What was my very start in Karate, and why did I take the first step?
Helen and I moved to Ft. St. John, BC, in the summer of 1980 when she landed a teaching job at Charlie Lake School. I landed a salesman job and we settled into a minute apartment into our new lives.
Ft. St. John is pretty far north, and winters there get darn cold. 45 below cold. There is a real danger of cabin fever. Lots of bars. One movie theatre, with the worst sound system ever. Yup, real danger of cabin fever. The first winter, I signed up at the college for an introductory computer course, and I became a life-long geek. Helen joined a bowling team, and helped out at the charity bingo. This kept us busy and entertained, but we were on separate paths.
The next year we looked through all the evening course options together. Our short list became ballroom dancing, or Karate. Karate won, although we did do a short dancing class a few months later.
Showed up at the gym for Karate, and it was packed. White suits all over the place. Killer workout and then lessons in basics. Don't really remember all that much about it, but we were both hooked. Found out later that the style was Kyoskushinkai, which is a particularly brutal form. We did get bruised a fair bit. December was the first exam, and we both got yellow belts. Came back after Christmas break keen to go on....and the instructor vanished.
Various rumours floated around as to reasons, but he was gone in any case. Nobody was higher than green, so we were all pretty screwed. The course was a Northern Lights College offering, so the College staff shifted into overtime trying to dig us up an instructor.
Helen and I tried to train a bit, but we were really know-nuttin beginners. We tried visiting a Chitu Ryu club in the town of Dawson Creek 50 miles away. They were super nice, and most welcoming. Watching them I noticed light years of difference between our club and theirs. The Black Belt instructor moved a million times better than our former instructor. Heck, so did the brown belts. I began to wonder if our missing guy had been a fake.
A bit later the College contacted us that they'd found us an instructor starting in September. We decided to jump at that. Said grateful farewells to the Dawson Creek Karate Club.
September 1982, we became students of Shotokan Karate in Ft. St. John. Our new Sensei, Perry Foster, was enthusiastic, friendly, and definately for real.
I was home. Helen hung retired after getting her yellow belt. But I just kept going....
...and we later got back into Ballroom dancing again, too.
I am a 68 year old retired teacher living on the west coast of Canada. I spent over 30 years as a student of Karate until my knees stopped liking it. My current passionate activity is Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, which I've been at for about 13 years.
Thursday 31 March 2011
Wednesday 30 March 2011
Bees
Helen says that my 'Injuries' blog entry left out bees. She's right, but let's startwith mosquitos.
Part of Karate is concentration. When training, one is in combat. If a door slams, you don't look away. You maintain focus. It is kind of like being in the army marching around. You do it right, but for different reasons. In the army, they yell if you don't do drill to the ideal. In a fight, if you let youself respond to distractions you'll lose.
Up north, during a summer seminar, training outdoors. Mosquitos. We were swarmed. We ignored them as much as humanly possible. One in particular I remember. The instructor stops us in a punching pose, and spends a minute or two helping somebody down the line. A big, fat, northern BC mosquito slowly lands on the back of my frozen, punching fist. She took her time, sucking my blood. Could barely fly when done. Then we got to move. Wanted to laugh, but couldn't do that either. Not until later.
The bees were different.
Summer Camp training outdoors by the sea a decade later. Sunny day, nice breeze, grassy field with just a hint of clover. In the middle of the session, ZAP. Burning in the sole of my foot. Ignored it until we were done, but I knew right away what it was. A bee sting in the middle of my right foot. Just went on and finished the class.
The next year I was back at Summer Camp training. Same kind of sun and breeze on the same grassy field. Halfway through, and I was stung again on the bottom of my foot. Finished the class. We later laughed like goons that it happened to me again. Nobody else got stung either year. I was the lucky one, twice.
Third year. Did it happen again? Yup.
Part of Karate is concentration. When training, one is in combat. If a door slams, you don't look away. You maintain focus. It is kind of like being in the army marching around. You do it right, but for different reasons. In the army, they yell if you don't do drill to the ideal. In a fight, if you let youself respond to distractions you'll lose.
Up north, during a summer seminar, training outdoors. Mosquitos. We were swarmed. We ignored them as much as humanly possible. One in particular I remember. The instructor stops us in a punching pose, and spends a minute or two helping somebody down the line. A big, fat, northern BC mosquito slowly lands on the back of my frozen, punching fist. She took her time, sucking my blood. Could barely fly when done. Then we got to move. Wanted to laugh, but couldn't do that either. Not until later.
The bees were different.
Summer Camp training outdoors by the sea a decade later. Sunny day, nice breeze, grassy field with just a hint of clover. In the middle of the session, ZAP. Burning in the sole of my foot. Ignored it until we were done, but I knew right away what it was. A bee sting in the middle of my right foot. Just went on and finished the class.
The next year I was back at Summer Camp training. Same kind of sun and breeze on the same grassy field. Halfway through, and I was stung again on the bottom of my foot. Finished the class. We later laughed like goons that it happened to me again. Nobody else got stung either year. I was the lucky one, twice.
Third year. Did it happen again? Yup.
Tuesday 29 March 2011
I love one hour classes
Over the years, I've attended regular classes that lasted 2 hours, and some that lasted 1.5, and some of a single hour. Always liked the longer ones best.
Now I'm an old fart, and I find a single hour just dandy. I really like to push myself, and if the time were longer, I'd find myself holding back.
During warmup, doing standing exercises, I'm in horse stance. Nobody else is. During basics, I try and move fast. When punching, I punch full speed.
By class end, I'm tired, but it's a good tired. Can't do this in a longer class. Did I mention that I'm an old fart? If I was younger, I'd prefer longer classes.
I learned about the joys of pushing myself from a student of mine. His name is Raymond Kim. He told me that he noticed that he sometimes held back. He'd end a class having put in a reasonable effort, but that he could have done more. He decided never to settle for this, and switched to 100% all the time. He said that he knew he could complete anything we threw at him during a class, and could do so more fulfilled and better trained. I agreed. Why save anything? Did I need it for the trip home? Hardly.
