The Case for Space or Why Go To the Moon?

 

 

 

When I was a freshman at Temple University one day there was an event to familiarize yourself with the clubs for students at Temple.

 

 

I went and wondered around, finally finding myself in the Debate Club  room. One of the guys in there engaged me and made a case that debate would be interesting.

So I went to the meeting of the Debate Club for new members and what would be required was explained.

 

 

I found out most of the new members came from a debate background in high school, likewise most of them were pre-law. But I also found it appealing to try something new, I liked the people there and thus began my journey.

 

 

One result I would become a Speech and Rhetoric major at Temple, In my class one of 5 our of 30.000 students in undergraduate studies.

 

 

We began learning the National Debate topic for that year. “Resolved the United States should reduce its Foreign Policy Commitments.

 

 

First we discussed the topic. It was the time of the Cold War, and Vietnam. Those and other topics were discussed and groups pursuing each one was formed. I believe I was first on one choosing to reduce our commitment to Latin America.

 

 

I got real familiar with the Temple University Library and really learned how to research a topic, finding out how to produce note cards on each research item. That ability to do such research was likely the most important thing I learned in college that year, and provided a lifetime tool to use.

 

 

More importantly we learned that we had to research both sides of a topic and research into all possible topics. For debate one had to present and defend cases in one side, as well as we had to prepare for attacking any topic on the subject for the year.

 

 

For my first year I focused mostly on the side of presenting a topic and less on defending against any topic.

 

 

So we researched and had practice debates on our topics.

 

 

As we went further into our topic  I remember one day an other idea was floated, that of a Trick Case. Preparing a case for debate that followed the topic for the year but done so most unusually so others would not be prepared for such a case.

 

 

Doctor Town described how once the Oxford Debate team when touring the United States presented a most unusual debate. They began it thus.

 

 

“We are resolved to present our case in the language of properly learned men, so we will only present it in Latin.” Then the entire team debated in Latin.

 

 

So we started kicking ideas around and came up with an unusual case for out topic:’ Resolved the United States should reduce its Foreign Policy Commitments. Because of that we see no reason that the United States should continue the Race to the Moon!”

 

 

Our group thought that was a unique idea, and as Doctor Town was the team advisor, he granted our request to use it for our topic.

 

 

So we began our research.

 

 

I also learned that the only person you were speaking too was the judge of the debase. For his opinion was the only thing that mattered. Not Truth, Justice or Fair Play, just the judges opinion.

 

 

Several months later, our group was going to participate in a debate tournament at Hershey Pennsylvania. I remember getting into the cars that were going to drive us there.

 

 

Then waiting until our group was called to debate.

 

 

We were going against a team from Princeton. The two members enter the room each with two cases filled with cards they had researched. [often at the more intense schools, the cards were prepared by teams of researchers, not the ones debating, they would focus on the possible topics of the debate.

 

 

So my partner began the debate with 10 minutes presenting our topic. “ Resolved the United States should reduce its Foreign Policy Commitments. Because of that we see no reason that the United States should continue the Race to the Moon!”

 

 

As he was presenting the Princeton team was hurriedly searching their boxes for cards they could use. From all their research cards they could only find one card.

 

 

That did not stop them, their member began his 10 minutes to refute out contention.

 

 

Then it was my turn to present. I did something, no longer a memory of what I did.

 

 

Then the Princeton guy did his 10 minutes.

 

 

That was followed my 4 rebuttal periods, first my partner the opponent number one, followed by me and then my opponent number two.

 

 

I have no memory of the outcome, I found out it was much more difficult than I expected.

 

For the rest of the year I participated in the club, once debating at Rutgers.

 

 

But I found out debate was not for me.

 

 

I later learned that other teams from other colleges began to use our case.

 

 

However, getting my nose bloodied at debate introduced to so many other things.

 

 

How to research, what is involved in presenting a case, knowing who the case was presented to, and more importantly discovering an interest in Speech and Rhetoric to become my major.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sherman Harrill Naifanchi Footwork - June 1995

 

Back in the spring of 1995 Garry Gerossie from Concord NH sought me out. We had met at some NH tournaments but really did not know each other. He told me he was a student of Sherman Harrill, who had been a student of Shimabuku Tatsuo, alongside another marine, Tom Lewis – my original instructor. Garry was inviting me to attend a seminar on Isshinryu he was hosting for Sherman Harrill at his school.  I was flying away the day after the clinic to attend a business conference, but I told him I would attend.

