Martial Arts & Religion

[sanjuro_ronin]

It's a building with doors. When the Wiccans use the Nave, they pay their rent and there aren't anyone there but the wiccans, so what does it matter?
religion is words and ideas. Application of those is the work in my opinion. I can hear buddhist lectures, christian lectures, taoist, wiccan, neo-pagan etc. It all has something to take away.

What you are saying is akin to not teaching history in the science lab. It's a building.
When I use a toilet, is it no longer suitable to be used by someone else?
My personal opinion is that the real church, temple, is in the heart. Not in a pile of stones. If you look for it in the pile of stones, in my opinion, it will never be found.
We are each a temple. Some, empty with no services or spirit and others active and full of intention. Just my opinion.

So you are ok with someone preaching Islam in a synagogue?
Since it's only a building, we are ok with people proclaiming that the holocaust never happened at the Jewish Research Center?
What I am saying is not "akin to not teaching history in the science lab", since both are school subjects taught in a school.
It is akin to teaching creationism in a evolutionary biology class.

[David Jamieson]

So you are ok with someone preaching Islam in a synagogue?

Yes.

Since it's only a building, we are ok with people proclaiming that the holocaust never happened at the Jewish Research Center?

Straw man, come on man, you are above that. the holocaust happened, not only for jews, but for gypsies, gays, socially undesirable people and several holocausts have happened. the nazis didn't corner the market on wanton destruction of an ethnic group in order to steal their stuff. Crikey, you, me and everyone of European ancestry is guilty of causing the holocaust here when our people wiped out millions of native folk and pressed them down. For pete's sake, Native folk in Canada weren't even allowed the vote until 1961! Those are facts, not beliefs. And see how quickly we can move on from them with knowing. religion? This is not true in the least. It depends entirely on you deciding to believe it or not.

What I am saying is not "akin to not teaching history in the science lab", since both are school subjects taught in a school.
It is akin to teaching creationism in a evolutionary biology class.

No it's not. We are talking about religion after all which is faith based and virtually all of it cannot be qualified or quantified in any real way. hence "faith" creationism can be disproved with scientific evidence, though, it has not be shown that we were not created, or the universe wasn't created. We theorize. The framework of "creationism" is fundamentally deficient of facts and void of reason and is handed out as biblical literalism. In essence, it is a lie. It can be shown to be a lie outright.

No religion is a lie though, nor are they "true". It is either accepted or not accepted. It has never been and never will be factually valid.
And yes, 100 million years from now, it will be rubble. A building. A room with doors is what a building is. The temple is and always has been the person.
In Christian terms: "Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? If any one destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and that temple you are." (1 Corinthians 3:16-17)



In fact, I can find that sentiment in any religion and quite a few philosophies.

So yes, a building is just that. A room with doors.

[sanjuro_ronin]

Yes.
Straw man, come on man, you are above that. the holocaust happened, not only for jews, but for gypsies, gays, socially undesirable people and several holocausts have happened. the nazis didn't corner the market on wanton destruction of an ethnic group in order to steal their stuff. Crikey, you, me and everyone of European ancestry is guilty of causing the holocaust here when our people wiped out millions of native folk and pressed them down. For pete's sake, Native folk in Canada weren't even allowed the vote until 1961! Those are facts, not beliefs. And see how quickly we can move on from them with knowing. religion? This is not true in the least. It depends entirely on you deciding to believe it or not.
No it's not. We are talking about religion after all which is faith based and virtually all of it cannot be qualified or quantified in any real way. hence "faith" creationism can be disproved with scientific evidence, though, it has not be shown that we were not created, or the universe wasn't created. We theorize. The framework of "creationism" is fundamentally deficient of facts and void of reason and is handed out as biblical literalism. In essence, it is a lie. It can be shown to be a lie outright.

No religion is a lie though, nor are they "true". It is either accepted or not accepted. It has never been and never will be factually valid.
And yes, 100 million years from now, it will be rubble. A building. A room with doors is what a building is. The temple is and always has been the person.
In Christian terms: "Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? If any one destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and that temple you are." (1 Corinthians 3:16-17)



In fact, I can find that sentiment in any religion and quite a few philosophies.

