My black belt test was to be a special test which followed about 3 months later.  When I tested I had been in martial arts for one day shy of 10 months.  There was no one on either side of my mother’s side or my father’s side of their families that was athleticly active or even exercised.  I don’t believe that any one in my family, including myself, had any natural physical ablility.  The two things that played a large part of my getting my black belt were desire and attitude.

Ten months earlier when I saw my first martial arts demonstration I didn’t realize that it placed the desire in my heart to achieve what I saw other men had accomplished regardless of what I had to do or how long it took.  It help mold my attitude to put myself through whatever it took to reach my goal.

• taking opponent down from standing or kneeling positions
• trapping opponent’s arms, legs, hand, or body
• finishing techniques
• escape techniques
• using your ki on opponent or his/her ki against him/herself

Saturday, March 20, 2010: Qigong: Burlington,NC: 10 AM until

• inner-strength development
• breathing exercises
• moving and non-moving exercises
• ki-building techniques
• history and health benefits of qigong

Saturday, March 27, 2010: Sword Clinic: Gaffney, SC: 1PM-until

• fast, close-in sword kata/form
• no previous sword experience required

On our first day in a  martial arts class in Korea, my friend Jerry and I both made the decision that  we were going to work out for three hours each day.  The first day we were shown the fighting stances, kick form and block form.  I stayed the full three hours while Jerry left after about two hours.

The next day when we went to class, the instructor showed us what is called a four corner block- which is a hard style of blocking.  After showing us that, he walked off and started teaching the rest of the class.  I stayed the full three hours and Jerry left after about an hour and a half.

The third day of practice we were shown the reverse punch before the instructor started the class workout.  Again I stayed for the full three hours, but Jerry left after about an hour.

On the fourth day Jerry didn’t show up for class.  As soon as I got there the instructor came to me and taught me a front snap kick.He then walked off to once again teach class.  After my three hours I went to Jerry’s house to see where he had been.  When I got there he was with his wife. We talked about class.  He asked me what I had learned, so I demonstrated. He got up and did it just as well as I could after my  three hours of practice. Next we started talking about our plans for training.  I asked him what he was going to do. He said he was probably going to quit.  I thought about it a little while then I said that I probably was too. That’s when his wife said that she knew that if Jerry  quit then  I would too.  Right then I made up my mind that I would stick with it if it took me the rest of my time in Korea to achieve my first colored belt.

The fifth day I went to class and the instructor showed me one more move, then went to teach class.  When the class lined up, I lined up in the back of the class.  Since everything  was being  taught in the Korean language it became what one might say, “Monkey see, Monkey do. “ After the workout was over, several members of the class, young and old, started showing me things that helped to start me on my journey  to where I am today. Little did I know on that day  that I would be wearing my black belt within ten months time. It’s interesting how outside negative opinions can  either serve to discourage your efforts or provide you with  additional  motivation to succeed…    (to be continued)

- Grandmaster John Dowdy 2010

Gaffney, SC

Saturday, Feb 20, 2010

Call 336-266-3945 for additional information

As I watched that day, I realized that I wanted to be a part of that.

The  very next day I met with Jerry and his wife. His wife was already living off base because she had come from a military family. She  knew all of the ins-and -outs of overseas living.

After we finished with processing the next day, Jerry and I went downtown looking for a place that taught Martial Arts. We walked around and asked until we found a place. We happened to look down an alley and saw some people  training in black uniforms. We stood at the doorway for a  while watching them.  The instructor came over and talked to us. He didn’t know much English and we knew nothing about the Korean language. He did;however, know enough English to tell us how much classes were….$15 per month. (Koreans were paying $3 per month, we later learned.) The style was  Kuk Sool Won Hapkido. We joined, paid him the money, and also paid for a uniform.

