November LettersNovember Letters
Mr. Mattson,
I am a student of Oyata Seiyu here in Kansas City. In my research of the art of
Uchinanchu-ti, I have become very interested in the Goju-Ryu methods and as
well the Uechi-Ryu methods. Though I do not study them as an art, I do study
them as an integral part of karate history and have returned to your www page
and books on occasion for reliable perspectives on certain issues. Thanks for a
wonderful resource.
Jon Dilley
Sandan
Ryu-Te
Dear Sensei Mattson,
I really enjoyed the seminar, Jim was entertaining as well as informative...More of the same, please.
Sincerely,
David Murphy
Danvers Dojo
Jonmur25@AOL
Pleased to hear that you enjoyed Jim's seminar. For more of Jim and much more, join us at the '97 Summer Camp. (2nd weekend in August!) gem
Hi George:
Thanks for your response. I received my first promotion last week and still study at a pace of 6
hours week. (3 nights, sat) I love it, but get really sore from conditioning exercises and blocks from
kyu kumite. I am curious what degree you are currently and who is your master, and when will you
test again? At this stage of your life what are your martial art goals?
I am also curious, how long it took before you reached a stage or(zen) where your ability to
maintain composure excelled. One of the problems I have in life is that I am a hothead(comes from
my dad), and when I get emotional, I can't think or operate in a business like manner. For example,
I might get upset during a meeting if verbally attacked or insulted, and my first reaction is usually
wanting to resort to some sort of physical confrontation, but I can't because it's business........but I
still let it bother me, which creates a tremendous distraction. One of my prime motivating factors for
re-joining and training in the martial arts, is to master that emotion and remain composed at all times
thus being able to function normally, and become more effective with dealing with those type
situations.I look forward to your response.
Joe D'Amico, Jr.
Heavy questions Joe! I'm an 8th degree black belt and Ryuko Tomoyose, Sensei is my
teacher. I have no idea when I'll be promoted again. (You are the first person in 25 years
who asked me my rank!) and my goals are to stay healthy and happy. I'm pretty "laid-back"
in life and never had the temper problem you speak of. But from experience, I can tell you
that Uechi-ryu will continue to help you in this regard. I'm really impressed with your
schedule and continue to wish you well. gem
Please advise the price on the lucite paperweight. Also, do you know where any antique lucite paperweights can be purchased? Specifically, old lucite paperweights with various company logos. Thanks for your time. Dana Wolanske
The paperweight is advertised in the products page and sells for $25 + s/h of $4. I dons't know of anyone selling antique ones, but perhaps one of our readers will. Contact Dana direct at "dwolansk@shaysnet.com" gem
BUGEISHA: Traditional martial artist
I have sent the premiere issue to the printer. We expect to have issues by next week. I would like
to again thank all of you out there in the Cyberdojo for your tremendous support and enthusiasm.
Things are really starting to happen, the more BUGEISHA is exposed to the world of martial arts,
the more momemtum it picks up.
We are continually getting contacted by people who are eager to contribute to our magazine.
You can now see the actual front cover of the premiere issue on the BUGEISHA web page!
http://www.jkr.com/bugeisha The man on it is Soke Kaishu Isa who is the subject of the main
story. Also check out our logo on the front page of the Cyberdojo web
page:http://jkr.com/cyberdojo/journal/.
Remember that the staff of BUGEISHA want you imput, suggestions by sending your letters or
emails to the editor where you can share in the development of BUGEISHA!
Arigato Gozaimasu!
Angel Lemus
Editor
Sensei Mattson -
I've been viewing your web site with great interest. I think it is excellent.
One thing occurs to me. In the list of international dojos, you have the New South Wales dojos
listed separately to the other Australian dojos. I think it might be clearer to list them all
together.Also, under the Perth listing, perhaps you could add my email address in case anybody
would like to contact me directly.
Thank you.
Guy Oxnard
oxnard@iinet.net.au
You got it Guy! Anyone else who wishes to have their email address shown in the
Dojo/Teacher section, just let me know. GEM
Dear Master Mattson,
My name is Jason Wright and I'm the Business manager for American
Martial Arts Supply. I was just visiting your site and I liked what I
saw. I was wondering if you would be interested in linking our sites. If
you would like to take a look at out site, it's url is:
www.hand-crafted.com
American Martial Arts Supply is currently being visited by 70,000+ per month, it has a complete
on-line shopping center (which offers wholesale prices), a Black Belt Club, Trivia and many other
features. If this sounds like a good idea, please e-mail me at...
market@azstarnet.com
Sincerley,
Jason A. Wright
Business Manager
American Martial Arts Supply
I'm impressed! 70,000 per month. You will have to share your secrets for advertising your
site. My webcounters never work accurately for more than two weeks before crashing, but
I've never been able to get more than 75 - 150 people a day to visit. GEM
Sensei Mattson;
Great website! I've been away from the dojo for several years now (though I still practice my
Sanchin and Seisan) and found the site informative and inspiring. (Just in case you're wondering, I
never met you; I studied with Sensei Wasielewski for several years in Chicopee). If I could offer a
bit of unsolicited advice; the GIF format is a bit outdated, and makes the files bigger than they have
to be. Conversion to JPEG format would make loading the pictures go much faster, as equivalent
JPEG's are rather smaller. If you know someone with a Linux or other Unix machine, the free
ImageMagick package has a convert utility that will do the trick (you seem to use NT or something
like that for your website). For example; I converted the picture of Master Seiyu Shinjo from a
130685 byte GIF format file to a 25554 byte jpg file with no loss of resolution. I'll help out if you
like as I have access to a number of Unix boxen at home & at work. Also, your email address in
the "pictures" subsection at least is outdated; <GMattson@ix.netcom.com>.
