AKS Quarterly Newsletter

"The Punchline Editorial"

September 2014

School has started and those with children have had to rearrange their schedules, and those of their kids, to accomodate the new time of year and its corresponding activities.  Janie and I are touring in Italy as I write this editorial.  We spent a great week in Germany prior to flying into Italy on the 23rd of September.  It was the occasion of the German AKS's annual training and testing seminar and weekend.

The weekend started with black belt testing for one going to 1st Dan, three from 2nd to 3rd, one to 5th and one to his master level rank of 6th.  It was clear there had been a lot of hard work and preparations made for this weekend on the part of all who tested.  I can only say I was proud of each and everyone of them.  They did themselves and the AKS proud.  Once again, I was able to meet old friends and make new ones.  The time, training, and sore muscles were well worth it.  Janie chided me for not training more often and harder.  I can assure you, I paid for it for several days with some very sore muscles.  Our German brothers and sisters are planning their next get together in Bremen, Germany around the same time next year.  Both Janie and I hope to be able to once again join them.

As for the AKS in the USA, we'll be having our Fall seminar in West Virginia the weekend of November 1st.  I truly hope to see as many of you there as can make it.  Without our training get togethers throughout the year, we will be hard pressed to continue improving our style and the family style fellowship we've been able to develop since Sensei Lieb passed away eight years ago.  It's up to each of us to do our best at making this happen.

Traits of an AKS Black Belt

It has been my pleasure and privilege to meet and train with almost all of the American Karate System Black Belts.  Many are veteran instructors and competitors who have brought honor and prestige to our organization.  I believe they are as esteemed and talented a group of martial artists as one could find; regardless of style.

There are many differences in that of our august body,⁽¹⁾ but I have often considered what are the common threads?  A Black Belt is earned through sacrifice and hard-work; accompanied by pain and fatigue.  Yet we persevere; maybe just to prove to ourselves we could do it.

I see these as the common threads:

Commitment - No one earns a Black Belt without being 100% committed to training the body and learning more about the martial arts.  The training requires body and mind.  One Black Belt told me that in addition to the six months of outside training before First Dan testing; at the same time they had gone through more personal introspection than they had in their whole life.

Tenacity - A cornerstone of being a Dan rank; obstacles and interruptions are just another hurdle to be surmounted on the way.  Black Belts are not quitters, training requires both physical and mental development to keep the end goal clear.  As we tell our students - in the street there is no quitting.

Loyalty - An ancient martial arts principle often lost in our modern culture.  I am proud to see our Black Belts are loyal to the AKS, to their instructors, and to their students.  Even Black Belts that have gone their own way still pay respect to the teacher that got them started on their martial arts career.

Honor/Respect - These two ideals are united in that you cannot have one without the other.  Regardless of the schools or the geography, the adherence to a code of honorable conduct and respect regardless of rank is a cornerstone of our style.  Sometimes newcomers smile when I refer to a six-year-old as mister or miss.  I remind them that the respect is mutual.  Respect is one of the reasons our veteran Black Belts are adamant in their support of the AKS.  In the beginning, we were told we were not real karate.  When we were not accorded respect, we had to literally fight for it.  Collectively, we did a great job.  Today the AKS is recognized world-wide as one of the first true American Karate organizations, and our Black Belts are held in high regard.

Intelligence - Many of our Black Belts come from higher education, college degrees, extensive post graduate training, even doctorates are replete in our ranks.  Certainly it is not required, but it speaks to the type of personality that earns their AKS Black Belt.  They are success driven and are accomplished in their chosen profession.  I talked with one of our Black Belts who is currently in a service industry job.  He said his peers often bemoan their occupation and demean it's significance.  He said, "This is my job right now, and I am being the best at what I do."

