December, 2003 mailbag

Note: In the course of a month I get literally thousands of e-mail. I don't normally place correspondence in the "Mailbag" that are either labeled "personal" or contain information of a personal nature. As I read and answer mail, if I find a letter that I find interesting, amusing, topical or educational, it gets filed in my "mailbag" for future use in this feature. I try to edit out any personal information like addresses or telephone numbers, unless the writer specifically requests that I publish it.

I welcome all e-mail and will answer everyone in as timely a manner as possible. Don't be surprised if you find (or don't find) your message in this section. However, if you are concerned about your letter finding its way into the "Mailbag", simply include in the header or at the beginning of message "personal" and I will honor your request. GEM

Hi Mr.Mattson;

My 9yr old son and I are both hachikyus of Sensei Dave Hunt in Bedford, Nova Scotia. We are very interested in finding out how I may be able to get a copy of your book "Uechiryu Karate Do".

Thank you ! Ron R.

Hi Ron:

Thanks for asking. Unfortunately, Uechi-ryu karate do book is now officially out of print. The printer advised us that the book negatives would not produce another set of plates necessary to do another printing. Because of the cost of redoing the book, I decided to retire it.

Since the word got out, Amazon has been offering used copies of the book for up to $400+ and getting it.

Peabody Publishing is offering remaining inventory (signed and numbered copies) for $100 in the Store. The link is http://karateworld.safeshopper.com/2/cat2.htm?621

Have a wonderful holiday season.

Best, George Mattson

Dear Master Mattson,

I have been browsing your web site and I am quite impressed with the site.

In 1976 when I was 16yrs old, I was introduced to Uechi Ryu by a demonstration led by Jim Maloney. I was so impressed that I joined up without hesitation. This was in Truro Nova Scotia. My instructor was Duncan Macleod and from I understand he still instructs. He is a very impressive instructor and I learned a lot from him.

The unfortunate part I had to quit in 1980, when I joined the navy as a career. I thought i would be able to train in Halifax but unfortunately my sea time got in the way. Now at the age of 43yrs old and with other interests I can't get the time to train in a real dojo setting.

I was wondering if there are training tapes that I could buy to study at home?

Thanks for your time and help.

Yours truly,

Dave Crowe

Everything you are looking for can be found in our Store. Good luck and stay in touch. GEM

This epic saga spans the 400 year history of karate, from its emergence out of the turbulent conquest of Okinawa by the Japanese in 1609, to the modern dojos of the Western world.

Read about it at: www.theartandtheway.com
Buy it now at: www.booklocker.com

If anyone is interested in purchasing one or both of these books, please contact me. GEM

Hi, my name is Matthew T. . . and I live in Amherst, MA. I took Uechi Ryu when I was 8 till I was 16 and I would love to get involved in it again, I am now 24. I was wondering if there were any good videos that could help me learn the katas and kumite and training techniques and such. Any help you could give would be very appreciated, I tried looking for a dojo in my area but none are around here that I know of, so I have been doing Tai Chi lately.

Thank you Matthew T. . .

Its Dean Lowe from Benfleet Uechi Ryu Karate Club in England. Just a quick request, Please could you change the contact phone number on your directory list for my club to 07838 200396
Many Thanks
Dean Lowe

Sensei Mattson, I would appreciate it if you could add my contact information to your dojo directory:

Bob Miessau Shohei-ryu
Flagstaff, Arizona
928-853-0883
dmiessau@msn.com

VR/ Bob Miessau

Hello George Mattson,

We are facing a problem here in Brazil, and I think it's very important to the IUKF to know and help us. A woman (I think she was a black belt) registered the name of Uechi Ryu in Portuguese and Japanese writing. She declared herself as the owner of the name of our karate stye at the beginning of the 1990's. In the middle of the 1990's, she allowed the Uechi Ryu practitioners from Brasilia (the capital) to use the emblem with the name of our style written in Japanese. Once she stopped a championship and with the justice she finished it, and did all practitioner take off our Uechi Ryu emblem. Some black belts, federations and confederations repressed her, we sought the justice to regain the right to use the name of our style. The representatives of Okikukai have already informed the Japanese representatives about it. In spite of it, we didn't get the rights to use the name Uechi Ryu. All federations don't recognize her and all the black belts don't respect her because of this attitude. Currently, she is still the owner of the "trademark" Uechi Ryu in Brazil, but she doesn't allow the practitioners to use the emblem. This situation is not good for us. I would like you to let us know what can we do to change this situation and use the name of our karate style without any problems. It's really absurd!!!