 

That seminar was so eye opening at what Sherman Harrill was about. It was jam packed with Isshinryu kata applications, one variation after another. I was astonished at what he was showing and did my best to retain what I could. Well inundated with applications by the lunch break, I an everyone there were more than a little brain dead after lunch as Sherman continued his application presentations.

 

Suddenly I watched one of his presentations, and I instantly became awake, or whatever term is appropriate for becoming most engaged. Sherman was showing a drill using the lower body movement of  Naifanchi kata, the use of the stepping of the form. Then he began to move to another application, but I remember asking to see that again, and Sherman complied.

 

After that clinic, actually as I was flying to  Nevada the next day, I began to take notes of what I could remember. I wrote down 26 of those kata applications.

 

A year later Garry gifted me a video of that clinic, and as I reviewed it discovered that day Sherman showed us more that 100 techniques in  6 hours.

 

These were the notes I kept of that Naifanchi  stepping drill.

  

1.     Attacker is grappling with both arms preparing for a knee strike

a.     Left cross kick to inside right shin, attacker drops the right foot.

b.     Right cross kick to the inside of the left shin , then step thru in Naifanchi stance

c.      Left cross kick to outside of left shin

d.     Right cross kick to the inside left shin followed by a right turning kick to outside of the attackers waist (or outside their thigh)

e.      Left cross kick to outside left shin followed by step thru in naifanchi stance

f.       Right inside cutting kick

 

This drill is working on using the cross kicks in an inward slicing motion. When grappling such a technique will off balance the opponent, making it much easier to force them down by twisting in the grapple. The drill works the full range of lower leg attacks. Section d. in particular is a double strike, when to the side of the thigh, this can cause loss of the leg function for the attacker, too.

 

Naifanchi shows the angles to use when executing these kicks into the opponents leg.

 

These may be either straight in at 45 degrees or as sloppy side hooking kicks kicking back from the opponents rear

 

 

Then this is what I viewed on that VHS tape.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-e-0ey43re0

Note: they were filmed in the club mirror, and the techniques are being done backwards.

It is important to note clinic attendees were not Sherman’s students, for the most part. He would demonstrate the application and then everyone would work on that application, then he would move onto another one. It was always up to the attendee to remember what was shown and work on it further until they made it theirs.

 

 

I always found time to train

From the time I began my Isshinryu studied in Salisbury Maryland, for most of the rest of my life when I took vacations they were Karate holidays.

 

After moving to Scranton my first vacation was to camp near Salisbury and then train at various Isshinryu schools in that area.

 

 Next we went camping as the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania, and on the campground I was constantly doing kara, even creating my drill Wansu No Tonfa.

 

 

When I vacationed at Niagara Falls with my wife I was performing kata at the campground then we traveled down to Pittsburgh to camp and train with Ernest Rothrock.

 

Even vacationing visiting my inlaws in Sarasota Florida, I made time to travel and train with Charles Murray.

When I went on business trips to a variety of conferences, I was always outside the center working on kata in the parking lots. Nashville, New Orleans, San Francisco, Orlando, San Antonio, Boston. So many places.

 

 

 

Trip after trip, year after year, most of my time was spent working on my karate.

Trips to Pennsylvania to train with Tristan Sutrisno. Trips to Pittsburgh to train with Ernest Rothrock.  Once I even  drove to from Massachusetts after work to pick up Tristan to then drive to Pittsburgh and so we could train with Ernie and later visit Vince Ward to finally drive  back all on a Friday through Sunday.

 

 

Trips to train over a weekend with Reese Rigby at a weekend karate training event in Dover Deleware.  And many trips to train with Lewis Sensei too.

 

 

I remember each of them, though all the details become blurred over time.

 

My last one was 1992, I had been diagnosed as having Diabetes II, then it was discovered I had Colon Cancer. Almost immediately I went on a tril. Drove from New Hampshire to Scranton to have lunch with Tristan Sutrisno and Charles Murray, Then drove across Pennsylvania to visit Ernest Rotnrock of several days, then to drive to West Virginia to visit Tom Lewis to drive to see my father and family before I returned home..You could say it covered Shotokan, Isshinryu and Northern Eagle Claw and T’ai Chi.

 

 

After that I underwent Cancer surgery, Chemo and Radiation Therapy. Modifying diet and beginning regular walks, I obtained remission of my cancer and diabetes.

 

But time brought other disabilities and eventually giving up driving to keep others save, My travels came to an end.

 

Then my life shifted to almost daily walks, and greatly diminshed kata/form practice.

But my martial practices remaiedn my life.