Bill Glasheen offered these comments on the Uechi Ryu World Cup 2005. of course this is not Isshinryu but I always found lessons to be learned and I believe they are worth reading.
I have never seen similar comments from a senior instructor from any system. I believe it shows commitment to one's art and system is worth consideration.
Uechi Ryu World Cup 2005
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBffOSipm6A
posted May 18, 2002 07:35 PM
It's the Saturday evening after the Uechi Ryu Karate Championships. I'm now over at George Mattson's place relaxing, slumming with Tia, and winding down.
To start with, I had a rare view of many of the more interesting events. Because I ACTUALLY READ THE RULES (five times, to be exact), I ended up (along with Al Wharton and Mike Murphy) judging the black belt kata and sparring for both sexes. Again, having done my homework meant I was asked - for better or for worse - to be head judge and center referee. I can tell you that my extra effort saved my butt several times.
George asked me to spend some time relating a few incidents at the tournament on the forum. While this might be more appropriately put on the sparring forum, I have quite a bit to post about (some about tournaments, and some about general things), and this forum is about any topic anyhow.
So given a podium, I am usually up to the task of using it. I will try to help communicate many of the important things I experienced, but I will try to do so without either touting any individual's achievements or potentially embarrassing others that don't care to be the topics of public discourse. Thus in the spirit of the forum, this thread will remain about issues and not about personalities.
There are many issues, so I will post them as they come to me. Feel free to chime in if you were there, or if you have comments/questions.
- Bill
The best of style, the worst of style
Judging kata and prearranged kumite (yes, I even did some of that), can be a tricky business.
Before I go any further, I'd like to remind the audience that I'm my own worst critic. So when I make comments about imperfections, please understand they come from a perfectionist that NEVER will be happy with his own effort. Such is the nature of the beast. Truthfully, I am honored and awed at the prospect of being a member of a team that stands in judgement of others. Trust me when I say that I take the task at hand and the efforts put forth quite seriously. And please understand how wonderful it was seeing all these fantastic efforts.
THAT BEING SAID...allow me the opportunity to get out my metaphoric red pen and offer a little bit of critique. And if you think I am pointing it in your direction, understand I am a master of the red pen because it gets ten times the use on myself in my own dojo.
You would think that the best of the best of a generation would have nothing to work on, and no flaws to spot. The truth is that each individual walks in doing SOMETHING really well. And the fact they do those ONE or TWO things really well makes their weaknesses all the more obvious. Ahhh, but wouldn't it be nice if we could all be perfect at everything. don't think those animals exist.
Sooo...it was actually easy to find little pieces here and there to make mental black marks on in the scoring. Trust me when I say that I was not alone. In whole sections on the scoring, Al, Mike and I saw eye to eye in our "relative" impressions. While Mike's scores were often higher than mine and Al's were occasionally lower, I noted a remarkable tendency for the three of us to fluctuate in unison from candidate to candidate. So...it's obvious we often were seeing the very same things.
So...what kinds of things did I notice in the kata? Here's a short list:
* The circle movements in seiryu, kanchin, and sanseiryu truly separated the men from the boys and the women from the girls. The mechanics of these movements require the most precise of technique. You can blast your way through a seisan jump, but the shoken sukui age uke requires BOTH precision and power. Nobody did these complex movements perfectly, but...some did them better than others.
In any case, understand that we judges appreciate that these kata are forms of higher difficulty. This became readily apparent in the several cases were there were ties and kata runoffs. What a difference a different kata makes.
* THE PERFECT KATA has many elements. There's power, speed, fluidity, timing, precision, mindset, balance, etc., etc. We judges were looking for the whole package. Some would spend lots of effort on precision at the expense of power and spirit, while others were explosive but oddly lacking in balance and control. Twice in the day there were significant runoffs, and we settled the score by having the three of us point to one or the other individual after the performance of a second kata. Both times, it was two for one individual, and one for the next. WHY??? Good question. The truth is that Mike, Al and I discussed the issues later. WE ALL SAW THE EXACT SAME FLAWS! But their relative importance vairied from individual to individual when the two candidates were close in performance. What did it mean for me to be in the majority vote in both cases? I have absolutely no idea!!!
