Coming and Going

The second book of three..?

Ok...this is the last time I'm going to mention my new book. It is on sale now, and for those who like to think about why as well as how, when it comes to karate, it may well prove to contain information that challenges your beliefs about the nature of what karate actually is...as opposed to what some are working hard to make it. If you click on the image of the book to the left of the post, you can take a look inside and read a few sample pages.

The book has, on and off, taken up 18 months of my life. At times it required late nights and long hours to get the words out of my head and onto the page; at other times the work was much more fun, like sifting through the many old photos and images I had available to me. I also learnt a lot about the written word from working with the book's editor, Dolores Sparrow; from her I had my own belief confirmed in regard to doing a job well, to the best of your abilities, and not just settling for the easy or quickest option.

The book is out now, it has arrived, and the greater karate community will make of it what they will. I doubt very much I'll be effected either way. I don't write in order to gather fans or attract students, and criticism means very little to me unless it comes from someone I respect. So, regardless of how the book is received, my head will neither swell with pride, nore shrink under a barrage of caustic comments from keyboard warriors....it will instead, remain as always, in its usual half-empty state!


Garry Lever - always looking, and always ready to learn

In the same week as my book arrived on the scene I received an email from a friend in England, Garry Lever, telling me his Blog was no longer being written. He also told me his reason for bringing it to an end; an instinctive feeling that it was better for him and his karate to step away from carrying the weight of other people's expectations. I have to admit, although I was sad he would no longer be posting, I was very impressed by his reasoning. When I think of the future of karate, I think of karateka like Garry, not the small (in every sense of the word) businessmen who set themselves up in karate academies and teach anyone and everyone they can get through the door.

I have no doubt that Garry will continue to learn and grow as a karateka: for that is his intention. He is not only a husband these days but a father too; so it is only natural that he put in place some 'Big Rocks'. The sense of balance he is learning to cultivate today will keep him on the correct path to where he wants to go in the future. It will keep him true to his convictions and stand him in good stead for the challenges of raising a family in an ever changing world. Some may think the wider karate community has lost something with the closure of Garry's blog, and on one level that may be true; but the groundwork is, I believe, being laid for a more meaningful contribution to come. If  karate is to survive at all it will do so in the hearts and minds of karateka like Garry, and people like him.

In "Traditional karate", it is not our words, but our deeds that make the difference; and it's the differences that make us who we are.