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in and learn as much as possible.”
Kowalski, who’s earned a fourth-degree black belt in two schools of karate,
himself had two martial arts schools on the mainland for a total of 30 years.
For three years running, he was the all-over grand champion in the kata division
of the bi-annual Jim Kelly Invitational tournament and in those same years also
took first place in forms, pre-arranged movements.
TRI-Hara has special meaning. TRI is an acronym that stands for trust, release
and integrate. Kowalski says hara can mean center, and can refer to the centers
of the belly, the heart and the brain, thus TRI- Hara combines three in one —
the harmony of mind, body and heart.
“Basically, I synthesize,” he says referring to forms and movements in his
classes that he draws from the various disciplines he’s studied. “When I show up
at a session, I scan the
students and, depending on what they need, I go into my
repertoire, taking out techniques from all over the world to customize a program
to best suit their needs.
“Nine times out of 10, I hit the mark. We all have some basic things in common:
tightness, fatigue and stress.
“TRI-Hara, along with all forms of yoga, dance, paddling — they’re all ways to
help us stay engaged in our body. And when we’re engaged in our body, we’re in
the moment and it’s a gift and that’s why it’s called the present.”
Kowalski, who had a regular TV program in Seattle for many years and was
featured here on Channel 26 until the station closed, and who has two DVDs
available on TRI-Hara, will hold a free demonstration of TRI- Hara at the Kapa‘a
Neighbor- hood Center on Sunday, Jan. 18 at 4 p.m. For information, call
212.6228, visit online at
http://trihara.com or email Kowalski at
tri-hara@msn.com .