* One case in partucular is striking. One individual performed an EXTREMELY powerful form, but the balance was very shaky. Another individual performed an EXTREMELY precise form, but with suspect power and spirit. Van and I later were talking about the individual doing the powerful form, especially since he was so upset with himself and the result. After talking about it for a bit, we realized that we both saw "flaws" in the power, but identified it in different elements. I saw it as a lack of coordination of lower with upper body. Van saw it as being too hard in the upper body too quickly in the generation of the power. Within a minute, we realized we both identified the exact same phenomenon, but with different language and paradigms. Great minds think alike, even when they think differently.
More later
- Bill
Ryuji Isobe 2005 world weight tournament IKO1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyGPKFohTms
Thank god for rules
One incident in particular prompted George to request a "writeup" by me. I will relate it the best I can.
This was not one of the more tidy matches. From the get-go, both candidates were a bit...frisky. On more than a few matches, I handled this by breaking the two individuals up, and giving them BOTH warnings. The next warning is a point for the other, and the fourth is automatic disqualification.
THERE WERE NO DISQUALIFICATIONS IN ANY OF MY MATCHES, NOR WERE THERE ANY INJURIES WORTH WRITING HOME ABOUT. (One case of a few drops of blood from the nose, and another brief case of the male ouchies. This is remarkable, and speaks volumes of the organization involved By Richie Bap, George, and Jay.
That being said...
This match started out a bit wild. I did my best to control it as best I could. One candidate in particular though was flailing. Yes, flailing. I can't think of a better word for it. The resulting chaos even prompted Jay Salhanick to ask me to stop the match, and give him an opportunity to offer the two of them a free ticket home. You go Jay!!
So in any case, the "flailer" came charging at his opponent. This opponent faded back, but managed to get a quick side kick in before stepping out of the ring. I stopped the match. After they returned to their positions, I yelled "JUDGES CALL!!" I pointed to the gentleman that threw the quick kick. The judge behind me signaled no call. And Al...did nothing. I was about to signal "No call" to the scorekeeper when Al suddenly threw his hand towards the same side-kicker. I quickly gave the individual the point and moved on.
More chaos, Jay's speech, a little more chaos, and match ended. Nobody got hurt, so good. But more than once during the rest of the match, I heard these angry protests from the back. I had a feeling I knew what his beef was. Afterwards, he made his displeasure quite clear. He was unhappy about the "weak side kick," and Al's late call. That point was the difference in the match.
WHAT WOULD YOU DO? How to solve the dilemma? Did I do the right thing?
Here's the deal. This individual complained to me, and I first started by reminding the individual (according to the rules) that he needed to register his protest in a sportsmanlike manner. Fine...he calmed down. Then he talked about the delayed call. I explained my logic to him, and I will put it here - for the record and for anyone else interested in such classic protest situations.
First, I paraphrased the rule (on this webpage for anyone to see) that I applied.
quote:
LATE CALLS: All officials should make their calls at the sane time. If, in the opinion of the referee, the corner judges are making a late call intentionally, the referee can disqualify the call (noise not allowing the judges to hear the referee and the honest mistake of raising the wrong color or pointing at the wrong competitor should be taken into consideration not to disqualify the call).
I explained to this individual - and I am now explaining "for the record" - that I did not view Al's act as an "intentional late call." Al was distracted (it was VERY noisy) and it just took a second for him to snap to attention. I trust Al. Al was winning tournaments when the competitors (and coach) were pooping their diapers. Al has no agenda. Al told me later he was distracted. Yes...these things happen.
Note: At one point in the tournament I actually pointed to the wrong competitor when I yelled "JUDGES CALL." Humans goof. But when I saw the other two judges pointed to the person I MEANT to point to, I didn't advertise my brain fart. Point for Andrew Moore. Sorry Andrew, but no harm in the end.
That's what we were talking about - a human goof. But the intentions were honest, and the initial intentions were correctly recorded.
I would also like to add the following points....
The rules state
quote:
1. Never, at any time, can a coach enter the ring without the referee's permission
Sorry, fellow, but you lost brownie points in my head when you entered the ring and started complaining (over my left shoulder) during Sal's speech to the contestants. I DID NOT GIVE YOU PERMISSION TO ENTER THE RING. I let it slide.
MORAL OF THE STORY:
1) I appreciate the emotions involved. I told the protesting coach that I fully understood how bad things looked. IT'S IMPORTANT FIRST TO UNDERSTAND, AND THEN TO BE UNDERSTOOD.
2) I read the rules. I read them five times. I discussed aspects of them on several forums (CHECK IT OUT!!!) weeks ago. This saved my butt, folks. If you aren't with the rules, then an unruly protestor will eat you alive.