Best,

Wesley
Brazil IUKF

Sorry to hear about this Wesley. Argentina has its own problems with a teacher who feels he owns the name Uechi-ryu and demands payment from all dojo who wish to use it. Since my book, The Way of Karate (1962) and Uechi-ryu Karate Do (1974) was sold throughout Argentina and Brazil prior to these individuals high jacking the rights, I would think the name can be thought of as commonly used and part of the public domain. Perhaps our legal staff can jump in here and begin a topic in the Forums. GEM

Bob Campbell and I are getting lots of interest from Uechi practitioners who wish to accompany us to India. If anyone is interested in getting more information, please contact me. You must arrange your own airfare and pay for expenses while in India. During our stay there, you may help us with the instruction and dan test. All Uechi organizations are invited to help out. GEM

Dear Hanshi GEM san
Regarding seminar first day we will have half an hour opining ceremony and than: What I planned is first we will perform Uechi Ryu so for what we learned so that you can come to an idea accordingly you can precede further seminar I think half day we may spend on it. I don't think any big changes in katas, may be in basics I think you can finish all these with in three days, I feel you both can enough Bob san can assist you, every day six hours per day seminar was held so for, morning 08-00 to 11-00 &15-00 hours to 18-00, is it okay for you or any thing I have to change?

Finally dan test, I may kindly be informed duration of time you need for dan test may be in total fifty students, they may appear from shodan to sandan, . .,

Remaining last half day closing ceremony and sayonara party with all Iukf - India group chief instructors plus all style chiefs of other Okinawan and Japanese style sensei's Closing ceremony will be very grand it may take three hours, I would like to send invitation to all Iukf - International group kindly send me their e- mail id, kindly inform invitation to be send to any other honored guest.

No.31, Rathna Avenue, Hemachandra Nagar Extn, Minjur � 601 203, Thiruvallur dist, Tamilnadu, India.

Hi George:

I received Jay Sal's question concerning the use of nunchucks in Massachusetts

I sent back this reply, which you may or may not have received and I know that you were well aware of this statute anyway:

Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 269 Section 10 deals with the carrying of dangerous weapons. The first part deals with licensing and carrying of firearms.

The section quoted hereunder deals with other dangerous weapons.

I published this statute several months ago on this forum, but because of what appears to me to be a great interest in the use of martial arts weapons in tournaments, seminars, summer camps and the like that go right on until at least the fall of each year

Knowledge of this section is a must for martial artists because it deals with many of our classical weapons which are harmlessly used in the dojo or carried in vehicles enroute to the dojo, dojang, kwoon, or what have you. The penalties are severe. Our weapons were attacked in the Bruce Lee era in the early 1970�s, because the popular MA movies had kids in the street going bonkers with some of the weapons, and principally nunchaku (defined below in the statute for readers who are not familiar with this weapon).

Subsection (b) provides: "whoever, except as provided by law, carries on his person, or carries on his person or under his control in a vehicle, any stiletto, dagger or device or case which enables a knife with a locking blade to be drawn at a locked position, any ballistic knife or any knife with a detachable blade capable of being propelled by any mechanism, dirk knife, any knife having a double-edged blade, or a switch knife, or any knife having an automatic spring release devise by which the blade is released from the handle, having a blade of over one and one-half inches, or a slung shot, blowgun, blackjack, metallic knuckles or knuckles of any substance which could be put to the same use with the same or similar effect as metallic knuckles, nunchaku, zoobow, also known as klackers or kung fu sticks, or any similar weapon consisting of two sticks of wood, plastic or metal connected at one end by a length of rope, chain, wire, leather, a shuriken or any similar pointed starlike object intended to injure a person, when thrown, or any armband, made with leather which as metallic spikes, points or studs or any similar devise made from any other substance or a cestus or similar material weighted with metal or other substance and worn on the hand, or a manrikigusari or similar length of chain having weighted ends; or whoever, when arrested upon a warrant for an alleged crime, or when arrested while committing a breach or disturbance of the public peace, is armed or has on his person, or on his person or under control in a vehicle, a billy or other dangerous weapon other than those mentioned and those mentioned in paragraph (a) shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than two and one-half years nor more than five years in the state prison, or for not less than six months nor more than two and one half years in a jail house or house of correction, except that, if the court finds that the defendant has not been previously convicted of a felony, he may be punished by a fine of not more than fifty dollars or by imprisonment for not more than two and one-half years in a jail or house of correction."

Note: the paragraph (a) mentioned above requiring a mandatory two and one half year sentence is for firearms carrying crimes, which section is not copied in this report.

Hey Mr. Wharton, I enjoyed the Martial Arts Tournament yesterday, It went really well, Keep up the good work!

Here are a few photos from the tournament. When i get a chance i well send you some more.

Troy Jennings

Hey Troy: Thanks for sharing your pictures with us. Looks like a great event and one more off-Island martial artist should compete in. Here is an email sent to me this morning from Al: GEM

Sensei,

Nice talking to you earlier. I went against all odds to have our BAFA's 9th Annual Martial Art Tournament on Nov.23rd. However, it was a great success. I'm planning on making next year's 10th Annual the biggest and best ever! It would be nice to have some overseas Uechi-Ryu representation. The date will be Nov. 21st 2004. I'll forward you some photographs of the event to give a feel for what it was like.

Wishing you and Susan a Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year!!

Best Regards,

Al Wharton

Hello Sensei,
I just came across these pictures from the tournament and thought you'd like a copy. Sorry it took so late, just found them.

