Dear Students and Friends,

I would like to take this opportunity of wishing you all a very happy and prosperous New Year. Hopefully, this year will see a change in the general economic problems that have torn at us all in one way or another.

Thank you all for your patience over the last eight months as we have strived to create C&S Self Defense Association. The Association was, in fact, created for you- the student- not for me. I don't need an Association: I can practice my Art just fine all by my self. But I owe an obligation to you, my students, who have put your faith and your trust in me through all these years to continue to share with you the knowledge that I have. And I owe the students who have yet to join us. I have an obligation to provide an organization that will continue which is based on the principals of the Martial Arts as I have discovered them to be through my almost 25 years of training, study, and analysis.

As things are going together so smoothly and I am receiving so much encouragement and assistance in forming the Association, I am pleased to announce that I will allow the formation of an Association Board of Directors at the 1993 Retreat. The Board will be responsible for the future direction of the Association. It will share the many and varied responsibilities of Association operation, setting educational standards, promotion requirements, standardization of core material, etc. The size of the Board and those chosen to be on it will be decided at the Retreat. In this way, many resources can be drawn upon to further the needs of the Association rather than relying solely on me.

I am hoping that by the next newsletter we can produce an Association Directory listing of all Black Belts and Programs active and Certified in C&S Self Defense Association. Those recognized Programs will receive a yearly renewable Verification of Membership Affiliation Status so that it is clear who our recognized members are- who is participating and fulfilling their continuing education requirements. By the way, we have been applying the term "Program Owner" to an Instructor who has an independent program (school, club, work out group, etc.) under the C&S umbrella. I am changing this term to "Program Director" as it connotes more of the spirit of responsibility entailed.

So many things to do! It is fun, and yet at times it seems as though it will all never get done. We do not proclaim perfection, and will most probably need to adjust and change many things many times. Bear with us as we build your Association!

I am sorry if things may have appeared slightly disorganized and "on the fly", but the decision to form our Association was made in May of 1992 at my Disciples Retreat and we have been in high gear since. We are by no means finished. There is much work left to do. But the major pieces are in place- the structure is there to build on. I ask each of you to bring your own particular expertise, whatever it may be, to us to help us build an Association we can all be proud of. Each member has something of value to contribute the Association to help form it. Again I encourage you to participate with us. Don't leave all the work to "someone else", and don't even think of leaving it all to me! You contribute. You make this thing happen. Make it yours by contributing your time, your thoughts, your expertise, your energy, your Art. And let's all grow together in this great environment that we have that we now call C&S Self Defense Association!

In our art,
Grandmaster Peter M. Rose