Help For Charles??

Thanks go out to a new KiAi Golfer in Los Angeles who found me on Facebook and immediately ordered the KiAi Golf Instructional DVD Package. How nice to find these posts on my “wall”:

“Jamie Sensei, I’m so glad I found you! I just watched your DVDs and what can I say – you’re a genius.” -- “Just watched your DVDs again. I think you’re the only one who may be able to help Charles Barkley!”

What can I say, he said it not me! In all humility, boy would I love a chance to see what the centered principles and integrated mind-body golf practices of KiAi Golf could do for Charles. Mr. LA is not the first to suggest that they believe I could honestly help the big guy.

Charles Barkley may be an extreme case, but golfers generally suffer so much and mostly so needlessly. It is a game and it’s not rocket science. Meaning it should be fun, and its just us humans, using our own brain and body parts together with a golf club and golf ball, out there in splendiferous nature. Nothing is impossible, not even better golf - and for Charles too!

Daily Practice & Indoor Improvement!

I’d like to congratulate Class A LPGA Pro Marty Mallott on the new indoor golf facility named in her honor at Defiance High School in Ohio . She’s the girls golf coach there, and Executive Director of the Ohio Women’s State Open (where I had the good fortune to win the senior title in 2008). She and her family have outfitted a wonderful center for young players, and community members, to work on their golf regardless of the weather.

I was honored to be in Defiance for the dedication and to conduct a 3-hour indoor KiAi Golf Intensive. Without the seductions of the golf course or seeing shot results, it seems much easier for people to concentrate on what they’re actually doing and feeling as they swing, chip and putt, and to take time for the energetic and fitness aspects of the game.

Having grown up in the Midwest , I’ve noticed that golfers there and in northern climes tend to be the nuttiest of all! Probably because the summers are short and winters long, they really love their golf and savor the prime time they get to play.

With the cold snowy winter months looming, it is so great to have an indoor golf place and practices to do. In Defiance I shared KiAi Golf BLISS Fitness and Swing-Patterning KATA exercises that I designed for people to:

a) practice every day, indoors or out, at home or work, with or without a driving range or golf course

b) be empowered to work on their swing and “golf mind” themselves

c) have ways to get into “the zone” and return when they start “losing it” on the golf course.

Daily practice really is the name of the game, regardless of climate, talent, size, age, gender, etc. In the martial arts we call it conscious regular training. There is no perfect in golf, but training surely is the way to feel more natural, confident and capable. They're defying the winter in Defiance, and its possible for people everywhere to do even a little practice every day. Besides, who wouldn’t want to be swinging and improving, all of the time??!?

Michelle Wie – Doing It Right!

I am happy to say that I couldn’t be happier to see Michelle Wie win her first LPGA tournament this past week. In one year, she’s gone from a painful feel-bad story to a very instructive feel-good story.

I first saw Michelle play when she was just an eighth-grader and made it to the final pairing with Annika Sorenstam and Carrie Webb at the Kraft Nabisco in Palm Springs . It was evident immediately that she has Tiger-like talent, physique, potential and appeal. What wasn’t Tiger-like has been the path she was on, failing to come up through the ranks of junior and amateur golf and then trying to skip over the LPGA straight onto the PGA tour. Where Tiger had excellent parenting and tutelage, it seemed Michelle was being terribly misguided and ultimately fell off course (literally!).

I believe where Michele Wie went very right was in going to Qualifying School last December. Having exhausted sponsor exemptions and missed every PGA cut (with scores into the 80s), she did what everyone has to do, regardless of their talent or celebrity: she raised herself through the ranks.

Michelle played well and succeeded at Q-School - a huge accomplishment that both prepares and warrants a player getting out on tour. Then she earned her way onto the Solheim Cup team, and was a shining undefeated star. It really warmed my heart not only to see her play so well, but to finally be a girl among the girls, making friends and socializing and enjoying herself as a young woman amongst her peers. Great talent, low scores and lots of money are all wonderful, but there’s no substitute or skipping over camaraderie, acceptance and earning one’s own way in life.

Michelle Wie’s win in Mexico , and the outpouring of love and support coming her way, is to me a story not just of fine golf but of things still being right in the world. Just 1-2 years ago people were shaking their heads in dismay and even disgust as they watched her flounder. Now, from Q-School to weekly LPGA tour play to the Solheim Cup to winning the much-beloved Lorena Ochoa’s event, Michelle has redeemed herself. In the process she has let us all know that people still prefer to be positive, to forgive, and to love their heroines. Integrity is the big winner here!

Centered Golf Central

With blogging and social media all the rage in today’s hot techno-age, its nice to remember that their appeal really comes from a very basic timeless need we all have: just to be in touch!

I’m very fortunate that my days are filled with all kinds of great people, ideas, insights, experiences, events … so it’s great to have a blog to share them with you.

During July-August I’ll be traveling all over Israel, then back to the U.S. East Coast and Midwest. Teaching, competing, giving talks and clinics, also working with our Middle East Aikido Project and PeaceCamp Initiative. My students and friends all say they want to jump into my suitcase, and I'd love to take everyone along.

So please check here for reports from the road, and juicy KiAi Golf tips for you to be in top form this summer. This is Centered Golfing Central, wherever I or you may be. Here’s to a great summer full of great adventures, great golfing and literally all kinds of fun and success!

Centered Contact...

Centered Contact is the bottom-line crux of a good golf shot. To reach your desired distance and direction, you’ve got to get the “sweet spot,” or vibrational center, of the club face striking the golf ball. For most golfers, centered contact is only a random occurrence. They sometimes hit fine sweet shots, then are shocked by nasty shots, inconsistency and blow-up holes.

Its really not so bewildering. Think about it: If you get centered at address, develop a swing that is properly sequenced and centered, and maintain centered balance from address to follow-through … your chances for Centered Contact go way up! That means your percentage of conscious, consistent, quality shots goes way up – and your scores go down.

Just as one plus one equals two, Centered + Centered = Centered Shots. Being and staying centered is probably the single most powerful thing you can do to improve your swing and scores. Make it your mantra and see what happens - on and off the golf course.