Learning Styles
An article dated 2009 says there is no evidence to support the notion that people primarily learn by sight, sound or touch, or a combination thereof. It also states that 71 different methods of learning have been posed over time.
In discussing this, I have found that people tend to classify themselves in one of the three categories, evenwhen they don’t know about them. I had included the model of the three methods in our instructor certification course, as it has a definite place in getting teachers to realize there is more than one way to present information. The bottom line is, some students get the lesson one way and others get it another and good instructors look for what works for the student.
Domestic Violence in MMA
I was sent this recently and it stuns to see the statistics, if they’re correct. According to this show, incidence of domestic violence in MMA is twice the national average. The percentage in the highly covered incidents in the NFL is lower than the national average.
Is this violence due to how MMA is taught? Is it really true that these athletes are not taught the moral basics inherent in most traditional arts and that it contributes to this? That’s an ongoing discussion. This 25 minute show may help you decide.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgpdU_uPO34&sns=em
9-11
Fourteen years have passed sinceTodd Beamer said “Let’s Roll” on the hijacked United Flight 93 on 9-11-01. Never Forget.
No one is going to hand me success. I must go out & get it myself. That’s why I’m here. To dominate. To conquer. Both the world, and myself.
– Unknown
Update – KenpoTV
I now have video of Mr. Parker teaching a nunchaku seminar.Other videos available are of him teaching everything from basics to form and self-defense. The site is now approved and licensed by the Parker family, too.
Many instructors use the site to help them in planning lessons. Some hook it up to a monitor in the class room to illustrate principles in motion. Still others do it live by arranging a session with me via video chat. kenpotv.com A week-long trial is $1.
August Premium Subscriber Article
The August article is titled “Sources of Power”, about motivation, frustration, etc. in training. 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/
Lessons With Me Via The Web
My lesson schedule is filling but there are still slots left. I have been teaching via video to individuals and groups. One school has me do an online group class for them quarterly. This is not limited to school owners. You can do it with your desktop, laptop or device. You can schedule a block of either 5 or 10 lessons running about 30-45 minutes each. I can arrange single lessons too, but the block saves money. Here’s what you do.
Pick a block of lessons. Schedule a time slot and pay by credit card or PayPal.
Select the subject(s) you want/need 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. By the way, the protocol would be to make sure it’s ok with your teacher, if you have one.
Upcoming Seminars
Details on my page at kenpotv.com/leewedlake/seminars-2
Sept 18-20 AKF Camp, Austin, TX
Sept 25-26 Chicago, IL
Oct 10 Covington, LA
Nov 15-17 Athens, Greece
Nov 20-22 Esslingen, Germany
See John Sepulveda’s schedule athttp://www.akts-js.us/Js%20Seminar%20Schedule.htm
Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.
-Albert Einstein
What Was Ed Parker On To?
A recent brain wave study shows that using phonics helps reading skills. Brain activity is higher when focus is on letter-sounds rather than whole words. Mr. Parker often used an analogy to “sounding out”, emphasizing “enunciation of motion” to get the mechanics right. He called doing the basics in a horse stance the Phonics of Motion.
While this study is specific to sounding out words to improve reading, maybe future studies will prove he really was on to something in embedding the movements in his way.
http://news.stanford.edu/news/2015/may/reading-brain-phonics-052815.html
Atta Boy
Round Rock Karate Academy here in Texas had a school supply drive to help kids in the local women’s shelter. This is the second year they have done it and the staff at Hope Alliance was excited and grateful.
People tend to forget there are kids in those facilities along with abused women (and sometimes men) and they need these things, too. Many escape their situation with only the clothes on their backs.
So, to RRKA, Nice Job! www.rrkarate.com
Update – In the online store
My changed the store for a better look and ease of use. It’s online now.
Ed Parker books, Kenpo Karate and Guide to the Nunchaku, are back in stock.
My new t-shirt design is available. “Knuckle sandwiches are free.” Charcoal gray with the Texas fist logo.
My newest book, The Kenpo Karate Compendium, is available in my online store. $24.95. I will autograph it for you. A combo deal with Lessons with Ed Parker saves some money, too.
I have two copies of Amy Long’s Kenpo Continuum, Vol. 2 book left.
A limited number of Lessons with Ed Parker is still available. Should be back up on Amazon in hard copy soon. The e-book is available.