Thanks again for providing the great website, and warm regards,
-Scott Locklin
Thanks for you advice and offer to help. The problem is not with the newer images on the
site, but those that were created early on in the site's development. What I need to do, and I
certainly would welcome your help in this area, is to redo the old pages. . . some I haven't
revisited in over a year!
Please email these reformatted photographs and I'll upload them to the site. Again. . . thanks. GEM
Dear Sir,
I do not usually write people I don't know. However modern electronic mail makes things so easy.
I have long been a fan of yours since reading your first book in 1974. I collect books on Budo and
have around 400. Your second book is one of my favorite and I look thru it often. I have never
practiced Uechi Ryu. But I have been practicing Shotokan since 1973. My instructor Robert
Fusaro form Minneapolis like you trained in Japan in the 50s and began teaching Karate long
before most people had any idea what it was all about. The reason I am writing is just to say that I
continue to enjoy your books and now your Web page. You are sending a lot of good information
to a lot of people from all styles not just Uechi Ryu. Thank you.
Dean A. Jensen
Dear Sensei Mattson,
I would be happy to contribute what I can to your forthcoming article. However, I should remind
you that, though 47 years old, I am but a yonkyu who started Uechi-Ryu training in September
1994.
I've had Shotokan Karate and Judo training on, but mainly off, since 1967, so I'm somewhat of an
expert in dropping out of martial arts. For me it seemed to be a matter of being overly committed to
studies, then later, I felt that I was too old to get back into it. I regret that I did not continue training
and suspect that I would have, had the instructors been able to give me better insight into the
benefits of prolonged training.
Cheers,
John Lovas
If you have been following the Point of View page and the information regarding the code of
conduct, you realize that often the instructor has a lot to do with motivating the student and
keeping him/her involved. The attitude of some teachers, that I possess something that is
given reluctantly and only to those who the teacher finds "deserving", contributes to many
dropouts.
I'd like to begin a thread on the Point of View! regarding this subject. We started it in the
Forum, but because of the technical difficulties, most have stopped visiting there.
This information/knowledge is based on experience, intuition and basic smarts! Not on rank.
Your input will be much valued. GEM
Mr MATTSON,
Hello once again. I would like to know if there are any Uechi-ryu dojos in Alaska or Colorado that
either you or any other cyberspace person knows of out there. Thanks in advance! Oh, nice
WWW site. You've put a lot of work into it and it shows
Joe C. Robles
Dear Mattson Sensei,
I am happy to announce the opening of a new dojo teaching Uechiryu. Last Monday was the
Grand Opening of The Dojo, of Denton, Texas. We are just thirty minutes north of Dallas. I am
also teaching Eishinryu Iaido, which some people from the summer camp may remember me by.
There is also a Hombu Aikido teacher running classes. I have recently added a morning Zazen
group and am in the process of adding ikebana, chanoyu, sumie, nihongo, possibly shodo, all based
on interest..... in short, a Nihon Bunka Senta (Japanese Cultural Arts Center).
I teach (as near to exactly as I can) as I was taught by Shinjo Seiyu Sensei. I am a member of the
U.S. Kenyukai group headed by Alan Dollar Sensei here and Shinjo Kiyohide Sensei on Okinawa.
Larry Byers Sensei from Frederick Norris' dojo was my first sensei. Peter Kellogg is both my
current sensei and my friend. I consider Takayasu Takemi Sensei of Paris as my Dai-sempai.
Further, I owe a great deal of debt to Nakahodo Tsutomu Sensei and Miyagi Minoru Sensei, both
formerly of the Kadena Dojo. Finally, I am indebted to the Uechi Family, gentlemen and warriors
all. It was my pleaure to meet both the Soke and his son, Kanji at the camp.
I am joined by Senseis Mike Nazar of Austin, Gregg Weber of Dallas, and Gary Jones of
Greenville to form Uechiryu, Texas. I extend an open invitation to any and all, of any rank, of any
association to join us at The Dojo at any time to experience a little piece of Kadena. Thank you.
John Ray
The Dojo
307 S. Locust
Denton, TX 76203
817-320-4322
e-mail ray@isp.unt.edu
Congratulations on the opening of your new dojo. The people of Texas are very fortunate in having
such a talented instructor representing Uechi-ryu in their state.
Hi Sensei Mattson. Stuart wanted me to let you know that YES he will sign on for the conference
on Thursday, with me doing dictatyping. If spots need to be reserved (to get in under Powwow's
limit) then please save us a table; we will be "on" for sure. As it happens, I had already downloaded
Powwow for the school's computer, because a number of the native/tribal chat forums use it. I'll
give it a shakedown before Thursday. Unfortunately, it has turned out that this system is not
upgradeable to hold a sound card, so we can't include any real powwow songs for the clan.
Until then
Mike Cleven
tlak_malh-kalha@bc.sympatico.ca
What happened to you guys. Hope you will make it to our next "Powwow"! GEM
From: BRANDON_BRODERICK@HP-Loveland-om10.om.hp.com, on 11/14/96 3:04 PM:
Item Subject: cc:Mail Text
I couldn't find the POW WOW address, I hate to bother you after all your
help yesterday. Could you send me the address (ie.- www.powwow.com) and
any instructions necessary to get involved in the Uechi Ryu conversation.
