top 20 most important people in martial arts history part one

One of my juniors sent me a post that was supposed to be the top ten most influential martial artists of all time.  I did not agree with the post 100% and I also did not think that most of the “notes” on why the guy picked the people were accurate or in some cases even true. 

I felt it was a great idea for a blog…so thank you Greg!  Also I thought I could put my spin on the whole thing and really introduce a few people that were influences to martial arts in my mind. But of course I had to pick the top 20.  Here are the first 10, and they are in no particular order of importance at this level!

20.Stephen K Hayes.  Before we could ever learn about Masaaki Hatsumi of Ninja fame, his student Steven Hayes would have to introduce us to both Ninjitsu and Hatsumi.  Born in the US, Hayes was introduced to the martial arts when he started training in Korean Tang Soo Do after looking for a judo club.  He studied Speech and Theatre in Miami, which helped him when he was looking to spread his new style of martial art to the west…well old style that had been recreated.

            Hays traveled to Japan to seek out authentic ninja masters after the had read about them.  He met his master Dr. Masaaki Hatsumi in 1975 and studied under him in Togakure Ryu Ninjitsu.  Five years later he returned to the states and began teaching Ninjutsu and writing some very famous books.  In 1985 he printed several books and was in the media at every chance.  He single handily brought the art of the Ninja to the media and the people of the states and created the Ninja boom that brought people into Karate, Kung fu, Tae Kwon Do and other Dojo’s across the west as well as helping to create Ninja movies and bring the martial arts back to the fore front of many peoples minds.

19. Imrich Lichtenfeld: born in 1910 in Budapest and growing up in Pozsony Slovakia, Imrich or Imi grew up boxing, doing gymnastics and wrestling and in 1928  won the Slovakian youth wrestling championship. He grew up when anti Semitic views were starting to move across Europe. He began to teach his fighting styles to the Jewish people to protect Jewish neighbourhoods from the growing numbers of fascist thugs.

                Imi moved to Palestine and joined the Haganah paramilitary, a pre-state military body that was organized to protect Jewish interests.  He developed his skills into what was soon called Kapap and taught it to several elite units of the Haganah and Palmach.

                In 1948, the state of Israel was founded and the IDF was formed.  Imi became the chief instructor of the physical fitness training and began teaching what he called Krav Maga. Krav Maga was formed and by 1978 it had become the sole martial art taught to the Israeli special forces.  Imi died that year but Krav Maga continued and by the 80’s it had become a major new hit in the states. Many famous American actors and musicians became students of the art and it also was featured in many movies. 

18.Wong Fei-Hung: Wong Fei Hung was an acupuncturist and traditional Chinese medical doctor in Foshan, Guangdong China.  He was also a very influential Chinese martial artist and folk hero in China.  He was a Grand master who learned his art under Wong Kei-Ying, his father.  Wong Kei-Ying is one of the famous Ten tigers of Canton. Wong Fei Hung was the man that brought the style of Hung Gar or Hung Ga to the people of china. He also became a very famous character in Chinese history and the subject of countless movies.  He is an important person in the development of Kung fu and because of his influence in martial arts many greats began training in kung fu.  Men like Jackie chan, Bruce Lee, Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao and Jet li have all played him and brought the Chinese art to the west.

17. Ed Parker: Edmond Kealoha Parker was born in Hawaii and while not very well known to some, he was a huge influence on martial arts in North America. The founder and creator of American Kenpo Karate/Kung Fu,  and seen as the Senior Grand Master of American Kenpo.  Why was he such a influencial person, I mean he was the creator of a style of Karate/Kung fu that was  mainly set in America….He was the instructor of Elvis Presley, movie star Jeff Speakman and Bruce Lee student Dan Inosanto.

                Ed Parker was the student of Frank Cho and William Chow…who was a student of James Mitose (the original founder).  Mitose created the style after a little training in Kung fu and Karate and made up a mythology that has been proven false.  Chow studied with  Mitose and created an off shoot of his original style, which he passed on to Parker.

                Parker continued to create and alter his style and built a altered style based first on Karate and then on Kung fu theories.  His unique style is built almost completely on self created forms and fighting styles.  This is unique because it was the first time that a person created a style from scratch essentially. His style became very famous when Elvis Presley brought his style on stage and introduced the world to Kenpo Karate.

16. Chuck Norris: Carlos Ray Norris was born in Ryan Oklahoma and joined the army to get away from the staunch poverty and hard life he was born into. In the army he ended up in korea and studied a style of martial arts that is based on Shotokan Karate.  He was stationed at the Osan Air Base in South Korea and competing when he got back to the states. Norris was known as one of the top fighters in the US and faced the BEST of the best at the time.   

                After his competition life was over he moved on to teaching and movies.  His more famous students include Bob Barker, chad McQueen, Steve McQueen, Priscilla Presley, Donny and Marie Osmond and others. 

                Norris became an Action movie icon and created his own style of martial arts called  Chun Kuk Do (“universal way”). His martial arts movies were one of the main reasons that young men and women flawed to the Karate Dojos in the 70’s and 80’s and for that he is one of the top 20 most influential martial arts personalities.

15. Itosu Anko and Asato Anko; Both Itosu and Asato were working for the Okinawan royals and were trained by Matsumura Sokon.  Asato was from a very wealthy family and studied traditional Samurai sword fighting and horse riding. Asato’s family wer Tonichi or town leaders. He was given leave to travel to Japan and study traditional fighting arts. His training in Horsemanship and sword fighting influenced Karate greatly.  Much of Karate’s changes were made because of Azatos training in Kenjutsu.  Itosu was also from a more noble family, but not as influential.  He came from a lower ranking Okinawa Samurai family and also afforded time to train in martial arts.  He became known as one of Okinawa’s best Karate men and known for his power.  He also was the primary instructor of Gichin Funakoshi, who went on to bring Karate to Japan.

14. Bruce Lee: Lee Jun-Fan was born in Hong Kong in 1940 and was born to Cantonese Opera star Lee Hoi Chuen. At the age of 13 his father sent him to study under famous Wing Chun master Yip Man. He only stayed with Man for a year and studied under Wong Shun Leung, one of Mans top students for a short time longer. In total he only trained in the style for five years, but his natural speed and athletic ability made him a great in the style quickly.

            Lee moved to Seattle to continue his studies at the U of W and began teaching his own interpretation of the style. He studied several different styles including Karate, Tae Kwon Do and boxing.  He created his own style called Jeet Kune Do based on his studies…. but this is not why he is known as one of the most influential people in the martial arts. Its his short movie Career and the myth he created around himself. A great self promoter, Lee parlayed four movies and a tv series into a cult following and his club was packed with students quickly, His students clubs were packed as well.

                Lee made the 70’s a Kung Fu decade and single handily sold the public on martial arts training and because of him…I joined Karate. 

13. Choi hong Hi/ Hee II Cho/Jong Soo Park/ Joon Rhee:  Cho Hong Hi or general Choi was a Korean military general who helped bring Tae Kwon Do to Korea. A Ikkyu in Shotokan Karate, Choi brought what he thought was a great style to the Korean military but was told that he had to change it to be less “Japanese” in appearance.  He went back and introduced a interesting story and changed the idea of Karate to be more kicking oriented.  From his original changes came more change that soon became what we now know as Tae Kwon Do.  Park, Cho and Rhee all came to north America to spread Tae Kwon Do to the world and all built off of general Choi’s changes to the original structure and then made further changes.  Rhee was personally responsible for the TKD craze in the US after teaching many famous students including mohammed Ali and many politicians. 

                While Tae Kwon Do is formed mainly from Shotokan, the myth of Taekyon and other styles influencing its formation seem to persist.  However, when you look at traditional Tae Kwon Do you can see that the influence of Karate was the major and most inspirational part of its development and all of the original forms that they used were slightly altered Shotokan Kata.

12. . Elvis Presley: Yes the music icon is also a Martial arts student and a very influencial person in the martial arts.  After seeing a Judo demonstration at fort Hood Tx he became interested in training in Karate or other martial arts. His first instructor was Juergen sydal, a Shotokan instructor.  Elvis went on to train in Chito Ryu and was given his Black Belt in that off shoot of Shotokan. His original Chito Ryu instructor died in Vietnam and Elvis changed his training to Ed Parkers American Kenpo.

                Elvis eventually trained in Tae Kwon Do with Kang Rhee, and earned his black belt in TKD from him. He moved on to train with a few others. Elvies is known to have been presented with his 8^th Degree black belt by Parker. 

                So, why was he so influential? Elvis was the most famous person in the USA during his life and he made Karate acceptable for a mass of people that had thought it was some strange Asian fighting art and not acceptable for “white America” . After Elvis became obsessed with Karate it became known that he did Karate and a huge influx of Students jointed Karate in the 60’s and 70’s because of this.

11. Fāng Qīniáng: According to history Qiniang was the founder of the Fuian White Crane system of Kung fu.  Born in southern China, Qiniang was a military expert and master of martial arts weapons. He was also known as Amoy Min Nan or Hng Chhit Nia and a female!  The system used deep stances, intricate hand techniques and fighting that mostly occurred at close range. The style that she taught was a imitative style of Shaolin boxing.

The Fang family lived in Fujian Province China and the family patriarch taught his daughter the fighting arts. One day while doing her chores the young girl tried to shoo a crane away that had landed near her. She studied its movements as the crane and began to form her own style of fighting.

So, why was she so important? Fang Qiniang’s style developed over time and became a very important Fujian martial arts style that was immensely popular in an area of China that hosted many Okinawan dignitaries, wealthy and visitors…like those that studied the Fujian Crane style and brought it back to Okinawa…to create the Karate style we now know as Shotokan. Fujian Kung fu is the distant relative of Shotokan Karate.

            I will post the rest soon!

