About Fred and his Karate Journey
At the beginning of this journey in June of 2009, Fred aka FredInChina aka Fred Dupont is 45 years old, has been living in China for 12 years and smoking for 34. He has closed his factory in China and discovered that the economic crisis would last another 15 to 20 years; by then Humanity would have realized that the present and coming economic woes were the least of its problems an gotten itself deeper into an unprecedented crisis that the lies and lack of integrity of its leaders are only making worse — In another blog, TheTrimTab.com, Fred shares his Thoughts To Change Humanity’s Rendezvous With Destiny
By the end of 2009, Fred’s desire to find the proper training environment had him look beyond China & led him to formulate with the help of eminent members of the K4L community a “round the world karate journey”. This Karate Journey Journal idea took form in the beginning of 2010 & intends to track Fred’s travels, progress and inner growth in the path he has chosen.
Where is Fred now and where is he going next?
Here is a page where you will find Fred’s up to date travel plans and whereabouts, together with a map (the map will be added later).
How long will Fred’s Karate Journey last?
Karate study is a lifetime endeavor; however, as you are referring to Fred’s travels around the world to this purpose, the plan calls for 3 or 4 years and will be adjusted ‘as we go”.
Hey, Fred is near our place, can I invite him to come and train with us at our dojo?
Yes of course, not only you can, but are warmly invited to do so; with permission from his current sempai, Fred will be delighted to visit your dojo and train with you… Please note that Fred intends to stay at the same dojo for periods of two to three months; at this moment this duration seems ideal to accommodate Fred’s learning and progress as well as the need to return home for a little while every so often. Fred’s karate journey will last for 3 or 4 years and adjustments will be made along the way.
Can I join Fred and train with him?
Sure, with permission from the Dojo Master Fred is training with at the moment, there should not be any difficulties for you to join in for one session; however, if you wanted to follow Fred along for some part of his journey, you would have to take care of your own logistics and verify that Fred’s plans and objectives match yours.
I run a dojo in “my country”, is it okay to invite Fred to come and stay with us for the next leg of his Karate Journey?
It sure is, Fred would love to hear from you and see how to make his stay with you fit with existing plans. Even you do not have a formal Ushi Deshi program, it is okay as long as we can work out a convenient place for Fred to stay at. All Fred needs really are a clean place to sleep, access to food, an internet connection, and of course, a dojo and sempai to train with.
What is an Ushi Deshi program?
In short, Ushi Deshi are resident trainees that come for a period of three months to three years to train in one place; they live in the dojo and sometimes lead some of the classes. An Ushi Deshi program organizes the logistics, timings, travels, accommodation, training curriculum, etc… of the Ushi Deshi.
What is Kyokushin Karate?
Kyokushin means the way of the extreme or ultimate truth – it is one of the toughest style of karate in existence that promotes & trains full contact & whose sportive competitions consist of “knock down” bouts. It is the truth about yourself and the fact that you are only as good as your last fight or training. Kyokushin is not for everyone, it attracts and breeds people that appear to be “nut cases” to the casual observer, but have deep and profound respect for each other: they know what it takes! Kyokushin’s main characteristic are its spirit & its tight code of honor. Kyokushin practitioners are “Fred’s family of tough love”.
Kyokushin has the discipline, honor, respect, and zen needed in a Martial Art; it is absolutely brutal and demands body, mind & spirit hardening and conditioning; it is why I love it and believe it is the search for the Ultimate Truth.
There is, at times, an unhealthy rivalry between karate styles & when Fred was younger, he was guilty of listening and sometimes participating in the general badmouthing (that was going both ways); later, Fred realized that not only he did not know much about other karate styles, but that, in many ways, they were richer than kyokushin and helped beam the flashlight towards new and fascinating corners of the martial way – Fred is determined to learn as much as he can about and from any karate style.
What with the politics and factions in kyokushin?
As much as he would like not to care and enjoy the strong camaraderie and friendship that kyokushin practitioners share, Fred is not blind nor deaf and knows what is going on. Fred would rather not be involved with it and will gladly walk away from people that would want him to take a position or get involved personally in these sorry affairs. Fred’s believes in “the way of the ultimate truth” and thinks that a lot of what has been going on since Sosai Oyama died in 1993 is a distraction from this path. If one way or another, Fred could contribute to re-unify kyokushin, he would do it at once.Who knows, maybe Fred’s journey will place him in the position of an ambassador between different groups?