Now I like classes of a length I know I can easily finish, even at a hard pace. I like to make it harder on myself than the instructor is asking.
Now if I could just remember Soichin.....
Now I'm an old fart, and I find a single hour just dandy. I really like to push myself, and if the time were longer, I'd find myself holding back.
During warmup, doing standing exercises, I'm in horse stance. Nobody else is. During basics, I try and move fast. When punching, I punch full speed.
By class end, I'm tired, but it's a good tired. Can't do this in a longer class. Did I mention that I'm an old fart? If I was younger, I'd prefer longer classes.
I learned about the joys of pushing myself from a student of mine. His name is Raymond Kim. He told me that he noticed that he sometimes held back. He'd end a class having put in a reasonable effort, but that he could have done more. He decided never to settle for this, and switched to 100% all the time. He said that he knew he could complete anything we threw at him during a class, and could do so more fulfilled and better trained. I agreed. Why save anything? Did I need it for the trip home? Hardly.
Now I like classes of a length I know I can easily finish, even at a hard pace. I like to make it harder on myself than the instructor is asking.
Now if I could just remember Soichin.....
Monday 28 March 2011
Karate Injuries
Is Karate a dangerous activity? A fine question.
Don't have any hard statistics, which would be the right way to decide this issue. Nothing easy to find. The National Youth Sports Safety Foundation down in the States records 23,018 martial arts injuries requiring a hospital visit. Less than dancing at 38,427 but more than boxing at 9,183. Not really useful raw data without knowing how many participants this represents or how much they do their sport. I'm pretty sure Karate is more dangerous than dancing, and safer than boxing which is not what these numbers indicate.
Have to go on my own experience. I've seen very few people have needed a hospital or doctor after training, or who had serious injuries they get attended to. Knees do get hit hard every so often in a nasty way. Toes sometimes hit something hard, like a bone. Had a partner once land a full speed punch on my own full speed punch. My hand was fine, his swole up to about pumpkin size, but it went down in a few days. Took a few shots in the face, the best being a hit on one side of my head that caused bruising on the other. Don't know how that worked. Taken many, many body shots, but never a broken bone or anything like that from it. Best body bruise I ever got left a foot-shaped bruise in the middle of my chest.
Seen cut lips, and black eyes. Jammed fingers really suck. Had a friend with an old knee injury, received while training in Japan, collapse in pain when his knee locked up without apparent cause. Another friend, Bernardo, once got several ribs broken.
For the thousands and thousands of hours I've done Karate, I'd actually call the injury rate pretty small. Item by item it does sound a tad brutal. How does this compare with something more mainstream?
My sister went skiing once in her life, and shattered a knee. That's a worse injury than anything I've ever seen in Karate. I've been skiing once. After the bunny hill, did the big hill once. At the bottom I hung around a while and watched ski patrol guys bring several injured people away in stretchers. One of these was a ski partrol guy who crashed almost at my feet and got hauled away by his chums. Skiing definately has higher risk.
I'd call soccer safer, rugby riskier. Never seen or even heard of a death. Read somewhere that golf is the most dangerous activity because so many people doing it, including all ages and health levels. It has the highest death rate in sport, due to heart attacks.
My theory is do what you love, as long as the risk isn't out of line.
Maybe that's why I stick to safe activities like kicking and punching.
Don't have any hard statistics, which would be the right way to decide this issue. Nothing easy to find. The National Youth Sports Safety Foundation down in the States records 23,018 martial arts injuries requiring a hospital visit. Less than dancing at 38,427 but more than boxing at 9,183. Not really useful raw data without knowing how many participants this represents or how much they do their sport. I'm pretty sure Karate is more dangerous than dancing, and safer than boxing which is not what these numbers indicate.
Have to go on my own experience. I've seen very few people have needed a hospital or doctor after training, or who had serious injuries they get attended to. Knees do get hit hard every so often in a nasty way. Toes sometimes hit something hard, like a bone. Had a partner once land a full speed punch on my own full speed punch. My hand was fine, his swole up to about pumpkin size, but it went down in a few days. Took a few shots in the face, the best being a hit on one side of my head that caused bruising on the other. Don't know how that worked. Taken many, many body shots, but never a broken bone or anything like that from it. Best body bruise I ever got left a foot-shaped bruise in the middle of my chest.
Seen cut lips, and black eyes. Jammed fingers really suck. Had a friend with an old knee injury, received while training in Japan, collapse in pain when his knee locked up without apparent cause. Another friend, Bernardo, once got several ribs broken.
For the thousands and thousands of hours I've done Karate, I'd actually call the injury rate pretty small. Item by item it does sound a tad brutal. How does this compare with something more mainstream?
My sister went skiing once in her life, and shattered a knee. That's a worse injury than anything I've ever seen in Karate. I've been skiing once. After the bunny hill, did the big hill once. At the bottom I hung around a while and watched ski patrol guys bring several injured people away in stretchers. One of these was a ski partrol guy who crashed almost at my feet and got hauled away by his chums. Skiing definately has higher risk.
I'd call soccer safer, rugby riskier. Never seen or even heard of a death. Read somewhere that golf is the most dangerous activity because so many people doing it, including all ages and health levels. It has the highest death rate in sport, due to heart attacks.
My theory is do what you love, as long as the risk isn't out of line.
Maybe that's why I stick to safe activities like kicking and punching.
Sunday 27 March 2011
Running Sucks
I have set myself a goal of running 5km every non-workday this year. If a day gets missed it gets made up later. I run pretty much in every weather. Lots of people run, and rave about how much they enjoy it. My wife often wishes me a jaunty, "have fun" as I head out the door.
Running is not normally a joyous activity for me. It is exercise. It is discipline. It is rewarding. It is not fun....usually.
Beautiful skies sometimes. Sometimes knockout ocean or mountain views. Sometimes I see deer, or elk, or coyotes, or even bears. Sometimes listen to beautiful music, or interesting aubiobooks. Once in a while I reach a state of no-mind. I like that.
Fun? Not as much fun as my TV, or tech, or xbox, or wii, or even my comfy chair.
But I run,
as I have run,
for two decades.
