Friday open mat

Beginner's Mind Dojo will be opening the school's doors for open mat on select Fridays.
Open mat is a program which provides a free space for students to get additional practice in for all of the arts you practice at BMD. This is not an instructor class but a time for you to get the mat to work on skills you would like to improve or just to sharpen.
Instructors will not be teaching a class but will be in dojo to assist with trouble spots and advise or answer questions that may arise.

The current schedule for Open Mat is the following Fridays at 6pm:
November 19, 2010
December 3, 2010
December 17, 2010
December 31, 2010 (earn your New Year's Eve!)

A final note- a limited amount of exercise equipment will be available each open mat in the event that any practitioner would like a workout or warm-up to their activities.

Self Defense Seminar for women

"You didn't just teach me how to protect myself, you gave me permission to protect myself."

-Marylin

On Saturday, September 26th, Mrs. Conley will be presenting Self Defense for Women at the Beginner's Mind Dojo at 10am.

This two and a half hour course will cover a solid range of defense from easy to apply techniques to verbal development skills and most importantly, victim prevention. Through the course of this seminar women of any age or body type will develop protective physical skills, confidence building mental skills, and new friendships!

Take the time to get to know the friendly and light-hearted instructors and get assistance with finding our school at the Beginner's Mind Dojo website: www.beginnersmindschool.com

We look forward to meeting you and want you to know that, at the Beginner's Mind, you don't only learn self-defense, you develop confidence!

Kung-Fu Beach

Mr. and Mrs. Conley have just recently spent a great deal of time on the Oregon coast enjoying marine life, light house hopping, and martial arts on the beach.

A lot in martial arts is taken for granted when a person trains in a building with flat floors and sheltering walls. The safety of the dojo can also be seen as a hinderance just as dangerous as an armed assailant. This thought comes from many concepts. One is a psychological one in which a person comes to the dojo to unpack and use the tools of the arts and, when finished, puts those tools away when leaving, not planning to unpack them until at the dojo again.

Another concept, and one more visibly proven, is the effect of the surroundings on an artist. Back to the dojo for a moment, there are walls and a ceiling, a nice flat floor to train on with no obstacles in the way, just open space all around. Safe.

Some of the things we encountered on the beach were immediate changes in our training routine; the shift of the sand under feet, strong winds checking our stances, driftwood and rocks along with other foot entangling obstacles, the waves testing our balance with every crash, bringing your foot back down from a kick to encounter a different terrain than when your foot left the ground...on top of these elemental challenges we enjoyed, there were others, the most notable of which is the human interaction. The onlookers that point and talk, the curious that stare, the insecure that mock, and the inquisitive children.

This is not the first time we have trained in the elements, not by a long shot, but it is the first time we have gotten to discuss it with you. We would strongly encourage outdoor training, be it at the beach or some other fantastic locale or simply at the park or your backyard. This will help you understand your relationship with your surroundings in an organic way as well as help you become comfortable unpacking your tools and using them whenever and wherever you are. Ultimately, the arts are not just for the dojo.

Remembering David Carradine

Today, the world of martial arts mourns another loss in the family as David Carradine has been found hanging in a Bankok hotel room. This deeply saddening event has kicked up a storm of media and speculation so, rather than drive into the depths of the unverified and the half-truths, we prefer to shine the light on what Mr. Carradine loved and gave to us, film.

Mr. Carradine, 72 this year, was extremely active on the silver screen throughout his career and managed to stay embedded in the cult pop of martial arts cinema as well as non-Kung-Fu based films, as early back as 1965 with Bus Riley's Back in Town and The Violent Ones in 1967.

Up until 1972, David was best known for his roles in Western movies such as The Good Guys and the Bad Guys (1969), Young Billy Young (1969), and Macho Callahan (1970) where cowpoking and gun slinging (perhaps the grandfather of Gun-Fu) filled the screen and Mister Carradine met with great success.

In 1972, Kung-Fu hit the small screen and lit the homes with, what most people would have to admit, was their very first introduction to, not just the physical side of the arts, but also the intellectual aspect of the arts as well. This series ran into 1975.

David carradine moved through genres again and managed to carve out a niche in the car race films with his parts in Death Race 2000 (1975), Cannonball (1976), as well as Thunder and Lightning (1978).

Mr. Carradine returned to the Kung-Fu (or Eastern Westerns) with The Silent Flute (1979) but only temporarily as he also settled back into Westerns while acting in a wide range of film types throughout the eighties before and during his exploration of war movies such as P.O.W. The Escape (1986), Armed Response (1986), and The Misfit Brigade (1988).