Jim Witherell www.berkshiremartialarts.com

Hi George:

I can not locate a link to the memorial site. I was sorry to learn about Bill Finnerty...

Take care - Jay

Thanks for the notice Jay. I received a couple of e-mail about missing links since we changed the home page format. We are working on identifying those links and Ted will fix the problem. GEM

Hi, George, how are you? I hope that you and Susan are well. I'm just back from another month in the UK, where I spent 4 weeks in Aberdeen, Scotland, training a partner company of ours. It was another nice trip. I am now preparing to leave the day after Thanksgiving for Prague and Jerusalem and will spend a week in each location doing some more training.

The reason I'm writing is that I'm filling in my calendar for next year with dates that I know I need to try to reserve. We anticipate a crazier year next year (we're releasing a completely new and revamped version of our software, so I'm sure my colleague and I will be doing a lot of international travel again). I need to reserve vacation time for the weekend of camp, so my manager doesn't schedule me out of the country somewhere. What is the proposed weekend for next year's camp?

Also, the Web site looks good. However, and you've probably already been told, there is a typo in the calendar. Tuesday is spelled "Teusday." I'm sorry about the nit-picking.

Regards, John

Hi John: Thanks for the spelling lesson. Sometimes I don't bother to check what I write, with disasterous results. Pleased to hear that you will be joining us at SummerFest 2004. It will be held the long weekend of July 30, 31 and Aug 1st, 2004. GEM

Folks

Rich just got a big promotion with the Marine Corp Martial Arts Program See...

http://forums.uechi-ryu.com/viewtopic.php?p=83282&sid=657aa564f7bb07acc5ee7f731bb88d53#83282

This is the same guy that flunked his sandan test - mostly because he didn't have his heart in it. Didn't do what it took and what he could do. Also a guy who is now NRA certified to teach rifle, pistol, and shotgun. An interesting "case"...

We all care for him, and know he can do what he puts his mind to. Just needs to have that inner emotional side stroked in whatever way it can be. FWIW

Just campaigning on his behalf, and in the interest of his future Uechi horizons.

- Bill Glasheen

Hi All:

I would like to congratulate Mike Murphy on running a great kids tournament. I would like to also congratulate all the GREAT hard working certified Uechi Ryu tournament officials. They all did such a great job running the rings, that their was NO major problems or issues at all. The rings ran like clock work, thanks again to the great work by Allan Azoff, & Steve Diorio. We had over 20 certified uechi officials in attendance running the rings. In all, it was a great day for the kids of uechi ryu.

I am very proud of all the great hard working tournament officials we have in the IUKF Tournament Referee program.

Do not forget to mark your calendars for next March for Lenny Testa's tournament. Along with next June for George Mattson's kids series grand championship tournament.

Take care - Jay Sal

Gentlemen,

I have a concern with the tournament application. I have spoken to some of you about it as well as my old sensei . . . . .. He agrees with my thoughts. The time requirements for the kids is crazy. There are too many factors such as days a week training, summers off, natural talent, and other factors to think a child is intermediate after a year and advanced after two. They should all be JR black belts after 3 years in this case. Here are my thoughts: Beginner novice first two years training Intermediate 2-4 years training Advanced 4-6 years training JR Black after rank awarded. discuss with your Sensei which level you should compete in. I think you will agree this is a more accurate description of where a kid should be. I can always cross out a kid who signs up for intermediate. But I had 15 kids last tournament and I couldn't check out every card. Once I see a kid winning strongly in their division, I think long and hard about a promotion to that next level. In fact my daughters are not going to advanced until they win 1st in kata. I don't care if they have 8 years training.

Let me know what you think.

Respectfully, Fred Channell

Hi Fred:

I think the time requirements that are set by the IUKF rules committee ( Jay Sal, Allan Azoff, Steve Diorio),, are fine, just as they are. The under black belt ranks are: ( One to 12 months - Beginner),,, ( 13 months to 24 months - Intermediate),, and ( 25 months plus - Advanced). We have no plans on changing this guideline. The guidelines are set and based on the "Big Picture",,, taking into account the vast majority of dojo's. Not a select few dojo's that still follow very old and strict time and rank requirements. I get call's and emails every week from teachers that do not agree with some rule or another. Their disagreement with a rule is based on their personal dislike or disagreement with said rule. We can not change a rule every time someone does not like it. There are teachers that like this time rule,,, their are teachers that do not like it,,,, Some have even told me that the think its way to hard.... Some wanted me to make a beginner zero to three months... With an advanced student anything over 12 months... So you see, no matter what we do, someone will not be happy.

