Maureen Smith, Wife and Karate-ka

One of the most important people in my Isshinryu life is my wife Maureen.

 

When I began my studies in Salisbury Md, at that time she was playing in a woman’s volleyball league (as a Phys Ed major she played in college),

Then about 6 months later the league play finished, so she decided to join Mr. Lewis’ Isshinryu program.

 

I was a yellow belt at that time when she began. Everyone was quite amazed that she made her own yellow belt in one month. But I was not as she was skilled physically.

 

I paid for my classes by cleaning the dojo on Sundays, and of course was able to train there then. One Sunday she joined me and I attemped to teach her how to spar using a backfist attack. So I showed her what I was doing and asked her to get ready. I did not attack very fast, had fair control of my backfist, but she leaned in as I threw it and received a black eye.

 

A few classes later she had the chance to spar with the greenbelts (all of whom were superior fighters) and I could hear them saying we have to take it easy on Victor’s wift.  Then kumite began and they were on the receiving end of Maureen’s quick viscous attacks.

(Women’s volleyball is not for the faint of heart, taking repeated dives too the floor for the ball). They did not expect her ferocity sd she tore into them. Mr. Lewis’ eyes lit up at her attack.

 

(Just to be fair Maureen had two older brothers, and never was one to hold anything back.)

 

As time went on and training continued, she would travel with me to train at many other Eastern Shore dojo to get more training time.

 

One weekend there was to be a George Iberl tournament in York Pa.,quite close to my families home. We went up to the tournament and competed there. Maureen won a 3^rd place in White Belt sparring, receiving a trophy long before I won one much later.

 We stayed over for the next day because there was a clinic with Bill Wallace. That too was a special day.

She trained until I had to leave Salisbury for work. At that time she was a blue belt. Moving to Scranton I worked at a Bank, and she was employed by the YMCA as a swimming coact and to help with the gymnastics team.

She had team practice at 5am in the mornings and team practices in the evenings working there until close.  We did not see each other a great deal. I joined a Tang Soo Do program that trained evenings. And would travel to the YMCA to work out more after class. Then Saturdays I would go to tournaments or to train with other instructors and she would take the team to swim meets many places.

 

When in 1989 I began my Isshinryu program at the Scranton Boys Club, too soon I discovered I did not know how to teach youth.  I had just made black belt and while I knew my Isshinryu, I was teaching at the pace I was prepared at brown belt when in preparation for my own Isshinryu black belt examination.

 

It was Maureen who patiently explained how I needed to understand what the kids were showing me and how to gear their insturction to what they needed. She also shared her college texts on teaching swimming, anatomy and physiology and so much more.

 

Her patient instruction made all the difference. Teaching me there was so much more to learn and use.

 

That continued to be our path for the next severak years, I used the time I had to train so many places and attend so many tournaments.

 

Then Maureen wanted to spend more time with me, so she left her job at the YMCA for a new position that left her evenings and weekends free. That  was when she joined my program at the Boys Club. She was a blue belt then.

 

Personal aside. While I was teaching at the Boys Club the kids all really liked me. Many times single mothers would try and invite me for dinner. I always turned such invitations down.  But when they saw my wife in the program, especially as a blut belt, that was the end of those invitations. Go figure.

 

Maureen was a big help with the classes.  Then two times she and I sparred after class.

 

The first time Maureen struck me with her reverse punch while sparring. She sprained he wrist, necessitating a trip to Emergency at the hospital. 

The 2^nd time she nailed me with a front kick and that twisted her ankle. Another trip to emergency, etc. 

All her friends thought I was beating her up. I never laid a glove on her. We learned from those occurrances and neve sparred again.

 

Then there was the time she joined me on one of my frequent training trips to a friends dojo. The guy (black belts all) were preparing to spar and Maureen wanted to join in. I could see them telling themselves we have to take it easy on her because she is Victor's wife. When Hajime was called for her fight they never had a chance as she tore into her opponent with a backfist and went on from there.

Maureen had progressed to green belt.

 

Then in time we had to move again, December 1984, relocating to Derry New Hampshire. As soon as our move was completed I approached the Derry Boys and Girls Club and offered my services to teach a free program. They accepted and Maureen was a big help for me with the program.

 

Roy Blackwell, my first black belt, moved up with us for advanced training for about a year. He also assisted with the program. One result I had been thinking about the lack of karate material available compared to the texts Maureen had studied in college about coaching  junior high swim teems.

 

The more I thought about I realized I wanted to prepare something for Roy to have and use if he needed it after he would leave.

 

Maureen worked on it with me, actually preparing two manuals, me one on advanced Isshinryu by me, and one on anatomy and physiology by Maureen. Then one of the parents had it typed for us then putting it together. To the best of my knowledge what we had produced was something new. Roy got a copy and copies were sent to my instructors. I still have my own somewhere.

 

As the years progressed Maureen advanced and eventually made black belt, always helping me teach.

 

When we had children even as infants they came to the dojo as we taught. Of course they eventually participated in many other activities, dance, gymnastics, little league, soccer along with karate studies and school.

 

As they both participated in the local soccer program Maureen got more and more involved with it. As my son grew into little league I attended every practice, my reason I knew what reputation little league had to draw out passions. I do not recall any other parent which attended all of the practices. I was not a baseball person just wanted to keep an eye on things.

 

My daughter because of an injury from gymnastic training eventually discontinued karate, but my son kept plugging away at all of his activities.

 

Then Maureen stepped up and began to coach soccer for the kids team, eventually finding it fit her interests going back to her earlier  training. As that occurred the gradually moved away from karate.

(aside) she eventually became the NH state secretary for the NH State Soccer League).

 

At that time she was a 3^rd dan in Isshinryu. This covered the time from 1975 through 1999 or so.

 

However she always supported what I was doing in Isshinryu.