Congratulations to all those that completed our 12 Days of Bok Fu Spirit! Hopefully you found, as I did, that those acts of kindness brought even more joy to you than those that received your kindness. It was a wonderful way to close out the year and remind us of the spirit we should carry with us into 2014!

Today is a brand new year and the possibilities are endless. Yesterday was a day to reflect back on the year behind us, but today is the day to think about the new year ahead! Take some time today to be kind to yourself by making plans for your health, happiness and success in 2014. Leave the past in the past and take a good look at where you want to be in the future. Hold yourself accountable by writing down your goals and sharing them with those you care about. We’ll be taking time over the next week in classes to talk about our goals and make sure that we have a plan to accomplish them. Let’s start 2014 off on the right track and have another fantastic year of training at East West!

Here’s a small piece of Bok Fu Philosophy to get you focused, energized and ready to start training tomorrow! This is from a writing Grandmaster Lee presented in the early 1990’s called Straight Talk.

Black Belts must dare

"Your fears in this life, my friend, must never hold you back from pursuing your hopes. Hope must always be stronger than fear. it's the very basis of being a Black Belt."

There has been a calculated risk in every stage of American development – pioneers who were unafraid of the wilderness, scientists who were unafraid of the truth, businessmen who were unafraid of failure, dreamers who were unafraid of action and World Kung-Fu Champions that were unafraid of really trying to win. It’s black belt thinking and you must have it within you to be a Master in this system.

A great pleasure in life to me is doing what people say cannot be done.
The moment as a black belt you commit and quit holding back, you will see that all sorts of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance will rise up to help you. The simple black belt act of total commitment you will find is a powerful magnet for help.
People will try to tell you that all the great opportunities have been snapped up. In reality, the world changes every second blowing new opportunities in all directions, including your direction. Just keep looking and learning with me and you will find them.
To me people, to get profit without risk, tournament experience without some danger, and a black belt without work, is as truly impossible as it is to live without being born.

I think humanity is divided into three classes: those who are immovable, those who are movable, and those who move! My black belts are movers. Argue for your limitations and, sure enough, they’re yours. Remember as one of my black belts that others can stop you temporarily, but only you can do it permanently. Sure formula for failure – try to please everybody. Pay no attention to what the critics say; no statue has ever been erected to a critic.

Patton once said, “A good plan vigorously executed right now is far better than a perfect plan executed next week.” We can and will make our procedures better but make sure that we now vigorously execute the good plans we have. As one of my black belts, use the word “impossible” around me with the greatest caution.

You can’t leave footprints in the sand of time if you’re sitting on your butt. And who wants to leave butt prints in the sands of time? A year from now, you may wish you had started today.
I really think that all things will somehow come to those of us with a totally pure good black belt mentality who really go after them with all that we have.

Let us go, now as great black belts and wake up our luck. Great black belts don’t just stand there and bunt, in life. They hit hard and aim out of the ballpark. The master knows there is no real security on this whole earth. There’s only opportunity. My black belts don’t go into something to test the waters. They go in to make waves. You are one of a kind; therefore, no one can really predict to what heights you might soar. Even you, my friend, will not know until you spread your wings both in the subject of Bok-Fu-Do and in life. If I see you risk nothing, to me you really risk everything. You can’t really fall off the bottom, you know. My black belts know that the future is never a gift – it will always be an achievement.”