CNY and Kobudo Newsletter

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“Excellence...when you choose to do your very best”

Regardless of what we choose to do with our lives, the quality of life that we lead is in proportion to the commitment we make to excellence. Mediocre results come from mediocre effort. We begin our lessons this month concentrating on the concept of choosing to do the very best we can to achieve excellence. Excellence can be achieved only by challenging ourselves to put an extra effort into all we do. Students will learn that by making a personal commitment to excellence, there is no limit to what they can accomplish. Excellence never happens by accident. Do Olympic athletes achieve greatness just because they were born with talent? Do great scholars earn their degrees by just showing up to class? If we want to achieve excellence, we must be willing to make it happen, not leave things to chance. No pain, no gain, no guts, no glory. In the martial arts, black belt excellence is only achieved when the willingness to work hard exceeds all else. By remaining steadfast in the desire to reach the ultimate level of excellence in martial arts, a Black Belt will earn both self respect and the respect of others. Does striving for excellence mean we should not settle for anything less than perfection? Absolutely not! When we look for perfection, we set ourselves up for failure. No one is perfect. But everyone has the opportunity to put in excellent effort and achieve personal excellence. Excellence is measured personally according to what each individual is capable of doing. To succeed with excellence we must do the best we can, within the environment in which we live, and with the abilities and talents that we have been given. Even with a commitment to excellence in life, along the way mistakes will be made. Mistakes can either be discouraging, or can be used as tools to learn life’s lessons. It is much more productive to turn what could be a deterrent into a positive step toward a better understanding of what life has to offer.

Schedule of Events Bunco

Jan 5th Black Belt Off Meeting 9 am We have a monthly Bunco night at the dojo! 25th Black Belt Training Nidan & up 8-10 am Everyone is welcome to join us. We try to Use a theme each month asking everyone to Feb 9th Brown Belts testing for Shodan 2-5 pm bring a dish to pass and $5. Watch for the 16th Sensei Club 8-9 am signup sheet on the dojo bulletin board and 17th Bowlathon FUNDRAISER come join the fun! 18th-24th Dojo closed – Winter break 25th Dojo reopens

Mar 2nd Black Belt Training Nidan & up 8-10 am 18th-22nd Promotion Week 24th AAU Tournament – St John’s Fisher, Rochester 29th-31st Easter Weekend – Dojo closed

April 1st-7th Dojo closed – Spring break 6th AAU Regional Qualifier for Nationals, Albany 8th Dojo reopens 13th Florida AAU Tournament 20th Shordan written test 2-5 pm

CNY Karate and Kobudo Newsletter

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Nerf Night was a great success. All the kids had a lot of fun and are looking forward to another. (So are the parents!)

CNY Karate and Kobudo Newsletter

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RESPECT – noun Treating others the way we would like to be treated.

10 Ways to Show RESPECT

1. Use common courtesy and manners (saying “please” and “thank you”). 2. Greet people appropriately (shake hands, say “hello” and “goodbye”). 3. Encourage others’ good qualities. 4. Don’t make fun of other people or call them names. 5. Don’t join in when your friends make fun of someone. 6. Don’t talk about others behind their backs, tell lies about them or tell their secrets. 7. Allow other people to have different beliefs and make different choices, rather than insisting that they believe and choose the things you do. 8. Listen carefully and do your best to understand what another person is saying. 9. Treat everyone fairly. 10. Respect yourself by making good choices in life. To earn respect, we must give respect.

SENSEI CLUB

When it’s time to renew your program, you have a choice between a one year or three year program. The three year program brings many benefits with it. 1. You receive a 10% discount on all merchandise you purchase from the dojo. 2. You receive a 10% discount on dojo seminars and tournaments. 3. You don’t have to bother renewing the program each year. 4. MOST IMPORTANTLY .. You become a member of Sensei Club. This means that once each quarter you are able to attend special classes conducted by Sensei where you will learn techniques not taught in regular classes. You will be working with students of advanced levels. Sensei club members are recognized by the black stripe on their belt.

So when it’s time to renew your program, why not ask to join Sensei Club?