Running is not normally a joyous activity for me. It is exercise. It is discipline. It is rewarding. It is not fun....usually.
Beautiful skies sometimes. Sometimes knockout ocean or mountain views. Sometimes I see deer, or elk, or coyotes, or even bears. Sometimes listen to beautiful music, or interesting aubiobooks. Once in a while I reach a state of no-mind. I like that.
Fun? Not as much fun as my TV, or tech, or xbox, or wii, or even my comfy chair.
But I run,
as I have run,
for two decades.
Saturday 26 March 2011
Seminar toes
When we used to have seminars up north, they were always a really big deal. The entire expense was paid by....us...not shared by any other clubs. This usually meant almost 100% attendence (without making a rule) and we were a pretty darn big club. The gym would be packed. We always tried to squeeze in every second of training we could.
Usually had 3 hour evening class on Friday, 3 more hours Saturday morning, and 4 more Saturday afternoon. Sunday morning, same kinda timing with exams squeezed in and the guest running for the plane at the end.
Usually in seminars, to make it interesting, the big guys would NOT have us doing the same old stuff. There would be angles and twists and shifts and....TOE BLISTERS....
By the end of the very first class, almost every foot in the joint would have blisters all over them. Not really a big deal, injury wise, unless one is doing twice as much training again the next day.
To pop, or drain, or leave au naturale. These are the big questions. To bandage with tape, or rough it out bare-toe. I was of the bare-toe camp. Bandages never survived the first 15 minutes of the next class, and either got ripped off by the floor, or pulled off by the wearer.
The being drenched with sweat never bothered me much. The almost collapsing from exertion, child's play. It was the fricking toes.
Typically, the monday class after a seminar weekend would be somewhat poorly attended, but I always had to be there, walking as if the floor was made of porcupine pelts.
And then we'd start planning the next seminar.....
Usually had 3 hour evening class on Friday, 3 more hours Saturday morning, and 4 more Saturday afternoon. Sunday morning, same kinda timing with exams squeezed in and the guest running for the plane at the end.
Usually in seminars, to make it interesting, the big guys would NOT have us doing the same old stuff. There would be angles and twists and shifts and....TOE BLISTERS....
By the end of the very first class, almost every foot in the joint would have blisters all over them. Not really a big deal, injury wise, unless one is doing twice as much training again the next day.
To pop, or drain, or leave au naturale. These are the big questions. To bandage with tape, or rough it out bare-toe. I was of the bare-toe camp. Bandages never survived the first 15 minutes of the next class, and either got ripped off by the floor, or pulled off by the wearer.
The being drenched with sweat never bothered me much. The almost collapsing from exertion, child's play. It was the fricking toes.
Typically, the monday class after a seminar weekend would be somewhat poorly attended, but I always had to be there, walking as if the floor was made of porcupine pelts.
And then we'd start planning the next seminar.....
My Third Club II
So I was Sensei of my third club. Made the deal that somebody would take it over eventually. My hope was that I'd be the instructor for a year, give or take. Then I could be a student in the line.
Athena, our Brown Belt organizer, got her Black Belt parents attending.
Everybody wanted to have a kids' class running at the same time as the adults, so people could join with built-in day care. (Evening care?) Athena's mom, Cherry agreed to take that part of the group. So far so good.
Training two nights a week at West Sechelt School. Soon, added a third class Saturday afternoon in a church hall. Managed to get Ogawa Sensei to agree to come to the odd Saturday session. Sweet. He's one of those guys that can show you how something you'd been doing for decades is a bit off. And he's always right.
Needed to join an association so our students would get real rankings. I was leaning to my old one JKABC, but Athena's clan wanted their old one of ISKF. Both are fine, so we joined ISKF.
Ninth Dan Yaguchi came for a seminar in Vancouver before Xmas. Somebody had to go show the flag for our baby club. Guess who that was? Joe Dixon, the BC head agreed to come visit us and would do our testing locally. Better and better.
I surprised myself at how un-rusty I was. Started re-learning Katas with blinding speed. I think so anyway. Cherry and her husband, Armando, started real rusty, but pushed right through that. Their injuries seemed to be OK, so we had three operational Black Belts.
A bunch of us went as a group to watch the Provincial Championship. So many keeners.
Late January, Athena let me know that Cherry felt ready to take over the Sensei role. They all seemed really nervous about hurting my feelings. Karate people are notorious for being touchy. I didn't mind, but was a bit concerned about how ready she really was.
I stopped teaching, and joined the student line. Was pleasantly surprised at how well Cherry did. After a class or two, I had no concerns left at all.
Just had our first set of exams. Of six students grading, six passed. We had done something right.
So now I get to work on my own Karate without thinking all that much about the other people. Haven't been in that position since before I inherited my First Club. People are not shy about asking me for help, and I am happy to do so. This includes Cherry and Armando, who sometimes want help with Kata. I might end up being the Kata reference guy.
I could dig that.
Athena, our Brown Belt organizer, got her Black Belt parents attending.
Everybody wanted to have a kids' class running at the same time as the adults, so people could join with built-in day care. (Evening care?) Athena's mom, Cherry agreed to take that part of the group. So far so good.
Training two nights a week at West Sechelt School. Soon, added a third class Saturday afternoon in a church hall. Managed to get Ogawa Sensei to agree to come to the odd Saturday session. Sweet. He's one of those guys that can show you how something you'd been doing for decades is a bit off. And he's always right.
Needed to join an association so our students would get real rankings. I was leaning to my old one JKABC, but Athena's clan wanted their old one of ISKF. Both are fine, so we joined ISKF.
Ninth Dan Yaguchi came for a seminar in Vancouver before Xmas. Somebody had to go show the flag for our baby club. Guess who that was? Joe Dixon, the BC head agreed to come visit us and would do our testing locally. Better and better.
I surprised myself at how un-rusty I was. Started re-learning Katas with blinding speed. I think so anyway. Cherry and her husband, Armando, started real rusty, but pushed right through that. Their injuries seemed to be OK, so we had three operational Black Belts.
A bunch of us went as a group to watch the Provincial Championship. So many keeners.
