From The Black Belt Book of Life: Secrets of a Martial Arts Master. In seeking patterns of success and a strategy to win, The “D” Line offers five clear maxims: Desire, Dedication, Determination, Discretion, Discipline. A strong passion for any object will ensure success, for the desire of the end will point out the means. Henry Hazlitt Desire is the key to motivation, but it’s the determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal—a commitment to excellence—that will enable you to attain the success you seek.

From Parenting Wisdom: What to Teach the Children. In the 1960s the American folk singing group Peter, Paul and Mary, popularized a Pete Seeger song entitled, Where Have All The Flowers Gone? It is not an unfair question in these early years of the 21st Century to ask, “Where have all the manners gone?” What are manners? Manners are social modes of action expressing respect and deference for others. Manners, or the lack of them, speak to the character of an individual and a culture.

From The Karate Consciousness: From Worldly Warrior to Mystic Master. Strength is internal power manifested in external form. As all qualities of Divine Individuality, it flows from the center of man’s Oneness with his Creator. It permeates all components of the life system—physical, mental, spiritual—and is the sustaining force in the quest for perfection. It is an absolute necessity for the student to continually increase his strength if he is to successfully progress in the continuum.

CONGRATULATIONS to Shaw “Wind” Shahriari for attaining his Blue Belt ranking! Wind is a devoted martial artist in multiple martial art systems in Iran (his home country) and the United States. The Karate Institute of America is proud to have him study in our Kiado-Ryu System. Everyone has their special skills. Wind has two that are distinctive. 1) his kicks are devastatingly powerful and 2) he is an excellent kata performer.

How wonderful it is to reunite with KIA students and friends—in this case with Annette Carden-Dale, aka “Warrior.” It’s been a few years since our last get-together and such events are always fun and enjoyable. “Catching Up” is one of life’s most meaningful and endearing experiences. Warrior began her martial arts studies at the Karate Institute of America, circa 2006. She was, and is, a great student—always focused, exuding a relentless spirit.

Let’s say you and some friends or family are out for a walk in the woods. Accidentally, you come across a mountain lion. You throw up your hands, scream and shout and do all you can do to frighten him so he’ll go away. However, not having any free space in which to run away to safety, the lion backs into a corner, frightened. Now what? You have a frightened predator who lives his life by killing and who finds himself trapped in a corner with a bunch of human beings who, themselves, are also frightened but who do not live their lives by killing, generally.

In any field of endeavor there are always levels of expertise from beginner, to intermediate, to advanced, to expert and beyond. Captain Lou Gacs, USMC retired, has surpassed that level of what is “beyond” to a level of martial arts excellence that is simply extraordinary. Without a doubt, Captain Lou Gacs is a “Martial Artist Extraordinaire.” It is one thing for an individual to attain a Black Belt rating in one style of martial arts.

A fellow martial artist recently shared the following story. Pay attention if you value your money, jewelry, even your life—especially if you’re a woman. In the community of Newport Beach, CA, theft is increasing, just like everywhere else in the world. A man, acting as if he was in dire trouble and needing assistance, approached a woman in her car. The woman was wearing a nice necklace and beautiful jewelry on her hands and wrists.

These are tough times, right? So what’s the answer? It’s simple. Get tougher. Life is not complicated. We exist in a bi-polar universe. Therefore, there will always be good times and bad times. There is day and there is night; hot and cold, wet and dry, winter and summer; fall and spring, etc. Wisdom necessitates that we understand this universal principle and plan accordingly—emotionally, physically, financially, spiritually. One of the noticeable things about the environment of present-day earth is that it is obviously going through tough times.

From The Black Belt Book of Life: Secrets of a Martial Arts Master. In the realm of greatness and all of its immensity, the secret to its attainment is the overcoming of adversity. A great man stands on God. A small man stands on a great man. Ralph Waldo Emerson Responsibility is the price of greatness. Winston Churchill No man ever yet became great by imitation. Samuel Johnson Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon ’em.