Fred - Please understand, All tournament rules relating to the competition rings fall under the IUKF, and are decided and voted on by the IUKF Tournament Rules & Sanctioning committee ( Jay, Allan, Steve), Not the tournament promoters. The rules are governed by and fall under the IUKF organization itself, with George Mattson - President. When I started the referee & tournament wing of the IUKF this was , and has always been the official way we have operated. Under GM's approval, and wishes. We formed an official IUKF Tournament Rules & Sanctioning committee, consisting of ( Jay, Allan, Steve) as the three members.,,, GM did not want to influence us in any way, so he stayed off the committee. Its true that only Allan, Steve and I have an official vote on all IUKF tournament rule's. We always ask and involve the promoters in their ideas and feelings. We want and value their input. WE try to always work as one team, if possible. However their are times we do not all agree on a topics. When that happens, the final and official vote on any rule changers fall under Allan, Steve, and I...Because the IUKF tournament rules are open to everyone in the IUKF, not just the four present promoters. Their are others at this time thinking of running IUKF sanctioned tournaments.. Which will have nothing to do with the kids series. They also will follow the present rules.

One must understand their are two very different areas here. The IUKF Tournament & Rules division of the IUKF is totally a completely separate division from the Kids tournament series that ( Lenny, Mike, Raffi, and GM ) run. One has nothing to do with the other. The kids series and their individual tournaments are totally owned by the four promoters. On the other hand,,,, the "Sanctioning - the tournament gets",,, that's the stamp of approval issued by the IUKF Tournament Rules & Sanctioning committee ( Jay, Allan, Steve),,, as well as the IUKF referee's that work the tournament , along with Allan, Steve and I as the tournament coordination team, is also a totally separate thing.

For example - Just like an open tournament... Any one can run and advertise a tournament,,, but they may not have a "KRANE" sanctioned event. Two different things. That means if they run an unsanctioned tournament, they can not put on any advertisement that the event is "KRANE" sanctioned... Which means that when a promoter is authorized to place on their advertisement flyer the KRANE stamp, that means that every single person that reads the advertisement and sees that KRANE stamp of approval, will know that that the event has meet the very highest standard for tournament excellence, and they are following a established set of rules. Its the same thing with us in the IUKF,,, If an event is approved for sanctioning by the IUKF sanctioning committee. That means the promoter of that event can place the IUKF stamp of approval on their flyer. if they are not sanctioned, they can not place that "Stamp of approval" from the IUKF on their flyer. Also note, at this time we do not even charge a sanctioning fee.... Every other sanctioning group in the united states does charge.... We still do not.... Every Referee, & Judge, also Allan, Steve and I all work for FREE.... I have spoken to many teachers since the event has started. Make no mistake, they look for that IUKF stamp of approval... The teachers look for Allan, Steve and I to be over seeing the event... Even if they do not agree with us on a rule.. They still know that every child is treated fairly, honestly, and their kids will be safe. That's more important to them then anything.

In Summary: Even though I do not agree with your idea. I think the rule is fine as it is. I will place your rule change suggestion on the agenda for our next meeting. We will address it. What ever the out come... It will be based on the majority vote of the Tournament Rules & Sanctioning committee... There is no one person that decides the rules... Although many think I make the decision all alone... That's not true,,, I always talk to Allan, Steve, and I call the promoters and ask them their ideas..

Take care - Jay

Our Kyusho friend, Evan Pantazi, is hosting our Spring Regional Workout in what should be a very interesting program. Evan is bringing our own Jim Hulse over from England to teach the New England Uechi world another unique and specialized understanding of our art.

Jim, a Uechi-ryu Rokudan and Kyusho student of Evan, will be featured as the presenter at the February 28th Regional Workout. Evan is looking for a suitable space for the seminar and would appreciate any recommendations from anyone having information on a site we can use. Click here for more information and updates.

Dear Sensei Mattson:

I wonder if you can help us in the following matter: our students, specially the children always ask about "Sensei Tomoyose", in order of this, we think it is a good idea to write a short karate summary from Ryuko Tomoyose. The idea is to translate it in Spanish and give it to the kids as part of the history notebook, and possibly add it in the web page. Of course all this plans will be done only with your advise.

Regards, Carlos

Perhaps someone out there will be able to help us with this project Carlos. Lots of Tomoyose Sensei information on the web, but it needs to be found and transcribed. GEM

My name is Jay Purdy and I have been studying Karate for over 40 years. I have been a student of the late Meitoku Yagi of Naha and a serious student of Goju Ryu. My rank with the Canada Goju association is 6th dan and I have a dojo in a small town outside of Toronto called Elora. Several years ago a friend of mine gave me your book "Uechiryu Karate Do" (copyright 1974) and in this book you stated that Bodhidharma taught Sanchin to the Chinese monks.

As you know, Goju students practice this kata, and my question is where did you get this information about Bodhidharm teaching Sanchin from? Is there actual documented proof, or (like most of Karate's history) word of mouth. Do you still believe that Bodhidharma was the inventor of Sanchin? Thank You.

Yours In Karate

Jay Purdy

Sir
In my humble opinion SAN CHIN is a CHI KUNG exercise. If we go further than martial applications of such kata, One can find that by moving the hands through the "yin yang way" one will develop energy movements with correct breathing techniques. San chin is an internal exercise where the hand forms are called MUDRAS.... Martial Arts, I strongly believe go further than fighting.