Fred is a businessman; why leave a comfy life to get knocked down all over the place? How does that make sense?
That’s a very good question, thank you for asking it… Not unlike Jim Rogers, the Investment Biker that went about
“Not simply to travel, but to learn about the world’s developing countries and investment markets by actually seeing them from the ground up.”
Or Wang Shi, the Chinese largest construction company (Shenzhen Vanke Co., Ltd.) founder and CEO that at age 60 set up the record for climbing Mount Everest, and following that put his footprints on the highest mountains across seven continents
“For me, life is one adventure after another.”
Fred set out in a worldwide journey to discover, reveal his inner self. It is also a very tough question because it does not seem to make sense at all.
In all honesty, I must admit that before I was able to answer it, this question shook the foundations of my resolve to get on with this journey several times over; I still have occasional doubts, but I know these will be cleared along the way. For the moment, the short and convenient answer is: “because I know that it is what is needed, because I like to think that a higher purpose will be revealed along the way… a purpose that will benefit mankind“
Can we sponsor or support Fred’s Karate Journey & how can my company or organization benefit from that?
Fred travels the globe & documents his journey on this blog. He is an ambassador to fighting spirit, integrity, truth, health and trust in our fellow humans. Fred is also a student of Bucky Fuller and a strong believer that by design, humanity is destined to evolve. It is Fred’s conviction that today’s worldwide financial, economic, but also leadership, environmental and spiritual crisis was born as a trigger to this evolution. Real change is never easy; tough times are here and tougher times ahead. If you believe that your own values and your company’s or organization’s mission are aligned with Fred’s own, then by all means, you should talk to him.
If your organization provides products or services that benefit all of humanity in a highly effective and inoffensive to others manner, please contact Fred right now! The key values are: Truth, integrity, the value of discipline and humility, a benefit for all mankind and an eternally regenerative universe. If you are Goldman Sachs, Marlboro, slaughtering dolphins or manufacturing land mines, please don’t call. If you still have doubts, don’t call either; instead, follow the blog until your doubts subside.
Will Fred write a book about his karate journey?
Maybe, we’ll see how it goes… No decision have been made at this stage, but some “serious thinking” is going on… If you are a publisher, you are invited to contact Fred ASAP.
Is Fred Available for interviews, public speaking, etc…?
Thank you for asking and for your interest. You can contact Fred’s support team via the contact page of this blog; your request will be transferred. Fred will study all requests for public speaking, TV appearances or interviews. More info about Fred’s interviews and public appearances.
How to contact Fred?
You can contact Fred by using the contact page Contact Fred or follow him on twitter, facebook, etc…
What if I just wanted to say hello and give a nice word to Fred?
Should you want to just say hello or give a nice word of encouragement, tell Fred that you were inspired, or let him know that he sucks abundantly, please visit this GUEST PAGE that was specially designed for this purpose – this is your page Dear Reader, it is open to welcome your feedback.
Can I send a postcard to Fred?
Fred appreciates the thought, but at this moment there are no fixed address for you to do so; maybe in the future… Fred invites to sign the guest page instead.
Wow, Karate Journey logo is really cool, where can I purchase Fred’s Karate Journey’s equipment?
Thank you for asking, Fred appreciates your liking of his Karate Journey logo and the equipment he has designed… At this moment, these products are not for sale, but Fred is thinking that maybe this will be a possibility in the near future… Just hang around, as soon as something comes up, you will be the first to know.
Why should I follow this blog?
Ahhh, that is a great question, Dear Reader, thank you!
Would you like to let this story unfold and see where it is heading? Would you like to give yourself a chance to discover what higher purpose will reveal itself? Even if you do not have the possibility right now, maybe would you like to follow in Fred’s steps sometimes down the road? Maybe you think it is “too cool” or would simply like to get entertained?
If you answered yes to any of these questions:
Please allow me to take you with me, Dear Reader, on this Karate Journey, and above all make sure we both are ready and present when this happens? Please accept to be the impartial witness of the development and twists in the road; let you be the force to hold me, and you, accountable to our progress… Let me tell you the story.
Subscribe via RSS or e-mail. Contact Fred or follow him on twitter, facebook, etc…
And now, Let Fred’s karate journey begin.
The things to do are:
the things that need doing:
that you see need to be done,
and that no one else seems to see need to be done.
Then you will conceive your own way of doing that which needs to be done.
R. Buckminster Fuller.
