We learn to fight so we don’t have to fight. There is nothing pretty about fighting. It’s not a movie or opera. Students that come to class to learn to fight will learn nothing.

Why do we practice Martial Arts? It is a means of discipline. If you learn Martial Arts, it will improve your health and give you the discipline to do anything in life. The demands to master all the facets of Martial Arts will shape your personality and give you the resources to face all that fate sends your way.

If you acquire discipline, then you will have the freedom to do anything and be anything you want in life. Then you can walk through a whole wonderful world that you would never suspect existed. That’s not the world of fighting, it’s the world of experience. Life is the best teacher, and we are trying to equip you not to fight, but to learn from the true teacher, yourself.

For us, the instructors, it is a thrill to share the art that we cherish with someone who is falling in love with it for the first time. That freshness is a source of renewal for us.

A word, a light bulb goes on, a form is learned, a block or punch is executed, this is why we are there. To witness that growth from the beginning is humbling and inspiring!

Each student is creating themselves. Instructors are like sculptors. We take a little here, add some there, but we cannot change the inherent nature of the material. After time the student becomes the sculptor and it is then that the beginning of a great deepening of learning takes place.

We then become a guide who has the guidance and wisdom of our linage to call upon and help our students on their journey.

We welcome the challenge; we enjoy the journey, and take pride in being a sculptor.

John W. Rankin