Hi all- If you can't catch me at one place, try another! Feel free to share this schedule.

All events feature my handmade jewerly. My Dec Open House only will have friends offering massages, healing sessions, card readings, etc..

Check mapquest.com or email me for driving or MBTA directions. You are also welcome to call my cell phone if lost or need more info, etc- 617-721-5215 on the days of the event or prior at 617-983-3918

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Sun 11/30 It's All About Arts Art Center/Gallery 1-5 2A Corinth St./ Roslindale Center

Sat 12/6 St. Mary's Holiday Faire 11-4 (Kyle's school) 67 Harvard St Brookline

Sun 12/7 My Annual Open House Jamaica Plain 11-6 493 Walnut Ave Ann Ribolini

Tues 12/9 Stern, Shapiro, Weissberg & Garin Canal St/Boston 12-2pm

Wed 12/10 Hale & Dorr Legal Services Center Jamaica Plain 12-4pm

Th 12/11 Jamaica Plain 6:30-9:30 Carolina Ave

Sat 12/13 Old West Church Holiday Faire 9-4 131 Cambridge St Beacon Hill/Downtown Boston

Hi Dave:

Hope you can join us at one of our annual camps one of these years...

Anyway, if you visit our Store

http://uechi-ryu.com/oldsite/store/index.html

you will find many, many videos and books that should help you with your ongoing training.

On our home page (uechi-ryu.com) you can find links to our "Learning Center", which is an on-line conference center. I monitor this site whenever I'm in the office. You can drop in there to ask questions or just to say hello.

Good luck and stay in touch.
George

It is an honor to speak to you. My name is Jason Miller and I am currently a Sichikyu in Uechi-Ryu Karate Do under Sensei Rick Lambert at the Shin Do Kan Dojo in South Haven, Michigan. I had a question about your spring seminar where you do Sanchin by the Sea. Assuming that the seminar will occur again this year, where can I go online to obtain more information so that my sister (a Hachikyu) and my parents and I may attend. By the way, I learned many applications and history from your book Uechiryu Karate Do. I am proud to own an autographed copy.
Domo Arigato,
Jason Miller

Sensei Mattson,

I am hoping to find a video tape that goes through both series of the opening exercises. I would like it to be something that announces each exercise in Japanese. the reason I want this is so I can begin to learn the correct Japanese phrases of each exercise. I know this is in my book but I have always been more of a visual person than an academic one. No Jokes Please.

I hope all is well
James . . .

Hi Jim:

Gary Khoury has put out a CD on all the Japanese terms and pronunciations of all Uechi terms. I think this is the best way to learn the exercise in Japanese. (It has worked for other "visual" people) :)

Its in the store.

Best, George

Dear George,

I really enjoy your website, and thanks for listing me in your dojo directory all these years. There are excellent articles and information on your site. I am continually referring my students to your site for valuable information. As a small reciprocation, I have listed your site on my new website. Check it out: www.rinchusemartialarts.com

Thanks and best regards,

Dr. Dan Rinchuse Renshi Rokudan Shohei/Uechi Ryu

Dear Sensei Mattson,

Thanks again for your timely reply. My daughter will turn eleven on Monday and she earned her brown belt in September. She has been training for about four years now and worked exceptionally hard for this test. I was extremely proud of her performance and it will be a great pleasure to present her with the belt.

Brown belt was such a milestone for me, and maybe many others. I took my first karate class in 1970 on Okinawa. I was on my way to Vietnam and a friend convinced me to go to karate class with him. Since then, I have been involved on and off for many years as time allowed. When I received my first brown belt in American Kenpo, Thats when I really started to train hard. I then trained with Michael DePasquale for years and am still associated with him and by an accident of fate, I wound up beginning Uechi Ryu training about seven years ago. Now I train regularly as do my daughter and grandson. I am hoping that my daughter's brown belt will cement her commitment as it did mine. My grandson is yellow belt, very talented, but also very interested in basketball which is fine. When the time is right, he will train in earnest with his karate and he will be very good.

Sensei Gorman was here during the summer and I don't know if he got out your way but we had the opportunity to train with him a few times and enjoyed it a great deal. Many people in our dojo began their karate training under Sensei Gorman so his visit had a special significance to them.

Didn't mean to bore you with this novel, but I do appreciate your prompt response and I am looking forward to presenting that belt to my daughter.

Sincerely,

Mike McMahon

IWO JIMA

Each year I am hired to go to Washington, DC, with the eighth grade class from Clinton, WI. where I grew up, to videotape their trip. I greatly enjoy visiting our nation's capitol, and each year I take some special memories back with me. This fall's trip was especially memorable.

On the last night of our trip, we stopped at the Iwo Jima memorial. This memorial is the largest bronze statue in the world and depicts one of the most famous photographs in history -- that of the six brave soldiers raising the American Flag at the top of a rocky hill on the island of Iwo Jima, Japan, during WW II.