Late January, Athena let me know that Cherry felt ready to take over the Sensei role. They all seemed really nervous about hurting my feelings. Karate people are notorious for being touchy. I didn't mind, but was a bit concerned about how ready she really was.
I stopped teaching, and joined the student line. Was pleasantly surprised at how well Cherry did. After a class or two, I had no concerns left at all.
Just had our first set of exams. Of six students grading, six passed. We had done something right.
So now I get to work on my own Karate without thinking all that much about the other people. Haven't been in that position since before I inherited my First Club. People are not shy about asking me for help, and I am happy to do so. This includes Cherry and Armando, who sometimes want help with Kata. I might end up being the Kata reference guy.
I could dig that.
Thursday 24 March 2011
Pizza
Victoria holds my childhood. I'll always love the place. Much can only be recognized in fleeting glimpses. Much of it has to do with food.
The food of my childhood was always simple, and tended to include abundant cooking. Ever eaten burnt creamed corn?
Later, eating out was added and it became a passion of mine. Helen can always brighten my day by suggesting a meal out, and she's a fabulous cook.
In today's Victoria, the absolutely finest fare is Pizza from a two-location establishment called Prima Strada. They do it the real way, with big brick ovens at a million degrees. Pizzas take maybe two minutes to cook. The toppings are perfect. Don't expect an inch-thick meat eaters or Hawaiian pineappled creation. For the length of your meal you will be eating as in Naples.
Victoria has come a long way. Change isn't always bad.
The food of my childhood was always simple, and tended to include abundant cooking. Ever eaten burnt creamed corn?
Later, eating out was added and it became a passion of mine. Helen can always brighten my day by suggesting a meal out, and she's a fabulous cook.
In today's Victoria, the absolutely finest fare is Pizza from a two-location establishment called Prima Strada. They do it the real way, with big brick ovens at a million degrees. Pizzas take maybe two minutes to cook. The toppings are perfect. Don't expect an inch-thick meat eaters or Hawaiian pineappled creation. For the length of your meal you will be eating as in Naples.
Victoria has come a long way. Change isn't always bad.
My Third Club
Inspired by my family, I started to think about Karate again. Started entering the age that meant if I didn't start soon, I never would.
Dropped into the Roberts Creek Shitu Ryu club a couple of times. They were incredibly welcoming. Should I just chuck the Black Belt and start over in Shitu Ryu, or just remain the weird Shotokan guy in the back.
Went in to train at an old friend's Dojo in North Vancouver. Again, welcomed. Turns out our old association is pretty much the same, with the new name of JKABC, wnd with Sakurai Sensei holding 7th Dan.
Still didn't know which route to take back to training.
My beliefs about luck and fate and coincidence are pretty pedestrian, but sometimes things just seem to happen the right way.
A message popped up in Facebook for me. A woman in Sechelt was trying to find Shotokan Karate. She'd visited the Roberts Creek club, and they'd pointed her towards me. She holds Brown Belt. We agreed to meet at Starbucks.
She wanted an instructor, which meant a club, and was willing to do all the organizing and setup required. She's a lawyer, for Pete's sake. She also has parents who are both Black Belts, and she thought they might join, too. They hadn't trained for 14 years, having quit due to injuries. I agreed to take the Sensei role until somebody else was willing to take that over.
In no time, we had classes 3 times a week and a club of 15 people. Funny how things work.
Dropped into the Roberts Creek Shitu Ryu club a couple of times. They were incredibly welcoming. Should I just chuck the Black Belt and start over in Shitu Ryu, or just remain the weird Shotokan guy in the back.
Went in to train at an old friend's Dojo in North Vancouver. Again, welcomed. Turns out our old association is pretty much the same, with the new name of JKABC, wnd with Sakurai Sensei holding 7th Dan.
Still didn't know which route to take back to training.
My beliefs about luck and fate and coincidence are pretty pedestrian, but sometimes things just seem to happen the right way.
A message popped up in Facebook for me. A woman in Sechelt was trying to find Shotokan Karate. She'd visited the Roberts Creek club, and they'd pointed her towards me. She holds Brown Belt. We agreed to meet at Starbucks.
She wanted an instructor, which meant a club, and was willing to do all the organizing and setup required. She's a lawyer, for Pete's sake. She also has parents who are both Black Belts, and she thought they might join, too. They hadn't trained for 14 years, having quit due to injuries. I agreed to take the Sensei role until somebody else was willing to take that over.
In no time, we had classes 3 times a week and a club of 15 people. Funny how things work.
Wednesday 23 March 2011
My Second Club II
Got a great bunch of folks again. Betsy, Suzanne, Sara, Ian, Jess, and many more. Coffee became apart of training.
Many visits to Van, and seminars, and tournaments. I actually entered the Provincial Championships and was finished real fast. Ian entered, too, and was a tad nervous. He didn't speak the entire trip over until he was done.
Enjoyed it all, but by 1999 the club and I were both out of steam. All the old timers had hung up their belts. There was only myself and one young Brown Belt student left. When he stopped training early in 2000, so did I.
The club was done.
For a while I trained with the nice club in Roberts Creek who did Shitu Ryu style, but gave up on that, too.
In about 2006, Ogawa Sensei opened a club in Sechelt. An excellent instructor, but his club lasted only about a year. I stopped again.
Helen's brother and his family started to get into Karate in Victoria in a big way a bit later. I found them inspiring.
Very inspiring...
Many visits to Van, and seminars, and tournaments. I actually entered the Provincial Championships and was finished real fast. Ian entered, too, and was a tad nervous. He didn't speak the entire trip over until he was done.
Enjoyed it all, but by 1999 the club and I were both out of steam. All the old timers had hung up their belts. There was only myself and one young Brown Belt student left. When he stopped training early in 2000, so did I.
The club was done.
For a while I trained with the nice club in Roberts Creek who did Shitu Ryu style, but gave up on that, too.
In about 2006, Ogawa Sensei opened a club in Sechelt. An excellent instructor, but his club lasted only about a year. I stopped again.
Helen's brother and his family started to get into Karate in Victoria in a big way a bit later. I found them inspiring.
Very inspiring...
