Valentines Day, 14 February 2022, was a sweetheart moment in time for Shaw Shahriari, aka “Wind.” Why? Because he received his Kiado-Ryu Purple Belt ranking! So … a well-deserved CONGRATULATIONS to you, Wind! Shaw “Wind” Shahriari: Purple Belt Test—14 February 2022. Shaw loves kata. He’s very good and if there were open (all comers) karate tournaments today his precise form would have won him many championships at the Orange and Purple Belt levels.
From The Black Belt Book of Life: Secrets of a Martial Arts Master. Perfect Masters throughout time, in all of their addresses, state that in pursuit of truth Concentration Coalesces If you don’t concentrate, you’ll end up on your rear. Tai Babilonia To be able to concentrate for a considerable time is essential to difficult achievement. Bertrand Russell The stages of the Noble Path are: Right View, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Behavior, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration.
From The Black Belt Book of Life: Secrets of a Martial Arts Master. Humility is the highest form of strength; Arrogance the highest form of weakness. As a silo sits vacant of fodder, A Black Belt Without Humility Is Like A Well Without Water. We come nearest to the great when we are great in humility. Rabindranath Tagore, Nobel Laureate, Literature 1913 To become truly great, one has to stand with people, not above them.
Without a doubt, the current global pandemic and its manifestations—physical, mental, financial, familial, educational, social and tyrannical have, sadly, spawned depression in a large swath of the world’s population. Understandable. The question arises, “How can people manage this pandemic without depression?” Martial Arts training, especially that of the Karate Institute of America™ (KIA) and the Kiado-Ryu™ system of martial arts, offers the following thoughts. The first chapter of The Black Belt Book of Life: Secrets of a Martial Arts Master is entitled, “Martial Arts Is Life.
It was another great day for Tristan “Raptor” Ligtvoet, the 64th Black Belt of the Karate Institute of America, as he ascended to the rank of 4th Dan, an accomplishment few have achieved in the forty-two year history of the Kiado-Ryu. Raptor joins Dan “Basai” Asay (KIA Black Belt #8) and Chris “Growler” Grau (KIA Black Belt #36) as the only other two KIA 4th Dan Black Belts—a remarkable feat considering that over thirty-three hundred individuals have studied at the KIA since its inception in 1979.
Most of us, perhaps all of us, have been in a situation involving a potential combatant. Perhaps it is an angry driver, pissed off neighbor, unruly guest at a function—whatever, whenever, wherever, whomever. The thing is, we want to avoid a physical confrontation if at all possible. We don’t want to hurt anybody, get hurt ourselves, or be part of a self-defense conflict in which things can get out of hand, destructive, or worse.
There is only one way to deal with bullies. You back them down or put them down or you will go down. This is a lamentable truth but truth it is, nonetheless. Those who stand up for themselves will be free. Those who don’t will become slaves. It is the story of life. Bullies are heartless souls with an unquenchable thirst for dominance and power. They don’t care about anyone’s well-being, rights, goodness or life except their own.
From The Black Belt Book of Life: Secrets of a Martial Arts Master. 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. Confucius Another way of expressing the phrase, To become everything we must first become nothing (TBBBL), is this corroborating maxim—You Must Win the Cross. The symbol of the cross is ancient, far antedating its use by Christianity.
KIA first dan Brown Belt and Champion fighter Guy McDonald has reignited his desire to achieve a Kiado-Ryu Black Belt. He was extremely active at the Karate Institute of America from 1986 to 1990 but he had to stop his martial arts studies because of back surgery. Three years ago Guy was featured in the KIA article, The KIA’s Own Hollywood. With changing times and circumstances, Guy has reignited his original desires to become a Kiado-Ryu Black Belt and is back studying again.
THE V.E.T.S. SYSTEM OF SHOOTING ACCURACY Kiado-Ryu Gun-Fu™ is the ancient martial art of using firearms in sport, competitive shooting and one’s God-given right of self-defense. For anyone who has ever fired a handgun at a target, they soon realize it’s challenging to hit the target—in contrast from what the movies often portray. Shooting accurately is not easy. It takes applied knowledge, concerted and concentrated practice to be successful. Fortunately, learning to shoot effectively does not take years of study.