When I began
Isshinryu I had no intention of becoming an instructor. While I had to assist
in class at times, in Salisbury with Mr. Lewis and in Scraton with Charles
Murray my only desire was to practice and perform Isshinryu.
While working
for a bank in Scranton, my coworker and I used to walk about town at lunch
time. One thing I noticed was how many dance studios were in town. Although I
had studied some dance when I was young, I really did not know what they were
about. I learned that for the most part most of their students were young
women, and apparently one could make a living doing that. And I just filed that
away in my brain.
When I was a
beginner I was training in Sensei Lewis’ Karate Club, for a modest montly fee,
and much of that I paid for by cleaning the dojo on Sundays. Then I trained at
other clubs of the IKC on occasion. When I relocated to Scranton for work I
joined a local Tang Soo Do program. I was realistically what was in the area at
that time. It was a professional program, large and with payment books to cover
my two year contract. The fee was not huge, but you were also expected to go
through testings 4 times a year and those were for additional fee. Apparently
the instructor made a living waiting for classes in his school.
Then when
Charlie Murray moved to the Scranton area, I began training with him. There was
no fee between us. In fact he started a small youth program in the basement of
his church, and I assisted teaching for him at times. Mostly our time together
was my own training.
Eventually I
became a black belt and quite soon he was gone. I was training on my own. 3
brothers from his church program kept training with me, it was going into summer and I held those classes for them at
McDade park near their home. That summer I began to think on what I needed to
do to remain Isshinryu. Practice by myself was not enough.
Thinking on all
those dance schools, and those 3 brothers, I came up with an idea.
I worked for a
living and never wanted to teach karate for money. I offered my services as an
adult volunteer instructor at the Scranton Boys Club, and they accepted for
September.
Beginning with
those 3 brothers, in a small room (the gym was filled most of the year with
basketball), the club got me students. I thought that teenagers would want to
learn karate, but found that it was the younger members who joined. (And with
exceptions, it remained that way, finding out most teens were too involved in
other activities). Very quickly I learned a real lesson. Teaching the way I was
trained caused all my students (except those 3 brothers) to leave the program.
I was sharing Isshinryu at too intense a level for the other students.
My wife, a phys
ed instructor herself, shared some ideas how to approach my program. She also
showed me her college texts on coaching Jr. High swim teams. They were more
advanced than any karate text on how to teach I have ever seen. I re-thought
how I was teaching, we got more students and long story short I took off.
Now I was teaching
2 nights a week, studying tai chi another evening, traveling most of the other
night to train with other instructors who invited me to attend, I had met them
at tournaments and I began regularly attending tournaments in Pa, Md, NJ, NY. I
was not taking students with me, rather going for myself, and to learn what was
out there.
What I found was
that parents and families were taking
kids to tournaments and than then they were often performing later in the day,
And as most of the competitors were adults, the kids often got lost in the
crowds.
Then as people
were aware I was teaching young people, often I was placed in Youth rings to
judge, I learned a great deal what was out there (at least as far as
tournaments).
Years passed. My
students were remaining in the program, I still was not focused on them
competing in those tournaments. Only a few times a year would a few attend a
tournament with me.
Then I got an
idea, I would hold a youth karate tournament, through the Boys and Girls Club.
The fee a modest $5,00 for all events, And we had kata, kobudo and kumite
divisions. One father made all our trophies, additionally each youth who
competed would receive a participation award for doing so.
I held 3 of them
before I moved away. Each grew larger than the last. It was all focused on the
young people. And the parents baked and shared a grand room for the judges
comfort (but by the time I got there, none of the incredible Isshinryu cakes
were left). Local instructors who also were regional and national champions
also demonstrated for the kids and their families. The very modest profits made
always went to support the Boys Club.
As an aside,
while my students always did well, each year the young women won more trophies
for kumite.
The available
space for my program kept the club size about 25 members, and every class was a
different composition as none of there were there every night. But all moved
forward in Isshinryu. So after 5 years I had an entire mixture of White through
Brown Belts, and 2 of them made Black Belt. I was also the first program to
have brought young women to join the Boys Club of Scranton for karate lessons.
Over those years
many, many instructors in the area and the state thought I was crazy.
1.
For teaching
youth.
2.
For teaching for
free.
But none of
their arguments swayed my mind.
Then Fate of Serendipity
required I move on for work. I closed the program and moved to Derry.
In those years
while I knew there was Karate on Okinawa and on Japan, I really did not realize
that they were often doing different things. For one thing I got a lot of my
ideas from the autobiography of Funakoshi Ginchin. His description of his own
training as a youth was not in a school, but from private training from an
instructor and then one of that instructors friends.
The concept of
what training might have been before karate became public training fascinated
me. In fact realizing the youth in my program might respond better if we had a
club name.
Rather than one like
White-Yellow-Green-Blue Animal of choice, I rather liked Funakoshi’s
description of earlier Okinawan karate being called Bushi No Te (of hands of
the warrior). I was also being sensitized of many programs using the name
Karate to mean things other than what I saw Karate a being.
