(from Mr. Mike Stone's Facebook page - March 5th, 2026)
Aloha Friends, It's another beautiful day in paradise.
How times have changed.
I began my karate training when I first joined the U.S. Army in 1962, shortly after graduating from high school. Training in the martial arts, especially karate, was very different from what it is today. When I say different, I am not judging whether it was better or worse. It was simply different.
The times were different. The attitudes were different. Life was different, and so were the people.
There were good times and bad times, good people and difficult ones, just as there are today. It was a simpler era in many ways. Life still had its hardships and challenges, but today it sometimes feels as though we have lost something precious, a feeling, an attitude, a sense of caring for ourselves and for each other.
I admit that as a teenager, I was lost, naïve, inexperienced, and largely clueless about who I was or who I wanted to become.
Everything began to change in the summer of 1961 when I attended my first martial arts class. It was an Aikido demonstration taught by Koichi Tohei, the highest-ranking practitioner under the founder of Aikido, Professor Morihei Ueshiba.
What I witnessed that day stayed with me forever.
Tohei Sensei embodied the qualities of character I wished to possess. His movements were graceful and effortless, yet there was unmistakable control of both mind and body. For the first time in my life, I understood that discipline was not punishment.
Discipline was freedom.
Freedom through control.
Freedom through awareness.
Freedom through mastery of self.
Over the past six decades, I have witnessed many phases of karate. Some were inspiring, others concerning. One change stands out clearly: in many schools today, the focus has shifted from developing strong foundations to pursuing belt promotions and certifications.
Promotion has become the goal, rather than personal growth and transformation.
But fear not—there are solutions.
It is never too late to return to what matters most.
Demonstrate humility by continually refining the basics.
Honor technical precision over flashy performance.
Embrace discipline not as punishment, but as the pathway to freedom and self-control.
A true martial artist never graduates from fundamentals.
The foundation is the path. And the path never ends.
Love and Light,
Mike Stone
Rokudan – 6th Degree Black Belt
Okinawan Shorin-Ryu Karate
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