FLU – IT CAN HAPPEN TO YOU

How do you know if you have the flu? Most people know the symptoms: Fever, sore throat, dry cough, muscle aches, runny or stuffy nose, headache and fatigue. It’s the flu and it can knock you off your feet for days. The flu, or influenza, is a highly contagious virus that infects the respiratory tract. Because the flu is a virus, antibiotics are not an effective treatment. But most people recover within a week or two. In the meantime, here are some steps you can take to help ease your symptoms:  Get plenty of rest  Use aspirin or ibuprofen to ease aches and pains you can get, take acetaminophen to reduce fever. (People under 21 shouldn’t take aspirin because it is associated with Reye’s Syndrome). CNY Karate and Kobudo Newsletter

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 Drink plenty of liquids…NON-ALCOHOLIC and NON-CAFFEINATED. Fluids will help to keep you nose from drying and will keep you hydrated. Fruit juices and clear broth will supply necessary nutrients.  Dry coughs can be helped by using over the counter remedies.  Encourage a productive cough – it’s you body’s way of fighting the flu!

Warning Signs Sometimes the flu leads to serious complications. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the flu is associated with about 20,000 deaths and many more hospitalizations each year. Complications of the flu are more likely in older individuals or those with chronic health problems. Watch for these signs indicating that you flu is becoming serious, and see your doctor right away if they occur:  A high fever that lasts for more than 3 days  A cough that persists, gets worse, or is accompanied by severe chest pain or shortness of breath.  A cough producing thick foul smelling reddish brown or green sputum.  Severe ear discomfort  A sever sore throat  In children, rapid or difficult breathing, wheezing or marked agitation or inactivity

Additional reasons to call your physician include inability to recover from the flu (this may indicate a secondary bacterial infection requiring antibiotics) or if you have other serious health concerns, such as heart or lung disease.

A shot offers protection One of the best ways to prevent the flu is by getting a flu shot, ideally between September and mid-November. Remember to be vaccinated annually, because the flu viruses change from year to year. These shots are recommended for the following people:  Those over 65 years old  People with a chronic disease, asthma, suppressed immune system, or severe anemia  People who live in a nursing home or chronic health care facility  Health care providers  Children who take aspirin daily for chronic conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis  People who work in an area where there is a large number of people So let’s all beware and try to keep ourselves healthy and, therefore, happy the winter months.

BLACK BELT CLASS 2012

Saturday, November 10, 2012 was the Seibukai Association Black Belt Test. The following 27 candidates passed their test: East Syracuse Dojo St Luke’s Nidan-Deaver, Edward III Shodan-Bingham, Margaret Nidan-Silkworth, Daniel Shodan-Bingham, Thomas Shodan-Allen, Lana Shodan-Spanfelner, Madison Shodan-Anderson, Jenna Shodan-Stevens, Matthew Shodan-Brown, Cameron Shodan-Capra, Joseph Florida CNY Karate and Kobudo Newsletter

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Shodan-Congelli, Allison Sandan-Antyuhin, Alex Shodan-Dooher, Christopher Sandan-Leo, Joe Shodan-Faigen, Steven Sandan-Liguori, Tee Shodan-Fehlman, Linda Sandan-Hutsko, Robert Shodan-Levy, Bonnie Nidan-Borg, Diana Shodan-Martin, Brandon Shodan-Hayes, Emily Shodan-Neathery, Dakota Shodan-Morell, Avery Shodan-Neathery, John Shodan-Vielhauer, Susan

If you see any of these people, be sure to congratulation them on their wonderful achievement!

OKINAWAN GOJU RYO PRECEPTS

The founder of Goju Ryu Karate- Do, Grandmaster Chojun Miyagi, was bestowed the title of ‘BUSHI’ or gentleman warrior. Miyagi Shihan would always, in simple language. Explain “bujutsu”, or martial arts, and talk about the way people should live and about the order of Nature. He was a austere seeker of Truth who, through his training in martial arts, searched for how human beings should be. As people who have received Bushi Miyagi’s discipline, or who now succeed to his legacy, we must be aware that SENSEI is always with us and severely discipline ourselves and continue training. GOJU-RYU (hard-soft style) as developed by MIYAGI, has a double Chinese heritage. Miyagi’s teacher, the honorable Grandmaster KANRYO HIGASHIONNA, studied Chinese boxing (KUNG FU) in China for thirty years and was founder of -TE, an improved art which combined the good points of OKINAWAN KARATE with KUNG-FU. Miyagi went to China after having mastered NAHA-TE and studied Chinese PAKUA (a soft internal system) which he later combined with NAHA-TE to form GOJU- RYU. CNY Karate and Kobudo Newsletter