Thanks Brandon~~~
Received lots of email relating to the problems joing the "conference". Here are detailed
instructions:
Load the Uechi-ryu site: http://www.uechi-ryu.com
Go to "Conference" page
Click on the highlighted "download powwow software" line, at bottom of page. Download
software. (about 2mb) After you have it extracted (zezipped), run it, click on the
"powwow.exe" file. Then go to the uechi-ryu site/conference page and click on "click here to
join conference".You should then be transferred to a page where my conference is listed. (at
the bottom of the page)
click on the "Join" icon and hopefully you will be with us....
good luck.
George
Hi Sensei,
It was great to be part of the first conference at your site tonight, although I'll have to work on the
mic.. Thing and Dave tried to chat with me by mic but I keep getting a error, I'll fix it! Everthing else
worked fine for me a great program!! Is there going to be a coference next week? I am not sure if
you got my last massage or not so I'll give you my web page address:
http://www3.sympatico.ca/marshall.bill/homepage.htm if you have time have look and let me know
what you think of my first web site. Hope to hear from you soon. Great Job Sensei!!!Yours, PS: I
have to put a few more links in, as you will see.
Bill Marshall
We had a good turnout Thursday night. Hopefully you will be able to join us again soon.
Bring a friend! GEM
Sensei Mattson,
I'm continuing to enjoy your webpage. Thank you1 I am planning on attending a medical
conference in Minneapolis next May for a week. Do you know of any Uechi schools in that area?
Randy Danielsen
Uechi Ryu Karate Association of Arizona
How'd the chat go?
Right now I'm limited to doing all my internet communication at work after hours. My home PC is
"in the shop" being souped up to handle the CD software that my son's games demand. The person
working on it is a family friend, and is obsessing about getting just the right full duplex 33.3 voice,
fax, modem. Apparently most of the hardware out there has high return rates - a good sign that
they are incompatible with a lot of software out there. Anyhow by the time she is done, we should
be wired for high speed chatting with voice capability. Can't keep a good nerd down!
Can't say I'm jealous of Ron with the snow. We whiney Virginians had enough with our measly 3
feet or so last winter. Right now we are experiencing our first frosts of the year. It's about time...I'm
tired of waiting for the rest of the leaves around my house to come down. We did have some pretty
dramatic thunderstorms last Friday, complete with funnel clouds. The rain came down so hard and
fast that a river came washing out of the ditch/culvert in front of my property and reasserted the
path the water used to take in front of my house before the county tried to tame it. I was happy to
see that all my many man-hours of labor on my lawn paid off; virtually no damage. Just a big swath
of all the rest of my neighbors' mulch, leaves, and small toys.
I'll be in DC today. Our Blue Cross neighbor in the DC area wants to pick my brain on the subject
of episodes of care (managed care stuff).
Bill Glasheen
Hope you get your computer back soon. I'm always trying to fine tune my computers to get the very best performance. I feel guilty if it is not performing 100%! You can waste a lot of time however. . . and doing a few simple things regularly, like "disc scan" and "defrag" is the most important! All the fancy programs designed to squeeze a bit more out of your machine arn't worth the effort or time (imho). GEM
Hello Sensei Mattson,
Hope this note finds you and yours well. Finally got on line last week. Have enjoyed reading your
web "stuff" This is a note to to say hello, and to ask you to update my info on your dojo list. Please
change it to Lexington, and phone # 617 862 8800. I will be talking to you soon.
Regards
Allan Azoff
Dear Mr. Mattson,
My name is Tim Ahearn and I am creating a web page for the University of Virginia's Uechi-Ryu
Karate Club. I am interested in using a number of images out of your book, _Uechiryu Karate
DO_. I am interested in using the image on page iii and a number of the caligraphy images on pages
vii-xv. I am seeking you permission to use those images.
I have started work on the page and if you would like to take a look at it the URL is
http://faraday.clas.virginia.edu/~tpa3g.
Thank you for your consideration.
Tim Ahearn
tpa3g@virginia.edu
You have my permission Tim. I'll check out your site later tonight. GEM
I sent Bill Glasheen an article on "Fire walking" and other "mind over matter" feats and asked his opinion:
Enjoyed the stuff George sent: the good, the bad, and the ridiculous. A number of thing that have
transpired in the last 48 hours come to mind. I work under a highly intelligent (Yale undergraduate
in physical chemistry, UVa MD, board certified anesthesiologist, son of a UVa graduate business
professor) person who enjoys other aspects of life (surfing, rock climbing) as I do. In a meeting
yesterday Larry was describing how various anesthesias work.
One class described basically causes amnesia - chloralose being the classic example. A patient will
yell, scream, and kick, but then will not remember the pain after the surgery. Another class causes a
decoupling of the muscles from the nervous system - curare being the classic example. Curare was
discoverd being used by Africans on the tips of their arrows. The drug would physically arrest the
prey. The animal (or human) would be aware but unable to move or even breathe. Curare has been
used on very young children undergoing complicated, invasive surgery. Imagine being aware of and
feeling someone cutting on you, but not being able to react in any way. Anesthesiologists
rationalized the use of such anesthesias, stating that young children haven't developed the
"emotional" response to pain. And then there are the anesthetics that work on the emotional
reaction to pain - morphine being the classic example. I fully remember being under the influence of
morphine back in 1975 when I had surgery on my knee. What I recall is that I felt everything - with
no loss of intensity - but it really didn't bother me. My perception of the pain was drastically
changed. In martial arts and meditation, I think we work on the latter category of reaction to pain,
trauma, and mayhem. Increased excretion of endorphines, morphine-like chemicals, are associated
with intense physical activity. I can anectotally vouch for the "high" one gets after a vigorous
kotekitae session. It isn't much of a stretch of the imagination (or science) to believe that an
individual can gain conscious control over the body levels of such endogenous (generated from
within) chemicals through physcial activity and meditation.