Common misconceptions about Karate

I wanted to get away from my more “serious” blogs as of late and back to some more whimsical and fun blogs. I have seen and read so many misconceptions about Karate over the years that it makes my head spin! I am only including


I am going to go over the Top 20 Misconceptions about Karate and other Karate related misconceptions that I have run into…I hope you find them funny and enlightening!

Common misconceptions about Karate

Black belts need to register their hands as lethal weapons!

This one goes back to the 70’s and 80’s when I started training and it CRACKS ME UP to hear it to this day! First off most people taking Karate are far more dangerous than when they started Karate…but not as dangerous as a Gun or other weapon and most would not fair as well in a street fight and would probably do better IF they had a gun.

The truth is that training in Karate, even if you are one of the elite, will not cause you to have to register your hands as lethal weapons…but it might be a great thing to say to potential muggers!

We wear colorful Pajamas with lots of patches!

I remember one time when I was training in the old Down town dojo and a guy showed up that wanted to train, seemed to know what he was talking about and Sensei allowed him to train with us at a noon class…He went to change and when he came out of the change room…after class had already started…he was wearing a Gi that was made from and American flag…guy was from the states by the way.

I also remember seeing Gis in old Karate magazines that were red, blue, black and even camouflage! I have seen Gis that were made for Demo teams that reminded me of the Power Ranger outfits on my nephews favorite TV show and I also remember seeing gis made of different materials…who can forget the Silk Gi that looked like a 1970’s porno wardrobe!

We wear white uniforms, we have only one patch/flair on them. The patch shows a association with a specific style or organization. We keep it plane and we don’t wear bright colors. Its not a fashion show! It’s a Karate class!

We fight a lot!

Some people are scared of Kumite, especially before they start training. Its one of the most common questions I get about training. The question is usually “do you get hurt a lot fighting”. The answer to that one is ….I don’t fight! I spar, which is an exchange of techniques with control. Yes, I get hurt a little, punched in the eye or a fat lip on occasion, but normally its more taxing on the old cardio system than it is hard on the face!

So, do we do Kumite a lot? Well, not really. Karate has a lot of different things that can be used in training and personally I like Kumite, but think that the study of Kata is far more beneficial to students. It should actually be an even split this way Kihon done 20-30% of the time, Kata done 40% of the time and Kumite 20-30% of the time. I also think that in the beginning it should be Kihon 30% and Kumite 20% and reverse that at black belt.

Kumite is important and nothing to be scared of, we don’t do like Kickboxing or other combat sports do and toss you into fight with gear on the first week. We use control and try to bring you up from basically being nervous and knowing nothing to being able to do free style sparring light and with control for a long period of time and enjoying your training. So don’t be scared of it. Learn from it and have fun…even the split lips and punches in the eye!

We scream and yell when training all the time!

The funniest things I have seen are some of the other styles doing open tournaments that do Kata and Scream like they are getting a no frills colonoscopy through the whole thing! They look like they are in Horrible pain and scream like banshee through the whole thing! Each move elicits a squeal or screech that can only be seen as them showing that they are in some kind of great pain.

Saw one on you tube and the guy announces his Kata and introduces himself with a speech before he starts off! He started off looking a tad constipated then broke into horrible screams and contorted his face like he was gutting a bull and not liking his hands in the sinew and bloody muck, and then started his worst Bruce Lee impression all while showing his Kata to be strangely like the execution of said slaughter house activities!

A Kiai, what the gent in question was trying to do, is a spirit shout. It is a burst of sound and air escaping the lungs and causing a shout….not a long drawn out wailing that makes everyone wonder if you just tore a groin muscle or sat on a spur/barb and its working its way through your Gi pants with every technique and move!

The Kiai is used to show spirit, to improve a techniques power and to shock an attacker…not as a way of showing spirit in a kata with EVERY MOVE. We don’t yell a lot in class, we do show spirit with Kiai, but not like they do on that YouTube video!

Karate is a religion or has religious attachments!

NOT EVEN CLOSE. I would say that its culturally influenced by those that started Karate and created the “ritual and tradition” but not religious. I had an argument with a guy that said firstly the fact that it had “ritual and tradition” made it a religion and secondly we were praying to false Gods when we bowed to Funakoshi and Nakayama….My come back was “Do you use toilet paper and take your shoes off in someone’s house”….He was a bit floored at my query till I explained that toilet paper use was a custom or tradition in the west and in other countries they had other alternatives for hygienic cleanliness after defecation and the act of taking your shoes off is a courtesy or ritual that we in the west and parts of the east have. If you lived in a desert country or a country that had dirt/sand floors then you would keep your sandals/shoes on in the home. Karate has cultural rituals and traditions, but not religious in any way!

In Karate we use Japanese/Asian tradition and rituals in our practice, such as bowing and saying the dojo kun is simply the same thing as shaking hands and stating some basic principles of training. I remember an EVIL institution I belonged to, we had to salute each other, say a oath at the end of meetings, we had a “LEADER” and we were forced to swear allegiance to the group and our country all the time. We had uniforms that we had to wear and symbols on the uniform to denote rank in the order as well as accomplishments and mementos of battles we won. We had symbols for everything and we had special idols that we brought out for rituals that we did to indoctrinate us into the group. No, I am not talking about my short stint in the army, or some religious group…I was in the cub scouts as a kid…I swear anything can be made to look evil if you really put your mind to it!

I have been totally discussed with two things in Karate when it comes to religion. People refusing to perform the demonstrations of respect because they say bowing is against their religion, when in fact ITS NOT! In no religious text I have EVER read, and I would charge I have read A LOT of religious texts…more so than some “faithful” does it say you must not bow as a way of showing respect or as a greeting or even as a way of just showing respect! In some cultures you DON’T shake hands and bowing plays a vital role in greetings. Its RUDE when someone say “I don’t bow to others” and stretch out a hand to shake hands.

The other thing that ticks me off is when Martial arts groups make others do things against their religious or cultural beliefs like taking off head dresses and they say “No head gear at all” and expect someone that comes from a muslim back ground to take off a head dress and compete, but put it back on when they leave. The ladies head dress in Islamic culture is very important and to be frank…would not interfere with any Karate I know of. One group had the ladies who would not remove it banned from the competition for their use. I also know of one instructor that would not allow a little boy to even train unless he took off his Yamaka!

So, while Karate is not religious in any way shape or form and the traditions and rituals are cultural and not religious, Karate also should not interfere with a religious issue as well. We can find ways around strict religious rules, but they have to actually be more rules than just “I don’t want to bow to the picture because I feel strange doing so!”

We train to kill people with a single blow/we can kill people with a single blow!

There is a big difference between training to be able to stop a fight with one blow and actually being able to do so! If we made it a mandatory requirement to be able to kill someone with a single blow….A) not many people would pass that test…and B) who would volunteer to be the test subject I need to hit and kill to get my black belt…and C) can you say JAIL TIME!

Seriously, there is a huge misconception when I say “Ikken hissatsu” because the direct translation is “single Punch certain kill” or to end the fight with one movement. This does not really mean “ to kill with one blow” as some suggest. It means that when you perform this technique you are sure you COULD end a fight with it or kill an attacker…not that you will, it refers to the intent of your training.

No one is sure that one punch or kick will end a fight, ever! They know their skill level but they don’t know if the punch will be targeting someone with a glass jaw, a normal pain level or someone that has been boxing their whole life and has a steel chin! But the intent of the technique is to end the fight with as efficient a technique as possible.

But no, I have never used Karate to kill someone….Yet! And Karate is not just about hitting people…we are far more than just fighters!

We break wood with Karate Chops!

I have actually done a lot of this…but not in class! And it always left me thinking…Damn that hurt, why did I do that? Breaking wood or Tamishiwara (Test breaking) comes from Kendo/Kenjutsu schools that did Tamishigiri or Test cutting with a sword. As many of the masters of Karate had strong Kendo back grounds you had a good mix of the training from those schools come into the training as well.

We also don’t call them “Karate chops” that’s a western term that started being used for Shuto strikes a long time ago. I have seen Tamishiwara done with Geri (kicks), Tsuki (punching) and various Uchi (strikes) and the most impressive were the shin kicks to baseball bats and punches through roof tiles! However, you don’t have to do these techniques to have good form and power. In fact its not even part of the standard training protocols for our clubs.

I once tried to kick a baseball bad being held by a friend and break it….little did I know that all breaking has a trick to it. With the bat you want to kick a sweet spot on the bat or…like my attempt…it wont work and you end up with a very sore leg. Most places that do Tamishiwara bake the boards. Take your average Tae Kwon Do club….when they break boards, those are not fresh from the mill, still kind of holding some moisture and hard as stone. They A) pick wood that can be broken easily, B) cut the wood a special way so the grain of the wood helps them to break it, C) let it dry out or bake the board so its dry and brittle and D) use physics to finish the trick! The spacers that they use to break 3-9 boards actually helps them mechanically to break the boards.

I once went to a Tae Kwon Do demo and saw them snapping wood like it was nothing, I investigated the wood and it was DRIED out so bad that I could snap it with my fingers. Pine is normally selected for Breaking as its made to snap and once its dried out it makes a great pop and even if you just drop it, the wood snaps.

Now while I was at the Demo I was kind of called out as I was wearing a JKA Tee shirt and asked if we do breaking, I said no…but said we don’t do magic or illusion to get students either. The “Master”, a 20 something guy with an impressive belt around his waist with Korean, English names and tones of stripes challenged me to prove what he was doing was fake. My answer was to get the 5 boards he was going to break…take the spacers out and said…now that would be impressive. It looked less “bulky” and I took about four to six inches off the height of the stack…and then I took the bunch of them and put them down on the floor…flat….and said…”go ahead…no smoke, no mirrors…Break them”. He asked got very upset and said, “Okay smarty you break them!” to which I told him no one can…no smoke no mirrors and the truth is shown!

Breaking can be a interesting and fun part of training, but its not required and we don’t only use the “Karate chop” to do it!

Karate builds better character in People!