Over one hundred students and chaperones piled off the buses and headed towards the memorial. I noticed a solitary figure at the base of the statue, and as I got closer he asked, "Where are you guys from?" I told him that we were from Wisconsin. "Hey, I'm a cheesehead, to! o! Come gather around, Cheeseheads, and I will tell you a story."

(James Bradley just happened to be in Washington, DC, to speak at the memorial the following day. He was there that night to say good night to his dad, who has since passed away. He was just about to leave when he saw the buses pull up. I videotaped him as he spoke to us, and received his permission to share what he said from my videotape. It is one thing to tour the incredible monuments filled with history in Washington,D.C., but it is quite another to get the kind of insight we received that night.)

When all had gathered around, he reverently began to speak. (Here are his words that night.)

"My name is James Bradley and I'm from Antigo, Wisconsin. My dad is on that statue, and I just wrote a book called "Flags of Our Fathers" which is #5 on the New York Times Best Seller list right now. It is the story of the six boys you see behind me.

"Six boys raised the flag. The first guy putting the pole in the ground is Harlon Block. Harlon was an all-state football player. He enlisted in the Marine Corps with all the senior members of his football team. They were off to play another type of game. A game called "War." But it didn't turn out to be a game. Harlon, at the age of 21, died with his intestines in his hands. I don't say that to gross you out, I say that because there are generals who stand in front of this statue and talk about the glory of war. You guys need to know that most of the boys in Iwo Jima were 17, 18, and 19 years old.

(He pointed to the statue) "You see this next guy? That's Rene Gagnon from New Hampshire. If you took Rene's helmet off at the moment this photo was taken and looked in the webbing of that helmet, you would find a photograph ... a photograph of his girlfriend. Rene put that in there for protection because he was scared. He was 18 years old. Boys won the battle of Iwo Jima. Boys. Not old men.

"The next guy here, the third guy in this tableau, was sergeant Mike Strank. Mike is my hero. He was the hero of all these guys. They called him the "old man" because he was so old. He was already 24. When Mike would motivate his boys in training camp, he didn't say, 'Let's go kill some Japanese' or 'Let's die for our country.' He knew he was talking to little boys. Instead he would say, 'You do what I say, and I'll get you home to your mothers.'

"The last guy on this side of the statue is Ira Hayes, a Pima Indian from Arizona. Ira Hayes walked off Iwo Jima. He went into the White House with my dad. President Truman told him, 'You're a hero.' He told reporters, 'How can I feel like a hero when 250 of my buddies hit the island with me and only 27 of us walked off alive?' So you take your class at school, 250 of you spending a year together having fun, doing everything together. Then all 250 of you hit the beach, but only 27 of your classmates walk off alive. That was Ira Hayes. He had images of horror in his mind. Ira Hayes died dead drunk, face down at the age of 32 ... ten years after this picture was taken.

"The next guy, going around the statue, is Franklin Sousley from Hilltop, Kentucky. A fun-lovin' hillbilly boy. His best friend, who is now 70, told me, 'Yeah, you know, we took two cows up on the porch of the Hilltop General Store. Then we strung wire across the stairs so the cows couldn't get down. Then we fed them Epsom salts. Those cows crapped all night.' Yes, he was a fun-lovin' hillbilly boy. Franklin died on Iwo Jima at the age of 19. When the telegram came to tell his mother that he was dead, it went to the Hilltop General Store. A barefoot boy ran that telegram up to his mother's farm. The neighbors could hear her scream all night and into the morning. The neighbors lived a quarter of a mile away.

"The next guy, as we continue to go around the statue, is my dad, John Bradley from Antigo, Wisconsin, where I was raised. My dad lived until 1994, but he would never give interviews. When Walter Cronkite's producers, or the New York Times would call, we were trained as little kids to s! ay, 'No, I'm sorry, sir, my dad's not here. He is in Canada fishing. No, there is no phone there, sir. No, we don't know when he is coming back.' My dad never fished or even went to Canada. Usually, he was sitting there right at the table eating his Campbell's soup. But we had to tell the press that he was out fishing. He didn't want to talk to the press.

"You see, my dad didn't see himself as a hero. Everyone thinks these guys are heroes, 'cause they are in a photo and a monument. My dad knew better. He was a medic. John Bradley from Wisconsin was a caregiver. In Iwo Jima he probably held over 200 boys as they died. And when boys died in Iwo Jima, they writhed and screamed in pain.

"When I was a little boy, my third grade teacher told me that my dad was ahero. When I went home and told my dad that, he looked at me and said, 'I want you always to remember that the heroes of Iwo Jima are the guys who did not come back. Did NOT come back.'

"So that's the story about six nice young boys. Three died on Iwo Jima, and three came back as national heroes. Overall, 7,000 boys died on Iwo Jima in the worst battle in the history of the Marine Corps. My voice is giving out, so I will end here. Thank you for your time."

Suddenly, the monument wasn't just a big old piece of metal with a flag sticking out of the top. It came to life before our eyes with the heartfelt words of a son who did indeed have a father who was a hero. Maybe not a hero for the reasons most people would believe, but a hero nonetheless.