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We there take the words of Grandmaster MIYAGI to heart as the precepts of GOJU-RYU and recite them here: 1: IT SHOULD BE KNOWN THAT SECRET PRINCIPLES OF GOJU-RYU EXIST IN THE “”. “Kata”, or forms, are not simply an exhibition of form, they are concrete manifestations of techniques that can be transformed at any time to any form at will and in which the essence of Karate has assumed a definite form. Realize that the kata are a crystallization of the essence of Karate and go back and train hard with the mind of a beginner (Shoshin). You should not neglect this kind of (kata) training as something simple and rustic (primitive), for it is only through them that you will reach Gokui, the essential teachings. 2. GOYU-RYU KARATE-DO IS A MANISFESTATION WITHIN ONE’S OWN SELF OF THE HARMONIOUS ACCORD TO THE UNIVERSE. As supple a a willow, as solid aas MountTai (Mountain of Chinese poetry), it is when the two extremes of hard and soft are wholly united as one body that the unshakable form of the elemental harmony of Heaven and Earth will evolve. This harmony of hard and soft can be equated with the order of Nature and the oneness of the Universe. Through the Way of Goju-Ryu Karate-Do we will be able to express the harmony of Nature within ourselves. 3. THE WAY OF GOJU-RYU KARATE-DO IS TO SEEK THE WAY OF VIRTUE. In Goju-Ryu Karate-Do, through training the body and the spirit, we try to cultivate the ideal human nature of physical and spiritual union. Originally, in the way of strategy, there was the concept “to win”, but to win on account of Virtue is the ultimate goal. Therefore, anyone who aspires to this way must not forget the Chinese character “Nin”, or to endure. Heighten one’s own Virtue, master the strategy of winning without fighting and seek for the ultimate secret.

You know you’re practicing Karate too much if you:

 You open and close doors with spinning . CNY Karate and Kobudo Newsletter

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 You try to back fist the correct floor button on the inside of the elevator, based on your memory of the button's location, before you get in far enough to see it.  You use various strikes to turn lights off and on.

AAU Successful in Albany

On December 8, 2012, twenty of our AAU team members participated in a pre-qualifying tournament in Albany. They brought home a total of 40 awards! Their next competition will be a qualifying competition in March to be held in Albany.

Avery, Sianna- Kata participation award, tied 4th place Bingham, Seth- Kobudo Bronze, Kata Bronze, Bronze Brigande, Kailey-Kata Silver and Kumite Gold Cameron, Devlin-Kata Gold & Kumite Silver Cameron, Macsen – Kumite Gold Capra, Joseph – Kata Silver, Kumite Gold Congelli, Allison – Kata Silver, Kumite Gold Congelli, Emily – Kata Silver, Kumite Silver Crane, Alyssa – Kobudo Silver, Kata Silver, Kumite Silver Frigon, Conner – Kata Silver, Kumite Bronze Tie Houseknecht, Kelly – Kobudo Gold, Kata Gold, Kumite Silver Hunt, Andi – Kobudo Silver, Kata Gold Lyons, Michael – Kobudo Silver, Kata Gold Neathery, Dakota – Kata Bronze, Kumite Silver Parkis, Skylar – Kata Gold, Kumite Gold Tetu, Anykalee – Kata Gold, Kumite Gold Tetu, Ezrielle – Kata Silver, Kumite Bronze Tie CNY Karate and Kobudo Newsletter

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Tetu, Hanna – Kata Gold, Kumite Bronze Tie Usiatynski, Noah – Kata Silver, Kumite Gold White, Jesse – Kobudo Gold, Kata Silver, Kumite Gold

Meet Sensei Labatte The following is based on an interview with Sensei conducted by Miss Freedman, an 11 year old Brown Belt.

