When Life Gets in the Way of "The Way"

We recently had a tragedy in the area: one of the kids who use to take karate with us was stabbed to death. Levi, the former karateka, was 17. The young man who stabbed him was only 13.

While looking back through some dojo photos for one of Levi to give his younger brother (another former student) at the wake, I came across this picture I took after youth promotions three years ago:


Levi is on the bottom row - second from the left. Of the 29 folks pictured - minus Sensei F - only 12 are still training. That includes some of the black belts lined up in the back.

Many folks I've trained with over the years have had to step away from the dojo at some point or other - some for a little while, some for a little while longer. Most have come back, but a whole lot have not. You miss them for a minute, but then months pass and you sort of forget that you used to see them on a regular. They get busy, you get busy and, well, life happens. Before you know it, you find yourself pointing to them in an old photo saying "Hey, what ever happened to...?"

Kinda sad, really...

Times that Try (Wo)men's Soles

In addition to my day job, I'm an adjunct journalism professor and last night was my first night back for the spring semester. Since I spend way too much time with my hair pulled back and in sweats (on the way to the gym or karate class), I try my best to dress professionally when I step onto the classroom, which usually means dress pants, a nice blouse or sweater and (drumroll....) a pair of pumps. Not very high pumps (I am 6'2", after all), but with a bit of a heel just the same.

Since my class ends at 9:30pm, it's quite dark when I head to my car for the trip home, which means there are lots of shadows around bushes, building entryways and corners even with the campus' sidewalk lamps blazing the path. Forever the karateka, last night I ran a few self-defense scenarios in my head as my heels clicked across the cobblestones en route to the parking lot. Balancing my weight and that of my briefcase on shoes teetering in the sidewalk breaks and cobblestones proved quite tricky - so much so that I couldn't imagine being able to run away or spin on the balls of my feet to throw a kick if I needed to. I felt sort of powerless in a way, which made me want to get to my car that much quicker, which of course my shoes prevented me from doing. And this is the same campus where I take karate class twice a week - but it is a totally different place at night when I'm rocking my "girl" shoes, I found...

I haven't done much training in regular clothing (READ: sans gi or in any type of shoes), but we're often told to kick shoes like sandals, flip-flops or mules off as soon as a confrontation seems unavoidable. But my boots were zippered almost up to my knee. No way I was gonna be able to kick those things off unless I asked the attacker to allow me a few seconds to unzip them.

So what's a professional woman to do - toss out every pair of "girl" shoes in the closet and wear running sneakers everywhere? Learn how to navigate in tricky footwear (as if walking in shoes with a heel wasn't challenging enough) a-la the animated female warriors from Tekken? It can be a real dilemma for some of us - and I train on a regular to be aware of my surroundings/potentially bad situations. What about the women who don't? I'm sure Joe Evildoer looking for a potential victim watches for things like tricky footwear, scarves or ponytails (to make grabbing from behind easier). Hmmm...Perhaps our footwear can make us potential victims by default, whether we train or not...

As for me, I'll be carrying my "girl" shoes in my bag from now on just to be on the safe side. How about you?

"Superfoot" in Atlantic City

My dojo mates and I have traveled a bit over the past few months. Last weekend, we hit the road again for an awards banquet in Atlantic City where Sensei S and Sa Bom Nim Slader were honored. But before the banquet, there were a ton of seminars to sample and see - including this one I filmed of the legendary Bill "Superfoot" Wallace on kicking in sparring competitions (which became the very first video I ever posted on YouTube!):



After all the kicks were thrown, my son posed for a picture with Mr. Wallace and got an autographed photo. He also got to take picture with actor/martial artist Michael Jai White (of "Spawn" fame). Can you tell he was excited?

In addition to a pair of very heavy trophies, Sensei S and SBN Slader each received beautiful Samurai swords for their contribution to their respective arts. Here's Sensei S with his sword (still in the box):

We're not planning on any more group travel until the Susquehanna Martial Arts Symposium at end of March, which is good in a way. It's nice to travel and see new things, but it's also good to be home. Off to class!

2009: A Recap

I admit it - last year this time, I was experiencing a bit of tunnel vision. Six months away from testing for shodan, my focus was on stepping up the intensity of my training without getting inured. I succeeded in totally exhausting myself, but it led to all kinds of introspective examination that forced me to view my training in a new light - all of which I am still able to draw on today. Of course it led to some other epiphanies, realizations and discoveries - all because I had training partners (like Ed pictured with me above) and instructors (thanks, Sensei S.!) who encouraged me to ask questions and not take "That's just how it's always been done" as an acceptable answer. To them I am most grateful.

