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2010 At A Glance

This year of 2010 was the year of the Tiger. It was my year of the Tiger. I turned 60 years old; I was promoted to my 9th Dan by Professor George Dillman;.I got married to Mary Potter over Thanksgiving and I had a year of great seminars around the world.

While those events are a hard act to follow, I still expect 2011 to be even better. Mary will be by my side not only as my loving wife, but also as my new business partner. With her help I will be better prepared to fill orders as they come in and also will get better control of keeping Small Circle Jujitsu business flowing smoothly.

I hosted Master Shane Lear on January 30th and 31st for the first 64 movements of Dayan Qigong (Wild Goose). We had about 15 participants. This weekend clinic was to be the start for many people in Central Indiana in learning a system that could change their lives forever.

On February 20th I was to fly to Waco, Texas to teach a seminar for Gary Richardson. The night before my flight Texas got 3 inches of snow in Dallas and they shut down the DFW Airport until 5 PM Saturday. So, I had to re-schedule for the following week. The seminar worked out well and Gary was a great host. On Sunday he showed me around the Baylor University Campus. (Really nice school)

On Saturday, March 13th, I hosted Professor George Dillman for the Annual Spring Seminar here. This year I selected the Normandy Barn at the Indiana State Fair Grounds as the location. Although the numbers were down from previous years it was a very successful seminar. The Normandy Barn has a lot of natural materials and windows to bring in light. It was a good energy room and a fantastic seminar as always.

Also in March was the Saturday Pressure Point seminar and the Sunday Small Circle Jujitsu Ranking Clinic on the 27th and 28th at Nathan Bratcher’s Dojo in Yuma, Arizona. We had really good attendance for both days and some folks started gaining rank in Professor Wally Jay’s Art.

On May 22nd and 23rd I hosted Shane Lear for the second Wild Goose Clinic out in Danville, Indiana at Master Cary Watt’s Dojo Action Pack Karate.

On the weekend of June18, 19 & 20, I hosted the Small Circle Jujitsu Camp 2010 at Gary Cunningham’s Dojo in Spencer, Indiana just west of Bloomington. Wow! What another fantastic camp it was! The film footage from this year’s camp was simply superb. That DVD will be available very soon.

On July 9, 10 & 11, I hosted the 12th Annual George Dillman Summer Camp here. One of the highlights of this year’s camp was Chris Thomas’ teaching of the Yin and Yang versions of all of the stances as far as elements go. A new set of possibilities emerged! On Saturday afternoon we broke down kata Gojushiho. Professor Dillman performed a leg KO on Master Darwin Bannister that got posted to U-Tube. That Gojushiho DVD will available soon too.

I left for France on the 29th of July to teach at my 7th summer camp there. At this year’s camp I taught and extra hour each morning to cover Small Circle Jujitsu Syllabus information. At the end of the week Professor Leon Jay came down from England to assist in testing the students who wanted to gain rank in his system. Several people tested to Purple belt and two tested to Orange belt. Professor Jay also attended the Annual Grillade Blues Party at Tio Pepe’s.

In September many great things happened. First, on the 17th I went to Yuma, Arizona and taught a Small Circle Jujitsu Rank and Test Clinic on Saturday the 18th. On Sunday the 19th Nathan drove me to San Diego where I taught a seminar hosted by Grand Master David Snyder. GM Snyder pulled together almost 30 attendees in less than two weeks.

Second for September, was the hosting of Master Shane Lear again to teach the second 64 moves from the Wild Goose Qigong system.

Third and most importantly, I reunited with Mary Potter who I had dated five years previously. Mary had the wisdom to walk away from me back then so I could find my way back to sanity after my divorce. Seeing Mary again was like seeing an old friend who, even though we hadn’t seen each other for a few years, just fell into place like we hadn’t missed a beat. Mary and I soon grew “thick as thieves” and couldn’t stand to not be together every day.

In October Gary Cunningham flew he and I in his business partner’s plane to the Mohammed Ali Camp near Reading PA. Gary was to receive his 6th Dan at this camp along with another student of mine Larry Bennett who drove out separately. To my surprise, I was promoted by Professor Dillman to my 9th Dan. I was totally caught off guard and was shocked to be promoted. It is quite an honor to be the only man in DKI to receive this rank and become the number two ranking black belt in the world in DKI under Professor Dillman. I am humbled.

The following weekend I again hosted Shane Lear for Wild Goose Part I. We had a small Group, but it was a great weekend. The following weeeknd Mary and I drove down to GM Steve Cooper’s home to stay with him and attend Professor George Dillman’s seminar hosted by GM Cooper. The following weekend, I taught an annual seminar for GM Dave Deich at Master Harold Hart’s School in Sellersburg, Indiana down by Louisville.

Every weekend in November was filled with activity. The first weekend was Master Shane Lear’s Wild Goose one and two at his dojo in Delphos, Ohio. On the second weekend I taught a seminar on Friday at the Boys Club in Bedford, Indiana for Masters Terry Hill and Mike Elliott. On Saturday I taught a seminar for Master Craig White at his new dojo in Patoka, Indiana.

On the third weekend I flew to Montreal, Canada and taught a two day set of seminars for Master Denis Plante. Master Plante pulled together over 50 attendees for those seminars.

Now, the biggest event of the whole year! Mary, my daughter Lauren and , drove down to Pike County, Kentucky to have Thanksgiving with Mary’s brother Brit and his family. On Friday we all drove down to Gatlinburg, Tennessee where on Saturday Mary and I got married on Bruce Lee’s 70th birthday. This was an incredible ending to what started out as a not so great year. Mary is an awesome woman and I feel very proud to call her my wife.

In December I had just one more seminar weekend to fulfill out in Cushing, Oklahoma for Billy Adkisson. Billy did a great job of pulling together over 30 attendees for a two day seminar there. It was a great ending to the year for seminars.

I am positive that the new year will bring many great things to Mary and I. With Mary’s help I will get better organized and also travel to many locations world wide with my new bride by my side.

Good luck to you all and best wishes for a new year of prosperity.

Will Higginbotham