I used to think so…but over the years I have noticed its not always true! I think it reveals peoples character and helps some see the errors or flaws in their character, but I don’t see training two or three times a week in Karate at a Dojo for three years or more as being a big Dr.Phil make over kind of thing.

Not all people in Karate have great character and I think the longer they are in Karate the more we get to see the character of each person. I think when people train in Karate the first three or four years you don’t get to see their true character…then around black belt you start to see what they are like. Will they be greedy and feel like they are owed something or will they be humble and work hard to help others?

I can think of two guys that show this extreme character deviation. One guy I trained with in East St.Paul was a super nice guy, kind of smarmy when he was a Kyu level student, he was so nice and complimented everyone, kissed butt and really made you feel good about yourself when he was coming up in the rank system…then he got his black belt and his real character came through. He became a bully, he pushed lower ranks around and felt like the organization owed him something and worse yet…he went from helpful and doing a tone of work for the instructor…to being pushy (even towards the instructor) and he walked around like he owned the place.

The other guy I am thinking of is Steve Burch, Steve was a quiet guy that kind of showed up one day and before I knew it he was a brown belt. He was not the kind of guy that jumped out and showed a lot of flash and flair in his personality or his techniques. Quiet, respectful and not to boisterous in nature, Steve was the kind of student you never thought would stick around because he was a bit of an introvert and he just worked hard in class and left without really “selling” his “I am respectful” “LOOK AT ME” kind of personality…But fast forwards to his black belt and the guy not only turned into a real leader but continues to show how much he respects his students, his peers and his seniors. The guy is someone I wish I could carbon copy a hundred of and run a organization with them.

Karate does not necessarily catch people young enough to really influence personality and character, but it does shine a light on your personality in a BIG way when you are under a microscope and everyone is looking at you.

Karate belts were only white originally and then as time went on they turn black with blood and dirt!

I have two things to say about this…One…..EWWWWW! and Two….NASTY! Can you imagine training day in and day out with a belt that 10-12-15 years later is so dirty and stinky that it went from white to black?

First off what the hell kind of training are you doing that the friggin belt goes black after years of training and secondly what kind of hygiene do you have that you put a slimy, moldy, black belt around your crisp white gi (I hope its crisp and white and not suffering the same dirty condition as your belt) and think that’s okay?

The answer to this is NO! That’s not the truth. The original belt system was created by Jigaro Kano of Judo, and we adopted it from him. The belts started off as juniors wearing white belts, intermediate students wore brown belts and senior students wore a black belt. Over time the Martial arts world, influenced by western values, began adopting color belts other than white and brown for the Kyu levels and there is a lot of differences in the scheme. Some groups use blue belts and not purple or both for 4th and 5th Kyu and some have different belt colors for lower kyus as well.

The truth is that if a student had a belt that was filthy, had been dragged through dirt, bled on and smelled of Cabbage and garbage with a small hint of BO I would ask them to launder it or buy a new one. Its rude to be that stinky and dirty in a dojo while training and really…who wants to train in dirty gear?

Karate is only for Kids now!

I hear a lot of this from Kickboxers, MMA guys and other martial arts instructors that want to put us down, and the funniest is a Tae Kwon do guy that runs a club MOSTLY CONSISTING OF KIDS CLASSES who says Karate is only good for kids…..thus making my argument that he is in the wrong profession that much more substantial!

Like all martial arts, Karate is what you make of it. Kids, adults, seniors can all benefit from Karate, with the added bonus that we don’t practice a high impact training program like some of the other arts do, so yes…it is good for kids…but its also good for adults, seniors…heck all age categories looking for a easy and fun martial art to train in are going to benefit.

There is only one right way to do Karate (Kata,Kihon ext) the rest are WRONG!

Not true! I remember going to a camp one year and studying Jion in a group of people. The masters (three of them) walked around correcting techniques and demonstrating form to us. I had One master come up and set my hands a specific way and demonstrate the technique a specific way, then he left and the second master wandered along and set my hands a second way and demonstrated an equally interesting approach to me…and lastly Tanaka Sensei came buy and shook his head and put my hands in a third position and showed me “why” again. All three high level instructors that do the same style of Karate and are from the same organization…..and do Jion slightly different!

I have also seen one instructor doing a Side thrust kick and the way he chambers the kick is almost impossible for a human being to do at full speed. Now he is a bit of a freak (in a good way) of nature and can do these kinds of techniques at this point in his life. But when I showed the move (or tried to) to a senior instructor in Ottawa he emphatically said no one can do that and its not even correct! I have also seen so many different forms and interpretations in Kata and Kihon that it makes your head real when you think only one can be right.

We may all have two arms and legs and be built similar, but we are all wired different and have different physical ability. This means that we will all look different and different is not wrong. Now that is not to say that some people DON’T do things Wrong…..but some logic must be served if you are to say something is wrong. Blocking with Shuto and having an outstretched arm is wrong…but as long as the mechanics and ideals are sound a technique is not wrong….even if it looks different.

The Dojo Kun is not important for those at higher levels, its mostly for kids and juniors!

Bunk, BS and Crapola! The Dojo kun is only NOT important to those that want to go counter to its teachings. Any time I hear of an instructor saying “I don’t teach the Dojo Kun” or “I think that the Dojo kun is not important in training and we only do it for tradition” I think…that guy is a sleaze ball that wants to hide his character from students!

The Dojo Kun is a set of guide lines set up to represent why we train, or as guide lines to how to be a more self-aware and beneficial human being. The five phrases give us something to think about when we interact with others. Its not an oath so much as a mental note on how to hold yourself to a higher standard. “seek perfection of character, be faithful, endeavor to excel, respect others, refrain from violent behavior” all basically state “Be a better person who cares about others and will strive to be the best person you can be! It’s a moral code that basically states you will attempt to be a better person..and that’s about all.

For those that say they don’t follow it…does that mean you don’t strive or believe in being a better person? Does that mean you don’t want to be excelling at anything…what kind of jerk does not respect others? And what kind of bully does not refrain from violent behavior? JERK!

All Karate instructors are zen like monkish people who live by a special “Code”!

Uh, yah…I’m a monk! Each instructor is different and has different personalities. In our small group I can honestly say we have four or five instructors who all have completely different personalities and different traits and habits….I would have to say NONE of us are zen like or monkish! Karate does not have a Code any more than being a cop means you wont break the law because of some kind of sworn oath.

Each of the instructors in the organization also have habits and traits that make them different. While some drink and some eat red meat, others don’t. I for one love dead cow and pretty much any meat…except wild game, but I don’t drink at all. I don’t think any of us smoke, but we all have different qualities that would not be Zen like. I don’t think Steve Burch has a temper of any kind but I know Dingman Sensei and I have bad ones. All different and none to zen in my books.

Karate will do lots of things…make you a wise Zen monk…not one of them!

Karate is ineffective and martial art XYZ is better!

Normally I get this from the XYZ guys or the nobs that watch MMA/UFC events and say things like Yah, any Muay Thai/BJJ/Judo guy can take a Karate guy or Boxing is better than Karate….Really, so the fact that the light heavy weight champion was Lyoto Machida means nothing to you…hes a nidan in JKA Karate! Or that fighters are FLOCKING to Dojos to pick up Karate skills because its something new that the wrestlers and boxers have not seen before?

The truth is that its NOT the style but the MAN that makes a style work for him. The style is a tool and each one has holes in it. In the 80’s and 90’s it was Jiu Jitsu is better because Royce proved it…then he went to Japan and was beat by a Pro wrestler! So, what you are saying now is Prowrestling is better than Jiu Jitsu? No of course not!

This argument is silly and totally misrepresents the whole idea of “which is better”. The problem is three fold. First Just taking BJJ wont make you Royce or Richson Gracie! Secondly…as you get older or out of shape a bit your style wont make you better than any man because you are simply doing that style and thirdly, every style has a set of weaknesses built in. For instance, put two guys against a Karate guy or a Jitsu guy…the Jitsu guy has a much better chance of getting beat up than an equally competent Karate guy. Introduce concrete floors with dirt and trash and you got other obsticles to your argument about BJJ.

What about Muay Thai and Boxing…well we don’t wear gloves and we kick…getting hit with a glove is a lot different than a perfectly placed set of knuckles to the beak! I have had fights with Muay Thai guys in the days when I went to bars and worked or drank…they are not some kind of warrior that you cant hurt and to be frank I actually did better against a Thai boxer than a regular boxer!

The style does not make the man/woman…it’s the other way around!

Students should be respectful and loyal, even if the instructor isn’t!

While I am all for students being respectful and loyal, I also have to say that I have moved beyond blindly following people in my life. Life is to short and I give my loyalty to those that PROVE themselves worthy of the loyalty. I am very lucky, my instructor proves himself worthy of my loyalty and respect every day! But I know of several instructors who don’t know what that means let alone being able to fake it.

Loyalty is something a instructor gets when they show that 110% of the time they put the student first, when they don’t do things that may bring shame or even a turned up eye brow to themselves, the dojo, the organization and students and when they do things with the student in mind all the time!

Respect is earned by giving respect, by showing your respect to others and by showing your students that you respect them by being nice, not putting to much stress on them and by giving to them what they need to succeed! You can not demand respect, you get fear! You can not expect respect, you will look egotistical and foolish! Short term you might get some forms of respect…or fear…that feeds the ego, but the whole thing will fall apart when the fear starts to leave students.

I have seen students that left my instructor talk about him with respect and admiration 20,30 and even 40 years after they trained with him….because he is loyal and showed respect! I have seen people 5,6,7 years after leaving a horrible instructor relive the hell they went through for the year or so they trained with them.

Students should show respect to those that earn it, and loyalty to those they feel loyalty to…and get the hell away from those other instructors that ruin martial arts for those that love it!

Karate is only physical and has not mental training to it or any benefits.

You get out of Karate what you put into it! And as far as mental training and other non-physical benefits…I have seen them with my own eyes. So this is not true. But if you treat Karate like an aerobics class then you get an aerobics class work out…if you treat it like a life style that will help you deal with stress and other improvements in your life…you will be amazed at what a good job it does at that!

