was coming and I looked forward to my freedom.

It was the last time I would ever be bullied.

It was the last time that a person would ever harm me again.

Tomorrow, My Martial Arts Journey - Part 2: The Training Begins.

P.S. When you pray tonight, please include all the children who are bullied with no one to rescue them. May God grant them comfort and peace.

A Few 'Personal' Stories

I'm gonna take a trip down memory lane and publish two themes that tell a little more about me. This is for my family, namely my sons, and friends.

The first theme will be a group of stories regarding my 24 years in the martial arts and what the arts have done for my life. I will be focusing on the why, where, styles, and people who have influenced me, along with a few real-life situations that the arts have come in handy.

The second theme, which is more emotional, is my upcoming 30th anniversary as an insulin-dependant diabetic. I'll write about my diagnosis and what it's like to live with a disease that, if left untreated, will cause death in a matter of days.

I hope you enjoy these true life stories...

Common Sense Thoughts

Quick little common sense thoughts...

1. Immigrant Protests - Did anybody really care? The Liberals want to open the borders and let everybody be free. Conservatives are calling for a military presence on the borders. Sean Hannity believes the Feds should bulk up the border patrols and allow them more control of the situation. While not having a clear strategy for how to handle this mess, here is my question for the immigrants:
If you are caught breaking the law, are you prepared to abide by the punishment of our legal system? 'Cause many of you, who do break the law, end up fleeing back to Mexico. Just wondering.

Note: I had the opportunity to speak with a number of hard-working Mexican immigrants on Monday, May 1st. Some have landscaping jobs, while others work in Information Technology. The concensus was, "If I don't work, I don't get paid. I can't feed and shelter my family without money. There's lots of opportunity here." (United States)

Wow! What a great attitude. And just to think that most American teenagers can't even comprehend that!

2. The Moussaoui Trial - From the front page of CNN.com:
U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema told Zacarias Moussaoui "you will die with a whimper," never allowed to speak publicly again, as she sentenced him to life in prison, The Associated Press reports.

Justice has been served. Besides, I predict he will take his own life after a few years in isolation.

3. $5 / Gallon of Gas - Yep, you saw it right. While listening to Sean Hannity yesterday afternoon, he mentioned recent fuel reports stating that, by this coming winter, we could be paying $5 for a gallon of gasoline. Can you say Honda Scooter? Or, better yet, just let me work from home.

4. Child Predator Laws - I'm all in favor of strengthening child predator laws similar to what the state of Georgia recently did. In fact, I say throw them (predators) in jail for life or banish them to an island where they can't go near children. If you believe 'therapy' will help these fools, and it is the only way, then you're stupid. Don't even bother wasting my time arguing the matter.

Besides all the aforementioned, have a great day.

Got Gas?

Yesterday, I heard a Georgia-state Democrat exclaim to the media, "People are suffering because of the high gas prices. I have heard their cries and something must be done!"

Yeah, whatever.

Sure, I hate the high prices too, but government intervention isn't the answer. Here's a list of 'blame' breakdowns for everyone keeping score:

- Liberals are blaming Conservatives for driving SUVs and making too much money.
- Ashamedly, some Conservatives are blaming government for allowing oil companies to profit off our consumption. (Ah, gee, isn't that what a free market place is all about?)
- Oil companies are blaming the consumer for using too much. (Um, hello!)
- CNN is blaming (no surprise here) President Bush.
- Ann Coulter goes after stupid Democrats who want or have wanted energy consumption taxes. (HT: Jeff)

Lastly, the state of Georgia - Democrats want Gov. Sonny Perdue to impose a two month moratorium on motor fuel tax for 60 days. All in the belief that this will somehow save us money at the pump.

Maybe we ALL should be to blame. After all, those of us who lived during the OPEC disaster, in the 70's, remember all too well the long lines at the pump and short, flaring tempers that went along. You would think after 30 years we would have a viable fuel alternative to gasoline and more economic vehicles. But, alas, we don't. We keep relying on the same 'ol bus, van, truck, boat, SUV, car, plane, motorcycle, and construction vehicles for our lives.

Nothing has really changed.

Get over it, America. We're all in this quagmire together.