So yes, a building is just that. A room with doors.

You seem to be confusing ORGANIZED religion (which is what we are talking about) and "spiritual" religion.
There was a reason that Jesus took the whip to the money lenders in the Temple...

Fact is that a church/synagogue/mosque, etc is not JUST a building to those that frequent it, regardless of how those that do NOT frequent it feel.
To engage in an activity that is against the core of what that building stands for IN that building is, quite simply, wrong.
You are of course free to disagree.

[David Jamieson]

You seem to be confusing ORGANIZED religion (which is what we are talking about) and "spiritual" religion.
There was a reason that Jesus took the whip to the money lenders in the Temple...

Fact is that a church/synagogue/mosque, etc is not JUST a building to those that frequent it, regardless of how those that do NOT frequent it feel.
To engage in an activity that is against the core of what that building stands for IN that building is, quite simply, wrong.
You are of course free to disagree.

I do disagree.
If you're focus is on the external, then you simply are not practicing your faith really.
Your worshiping a false idol. In this case a building.

In your example of teaching Islam in a Synagogue, the fact that only Muslims are receiving the teaching means that the building is used as a mosque, which then gets turned back to a synagogue as soon as the Torah is brought out again.

It's not the building man. It's what is in your heart and mind and not the geographical place where you kneel with others. And if what's in your heart and mind is hatred towards one construct in favour of another, then in reality, that's "your" religion. I see nothing at all in Christianity that raises a building above service to god in the actions of yourself. For that matter, I don't see that in any religion, organized or otherwise.

[sanjuro_ronin]

I do disagree.
If you're focus is on the external, then you simply are not practicing your faith really.
Your worshiping a false idol. In this case a building.

In your example of teaching Islam in a Synagogue, the fact that only Muslims are receiving the teaching means that the building is used as a mosque, which then gets turned back to a synagogue as soon as the Torah is brought out again.

It's not the building man. It's what is in your heart and mind and not the geographical place where you kneel with others. And if what's in your heart and mind is hatred towards one construct in favour of another, then in reality, that's "your" religion. I see nothing at all in Christianity that raises a building above service to god in the actions of yourself. For that matter, I don't see that in any religion, organized or otherwise.

It is not about raising a building or anything above one's faith, it is quite simply about respecting what an institution has says it stands for.
Try opening an rub-n-tug in a university and lets see how that goes for you.

If a church stands for A, B and C and is against D, E and F, then D, E and F have no place in a church, it is just that simple.

[GeneChing]

When I use a toilet, is it no longer suitable to be used by someone else?

You know, Madonna gets a new toilet seat installed in every venue she plays. It's in her rider. And Madonna, well, that's a religious name.

Just sayin...

[David Jamieson]

You know, Madonna gets a new toilet seat installed in every venue she plays. It's in her rider. And Madonna, well, that's a religious name.

Just sayin...

Famous people. Meh, what are they gonna do. I am of the hoi polloi.

SR- The "institution" is the seat of division. That is the real issue. That an institution would think for one minute it is superior or inferior based on the usage of a structure is simply bizarre.

My church is the world. My temple is my heart. To seek my god is akin to a fish looking for water. Hence my inability to understand the investment into superficial structures. For instance, as a Mason, a lodge can be held anywhere. It is only dependent on members participating in the work and not on a building. Lodges are built on consecrated ground. In the case of no building, the temple is consecrated in each of us as that is where the spirit of god resides.

[GeneChing]

Life News: Health Life: Health & Fitness Life: Religion
Mighty ministry: Oklahoma City preacher combines Bible study, martial arts
The Rev. Tom Lyda’s taekwondo class at New Covenant Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Oklahoma City combines Bible study with martial arts.
by Carla Hinton Modified: January 3, 2015 at 9:00 pm • Published: January 3, 2015


photo - The Rev. Tom Lyda, dressed in a black taekwondo uniform, conducts a Bible study before leading his taekwondo class at New Covenant Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), 12000 N Rockwell, where he is senior pastor. Photo by Carla Hinton, The Oklahoman The Rev. Tom Lyda, dressed in a black taekwondo uniform, conducts a Bible study before leading his taekwondo class at New Covenant Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), 12000 N Rockwell, where he is senior pastor. Photo by Carla Hinton, The Oklahoman

Ministry and martial arts go hand-in-hand at one northwest Oklahoma City church.