I have personal seen what Karate training has done for my studies. I have dyslexia and when I had the hardest exams to study for…instead of backing off Karate to study, I did more Karate training and distressed, decompressed and did better on exams than I would have if I was all stressed out and tied in knots mentally.

I have also worked with kids that were training and had a variety of mental and emotional problems and without question or doubt, Karate helped them deal with these issues as well. Some issues cant be helped by Karate, heck many cant, but Karate can play a beneficial role in the lives of those that train in it if they take the right approach.

Samurais/peasants created Karate!

No not really. Actually not at all….Karate was created in Okinawan around 1372 by a bunch of court officials that were tasked with protecting the Royal family of Okinawa. Not exactly Samurai, they were seen as upper class, in fact, by comparison with the Japanese culture they were kind of above samurai in the pecking order! And they were far from poor working class people. Sakukawa Kanga (Karate Sukukawa) was known to be fairly wealthy and his family were well taken care of generations after he passed away.

Karate was created by a culture caught midway between feudal Japan and Imperial China! The rich dressed much like their Chinese counterparts but they adopted much of the Japanese culture. Actually Okinawa was not much of a military country by the time Karate was invented and the idea that samurai taught Karate was absurd! They used Jujitsu and weapons training and would see Karate as below their warrior lineage!

Oh, and the side jumping kick was not created to knock men off horses, can you jump eight feet in the air? How could a short Asian do the same? Be real, they were 5’4” on average and wore armor that weighted about 80-100.lbs…if they could do that you would see more Japanese NBA players!

The Sempai is God and the Kohai is scum that serves them!

Rank has always been a sticky thing with me. I see young brown belt pester and bully lower Kyu’s, debate who is more senior and act like asses when it comes to rank. I see Sempai (seniors) abuse the living heck out of Kohai (juniors) and use the Sempai/Kohai relationship incorrectly and throw the terms around like crazy in a bad way and wrongly.

As Sempai (senior) has but a few Kohai (juniors) and its more a relationship than set of titles. Think of Sempai as “Mentor” and Kohai as “Mentors charge”. The Sempai is charged with grooming and assisting the Kohai to be the best they can be. They play a key role in the Kohais life and often help them outside of the Dojo as well. They must make sure that the Kohai is ready for testing, understands etiquette and assists them in everyday life to…like school or work.

The Kohai is selected because of the potential that is seen in them or because they need more help in specific areas. Their only job is to do their best! They are not seen as being Scum or slave labor for the Sempai, they are seen as potentially great with some help.

The Kohai could be seen as a potential instructor or athlete or simply as someone that will help the organization out in the future. The Sempai has been around for a while and must now put their skills to test in training the Kohai to be better.

I hate seeing students fight and argue over who is the sempai or most senior, normally kids do this mind you! The truth is that having a piece of cloth around your waste does not make you any better than the next guy. One should not be obsessed with the rank of others or the skills of others, especially when thinking you are better or worse, you should be happy for all your training partners and realize that someone with more skills that you train with gives you a chance to grow, and someone with less skills gives you a chance to help them, and in turn grow and become better at teaching and thus again grow!

When I see brown belts bicker about who is more senior and must sit in line higher up or black belts, I want to rip their belts off and say they are white belts a now and will be such until they learn to behave! And when they are kids and their parents train, I want to do the same to them and tell them to teach their children manners and until they can…they are white belts too!

Karate is only good for family exercise and not for real fights!

My record of self-defense would reason this one is wrong too! I have had more than my fair shake of fights on the streets and in bars and only on a few occasions have I come out worse for it! My training has saved my life a few times and has led to many a pretty little scar!

Karate is great for family and exercise, but its not limited to it! Training is training and what you get out of it is what you put into it. If you suspect your instructor can only teach you sports junk and Aerobics then find a instructor who can apply Karate in a scrap…if that’s what you want. But remember that Karate and what it is used for/good for comes down to the personal wants, and intent! You cannot make a chi Wawa a pit bull nor can you make a introverted 90.lb weakling into a killer elite fighter…well not overnight at least!

My instructor/ Senior can kick your instructors/Seniors butt!

And…….I remember when a student of a Muay Thai Coach I knew from school told me that he (said instructor) could kick my butt! I said “and” and walked away. At the time I did not think anything of it…but the student went back and said I was bragging about how I would beat him up. It took about three seconds for the instructor to realize that the student was full of beans! But it could have been worse if I had not known the instructor personally.

If you were to come to me today and say “My instructor can beat up your instructor” I would say “well, my instructor is 71 and your instructor is XYZ…and I am fairly sure my instructor has no interest in fighting…so grow the hell up”. Fighting and beating people up is not the main point of Karate or other martial arts…Martial sports or Combat sports do hold this fact with importance, but you have to think….a muay thai coach WAS once very tough probably…but they stop fighting and they start teaching others…they don’t want to fight as well!

It’s a childish game to play and one that bugs the hell out of me. Most people are not in Karate or martial arts to prove how tough hey are…they just want to train and live longer….what would be more impressive to me is if a student said “My instructor will live longer than your”….now that’s a challenge!

Can you actually defend yourself?

One of the main reasons that people get involved in Karate is to defend themselves. Of the three BIG reasons its one that stands out as a huge FAILURE for most students. That’s right, I said FAILURE! I will explain that in a bit…..

The other two reasons for Joining Karate in the first place are Health/fitness and…well it looks cool. At least those are the two most popular when you look at an overall reason for joining Karate. If you train with even a half way decent instructor those two reasons are fulfilled and you get what you paid for. I mean if you come in and are given a work out regiment kind of class or given things to do at home as well as the club, well that will help your fitness level and just the movements in class should help keep you relatively fit. And as long as your instructor can muster a half ounce of interest…Karate will be cool!



Now as for the failure to teach self-defense, that’s a relatively new issue and its two pronged…first off the instructors got scared to teach real self-defense lest they get sued and lose everything when someone gets hurt…and then they simply forgot about it and started teaching sport Karate with little to do with real fighting. But shouldn’t Sport Karate still give you enough to go on to learn defensive tactics? You would think….but most studies suggest that you would be wrong…and personal experience…well it tells me that sport minded or combat sport guys are setting themselves up for a very painful lesson.

I am not saying that sport Karate and training for tournaments is bad, I am saying that some instructors got stuck in that rut and forgot that Karate is not about scoring points, its about taking out attackers with ruthless intent and ending hostile attacks with equal if not greater force. For the last thirty years plus I have trained with some great sport guys and some great Budo Karate guys and most of them agree that they don’t really see violent situations going the way they would think they would training in Shiai Karate styles. And to be frank I have seen my share of sport martial arts guys get creamed in street confrontations. I even remember one of my Sensei’s students telling me about a fight he got into that he first felt he was set up to win…and then thought he may die in!



To much training in Point fighting will KILL you in the end. You will be a lean fighting machine in the ring and a great target on the streets. See first off when you train in sport Karate you are looking for that single technique to land and score you a point…not hit and KO the other guy, we would lose a lot of members if that were the case! So, to be honest…its like a really violent game of Tag! One guy rushes in and lands a perfect Gyaku zuki Chudan and yells at the top of his lungs and rushes away to save his own face from accidentally hitting the other guy….in the street…that does not work so well. You would rush in, tag the guy…and get bum rushed and tackled or he would simply rush after you and blast you with kicks and punches. NO ref to say “No Lad….he got you first, Now back up and start again”. Also, there are rules about contact…both depth and target. In the streets there are rules like this to…hit hard…hit anything and rip the crap out of what you can grab!



Some rules also don’t make much sense if you are looking at Karate as a form of self-defense. In Karate you can not grab your opponent by the wrist, clothing or bear hug them ext. They do this because…well people get hurt when you grab them and yank them around….like they would on the street. So by removing this no grabbing ability and making it a rule that you can’t grab a leg when kicked or an arm or rush in and tackle the guy, you take away much of what is done on the streets these days. By adding back into the Dojo training some real self-defense training and allowing for grabbing you now have to train how to NOT get grabbed as much as you do how to get grabbed.



Back in the day it was Us (Traditional strikers) against them (traditional grapplers) and both sides were equally delusional when it came to who would win in a street fight…The fact is that if a Karate guy went against a judo guy in a street fight…the winner would be the guy that DID NOT FIGHT TRADITIONALLY! Both Karate and Judo have been scrubbed clean of self-defense training in most clubs and yet still advertise that they are great for self-defense to the public…..but don’t fool yourself….we are not the only ones. Judo, Karate, Muay Thai, Tae Kwon Do, Jiu Jitsu, Aikido, Kung fu…you name it…sports or other issues have crept in and torn the heart of self-defense training out of them. Even modern MMA is not going to save you on the streets…besides…you get hurt training that way!



Karate used to have joint locks and ground work in the training protocols as well as “pressure point” fighting that was not some mystical junk but more…”Its soft here…rip it off” kind of “nerve strike/pinch” training. Hell even when I started Karate we would hear a lot about “ so you hit the guy in the throat and he goes down” kind of stuff and just knew Sensei had been hit in the groin and throat when training to show how it worked….but had to change it to accommodate our less “durable” generation of Karate guys and gals.

The other thing that killed the arts ability to be taken seriously is the ground itself. Years ago the Gracie Family came forwards and threw down the gauntlet and said “you can’t beat us with your stand up crap” and various other rude and boastful things…that turned out to be correct. They took on Kempo guys, boxing guys and a myriad of standup fighters and then brought the UFC around to prove they were right….but why were they right? They were right because we implemented rules that basically made ground fighting Taboo and stopped us from being able to fight back or use distance against ground fighter, explode and hurt them once they hit the floor.

