Lee Wedlake’s Karate Newsletter November 2014
What’s here? Online lessons, Tucson seminar, The Kenpo Karate Compendium, Wonder Valley Kenpo Camp, KenpoTV updates,
Thank You To all who supported the breast cancer awareness event last month. Between the pink t-shirt sales and the sunglasses auction, we raised about $1800 for the National Breast Cancer Foundation.
The Kenpo Karate Compendium Progress on the book is steady. The publisher sent proofs and it looks great. So far, we’re still on track for a January 2015 release of the e-book. You can pre-order it on Amazon. If you have not heard, it’s a compilation and expansion of my Kenpo Karate series of books on the forms and sets. More info, new photos. Forewords by Ed Parker and John Sepulveda.
Professional Development Seminar (PDS) in Tucson The Nov. 2 seminar will be at Shawn and Rebecca Knight’s studio in Tucson. Subject is the weapon techniques. Fee includes a manual and certificate. Here’s the link to register. The pre-registration discount deadline is past. https://kenpotv.com/leewedlake/store/tucson-az-pds/ It’s filling up. Space limited, we can’t take walk-ins. Starts at 9:30, ends about 4:30.
Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself. – Chinese Proverb
WRBBOF I am on the Board of Directors of the World Registry of Black Belts, Organizations and Federations (WRBBOF). It’s run by Barry Moyer in Indiana, whom I have known since the 1980s. The organization non-political and are not a certificate factory. Take a look. http://www.wrbbof.com/
Seminar recaps In October I was in New Orleans, Austin, Germany and New England. The Louisiana seminar was attended by people from Alabama as well. Subjects included club defenses, two-mans and extensions. Host Danny Sullivan also had a client appreciation cookout on Sunday that was fun and well-attended. The following weekend I taught at Brian Duffy’s annual AKF camp here in Texas. The staff consisted of myself, Brian, Sigung LaBounty, Dennis Conatser, Ray McCallum and Mikie Rowe. 8th degrees Gary Swan and Tommy Burks came by as did 10th dan Ted Sumner. Ray McCallum is a world-class fighter of the Jhoon Rhee lineage under Demetrius “Greek” Havanas. I hadn’t seen him since about 1979. Mikie Rowe was a nationally known female fighter in the 70s and ladies today can thank her for getting women’s divisions instituted in karate tournaments. It was a pleasure to watch her teach. Mr. Duffy is going to move the camp to September next year. Germany’s event at Marc Sigle’s was successful. I expanded on the subject I taught at the AKF camp the week prior. It’s a new seminar on the relationships of techniques using crossovers; timing of the strikes, zone relationships and footwork angles for the change-ups. We covered a lot in about 6-7 hours of working and finished with a session on Kenpo etiquette and history. We had another wunderbar night out at Katerinalinde restaurant on Saturday. Vielen Dank!
In New England I taught in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Friday I was at Doreen DiRienzo’s Revere Karate Academy, Saturday at Manchester Karate Studio with Steve White and Sunday in Dartmouth, MA with Lance Soares at his new facility. Subjects included “Skills and Drills”, gun defenses and two-man techniques. It’s always a pleasure to hang out with Steve White and having dinner with the gracious Doreen DiRienzo and lunch with Hanshi Richie Bernard is always a plus. Not to mention spending some time with Lance’s father, Richard, an old USMC war-dog. Thanks to everyone for their support.
Online video lessons More people are jumping on this. I’m doing lessons via Facetime and it’s working very well. It’s like Skype, a video messaging system. I plan to use Skype if someone asks. You can do it with your desktop, iphone or iPad. I’ve been told you can use a Skype app on your Apple device, too. Using this allows instructors to be able to correct motion and answer questions. You can schedule a block of 5 or 10 lessons running about 30-45 minutes each. I can arrange single lessons too, but the block saves money. Pick a block of lessons. Schedule a time slot. Pay by credit card or PayPal. Select the subject(s) you want to cover. Off you go! I’ll send you notes on the lesson by e-mail afterward. If you’re interested, please contact me at lee@leewedlake.com. My schedule is filling, so if you’re interested you should act now.
“Greet people with a handshake and a smile, and you’ll decrease the odds of getting in trouble.” – Ed Parker
In the online store Lessons with Ed Parker in hard copy. Kenpo posters by Dennis Conatser. Manuals, books and more.
Upcoming Seminars Details on my page at kenpotv.com/leewedlake/seminars-2
November 2 Tucson, AZ @ Shawn Knight
November 15 Coppell, TX @ Oscar Steele
December 13 Atlanta (Loganville) area @ Robert Wallace
October Premium Subscriber Article Last month the article was “More on the Two-Man Defenses”. Every month I post a new article for Premium Subscribers. It’s $29/yr and includes access to everything previously published. Here’s a list. https://kenpotv.com/leewedlake/articles/. Here’s how to subscribe. https://kenpotv.com/leewedlake/join-lwks/
AKSC Instructor Certification Program The reborn American Kenpo Senior Council will offer instructor certification. I have written the manual for it and it is almost done. It’s been run past several other instructors from other lineages and additions have been made. More details on what you need to do in order to become a certified Kenpo instructor will be forthcoming. You can see our page on Facebook for more info.
2015 Wonder Valley Camp It’s seven months away and people are registered already. I have been told space is running out! Graham and Jaydean Lelliott host a great kenpo weekend in the Fresno, CA area on Memorial Day weekend. Graham tells me he and I will teach along with Steve White, Ingmar Johansson, Paul McMurray and others. If you think you’d like to go to the 2015 event (it’s bi-annual) click the link here for info. http://www.jotform.com/form/2270931241
Podcasts I have over 100 to hear with more coming. Hear them at http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=381705015 Bo Luellen’s include Dennis Conatser, John Sepulveda, Sigung LaBounty, Brian Duffy, Doreen Dirienzo, Chuck Sullivan and more. http://www.americankenpotv.com/aktv-the-podcast/
Kenpo TV You may not know that there is a whole section devoted to instructing on the site that is part of the all-access subscription. Numerous videos address how to instruct, fundamentals of instruction, handling problems and sharpening your eye. I now have a list of videos that got lost in the transfer to a new site and will be uploading them as well. Thanks to Jim Deery in PA for tracking these. kenpotv.com. A trial subscription is $1 for a week.
“Some Warriors look fierce, but are mild. Some seem timid, but are vicious. Look beyond appearances; position yourself for the advantage.” – Deng Ming-Dao
Forty Ways to Less Stress Robert Wallace is one of my 6th degrees. He sends out a free “Daily Dose of Motivation” e-mail. 143 of them! You can get on his e-mail list by contacting him at wallacekenpo@ gmail.com. Prof. Wallace also does a string on stress reduction.
Kenpo Senior Conference Steve White and I have selected some dates for the 2016 conference, which should be in late April or mid-May that year. Location is now narrowed to two cities (either Austin, TX or Tucson, AZ). I should have more for you next month.
Until next month,
Lee Wedlake