At 5:30 a.m. each weekday, the Rev. Tom Lyda dons his martial arts uniform to teach a taekwondo class at New Covenant Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), 12000 N Rockwell Ave.

By Sunday, he’s in the pulpit delivering sermons as the church’s senior pastor.

Lyda, a taekwondo black belt, is one preacher who packs a powerful punch.

“This is soul, body and mind — it’s the whole thing,” he said of his martial arts class.

Lyda said he started the free taekwondo class about two years ago.

The men who currently participate said the early morning class time was the only time they could all get together. Lyda said the class has proven to be popular despite its start time.

Lyda said the class is affiliated with Team Chip Tae Kwon Do centers, based in Abilene, Texas, where he was taught. The school’s co-owners, Chip and Glyn Ann Townsend, visit the Oklahoma City group every couple of months to certify and test the participants, Lyda said.

The group begins each class with prayer and Bible study using the “Jesus Calling” devotional series. Then, Lyda leads participants through stretches before they begin practicing taekwondo techniques such as defensive one-steps.

The preacher said they also do some cross training, and the goals of the class are to learn personal safety while becoming physically fit.

“It’s wonderful because we pray for one another and that support bonds us,” Lyda said. “We start with a spiritual connection, then in class through taekwondo, we are connecting physically and pushing each other to be a better person.”

Friendship and fitness

About six men are taking the class, and they have different reasons for participating.

Nick Nicoll, 63, said he was fascinated by martial arts when he was a child but never got the opportunity to try it.

He said the class is beneficial in more ways than one.

“It gives you pride in learning new things. My goal is to get my black belt by the time I’m 65,” Nicoll said.

Ethan Allen, 60, said the class has helped him maintain his physical fitness.

“The camaraderie and the physical exercise is great,” he said. “I dropped 30 pounds, and everyone else has too.”

Brad Swartout, 59, said he ran track at the University of Oklahoma and likes to work out, so the martial arts class is one more way to keep himself in shape.

“It’s a challenge for me,” Swartout said.

Faith connections

Lyda said the congregation considers the martial arts class an important outreach ministry. Not only does it bring men together for Bible study and physical fitness, it also brings them together to support a church ministry called Widow’s Walk.

Lyda said taekwondo class participants gather on a regular basis to perform needed tasks for the women in the widows’ group. They also gather for other service projects including painting the church and serving at a pancake breakfast.

Lyda said women in the congregation wanted to learn taekwondo, so he started an evening class for them. Now, men from the early morning class take turns teaching the women’s class, and the church is considering beginning classes for youths soon.

“Respect for one another, self control — there are a lot of connections to our faith here,” Lyda said.

There are more pix and a vid if you follow the link.

[GeneChing]

Is this the new trend of 2015? I doubt it. I just wrote that because I need some characters outside the quote to make the post stick.

New Fort Mill church brings Bible and martial arts classes

By Kelly Lessard

news@fortmilltimes.com January 4, 2015 Updated 37 minutes ago


Pastor Kendall Walker helped relocate his church, Fort Mill Community Bible Church, in the fall from Pineville, N.C. KELLY LESSARD — news@fortmilltimes.com

Fort Mill Community Bible Church, 125 E. Elliott St., Fort Mill, holds Sunday worship service at 10:45 a.m. Sunday school starts at 9:15 a.m. Wednesday night meal begins at 6 p.m. followed by Bible study at 7 p.m. Call 803-389-5970.

FORT MILL — If you spend any time with Pastor Kendall Walker of Fort Mill Community Bible Church, you will hear the phrase “God is good” pass from his lips more than once.

While he’s only been with the small church a few months, he has spent more than a quarter of a century leading churches all over the country. He said he is driven by a passion to help Christians articulate what they believe and why.

“The average Christian out there is ill-prepared in our faith,” Walker said. “If I asked, ‘What are the essentials of the Christian faith?’ Most people couldn’t tell me.”

