Kenneth “Ramjet” Anderson is the 11th Black Belt of the Karate Institute of America. He was awarded his 1st Dan ranking on 9 June 1990. It’s hard to believe that was 31 years ago! Seems like yesterday. And, yes, Ramjet was that Black Belt who requested, on his Black Belt test, to do a second hour of the “still stance” requirement—a feat that has never been duplicated, and most likely never will be.

From The Black Belt Book of Life: Secrets of a Martial Arts Master. We live in an age with effort waning, with riches expected sans work; but in all reality and actuality There Can Be No Excellence Without Effort. Much effort, much prosperity. Euripides Success is dependent on effort. Sophocles The mode by which the inevitable comes to pass is effort. Oliver Wendell Holmes I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.

For Self-Defense and Survival Life is full of strife, struggle and conflict. Name one clear-headed adult on the planet who would disagree with this reality. Strife et al. is the basic nature of this world. Of course there are varying kinds and levels of struggle and, to be sure, everyone will experience them at some time or other. The germane question is, “How do we deal with the strife, struggle and conflict?

The date: 24 March 2021, Wednesday. Nine year old Nolan “Viper” Brubaker achieved his Orange Belt—the first major rank in the Kiado-Ryu martial arts system. So first, here’s a hearty CONGRATULATIONS, VIPER! You’re an awesome young man with a great heart. But this particular KIA test, his test, experienced something that we’ve never seen in the forty-two year history of the Karate Institute of America. During Nolan’s Orange Belt ceremony, a mysterious light beam was captured in a photo by his mom’s digital camera.

Kiado-Ryu philosophy teaches that Martial Arts is Life. All true Black Belts understand this principle. Sun Tzu’s statement that The skillful commander takes up a position in which he cannot be defeated and misses no opportunity to master his opponent does not simply apply to mortal combat. It also applies to everyday challenges of normal human existence. For example, take the COVID pandemic. In reality it is an opponent. As a human being, our job is to defeat it and certainly not allow it to touch us, and if it does touch us, not to let it defeat us, i.

Thank God for guns. Without them, people would be enslaved by other people who not only have guns but who possess a boundless appetite for power, dominance and rulership over others. History is replete with cases of tyrants subjugating and enslaving unarmed defenseless citizens. In truth, those who relinquish their guns, relinquish their freedom. As First President of the United States of America, George Washington—Father of our Country and Commander in Chief of the colonial armies who defeated the British Empire in the American Revolution—aptly, clearly, and forcefully stated:

Theodore “Teddy,” “Rough-Rider” Roosevelt became the 26th President of the United States at age 42, serving in that role from 14 September 1901 to 4 March 1909 upon the assassination of President William McKinley. Ascending to America’s highest office, Roosevelt was and remains the youngest President in American history. Roosevelt, known by his initials “T.R.,” was, to use the vernacular, a tough dude, a man’s man. He struggled with asthma in his youth.

Remember this photo of the Brothers Ligtvoet (Raptor & Smasher) from August of 2019? Well, as we all know, time marches on and while old people grow older the young grow taller. Take a look at the next pic! Raptor hasn’t changed much but Smasher certainly has! He’s now taller than his instructor (guess who?) and nearly as tall as his brother. It won’t be long before the younger outstrips his elder brother, possibly.

Winston Churchill is one of the greatest leaders in world history. As Prime Minister of Great Britain, it was his will, his strength, his vision that saved his country and assisted greatly in the Allied victory over the Axis powers in World War II. Churchill was a clear thinker. He understood the serious and irrefutable importance of victory. He was not one of those “everybody gets a trophy” kind of guy.

RANK is a symbol of status, station, position or class. Underscore the word symbol. What rank is not is a manifestation of excellence of what is symbolized as a high status. Simply stated, rank does not equate to excellence, nor does rank equate to a high level of ethics, morality, intelligence or common sense. In this age of COVID, there are some misguided, imperious individuals who erroneously perceive their rank to be an indisputable declaration of unquestionable power and absolute authority.