Through the Nineties, action films saturated the market and David Carradine found himself taking on roles to just stay active like Evil Toons (1991), Karate Cop (1993), and Children of the Corn V (1998) and capped the twentieth century off with a series of David Carradine exercise workout videos.

The new century is when his legendary status truly brought David back into the limelight and re-enforced his status as a martial arts tough guy with Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill movies, Hell Ride (2008), and Crank: High Voltage (2009) where he played the disgusting, yet hilarious villain, Poon Dong.

It is beyond unfortunate that he has passed and we are a lesser world without having him with us, but this much is true; whether he was gunslinging, car crashing, karate kicking, or just generally being a man's man, David Carradine will always be remembered as one of the legendary silver screen badasses!

IFYCA Mountain Retreat this Friday!

Well, there are less than 5 days until the International Fook Yueng Chuan Association mountain retreat and the anticipation within the Beginner's Mind camp is high!

• With special guest, Jesse Glover, attending this retreat, the preparation is in full gear with a great number of straight-punches, big-punches, sticking hands and other exercises being practiced.
• Bags are being packed and the camo is coming out.
  
• Camping equipment is getting dragged out and tested.
• The natural food sections of the grocery store are seeing more activity.

If attending, be sure to bring:

• Pair of Escrima Sticks
• Safe training knife (one must be rubber)
• Comfortable Outdoor training cloths.
• A tent and all sleeping bags etc.

Beginner's Mind is eager to visit with Yuen's School of Martial Arts and The Little Dojo students and teachers again along with the many other regular attendees!

International Fook Yueng Chuan- June Mountain Retreat

Jesse Glover, Bruce Lee’s First Student and Assistant Instructor will be a guest at The Little Dojo / International Fook Yueng Chuan Association Mountain Retreat the Weekend of June 5, 6, & 7.

This is a rare and exciting opportunity to meet Jesse Glover and Master Steve Smith long with other fantastic instructors from the United States and Canada as well as the chance to train with not just these supremely talented individuals, but to also meet new people and make some great, long-lasting friendships! The total hour amount of training is also incredible as it can add up to the equivalent of three months of knowledge just based on minute by minute timing! The true value of knowledge is far more extensive than three meager months, however as a single mountain retreat can load, possibly years of information into your karate cranium! Mr. and Mrs. Conley will be attending this event as will the majority of the adult class from the Beginner's Mind Dojo. Many more individuals from the United States, Canada and other parts of the world will be in attendance and, to work with others from other areas offers insight on aspects of the arts that might be overlooked locally!

Jesse Glover is one of the worlds leading experts on Bruce Lee’s fighting methods. Jesse Glover teaches privately at his school in Seattle and does select seminars around the world. Jesse is a consummate coach who is able to see instantly how to get the most out of an individual while helping that person maintain their unique way of moving. This is a rare opportunity to train with on of the worlds finest teachers.

As the history of such an event is one not to be passed up, if you feel as though you would like to attend, please contact Master Smith at SteveSmith@thelittledojo.com to reserve your spot today!

My First Day of Teaching

I came across this old note that I wrote on what was possibly my first real teaching experience in the martial arts world. Experiences such as this are my motivation.

Each class brings out my weakness which promptly streams from every pore and rolls to the mat and, even though I'm pushed differently and diligently every night, I feel the desire to continue training after class has ended, which is always too soon. I gain a thirty minute cool down while my youngest girl gets on the mat and explodes with a brilliance that most could only hope to witness, much less, become.
During my daughter's class, a young and lonely student of the class following my girl's asked if I would be watching him perform in his class just like I watch my own daughter in her own. I could tell he desperately wanted to connect with someone and there was no one to support him so I offered my attention. Fate wove through this event as our Master Instructor approached me and asked if I would be willing to teach this young man's class.
Immediately, I began questioning my own ability and my confidence was taking blow after blow from the villainous monster known as doubt but we worked through it together and I gladly accepted the offer.
I was no longer the student and was now a teacher, even if only for thirty minutes. It was at that moment of realization that the wash of responsibility drenched me and my alertness level had been heightened to the stratosphere.
The next half hour, I worked very closely with this young man. We built strength and precision. I challenged him physically and he challenged me spiritually. We pushed through techniques and forms. My mind constantly traveled to memories of substitute teachers in middle school through the comparisons and my leniency level was challenged. This intelligent young man was emotionally checking boundaries and testing personality weaknesses to encourage the physical ease of his training and I knew that, as an initiate instructor, I would be a failure if I allowed this to happen but if I was forceful and stern that I would lose my first pupil forever. I was holding the future in my hands, not just mine but this boy's devotion as well. What was I to do? I took a chance and searched for closer connection to this child by digging for his interests that might motivate him to excel of his own accord so we took a moment and talked.
Once we built a solid relationship, our class motored on with freight train intensity and we no longer needed to struggle for control which encouraged his full support and even offered up some genuine smiles through the class from more than just the two of us but also the bystanders that I suddenly realized were very interested in our progress. By the end of the class, I felt confident that he took some valuable lessons home with him and I could tell that he no longer felt that sense of isolation that filled him before class. He got what he was after, the chance to show his skill to an interested peer and to feel accomplished in a field he enjoyed but has not gotten much support in.
We all left the school and his glow was possibly the brightest today. I was proud of him and told him as much as I thanked him for teaching me today in what has been my most valuable lesson thus far.
Experiences like this are the exact reason I pursued a future in teaching and my school, Beginner's Mind Dojo, would not even exist without the valuable experiences I learned from this young man..

