A personal observation of training with others.

  

When as a green belt I had to leave Salisbury for Scranton, I quickly discovered there was no karate of any sort being taught in town.

 The largest system there was teaching Tang Soo Do Moo Duk Kwan under Frank Trajanowicz.

 

They had a small satellite School in Clarks Summit North of Scranton, and when I visited it I met the Chief Instructor and he described  the system. I signed a two year contract and received a payment book for the monthly charge.

 

When I showed for the first class, the school classes were being run by a red belt (brown belt) and as I was warming up in the back room running some Isshinryu forms, he came back and informed me that I would not be allowed to do them in the school. Then in my first class I learned two of their forms.

 

The training worked up a hard sweat, I spent a lot of time kicking. And within several months I had learned 5 forms.

 

Then one day I was informed that there would be quarterly testing as the main Scranton school the following Saturday. (they had quarterly rank testing) and paid my fee for the test.

 

When I climbed up 4 floors to the school, I entered and found out I knew no one. So I changed and entered the school floor to warm up and began doing the 5 forms I knew.

 

One blue belt (their black belt) came over and addressed me, that as a new white belt I should not do all the forms.

 

Later when called up for my testing group, I was asked to perform the techniques I had studied. Then I had to punch through one board set on cinder caps. Finally I was told to perform the 5^th form.

After I was done I went back to sit with the rest of the students.

 

When all the tests were concluded, they announced the promotions. I was promoted from 1^st white to 5^th green.

 

A little later the Clarks Summit school closed and I moved to the Scranton main school.

 

The point is for the two years I trained there, where I moved from 10^th gup white to 1^st gup red no one ever asked to see what my Isshinryu looked like.

 

[Sparring was not a regular part of their classes. Those classes were very infrequent. And when they did spar they wore hard chest protectors. They discovered even with those protectors my strikes to their body often dropped my opponent to the floor. But what they wanted were more and more Korean kicking.]

 

A year after I started that program Charles Murray moved to Scranton. I gave him no chance and began training with him I also continued to train in TSDMDK because of my contract.

 

Charles trained me most extensively with continual hard contact kumite between ourselves. He was very hard, I was the target, Charles literally poured the Isshinryu system as he knew it into me. A year after I began training with him my contract ended. I went to Master Trojanowicz and explained why I was leaving.

Charles and I trained and trained, many times at midnight.We attended tournaments together, but because of his responsibilities, he never saw me compete, he always came later to enter black belt kumite.

 

Then before I knew it I was tested by Lewis Sensei and the entire IKA and received my black best. Yet a few months later he returned to become an office in the USAF. I was on my own.

 

Having on one to push me, I started going to 20 tournaments a year to find some push. There I met many other instructors and as a result I began visiting others taking advantage of their offers, the real reason I wanted someone to spar with.

 

I would find that would be a standard as schools where I was invited to train and share in their classes.

 

I began studying Tai Chi Chaun from Ernest Rothrock, eventually studying various Chinese forms from him (wanting to become a more knowledgeable judge of Chinese Stylists. And that association lasted for decades, But never once did he ask to see my Isshinryu forms. I never participated in sparring with his student.

 

As a brown belt I attended an open TSD tournament up the line from Scaraton. Competing there I met other students from a local Kempo Goju school. Those guys invited me to come up and spar with them. That began several years of visiting them. I did not go there to learn Kempo Goju, but to spar. Dave Brojack the head instructor allowed me to work on my Isshinryu kata, and then join in their sparring sessions. Again they really did not comment on my Isshinryu. We became friends, often going to tournaments were each other competed.

 

After a time I met others at tournaments and took advantage of training offerings extended.

 

Steve Newman  of Goshin Jutsu offered and often privately watched my Chinese forms, yet never asked to see my Isshinryu. Likewise I was never asked to spar when I was there.

 

I met Tristan Sutrisno competing against each other is kata and weapons. When invited I traveled to his school, and learned ever so much of his family Shotokan, Aikido, Kobudo and Tjimande. Our association lasted 10 years.  But never did he ask see my Isshinryu forms. And while he was incredible at sparring, always able to go straight through anybody, Never once did I see any sparring in his school during and of the training I experienced. Yet his students did compete in sparring.

 

Then Carl Long, of Shorin Ryu Ezio Shiabuku lineage, invited me to to  train at his school on Saturday mornings (when we were not at tournaments) And we shared many of our practices for several years. But never once did he ask to see my Isshinryu forms. Nor did we ever spar.

 

I trained several days with Ed Savage of Ithica in Goju Ryu. One of my students trained with him while attending college. He went out of his way to instruct me in 5 Goju forms even to giving me photo copies of the forms from his instructors book. But the sharing was one way, never did I get a chance to show my Isshinryu to him. Yep, no sparring, but our time was so short.

 

More time passed I trained with a Washin Ryu school in Wilkes-Barre at times, again never was I asked to demonstrate my isshinryu.  No sparring.

 

I trained with a Goshin Jutsu instructor in Wilkes-Barre a few times, was most welcome there, yet once again I was never asked to demonstrate my Isshinryu. No sparring.

 

There were other local programs where I trained. Goshin Do and Synko Ryu among others, but again on one ever asked to see my Isshinryu. Yep, no sparring.

 

Then moving to Derry I visited and trained with a Tae Kwon Do instcutor and a Goju instructor. But never was I asked to demonstrate my Isshinryu. Nor was I ever invited to spar.

    

Once Tom Chan, one of my black belts, took me to the George Mattson Karate Barn in Mass. George was not there that day. I was allowed to enter the form practice, and they were mildly amused that I could do their Seisan. Tom, a former Uechi Brown Belt, had taught me the form. Of course they did not ask to se my Isshinryu and no sparring that day.

 

One day I met a Shotokan instructor, Don Gladfelter, who lived very near my parents. Again I went to train with him, He wanted to see some of my Sutrisno Shotokan (I later introdusce him to Tristan and he started training under him. He never expressed an interest to see my Isshinryu. Again never experienced sparring in his school. But his son, Boomer, was very experienced at tournaments.

 

Then I spent more time focused on my own program. When others came to inquire about joining the adult program and they had senior rank in their own system. They found out while I encouraged their own study of their system before or after class. My program was only my Isshinryu and everyone, with prior experience of not, all started at the beginning.

 

Now I worked hard to retain everything I experienced. Not that I was perfect, but was learning to take notes after training as to what I experienced. I did that with everyone above.

 

Now except with Ernest Rothrock where I was studying to learn very specific things, for my own reasons. At all the other schools I was not going to train there to learn those systems, but with the hope I would gain someone to spar with. That did not occur.

 

I certainly did not train with everyone, this record is just what I personally experienced.

When you visit and train at a school, they really are interested only in their art. They are never trying to understand what you are about. Part of the reason is that it looks good to let their students see others are coming to them.

 

Realistically they will never want to see your kata or how you train.

And what I discovered is that they do not want you to spar.

 

You can still learn a great deal, whether you learn anything is up to your own efforts.