Humility - Humility, like loyalty, is one of the martial art tenets that gets lip service but is seldom practiced as it should be.  I have never had an AKS Black Belt tell me how great a karateka he is, and all the tournaments he/she won, and on, and on.  The best competitors I know don't trumpet their victories but help our students earn their own victories.  Their skill and knowledge becomes evident when they put their uniform on and step onto the floor.  They practice their convictions and let their actions speak for themselves.

Compassion - This is the last element in an AKS Black Belt's arsenal of traits, and maybe the most important.  Compassion for our art, compassion for our students, and compassion for the AKS.  This is the thread that runs through all our clubs, the one we pass on to our students.  We want them to continue the legacy of training and sharing knowledge when they become the teachers.

I am sure there are more values that could be added to this list.  I think what is listed here is what we share in common, and what we strive to pass on to our future American Karate System Black Belts.

Dave Thomas
Asst Chief Instructor

Remembering Ernie

Mr. Jamison Wymer posted this video in Facebook that I would like to share with you here.  Bill Wallace reminds me so much of Ernie Lieb in his enthusiasm, energy, and pure enjoyment of karate!  Watch and enjoy!

A little insight on tournament kicking from Champion and Master Mr. Bill  "Superfoot" Wallace.

This is an early picture of Mr. Lieb during competition at an Ed Sell tournament in Detroit Michigan in 1967.   Mr. Lieb (on the right) was fighting a tough midwest opponent named Robert Moore.   The referee on the left was Jim McClain.   The center referee (wearing gray) was Mr. Kennedy.   Both were black belts in the United States Karate Association (USKA).

At this tournament, Mr. Lieb defeated Wally Slocki and Ted Martin from Canada, and Bill Wallace for the Grand Championship.   This is just one of the many tournaments Mr. Lieb fought in, and won, against many top ranked black belt competitors of the day.

PROMOTIONS!!

Congratulations to all students who have been promoted this past quarter, and to those we've missed in prior newsletters.  Best wishes in your continued training!

[ Note: I have chosen to use this space as further emphasis to the origins of our style.   This article is from the September, 2005 issue of the Punchline and was written by Ernie Lieb. ]
AKS Webmaster

More A.K.S. History

Dear A.K.S. members and friends.

Below are some very important pictures of mine.  They represent an important part of the Martial Arts history in America.

The first picture, clockwise, is of Cihak H. Cho (gentleman with hat), Jhoon Rhee, Ed Parker, Ernie Lieb, Khee Wang Kim and others.  It was the beginning of the Koreans in America breaking away from their own S. Korean Tae Kwan Do organization.  The following day, they established their own International Tae Kwan Do association.  Mr. Ed Sell and I attended that meeting.  We both declined to be a part of it.  The following year, I put the word "American" in front of everything I did.  But I never broke ties with my teacher, Mr. Kim, of South Korea.  I faced many difficult and frustrating years when I competed if these Korean instructors where judging or refereeing my fights.  Several times, I even challenged them to fight me in the square.  They where not stupid and never did.   My loyalty became known to Chong Woo Lee himself, later head of the Tae Kwan Do association in Korea.  I remember receiving a very kind letter from him for keeping my honor and that of my teacher.  Later on, both organizations made peace with each other.  I am glad for the sake of Tae Kwon Do.

The second picture is of me sitting on top of a very tall American fighter, named Bob Yarborough.  Mr. Julio La Salle is breaking the boards with a high jump kick.  He is the fighter that was rated the East Coast Light Weight Champion out of New York.  He was a student of Cihak H. Cho, also a Ji Do Kwan ["Chi Do Kwan"] instructor.  I beat Mr. La Salle in Boston the previous year.  He was glad he said another guy from the same style won.  Just not glad he lost to an unknown, which is what I was until 1967.  But he was a heck of a sportsman and bought my dinner that evening.  Mr. Cho was not as happy, but he was polite.

So there you have a bit more of American history on how Karate began in our nation.

Best regards,
Ernest H. Lieb. 10th Dan
The American Karate System U.S.A.