Sensei Labatte originally began Karate when he was 10 years old. At that time, his only choices were Karate or Judo. He decided that Karate looked like more fun. Although he’s always studied Karate at CNY Karate, he did study Aikido and Judo at other dojo’s. Currently Sensei has his 8th degree Black Belt in Karate and 6th degree in Kobudo. (There are a total of 10 degrees.) When he is ready to test for his next degrees, he must travel to to test. His favorite block is Kake-uke because you can do anything with it. The Front Kick is his favorite kick because it’s right in front of the person. He also prefers the Straight . Of all the weapons, his favorite is the Bo because you can make a Bo out of anything, examples are a broom or ice scraper. To become a Sensei, one must have all the qualifications of a first degree Black Belt and demonstrate the ability to teach. Currently, Sensei students have become Sensei’s in Florida, New Jersey, Buffalo and Rochester. The thing he enjoys most about being a Sensei is watching the students develop and the excitement of their achievements. When asked if he preferred to work with children or adults, he replied that it depended upon his mood. Children are more fun but he can go deeper into the material with adults. His advice to Karate students is to train, train, train, train, train…train hard! When not at the dojo, Sensei enjoys spending time with his family, playing the guitar and reading. He and his wife, Karen, will be married 20 years in February they have 3 sons. The oldest son, Alex, is a member of the Secret Service at the White House and has his Black Belt. His second son, Nick, a Junior in High School, is seen frequently at the dojo. He is currently training for his 2nd degree Black Belt. The youngest of Sensei’s boys is Christian, a freshman in high school. Christian is a basketball and lacrosse player. Sensei enjoys dining out. He likes both Chinese and Japanese food and he is excited about PF Chang’s coming to Syracuse! He’s also been seen at the Red Lobster and there are rumors that he enjoys apple pie and zucchini bread. For the future, Sensei hopes to see the dojo and its students continue to grow.

CNY Karate and Kobudo Newsletter

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Q: Why is Santa so good at Karate?

A: Because he has a Black Belt

“PURE HEART” IN AMERICA

Once in a while, an organization is born upon principles of the founding fathers of Karate. Love, respect, and self-discipline are its ‘kun’. Couple this with a gentle peoples’ overwhelming desire to promote Okinawa’s most cherished gift to the world, Karate, and you have Seibukai or “Pure Heart”.

Founder Seibukai Organization – Kinei Nakasone

Founded at Okinawa City, in the middle of in February 1996, Seibukai founder, Sensei Kinei Nakasone simply says, “My purpose for teaching Karate is to maintain Okinawa Goju Ryu Karate and ensure its continuous development. This is my duty and responsibility.” The Okinawan people have long accepted the responsibility for ensuring Karate’s survival in the modern world. And while many people would debate that Karate’s practicality has diminished with the development of sophisticated weaponry, any Okinawan would tell you that you missed the real lessons of Karate. Sensei Nakasone believes that “Karate is mental and spiritual training that teaches courtesy, cooperation, and patience.” These are necessary for an individual to function as a productive member of society. Born in 1936 in Goya, Okinawa City, Okinawa, Sensei Nakasone began studying Karate at the age of 20. His first instructor, Sensei , was a senior student of Master Chojun Miyagi, the founder of Goju Ryu Karate-Do. Sensei Nakasone began his training using the uniquely Okinawan, time proven methods of Basics, Kata, and Kumite. And, as always, this was supplemented by Hojo Undo or supplementary exercises. As head of the Seibukai, Sensei Nakasone strives to ensure Karate’s survival by promoting these traditional methods of training for both mind and body.

CNY Karate and Kobudo Newsletter

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American Honbu Dojo – CNY Karate

CNY Karate and Kobudo school has been named the Hunbu Dojo in the United States. It is a great honor for our school as we are the ‘Home Base’ for the Seibukai Organization here in America. What this means is that our school becomes the headquarters for other Goju Ryu Dojos in the United States to join the Seibukai Organization in Okinawa and to follow its precepts and guidelines. Not very many Dojos ever achieve the honor of representing Okinawa directly, especially here in North America. Sensei Labbate is the reason we have this honor. Throughout his ‘Karate Career’ he has shown the Okinawans his dedication, his humility, his patience and perseverance, to the Art of Karate. We are deeply indebted to him and hope to give him the same respect, honor and loyalty that he has given to the Karate Masters throughout his career.

Successful Seminars

On November 3, 2012, the dojo held two successful seminars. Both were open to the public and everyone seemed to enjoy them. The first seminar was on daily physical fitness. Adults and Juniors attended this seminar and learned a great deal from it. After a lunch break, there was a Board Breaking Seminar conducted by Sensei. This was open to people of all ages and everyone had fun until they actually ran out of boards. The kids all left with big smiles on their face and an armful of broken boards. Watch for more of these great Seminars!

