The Art of the KO

     Inspiration comes to us from many places...sometimes where we least expect it to come from.      I was walking out of a print shop many years ago.  The month was May and it was about 1 week before Mother's day in the US and there was a family of 6 walking past me.      I heard the mother ask her kids, "So for Mother's Day, What are you going to get me?  More aggravation?"      This got me thinking about how we treat others...and I am far from perfect...and a work still in progress:-)...and how treating other in a positive manner can be an uplifting and inspirational experience.  A quote from Zig Zigler comes to mind, "You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want." You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want. Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/z/zig...

          Why is it that the light bulb is associated with creativity or a new idea?  For starters, when we turn on the light...we can now see what was right in front of us...but for some reason...was not very clear.  Secondly, the light bulb also signifies the illumination of the mind through intellectual or spiritual enlightenment.      There are many ways to innovate.   Innovation can be in the form of the verbiage you use in, for example, a restaurant, "Do you want fries with that?"        One particular restaurant started using that phrase about 20 years ago and it has made them millions of $ in their coffers and put millions of pounds of fat on their clientele.  The phrase was innovative...the result...no so much...but we are only talking about innovation here:-)      I recently heard a story about Franchise that had grown its membership by 50% in just 7 months a...

  What is the importance of rank and why are so many people fearful of losing it for one reason or another?   First lets discuss the importance of rank...as I see it.  To me, rank means that you have been training for a period of time, have some degree of proficiency, and have been acknowledged as such.  For me...that's about it.  When I was younger it was all about the rank because all I saw was that those before me put such emphasis on it.  As I get older...rank matters less and less to me, not because I have it, but because the significance on learning...to me...far outweighs the color of my belt. There are many who use rank to keep their students in line, much like our parents would use the "You are not getting desert if you don't behave" punishment.   Years ago a guy came to train with me from another school.  He found out that one of my passions was in breaking down kata and adding the Kyusho to the techniques, ...

Recently I became of aware of some negative things that 2 people had been saying about my life's work.  I had considered one a mentor for many years and the other a colleague of sorts.   I could have taken that negativity and used it in a negative way...which does nothing positive for no one. After talking to a few people about this, they saw the opportunity there to get the positive element out of this situation.  After all...it is all about perspective...no? So I decided to go the positive rout and have some fun with this at the same time. Here is a clip of what I am talking about The best part about this was taking the negative energy from George Dillman and Steve Stewart focusing that energy into the positive realm.  They actually helped me to further define what have been working on for many years. I am actually grateful they did this.  Now I know what their intentions were and I do agree that I am a threat to them because my skills go ...

A few years ago, a competing school opened up right near mine.  This was no big deal until he started attempting to poach students through a variety of means.  None of this worked and he was out of business 6 months to the day of his "grand" opening. His idea of marketing was above the front door and some flyers.  While this could be a good start...there is much more to this and an art unto itself. I myself did not put him out of business.  His business was doomed from the start because he was missing one crucial skill...marketing and/or the foresight to hire someone to help him with this.  Whether you like marketing or not, it is a crucial strategic skill that is necessary to survive the treacherous waters of business.  Just like having grappling and striking skills as a part of your martial arts arsenal...marketing skills and strategies are equally if not more important. These are skills that must be honed and sharpened, the same way the...

Years ago I was reading a martial arts magazine and looking through the advertising section, I noticed an ad for a video series that was using as the main reason to purchase their videos was the 423 techniques that he taught. I personally have trouble remembering what I had for dinner the night before so I remembered this advert.  Some things just stick out in my mind:-)  As I was putting together my signature Kyusho Program...the PinPoint™ Method...I was asked to boil it all down and make it as simple as possible for people to learn quickly. So last week I talked about Kyusho Clutter and I wanted to follow up on that by expanding on how many techniques do you really need? I was also sent a great testimonial by one of my instructors in the UK which also reminded me of this: I just wanted to say a few works of thanks to Mark Kline and his online work.  When I first started out I was chasing the new shiny toy (Kyusho Points) thinking that hte more poin...

It's Spring time in the US, New Jersey specifically, and it is that time of year for Spring Cleaning...to open the windows, let the good air in and the stuffy air out.  I started going through things in closets and rooms that I generally do not use for anything other than storage. Well...the amount of stuff I had brought with me to this house 10 years ago in May + the amount of stuff I have collected over the same time period from my travels around the world and just every day living...WOW!  I have a lot of CRAP ( C oncealed R elocated, A ctual P ossessions). It has been very freeing to get rid of my CRAP.  I have learned from a little bird that if you buy something....you must get rid of something.  I have started to follow this now so that the clutter will not build up. So why am I telling you about my CRAP? As a longtime Kyusho Practitioner (I started Kyusho in 1989) I have seen much in my career as both a student and instructor.  I still consider m...