Watch what happens in a tournament for instance…..a fighter sweeps the legs out from under his opponent and has a millisecond to launch and successfully land a single blow…if he does we say “IPPON” and he wins…if not we stop them and let the other guy up! The grounded fighter learns he is safe if he hits the floor and the attacker learns nothing but “hit fast and dance back because you CANT fight on the ground”! The truth is that 80% of fights end up on the ground! But the further truth is that ground fighting often looks as stupid and amateurish as stand up does.

So, the Gracies brought a style of fighting that made them look like GODS to the arena of NHB (no Holds Barred) Fighting. They took out bigger strikers by bringing them into a world that they had been trained was Bad and that they should never be in. My contention is that now that MMA has evolved past the taboo of the ground, we are seeing more how to defend ourselves as strikers. If you get taken down you fight till you can get back to your feet, work to get back to your feet and blast elbows and punches, knees and even head butts to the bottom or top fighter to not give up.



Ground fighting aside the other issues we have in Karate and self-defense training is that most instructors teach an hour long class on basics, Kata and Kumite and approach all “fighting” as Kumite. So they will do three step, one step and semi free and possibly free style sparring…then when it comes to self-defense training we see them teach Three step, one step, semi free and free style sparring and just call it something different. Only one instructor aside from my own has ever taught a class that showed different grips or different joint locks that you were put in or that you could use against an attacker. Stand up grappling is the first initial phase of any self-defense interaction on the street. I have never seen an attacker Kiai and start from a down block position or a front stance position…and if they ever do…I will be the guy wetting himself laughing in the corner!

The fact is that self-defense is ugly, dirty and has no rules. It can start off pretty much anyplace you could imagine and if you are not trained in it you often are so sensitive to the pressure of the attack that you freeze when attacked or shut down because you simply don’t have a reference point to work with. You NEED to be trained on the different situations that you may encounter.



One of Dingman Senseis old students once told me about a situation he got himself into on the streets. He was walking along and saw a group of kids ( a bit younger than him) acting up on the street corner. Like a moron he continued to walk towards them thinking his brown belt (Back in the day that was about the level that you started to feel and look kind of scary in the Dojo) was enough to protect him. The inevitable happened…one of the kids mouthed off and said moron mouthed off back…and then the situation escalated. First a kid grabbed him by the hoody and shoved him hard. He stepped back and in place of the ground for his back foot to land, he tripped over a attacker who was set to trip him up. The fight went downhill fast from their! The kids all circled him and started kicking at him. He baled up and took as much as he could but was really getting beat down!

In the end he got his wallet taken, a bloody nose, broken ribs, a broken hand and his EGO was very broken. He even figured it was his lack of ground skill that cost him his wallet and got him beat down…so he went to Judo and studied the only art for ground fighting in Winnipeg at the time (this was pre UFC). The sad truth is that he learned nothing about how to defend a group attack in Judo and left Judo after getting his black belt there as well as earning his Karate Shodan as well. But he never did learn how to NOT get beat up by six kids a decade younger than you on average. I could have told him for free…Don’t mouth off and don’t put yourself in a position to get your arse kicked in the first place!



So, what are my suggestions for how to teach a good solid self-defense oriented class? Well first off don’t do it all the time. Once or two classes a month based on actual street self-defense will be enough for most students to keep in mind that what we do has direct links to self-defense. You don’t want to alter the rest of the training to simply add a component of like “if subject A attacks with a knife you do move B and C” that too is the wrong path. You want to build a open minded approach to training and give options. Make the students think and give them the knowledge that solid foundations in Karate will be a key ingredient to not getting your life taken in a mugging….and how to defend more than just your pride in a tournament.

I think that offering up several alternatives that still jive with the basics of Good Karate is important in the long run if you want to make a student more comfortable defending themselves. And you have to introduce a “What if” kind of mentality when it comes to the ground. The Gracie’s were fantastic when no one knew how to fight on the floor. They were like a 100000:1 favorite that they would tap you out…and make it look easy. But as soon as people began rolling and learning the odds became more like 10:1, and once we added Ground and pound kind of striking they were a 2:1 favorite. Add the ability to get up and strike better than them and the odds were more like 1:1 for most pro fighters. So, learn how to use distance, not get taken down and how to get back up if need be and you have a great plan for a self-defense program.



Next introduce joint locks and standing grappling again. They are in the Kata and you can have tones of fun with them if you do them safely. Push your students to be safe but explore different situations like head locks, bear hugs, knife attacks and two person attacks. But also be real. If a gang of people attack a student chances are they wont become Chuck Norris and jump in the air and start kicking the attackers like Power Rangers while bird calling like Bruce Lee…they will crumple like humans do and get beat up…so make sure they know how not to get into that situation before you teach them how to defend themselves in different positions.

As an instructor I try to let people know that you probably will be a brown belt before you figure out how to use Karate in a fight, and a Black belt before you notice the holes in the very game you are studying. But some wont ever see that Karate should be a component of training and not the whole thing. Sport Karate has its place and Dojo Karate training has its, but Goshindo (self-defense) training is lacking in both areas and it would serve students well to keep in mind that what they are often doing is guided calisthenics to keep the body moving and learn new skills. The applications of said skills are vast, but if you want to learn how to defend yourself you need to train in defending yourself.

Its like leaning how to do Horse Jumping and being told that you can now work a rodeo, or learning how to ride a horse in a race and your coach saying…Got a rodeo for you to ride in! they don’t jive! The other thing I always compare it to is being a doctor. If you were a GP (Dojo Karate) and you were asked to do heart surgery (tournament fighting) you would probably kill your patient (Fail at the competition) , and if both of you were to be asked to deliver a baby…from a horse! The basics are mostly the same but the application of the basics and fundamentals are all different! They specialize and self-defense cannot be specialized.



For the most part, students are lied to a lot! But we are used to it in our society and most of the time we walk on by and don’t pay attention to the details that show we are getting lied to! As instructors we have to make it clear that what we teach is Budo Karate or Shiai Karate…and for the most part both Budo Karate and Shiai Karate instructors will say they teach Budo Karate! The reason being is the stigma of teaching only sport Karate in some cases is embarrassing and in others the instructor does not know the difference. Both styles of teaching however will give you a solid base in Goshindo……but don’t fool yourself, it probably wont let you learn a lick about how to get out of a head lock or how to really defend against an angry attacker….and it may teach you some bad habits like “don’t kick in the junk!” Or “no eye pokes” when those are the most effective techniques for defense in some cases.



So, I put it to you, the reader…..Do you think you know how to defend yourself…and be real. Don’t let your ego get in the way because…to be frank…your ego wont protect you from getting your ass kicked!

True Standards in Teaching Karate

I have been around the block for a LONG time now, been training with my instructor for nearly 30 years of my 34 year journey in Karate and I have seen some real great instructors on the floor….and I have seem some guys that were just a hot mess! I have trained under some of the very best that Manitoba, Canada and even the world have had to offer and I have trained under some very questionable instructors! Granted almost all of them were “approved” to teach one way or the other but I take away from that the fact that everyone is different and we have to select who’s banner we choose to stand under in our journey in Karate.

Steve Burch came back from the last JKA Koyo Camp and introduced an idea that came from the marketing meeting they had, but it fell into me as being more of a new standard for teaching in Karate. It had more to do with the presentation of yourself as a person over your presentation of Kicky-Punchy things. The idea was brought up by a gentleman I respect a great deal as a marketing guy, and I don’t think he even realized the ramifications it had for instructors. Brad Jones stated that “we have to respect our students, and their families and show it to them”. Now he was talking about marketing but it, as usual, got my brain spinning. It was such a simple concept, and one I personally try and approve…but even I have to say that I was at one point being swayed by the darker side of Karate and starting to feel the pull of “ME SENSEI! YOU STUDENT!” in my head…even if I knew it was wrong.

I was very lucky in my journey into Karate. My first instructor was no gem! He drank before class, smoked after and that is when he showed up to preach about living a good life and being healthy because your body was “a temple”…..I trained with him and his son for a year and a half before I left to do Judo. The one thing I originally took from that was the pathetic fact that some guy was teaching a class on Karate, he was qualified to do that…but then he started talking about health…and the fact was some people are “do what I say, not what I do” People and it drove me nuts….and out of his Dojo!

My very first lesson on Karate standards for teachers was that you must not preach things that you do not already do. I don’t smoke….I tell people not to smoke because of the health risks associated with it, but I don’t preach about the ease of stopping smoking or even how to do it…because I never have had the misfortune of having to stop that habit so How in the world can I tell someone its easy or even direct them on how to do it, I however do let them know it’s a great idea to chat with their doctor about it…who should be a expert!

I moved to Dingman Senseis Dojo and began learning Karate from a real Sensei! Someone I can look up to and someone that has never really been a “Do as I say” Kind of guy. He used to smoke and quit, he now tells people its not good for them , but in such a way as it is respectful and from his heart. He is flawed but he does not bring those flaws to the Dojo and he also does not let them effect his students. He also puts his students above his own needs as a rule and he bends over backwards for them knowing that the good he is doing for them is going to build better people and a better world.

But he is a unique instructor with a unique set of personal principles, ones I try to mirror in my life. He is a great role model and someone I consider a second father and I think I always have. He is above most of the greif that is caused by those instructors that are self-important, egotists that think because they have a black belt strapped around their Hara and they were “here first” that it entitles them to something that it does not. He taught me that the longer you are in Karate the more battles you will have. Not physically, but often ethically and morally. I see instructors who have pathetically bad business practices that boarder on fraud and I have to not say anything, knowing that it will catch up with them. I see instructors sexually harass and goad students in to less than professional situations and I shake my head knowing the final outcome of something like that will be personally destructive and will end the Dojo they run…and Ruin so many lives.