Another topic comes to mind - skin moisture. Last Wednesday night my wife once again put the
pot holder in a pool of water on the counter. I grabbed the pot holder and picked up a dish from a
400 degree oven, which resulted in an instantaneous second degree burn. When one is stressed,
skin moisture increases almost instantaneously. Lie detector machines basically measure the
resistance to an electrical signal from one point on the hand to another. Sweat has ions and ions
conduct electricity. If you lie and you aren't a sociopath, then you are stressed, which increases the
sweating of the hands which results in a decrease in resistance to an electrical signal traveling along
the surface of the skin. Moisture conducts heat far more rapidly than does dry skin and air; this
explains my burn with the pot holder. Now if one masters stress, then one can - among other things
- master the amount of moisture on the hand. Dry hands do not conduct heat. Dry hands (or feet)
are less likely to be burned when touching a hot object.
This is physics, neurology, and biochemistry. Focus on the ego is a visualization technique (well
documented in sports medicine research) which allows a "well connected" (a Kleinism) individual to
drive the process the way you and I are now able to make a well connected computer system print
beautiful pictures.
A good book to read for insight on the differing perspectives on the world is Zen and the Art of
Motorcycle Maintenence (Persig). In one chapter of the book, Persig's main character speaks of
the classical (nerd) vs the romantic (artsy) way to look at the world, and uses a motorcycle as an
example. Both perspectives are valid. Frankly I think one becomes an exceptionally perceptive
person when one can walk on both sides at the same time.
George: As mentioned on the phone, Todd Chambers is going to live in Tokyo.
He is leaving next week.
Please find him a good Uechi instructor in that city.
Todd, as soon as you know, inform George your new location. Perhaps through his contacts, they
will be able to locate an instructor not to far from you. George advised to check periodically his
Uechi web site: http://www.uechi-ryu.com You two can communicate through e-mail. Regards,
Enrique
Anyone out there know of any good Uechi dojo in Tokyo?? GEM
Hi! Sensei,
Thank you, for sending the book, he was very happy to receive it so soon. I have a request, I am
starting a small home page for the PEI Uechi-Ryu School and I would like to link to your site from
it. This would make it easier for my students to access your site. When you have time would let me
know what I have to do to make this happen. As soon as I have a space I'll let you know, and I
hope that you will hot link to it.Thank again, hope to see you soon, say Hi! to sue for Andrea & I.
Sincerely. Bill Marshall
Just let me know your site's address and I'll create a "link" with it on the Uechi site. Hapy to hear all is going well with our newest Canadian dojo. GEM
I heard it [Summer Camp] was great. I didn't even make the connection with Simon Lailey, I met
him 5 years ago in Okinawa when he stayed in the Meibukan honbu for a few days with myself.
Dan Kogan's good Kung fu friend Nick Kosta[insert Greek sounding ending here] also met him in
China in Fukien. On the way home last year from your camp I stopped and visited Giles Hopkins
(student of Kimo Wall's)and ended up spending the night. One of the first thing he asked me was
"what the heck are you doing at a Uechi ryu camp?!"...and there he was the next year. Small world
eh.
I have already begun some preliminary planning for our gasshuku in May or June. I am not sure on
which format to follow...all I do know is that it will be different from last years. I like your format of
having a choice but the Okinawan stylists can be funny sometimes.
Devorah Domeitrich was up in Ottawa just recently teaching a class..it is always a pleasure to have
her up, I really enjoy her company. I may get a chance to see Mr. Maloney in BC, he is a good
man.
regards
Steven R.
More from Steve. . .
Mr. Mattson,
Sorry to have not kept intouch. I drop in from time to time on your site tosee the latest
development. Dan Kogan and myself have been busy overhauling our site during the last couple of
months. Much of it we do through MS Net Meeting and actually share documents. It should be
good once complete.
Well I am now married and a happy homeowner on the downward spiral of home renovations. It
leaves me little time for much else - plus I am LAN administrator at my work where I also maintain
the web site (www.afn.ca). The summer was quite hectic and I apologize for not making it to your
camp. I asked for time off but my boss wouldn't go for 3 weeks off in the summer. Perrry
Capmbell plus a number of his students wish to go down next summer along with my myself.
Sorry form not keeping in touch but things have been hectic.
regards
Steven Radulovich
Hello, Master Mattson. How are you and Susan? Master Maloney is in Nova Scotia this Weekend
doing a seminar. I hope everything goes well. Had an incredible weekend at Shalath. The red koho
were running, it was amazing. Just got myself a new puppie. He is the DOJO MASCOT. His name
is STORM and is all that. The breed,BULL MASSTIVE, weight 150lbs-200lbs. This puppie is
wonderful around children and loves everybody.Dojo's doing well and we hope you will come our
way soon.
