The day—15 November 2018, Thursday. It was a Blue Belt milestone for Hannah Shamassian and the Karate Institute of America as this lovely young lady moved up another rung on the Kiado-Ryu ladder of accomplishment. Hannah is a paradox. She’s very quiet during her lessons, using few words to communicate with Mr. King. But when she does her bag work, look out! Her power is off the charts for her size, as her brother, Josh, understands full well.
He was one of the best and toughest fighters in the history of the Karate Institute of America. “He” is Guy McDonald, callsign “Hollywood.” He and Mr. King met up for lunch in October. It was awesome to reconnect after so many decades, decades that strangely seem like only a few weeks. How amazingly time flies. Yet, how wonderful it was to relive old stories and memories of a magical time gone by.
Editor’s note: The following is an excerpt from chapter 2, pages 25–28, of the second edition of “The Karate Consciousness: From Worldly Warrior to Mystic Master,” a book by Richard King. Man was not created to dominate his fellow man. He was created to live in the fullness of the Light and to radiate that Light throughout the corridors of the universe. The karate consciousness of today is not centered in the fullness of the Light—divine illumination and understanding as characterized by life, love, peace, perfection, purity, prosperity, health, harmony, strength and wisdom.
© 1966, All rights reserved Lt. Colonel Ronald R. King is honored on Panel 27E, Line 44 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D. C. Click on the photo or the following link to review his feature on The Wall of Faces and various testimonials of appreciation for his duty and service to America. http://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/28069/RONALD-R-KING Lt. Col. King’s commemoration on The Wall of Faces states he was MIA (Missing In Action).
How extremely relevant are MacArthur’s words, not just for a post WWII America, but for a 2018 America? In their own way, Thomas Jefferson, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan and others have vocalized the same sentient concern regarding the destructive potential of negative internal forces. Internal forces often exceed external forces in their destructive aspect. As powerfully as MacArthur’s words ring true in a national sense, do they not also ring true for each of us in a personal sense?