Technique manuals, form videos and t-shirts available. Links to Dennis Conatser’s and Bob White’s stores are there, too.
https://kenpotv.com/leewedlake/store/
Update – American Kenpo Senior Council
The AKSC patches are done and the certificates may also be done by the time you read this. The new patch is identical to the original with one exception. “The Flame Burns On” is in red thread instead of black. This was done to designate the new AKSC instructors versus those who were members of the first iteration of the Council.
There will be three certification levels you can work toward. First, take the instructor course. The next level is Examiner and the highest is Chief Examiner. The certificates are finalized and we’re waiting for delivery.
Chief Examiners at this time include myself, John Sepulveda, Gary Swan, Brian Duffy and Steve LaBounty. Bob White has resigned in order to work more with Kam IV. More are in the process of finishing their designations and will be posted soon.
You can contact me for more information or go to the AKSC Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/AKSeniorCouncil
Fall seven times and stand up eight. -Japanese Proverb
Paul McMurray
Seventh degree black, Paul McMurray, of Jersey, Channel Islands, passed away last month. Paul was one of Graham Lelliott’s black belts. I’d last seen Paul at the Wonder Valley camp in May. He had cancer and it finally took him.
Paul was truly a gentle giant. A big man, great practitioner and a tough competitor. I enjoyed the many conversations I had with him. He was a policeman there on the island and ran his own Kenpo club.
It’s a big loss to us all.
Podcasts
I posted new ones recently on my website in the articles section instead of the iTunes page. This is due to problems with the podcastmachine website that links to iTunes, which I’m still working out. They have horrible support and it’s taken months and months to get anywhere. I have over 130 to hear with more coming. Hear them at https://kenpotv.com/leewedlake/articles/ or at http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=381705015
Forty Ways to Less Stress
Robert Wallace is one of my 7th 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 atwallacekenpo@gmail.com. Prof. Wallace also does a string on stress reduction.
Update – Kenpo Senior Conference
Late April, early May 2016! Steve White and I are selecting some dates that month for the 2016 conference. Location TBD. Details to come.
My Thanks to Frank Trejo
I write this when I found I could not attend the dinner to honor him in Pasadena last month. Angelo Collado was good enough to say he would deliver it to Frank.
Little did I know when I met Frank in the office at the Pasadena school in 1977 at IKC time that
you would have a huge impact on my life.
I said “Hi, I’m Lee Wedlake, from Chicago.” Your answer was “Yeah, so what?” But in the years I trained out there with you under the guidance of Mr. Parker, you treated me like a brother.
We traveled and taught with Mr. Parker, competed together, compared techniques and punched it out on the mat, drank Tequila, and had the kind of time so many of us remember having with you. I missed a private lesson with Mr. Parker, having been out way too late with with you and the hangover was intense. Mr. Parker called my room at the hotel and when I apologized and told him I’d been out with Frank he said “I understand.”
You came to Chicago and Florida at my invitation and your seminars influenced a new generation of Kenpo practitioners. That influence is still felt. You told me I was the first one ever to fly you anywhere for a seminar. I remember you coming to Chicago and seeing snow and feeling sub-zero cold for the first time.
I could go on with more about how you improved my fighting, my coaching abilities and introducing me to so many people, including the times we spent backstage with Van Halen. In my books and magazine articles I have always credited Frank Trejo with what he taught me. I value the time you spent, the knowledge you gave and the friendship we created.
So, Bruddah Frank, thank you and respect!
Update – WRBBOF
The World Registry of Black Belts, Organizations and Federations (WRBBOF) has a new director, Dwight Holley, has been elected by the board, of which I am a member. The organization is non-political and not a certificate factory. Take a look. http://www.wrbbof.com/
Blog Posts
I post some short articles and updates on my site from time to time that you may find to be of interest. Click on Resources, then Articles and you’ll be in. kenpotv.com/leewedlake
Having a Fundraiser?
I have boxes of my books, Kenpo Karate 401, 501 and 601 that I can’t sell due to my agreement with the publisher of The Kenpo Karate Compendium. I hate to see them sit so here’s my offer.
I will send you a box of the three volumes, signed by me, if you 1) auction them off or take a donation to a charity or women’s shelter benefit and 2) you pay the shipping.
This is a short term offer. Contact me at lee@leewedlake.com if interested.
Until next month,
Lee Wedlake