“They need to know their faith and know it well,” Walker said.

The church, which moved from Pineville, N.C., to Fort Mill in the fall, will host a “How to Study the Bible” class open to the community. In addition, Walker will lead his members in Bible study on Wednesday nights, teaching basic doctrines.

Church members plan to go door-to-door this month conducting 30-second surveys created by Walker. The surveys gauge “the pulse of the community” to find out where people stand in their view of God, religion and the Bible.

Walker said since moving to the South, he has noticed “the tragedy of pastors in it for the money,” citing the notorious PTL Club of the now defunct Heritage USA in Fort Mill.

“PTL ministries have caused a lot of damage,” Walker said. “I’m trying to undue some of that damage.”

Prior to coming to Fort Mill, Walker spent time as a ministry consultant, training church leadership teams and helping churches grow membership. The veteran pastor holds three seminary degrees and has ministered in Massachusetts, California, Texas and now the Carolinas. Walker is an online professor with Liberty University, the largest Christian university in the world, boasting more than 100,000 residential and online students.

Although he has church-growth expertise, Walker said he is not looking to build a “mega-church” in Fort Mill.

“Some of them are really good,” Walker said. “The only problem is oftentimes it’s hard to connect.”

Walker, who has been married to wife Jennette for 24 years – the couple have two grown daughters – said he would be happy to see his church grow from its current 30 members to 250. He would also like to see more youth involved, he said. Church leaders are brainstorming event ideas for next year, including karaoke and movie nights.

But the program that really has Walker excited is the new martial arts class to begin Jan. 8. Walker, who holds three black belts, will be teaching the class. Walker has always taught martial arts to his church members who wanted to learn, he said, but this is the first time he is offering free classes to the public.

In addition to helping adults, the martial arts program will be “a safe haven for kids and an opportunity for them to learn discipline and focus,” Walker said.

His ultimate goal in offering the class is “kids would turn around and give their lives to Christ.”

Walker has been on a personal journey in 2014 finding a strengthened faith in God following his cancer diagnosis, and the loss of his father and brother, he said. Walker underwent prostate cancer surgery in August and said the prognosis is good.

“If something happens to me, I’ll be in the presence of Christ,” Walker said. “Nothing is beyond His control.”

[GeneChing]

Luv this photo.

Meet the Priest, Who is Also an Expert at Packing a Punch or Two
By Archita Suryanarayanan
Published: 22nd January 2015 06:00 AM
Last Updated: 21st January 2015 11:07 PM


PHOTO: MARTIN LOUIS

CHENNAI: He first reveres Goddess Ashtalakshmi, a close second is Bruce Lee. His daily routine involves running on the beach for an hour from 4 am, an hour of karate practice, his daily duties at the temple, purohitham rounds for house warming and naming ceremonies, ending his day with another hour of karate. K Sheshadri (54), a priest at the Ashtalakshmi Temple, has the unusual distinction of probably being the only such priest with a black belt.

“As a son of a Brahmin temple priest, I was supposed to be non-violent and give all my attention to religion. But I wanted to learn self-defence and was fascinated by Karate movies that I watched as a boy — Return of the Dragon and The Shaolin Drunk Monkey,” he says, sitting at his house with a veshti-angavastram and a naamam on his forehead.

Sheshadri would secretly learn Karate tips from a Nepali watchman without his father’s knowledge. After his marriage in 1991, he decided he didn’t want to let go of his Karate dream. But he could not learn in Chennai as his father still disapproved. So, he would travel to an uncle’s house in Mayavaram, four or five times a month, and spend the whole day at an academy there. “It was hard work, I was past 30 then; we had to climb bridges holding sacks and practise punches,” he recalls. He did this for eight years, and after some media attention, his father got to know about his pursuit. “But by that time, he was happy and proud. He is everything to me,” says Shesadri, looking down at his mobile phone, which has the picture of his aged father as the wallpaper.

Taking part in numerous karate competitions, he even got an opportunity to go abroad. “But accordingly to our religious texts, I cannot cross the seas. If I do, I cannot be a temple priest again,” he says. He has never even eaten out in his life.