Tuesday 22 March 2011
Seminars up North
My instructor, Perry Foster made it a policy to bring up a variety of Shotokan instructors. I carried this on, both to promote better learning, and also to do rank gradings as I was not qualified to test people. Kept doing seminars even after I was permitted to give exams. They are also fun.
We had Robert Sidoli, and Mike Scales a time or two each.
Norma Foster came once or twice, when she was a second degree and a Champion competitor. Over dinner she told me that it was the first Karate seminar ever in BC with a woman as the guest instructor. If she was correct, I guess we made some small history. Her story is pretty cool. Later she would reach 3rd Dan in Shotokan, and then switch to Wado Ryu. I think she is now a 7th Dan in Wado, as well as being the most highly qualified woman at world-level refereeing.
We had Andy Holmes many, many times. Besides being a great instructor and nice guy, he has been Provincial Champ many times, and Canadian Champ at least once that I know of. When our little northern club was about to be banned from competition because we had no Black Belt, he said, "Put me down as your club's instructor. See what they do with that." Never had another problem.
Sakurai Sensei also came many times. At first, he scared us to death. Turned out over time to be a true gentleman. He is also a big kid in the joy he gets out of the simplest things. Once he spent every spare moment going from store to store searching for a pair of cowboy boots. His depth of Karate knowledge is astounding.
They all helped us so much, yet they never wanted fawning gratitude. I guess someone earlier had helped them along in their journey. Cycle of life?
Maybe something like that. Remind me to tell you about toes.
We had Robert Sidoli, and Mike Scales a time or two each.
Norma Foster came once or twice, when she was a second degree and a Champion competitor. Over dinner she told me that it was the first Karate seminar ever in BC with a woman as the guest instructor. If she was correct, I guess we made some small history. Her story is pretty cool. Later she would reach 3rd Dan in Shotokan, and then switch to Wado Ryu. I think she is now a 7th Dan in Wado, as well as being the most highly qualified woman at world-level refereeing.
We had Andy Holmes many, many times. Besides being a great instructor and nice guy, he has been Provincial Champ many times, and Canadian Champ at least once that I know of. When our little northern club was about to be banned from competition because we had no Black Belt, he said, "Put me down as your club's instructor. See what they do with that." Never had another problem.
Sakurai Sensei also came many times. At first, he scared us to death. Turned out over time to be a true gentleman. He is also a big kid in the joy he gets out of the simplest things. Once he spent every spare moment going from store to store searching for a pair of cowboy boots. His depth of Karate knowledge is astounding.
They all helped us so much, yet they never wanted fawning gratitude. I guess someone earlier had helped them along in their journey. Cycle of life?
Maybe something like that. Remind me to tell you about toes.
My Second Club I
Moved to Sechelt, which is a cute and funky little village by the sea. It's only a ferry ride from Vancouver, and from big shopping and Karate. We bought a great house.
And I started setting up a new Karate club. Newspaper ads. Posters on every storefront that would let me. Rented Sechelt school gym.
Got about a dozen adults, and later added Kids classes. The new club was a go.
Went in to Vancouver on a Saturday to train with MY Sensei. Sakurai Sensei is the best. I'd missed all the political stuff towards the end of my time up north, and now it kicked me in the face.
My old association had totally collapsed in BC, fragmenting into several smaller groups. Tons of bad feelings all around. No question but that I'd bring my new club with me into whatever part Sakurai Sensei was in. This new association was called NASKA. We were NASKA, but Sakurai Sensei had returned to live in Japan.
He would return several times a year for seminars, but my dream of seeing him weekly was just not going to happen.
NASKA at the start had Sakurai Sensei as it's sole high rank (5th Dan). Next was Chris Davies, 3rd, a few Nidans, and the rest Shodan like me. Having had my rank for 4 years made me senior by far to the others my level. A few months earlier all the Shodans near ready for second degree tested for promotion and passed.
Being one of the more experienced teachers had its advantages. It was years before I cranked out a student who failed in a Vancouver exam. 100% pass rate felt great.
So we trained...
And I started setting up a new Karate club. Newspaper ads. Posters on every storefront that would let me. Rented Sechelt school gym.
Got about a dozen adults, and later added Kids classes. The new club was a go.
Went in to Vancouver on a Saturday to train with MY Sensei. Sakurai Sensei is the best. I'd missed all the political stuff towards the end of my time up north, and now it kicked me in the face.
My old association had totally collapsed in BC, fragmenting into several smaller groups. Tons of bad feelings all around. No question but that I'd bring my new club with me into whatever part Sakurai Sensei was in. This new association was called NASKA. We were NASKA, but Sakurai Sensei had returned to live in Japan.
He would return several times a year for seminars, but my dream of seeing him weekly was just not going to happen.
NASKA at the start had Sakurai Sensei as it's sole high rank (5th Dan). Next was Chris Davies, 3rd, a few Nidans, and the rest Shodan like me. Having had my rank for 4 years made me senior by far to the others my level. A few months earlier all the Shodans near ready for second degree tested for promotion and passed.
Being one of the more experienced teachers had its advantages. It was years before I cranked out a student who failed in a Vancouver exam. 100% pass rate felt great.
So we trained...
Monday 21 March 2011
My First Club V
1986 was a really big year for me. Got Shodan (Black Belt), quit my job as a salesman, and biggest of all married Helen.
When January of '87 hit, I went back to school, at Northern Lights College. I was going to follow Helen into the teaching profession. Was ecstatic to learn that my decade old university credits still counted. I had about two years worth of those.
Eventually I ended up completing a degreen with the University of Victoria, and went into a Simon Fraser University teacher's program. Did most of it in Ft. St. John, with summers away. The intense part ran in 1989, so I almost totally stopped Karate.
Turned it over to my Black Belts, who likely ran it better than I did. Got out of touch with association news. Sometimes I could afford an evening to drop in, but only trained and left it all to them.
Became a teacher and got hired at a high school, so still too busy for much Karate. The question arose. Would Helen and I stay north forever, or try to transfer out? We'd been there for one year, ten times already. So job applications went south, and Helen got hired in Sechelt. We didn't really know where that was.