We started to train right then and I decided to make a commitment to work out three hours each day…

(to be continued)

One of the great attributes about martial arts as a way of life is that we become immediate and lifelong friends with other martial artists that we come in contact with. This is true even if wepreviously  had nothing more in common. I am fortunate that I chose this path and that God allowed me to have physical and spiritual gifts needed to succeed as a martial artist. Some of the lessons learned along the path have been life-altering, to say the least.

I am still looking forward to continuing  my training with other members of the martial arts community for the experience that I could receive from them.  -Master John Dowdy 2010

• one  hour of updated hapkido techniques
• one  hour of 2nd degree Black Belt techniques
• one  hour of jujitsu instruction

The  tonfa seminar consisted of one traditional tonfa kata with slight alterations of updated stances and one Tiger Shark tonfa kata.The techniques taught in the Tiger Shark tonfa kata have practical use with each move serving its own special purpose.It is always a pleasure to reunite with these Gaffney martial artists. The next Gaffney seminar will be held on Saturday, February 20th at 1 PM.The topic will be Qigong. The combined workout will begin at 9 AM.  Public is welcome to the 9-12 free workout.

Each pressure point  was discussed within the contexts of :

• location of pressure point
• possible effect(s) of strike
• antidotes (if any)
• uses of the pressure point for healing purposes

Today’s seminar participants ranged in experience from white belts through advanced degrees of Black Belts of various styles and training backgrounds  including Ninjitsu, Tae Kwon Do, Tang Soo Do, Karate, Jujitsu, and Hapkido. Most were currently training  in Master Dowdy’s Tiger Shark Hapkido and Tiger Shark Jujitsu systems.

Master Dowdy enriched the presentation by including  demonstrations of:

• intermediate ki-building and ki-strikes
• introduction to dragon or fire breathing
• flash point remedies for heat exhaustion when training
• remedies for groin hits, nosebleeds, etc
• Meridian Clock
• various personal stories and martial arts historical analogies such as how pressure points were originally discovered

At the conclusion of every seminar, we ask that participants provide  feedback via a short Seminar Evaluation form. This information assists us in improving upcoming seminars. We appreciate the suggestions as well as the compliments.

FEEDBACK FROM TODAY’S SEMINAR PARTICIPANTS:

WHAT PART DID YOU FIND MOST INTERESTING?

“the integration of the strike points with qi flow….” BH

“the focus or removal or adding of Ki…” PB

“how many of the points have antidote points and where they are…” BW

“the duality of pressure points…” KS

“pressure point clock…” ZG

I LEARNED THAT…

“be very careful where you hit someone , even when fooling around…” BH

“you should be very  careful using these over and over…” BW

“how so many different strikes can affect you or your opponent…” RS

“the body and one’s energy is manifested in many ways and locations…” KS

“that I know nothing!…” PB

” an injury should be attended to immediately before residual damage can occur…”PJ

HOW WAS THE MATERIAL RELEVANT AND USEFUL TO YOUR LIFE?

“new knowledge for self-healing and therapy;not just for self-defense…” KS

“I’m hoping to make use of this safely in my fighting and training and use it when I am hurt or sick…” BW

“self-defense techniques…” RS

“good information…” JD

“I can use pressure points in combination with my grappling and striking…” ZG

“I can incorporate some pressure point strikes into my sparring training and enhance my ki hits using less energy…”PJ

“opened new healing perspectives to pressure points…”PB

“I’d like to see if they’ll help my wife…” BH

Please  visit our website frequently for updated seminar schedules and new topics. -hapkidomoon2010

“

This year, like every year, I have reassessed my professional and personal life. I have made resolutions to step up my own physical training and am in the process of altering my daily activities to support these goals. It is rarely a matter of not having enough time; it’s just managing your time more efficiently.

Making resolutions about working out is making a promise to yourself….for yourself…for better health. Make your goals attainable and appropriate and keep moving towards them. You can do it.

As we all know, short term goals are the easiest to attain. This is why we are now offering a six-week fitness boot camp. Come as often as you like. Do as much as you can…. and keep moving forward towards your goal. Check out  the details on the website.

Happy New You!

-Grandmaster John Dowdy 2010