I have just completed lesson #9 and completed the assignment of watching the documentary on Buck. That was a great story with so many emotions to consider. No sooner had I finished that when a story aired regarding a poet who had been a muay tai fighter. I find it surprising that so much empathy can come from pain both physical and mental. Here is some info to Master a poetry book. enjoy ! The debut collection from Simon Shieh, Master is a stark, surreal, and imagistic reckoning with a traumatic past. Master follows the speaker's struggle with masculinity from a martial arts school in upstate New York to a boxing academy in Beijing. Language emerges in this collection not as a neutral witness to a boy’s subjugation, but as the very tool of hegemony, though one which also holds the key to its own undoing, and therefore to freedom. As much as Master is the story of pain, it is also a journey to healing, illuminating that while violence can be our patrimony, it does not have to be our destiny.

I thought of this last night and went to put it on here but got busy with something else and soon forgot. Then the thought came back this morning, making me think maybe this is the time this concept was to come foreward. For many years there has been a saying out there that went "live the kata" What is your idea of what that means? If we followed the council to live the kata we are learning what would that mean? I know in kenpo we don't use the word kata, we would say form. At least i havnt heard the word come up. Someone who has a background in other styles could probably explain better than I can. I understood a kata to be an exercise in motion going to 4, later 8 sides, what in kenpo we would call form 1 and form 2 then kicking set etc. Did I explain it right? So if this is the form, kata, how does that translate into life? How do we act in a way that someone with a trained eye would say that person really puts the form, kata into life? In my case, and i don't work on forms as much as I should but I need to finish learning form 2 and when it comes to form 1 I am trying to do it smoother, without jerky motions. I'm slower than most but my goal is to go at a bit slower pace but not stop or slow down and be steady. Hopefully I can increase speed but not lose steadiness, sureness, gracefulness,etc. Tai chi and yoga have influenced me that way. So in my case how would the form influence me? By incorporating a slow yet steady approach I become learn forms but more important become someone known for being steady and firm. How do you try to incorporate forms, katas into life? If you come from a background other than kenpo, how have you incorporated what you learned there? It would espically be interesting to hear from those that came from other styles How do you live the kata?

Hi Ambassadors, Baer and I want to give you an update on our progress. Last year, we had to upgrade all our technology because our equipment was outdated and some of it even stopped working altogether. Since we live in a remote area, overnight shipping can be anything but overnight. Additionally, if there’s an issue with an order we make each item can take lengthy delays to arrive. The good news is that as of late November and prior to our December Tucson Arizona training we were completely upgraded with the technology that we needed to produce the lessons effectively and efficiently. Needless to say, we were pumped about returning to our mountain and the winter conditions of hibernation so we could buckle down and get things moving with the new lessons. As the snow and storms piled up we began working on several lessons at the same time; the Philosophy Course lesson 13 Overview, and several lessons in the History Course. Just when things started to roll our plumbing went kaput and in short we were without plumbing and running water for nearly 3 weeks from Christmas to mid January. Not a small issue. It really threw off our creative edge. After solving that major problem our primary goal was to focus on finishing the Philosophy Course Overview lesson 13. This is a critical lesson as it is foundational to the Paxtial Arts System and we plan to use it to market and bring awareness to the Paxtial Arts. We are also upgrading the sound and lesson material for lesson 2 Formula as this was desperately needed. The early lessons were produced on a shoestring and a dime. Sound quality was horrible and it haunted us. There are 12 Chapters (Glyphs through Mindsync) in the Philosophy Course Overview lesson. This lesson in particular must contain a comprehensive and condensed summary of each lesson in the Philosophy Course and we completely guesstimated wrong the amount of time and creative brainwork it would require to get it done right. As we dove into it we realized how important this first Philosophy Course is in the Paxtial Arts System. The good news is that with the new tech and program that we have acquired to produce the lessons, the video quality is vastly improved. The discouraging part is that it is taking much longer than expected. We have been working diligently every day but we had no idea the requirements of this lesson until we started working on it. Our aged brains are stretched far beyond what we thought containable as libraries of data are ingested while hours are invested schooling on tech then simultaneously outputting concentrated passages of compressed material out for the lesson content. It's just ouch. That being said, we are heartened with all the writings in the forum. We are just blown away by the quality of character in this amazing group of Peacemaker Ambassadors. We love our new Ambassador Emissaries and all that they are contributing in the forum. We just want to point out that Tyros are kids and there are no kids in this Gen 1 circle. We know that everyone involved in this online course has been led here by a force greater than us all and we are thankful for every one of you. We have the best of the best in this circle. We might be the leaders in this journey but we are all pioneers blazing this trail together. In the end this entire curriculum will have everyone's fingerprint written into and embedded in the Curriculum of the Paxtial Arts System. Once this first Paxtial Arts Ambassador Level Curriculum is released in totality it will be HUGE. We anticipate many venues will seek the Paxtial Arts Peacemaker Curriculum and we will make each course available separately as well. The Paxtial Arts System is revolutionary and will become a global force for good. Our aim and goal is to qualify for grant money which can open up future opportunities for us all. The Philosophy Course Lesson 13 Overview video will hopefully kick open that door... We cannot thank you all enough for your patience, support and belief in the Paxtial Arts. We promise that you will not be disappointed in the lesson videos as we work to improve with each production we release. Aloha and Maluhia, Ed and Baer Parker