Sincerely, Chris DeLorey
Dear George,
I would like to inform you of a new martial arts page that may be of interest to you and your
visitors. It is NetSport's new Martial Arts site found at:
http://www.net-sport.com/martialarts
Our site contains hundreds of links to martial arts information. It also contains a schools and clubs
database where you can add your school to our growing list. Amongst the other services that we
provide for free to the martial arts community, we are pleased to announce that Hanshi Steve
Kaufman, the author of the best-selling books:
The Martial Artist's Book of Five Rings - The Definitive Interpretation and Sun Tzu's Art of War
for Martial Artists will be hosting a monthly discussion group on our site beginning in December.
We here at NetSport would like to invite you to our site and inform you that your site has already
been added to our database.
I hope that this note has not offended you in any way. If you should have any comments or
questions, please contact me.
Sincerely,
Alan Thomson
Date: Thu, 7 Nov 1996 15:01:48 -0500 (EST)
From: Tina Farquharson <tfarquha@uoguelph.ca>
Subject: Send this out to as many people as possible!!! A.S.A.P. (fwd)
This isn't a chain letter!
A group of NEO-NAZIS are trying to form a newsgroup on Usenet called
"rec.music.white-power", so that they can get their message of hate out to young people using the
Internet. Newsgroups are public discussions on the Internet and their formation requires enough
support from the Internet community.
EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US HAS ONE VOTE when it comes to creating a new Usenet
group. I hope you will vote NO and thereby tell these NAZIS we don't want their stuff on the net.
Below is the procedure, please repost his plea and get the NO vote out. If you want to see the
official call for votes, you can try on "news.group".
DO NOT VOTE TWICE - that would constitute voting fraud. HOW TO VOTE:
Send e-mail (posts to newsgroups are invalid) to:
music-vote@sub-rosa.com
This is an impartial, third party vote taker. Please check the address before you mail your vote.
Your mail message, to be accepted by the counting computer, must contain only the following
statement with no signature:
I vote NO on rec.music.white-power
Vote counting is automated. Failure to follow these directions may mean that your vote does not
get counted. If you do not receive an acknowledgment of your vote within three days contact the
votetaker about the problem. It's your responsibility to make sure your vote is registered correctly.
Here's what Canada's George Burdi, of the neo-Nazi Heritage Front, had to say about this vote,
on February 21, on his RESISTANCE mailing list:
"There is a call for votes coming on rec.music.white-power in the next week or so, and you will be
notified in a special issue of RREN exactly what to do. FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS TO
THE LETTER. Let me be perfectly blunt and state that we have more than enough net-nazis to win
this thing handsdown. But every one of you must vote YES! And just voting yes means nothing
unless you do it properly. So you have been forewarned. The instructions are coming to your email
box soon, and they are not complicated. Just follow them as told, and we will have a WP music
newsgroup finally!"
If Mr. Burdi's confidence disturbs you, please give this letter the widest possible distribution, and
help us deliver the largest NO vote in the history of the UseNet.
--
dergl *** eMail: adalid@cems.umn.edu
yellow mail: Lars Adalid
611 4th St SE
Minneapolis MN 55414-1811
yours,
maurice
mori@io.org
Toronto, Ontario
hi george!
it's nick lynn, from new york uechi. hope all is well with you. i am (most likely) going to be in seattle
for a week or so on business, and would love to work out with uechi people out there. do you
know of anyone? hope so....
really enjoyed the summer camp this year. the instructors and students were a delight to work out
with and learn from. looking forward to next year as well.
best wishes from the nyc group,
Nick
I'm not sure if we have any dojo in Seattle, but Vancouver is not very far. . . and besides being able to work out with Jim Maloney and his group, take a few hour train ride and visit Seton. (see next letter)
Found a conversion program somewhere in the web-verse and have rendered the bulky TIFF file
into GIF. This view is taken from the top of the powerhouse penstocks, more or less directly up the
mountain about 1500 feet from Crane Hall. BUT - rather than quoting my e-mail directly in
Uechi-ryu on-line (as what I send often has little to do with Uechi-ryu per se) please just post the
GIF (if you want to) with any mention of Seton Lake Uechi-Ryu.
Still waiting for Stuart to get time to finish the tournament report, and still haven't had a crack at the
Band Office's scanner to get you some thumbnails (at least) of summer camp. I'll be in Vancouver
this coming week and should be able to FINALLY make it to the darkroom; Stuart also will have
some photos from the tournament.
Things are apparently winding down for me at Seton; I may be living on the Island later on, or else
in the 'burbs (unless I can find a reason to set up shop in NYC etc.). There's also half a chance I
may be running around BC installing school internet sites like I did here, so I may be all over the
place from one week to the next - I may be e-mailing you from some awfully remote locations.
Because of my apparently permanent mobility, I've subscribed to www.bigfoot.com for a
permanent e-mail address, which is (variously) mcleven@bigfoot.com ironmtn@bigfoot.com
ironmountain@bigfoot.com I've also given Stuart one for his own use - skillen@bigfoot.com.
Supposedly these are permanently forwardable/archivable. Maybe try me at mcleven@bigfoot.com
and see if it works. Also, we may be moving the school's internet account - I (or Stuart) will let you
know of any address change.
Mike Cleven
I've posted your beautiful photograph of the lake and mountains of Seton on this site. Click here to view. I hope your valley won't be overrun with tourists once they see this picture. GEM
Hi,
Hope all is well,I have a few things for you...
