As a follow up to last week’s feature of the week, “Wildcat On The Move,” Anna Griffin sent a few stunningly beautiful photos of Lake Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. They are breath-taking! Enjoy the photos and all KIA features of the week at http://www.kiado-ryu.com/.

As nature has her wildcats, so does the Karate Institute of America, and our Wildcat, like Nature’s, is on the move! Anna “Wildcat” Griffin is the 55th Black Belt of the Kiado-Ryu. She began her KIA journey at age 11. In 1998 she earned her 1st Dan Black Belt rating. True to her callsign, Wildcat is as tough as they come and a true legend in KIA history. Anna, a former United States Army veteran of eight years, relocated from the central plains of the U.

In so many ways the civilization of the 21st Century lives in the delusion that symbol is more important than substance; that the character of who we are has been turned inside-out and upside-down to where it’s more important to be superficially adorned with the trappings of celebrity, fame, name, power, wealth, status, popularity and gamesmanship than it is to be anchored in principles of character, humility, honesty, honor, dignity, purity and substance.

Always with a smiling, optimistic, positive attitude is Terry “Slider” Bass, the 50th Black Belt of the Karate Institute of America, pictured here in his ubiquitous blue gi. Slider achieved his 1st Dan on 13 December 1997. Possessing a strong, noble and generous character, Slider has been a staunch supporter of the KIA and other students, often attending the Black Belt tests of prospective candidates. As a fighter, Terry is very crafty, skilled, determined.

Swords are sharp…and cutting. The word “Shuto” is defined as a hand used like a sword in striking. Jerry “Shuto” Alston, the 28th Black Belt of the Kiado-Ryu (1994), not only used his hands as cutting implements on his opponents but he also used his mind as a cutting instrument to whittle his adversaries down to size. In fact, one of Shuto’s greatest assets, if not his greatest asset, is his mind.