Karate in the Nuclear Age

   

I am watching a documentary series on Three Mile Island on Netflix. (It is astounding what TUBI carries for old movies, TV shows and series.)  As I was watching it memories of that time began floating up.

 

For one thing there is a lot about what occurred on the Three Mile Island incident I never knew, during the initial melt down and more so in the years following what occurred.

 

This was so long ago I had forgotten this occurred.

 

The Three Mile Island accident was a partial meltdown of the Three Mile Island, Unit 2 (TMI-2) reactor in Pennsylvania, United States. It began at 4 a.m.^[2][3] on March 28, 1979. It is the most significant accident in U.S. commercial nuclear power plant history.^[4] On the seven-point International Nuclear Event Scale, it is rated Level 5 - Accident with Wider Consequences.^[5][6]

 

I was a very, new and green black belt. I was still training with Charles Murray in Scranton. He was a minister at a church right outside of Scranton, soon to return to the USAF as his career.

 

I had received my Black belt, shodan, promotion in January m and I began attending karate tournaments across Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York and New Jersey, as time passed.

 

I had just attended a karate tournament in the Poconos of Pennsylvania and there heard of an upcoming tournament  in Harrisburg for Saturday March 31st.  I made plans to attend.

 

Now realistically I was the lowest of karate-ka a new Black belt.

 

I traveled by myself to tournaments and did not go seeking victory, instead I was going to compete to push myself and learn what others were doing. At that time I had only attended one karate tournament as a black belt.

 

The tournament was an Isshinryu Open Tournament sponsored by George Iberl of York, Pennsylvania.

 

Now I knew the area, my parents lived in Red Lion, Pa, south of York. And you had to pass through Harrisburg to cross the river to travel South. A trip I had made many times.

 

Most of what I did was train and work at North Eastern Bank of Pennsylvania. I woke up to do road work and kata, after work several nights a week trained with Charles and assisted the small program he ran in his church. Several nights a week I would travel to train with David Brojack at his Kempo Goju program. (I had met them in competition as a brown belt in the region and they invited me to visit and train anytime, which I did ).

 

And as my wife worked at the YMCA outside of Scranton, early morning with her swim team and evening swim team practices as well as weekend meets, I would take advantage of her working for the YMCA and frequently train at their facility. All of which occupied my time and gave me Saturdays to attend tournaments.

 

Enough about me now on the Thee Mile Island and Karate.

 

The upcoming March 30^th tournament was sponsored by George Iberl.

 

I had been to a tournament he had run in 1975 in York Pa. His Isshinryu was not descended from my instructor Tom Lewis’ lineage but I knew he drew many in Isshinryu from across Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and it was an open tournament as many were those days.

 

Now I did not spend much time watching television in those days. And when I listened to the radio in my car I normally listened to classical music.

 

But somehow the events occurring outside of Harrisburg made its way to my awareness. I was not so much attached to other karate-ka in those days, but somehow I became aware of the mess that was occurring.

 

I do not recall discussions at work, just became aware of the event existence. And as a result, decided against attending.

 

So, I did not go to the tournament.

 

I imagine I mentioned to my wife I would not be attending. I also imagined I called my parents in Red Lion, but do not recall any specifics about Three Mile Island being discussed.

 

As it turns out no one went, I am sure because it was so close to the events of the day. It became the tournament that never was. I am sure because no one really knew what was happening, and everyone did not want to glow in the dark.

 

I did not really follow what was happening there.

 

Time passed and many other tournaments followed.

 

I remember one time I was at another George Iberl tournament and I overheard George talking about that missing tournament with another instructor.

 

George was really mad about that occurring. Positively mad because everyone did not come and support him.

 

To place his feelings in context you must consider why those open tournaments were being held. Essentially they were income revenue producing events for the sponsor. He was having his students pay to compete at others tournaments, and holding your own tournament was a way to generate revenue from the other instructor’s schools who attended.

 

I remember Francisco Conde (of Lancaster Pa) held two gigantic tournaments in Baltimore a year, as well as a dozen local tournamts for his own students (that made 16 a year).

 

George Dillman also held two gigantic tournaments a year. They would have been huge income producing events.

 

George Iberl held two large tournaments a year.

And many, many, instructors held one.

 

All of which required money to rent a facility and to purchase the trophies for the event (Mr Conde owned his own trophy company and had his students assemble the trophies), So they balanced the expense of holding the tournament against the income the event generated. I believe for most instructors this was one of the factors supporting their own income and their karate program.

 

Keeping that in mind George Iberl lost the cost paid out for the venue and trophies, as well as losing the expected income for te tournament.

Everything does not happen as expected. In this case it was the Three Mile Island incident which threw the monkey wrench into that karate tournament.

Of course until viewing this documentary I did not follow what happened at Three Mile Island either.