It was sad to leave my old Karate chums, but knew that from Sechelt I could get to Vancouver on Saturdays to train with Sakurai Sensei. He is the best instuctor I've ever seen...in every way.
We packed, said our goodbyes, and in July of 1990 Made Sechelt our home.
When January of '87 hit, I went back to school, at Northern Lights College. I was going to follow Helen into the teaching profession. Was ecstatic to learn that my decade old university credits still counted. I had about two years worth of those.
Eventually I ended up completing a degreen with the University of Victoria, and went into a Simon Fraser University teacher's program. Did most of it in Ft. St. John, with summers away. The intense part ran in 1989, so I almost totally stopped Karate.
Turned it over to my Black Belts, who likely ran it better than I did. Got out of touch with association news. Sometimes I could afford an evening to drop in, but only trained and left it all to them.
Became a teacher and got hired at a high school, so still too busy for much Karate. The question arose. Would Helen and I stay north forever, or try to transfer out? We'd been there for one year, ten times already. So job applications went south, and Helen got hired in Sechelt. We didn't really know where that was.
It was sad to leave my old Karate chums, but knew that from Sechelt I could get to Vancouver on Saturdays to train with Sakurai Sensei. He is the best instuctor I've ever seen...in every way.
We packed, said our goodbyes, and in July of 1990 Made Sechelt our home.
My First Club IV
Failing sucks....but back north to resume my life.
Months later, another Big Guy came to BC. People thought I should try again, but I hadn't improved since the failure, so that seemed kinda a dead end. I did go train with him. Yamaguchi Sensei was his name.
My old instructor returned to the north, so I had a regular teacher again. He was in a neighboring town, so only about once a week. Very glad to get him back. Then we had Sakurai Sensei visit us. He asked if I wanted to test. Very polite, but when a Big Guy says that, he's actually telling you.
Did my grading, but didn't get the result for a week or so.
I had passed. Certainly felt a bit stunned to hear that. Then he said, "I'd done a lot for Karate in my area." That meant that although I was kinda good enough to pass, I wouldn't have if I'd just been Joe Blow.
Took it, though. Figured if it took me 6 months or a year to "really" be there I'd still be training, learning and improving.
Few months later, my senior students started getting Black Belts, too. I was prouder of their success than my own. Les was first, then Bernardo, Jewel, Colin and Yvonne.
And they all called me, Sensei. That is an honour beyond measure.
Months later, another Big Guy came to BC. People thought I should try again, but I hadn't improved since the failure, so that seemed kinda a dead end. I did go train with him. Yamaguchi Sensei was his name.
My old instructor returned to the north, so I had a regular teacher again. He was in a neighboring town, so only about once a week. Very glad to get him back. Then we had Sakurai Sensei visit us. He asked if I wanted to test. Very polite, but when a Big Guy says that, he's actually telling you.
Did my grading, but didn't get the result for a week or so.
I had passed. Certainly felt a bit stunned to hear that. Then he said, "I'd done a lot for Karate in my area." That meant that although I was kinda good enough to pass, I wouldn't have if I'd just been Joe Blow.
Took it, though. Figured if it took me 6 months or a year to "really" be there I'd still be training, learning and improving.
Few months later, my senior students started getting Black Belts, too. I was prouder of their success than my own. Les was first, then Bernardo, Jewel, Colin and Yvonne.
And they all called me, Sensei. That is an honour beyond measure.
Sunday 20 March 2011
Nakayama
Nakayama was the head of the Japan Karate Association for several decades. JKA used to be the world's largest Karate organization. Maybe it still is.
It was my honour to train in classes lead by him. Once was at the San Diego Summer Camp, the the other was during his 1986 visit to BC.
He has since passed on, and the association has suffered many subsequent fractures.
I swear the Star Wars character Yoda was based on him, but he wasn't green. Short, cute, and very stiff from injuries suffered in a near-fatal skiing accident, he was totally unimposing.
One thing I remember he had us try, was to stand still until an attacking punch reached to within inches of one's face. We were to then pivot so that the passing fist passed harmlessly a micron or two to one side. Little Yoda could do it easily. I didn't see anybody else even get close to success. Through his translator he told us that we were all pivoting too soon. "Let the full-speed punch get closer before you move."
Then in English he chanted "wait wait wait go". We screwed it up. "Wait wait wait go". I understood what was required, but just couldn't do what Yoda could. That little guy was fast. He also gave no clue as to when he was going to move, or which way he was going to pivot. He used several different attackers to demonstrate. The attacking fist always looked like it was touching his cheek, and I suppose it was. That was part of what he wanted us to do. "Wait wait wait go". We were, however, able to make him smile.
It was my honour to train in classes lead by him. Once was at the San Diego Summer Camp, the the other was during his 1986 visit to BC.
He has since passed on, and the association has suffered many subsequent fractures.
I swear the Star Wars character Yoda was based on him, but he wasn't green. Short, cute, and very stiff from injuries suffered in a near-fatal skiing accident, he was totally unimposing.
One thing I remember he had us try, was to stand still until an attacking punch reached to within inches of one's face. We were to then pivot so that the passing fist passed harmlessly a micron or two to one side. Little Yoda could do it easily. I didn't see anybody else even get close to success. Through his translator he told us that we were all pivoting too soon. "Let the full-speed punch get closer before you move."
Then in English he chanted "wait wait wait go". We screwed it up. "Wait wait wait go". I understood what was required, but just couldn't do what Yoda could. That little guy was fast. He also gave no clue as to when he was going to move, or which way he was going to pivot. He used several different attackers to demonstrate. The attacking fist always looked like it was touching his cheek, and I suppose it was. That was part of what he wanted us to do. "Wait wait wait go". We were, however, able to make him smile.
My First Club III
...so off I went to Vancouver. Flew down for the entire week. Stayed in a hotel on Hastings. A friend from Dawson Creek came down later, but he only came for couple of days.
I followed Nakayama from location to location, and trained with Vancouver instructors whenever Nakayama had no sessions on. Was trying to turn into a Black Belt with a bit of concentrated Karate. Mostly I just got sore and stiff.