“But we get food from out for my children,” he says with a smile. His son pursued Karate till the brown belt, and his 14-year daughter pursues yoga in a big way. “I taught them karate from their childhood,” he says. Besides Karate, he also knows kick-boxing and silambam.

He also conducted classes for some time, but gave up because of lack of time. “But my retirement age is nearing. After that, I will definitely conduct classes. I will never use karate for earning money, I would do it for free,” he says. He adds that money doesn’t come easily, especially when there are house rents and other expenses, and not much of a pension.

With four levels of black belt certification cleared, he wishes to go even further.

“I have a lot more to do. We have a long way to go to get as good as the Japanese,” he adds.

[GeneChing]

Pastor using martial arts to teach biblical principles
By MICHAEL W. PANNELL
Sun News correspondent February 18, 2015


Jim Scott presents Cody Turner, a 10th-grader at Northside High School, with an orange belt. It’s Taekwondo’s second-level belt and represents a sunrise.

Victory Taekwondo

Address: 901 Gunn Road, Warner Robins
Phone: 478-953-9518
Leadership: Jim Scott
Worship: Monday, Wednesday and Friday 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Website: www.victory4himtkd.com

WARNER ROBINS -- When Jim Scott teaches strikes, punches, roundhouse kicks and other taekwondo moves, he’s got more in mind than the stereotypes people get from martial arts movies.

Scott said he’s thinking fitness, character development and yes, self-defense.

He said he’s also thinking biblical principles and the opportunity to share Jesus Christ with others.

Victory Taekwondo is more than a taekwondo school. It’s a ministry of Shady Grove Baptist Church, where Scott has served as pastor since 2012.

“It’s an outreach ministry we started in January that teaches biblical principles through practical application,” Scott said. “We teach perseverance, self-control, confidence, respect, humility and other virtues to all ages, demographics and races. It’s a way to share the Gospel and God’s word through a fitness program a lot like they do with Upward basketball.”

Scott said like Upward, the school charges fees, but it is a nonprofit outreach serving Christians and non-Christians. He hopes one day it will pay its own way at its facility on the corner of Gunn Road and U.S. 41 -- just a mile or two down the road from Shady Grove’s church campus -- but for now the church foots the bill.

“We’re associated with the American Taekwondo Association,” Scott said. “ATA has two ways of approaching their schools. One is to be attached to an organization such as the YMCA, a fitness center or a church. When the Lord laid this on our hearts that was the obvious choice.”

Scott said he first got involved with taekwondo in his 20s as a young man in the Air Force looking for something positive to do with his spare time. He even dreamed of becoming an instructor.

But he said those dreams, and his involvement with taekwondo, faded as career, family and other demands increased.

“But I got involved again last year,” he said. “My youngest son was taking lessons at Perry taekwondo, and I was just another one of the parents sitting on the sideline watching. But I got up and got back at it.”

That was in June, and Scott said he wasn’t sure where it would lead.

“I had these thoughts that God might use it, but I wasn’t sure,” he said. “I decided to compete in ATA’s world event that July, but since I’d been out of the sport for 25 years I was skeptical about how I’d do. But I did well. I placed third in my 40-49 age group classification among second and third degree black belts. I was dumbfounded and started feeling God really was calling me back into it.”

Scott began working toward ATA instructor qualifications, and the church started talking about using taekwondo as an outreach.

But using eastern martial arts? A potentially violent sport for outreach?

Scott said he sees no contradictions.

“ATA is a pretty Americanized form of taekwondo,” he said. “The martial arts were developed by farmers to defend themselves from aggression, not to be aggressors. Quite honestly, because of my role in the military I’ve dealt with some of these issues before and seen how Scripture promotes the idea of national defense and of people defending the poor and oppressed. The Bible points out that God is ultimately our defender. We teach true meekness, power under control with humility. Plus, what we’re really doing day-to-day is simply strengthening our mind and body, which is the temple of the Holy Spirit. It’s not an offensive art. We’re a family oriented martial arts school that believes in biblical values re-enforced through taekwondo. Aggression is not tolerated.”