When you run a Dojo the standards should all be above board. Money comes in the proper channels and goes to pay the rent/mortgage, bills and the requirements of the club. Then you pay yourself, Then you put savings aside if you have any at that point. No one is against an instructor making a buck, hell its expected! But I have seen instructors who were well loved go to jail for tax fraud (in the states) and I have seen instructors so money hungry that it splits the organizations apart! Money is great, we all need it…but is it better to make $500 a month on a Karate club and make it for an indefinite amount of time, foster good relationships with students…or screw them out of money and fight for 5 years making only $1000 a month? Or even $5000 a month but for 5 years? The point is that money collection and the amount you charge should be above board and your services should be worth it! You cant stop working and sit back and collect money forever! You have to build relationships and push to be the best person and instructor you can be.

Dingman Sensei once told me he may not have a million bucks in the bank….but as long as he has loyal students who love and respect him ….he is the richest man alive! And I believe him, because every time he is out on the dojo floor his eyes light up, he forgets any physical pain he is in and he loves teaching. The interactions he has with his students is something to watch and learn from. He loves teaching everyone, from the white belt that just walked in the door to the black belts who have been busting their rumps to improve and be stronger. The relationship is symbiotic. The more they train to please him, the harder he works to help them. It’s a beautiful thing!

The other thing that I know about Sensei Dingman and some of the other greats are they are Honest…sometimes to a fault! Dingman Sensei had to tell me three times I did not pass my Black belt. I hit someone twice and the third time I simply was going through the motions. He could have told me I failed by posting others names and just letting me read it, but he cared enough to let me know I failed and had to work on control, and the last time not give up hope of ever getting a black belt. The standards were so high then that I was not sure if I could ever pass. He was honest with me, sat me down and let me know what I needed to do and that I should not give up…for me! Not because I was part of his monthly paycheck at the time, but because he really wanted to see me succeed. He knew me and knew how hard it was for me to fail again and again, but he first told me in the office, then took me to his home and chatted with me for hours about things I needed to work on and how I should focus and push to be better. I did what he said, redoubled my efforts and not once did I think of giving up.

Years later I partnered with him on my business. He asked if I would open my massage business in the Dojo and help his students with the aches and pains of Karate training. I agreed and became a sort of business partner. I naturally rolled into working more and more in his office and saw the day to day business that he had running and I can truly say that while Sensei Dingman is one of the most honest people I know…he honestly is a bad business man! Not because he was ripping people off…the opposite! I saw people take advantage of him and break Dojo Rules, like not paying on time…skipping paying months and showing up for Seminars with out having paid! I caught this almost every time, and so did the office staff, but Dingman Sensei simply said “I know, times are tight…let it go this time”. And he would let the person train for a month free without worry of paying for classes. He is without a doubt all about the students and improving their lives!

Some of the more self-important instructors I have trained with did things a tad bit different. First off most of them were a “First of the month or out” kind of people and I have actually seen instructors make people sit on the side and watch class because they did not get paid until the second week of the month, and every month the kids would watch for a whole week while mom and dad were waiting for a paycheck! Or the instructors who make deal like “pay for six months and I will knock $20 off and pay your Org fees for the year” after having bumped up the 6 month payment amount to already cover this amount. Its pathetic to offer something that you are seriously not offering. Or taking money from people and not declaring it with the club. When you talk about business practices one must be honest and also conduct themselves as a business.

Karate instructors don’t always make the best business people. I have always thought that they should have office managers and people that run the club. Not just collect fees but run the club. The instructor shows up and teaches and focuses on being the best instructor they can be while the office manager makes things work, markets and basically does the office work. I have seen to many instructors start to make bad and even dishonest business decisions based on self-importance, misdirected feelings of entitlement and the practices are less than above board or honest…and most of the times it has harmed or torn the Dojo apart completely.

Another act of unacceptable behavior that I have been told about is unwarranted violence against students or their family members. Now Karate is a very physical art and often adrenaline Junkies become involved in the Dojo, they get out of control and you have to step in and calm them down. Also some people just have that “See Red” kind of moments when they lose their cool or sometimes people miscommunicate when they spar and things get out of hand. As an instructor you need to be above that and humble, but if you see it in your students you need to nip it in the bud and stop the behavior from happening. Its important to have an friendly atmosphere with serious training but controlled and safe! I have seen instructors who insight almost riot like atmospheres in their Dojos and they push people and insight a almost frenzy in their kumite classes. They totally miss the point in almost all regards about Kumite…its controlled aggression and keeping calm under the worst situations while using the emotion of violence to their advantage….a bunch of morons beating on each other is who we are training to defend ourselves from…not who we are trying to become. Instructors need to avoid this kind of issue and work with those that have issues, not create new ones.

Other violent acts I have been witness to and also been told about include instructors hurting their own students or family members of the students thinking its funny or after losing their cool with the students or family. One instructor thought it was funny to kick people in the groin and then laugh when they didn’t “see it coming”. Well my answer to that kind of childish behavior is to do it right back with the instructor. What is good for the goose and all that! And as for violence towards students, not acceptable! Hell, its not acceptable in general in our society, why would assaulting your students or their family be acceptable in any way shape or form. Just should not happen! Not only is it grounds for an instructor to be turfed but its also a great way to end up in jail or court!

I am a big believer in social gatherings with instructors and the students. It’s a great way to get to know students and to have a good time away from the hard work and toils of the club work outs. It allows us to get to know our students from an outside perspective, but over socialization can lead to pit falls of their own. We all have flaws but booze and personality flaws do not go well together. I know of several instances that socialization has caused way to much stress and issues in an organization. Keep your cool and socialize to be nice, not for other reasons. I know of one instructor who had a “open” relationship with his wife. Something NO ONE Needed to know about in his club and something that is personal to them…unless you announce it at a function at your home when everyone is pretty much encouraged to be as drunk as they could be. Problem was…in the end, his wife that was not present…did not realize they had made that change to their relationship! Ended the calm feeling when you go into a club when you ralise your instructor was hitting on your girlfriend and actually got to experience the open ended relationship status while his wife, upon finding out, made that a more permanent thing!

Over socialization does not have to be as excessive as including inter-marital relations that ruin relationships! It can be as simple as an instructor getting to drunk at a party and looking like an idiot or getting into an argument with someone when they are out of control. These kinds of silly slips (having a bit to much fun) Can lead to issues that destroy organizations and clubs alike! Its important for instructors to realize that they are put on a bit of a pedestal and people say “now they will show us how to behave”! Good or bad that’s the truth. One mans having fun is another man’s sloppy drunken mess! Far be it from me to preach to drinkers that you cant have a beer once and again, but if you know you have an issue with drinking….being to fun loving or even violent…perhaps you should leave that kind of fun for personal time and not dojo events.

One thing that instructors need to realize is that the student body is a group of consumers! They are the clientele of an organization or Dojo and they are buying our products…they are not employees or slave labor to be barked at and pushed around. They pay us money to teach them an art and tradition, they provide us a paycheck or loyalty in exchange for our best! If you treat your students as if they are not what they truly are, then you run the risk of losing focus on what your job is. Its not to show up and turn in a half- hearted class and collect funds to further your wallets expansion program, it’s to teach with passion and respect!

Teaching can not be all about power, money and ego…and if it is you are in the wrong business! I have seen men that thought they were powerful and wanted even more power fall by the wayside because they lose focus on what the truth of being an instructor is! High standards and supporting your students with pride and passion in your art as well as providing a true service equally to everyone in your club, not just those that peek your sexual interest or those that you think you can use to get more trophies! Many instructors have mixed up feelings and a ill formed understanding of the relationship that an instructor has with his student body. They feel they can crap on them continuously and the student will “Have to take it”. They have options and they will exercise their options if you don’t give them a reason to stay! A reason other than “but I am real good at the kicky punchy stuff and have a kind of charisma that is infectious.” Trust me..that does not work! Any situations that you don’t handle professionally and properly with the correct standards will cause someone to walk out the door!

One of the biggest Taboo’s that I have seen and something that Steve Burch brought back with him from Ottawa was “Treat students and their family with RESPECT”. I remember the first time my Mother met Sensei Dingman. She sized him up good! My family is a very traditional kind of middle class family that wants to raise its own kids according to a specific moral code! She did not like my first instructor on instinct and Momma bear was very critical of this Kratty stuff her little boy wanted to do. She met Dingman sensei at a tournament about a year after I was training and she told me that he put her at ease right away by talking about me…and not himself! He did not try and sell her on his club, he simply told her how I was doing…which was crazy because at the time he was not teaching the kids class but quoted things that Sensei Tammy and Brian would have known being the instructors of the kids class.

Dingman Sensei always referred to my mom by her last name when talking to her and never talked down to her. He also treated my Brother and his kids the same way, so from a personal point of view he was always a perfect representative of what an instructor should be…personal, professional, passionate and proper when dealing with family or students. Even now that I see myself as more of a friend to the family and I see Sensei as a second father, he still makes sure that he is always personally proper and only lets down this guard on special occasions.

I have seen, however, some instructors that treat their students like slaves, dismissive towards the family members and actually mistreat family members or insist that they are to be called Sensei by the family members. I would NEVER ask a student to get their mother to call me “Sensei” or even “Sempai”….I am not their Sensei or Sempai and its silly. I recently visited one of Steve’s students at a pavilion for folklarama and insisted his mother call me James as I was introduced as “Sensei James” and did not feel comfortable having her call me by a Shogo that did not apply to her. I do however remember a time when I was out with a particular instructor and he was introduced by his first name to a student’s friend. He quickly corrected the student to call him “sensei” and use his name only after that Shogo was inserted. It kind of makes my skin crawl when instructors are pushy and force people to use outward signs of respect like use of Shogo when they have no relationship with the student. It’s the same reason I don’t call Chiropractors, Dentists or Doctors by their “Dr.” Title if they are not my doctors. I have no relationship with them and don’t intend on bowing and scraping to some self-important Git that wants to feel…well more important than they are to me!

