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. Of the original twenty-four images taken during the event, one of the images contained a mysterious light beam which shined directly on Viper’s Orange Belt as it lay on the ground in KIA fashion at the beginning of his commencement ceremony! It is an extraordinary photo. Thousands of pictures have been taken during the KIA’s long existence but none like this. None. Ever. How special is that!

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.e., take our life.

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. In his adult years his first wife and mother died on the same day in 1884. Rough-Rider Teddy garnered status as an American hero during the Spanish-American War of 1898 and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906 for brokering an end to the Russo-Japanese War.

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. At any rate, they’ll most likely be at least the same size. And guess who won’t be getting picked on (lovingly) much longer? In fact, Smasher has excellent hand work and can hold his own quite well when the brothers do some hand-to-hand sparring. He also has thunderous kicks and one of the best hooking heel kicks around, as in over his head! He is rapidly becoming a worthy adversary for any opponent.

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. Just the reverse, in fact, as his following quote reveals: