The Knight, the Young Girl, and Death by Hans Baldung Grien 1505.
My name is Christopher Nathan Geary. I was born in Des Moines, Iowa, on June 8, 1971 (5:44am). In October 1978 my mother and I moved to Omaha. A week after graduating high school in 1990, I left for the U.S. Marine Corps.
Eventually stationed at Camp Pendleton near San Clemente, Calif., I found a martial arts school a couple of miles from base. While on leave in Omaha, I decided that upon my return to California, I would visit that Kempo school.
It was a decision that would change the course of my life forever. My Kempo instructor was Sensei Farzin Omidvar, a Sandan (3rd-degree black belt).
I began teaching the martial arts (kempo/kenpo karate) in Omaha on June 29, 1994. I later sought out 10th-degree black belt Professor Nick Cerio and was awarded my first certificate of Dan rank for Shodan (1st-degree black belt). Shortly thereafter, Professor Cerio acknowledged me as a Sensei (Instructor). Shodan Certificate , Sensei Acknowledgement
On August 30, 2003, I received the World Head of Family Sokeship Council International Martial Arts Hall of Fame Master Instructor of the Year award.
Hall of Fame Award
In March 2004 Sijo Victor "Sonny" Gascon flew from Hawaii to Nebraska to recognize me as a Rokudan (6th-degree black belt) in the art of Karazenpo Go Shinjutsu (Kenpo) with the title of Shihan. At this time I was one of only 12 people ever promoted by Sijo Gascon to 6th degree black belt since he began teaching in 1958. Certificate
On June 29, 2004, Hanshi Lou Angel presented me with a Bachelor of Martial Arts, which is given by Angel's organization after a person has spent ten years studying the martial arts. In my case, I wanted the date on the certificate to coincide with the ten-year anniversary of the day when I began teaching. Bachelor of Martial Arts
On October 16, 2004, Hanshi Angel came to Omaha to promote me to the rank of Rokudan (6th-degree black belt) in the art of Tenshi Goju Kai. [As of October 16, 2004] I was one out of 20 to achieve this rank or higher in this art. Tenshi Goju Kai is Hanshi Angel's version of Goju-Ryu, the hard and soft system devised by Miyagi, whose Goju-Ryu Karate was featured in The Karate Kid movies. Certificate
On June 29, 2005, 21 days after my 34th birthday and on the 11th anniversary of the founding of my schools, I was promoted to the rank of 7th Dan (Shichidan) in my art of Christopher N. Geary's Shaolin Ch'uan Fa by Hanshi Lou Angel. This was my fourth promotion from Hanshi Angel in my art. Certificate
In July 2005, I traveled to Hawaii with Shihan Shawn M. Steiner (vice president of my company) and Melvin C. Muhammad (assistant instructor) to receive the "School of the Year" Hall of Fame award for 2004. The award was presented to me on the island of Oahu by the Hawaii Martial Arts International Society. I also received a very unexpected diploma honoring me with the rank of 7th-degree black belt with the title of Professor. (As of that date, fewer than 10 people in the history of the Hawaii Martial Arts International Society had received that rank/title.) Hall of Fame Award , Diploma
Professor Jaime Abregana, Jr., Founder of the Hawaii Martial Arts International Society, explained that the Society had done a background check on me. Based on my outstanding accomplishments, credibility, commitment, and development of Kempo/Kenpo, I was awarded this prestigious title that is usually given at the rank of 8th Degree. The diploma was presented to me personally at the Palama settlement (1896), a site of historical importance to the early martial arts development of Kempo/Kenpo in Hawaii, by Professor Jaime Abregana, Jr., and Professor John Pagdilao, the Society's Co-Founder and President.
Professor Jaime Abregana, Jr., is a well respected martial artist who has been featured in television commercials and films produced in Mexico and the United States. In the summer of 2005 he was producing an A & E ..ary, "The Gateway," about the history of the martial arts in Hawaii. Professor Abregana has worked with movie producer/actor Juan Hernandez as well as Ken Moreno ("The One," "Collateral Damage"), Jackie Chan, Antonio Banderas, Robert Chapin, Jennifer Lopez, Chow Yun, Jet Li and others.
On August 2, 2005, I was again awarded the title of Professor from Hanshi Lou Angel. Hanshi Angel had awarded this title to only one other person prior to me. Certificate
Since I began teaching martial arts, I have appeared on local television shows presenting self-defense tips for those who could not afford classes. In my presentations I have stressed the importance of being aware of one's surroundings in order to react quickly and effectively in threatening situations. I have also been actively involved in the community, volunteering my time to teach self-defense to the disabled, to provide free safety awareness classes to young children, and to raise money for children with cancer. Colleges here in Nebraska have invited me to give seminars in which students gained confidence by learning simple, effective techniques to protect themselves from date rape, mugging, and other types of assault.
On September 22, 2005, in recognition of my contributions to the martial arts, I was presented a proclamation by Governor Dave Heineman honoring October 15, 2005 as National Martial Arts Day in Nebraska. The award was presented at a ceremony in the Warner Chamber of the Nebraska State Capitol Building in Lincoln. Photos
In October 2005, I demonstrated my martial arts technique for Ron Chapél, Ph. D., the nation’s foremost authority on Sublevel-4 Kenpo,, Concepts. Dr. Chapél had flown in from southern California with one of his students to give a seminar in Omaha. Dr. Chapél’s background includes more than fifty years in the martial arts and more than thirty years in the field of law enforcement. He trained for many years with Ed Parker (Elvis Presley's kenpo instructor) and has presented martial arts training sessions in police academies throughout the United States. Dr. Chapél is the Senior Master Professor of the University of Martial Science, which is the only American Kenpo school certified by the World Federation of Karate-Do. The University of Martial Science emphasizes the educational aspects of Kenpo, requiring its teachers to hold certifications in addition to belt rankings. Written Summary
On March 6, 2006, I received Honorary Certification (seventh-degree black belt) in Kempo Karate from Dr. Thomas H. Burdine/Soke, Head of Family Kokon Ryu Bujutsu Renmei International. This was my first promotion from a Soke, and it was the first time Burdine had presented this honor to anyone. Certificates
On September 1, 2006, I was promoted to Tenth-Degree Black Belt (the highest level of Black Belt) by Dr. Keith Nesbitt of the International Martial Arts Masters Federation. [As of September 1, 2006] Dr. Nesbitt had promoted four people to Tenth Dan, including myself. The Black Belt Certificate from Dr. Nesbitt says that I have been promoted to "Judan 10th Dan" rank and "found to be of good character, sound morals, and a leader among martial artists everywhere." Certificates
Being promoted to Tenth Dan by Dr. Nesbitt made me the second youngest Judan (tenth-degree black belt) Grandmaster in the world at age 35, and the youngest person in the United States ever to have achieved this rank through legitimate means.
Nearly half a century before my promotion, Grandmaster Eizo Shimabukuro of Okinawa, Japan, received his tenth-degree certification from Kanken Toyama in 1959 at 34 years of age. On September 1, 2006, a reporter from KPTM Fox TV visited my Corporate Headquarters to interview me about my promotion to Tenth Dan. Shimabukuro Photo , News Interview
On Saturday, June 23, 2007, I was inducted into the World Karate Union Hall of Fame. I was honored as "Founder and Grandmaster of the Year" for 2006, the same year that I attained the rank of tenth-degree black belt. This was my third Hall of Fame award.
There are two Christopher N. Geary's Shaolin Kempo Karate schools in the Omaha metro area. Locations
Christopher N. Geary
17923 Pierce Plaza
Omaha, Nebraska 68130
www.kempokarate.com
www.christophergeary.com
Email:
[email protected]
Poetry:
Heavenly Love and Earthly Love by Giovanni Baglione 1602-03.
Love for Aquarius
I live my life seeing your smile in my mind,
It’s in my thoughts that consume me
It keeps my heart warm in my own darkness,
A part of me that lives only for you, to breathe another day
I long for your kiss, crazy with wet kisses,
Feeding my empty heart that is so heavy, hurting only for you
Hold me in the rain and melt with me in the sun,
As I write only for you and walk to you in thunder
Knowing who it’s all for but you will not say,
So sleep peacefully on this night and stay pure without me
For my tears shall someday cleanse my soul,
So Saturn and Uranus may give you peace…every night
Amore per l’acquario
Io vivo la mia vita vedendo il tuo sorriso nella mia mente,
E’ il mio pensiero che mi consuma
Mantiene il mio cuore caldo nella mia oscurità ,
La parte di me che vive solo per te, per respirare un altro giorno
Spero in un tuo bacio, impazzisco per i tuoi baci,
Vorrei nutrire il mio cuore vuoto che e’ cosi pesante, e fa male solo per te
Abbracciami nella pioggia e fammi sciogliere nel sole,
Mentre scrivo solo per te e cammino fra i tuoni
Sapendo che e’ tutto per te e non lo dici,
Cosi dormi in pace questa notte e rimani pura per me
In quanto le mie lacrime un giorno puliranno la mia anima,
Cosi’ che Saturno e Uranio potranno darti pace ogni notte
Evergreen
She didn’t know where she would be in years to come,
And nowhere in the conversation did she mention his name
He paints for her into the night from her selfishness,
With his memories of his black hair and now gray
A world of faults to be his from her deceptions,
Taking with it his pride, standing there with his programmed smile
I turned away and looked into the blue twilight,
Chagall painting the black and white into color from the 50’s
I hide away by the fire in the attic, melting into the walls,
To finish the business that will never be complete
As I breathe in the cold fresh pine air to warm my heart,
Relieving me from years of draining dreams and messes to come
And let us not forget about the emptiness,
The lack of not having for I would have became a slave to it
The game that cannot be won from her smile and slatternliness,
Look up at me and into my eyes with burning flesh
With a mouth and tongue of swirling pearl,
Without the laughter and with solitude of silence, I find peace
Freedom that would have never been and the love of life that comes from it,
Weep to another for what would ever be sensible in the impossible…
Sempre verde
Lei non sapeva dove il futuro l'avrebbe portata,
e mai nella conversazione chiamò il suo nome
Lui dipinge per lei nella notte dal suo egoismo,
Con i ricordi dei suoi capelli neri ora grigi
Un mondo di difetti di essere suo dal l'inganno di lei,
Prendendo con sè il suo orgoglio,lì in piedi con il suo artefatto sorriso
Ho posato il mio sguardo sulla luce bluastra del crepuscolo,
Le pitture di Chagall dal bianco e nero ai colori degli anni cinquanta
Mi nascondo dal fuoco nella soffitta, fondendomi con i muri,
Per finire l'impresa che non sara' mai completa
Mentre respiro la gelida aria di pino per riscaldare l'anima mia,
confortandomi da anni di sogni estenuanti e confusioni future
E non farci dimenticare i nostri vuoti,
La mancanza di non avere ciò che mi avrebbe reso schiavo
Il gioco che non potrà essere vinto dal suo sorriso e dalla sua sciattonaggine,
Guardami negli occhi con desiderio ardente
Con la bocca e lingua di perla turbilante,
Senza ridere e con la solitudine del silenzio, io trovo la pace
Liberta' che non sarebbe mai stata e amore per la vita che ne consegue,
Piangere per un'altra per ciò che sarebbe accettabile nell'impossibile
A Spring Day in Winter
Find your way into our time and into this place
To find this peace to be forever in our hearts
And to the end of where we come to see ourselves more clearly
Into cold blowing rains and through the whitest of snow
Sun onto flesh with kisses melting into salty lips
To the innocence of our touch and scent
Breathe for me on this day into angels upon our summer night
With white roses in seas coming into hand
Holding to inhale only me with sand upon your feet
Before cold winds in arms of lavender skies
Un giorno di primavera in inverno
Trova la tua via nei nostri tempi, and in questo luogo
Per trovare questa pace per sempre nei nostri cuori
E alla fine di dove veniamo per vedere noi stessi più chiaramente
Nella fredda pioggia che soffia nel vento e fra la più bianca neve
Sole sulla carne con baci che si sciolgono sulle labbra salate
Alla innocenza del nostro tatto e profumo
Respira per me su questo giorno con gli angeli sulla nostra notte d'estate
Con le rose bianche dei mari che vengono alla mia mano
Respirando solo me con sabbia tra i piedi
Prima dei venti freddi nelle braccia di cieli di lavanda
Copyright © 2006-07 Christopher N. Geary
My Poetry: www.christophergeary.com/poetry.php
