Master B's Web log

Well, yes --and no.   You should consider a regular, daily, exercise program. A sensible one; one that starts slow  and lets your fitness sneak up on you (rather than hitting you over the head with it).   A martial arts program certainly has the potential to be a fantastic complete training program, as it includes stretching, strength training, aerobic and anaerobic exercise, and requires a kind of mental focus that is like a moving meditation.  As a matter of fact, if the instructor you choose has the right kinds of experience. yoy can get so much out of training. Instructors that are under the age of 30 are often spectacular athletes, but it’s important that they have an understanding of how to teach people of all ages.   But, find a great teacher and the martial arts can become your best friend. The training can keep you supple, sharp, and clear thinking. A martial arts school, directed by a conscientious professional...

In some of these chronicles it may seem like things got a little rough.  They really weren't.  Although...  One rainy dark Sunday night we were closing the bar, the doors were locked and there was a knock at the door.  There were double glass doors and someone was asking to come in and use the phone because his car had broken down.  This was way before cell phones but there was a payphone at the diner next door.      I politely refused him and directed him to the payphone.  He argued with me and even kicked the door once because he was mad.  He eventually stormed away.  We had plenty of cash for the day and I was wary of this guy.  I kept thinking, all he had to do was pull out a gun, point it at me and demand to come in.  I would have been at his mercy and felt totally vulnerable. The next week I bought a gun. 

I had heard people get replacement parts although I never though the day would come when I needed one.  Hips, knees and anything you can think of has worn out on people and then needed a newer better part to keep functioning.  Little did I know I was next. I have always been healthy and went for annual check ups.  Strong as a bull I would tell people.  But just a few years ago when I was sparring there was a big snap in my knee and down I went, a torn meniscus. I got a brace and things went along fine.  They forecast a knee replacement down the road.  They said I would know when I was ready.  I kept training and suffering and finally the day came.  I polled people that had replacements, Chris Bannon Rodrigues, Billy Blanks, and they said do it!  Here I am now with a total knee replacement.  19 Days later I am walking fine (slowly), have given up the walker and cane and look forward to a great recovery. Now I know what Gran...

Jack Scott- United Karate- Cookeville, Tennessee   Around 1988, I arrived at my inlaws who had relocated to Cookeville from New Jersey.  We had brought my four year old son there to visit his grandparents and spend some quality family time.  After being there a few days I casually leafed through the yellow pages to see what karate schools were around.  My eyes landed on Jack Scotts United Karate Studio and I decided to call.   I explained I was visiting family and asked if I could come down and watch some karate classes.  Mr. Scott said it was not a good night to come down but the next night would be better.  Of course that prompted me to go down and see why I could not watch.  Well he received me with open arms and let me watch for several hours.  We talked for a long time and then he asked if I would like to take a class the next night.  I responded I would like to but had not brought my uniform.  He loaned me a uniform...

Ho-Shin-Sool   (호신술) consists of three characters and their meanings are as follows. Ho (호) is to guard, to protect, to defend or to keep us safe from something against such as physical assaults, diseases, and/or even from harmful spirits. Shin (신) refers to our body, and Sool   (술) is a word for skills or techniques. Therefore, ho-shin-sool   is all and any techniques used to guard our body.

In my life I have seen many bullying situations.   From children to teens and even adults I have seen some of the worst cases of mental and emotional abuse go on.   As a teenager I feared confrontation and hated to see the bullies work against helpless and timid people.   When I was younger I wished I knew martial arts and had the courage and fortitude to stand up to these mean and angry people.   Should I stand up to these big, mean intimidators?   No not me. There is always a chance that they would turn their attention my way.   I couldn’t risk that, or could I?   Several years ago one of my little skinny blond students, while riding the bus, would get picked on.   She was a good student but a little shy.   She may not have been a bruiser in sparring class but she always managed to hold her own but these were not the skills needed on the school bus.   The verbal taunts and abuse would leave her in tears both on her way to sc...

