In cleansing the soul
and losing its dross,
it’s axiomatic –
You Must Win The Cross.
Without recognizing the ordinances of Heaven, it is impossible to be a superior man.
Another way of expressing the phrase, To become everything you must first become nothing, is this corroborating maxim, You Must Win the Cross. The symbol of the cross is ancient, far antedating its use by Christianity. It also has application to martial arts.
How fun is this? Cute kid. Remember when Aidan was just beginning his martial arts journey?
Well, he’s all grown up at age 17 and is a force to deal with. No kidding. Aidan is now a Freshman in college.
A happy warrior? Or one to be feared? Who, in their right mind, would want to be flat on their back looking up at this dangerous dude? Answer: only an idiot. Smasher keeps climbing up the Kiado-Ryu ladder…with serious intent. He could easily become the 66ᵗʰ Black Belt of the Karate Institute of America.
In the game of life,
whether pauper, prince or king,
the fact remains —
To Become Everything
We Must First Become Nothing.
This is a strange statement, isn’t it: To become everything we must first become nothing? Yet, it is true and possesses great mystic meaning. If martial arts teaches anything substantive, it is to integrate the body, mind and spirit. Nothing will help us with the integrative process more than surrendering our egos to the Great Power that exists, the Power which created and sustains us; which gives us life.
JASON “J.B.” BROWN
KIA Black Belt # 15
(December 15ᵗʰ 1990)
Jason “J.B.” Brown & GF Sammy 15 December 1990: Black Belt Coronation A Major Milestone in life—A Kiado-Ryu Black Belt!
Jason “J.B.” Brown, Greg “Maddog” Bendel, Genny “Cougar” Edge
Balance is Primary.
This we see,
but in the struggle of life
Concentration Is The
very First Key.
Concentration is the secret of strength.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Balance is primary, no doubt. However, concentration is the first key to success in whatever we do. If we can’t focus our attention directly on the task at hand, there is a pronounced risk of not succeeding at all and more poignantly, a lethal risk if confronted with a life-threatening situation.
Of all life’s skills
with which to carry,
remember this . . .
Balance is Primary!
Anyone can teeter-totter but not everyone can balance.
— Anonymous
Man always travels along precipices. His truest obligation is to keep his balance.
— Pope John Paul II
The best and safest thing is to keep a balance in your life, acknowledge the great powers around us and in us. If you can do that, and live that way, you are really a wise man.