When ya get back could you let me know about your "weekly" or "monthly "workout I have heard
a little about it....since I am in the area now,why not join in and help break some ice on all sides....
Also, I am teaching at Raffi's dojo, his Wed night class, once I get things going I would like you to
visit, anytime really, I know Raffi and I have talked about it.. and finally I have my own little
page...please visit, its at
http://www.intap.net/~thing
Let me know what ya think...
Well Take Care
Mark Brelsford
Pleased to hear that you have decided to relocate to the New England area. Even better
news to learn that you will be teaching. Looking forward to seeing you at class, both in
Newton and Providence. GEM
Dear George,
I just thought I would touch base with you, Its been many years and a lot of water over the dam. I
decided to see what I could find out about "old friends" on my computer and hapened to plug in
your name.
I read the memorial page, and was saddened to see old friends gone. Men who I enjoyed for many
years.
Thanks for your page, it is good to go back through the years George.
I trust all is well with you. Maby we'll meet again.
Like to hear from you when you get some time.
Thanks,
Joe Montgomery
For those of you who don't remember Joe, he is one of the early pioneers of Uechi-ryu, who formed the nucleous of the old Cambridge Street, Mattson Academy. Really nice to hear from you Joe. Hope you will be able to join my ever growing "oldtimers" class on Saturday. GEM
Dear Mattson Sensei,
I recently spoke to Kimo Wall sensei on the phone from California. He had just finished hosting a
group of friends from Japan for a month -- this after his two month trip around the U.S. with Mr.
Liu. (David Chambers, from Dragon Times, filmed a documentary of Mr. Liu.) Anyway, Kimo
sensei is once again heading east for a series of Kobudo seminars. It occured to me that some of
the folks we met at the Uechi-ryu summer camp might be interested in attending a seminar with
Kimo sensei. I know he and I both enjoyed our experiences at your summer camp this past
summer.
I will be hosting a weapons seminar with Kimo sensei on Saturday, December 7, from 12 noon
until 5 pm, at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, in Room 237, Boyden Gymnasium
wrestling room. The cost of the seminar is $35. If anyone would like more information, he/she is
welcome to contact me, Giles Hopkins, by email at [giles@physed.umass.edu], or by phone at
(413)586-2329. And of course all levels, from beginners to advanced, are welcome.
Kimo sensei also mentioned that he will try to get out to Boston sometime that week of December
and hopes he can stop by to see you at least to say hello.
Hope all is well in the Uechi karate world,
Sincerely,
Giles Hopkins
UMASS Kodokan
Univ. of Massachusetts
Amherst, Massachusetts
I'll be looking forward to seeing Sensei Wall again. And I'm sure all his new Summer Camp friends will be looking forard to participating in his December seminar. Thanks for keeping informed. GEM
Dear Sensei Mattson,
Have there been any studies comparing the psychologic profiles of people who continue karate
training for many years vs those who drop out within a few months? I suspect that maybe 1 in a
hundred people who start karate training reach shodan level. I also suspect that some, who would
have stayed for the long-run, might quit early because what they're looking for is not apparent to
them during the early part of the training. Would it be useful to know ahead of time which students
were the most likely to stay for the long-run? Wouldn't it be a good idea to produce a video tape
specifically aimed at this group - introducing them to karate & stressing those aspects of karate in
which this particular group is most interested?
Just some thoughts.
Cheers,
John.
PS Six of our senior students earned their shodans a few weekends ago. One (Pete Fredericks)
was candidate of the day, out of a total of 26 candidates. Our training continues to be excellent.
Though Sensei Hunt doesn't philosophize, he makes good use of the concept: "the spirit takes over
when the body's too tired to go on". If at age 47 I enjoy it 3 times a week, then the rest of the
students, most of whom are young enough to be my kids, shouldn't find it too demanding.
John Lovas
Uechi-Ryu Karate-Do
Dave Hunt's Karate Academy
Bedford, Nova Scotia, CANADA.
I'll be interested in what opinion others may have about the subject of dropouts. Perhaps we
should use this subject as the next "Point of View!" topic. It is quite controversial among
teachers, especially the old timers and those who advocate more modern teaching methods.
Anyone out there have any comments?
Congratulations to all the hard working students in Nova Scotia who were promoted. Also to their hard working instructors. GEM
Hi George,
A couple of quesitons and hope you can give me some advice.
I have a guy who I have been teaching for a couple of years, he is a ni-dan in Uechi-ryu, and not
attached currently to an Uechi-ryu instructor. He is in Wisc. and I guess there is not an Uechi-ryu
group around him. He has more than enough time in grade for a step up in dan rank. I plan to
promote him in what I teach but he is interested in getting his 3rd dan in Uechi-ryu as well. Of
course I can't help him there but I thought I might drop you a line and see what you thought on this
subject. Also, I have been asked to come out the to Boston area and teach a seminar. The guy has
been to several of my seminars in Albany NY and if he hosts a seminar he does not have to
travel:-) Anyway he does not have a lot of contacts in Boston, and may not be able to get enough
students to make the seminar work. Do you have any ideas that might help make this work for next
year some time?