Test day was at the Downtown Police Gym. An island of tranquility in the toughest part of town. Can't remember anything about the class, just the testing. I assume that Nakayama was at his yoda-style best.
Was well over 50 people testing for Shodan and above. The three test parts were supervised by teams of very high level Karateka. Nakayama sat alone at his table to judge our Kata.
For Kata, we were allowed to choose from a list of nine, but everybody always chose Bassai
Dai. Bassai Dai, next guy, Bassai Dai, next guy, Bassai Day, me....I chose Jion.
When every anybody did their Bassai Dai, Nakayama would only look up during certain parts. The rest of the time he was looking at his papers. When I announced, "Jion", his head came up right away. He watched the entire thing.
Finally, all the hopefuls were lined up, and those that passed had their names called. Then the examiners left without another word. My name had not been called. I had failed.
Big party that night to honour those that passed. I went to celebrate my friend Greg's success.
Dawson Creek now had a Black Belt, but my town still had none.
I followed Nakayama from location to location, and trained with Vancouver instructors whenever Nakayama had no sessions on. Was trying to turn into a Black Belt with a bit of concentrated Karate. Mostly I just got sore and stiff.
Test day was at the Downtown Police Gym. An island of tranquility in the toughest part of town. Can't remember anything about the class, just the testing. I assume that Nakayama was at his yoda-style best.
Was well over 50 people testing for Shodan and above. The three test parts were supervised by teams of very high level Karateka. Nakayama sat alone at his table to judge our Kata.
For Kata, we were allowed to choose from a list of nine, but everybody always chose Bassai
Dai. Bassai Dai, next guy, Bassai Dai, next guy, Bassai Day, me....I chose Jion.
When every anybody did their Bassai Dai, Nakayama would only look up during certain parts. The rest of the time he was looking at his papers. When I announced, "Jion", his head came up right away. He watched the entire thing.
Finally, all the hopefuls were lined up, and those that passed had their names called. Then the examiners left without another word. My name had not been called. I had failed.
Big party that night to honour those that passed. I went to celebrate my friend Greg's success.
Dawson Creek now had a Black Belt, but my town still had none.
Friday 18 March 2011
Magic
I've been able to train with a great many Karate instructors over the years. Some like to include Eastern Mysticism, and some like to include bad Science. I prefer no Mysticism, and bad Science gives me the willies. Never ever has a Japanese instructor included this stuff around me.
Japanese instructors always make perfect sense to me, as do the instructors that teach in that vein.
For many years, a certain pudgy American has been running around claiming to know death touch tecniques, as well as saying he could beat people up without touching them. Fox news finally got one of this guy's elite students to show them the magic on a non-interested target. Nuttin'. The explanation was, "he didn't believe". Got that? To avoid magical martial arts, just don't believe in them. There was also mumbo jumbo about how the non-complient victim must have lifted his tongue at the wrong time, or a big toe.
Karate is Science, Physics to be exact. Fists and feet delivering kinetic energy. I remember learning this stuff in high school. Good old Newtonian physics, about 400 years old. Stances, physics. Hip rotation, physics....
Crashing a car into a tree doesn't require the tree to believe that the car will hurt it. Neither does fighting.
Hints to detecting a martial arts fake. If he says he's a master, he's a fake. If he wears a red belt, and claims it's higher than Black, and he's not a Judo Instructor, he's a fake. If he claims to have created the style he teaches, and he's under 60 years old, he's a fake. Hair in ponytail, probably a fake. Claims to be a champion, and Google can't find him, he's a fake. Teaches Kung Fu, and wants to be called Sensei, he's a fake.
Japanese instructors always make perfect sense to me, as do the instructors that teach in that vein.
For many years, a certain pudgy American has been running around claiming to know death touch tecniques, as well as saying he could beat people up without touching them. Fox news finally got one of this guy's elite students to show them the magic on a non-interested target. Nuttin'. The explanation was, "he didn't believe". Got that? To avoid magical martial arts, just don't believe in them. There was also mumbo jumbo about how the non-complient victim must have lifted his tongue at the wrong time, or a big toe.
Karate is Science, Physics to be exact. Fists and feet delivering kinetic energy. I remember learning this stuff in high school. Good old Newtonian physics, about 400 years old. Stances, physics. Hip rotation, physics....
Crashing a car into a tree doesn't require the tree to believe that the car will hurt it. Neither does fighting.
Hints to detecting a martial arts fake. If he says he's a master, he's a fake. If he wears a red belt, and claims it's higher than Black, and he's not a Judo Instructor, he's a fake. If he claims to have created the style he teaches, and he's under 60 years old, he's a fake. Hair in ponytail, probably a fake. Claims to be a champion, and Google can't find him, he's a fake. Teaches Kung Fu, and wants to be called Sensei, he's a fake.
My First Club II
...so I inherited the Ft. St. John Karate Club in 1985, and I was not qualified to be Sensei. Would the whole thing collapse?
Did the best I could at teaching, and pushed for increased membership. The deal had been that Northern Lights College collected all the student fees, provided locations for training, and paid the instructors a few dollars a night to teach. To survive, I knew we'd need more cash. Talked to the college people, and they agreed to a new deal. They no longer paid the instructors and provided the gym, but the money deal changed. They collected the money, and gave the club back 85% of the take. Suddenly we were flush with money. Used it to pay me, and helper teachers, and to bring in big name instructors from Vancouver.
About a year later, the club was up to 119 members, in one adult class and two kids classes. We had all continued to progress through the ranks at a normal rate, and had enjoyed many weekend seminars, which included training and tests. I considered things a success.
Spring 1986 rolled around, and I became due to test for my Black Belt. That year, the head of the entire Japan Karate Association, Nakayama Shihan, was coming to the lower mainland for a week-long visit. I simply had to go...
Did the best I could at teaching, and pushed for increased membership. The deal had been that Northern Lights College collected all the student fees, provided locations for training, and paid the instructors a few dollars a night to teach. To survive, I knew we'd need more cash. Talked to the college people, and they agreed to a new deal. They no longer paid the instructors and provided the gym, but the money deal changed. They collected the money, and gave the club back 85% of the take. Suddenly we were flush with money. Used it to pay me, and helper teachers, and to bring in big name instructors from Vancouver.