Although the year ushered in some economic downturns, it has been a rich one in terms of what I've gained from the martial arts. Wasn't sure exactly what I was expecting after spring grading, but I definitely got much more than I bargained for, including:

* my first broken bone (ouch!)
* nostalgia over untying my brown belt for good
* contemplating karate 12-step programs
* new training routines
* seeing amazing karate practitioners earn their red belts
* competing and judging in some great tournaments
* connecting with some great female martial artists via their blogs

Here's to an equally incredible 2010! Happy New Year =)

My Feet Are KILLING Me...

And sparring barefoot in the dojo is only making things worse.

I usta wear the dipped foam kicks to spar in, but they kinda squeeze my toes together and the plastic strap on the bottom make me slide all over the ring. I now wear cloth shin guards that have padding to cover my instep which provide lots of flexibility, but they leave my toes exposed. After a particularly foot-brutalizing round-robin sparring session on Tuesday night, I'm finding that exposed toes hurt when you kick something over and over again. I need a new solution for my feet, I think...

At a tournament I went to a few weeks back, I noticed lots of participants sparring in shoes with padded tops but that tied/fastened like shoes. I saw an ad in a karate magazine for the Ringstar shoes above and think I may have found something that works. They have suede bottoms that cover the entire bottom of the foot (no more sliding!) and they are easier to fasten (no more velcro that either comes undone or cuts off the circulation to my toes!) - heaven! Of course they are new on the market (so I don't know anyone personally who's tried them) and much more expensive than my $25 foam kicks, so I'm soliciting some feedback here.

Have you tried or know anyone who has tried them?

A Delicate Balance

Fellow martial artist and blogger Michele posted a question in her "Just a Thought" blog a few days ago about black belts teaching. Should it be required? Is there a responsibility to "give back" to help keep the art alive? What is it about becoming a yundansha (black belt) that makes a karate student magically eligible to teach?

The school I came through the ranks in has no strict rules about teaching. In fact, many of us had led class stretching/warmup/kihon more than a few times by the time we'd become second- or first-kyu brown belts. There's no real instruction on how to lead the class though; your sensei just calls your name and asks you to start the warmup or demonstrate X technique. Let's just say we learned fast that there's a world of difference between being told what to do/how to do it and telling everyone else the same.

Three of us tested for shodan this past May and within a few weeks, we were all leading groups of under belts through kata, self-defense and sparring techniques. Although I love teaching and enjoy helping other karateka, what I found was that once the teaching started, the learning sorta stopped. But if black belt is really the beginning of training, how do you continue on a path that has become a bit obscured by the lessons you now give instead of the ones you get? Understand, I personally have no problems with giving back, but learning more in order to have more to give would be a great, too. Unfortunately, I had to go elsewhere to learn more - which is how I ended up with Sensei S since June.

Think about the instruction you've gotten and it isn't hard to see that some instructors are simply better than others. Just because you know a thing does not necessarily mean you can effectively explain how or why that thing is to others. Sensei S and I had a conversation about why this is the case. He's a very thorough instructor and has a knack for explaining things in logical, practical ways. When I asked him how he got to be such an instructor, he said he was fortunate enough to have instructors who taught him how to teach. Hmmmm...

So, an open letter to my other senseis would probably read like this:

Onegaishiamasu - please teach me - how to teach before you toss me into the lion's den to fend for myself. Baptism by fire might not the best instructor make. And please help me help others by continuing to teach me more about this incredible art. Teaching and learning probably shouldn't be mutually exclusive. Domo arigato goziamasu.

Stepping off my soapbox now...

History in Harlem

In a junior high school gym in the Bronx last weekend, The Harlem Goju Association held its year-end promotions. Bigger than any they've had in recent years, 105 karateka fell in - at least 18 of whom were fourth-dan or higher. Grand Master Sam McGee - the head of the organization - said that all of the students in the first row had each been training with him for at least 30 years, evident by the white gis they wore to signify their rank.

There were no self-defense techniques, no tamishiwara, no sparring - just individual, group and demonstration kata. There were many highlights of the afternoon, but at one point, Master McGee called his youngest student out for kata. No more than four, she stood there in kioske and looked up at him, waiting for instruction on what to do next. Too humbling.

Being in that gym was like watching a "who's who" of USA Goju. In talking about how important the association has been to the community over the years - especially in providing free karate training to area families - Master Eddie Long spoke of a grand championship kumite match at the Manhattan Center in the 1970s where he was the center judge and Master McGee and Master Ernest Hyman were tied at the end of regulation. Master McGee blasted off the line to score the next "sudden death" point to win the match, but Master Hyman promptly ran off with the trophy! Classic stories like that remind you that although these great karateka have won championships upon championships and have taught more people than I can probably count, they are still mere mortals who put their pants on one leg at a time like the rest of us.

When the last certificate had been given out, Master McGee was in for a surprise of his own: after promoting the son of his late sensei, Major Leon Wallace, to 10th Dan, he was also elevated to the rank of 10th Dan. Never seen anyone get a red belt before, but seeing two folks tie on those belts in one day was pretty amazing.

Very happy I went and got a chance to witness history...