I solved it by
choosing to name my program Bushi No Te Isshinryu. It has been that ever
since that time.
My program for
the young when I taught in Scranton was entirely focused on the Isshinryu as I had been taught it. At the
same time I was learning so much from many different individuals. Some of those
studies I attempted with my students as one off class diversions.
While I had to
relocate it was very hard to leave a very dynamic program behind. But life is
all about making choices and learning from those choices.
In 1985 starting
my program anew in Derry NH I began to put some things I worked on in PA into
my program. I believed students spending a longer time to develop power and
technique before starting Seisan kata could make for a better Isshinryu for
them. So I began new students on a new karate orientation program first.Then
their kata studieds began with a version
of Fyugata Sho (called Kata Sho) then onto kata Ananku before beginning Seisan
kata. Eventually I also added a kata developed on Okinawa for school phys ed
classes. Kata Kyozai. I found this ever better prepared my students for later
studies.
But the basic
structure of class warm up, different drills for the night, kata and kumite
remained my standard. Class size remained about 20 members, by my discretion. I
wanted to hold to the older idea of a very personal program.
As time passed I
also became more aware that tournament karate and kumite alone were not where I
felt the strongest karate could go. I consciously began to de-emphasize kumite
spending more time on other things. I also most unhappy with what was occurring
at tournaments moved completely away from the tournament scene. There were
infinitely more things to occupy the students with.
I also was able
to start a small adult program, eventually it grew larger but never more than
10 students. Very long term students.
As that program,
and I used the same curricula for the adults as the kids, I began to explore
additional possibilities. I wanted to honor those who shared with me. I also
honestly believed the more students intimately were aware of what other systems
did, that became another weapon at their disposal. Most selfishly I also wanted
people trained in other techniques to work against for Isshinryu kata
application studies I had planned.
So I began to do
all of that at the same time.
With all of my
students having a bit of exposure to some Shorin Ryu studies, I incorporated
other subsidiary kata studies. Saifa from Goju Ryu, Supple Dragon from Pai Lum
and Nijushiho from Sutrisno Shotokan. I
ever had several of those instructors teach those forms to them. There were in
addition to the full Isshinryu studies.
I also made a
decision to move the Isshinryu kubudo into Dan studies. Wanting students to
concentrate more on the empty hand studies. But I did include at least one
Bando weapon at brown belt (either staff or stick, on my decision what was most
appropriate for the student.)
In Scranton the
full responsibility of teaching fell on my shoulders.
In Derry, the
first 7 years, while I was the instructor, Maureen, my wife, assisted me many
of the classes. Still I managed many of the classes on my own, able to work
with each of the kids at the same time. A full range of white belt through
black belt in time. It was challenging.
The adult program
always fell on my shoulder’s.
Somehow I made
things work, even when I was away for business travel.
Then Maureen
moved on, wanting to spend time with our kids in their other activities. I was
back to shouldering to shouldering the full load again. I was also teaching an
intimate Tai Chi program on Sundays (that did not have anything to do with
karate, but the students were black belts in my program too.)
A number of
years later I selected my senior students to become instructors. They had a
long time with me, even went through the youth program. And I patiently worked
with them an a very different skill set, how to recognize what each student
individually needed to move forward , then to assist them in that process.
I had developed
my own idea what an instructor should be. First and foremost, having spent at
least 15 years with us to intimately understand the program. Second to undergo
a mentorship where one developed students from white belt through black belt,
Feeling the necessity of the instructors responsibility. Only then were they
instructors.
And of course
the ongoing study never stopped for the instructor. It just took oa a different
dimension.
The first
responsibility of the instructor burden was always the student’s needs came
first. That was foremost. Then and only then, could you address your own needs.
The youth
program was not just about developing black belts. It did that and the average
time to do so was 7 to 9 years (my own son took 9 years). But far more
important to the youth was that it taught everyone of them that they could
learn by their own efforts. Most did not stay past 2 or 3 years, but every one
of them experienced that. And that would stick with them for like. They came to
understand what they could do.
The adult
program was the same karate but on a different level. Most adults reaching
Black Belt stayed over 17 years before feeling the need to move on. Which of
course most of them did. But staying so long, working on developing skill, also
gave me stilled people to work with a bit. Allowing me time to progress on my
own studies, which is also important.
Adult class size
over the decades, increases, decreases time and time again. But my senior
students staying, learning and progressing with me for decades cannot be
adequately described. Their presence enabled so many things.
So what I did was
select a far more intimate program than any commercial program could ever be. I
worked out an approach to develop instructors and held to that plan. I was able
to develop skilled students to be able to work with them and pursue my own interests.
And of course this
is just a part of my studies. There was ever so much else that there was no time
to share with anybody.
Being an instructor
is ever so much more than standing before a class. Anyone can do that.