About a year later, the club was up to 119 members, in one adult class and two kids classes. We had all continued to progress through the ranks at a normal rate, and had enjoyed many weekend seminars, which included training and tests. I considered things a success.
Spring 1986 rolled around, and I became due to test for my Black Belt. That year, the head of the entire Japan Karate Association, Nakayama Shihan, was coming to the lower mainland for a week-long visit. I simply had to go...
Spring Break
Don't know how it works, but the days before vacations are always the longest imaginable. Somehow they manage to slip in extra seconds, minutes, and hours when nobody is looking.
The RCMP should look into this. It has to be illegal.
I do have one empty block in the middle of the day. That will help.
Tomorrow, we head off for Victoria. Helen's brother puts us up, and we get a week with a mob of kids and dogs. It's great. I'll visit mom every day in her care home.
There might even be a restaurant meal or two involved....or maybe even three....
The RCMP should look into this. It has to be illegal.
I do have one empty block in the middle of the day. That will help.
Tomorrow, we head off for Victoria. Helen's brother puts us up, and we get a week with a mob of kids and dogs. It's great. I'll visit mom every day in her care home.
There might even be a restaurant meal or two involved....or maybe even three....
Thursday 17 March 2011
Biker Meal
I live about 5 km (3 miles) from work. Rather than buying myself a car to replace the one that died 2 years ago, I got a bike that has an electric assist motor that does about half the pedalling work. It has been my 'car' ever since.
I'm saving a bundle of money, and it is still exercise. Both home and school are on the top of bloody awful hills, with mostly sea level in between. Without the helping motor, I'd get to work too sweaty by far.
Weather can be an issue, but only ice or frost stops me. Last day or two it seems as if Spring is starting to force its way through. I swear that this year has had double its ration of rain, cold and wind. Light at the end of the tunnel? Perhaps.
Deciding now if a bike ride back to town is in order for a restaurant meal. Strange to be too lazy to cook, but not too lazy to ride 10km to get supper. I do love restaurant food. Hauling along the iPad is a must so that I can entertain myself. To go, or not to go.....
BANZAI!!!!!!!!
I'm saving a bundle of money, and it is still exercise. Both home and school are on the top of bloody awful hills, with mostly sea level in between. Without the helping motor, I'd get to work too sweaty by far.
Weather can be an issue, but only ice or frost stops me. Last day or two it seems as if Spring is starting to force its way through. I swear that this year has had double its ration of rain, cold and wind. Light at the end of the tunnel? Perhaps.
Deciding now if a bike ride back to town is in order for a restaurant meal. Strange to be too lazy to cook, but not too lazy to ride 10km to get supper. I do love restaurant food. Hauling along the iPad is a must so that I can entertain myself. To go, or not to go.....
BANZAI!!!!!!!!
Wednesday 16 March 2011
Fragile women
I'm upset to discover that our association has adopted special rules for sparring. Safety first, I suppose. Is it new safety rules for all? Nope.
Special rules now exist when males spar with females. Certain moves forbidden to protect the ladies, but only when they are facing men. The women I used to train with would be pissed. That's like saying women can't handle real training. Not talking about tournament fighting which already has separate divisions, just in-class training.
Over the years I've seen lots of people smacked, and been smacked, and smacked a few myself. I've sparred with champions, and nobody ran up to say....special rules when champions spar with Stromkins...he can't handle it. If they had, I'd have been both horrified and shamed.
Maybe I'm a dinosaur.
Special rules now exist when males spar with females. Certain moves forbidden to protect the ladies, but only when they are facing men. The women I used to train with would be pissed. That's like saying women can't handle real training. Not talking about tournament fighting which already has separate divisions, just in-class training.
Over the years I've seen lots of people smacked, and been smacked, and smacked a few myself. I've sparred with champions, and nobody ran up to say....special rules when champions spar with Stromkins...he can't handle it. If they had, I'd have been both horrified and shamed.
Maybe I'm a dinosaur.
My First Club
My journey in Karate has been quite long. First entered a class in 1981 in Ft. St. John BC. Within 6 months the instructor skipped town, leaving his students high and dry.
1982, the local college had arranged for a Shotokan instructor named Perry Foster from the neighboring town of Dawson Creek to come and teach. The drive each way was about an hour, so we were very lucky to get him. Wisely, he split the teaching with the senior student from his club in the other town.
A bit over a year later, his assistant had had enough, and Foster Sensei asked me as his senior student in Ft. St. John to take over half of the sessions. Senior student? I had just reached Green Belt, which put me all of one exam higher than the 30 or so Orange and Yellow Belts. How did I get ahead. Our club shut down for July and August, so I went once a week down to Dawson to train with the other guys. At summer's end I asked if I could test, and passed.
Managed to keep one belt ahead of the others until 1985, when Foster Sensei went to live in Japan. I inherited the Sensei role. My rank? Brown Belt. Very impressive.
How does a Brown Belt run a Karate Club? I had no authority to do exams, and a level of knowledge only a couple of millimeters thick, but Sensei I became.
1982, the local college had arranged for a Shotokan instructor named Perry Foster from the neighboring town of Dawson Creek to come and teach. The drive each way was about an hour, so we were very lucky to get him. Wisely, he split the teaching with the senior student from his club in the other town.
A bit over a year later, his assistant had had enough, and Foster Sensei asked me as his senior student in Ft. St. John to take over half of the sessions. Senior student? I had just reached Green Belt, which put me all of one exam higher than the 30 or so Orange and Yellow Belts. How did I get ahead. Our club shut down for July and August, so I went once a week down to Dawson to train with the other guys. At summer's end I asked if I could test, and passed.
Managed to keep one belt ahead of the others until 1985, when Foster Sensei went to live in Japan. I inherited the Sensei role. My rank? Brown Belt. Very impressive.
How does a Brown Belt run a Karate Club? I had no authority to do exams, and a level of knowledge only a couple of millimeters thick, but Sensei I became.
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