To any parents out there concerned about your children and martial arts

Through online study and internet research, Mr. Conley came across this fantastic youtube video composed by Tom Callos from www.ultimateblackbelttest.com and would like to share it with you.



These are things within the Beginner's Mind Dojo that we strongly resonate with, not just as instructors, but as parents.

Thank you Mr. Callos for your insight and wisdom.

Belt Testing

Congratulations go out to the following students of Beginner's Mind for their excellence in skill and technique as well as their perseverance and dedication through their belt test in the fields of katas, self defense, kickboxing, and other areas:

John Humble, graduating to Green Belt!
Kevin Kmineck, graduating to Yellow Belt!
Paul Partida, graduating to Green Belt!
Rose Sarmiento, graduating to Green Belt!

Honorable mention goes to Jesse for his first test and great aptitude!

Walk Against Child Abuse

Walk A Mile In Their Shoes
This event is happening THIS Sunday and the The Beginner's Mind Dojo is showing our support and assistance by providing students, instructors, family, and friends as crossing guards for this event. If you would like to assist and be a volunteer crossing guard, please contact Mr. Conley at mrconley@beginnersmindschool.com so we can get some prepatory work gathered up.e.

THE INFO:
Walk a Mile in Their Shoes, walk against child abuse.
Sunday, April 26th, 1-4 pm.
Meeting at the courthouse.
The walk itself begins at 1:10 and will cover a single mile (in a circular route, beginning and ending at the courthouse).
Walk A Mile In Their Shoes

VOLUNTEERING:
Meet at 12:45 pm near front steps of the courthouse for coordination.
As crossing guards, your time required at the event will only be as long as people are walking. Mr. Conley plans on staying afterward in order to enjoy the day and perhaps help with cleanup.

Happy Easter!

Congratulations!
You found the Easter Egg that is The Beginner's Mind Dojo!
As a reward for your hunt across the internet for a martial arts school that is warm and welcoming, we would like to give you free classes, just in time for Easter!

When you come to our classes, just mention this message to receive your special Easter present- we will waive your fee for the entire month of April! As if that wasn't enough incentive, we also offer to you a positive learning environment and great experiences with a whole building full of new friends! But act fast, this offer is only good up to Easter Day!!!
We don't just give you Karate at the Beginner's Mind, we work very hard to give you real, positive, life enhancement!

You won't have a hard time finding us if you follow this link!

Jesse Glover Seminar

On the weekend of January 10th, 2009, The Beginner's Mind School acted as host to a very incredible seminar sponsored by The Little Dojo and Fook Yueng Chuan association in which legendary martial artist, Jesse Glover came to Walla Walla, Washington to provide exceptional martial arts instruction to both local and distance artists from all around the Pacific Northwest.

Jesse Glover, Bruce Lee's first student and assistant, spent an astounding eight hours, divided into two days, through the course of the weekend providing instruction on some Non-Classical Gung-Fu such as closing, trapping, as well as other drills and techniques. 

Through the course of the weekend, Mr. Glover was kind enough to show amazing applications of his art and was more than willing to demonstrate and guide each and every participant on any step they could not take alone. His kindness showed up to your training area before he did and his knowledge stayed behind to help you even when he walked to the next group of practitioners. His friendliness was easily felt by each and every martial artist that attended this seminar, regardless of belt color, years of practice, or level of skill and each individual participating was blessed by his attention. Beyond the instruction and course content, as well as beyond Jesse's presence, the attendance was peppered with teachers, school owners, private practitioners as well as beginning students; including the majority of the student base from our own school, which we were thankful for the representation.

The quality of instruction and the pleasure of experience of this event was without doubt or question and the amount of information gained was without parallel. We were exhausted at the end of this momentous event but excited to play with what we learned and thankful for Jesse's willingness to give us his time and energy.

If you are ever given the opportunity to spend time learning from Jesse Glover, do what ever it takes to commit to it because you will walk away with something that will stay with you forever.