Plus, he said, it’s a lot of fun.

The church’s vision is that Victory Taekwondo grow to become a community center of sorts offering various opportunities for young and old. Scott said that’s already taking shape as Ron Shively, a longtime instructor with Karate for Christ, also is using the facility. Shively offers classes including a rape awareness class and a free tai chi class for seniors.

Scott, who is a chief master sergeant serving with the Air Force Reserve Command at Robins Air Force Base and who will retire at the end of this year, said he never expected to end up doing what he’s doing now.

“I became a Christian as a youngster, but I never expected I would be a pastor,” he said. “I never expected to get back into taekwondo or that God would bring an opportunity to teach. I believe he’s doing it all for his glory -- and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Contact Michael W. Pannell at mwpannell@gmail.com.

I wonder how it would be to train there if you weren't Christian.

[curenado]

Would some of these discrepancies harmonize if we have more than one basis?
To G-d, the man is right, because the place where the spirit dwells is not made with hands.
To man, the man is right. Who expects to offend a man I his essential dignity and gloss it over with empty words?

Of course many, most or all people are going to be offended. Muslims kill non-muslims approaching certain areas, let alone a shabbat meeting ever be held in a mosque. I am sure there's a lot of double standards, bs and hypocrisy involved - it's about people and since it's a hot issue, even those who can't get there honestly are trying to get there "by hook or by crook", so we must also consider, it seems, the theoretical possibilities and also what the "bone heads" perception will be.

I think your arguments would could pretty close if you made distinctions not only about religion and the differences, but also religious people (the building won't attack anyone in it - we think) and the differences in them, even in the same congregation.

There are more things surely where I take human offense than offense for G-d the giant. Funny thing, I seem more intense/resolute over man things than G-d ones too.
Like I somehow think "there's nothing you can do to G-d and why would he care? But I on the other hand don't like that and got a sword" - when you go to offend a temple, is it G-d standing there highly peed off or his employees acting on general orders and personal conviction.

Neither argument is so stupid, they're just prevented from interpretation by distinctions that affect the arguments but aren't being made.
If that makes any sense or helpful

[GeneChing]

Former Monterey pastor connects mind, body, spirit through tai chi


Hei Takarabe, left, master trainer of tai chi, works on a move translated as “moving your hand in clouds” with Phil Sakakihara while leading a class at Oldemeyer Center in Seaside on Thursday. (David Royal - Monterey Herald)

By Dennis Taylor, Monterey Herald

Posted: 07/02/15, 5:46 PM PDT | Updated: 1 day ago


Hei Takarabe, master trainer of tai chi, leads a class at Oldemeyer Center in Seaside on Thursday. (David Royal - Monterey Herald)

SEASIDE >> As a young immigrant from Japan, Hei Takarabe originally had aspirations to become a healer — possibly a medical missionary — a path he pursued during his college years at Pasadena City College, then at UCLA, where he majored in chemistry as a pre-med student.

He became a spiritual healer instead, serving 38 years as a minister, including 21 as pastor of Monterey’s El Estero Presbyterian Church. Along the way, he discovered tai chi, a Chinese martial art developed by Taoists, who believe we are all part of a universal life force — an energy (chi) that can be harnessed for health.

Takarabe, never a “morning person,” rises these days at 4:30 a.m., meditates for 30 minutes, then heads to a local health club to practice tai chi for 90 minutes. Tuesdays and Thursdays, he teaches the art form at the Oldemeyer Center in Seaside.

“Tai chi works on your energy, so you relax your body, and your mind and body connection is established,” he explains. “You move your hands very slowly and allow your mind to get into your body. Once you get connected, the mind goes to where it needs to be energized and heal.”

Much of Takarabe’s adult life has been a quest to understand people and the meaning of life. His earliest years were spent in uncertainty in post-World War II Manchuria, where his father, who worked for the puppet government, was devoted to helping peasant farmers.

When the war ended, his family became refugees, at the mercy, he said, of Russian soldiers and Chinese gangsters, moving with help from the United Nations from Manchuria to Japan, where life was difficult.

