POST TERMINATORS STRIKE FROM ALL SIDES! (UKA)

Kenpo Emergency Practically Declared!




"I'll be back!" (From, The Terminator)

Several kenpo people have gone missing. Where are they??? The air is thick and heavy with a presence we can feel but not see. We know they are there.




Suddenly I am called back from the Australian Knitters International Homemade Sock Toss to cover the tragedies unfolding in a martial arts community. UKA turns into a bad movie flick starting the third week in Kenpo Month off on the wrong foot. ("...The other right!" as my instructor would say.) It is this martial arts genre that I enjoy. There is suffering, barriers to overcome and learning to be had by life's lessons. As we say in the press business... I don't know about Cuba though... It is much nicer to watch. Somewhere else, in a land that might be far away for some of us, socks are being tossed. It seems so innocent now.

You have not failed no one Grasshopper, only your own ambition. (Kung Fu: The Movie)

One difficulty is that the movie, or Kenpo Month, should have started with the opening classic story... it could be any one of us having a Grasshopperish flashback. I like the martial arts story in Hidy Ochiai's Book, A WAY TO VICTORY, which is an annotated BOOK OF FIVE RINGS. It points out that people are sometimes defeated first, THEN they fight and lose. Henry Ford said, "Whether you think you can do something or you think you can't, either way, you are right. These lessons could apply to Kenpo Month for any friend or foe.


In this story a boy has to fight a samurai to defend his family's honor. He is 13 years old. Musashi gives the young man this advice:

"Now this is what you must do. When you meet your opponent, hold the short sword in your left and the regular one in your right hand. Carry both swords high above your shoulders as you advance toward your opponent. When the distance between you and your opponent becomes close, stand still and wait for him to attack you first. ..."

[The advice and techniques go on and the boy then practices. Musashi continues]

"Young man, I have one more think to share with you for your absolute victory in the duel. ...
"There is no question that you are going to win in this battle. But you are still young and your opponent is an experienced samurai. I think it is good if I give you and additional power that will make you certain of your victory. That is, I am going to pray to the God of Ants, who will protect you against your opponent for sure. As you stand facing your opponent, just before you advance toward him, remember to look down at the ground where you stand. If an ant is found crawling around near your feet, it means that the God of Ants has listened to my prayer and in now way can you lose."

...Musashi directly mentions in one of his writings, Dokko-Do, "I respect Buddha and gods, but I do not depend on them," which highlights Musashi's absolute belief in self power... Musashi's gesture of praying to the God of Ants ... was a gesture to induce a certain psychological strength in the young samurai.

...The boy walked toward his opponent with a confident manner and with his eyes focused on the opponent at all times. As predicted by Muashi, the opponent thrust out the sword to stab the boy in the chest. The boy blocked it with the sword in his right hand and counter-attacked with the short sword in his left hand. The boy won, successfully avenging his fathers's death and thus restoring honor to his family.

(Pg. 20-21.)

They're Baa-aack" (Poltergeist... One of them.)

This week of Kenpo month has been full of surprises right outside of the box. May 14th marks the return of ExpressDog, the person who set off the fuse for the original UKA strike. He announces his return. "WELL IF YOU ARE GOING TO FINALLY TALK KENPO THAN THE ONE THE REAL EXPRESSDOG01 IS BACK." Despite this surprise return, posting falls off. Dr. Monty Lee, obviously having read Musashi, delivers the crushing blow directly into the lull in posting momentum with this post on May 15th:

From the looks of things so far, only about 25 of the members here have been active during this month of Kenpo. For the most part it's been Kenpo with a few sidebars. However, the "silent" majority is just that........silent. Who knows, maybe the Ultimate Kenpo Alliance has become a paper tiger; over 600 members, yet in all honesty, how many of those 600 are still here?


Morale quickly falls to the bottom, as far as posting goes. Suddenly Dr. Monty Evil is joined by a chorus (2 or more) of postings with everyone agreeing that Kenpo Month is bombing! What does Dr. Evil Monty want? ONE MILLION DOLLARS??? That is still quite a bit of money in this current movie.

May 16 finds UKA with another surprise twist of plot. The Kenpo Month leader agrees that UKA is a paper tiger and appeals not simply for kenpo posts, but just to say hello! This should not be too difficult unless turning from martial arts to Zombie genre film. Perhaps it is a fusion of the two? That would be.... interesting. Zombies are considered slow for martial arts. I am very sorry if I have offended any of my zombie readers, but I believe there are studies. Jarrette Glaz appeals to his troops with the post entitled To All of the 714 Members Here:

I just checked the membership here & it's says that as of May 16, 2006 at 12:20p.m. there are 714 members here.
I'm purposing that all 714 members at least say "Hello" by the May 20th to really see how many members are still here. I'd have to agree with the Papertiger post. It seems to me that a really hardcore base of about 10 members are always active, and about 10 or so on occasion post, and about 3 on a very rare occasion. So, I'm here. Are you?





Members check in and post 17 times the first day, including Monty who posts twice. Shaun of the Dead comes to mind. It is important to note that Shaun of the Dead was a very good movie. This critic recommends it highly. It highlights those funny times in life when you can't tell the zombies from the living.

Jarrette gives Kenpo Month a poor rating. It is hoped by some that Jarrette will hang in there! This is much higher difficulty level than the sock toss, unless you don't already know how to knit! It is not easy being a leader.

Moral appears to be falling like a rock into water. Kickboxers, led once again by General Bunny strike another blow on May 17th:

I've been sitting back & reading. Seems that some of the crew here is just abit "peeved" at us kickboxers. Well, well, well. I say this, If you don't want us, they hey! You don't want us!". It's all good. If you want us to leave, then we will. Only thing, by the time every kickboxer drops his/her membership here, this place will be at least 200 members less. That will leave about 500 more, but really out of that 500, how many are really around? But, if that's what you want, just let me know. I'll be out of here as fast as you can say, "What the heck happened?"



Many people post in support of General Bunny. My favorite is Kiki's response:

so exciting.

SOMEONE HAS TO DO SOMETHING! (Lots of characters scream this in films. Most of the time it is too general of a statement to note who or what film. I have had managers yell that too. I consider it very realistic.)


Will Kenpo Month end on this exciting note? Will there be Kenpo Month II, III and IV! My spine is still tingling. I hurt it in an accident three years ago.





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