Thanks,
Rick Clark
2175 Ohio Blvd.
Terre Haute IN 47809
(812) 238-1279
PMCLARK@scifac.indstate.edu
I suggest that your student contact Dr. Ron Klein for information regarding instructors in Wisconsin. Regarding your seminar. . . lots of us were disappointed that you could not make our camp this year and I'm sure will be interested in attending any seminar you are going to be teaching. Keep us posted as to dates etc. GEM
Hi George and Susan,
Harvey's book arrived here in good shape about five days ago. I've been reading it in sequence,
but also jumping around it because so much of it grabs my attention. It's a combination of nostalgia
(Columbus Ave. etc.), the early Summer Camps, and the endless evolving puzzle of Karate-Do, as
well as were we're going in the future. My kids don't believe my name is mentioned (Dad, you're in
a book!)--I have to admit it's an unusual feeling. Though not for you, Sensei--the father of North
American Uechi-Ryu. Just think George: if you hadn't set up your Boston school, I and thousands
of others wouldn't know the pleasure and life-enhancing benefits of our art.If you would mail me
Harvey's Email or post address, I would like to thank him for the inscribed copy of the book. He
has done a real service for martial artists and aspiring ones, by describing a universal process. Very
enjoyable reading. Lee and I send our best to the two of you. Come on out and visit sometime!
Paul Haydu
The book is selling very well. Not just to the martial arts community, but the general public as well. Harvey is an excellent writer, who documents the Uechi-ryu history in America in a humorous, accurate and objective style. If any of our readers would like a copy, click here. GEM
More from Paul:
Hi George,
Thanks for Harvey's address and phone. And thank you for your note. I have been enjoying your
Uechi homepage for about six months. It has provided a way for me to feel current with happenings
in the Uechi community. The mailbag is something that changes from week to week and I visit that
most often. The articles (such as Training in the 50's) provide perspective, ideas and inspiration,
which keeps my karate fresh and new. The flow of new insights is what is most rewarding about
training. Vito and I work out once a week and I do kata daily, especially before I go to bed. Also I
appreciate kata after (and during--for a break) a difficult shift in the ER. It tones the nervous system
and helps me to re-focus.
A technical question, Sensei: I haven't been successful getting into the "Physical Aspects" forum,
replying to the review of Alan Dollar's book etc. because I don't have a password for the
WebForum. I used to have Secret clearance in the Navy--do you think I might qualify?
Paul
I can tell we are having problems with the Dojo Roundtable by the number of questions I get
regarding problems. However, your question is fairly new! I don't issue a password. All new
users must go to the bottom of the page and "register". During this process, you select a
"username" and "password", which must be entered whenever you use the Forum. Good
luck. GEM
Dear Sensei Mattson:
Attached is a b&w scan of a view of the valley for possible inclusion in the uechi-ryu website.
Unfortunately I do not have the conversion software to have rendered it in GIF format; sorry if it
took a long time to download. Hopefully you are receiving at coax, ISDN, or T1 bandwidths. The
scanner here only can package it in so many formats (its native format is PCX).
The tournament was a huge success, with over 60 competitors and a strong showing from the Port
Moody and Mission dojos. Leo Patrick and Aaron LeDoux won the overall best uechi-ryu
students in the adult and youth divisions. Stuart will e-mail you a full report in about a week.
I am sorry I haven't had a chance to scan and send the contact sheets; probably just as well
considering how long an 8x10 TIF would take to transmit. I will try and get them off to you by
priority post this week or next.
Mike Cleven
Congratulations on your first successful tournament Mike. I'll be looking forward to the
article. GEM
Hello Mr. Mattson,
Go ahead and list me under Arkansas. My information is:
Jody McFadden; Brinkley, Arkansas; (501) 734-4635
If you need any other information, please let me know.
Sincerely,
Jody McFadden
Any other students/teachers in Jody's area?
Hi George,
Your committee has done a wonderful job of outlining the code of ethics. Although I am not a
member of NAC I follow your web site on a regular basis and find many of the articles and letters
enlightening. This one to date themost thought provoking.
After having worked with children and teens in many capacities ( I am a certified school teacher)
and especially in the martial arts, I agree whole heartedly that there is a necessity for a written
understanding of what to do and what not to do in any class room setting be it academic or
physical. Especially in a karate school because there has been no formal training (education), aside
from the physical rigors that one goes through to get his black belt degree, in most cases. (Although
there are many certified teachers that do run dojos, there are many more that are not certified.)
Does that black belt automatically make him or her a karate teacher? Perhaps a 2-3 year student
teacher program before a teaching certificate is made available should be initiated after getting the
black belt.
Unfortunately, unless someone plants the seed and passes on this information there will be some
"teachers" ( and I will use that word cautiously") that will overstep their bounds. And there are
others that regardless of what is outlined for them, they will still do as they please. In our society we
have many laws outlined but the jails are still full.
I, and I am sure that you have met over the years, many talented and highly qualified individuals that
run dojos, but what do we really know about these people. Yes, background checks are good.
There are, unfortunately, some very unqualified people hanging signs and opening schools, more
now than ever before. I do agree with the idea of a licensing of some sort and a background check.
Other than the fees and costs involved if one has nothing to hide then they shouldn't balk at the
idea.
I do not like the idea of any government agency getting involved, because along with the rules that
will be established they will the have their greedy little fingers in your pocket. But, something has to
be done to protect those that have chosen teaching martial arts as a profession.
In closing I would like to add one other "do not" for the code that is being established. DO NOT
tie children's belts and ghi's in class if they fall off or become loose. Be sure to instruct small
childrens' parents on the proper way to tie a belt and ghi and try to hold a session in class for older
children to tie belts and ghi's. Include belt tieing in a stripe test. If a belt falls off during a class have
the child either tie their own belt or place it off to the side out of the way. Reason, while either
reaching around the child or tying the belt from in front, if the child moves or your hand slips, this
could be misunderstood as inappropriate touching.