A instructor and senior in a club must show equal amounts of respect to students as they do family members. Its sad when you consider that Dingman Sensei goes out of his way to remember tid bits about students lives and tries to know their names or at least their faces for every student that he trains with…while other instructors view students as a paycheck alone! I have had instructors like Terry Proctor offer to give me lifts out to camps and tournaments, I remember years ago getting rides home from seniors like Walter Crawford and others and I have also gotten rides from Rod Tymchuck (sorry for the misspelling) who did not think about throwing me in the car and zipping out to events. I have also seen instructors refuse to allow different students in their car because they simply did not think it was their job to carry the student around…..like to the camp they were paid to teach at! Really? I have also witnessed instructors bow out of respect to grand parents of students and treat them very well, while others can’t even figure out their students are not replaceable cattle that are just there to make them money!

Dirty looks and indifference to students and family members are just as bad as outright disrespect to students and family members. They come here to learn and they show respect to anyone that has something to offer them, they deserve the same in return. Also its very important to stress this…Students learn from our actions. Like a child that is beaten will probably beat their own child or a child that sees their parents as they fall down drunk have a higher risk of drinking their fears and sorrow away….students see arrogant instructors disrespecting them and dismissing them as unimportant Cattle or Sheep and they too will start to treat their students like this. Unless we break the cycle and train as consumers and teach as true instructors should, this self-important crap will bury most clubs and more than one organization.

As a senior or instructor it behooves us to create the right atmosphere in a club for students to train stress free in a professional environment that promotes learning. You can teach Kata and you can teach Kumite and basics and fundamentals and conditioning and the rest…but if the environment is not professional and proper for learning you will lose students right left and center. The other factor that we tend to forget is that a Dojo is a business as much as it is a place to train in traditional aspects of Karate. It’s a unique set up that people come to in order to learn Karate and distress! If we don’t create a stress free experience for people that are seeking that they will travel up the road and train with someone else. Someone better suited to just teaching and leaving the politics and stress out of it.

The atmosphere is almost as important, if not more so, than the teaching quality of the instructor. I have been to great clubs with qualified instructors and felt uncomfortable being their and it ruined my experience totally, I would never go back! We have also hosted different instructors who made the very dojo I trained in day in and day out feel uncomfortable for me to be in by behaving poorly and basically creating a temporary feeling of discontent in the club. And its catchy! One person that is out of sorts in a group can pull down the training of others. Its very hard to keep positive when one negative person brings in that kind of “energy” to training. The best thing for an instructor to do is to push the positive atmosphere and help others be as positive as possible while teaching, before class and after class. That’s why Dingman Sensei’s smile and Irish Eyes create such a positive training environment.

At the very least instructors must strive to get along with others in the club, I mean its your club and you want people to come to the club…why act like an arse when they get their? Never mind that you are a business person that should know better, you represent more than your own name! You represent your instructor and even any masters you train under. You represent the organization that you are a part of and any instructors and students who train within that group…so when you invite people into your dojo you need to act as a gracious host and also as a humble instructor who is glad to see the students, any students, show up and learn from you. You should not treat them as useless or call them names, you cannot bring personal drama into the club or its business and all the professional business that you are involved in MUST be on the up and up!

Not everyone is going to want the same things you want in life, and not everyone wants to be the kind of Karate person you want them to be. This is a hard lesson that instructors must learn as much as the one about respect. Some teachers will refuse to teach specific kinds of students, like kids or older adults, those that are not fit or those that are not interested in a specific aspect of Karate. I have also been told by one instructor that he wont teach women Karate because they “don’t get it”…wonder if I should introduce them to Sensei Tammy? I have been told by some instructors that they wont teach specific students based on Sex, weight, age, race, ability, religion and even based on economic status. I kid you not! I have had people say they don’t teach ladies…fine that’s money out of your pocket and by the way…they do get it! I have had people say they don’t teach kids…fine by me, I do and they will learn and stick around to be adults and grow my instructors clubs. They don’t teach heavy people…who need the fitness levels increased…fine, I like to help and we could all lose a bit here and their! They don’t teach older people, they don’t teach people with any kind of disability and they don’t teach…and this one got me right mad….people of particular religious back grounds. In the last case it was an American saying he would not teach Muslims Karate….I am not going into religion here…but REALLY??

If you are a Karate instructor and you want to teach more than just in your garage you need to be more open minded and remember that as long as students train hard and focus on the right points they all deserve to be taught and unless they disrupt the class and add to a poor atmosphere you cannot close your doors to them. Or at least you shouldn’t. First off most instructors would give an arm to have a large Dojo with lots of happy students, but if that is not your goal then why teach? And for the record, I would never close a door to a student that wants to learn. We have even tried to work with students who had disabilities that greatly affected them mentally and physically and when we could make it work it was MAGIC! For the students and great for our feeling of accomplishment as a team! Good Karate teachers can and will teach anyone any time and any place as long as the student wants to learn!

Having said that not all students have the same goals! They don’t all want to be the next Tanaka Sensei or the next great tournament champion! Hell some don’t even want to compete! But they have just as much right to be their and learn good Karate and Karate traditions in a comfortable and respectable atmosphere as anyone else. So, what should an instructor do with an older guy that does not want to compete and could care less about his reaching a high level….teach them what they want to be taught…Karate. Karate is a flexible art and can and should be molded to fit each person’s needs and wants.

Dingman Sensei has a knack for teaching each person as if they are the most important person in the room. He has mastered the art of eye contact when teaching in such a way as he lets you know you are doing good and you are working hard, or you need to push a bit harder and do a bit more. I have not! He has also mastered the art of tailoring his teaching to the group and even the individual he is teaching. Its amazing to watch and learn from him. Some instructors hang out at the senior level and leave the juniors for a higher level student. I also see some instructors teach to a group of people, like the “Team” of a dojo and the rest are just kind of present to create a situation that the team can be taught. Its kind of sad. I have also seen instructors dismiss other students in favor of training with athletes in their club, again….all students deserve equal time.

Instructors need to create a training program that fits all students and all needs, or is flexible enough that the club builds up all students equally and does not favor one kind of student alone. Have trained with Yaguchi Sensei in a FULL class of people, some are world class athletes like foot ball players and hockey players that were so high end even in Karate that they were miles ahead of the mom and dad training in the same line as them…but Yaguchi challenged all of them in a proper way to ensure that he did not lose anyone’s interest. It was really inspiring and truly fantastic to train under people like him.

Not every instructor is going to be a Tanaka with a wall full of medals and even at an advanced age he is still something to behold. The story of Shoji Sensei comes to mind when I think of “common looking” instructors and what they are capable of. Shoji was a average looking person, not to tall, kind of stalky and not exactly someone you would look at and say “now that guy was/is an athlete of the highest caliber. He had sad eyes and was very introverted out of the Dojo. But I have read stories of his teaching and it so reminds me of Dingman Sensei with his flamboyant and driving energy that pushes you to work harder even when you don’t have the energy. Shoji was known to have students that would give their right arms for him and were so loyal and caring that the funeral was packed to the roof when he passed away with students from all walks of life and all ages that came to give their respects for a man that touched hundreds, dealt with them with respect and yet drove them harder than any instructor they had ever known…and they performed because he expected it and pushed them to be their best. Shoji never got the notoriety of other instructors, in fact in North America he is not very well known, but in the old JKA and before Nakayama passed he was a force! He showed all his students the right path for Karate and did so as a wise uncle or father would with respect and care for each student. He developed lots of students who went on to do great things in Karate and while in his youth he was a fantastic Karate athlete he once said that “Karate is not for the athletes, they just benefit from it in different ways, its for the common man!”

The biggest issue that Karate has right now is the self-important instructors who command respect and don’t give any, those that will destroy the organizations and build their own to suit themselves, all the while burning students and causing them to leave never to return. As was suggested at Koyo Camp this year, Karate needs a new standard for instructors to live up to, and its not all about techniques and knowledge…but mostly about behavior and a new way of addressing student issues and pushing themselves to accept responsibility for the business end of things while also realizing it is a bit of a business….with unique needs and requirements. Basically we need to hold ourselves to a higher standard of interpersonal communication with our students, our seniors, our peers and ourselves.

Karate should be for everyone and not for the elite or close minded, and instructors should realize that we pay their wages…..and we cannot be forced to respect them! If this continues they need to accept their part in students leaving and finding instructors like Dingman Sensei who does respect students and who love Karate as much as they do their students! Its all about finding a higher standard and knowing what to accept!

A pain in the NECK

                Now A lot of you I know personally who read my blog say they love reading about all the times I hurt myself….while I think its great you read my blog I do question your motives sometimes. I do also note that its always after a hard class I teach that you seem to “Enjoy” reading my blog about hurting myself even more and the hits on the particular posts about my injuries like “how I kick Jackie Chans butt” seem to go up even more after said classes…So I am going to indulge your sadistic side one more time…but with more of a tale of warning than anything else!

               

                Over the years I have managed to hurt myself in ways that even my instructor could not imagine! From broken ankles jogging on ice, to shoulders ripped from sockets doing Judo….From smashing my head into a rock riding down a hill to getting hit by cars…not once but three times! I have broken my nose 14 times, broken almost all my toes, my fingers, ribs and cut off a toe (well almost, it was put back on), and a multitude of other injuries that put me down but not out.

                I have to say however the scariest accidents/injuries I have ever had were the bike ride from hell and the fish flop incident.  The bike ride from hell of course was when I took my old banana seat bike down Concordia hill in grade 5 and cracked my skull, broke my nose and ended up in the hospital for a few weeks! Not fun! The fish flop incident is what this post is really about however and may serve to explain a few things about some issues you may note when I train…so read carefully!

The Fish Flop Incident!

                When I was in High school I used to do Karate full time (like every night) and even snuck in some other sports.  I used to do Judo part time (about twice a week), Tried my hand at wrestling but being as small as I was it did not last, and even tried some basketball…but really 5’3” in high school did not make me a slam dunk king…really not a spud webb kind of guy (oh, for gods sake google it!!).  Dispite the height and weight issue (being 5’3” till I sprouted in grade 12 to my current 5’6”…I know huge difference…and going from 145.lbs in Grade 10 to a more substantial 185.lbs in grade 12 after hitting the gym) I found one sport that helped me both beef up in the gym and use my size to my advantage…Gymnastics. But it also almost cost me the use of my legs and arms!

