“the real master has come to know there is no such thing really as a “self made” man. we are made up of thousands of others. everyone who has ever done a kind deed for us, or spoken one word of encouragement to us, has entered into the make-up of our character and our thoughts, as well as our success. you, as a richard lee black belt, must be at all times the best that you can be. learn as i have to use encouragement as your biggest weapon for change with your students and staff. the bok-fu-do art of teaching, in my mind, is the art of assisting discovery. there is only one way i know to get anybody to learn anything, and that is by making the other person want to do it. the desire to be more, to be better than they are, the students must have, what we refer to in our black belt thinking as want power.

with my black belts, i want the passion to be the best, and for us to create the best students, making our system so powerful that no matter how high we reach, we will never be satisfied. each time someone gets a black belt they must be better than the last person to get a black belt, and as a black belt, know that the substance of the black belt master is merely but the shadow of his true dream. the master always measures what he’s done to what he could have done. realize in our working together toward these goals that an inexhaustible good nature is one of the best assets to have as a black belt. it will spread itself like oil over the troubled seas of thought, and keep the mind smooth and relaxed in the roughest of times.

as black belts we are all capable of being savage in some cause. the difference between a truly great black belt and a bad one is the choice of the cause. however, there are two emotions that can blind even the black belt. one is hatred and the other is love. be gentle with yourself, and use your mind when it comes to these emotions. in the school, the black belt, and i mean any and all black belts, must at all times be a stabilizing force. a rock in a leaf storm. use your mind first, not your tongue. the true master has learned to be slow of tongue and quick of eye. the master knows you must look into people, as well as at them. character is not made in a crisis people – it is only exhibited. remember, a man never discloses his character so clearly as when he describes another person’s character. i want the four cornerstones of character, on which i am going to structure this system, to be: initiative, imagination, individuality, and most of all loyalty. i am not just talking about to me, but to each of us, and to the concepts which the entire system will be built upon. we have the best system so let’s make it grow with the right attitude.”

you could definitely substitute martial arts for the word wrestling in this video. it's a great reminder of what discipline and focus can do for us all!