Once I got settled in as the solo bouncer I devised ways to keep myself safe in my role.  New Britain had a mixed population of gangs, bikers and offbeat characters and I never knew who was going to show up.  I kept a quarter over the payphone in case I needed to call the police and in the eventuality things went bad quickly, I hung my jacket by the door.  I kept a pair of nunchaku with one piece down the sleeve and one piece hanging out so I could retrieve it quickly. Things kept fairly calm at the bar.  I made friends with the football team and they became my backup in case things got out of hand.  It is easier to be a bouncer when you have a couple of 250 pound linebackers standing behind you. Little did I know that at the end of my graduate career I was going to postpone returning back to my old high school as a counselor and get into the nightclub business where bouncing took a more serious track. Just when I got the hang of working t...

Being a Black Belt does not make you a bouncer.  Fighting in tournaments does not make you a bouncer. Knowing martial arts does not make you a bouncer. Learning on the job helps make you a bouncer. Most of the time when people were unruly in the college bar we just had to break up fights, cool people down and then kick them out.  It became a matter of restraint rather than a brawl (although I will go over those episodes too) and we had to keep people safe in spite of themselves. One night during a busy night there were three very big college football guys drunk at the door.  I had stopped them from entry because they were already drunk.  We began to argue and knowing that the odds were against me I came up with an effective strategy.                                      ...

Attending college as a Black Belt and needing a part time job, it was only a matter of time before applying to the local college bar as a bouncer. The bar was a local restaurant and prominent college student hangout.  The drinking age was 18 so every weekend students flocked to Elmers Place for lots of fun.  The first night I was there the owners had friends show up to visit.  They invited me to sit down with them and plyed me with drinks.  At the end of the night I told them I would quit the job if that was to be the standard. Drinking and bouncing is not a good idea. I was the solo bouncer in a crowd of one hundred and fifty patrons!  No backup, no one to cover my back, another lack of planning because I had not thought much of it.  About two weeks in, it was alumni weekend and the school was populated by an extra thousand people visiting and that Saturday night they all wanted to be partying at Elmers. There was an unruly group of alumni in the d...

FIVE MOO DO VALUES The Five Moo Do values of History, Tradition, Philosophy, Discipline/Respect, and Technique, are the backbones of our proud Moo Do identity. These values coexist interdependently with each element strengthening the meaning of the other four. When we apply the Five Moo Do values to our daily training we strengthen our self not only as a Moo Do practitioner, but also as an individual who provides a positive influence within our society. –   HC Hwang # VALUE KOREAN LITERAL TRANSLATION 1 History Yuk Sa Yuk – taking part, experience Sa – History, Recording 2 Tradition Jun Tong Jun – transmit Tong – govern 3 Discipline and Respect Ki Khang / Jon Kyong Ki Khang – principle, rule ethics Jon Kyung – respect, high regard 4 Philosophy Chul Huk Chul – sagacious, bright Hak – learn, study 5 Technique Ki Sool Ki – skill Sool – artifice

When I was a teenager I guess I was karate crazy. I trained two nights and Saturday with my karate teacher.  A friend of mine had karate classes two nights a week in Jewett City so I trained there also.  If we had free time we went to Chuck Merriman's school in New London and watched class.  There was a Pai Lum Kung Fu instructor in Ledyard so we checked him out.  We could not get enough karate. In the Jewett City school, under Rusty James, I met Bob Thivierge.  He came early, stayed late and was always perfecting one technique or another.  When he received his green belt I started to notice him more because of his hard work and dedication to the school.  His teacher eventually moved on and he took over the training and became the resident Sensei.  My life had moved on with working and family but I always kept my connection with Bob. His teacher, Rusty sponsored a small competition in Voluntown.  We got...

After having taught martial arts for decades I always try to give the first class a fun, simple and achievable lesson that teaches one punch, one block and one kick.  I believe our program is fundamental in teaching mental and emotional skills too, tying in the mind, body and spirit concepts of moo do (martial way).  In the movie "The Wizard Of Oz" (original) Dorothy lands in Oz and of course wants to return home.  She gets advice from the munchkins to follow the yellow brick road and find the wizard who has all the answers to her problem.  Soon we find out it is the journey, not the destination that helps her realizes the true answers. Dorothy, along with her dog Toto meets their first new friend, the scarecrow.  He is in a quandary and can't figure things out because he has no brain.  Dorothy convinces the scarecrow to join her on the trek to see the wizard in hope of getting him a brain. The lackin...