The rewards far outweigh the problems encountered, we just have to find a way to protect
ourselves. This is " passive self defense awareness".
I wish the committee the best in formulating and establishing the final code and if I can be of any
assistance please contact me via email at STODOJO@aol.com
Best always,
Steve Banchick,
rokodan, Okikukai
Okinawan Karate Club
Stoughton, Ma.
Thanks for the great letter Steve. During the past couple of months, I've received many
messages regarding the formulation of the code, which would make very interesting reading.
The process going into the building of the code was fascinating and unfortunately, just
viewing the final product may not do justice to the give and take that went into its
formulation. The "Point of View!" column will address these issues and I'm using your letter
as the first "Point of View!". Thanks again. GEM
Sensei George:
I wished to say hello and how much I have enjoyed your Home Page.
John Thurston
Nice to hear from you John. Its been a long time between messages. Hope to hear from you more often. GEM
Dear George:
On behalf of my students and myself. I would like to thank you for having us at your class. We had
a great workout, and a fun time. My students as well as myself, all met new people, and made new
friends...
It was great seeing old friends like Paul, Harvey, Eunrik, and Al. It takes me back to the old days
on Hancock St. We plan on attending regularly...
Thanks again: Jay Salhanick
We also enjoyed having you and your students at class. Every Saturday is our Black Belt
class. Everyone is invited. This week John Cierri and Will Zachmann also visited and worked
out. I was impressed at how strong your Uechi-ryu is. Keep up the good work. GEM
Thank-you for getting back to me, I called Rose Dyer and left a message. But I don't know where
Dolores Colorado is but she will call me and let me know where she lives. I was interested in some
photos for my home "basement" dojo. I bought some nice laminated photos of the founders of Goju
Ryu, Shotokan, Judo and Aikido, that have a solid backing so they are real easy to hang on the
wall. The vendor "Academy of Karate" is trying to order some of these photos of Kanei Uechi but
they have been on back order for a long time. In your letter you listed four portrait sets for $60.00.
Was that for all four or $60.00 each? Do they have some type of solid backing? I ordered Alan
Dollars book last week and am excited about reading his book. From the rod Mindlin tapes I have
been able to learn all eight katas. I have taught my kids the first three already. I have also taught my
kids the 3 drills, the kicking drill and kyu kumite. Thanks for everything.
Brandon.
I hope you will be able to work out with Rose to supplement your home training. She is
highly qualified and a great person as well. The photos we offer are shipped in a mailing
tube, without any backing. You must frame them yourself. Keep in touch. GEM
Hi, george. The Videotape Summer¦s camp are very best! Thank¦s. I have Program on T.V. called
" Black Belt" . In the last year I Show all experience on Okinawa , Futenma Dojo and explain
about the Summer Camps Dragon, Crane and Tiger in U.S.A. . November, 4 to 7 of 96¦; I visit
Temuco , Chile for Uechi Ryu Seminary. Mi friend Herbert Aroca Pacheco, 3_ Dan Shohei Ryu
liked Know the original forms of Uechi-Ryu. May be next Summer Camps I visit with
representative of Chile.
Mario Abel Molaroni
E-mail: uechi@everex.com.ar
Pleased to hear that you enjoyed the videos. Looking forward to seeing you at camp next
year. GEM
Hello,
I was just looking at your web site and I wanted to leave you a message. I am still a fan of the
martial arts although only really from a far since training with you. Lennie, Dan, Noah, Brian and I
all look back at our classes as a extremely positive experience and one that we are very thankful to
have had. Brian started up again a few years ago and is now working on his black belt. He studies
Uechi in Brockton. I hope that you are doing well. -Luke Jorgensen
Hi George
Well I finally did it. My screw up, not web site. This is a terrific site and I need more time to
explore it. Now that you have my address let's correspond. All the best Howard Kravets
Welcome aboard Howard. For those of you who don't know him, Howard was one of my original students on Columbus Ave. in Boston. He also originated the "Friendship" award, which NAC awards to outstanding Uechi-ryu people over the years. GEM
Hiya!
You don't know me, but I'm sure you know my friend, Steve Banchick. Anyway, he told me about
your page and I've been checking it out fairly regularly *and* I'm glad to say that I've *finally*
added your link to my page at ... http://members.aol.com/kenpokars/ As is hinted at by my screen
name, my style is Ed Parker Kenpo, but that in no way means that cannot do whatever is in my
power to help promote the various arts. If there is any other way I might lend a hand to your
"cause," please let me know. I'd be more than happy to help. Stay on the Path!
Still on the Path ...
Kathy
Thanks for the note Kathy. I've checked out your site and found it very interesting and
extremely creative. Keep up the good work. GEM
How can I place an order without sending my master card number over the computer?
Doug Achterberg
Nidan @ Alan Dollars Okinawan Karate
This question is often asked by people using the Internet. Although it is possible for a thief to intercept a credit card number in an email transmission, I haven't actually heard of it happening. Unfortunately, if its possible, there will be individuals who will do it! Best to be cautious at this point and use more conventional methods. You can email the actual order, with mailing information, through the "order form". Then simply phone-in or fax your credit card information. In the near future, this site may be taking part in a test, whereby customers will be able to securely email their credit card information along with their orders, directly to a bank site. After processing the order, the bank then sends the order to us. GEM
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