Who is this guy?

When I was a kid I had a fascination with Japan. I mean it was the Eighties and ninja were everywhere from TV shows to movies and literature. I distinctly recall going to a martial arts-themed bookstore and buying books on ninja and a translation of The Book of Five Rings, by Miyamoto Musashi. At the time, I was studying tae kwon do at a little school in Bellevue, NE. That ended when my instructor moved and I didn’t find a place to continue. I took a physical education elective in college with another TKD instructor and that was an easy A, but didn’t pursue anything beyond that semester. Ah, the dalliances of youth!

It wasn’t until a few years later that I was gaining weight and felt I needed to do something active again. I tend not to go to the gym, so I knew that was out. Then, one day on my way to work, I noticed a new place open up - The Ryan Academy of Martial Arts. When I walked in to check out the place, everyone was rolling around on the floor, so this was something new to me and I was intrigued. I found out they were training in something called, Jeet Kune Do (JKD) and was informed that was the art of Bruce Lee. Now, I had heard of Bruce Lee and remembered watching some of his flicks when I was a kid, but it never crossed my mind that there were schools training in what he did. So, I enrolled for two classes a week. Sifu Robert Ryan taught Jun Fan/Jeet June Do Concepts from the lineage of Sifu Larry Hartsell’s Jun Fan/Jeet Kune Do Grappling Association.

It wasn’t long before that was nowhere near enough and I upped it to three times a week which evolved into six times a week soon after. It was immersion training and the best way to learn is to keep doing something. I had hurtles to overcome to be sure. I was overweight and ran out of breath easily and some of the movements were hard for my brain to tackle, but I persisted.

I was jazzed to be exploring more and more; not only in the physical realms but I started touching on internal dialogues. I felt a kinship when reading the works of ancient China via the words of Bruce Lee and one of his philosophical influences, Alan Watts. One aspect of this was an emphasis on discovering who you are and living the best way you know how. Expressing oneself via whatever you are passionate about was a hallmark of the philosophy of Bruce Lee with his vehicle of Jeet Kune Do. This was something I could relate to!

A fellow student at the school, Brandt Smith, and I started hanging out more and more outside of class. We discussed a lot about the martial arts community and the arts. This reopened my fascination with Asian culture, but it was more focused to the Southeast now with our studies of Kali and Pencak Silat which we were both attracted to via our studies in JKD.

Over time, we both left the school and moved from Nebraska. We stayed in contact during those times and when Brandt formed Kapatiran Suntukan Martial Arts in 1998, I was onboard and we started to host seminars with a variety of players - primarily from the arts of pencak silat and kali. The largest influence on our growth was when we started having more frequent gatherings where a large variety of people could come together and share thoughts and just hang out in general as any tribe should. These continue to this day and are a great opportunity to stay in touch as well as meet new people. I became the director of KSMA in 2006 and have studied with world class instructors from around the country and continue to explore my own expression of the arts I have learned which evolved into the art Aneh Palu Kali-Silat and that is what I primarily teach, but I occasionally bust out the Jun Fan Gung Fu for some fun! In 2011, I stepped back slightly from leading the global group and brought in my friend, Terry Trahan to assist with running the group as a whole which allows me to focus more on the Des Moines school.

I get the most satisfaction from a student reaching an understanding of a movement and being able to make it their own. That’s when I begin to see real change in the person. They tend to move to being more of who they are meant to be and start leaping lines in the sand, striving to live a more fulfilled life. Seeing that happening in people led me to become a certified life coach which I found to be a natural progression out of the martial arts. I am able to draw on that to help people see the barriers that may be holding them back and give them tools to get past them.

I love what I do immensely and look forward to sharing it with you.

KSMA Summer Jam

KSMA has had a long standing commitment to coming together to share what we know with others in tandem with learning from whom we are able. In that tradition, we are having the first KSMA Summer Jam in Des Moines, IA, on June 23 and 24 of 2012.

This is a chance to train with a variety of people, see old friends and make new ones.

A major part focus for this event is for instructors to share aspects of their arts with those outside their normal circle. We welcome any who wish to participate. We will be following a format similar to past successful events. There will be a series of sessions throughout the weekend from the various instructors. While we encourage you to attend all sessions to get a full appreciation of the event, it is not required. Please contact us if you have an interest in sharing what you know, and we can establish a time for you to do so during the Summer Jam.

Co-directors Terry Trahan and Jay Carstensen will be teaching elements of Aneh Palu Kali-Silat. Others will be announced as they come on board.

Saturday evening will consist of a hang out session/potluck dinner as breaking bread and sharing water is an essential aspect of our community. This is a time for us to swap stories of high adventure and just kick back and build relationships.

Cost will be $50. Contact Jay about lodging options.

Improv

I heard two stories recently about how the skills of improvisation comedy apply to everyday life and business. One of those referenced Tina Fey’s book, Bossypants, specifically the section, “Rules of Improvisation That Will Change Your Life and Reduce Belly Fat”. This struck a cord with me. I feel a few of those points can be applied to martial arts and then back to life. Let’s go down her list and compare.
 
“Agree and say yes.” In Fey’s words, she means to keep an open mind and start with yes and see where that takes you. You may not agree with what is happening, but it is a place to start. To me, this means accepting what is happening right now and acknowledge it is occurring. An apt analogy could be, “man that looks like a fist coming my way. And it’s getting bigger.” It may not be physical either. The verbal equivalent could be if someone is getting in your face, check yourself. Don’t escalate the situation. Keep control of the situation by repeating back what they are telling you, let them know you hear what they are saying and attempt to de-escalate the scene.
 
“Yes, And...” Ms. Fey suggests at his point, we add something to the conversation. In the case of the fist above, you could see it and (re)act (to)on that stimulus with something you have practiced for just such an instance. With de-escalating, you may agree with what they are saying and offer a way to defuse what’s going on.
 
“Make statements.” Ms. Fey suggests now is the point to offer your opinions and be part of the solution. In the case of a non-verbal confrontation, you will be hitting and doing damage. Verbally, you can state clearly that you are going to make things right by leaving.
 
“There are no mistakes, only opportunities.” Here, Ms. Fey states that you have to make to best of the situation you are in and recognize that things could go wrong. In a physical confrontation, actions performed by you may not go off they way you had hoped, but you can’t linger on that. You need to keep plugging away to get out of the circumstance. In the verbal situation, you may say the wrong thing at the wrong time, so you need to accept that, apologize, and move on.

As is true with improvisation, the same goes with martial arts: practice. The more you explore, the more you are able to adapt to the moment and just flow with it to get what needs done, done. Join us at Kapatiran Suntukan Martial Arts to learn the skills you need to get out of a situation when you have to.