09/11/2026
Twenty-five years have passed since the morning of September 11, 2001. For some, it remains a vivid memory—the images, the confusion, the disbelief, and the terrible realization that thousands of ordinary people had begun their day never knowing they would not return home. For a younger generation, September 11 is history: something learned through photographs, documentaries, and the recollections of those who were there. But whether remembered firsthand or learned afterward, the passage of time must never be allowed to diminish the value of the lives lost that day.
As Kenpoists, we devote an extraordinary amount of our lives to the study of violence. We study how violence happens, how quickly circumstances can change; how human beings respond under pressure, and ultimately how we might protect ourselves or another person when peaceful alternatives have failed. Yet the purpose of that study should never be a fascination with destruction, but quite the opposite; at its highest level, the study of self-defense is rooted in the sanctity of life. We prepare to confront violence precisely because life is valuable enough to defend.
September 11 provided a terrible reminder that evil men exist; there are people in this world capable of inflicting unimaginable suffering upon strangers, people for whom innocent human life holds little or no value. Such evil is not confined to one nationality, culture, religion, political ideology, or moment in history. It has worn countless faces, countless colors and carried countless banners. Pretending otherwise does nothing to make us safer; we do not honor the innocent by living in hatred, but neither do we honor them by becoming willfully blind to the reality that there are human beings willing to prey upon others.
And yet, while September 11, 2001 showed us the worst of humanity, it also showed us some of its very best. While thousands desperately attempted to escape danger, firefighters, police officers, paramedics, and other first responders deliberately rushed toward it. Ordinary civilians became selfless rescuers: strangers carried strangers, people stopped to help the injured when every instinct must have screamed for them to run. Aboard Flight 93, passengers and crew, understanding something of what was happening, chose action rather than submission. Some of those men and women undoubtedly knew that moving toward danger might cost them their lives—they moved anyway.
They were what we sometimes call the sheepdogs—not because they sought violence, but because when violence came, they placed themselves between it and someone else. There is an important distinction there for every martial artist (especially Kenpoists): courage is not aggression, and readiness is not paranoia. The willingness to fight is not the desire to fight. The true protector does not go searching for an opportunity to prove himself; he develops the ability, awareness, and character necessary to act when circumstances leave no other responsible choice.
That lesson extends far beyond September 11. Evil does not always announce itself dramatically; violence may arrive on a battlefield or a city street, in a parking lot, a workplace, a school, or a home. Most of us will never confront anything resembling the horrors witnessed that morning—and we should be profoundly grateful for that. But the Kenpoist understands that safety is never guaranteed simply because yesterday was peaceful. Awareness matters, preparation matters; capability and fortitude matter. And when another human life is threatened, character matters most of all.
So, on this twenty-fifth anniversary, we remember. We remember the lives taken, the families forever changed, and those whose wounds—visible and invisible—continued long after the smoke cleared. We honor the firefighters, police officers, emergency personnel, military members, and ordinary citizens who answered horror with courage and selflessness. We honor those who ran toward danger while others ran from it. And perhaps the greatest tribute we can offer is not merely to remember what they did, but to understand what their example asks of us.
Never allow hatred to rob you of your humanity. Never allow comfort to rob you of your vigilance. Recognize that evil exists without allowing it to make you evil in return. Value life enough to protect it. Train your body, sharpen your awareness, strengthen your character, and cultivate the courage to stand when standing becomes necessary. None of us knows when we may be called upon to become the person who runs toward the danger. But as Kenpoists—as people who have deliberately chosen to study the protection of human life—we should strive always to be ready.
We remember September 11, 2001. We honor the fallen. We honor those who stood between innocent life and evil. And we remain vigilant.