We need to remember that God created this vast and glorious world for us to live in, freely, but also at great sacrifice. Let us never forget from the revolutionary War to the Gulf War and all the wars in-between that sacrifice was made for our freedom.

Remember to pray praises for this great country of ours and also pray for those still in murderous unrest around the world. STOP and thank God for being alive and being free at someone else's sacrifice. God Bless.

REMINDER: Everyday that you can wake up free, it's going to be a great day

George,

Just thought to drop you a line to see how are you doing, and to wish you and your family a wonderful Thanksgiving and holiday, and another great year.

Time seems to fly by faster and faster. How can it be possible that another Thanksgiving and another Christmas are upon us? I can still feel myself gagging from eating all those left over turkey sandwiches day after day after day---And didn't I just put the Christmas stuff away only a little while ago?

I don't know if it is just me, or is it that the the people in California don't celebrate Thanksgiving the way I remember we did when I was still in Boston 30 somewhat years ago. May be it is just not the same without that icy cold air, that unique Boston atmosphere, the family gathering, the childhood friends, the feeling of being "home", the lost youth----

Speaking of "youth", I had been in denial for years but finally can't ignore the fact that I am not that young make-believe-tough-fella any more. The last year or so I began to really notice a difference -- I can't spar without hurting myself and the injuries just don't go away so I just don't spar anymore. Thank god that I have the katas to fall back on. Those young Turks who are bad mouthing katas will learn soon enough. But, I am beginning to be unable to do the katas with full power several times each session anymore either---so I have been easing up a bit during my workouts and following more of our half hard-half soft concept nowadays. May be in a way after all those years, and about time, I am finally beginning to see the real essence of our style and doing the katas the way they are meant to-- half hard half soft. I will be 59 next week when the entire country is celebrating Thanksgiving. I just hope that when I am 99 I will still be doing our katas, even if Tai Chi soft.

By the way, I have stopped teaching regular Uechi Ryu classes now. I am still working full time in my engineering career so I rather use the little spare time and energy that I have to teach Uechi Ryu and self defense to my son Leo and to work out on my own to keep myself in shape. I also have enough private self defense lessons coming in to keep me occupied. Nice talking to you,

George. See you next Summer if not sooner.
Take care.

Henry Thom
www.selfdefense-lessons.com

Dear George:

Jay and Lawrence really distinguished themselves last night and did proud to the great Mattson tradition!! After Jay went thru the usual round of testing, with a stellar performance, I asked him to perform seisan and sanseiryu mirror image, as if starting from a left-handed fighter's position instead of a righty's. And that way, too, he did both katas absolutely brilliantly.

And as for Lawrence, I had earlier asked him to work a lot with Jay to try to get him to absorb the looseness, relaxation, and fluidity that Jay has so mastered, in the hopes that he'd break out of a characteristically zombie-like stiffness, and as a teacher Jay also did the trick brilliantly--Lawrence's power positively flowed out of him.

Then, for a special performance, I asked him to spar with the mental straightjacket of not allowing himself one punch or kick in counterattack, but only using controlled throws and take-downs. And in that he also put on a great show, demonstrating one of the best sparring displays I've seen in years--not a sign of dog-fighting at all.

So all went very well, and you can send the diplomas in full knowledge that you've added two fine karate practitioners to the ranks of 5th and 4th, respectively.

Love to Susan, and many thanks,

Congratulations to Jay and Lawrence. Of course, we all expected them to perform brilliantly. They take after their teacher. Congratulations to Finkelstein sensei for doing such a great job. GEM

Mr. Mattson,
For the people that want to desensitize their hands. They can use a "Paper Weight" (e.g. Leather Bean Bag that will fit in your hand.). This can be used for the edge of the hand, fist (all types), and your fingers. You can use the Paper Weight at work, while riding in a car, or at home watching TV. I have found it helpful.

Thank you for your time. God be with you and your family.

Charles Roberts

Subject: Rock, Paper, Scissors story Date:

Schoolyard Fun and a Thinking Person's Game

By DRU SEFTON

2003 Newhouse News Service

Rock, Paper, Scissors is far more than a schoolyard game. It is a root of strategic thinking, an elegant means of solving disputes, a social pastime transcending international borders.

And the basis for the upcoming world championship sponsored by the Toronto-based World RPS Society. Nearly 1,000 players from Canada, six American states and the United Kingdom are gathering for the tourney Oct. 25. Twenty-six trained referees will decide the bracketed, round-robin competition. Top prize is $5,000 Canadian (about $3,800 U.S.)

Players worldwide are training -- some with coaches. They're watching opponents' videotapes. They're deciding strategy and studying competition rules. They're pondering ``gambits,'' series of throws with names like ``the avalanche'' (three rocks in a row).

``There's a complex simplicity to it,'' said player Shawn Ring of New Brunswick, N.J. ``It's a thinking person's game.''

