Lyons Leadership

My son was fifteen when he finally asked me to teach him the martial arts. At the time I had twenty years experience. I had lots of arts under my belt, and I actually didnt know what to teach him.

Living in Los Angeles, I decided to teach him karate. The problem was I had a half a dozen systems of that art. So which version should I teach him?

I began to look at the different systems, and from each I began to select what were, in my mind, the best techniques. After that, I went through the forms and chose the ones that held those techniques. Finally, I made little changes in the forms so that the techniques were all represented.

I taught him for a year, and it was the hardest class I ever taught. Five other guys joined in, they were constantly bruised almost to the point of breaking. To this day, when I see these fellows, there is a look in their eyes like the grin of an eagle.

Now the point of karate is self defense. One hopes never to use what they learn. But, if they have to use it, theyd better win, else…why bother?

One morning my son was on his way to work. It was a typical Los Angeles day, the sun shining and bright. He didnt have a single care in the world as he walked along the sidewalk.

Hey, man, got some change? It was a bum, and my son said no and shook his head, and he noted that while the first bum followed him, there was a second bum. The second bum walked around the corner of the building that my son was walking past.

I said I want some money! The first bum came at my son, and my son backed up faster. Suddenly a body came flying at him from the rear, and my son knew that the second bum had circled the building and was making his attack.

Aaron spun and executed a kick to the chin of the second bum, and the bum fell backwards on the sidewalk. The first bum, meanwhile, had grabbed his shoulder, and he pulled Aaron around to hit him, so Aaron whirled underneath the attack, executed a block, then slammed the bums head between his elbow and knee. The bum Aaron had kicked had gotten to his feet, and he moved towards Aaron, who hit him in the chin again, and sent him sailing six feet through the air and into a meter pole, which pole bent over severely.

Everything was over, and Aaron blinked as he looked around. With a shrug of his shoulders, he continued to work. The bums were both larger than him, and had outweighed him, but the art I had taught him, the art created out of the nastiest, meanest, most hard core Karate I knew, had saved him.

Its been a long time since that misadventure, and I have moved on from that system. There are other things I have learned and wish to teach. Still, that art I taught my son, which I called Outlaw Karate, was really a breakthrough.