“I was 7 then and didn’t understand much of the oppression. The hunger and suffering came when we got to Japan,” he remembers.

“We settled in Kagoshima, where my grandmother was, and had some money, but there was nothing in the city to buy, unless it was too expensive,” Takarabe says. “So, my mother and I would take the earliest train into the countryside and knock on the doors of the farmers, asking them to sell us some vegetables, or anything else they had to eat. What we were doing was illegal, but the police wouldn’t arrest us, because they would have had to arrest almost everybody.”

The first-grade education he had received in Manchuria was of no use — most school days there had been spent drilling on how to run to the underground shelter, he says — so he was catching up in Japanese schools until he was a fourth-grader.

By high school, he was attending a Presbyterian church in Japan, where he met missionaries who sparked his interest in coming to America.

A year after his graduation, his family found sponsorship in Pasadena, and Takarabe began his college years and worked as a houseboy for $35 a month.

“I had studied English for seven years, but discovered when I got to the United States that what I had learned was almost totally useless,” he says. “I could read, but not very well. I had difficulty understanding people in my classes. I was learning from the ground up.”

The strategy he adopted to accelerate his English education was to shut the Japanese language out of his life for four years.

By that time he was achieving mostly A’s as a chemistry student at UCLA, earning a degree and applying for medical school. But he changed direction after he became interested in attending a Presbyterian seminary.

“I enjoyed seminary because they taught psychology, history and theology,” he says. “It gave me time to really think about why I am here, and what is the purpose of life.”

Takarabe spent two summers as an intern, preaching at a church in the small California town of Strathmore, where he met and married Gloria Ishida, a farmer’s daughter who had become a registered nurse.

After graduating seminary and becoming ordained, he was invited to pastor Parkview Presbyterian Church in Sacramento, where he spent 17 years ministering to a congregation of mostly Japanese-Americans. He preached his sermons in both Japanese and English.

To better understand his flock, Takarabe began to interview his parishioners about their lives and philosophies, creating an oral history that would become part of the archives at CSU Sacramento.

“That really taught me a lot about their lives, their hardships,” he says. “It was best for me because I regained so much respect for them and their struggles. We interviewed, we translated, and we edited it in such a way that it was understandable to people who never had any background or understanding of the history of Japanese-Americans.”

Hei and Gloria relocated with their two children to Monterey in 1982, when he was invited to become pastor of El Estero Presbyterian, a pulpit he held until he retired in 2003 at age 65.

“We came back here and saw that huge, awesome body of water again, and it was fantastic. We went to watch the sunset almost every night,” he says. “And we’d have guests who would visit us from Sacramento, and we loved to take them to see the sunset.”

Takarabe’s first exposure to tai chi came as he observed a friend performing the art during a Presbyterian retreat at Asilomar in 1985.

After 10 years of practicing on his own, he sought out a master teacher, Dr. Paul Lam, paying $650 for a six-day workshop at Asilomar that, he says, changed his life.

“It was one of the best things I could have done for myself,” says Takarabe, who then found Dr. Stephanie Taylor, a Carmel physician who became his mentor in the art. He’s been training with her locally, and helping with her classes, ever since.

Takarabe, a grandfather, feels more at peace with his world today than ever before.

Also relevant in today's news: Dana White is GODLESS.

[GeneChing]

Remember Jew Jitsu?

Safety Training Offered To Orthodox Jews In Brooklyn As Self-Defense Against Anti-Semitism
July 21, 2015 6:50 PM

Related Tags: anti-semetism, Brighton Beach, Orthodox Jews, Scott Rapoport, Shima Juijitsu, steve isaak

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — A new version of martial arts is being taught to and practiced by Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn.

CBS2’s Scott Rapoport talked to a man who has been called the “most dangerous Jew in NYC” — Although you wouldn’t know it by looking at him.

Former NYC probation officers and Washington Heights native Steve Isaak, 67, has developed a personalized style of martial arts called
Shima Juijitsu.

He’s been teaching it for more than 40 years to a devoted following of the city’s most observant, Orthodox Jews, in a Brighton Beach studio. Part of his mission is for it to be self-defense from anti-Semitism.