3) Any good competitor doesn't get themselves in a situation where a single "event" causes them to lose a match. Be above it all by being good - period. Win convincingly. This is how the champions make it to the end.
4) Learn some defense so you don't get nailed running into a weak-assed kick.
5) Competitors need to understand that the referee reads and abides by the rules. Parents need to understand that the referee reads and abides by the rules. When this happens, everyone appreciates that things are "fair", even when things don't go their way. It also implies that the event is likely to be a safe and rewarding one. And on that note, the proof was in the outcome.
6) And finally, the poor losing competitor here is a fine martial artist. He did a most amazing form in the men's black belt. I told him how impressed I was with him when I shook his hand later. I expect to see him next year, and he better walk home with a sparring trophy at the end of the day to match the kata award!
- Bill
David
You and Mike sure saved me some posts! Thanks for chiming in.
One in particular was about the whole "hearing" thing. Yes, there were problems.
LET US REMEMBER THE EFFECTS OF EXTREME STRESS, AND THE CHAOS OF BATTLE.
An experienced law enforcement officer and firearms expert, Tom Crawford, once told me of an interesting situation. It seems that a number of police officers were in an intense gun battle. One officer was taking time to reload. A second officer, who was also reloading, noticed a bad guy walking up to the first policeman with gun pointed at his head. The officer yelled at the top of his lungs. No response. The officer yelled again, and again, and again. Totally oblivious to it all, the first officer continued to reload. The bad guy slowly aimed the gun within feet of the officer, and blew his brains out.
What's going on?? Tunnel vision, in both the literal and figurative sense. This is what happens when the autonomic nervous system kicks into overdrive.
I know most of the competitors I judged. I trust them. I care deeply about them. I want the experience to be a safe but extremely competitive one. With that in mind, I have a few tactics I use both inside my dojo and in the ring.
First, I establish myself as an authority figure from the get-go. In order for me to do my best in the weight room, I put my complete trust in the person spotting me. In order for the competitors to go at it full bore, they need to trust me. I do that by giving them confidence in my control over the both of them. Just as a mom can make her fully-grown son snap to attention, I will command the meanest, nastiest of them like they are my kids.
Second, it's important to recognize HOW to communicate with people under stress. I do not take their shortcomings personally. If they have tunnel vision and they need to stop, I step in between them and trust my ability to protect myself. If their vision AND their hearing fail them, I use the sense of touch. That works GREAT with kids, by the way. I have learned all kinds of fun tricks in that venue. And when that fails, I literally collar them.
IT ISN'T PERSONAL, and I tell them that right off the bat. I often tell a "collared" competitor that I am protecting them, and not to worry. I've never had a problem with this either in the dojo or in the ring.
Just like fast drivers on the Autobann, it's all about communication. There are many ways to signal your intent. Sometimes you just need to do what you gotta do.
Food for thought, though, for when the "real thing" comes down.
- Bill
On a final note...
Referees and judges aren't perfect. And sometimes they even do things contrary to the intentions of the rules arbitrator (Sal) and tournament promoter (George).
The lightweight sparring A division ended in "sudden victory." (Apparently folks aren't real wild about the use of the term "sudden death" in a karate tournament. It all ended with Fidele Cacia throwing a beautiful reverse punch to the head of a retreating opponent. All three judges agreed, and the match ended. The division ended.
But later George had a word with me, and expressed his concern about the potential momentum. Was George right? The rules are pretty clear about the amount of contact (light touch) allowed to the head (if any). Light touch contact does not allow for
quote:
visible movement of the competitor
. The big boys and girls can do this to each others' bodies, but not to the heads.
Were we wrong? One could argue that Fidele's opponent was running away, and his head went back because he was off balance and avoiding being scored on. But...it still looked bad, and George is da boss.
Solution....
1) Tell all judges what the expectation is from that point on. Clearly define what light touch contact means.
2) Remind the next set of competitors - and Fidele - what George was unhappy about.
3) Remind everyone before the matches what you expect of them, even though they SHOULD have read the rules.
Humans are humans. We sometimes all need a little help to get the best outcome.
Things ultimately worked out well. Again, nobody was disqualified (in all these matches), and nobody walked home hurt. Everyone deserves the chance to have fun, do their best, and not be cheated in any way.
This is what rules and judging and preparation and organization are all about.
Good thing we had plenty of strong shoulders to stand on. to all for making this a great event.
And thanks to...whomever...for giving me the best seat in the house.
- Bill
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