Some of you note that my hands shake a lot when trying to keep them steady, this is why…..

                What some of you don’t know is that I went to high school for FOUR years…no not the normal THREE and not because I had to…but because I wanted to! And yes it plays into my story….I graduated with my peers after three years in high school and in fact had more credits than I needed. See back in the day you needed 25 credits to graduate…I had 30!  I had been on the gymnastics team for three years and some of you (who can see my face book page) will see a picture of me with my best friend and the whole gym team after we won the KCAC championships…I got gold on rights. This was my third year on the team and I loved it.

                Literally year round I would bug the gym teachers to set up the rings and floor mats and I would even skip Karate to go train on floors or pick up new skills on the rings, I hate the high bar and the pummel horse was my worst event, my legs were way to thick from Karate training.  I had kind of weird affection for Gymnastics back then, I hit the gym to balance out my body, having big legs and small upper body from years of Karate made gymnastics hard in the beginning.  I also hated parts of it….like back flips…..my first year I would not try a back flip even with spotters and coaches helping….I simply hated them.

                By the third year I was a vet of Gymnastics and could walk from one end of the gym to the other on my hands, My rings were spot on and after two years of hitting the gym and lifting weights till my arms, chest and back were so sore I could do a Iron cross…if not briefly. I also had a killer floor routine because I was so flexible from Karate. And my Gym coach noted that I was the most serious on the team, he said it was something he saw my Karate helped with. I was in my glory…….

                After I graduated I looked at what I had done academically and noticed that I had some holes in my plan. I wanted to go to university badly and start studying to be a athletic trainer, physiotherapist or the like and I had almost all the things I needed…but my math and a few other credits were not strong enough…so I went back for a fourth year.  The fourth year also did one more thing for me…it gave me another year of going to the gym to work on my gymnastics.

                Fourth year gymnastics was great! I had the skills no one else really did, the young guys on the team were super nice because they saw I knew more than them and they wanted to learn. The tumbling was UBER FUN because I had mastered the back hand springs and could tumble across the gym doing flips, care wheels and other kinds of fun stuff…not the Olympic level and really rough compared to them…but I was ten times more knowledgeable than the new guys and that made it fun….and one more thing…I was the older guy on the team that could coach the guys…and girls! 

                Yup, I was in my teen glory….I would show up and warm up with the team, then while they watched the coach teach basic skills I walked over to the rings and blasted out a few rounds of my routine I had worked on for four years.  And every eye was on me!  While they were busy learning high bar fundamentals or doing drills for balance I was flinging myself around on the trampoline and having fun.  And once and a while I filled in for the gym coaches and showed everyone the drills…and showed off a bit.

                After about three months of training and getting to know lots of the grade 10 students from first year and working out with the team I was “the guy” that people went to when they wanted to chat. Being a bit of an introvert my first three years of high school this was very different for me and I was shocked when the girls would flirt with me…that never really happened before…in the gym, I was the guy with the big yellow Walkman on that was to serious to talk to girls and they just avoided me. Before that I was the teacher’s son and they avoided me for that too!

                On one occasion I was working out on the high bar and having fun when a girl I had a bit of a crush on came over and started chatting with me. I won’t ever forget that day, and not because of the girl. It was a after school work out and I had missed the bus for Karate so I just ran down to work out at the gym. I had my hands all chalked up and my hand guards on, Chalked up and was just about to jump no the high bar and start working out when the girl came over and we started chatting about gymnastics and the dreaded back flip.

                By this time I was very secure in my flipping and decided to show her and advanced and somewhat funnily named flip called a Fish flop! Now a fish flop is normally not to hard, in fact we used to teach it to newbies that could not land on their hands when doing a back flip.  You start off the same….bend legs, throw arms down and then launch legs and throw arms up when you arch back…but in place of landing on your hands then throwing your legs down to land on your feet, you basically miss with your hands, land on your chest/torso and roll out to a flat on the floor position. Seems easy enough…I had don’t thousands of them on the floor and they were easier for me than a actual back flip using your hands to catch yourself (normally called a back hand spring).

                To be honest, I think I only did a real back flip twice in my life that did not have a trampoline involved, but the back hand spring, well I mastered that in my second and third year of Gymnastics because someone told me I could never do one….so I learned to do it to say “yah, right” to him!

                Now the fish flop started off okay, I however made one near fatal mistake……I tried to do it on the crash mat under the high bar. This mat was thicker and less dense than the floor mat, but still not exactly a landing pit in thickness….meaning if you jumped in the air it would comfort your landing but you could still feel the floor threw it.

                So I told the girl, “Oh, back flip you should try a fish flop first, here let me show you” or something like that….and I started to do the flip.  The start was good, bent my knees, Threw my hands down and started to launch by thrusting my legs hard to the ground….but two things happened that screwed the pooch on this flip…the mat made my feet slip just enough to throw me off balance and this loss of balance meant my arch was pretty much gone!

                With a fish flop you throw your arms up and then by your sides when you are half way over, thus when you land you look like a fish, arms by your side head straight and legs pointed. …and it offers little to no protection for your head if you miss the flip…which I did.

                I got to the height of the lunge into the air and realized that I had two options, tuck and land on my ass or go for the flip and pray to god I did not land on my head….well ego would not let me land on my ass and God basically looked down and said “yup, you are a moron”!  I curved over and basically closed my eyes and prayed!

                Instead of landing on my face/chest/torso…I hit the ground with the top of my head. I was bolt upright and had just jumped up in the air and hammered myself, perfectly horizontal, into the less than absorbent mat….totally aligning my spine, shoulders and toes with all of my new found muscular 180 ish pound frame….right into the floor!

                My neck did NOT break…a small thank you to the big guy in the sky…but I did do some major damage to my peripheral spinal nerves.  I got what we in the business call a stinger or burner! The spine in my neck compressed under the weight of my body landing from about three to four feet in the air and caused the nerves that exit the spine to be pinched.  Now I cannot say it was the single most painful injury I have ever had…that distinction goes to the time I was stabbed in the arm pit! But it was a close second!

                Within a micro second waves of thoughts and panic washed over me….no longer was the cute young girl in front of me important, I was thinking that I might have a life of Karate and WALKING ON MY OWN taken from me, My head hurt from landing on it….Yah, I know you would think I would be used to it by now….and my arms and upper body was numb!  Numb…the single scariest thing you can experience EVER is not feeling or being able to control a body part after an injury!  I kind of laid their and played back the injury at a zillion miles an hour in my head! I forgot about the girl who was shocked and stairing at my limp body after the big “GONK” or “THUNK” of pile driving myself into the floor and started to see if I could feel things like my toes…and I could…but my Right hand was numb…and the right arm…and the right side of my neck…my left arm was a bit numb too! I first thought “HOLY CRAP GET ME TO THE HOSPITAL…AMBULANCE…MEDIC…FRIGGIN SHREPA WITH GOOD DIRECTION….HELP” but the panic subsided and the brain took over.  You can feel your feet what else can you do?

                I slowly rolled over and saw the gym coach was telling me not to move and trying to stabilize my neck…but I could not feel his hands…and my bell was RUNG man! I went to the hospital and they said I was fine, no broken bones and go home….Hate that hospital!  I got home and my Mom was PISSED. She was used to me hurting myself but she did not like it much! By the time I had gotten home I cold feel my left side completely, had a head ache and my right side was all pins and needles. I was sent home with pills for pain and told to see my regular doctor.  See back then….Medicine was not as evolved as it is a decade later thanks to law suits and wellbeing held accountable for being gigantic morons back then! If I did this now a days, First off I am 40 and a lot bigger than 180, if I could get this old butt to back flip I would be doing them on a regular basis…but if I hurt myself as a 17 year old kid today doing that…it would be MRI’s up the wazzoo till I glowed, back then it was here is a Tylenol call your doc in the morning.

                Anyways, by the time I got to my regular doctor…a week later I was pretty much okay. No physio or anything just time. But I had this small shake in my right arm…and I still have it like 25 years (giver or take) later! I did go to my doctor however and he explained some interesting things to me……

                The stinger is more common in Impact related sports like Football and Hockey. The injury can be mild and only last a few hours, a bit more serious like mine and have a few years (give or take like 25) and can be misdiagnosed later on or they can be mobility and life threatening. Now opposed to the more serious spinal cord injury this occurs in the nerve after it has exited the spine and can lead to shooting pain, numbness and weakness, but not often in loss (partially or totally) of movement.

                The other thing that is scary is that they are not reported as often as spinal cord injuries, not because they are minor but because coaches tell athletes to “walk it off” more often than not. Only a medically trained person should diagnose these injuries and coaches are doing it more to get key players back in the game.  Now, it is a fact that most stingers are minor and the symptoms often go away in minutes or hours, but repeated injuries to these nerves can result in permanent damage and the injury may also involve spinal disc injury or spinal bone fractures, so its very important to get a doctor to look at you.

                Now I was lucky, I had some major issues with this stinger and I still feel the results of that one fish flop gone bad….I tell all my students and all my Juniors at my instructors club to remember when playing sports like football, ice hockey, field Hockey, rugby, wresting or even sports you would not think of getting injured in like Gymnastics that if you hurt your neck or spine in any way, you don’t pass go you go directly to the hospital! And I NEVER suggest young kids play sports known for impact.  Yah, that does not make me popular but it sure keeps the young kids safer if their parents listen.

                My experience was scary as hell and I can tell you that I have rarely been scared like that…not about myself at least. I don’t scare easy when it involves my own health or such, I kind of take it as it comes, but this scared me because of the possibility of permanent damage and I still deal with the issues to this day. Its was never noticeable in the past, but lately I have noticed it acting up more and more…Keep safe and protect your neck!