Q: How many karate ka’s does it take to change a light bulb?

A: An infinite number, because they all come empty handed.

CNY Karate and Kobudo Newsletter

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FIRST AND TEN COMMANDMENTS A new book by Curtis Eichelberger examines how NFL players reconcile their deep faith with on-field violence.

Tim Tebow may grab the most headlines but a growing number of football players (from Matt Hasselbeck to Aaron Rodgers) now openly profess their deep religious belief. In his new book, Men of Sunday; How Faith Guides the Players, Coaches & Wives of the NFL (Thomas Nelson, Inc.), Curtis Eichelberger shares their stories while examining the role religion plays in American’s most popular sport. In this excerpt, he writes of how former Chicago Bears middle linebacker Mike Singletary tried to answer the question he and other devout players often ask themselves: How can men who crack each others’ skulls claim to turn the other cheek? It was 40 degrees, with a stiff wind blowing off Lake Michigan, when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicked off to the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on Nov. 19, 1989. The Bucs were 3-7 and suffering like most years in the 80’s, while the Bears, 6-4 and just four seasons removed from a Super Bowl win, were on the precipice of a six-game losing streak that would send them toward the bottom of their division. As the game neared the end of the opening quarter, Tampa Bay had the ball 1st and 10 on its own 32-yard line when Bucs quarterback Vinny Testaverde dropped back to pass. Running back Sylvester Stamps, a sixth year player out of Jackson State, ran a short pattern across the middle and had turned back to make eye contact with Testaverde when – he never saw it coming. Bears middle linebacker Mike Singletary, a ferocious hitter, had spotted the receiver out of the corner of his eye and was running toward him at a dead print when Stamps turned to spot the ball. The collision was brutal, turning Stamps into a crumpled, motionless mass. “His eyes rolled back into his head,” Singletary recalls. “His tongue fell out of his mouth. He didn’t move.” Singletary was scared. He’d watched hundreds of opponents return to the huddle glassy-eyed, unable to recall their name. But this was different. He was afraid he’d done real damage.

SINGLETARY DECIDED IT WAS HIS RESPONSIBILITY TO GOD TO PLAY AS HARD AS HE COULD.

The linebacker took a knee and began praying. “No one knew what to say,” Singletary says. “It looked bad. And I thought to myself, “What am I doing? Something is wrong with this. I waited and watched until it looked like he was going to be okay, and then I refocused on my job. We never spoke.” Having spent years sending players back to the huddle babbling incoherently, Singletary found himself at a crossroads: Could he be the Christian he aspired to be and still play the game he loved? “I was thinking, Lord, I love You so much, and I’m out here hurting people, and I don’t want to do that. Am I wrong in what I’m doing? Is this sending the wrong message? I was really wrestling over whether I wanted to continue playing the game.” In the end, he decided it was his responsibility to God to play as hard as he could and make the best of the talents the Lord had given him. “What it came down to,” he says, “is that this is my gift. I didn’t want to hurt anybody. I was playing the game as hard as I could to honor the Lord. I always said, Lord, every play I’m going to give You everything I have. From the bottom of my feet all the way to the top of my head, every tackle, every block. If the ball was thrown a hundred yards away, I was going to run as hard as I could run to get there. I thought about one thing, and that’s giving God what Jesus Christ gave for me on the cross-everything. That’s how I was going to play. And I was at peace with that.”

CNY Karate and Kobudo Newsletter

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Upcoming Fundraising Events Support of CNY Karate’s 50th Birthday this September

Our fundraising is continuing for our birthday celebration. To date, we’ve raised $11,000 towards our goal of $15,000. None of this would be possible without the help of so many volunteers. Thank you to all who helped with the Bake Sale. Our next major fundraiser will be the exciting CNY Karate Bowlathon on Sunday, February 17th at 4:00 pm at Bowl Mor Lanes in East Syracuse. Last year’s inaugural Bowlathon was a HUGE success with over 100 CNY Karate members, their families and friends participating. Look for upcoming announcements and posters for details. PLEASE KEEP THOSE BOTTLES AND CANS COMING! WE APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT!!

Wear Your School Spirit! New “CNY 50th Anniversary” apparel at the dojo! Also check out the store displays for your needed martial arts items. If we don’t have it in stock, see Sensei so he can order it for you! We greatly appreciate you supporting our store and school!