That might surprise most folks, who remember Rock, Paper, Scissors as a common game played with hand signals: rock, a closed fist; scissors, two open fingers outstretched; paper, flat hand with downturned palm. Rock beats (``smashes'') scissors, scissors ``cuts'' paper, paper ``covers'' rock.

``We see this game as strategy at its most basic, yet most profound,'' said Graham Walker, head of the society.

Years ago, on a brutal November day, Walker and his brother used RPS to determine who would haul firewood. After a best-of-15 series, ``we said, wait a minute, there's really more to this than just a game,'' Walker said. ``Because we knew each other, we got feelings about what the other one would throw.''

In 1995 he launched the World RPS Society Web site, www.worldrps.com. Now there are T-shirts and sweatshirts, intense bulletin board discussions, online lectures on technique, an Executive Steering Committee and more than 600 card-carrying members.

The society also developed the Complete Rules and Regulations of tournament RPS play. There are approved ways to ``approach'' (raising the hand) and ``pump'' (moving before throwing). Each hand signal has strict standards: ``Rock is represented by a closed fist with the thumb resting at least at the same height as the topmost finger on the hand. The thumb must not be concealed by the fingers.'' Referees are trained to spot violations, keep matches moving and settle disputes.

Last year's first world championship drew 256 competitors and a raucous crowd of hundreds more. First place went to Pete Lovering of Toronto, on a series of throws that ended with Rock, Paper, Rock, Rock. He won $1,200 Canadian and a gold medal.

This year, American competitors include Washington resident Theo Murphy, who has pledged winnings to two nonprofits. (Details at www.rpsforabettersociety.org.)

``Like many people in the tournament, I've played for as long as I can remember,'' Murphy said. ``I think that's one of the reasons behind all the interest, the nostalgia element.''

Jason Simmons, also of Washington, just returned from training in Hong Kong. In a slump, he meditated beneath the giant Buddha statue on Lantau Island.

After mulling the Buddha's outstretched hands, ``I began concentrating on using Paper. After that, I went on to win all my matches,'' said Simmons, who plays ``professionally'' as Master Roshambollah.

Roshambo is one of its many names. Depending on where you're playing, the game may be Jenken or Jan Ken Pon or Shnik, Shnak, Shnuk or Farggling.

Most experts believe it originated in Asia, where the best players still reside.

``They're light years ahead of us, strategy-wise,'' Simmons said. ``They're very deep players. Most don't compete internationally because they just don't have anything to prove to the rest of the world.''

London player Benjamin Peterson translated a Japanese Jan Ken Pon history Web site. ``The Toronto championships are dwarfed by the matches that used to take place in Japan,'' he said. ``TV stations used to sponsor them, a whole arena full of people would play at once.''

Peterson's site (www.jbrowse.com/text/janken.shtml) details the game's roots in Chinese ``ken,'' in which victory was decided by the shape of an extended hand. Quoting Shogakukan's ``Nihonkokugodaijiten,'' a Japanese dictionary, it says ken arrived in Japan in the early 1640s.

The Japanese version also was influenced by the ``sansukumi way of thinking,'' based on ancient mythology in which the snake fears the slug, the slug fears the frog, the frog fears the snake.

``It's a circle: What works in one place doesn't work in another,'' said Harvey Liebergott, author of ``Scissors, Rock, Paper: A Circular Path Through the Martial Arts.''

``It's not just martial arts, but everything in life,'' Liebergott said from his home in Newtonville, Mass. ``One's greatest strengths are also one's greatest weaknesses.''

David Croson, a visiting assistant professor of digital strategy at MIT, uses Rock, Paper, Scissors in lectures on game theory, a mathematical study of ``how people make decisions when they don't have all the information to make a decision,'' he said.

During the game, ``you don't have zero information, because you can remember what's been done in the past,'' Croson said from Cambridge, Mass.

He likened it to ``stock trading in a fast market. You try to figure out whether people around you are feeling bullish or bearish,'' and react accordingly.

Programmers appreciate the random number aspect: Any of three moves delivered at any point. Perry Friedman developed a ``Roshambot'' (http://chappie.stanford.edu/cgi-bin/roshambot) about 10 years ago that continues to receive many challengers.

``People are terrible, terrible random generators,'' explained Friedman, of Monterey, Calif. ``They fall into patterns, or fall into intentionally avoiding patterns.''

Conversely, computers are perfect random generations and remember every move.

Ultimately, those who get inside an opponent's head make the best competitors. Many players reference a ``Simpsons'' episode in which Bart and his sister Lisa battle.

Lisa: ``Look, there's only one way to settle this. Rock, Paper, Scissors.''

Lisa's brain: ``Poor predictable Bart. Always takes Rock.''

Bart's brain: ``Good ol' Rock! Nothing beats that!''

Bart: ``Rock!''

Lisa: ``Paper.''

Bart: ``D'oh!''

Because Paper covers Rock. Of course.

December, 2003 Mailbag

Copyright 2003 Eastern Arts & Humanities Center, Inc. All rights reserved.