Quite a long time ago (1979-1983) I was a regular karate tournament competitor mostly in the old region 10 (Pa, Md, Va, Nj and mid NY states). I was not being trained in Isshinryu any longer and the reason I competed was not to gain recognition but solely to push myself to become a better karate-ka.
For the focus of this article I am just going to describe my kobudo kata competition.
In those tournaments there were many far above my skills, even a slew of National Champions. Beginning as a Sho-Dan I was of course at the bottom of the heap. But to push myself to compete it was of course daunting to face such competitors.
My first tournament was a mostly Isshinryu tournament in Harrisburg Pa. I competed with Tokomeni No Kon and as fate had it I garnered third place. Of course having no idea what that meant I thought I should put my photon in the local Scranton Pa. newspaper. This was that picture.
The truth was I was not from Scranton and nobody really knew me. Yes I was teaching youth karate at the Boys Club, but no one mentioned the article to me, anywhere. I of course was proud and took my trophy to work to place on my desk, but no one commented on it there anyways.
I did have some success at IKC shiai with my Shi Shi No Kon No Dai. However as those were closed events, quite different from the open tournaments I attended, I put them in a separate category. Then too I was competing with the most advanced Isshinryu bo kata, which none of the others were doing (thanks to Charlie Murray for his hurried instruction prior to his return to the USAF).
Then tournament followed tournament. In those competition years I was competing in 20 - 25 tournaments a year. I chose to use Shi Shi No Kon No Dai as my competition kobudo form. But the competition was most skilled and mostly I worked on competing with my form. My scores were about average in those tournaments. I kept working.
As the years passed, some of the National competitors choose to go to the National tournament circuit. Others gradually moved away from continuing to compete. I found my scores improving. Perhaps the judges grew more comfortable with my performances. Perhaps as I was more senior than many of the competitors. I found I was regularly in 4th place.
Then 1984 began. Paying attention to one of my Isshinryu seniors (Reese Rigby) and I decided to switch to my Bando staff form 'The Footsoldiets Horseman's Form' (most often known as the Horseman's form) (Reese had great success when he used that form).
I first used it at Hidy Ochiai's tournamnt in Binghampton NY. Next I used it as a tournament at Lafyatte College in Easton, Pa. After my division Bruce Heilman came up to me and offered a suggestion that I should drill in my forward strikes (which was not the way I was taught the form). Bruce was an Odo kobudo stylist and that was how thay system did their forward strikes. Now I really had never discussed anything with Bruce before this. I did pay attention to his thought.
Then uncharacteristically Ernest Rothrock gave me some advice when I did the form for him. Just a small correction that I should use my spin staff strikes keeping them Parallel to the floor. Now though I trained with him a great deal in the Chinese Arts he never made any corrections on the forms I practiced from my system.
The next week I was down training at Tristan Sutrisno's dojo. Also uncharacteristically he offered a different suggestion. That was I should really focus my eyes on the spot the staff was striking with my forward strikes. Tristan also never ever commented on my own system performances.
I paid attention to what they said and worked on Ernie's and Tris's suggestions in my practice.
The week prior to Tristan Sutrisno's tournament I only practiced my Horseman's form one time.
The day of the Tristan's tournament I did not run though my form, I just loosened up. Then the Kobudo division was called.
As the competitors lined up I was aware that the 5 judges each had a student in the division. Not their earlier students that won so many times, but their students never the less. As normal I did not have on of my instructors judging me (that never occurred in Pa.)
I kept my mind blank as the other competitors competed. As fate had it I was to be the last competitor.
When I was called up my mind was blank prior to me competing.
Then I began my form. Ernie's and Tris's points on my performance were in place. As the form went along when I came to the first forward thrust, I realized Bruce Heilman was the center judge. So as I performed that first thrust I found myself changing the form and using a twisting forward strike as Bruce had suggested. I then did so for the other thrust strikes in the form.
I concluded my performance and stepped back to await my scores.
I found I won the division. The judges awarded me the scores over their own performances.
Afterwards many came up to congratulate me.
I however found it really meant so little to me.
Yes, I had won. But in doing so i changed my form knowing Bruce's previous comment to me. I never intended to do that, it was not how the form was taught to me by my instructors.
Those forward thrusts were originally meant to strike in a horse's chest or sides to shock them. They were not intended to be thrusts into people. I was most aware that knowing what one judge wanted to see, gave me reason go instantly change the form. And that judge did not understand the purpose of the form as it was not striking with a bo, but a designed to strike with a bando staff.
Ernie and Tris' comments were just how to better perform the form never to change the form itself.
I was most unhappy with myself. I was not competing to please a judge. However, that is just what I did.
I was not competing to win over others, just to push myself another time.
Now I found myself doing something else.
From that day I ceased further competition. Of course I did compete a few more times, just for fun of the day. But never again would I enter serious competition. The time for that for me had ended.
This is my student Young Lee performing that form.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esK_7tKrREc
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