“Everyone need self-defense but they need it more than most, based on the history of Jewish people,” Isaak said.

His students come in all shapes, sizes, ages and sexes.

There are women, too, who want to learn to defend themselves — like Chavi Charlap.

And what does she get from the class?

“I get confidence,” Charlap replied.

Because they are Orthodox, the women train separately from the men. And though touching is traditionally verboten, some of his female students permit it during training, saying Isaak’s classes are conducted with respect to their Orthodox values.

“If I’m in a life threatening situation and because of this I can save my life and other lives then it’s definitely worth it,” Charlap said.

Isaak turned to martial arts as a young, 12-year-old boy after he says he was beaten up by two older kids.

By the time he got to college, he was teaching self-defense. He opened his own martial arts school shortly after that.

Isaak says the secret and power of Shima Juijitsu is that you don’t have to be athletic or powerful. That it is based on efficiency, not strength, Rapoport reported.

The cerebral Sensai says he teaches his students a series of moves that can deflect and derail an attacker.

His student Rabbi David Goldshyn with the Jewish Center Of Brighton Beach says it’s effective and necessary.

“You don’t want to get into a fight every two seconds,” Goldshyn said. “But you also want to have the confidence that if something happens you can protect yourself.”

Through the years, Isaak says he’s taught Shima Juijitsu to cops, prosecutors, judges and even some in Israel’s defense forces.

Isaak says he now lives in Myrtle Beach, but comes back to Brighton Beach every two weeks for 5 days at a time to teach his Orthodox students. He says his students demand it.

There's a vid too, but I didn't watch it....

[GeneChing]

This is a fine story. There's a vid here too if you follow the link.

Arab and Israeli Martial Artists Join Together to Fight for Peace
by Rafi Schwartz


image via (cc) flickr user emptyhighway

As anyone who actually practices martial arts can tell you, learning how to punch, kick, and chop effectively is less about becoming an excellent fighter than it is about developing a sense of self-discipline and control. Like the oft-repeated adage about jazz, karate isn’t so much about the punches you throw, as it is about the ones you don’t. It’s this duality—the tension between violence, and inner calm—that makes the study of martial arts so compelling. But can karate do more than simply bring peace to those who study it? Can it bring peace to an entire region?

That was the goal of a recent martial arts seminar held on the beaches of the small Israeli town of Herzilya, just north of Tel Aviv. There, karate practitioners from across Israel joined with martial artists from nearby Jordan to both learn from one of the leading martial artists in the Middle East: Imad Khalil, head of the Jordanian Karate Association. The beachfront seminar, attended by Jews, Christians, Druze, and Bedouins, was more than just a chance to learn with a teacher at the top of his field, it was a chance to build bridges between communities often separated by suspicion and tension.

Said Khalil to PBS News Hour: “It’s help for peace. If you have a neighbor. And never you see him, and they see you. How you going to have relation with him? Friendship?”

The event was the brainchild of Danny Hakim, founder of Budo For Peace, the Israel-based martial arts organization that invited Khalil to teach. Per its website, Budo For Peace aims to

[E]ducate and instill in youth the behavioral values of tolerance, mutual respect and harmony both within themselves as well as with their neighbors and surroundings by means of traditional martial arts training and by internalizing the inherent ideals of Budo.”

To that end, the organization has affiliate chapters throughout Ethiopia, France, Turkey, and Jordan, each promoting a sense of camaraderie and, yes, peace, across cultures and borders, all through the equalizing power of athletic competition. This latest event follows a 2012 trip to Jordan by Hakim and a number of his students. There the group learned from sensei Nayel Owaimer of the Jordanian National Karate Team.

While Budo For Peace may be working to bring people together through a mutual love of martial arts, sometimes the larger world gets in the way: Three fourths of Khalil’s group of Jordanian martial artists were reportedly held back from entering Israel for the beachfront session. That doesn’t seem to worry Hakim, though. Bolstered by this round of Jordanian-Israeli martial arts cooperation, he’s already planning to expand upon the program’s success, telling PBS News Hour:

“You know, as a karate person, you know, it’s just one obstacle. Next time we’ll definitely get them to come.”

[via PBS]