In the early mid 70’s I was working as a construction laborer at Salisbury State College, helping construct a new Physical Education complex and one day heard about a Karate School outside of town. When I got off work that night I went there and found a barn that was a custom karate school on the inside. It was Tom Lewis’ Isshinryu Karate Club.
I watched a class and was invited to join the next class, so $15.00 for monthly dues in hand I started studying Isshinryu Karate.
I had some previous exposure to Karate. One of my University roommates trained at Temple with Okazaki Sensei in Shotokan Karate and he used to teach me how to block and strike so he could practice on me. At the time I started Isshinryu one brother was training in Go Su Kwan in NJ (SL Martin), another was training in Tae Kwon Do in Md. in a Jhoon Rhee school, and my youngest brother and sister were studying Shotokan in Penna. To me it seemed as if was finally my turn.
Classes were twice a week in Salisbury, the program was run as a Club. Mr. Lewis had begun his own training on Okinawa in the last 1950’s and had been teaching in his home town since 1966. To my instructors, my first year would have just been another year and a new wave of students. To me it was the opening movement for my life and contained so many incidents that I’ve never forgotten.
The First classes
We all begin at the beginning. In my case my first class after about 20 or so minutes of warm up was an introduction the Isshinryu’s upper and lower body charts. A systematic study of basic techniques, blocking and striking, as well as lower body kicking.
I didn’t have a uniform, it would be months before that occurred. I wore sweat pants and a t shirt.
The second class I learnt the opening of Seisan Kata. Rei and open, step left foot forward into Seisan Dachi (Front Sance) with a simultaneous left side block followed by a right reverse punch, then right foot steps forward with a left reverse punch to continue with the left foot stepping forward with a right reverse punch
The third class Mr. Lewis announced kata practice and stepped back. The entire class I repeated the opening section of Seisan Kata over and over and over and over and over. When I concluded I was standing in the middle of a six foot puddle of sweat on the tile floor. During the entire class there were no instructions or corrections. Everyone was observed I assume to watch what they were really putting in their own training. It was never explained though years later I learned that Shimabuku Sensei rarely taught in a class setting and would observer student’s efforts, rewarding correct performance with new material.
The fourth class I got my introduction to kumite and was assigned to fight a young female green belt almost 10 years younger and maybe 100 pounds lighter than I was. I had no idea what I was doing, and she proceeded to drive me backwards all around the dojo blasting me in the mouth with roundhouse kicks. No preparation, no advice either. I didn’t have a clue what to do, just had to experience it. Kumite would continue as a regular part of training. When you fought the other white belts you tried to do something, when you fought the seniors you tried to survive.
These were the pre-safety gear days and class sparring rules were no head contact and light body contact. I would observe from the bottom women were not called foul if they hit a man in the mouth and as you advanced no contact to the head was often you nailed them but they didn’t snap back, and light body contact…… well.
Mr. Lewis’ students had moved on through the years, opening Dojo’s from Wallops Island Virginia to Dover, Delaware, and many other locations on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, Delaware and Virginia. There were a core of Senior Instructors with Mr. Lewis (such as Al Bailey and Dennis Driscoll) and a continuing changing group of drop ins from the other dojo. Everyone took a hand in the instruction and we quickly learned that there were many small variations in the kata which were our practice. You picked up to remember which instructor taught which version for when they saw you again they expected you to do it the way they showed you. We never heard a discussion about the ‘right’ way to do kata, rather the focus was to do the best with your version possible.
Class quickly became a focus after warmup’s and drills of about 50% kata practice and 50% kumite. Only occasionally were situational self defense drills worked. Classes followed a general order but not fixed one. Once in a while you’d jog around the dojo to a USMC running cadence. Several times a year you’d show up for class and spend the entire time playing games, such as races, wheelbarrow races, etc.
There were no testing’s, instead there was training and the surprise when you were called up at the end of class for a promotion.
We trained hard. Many beginners quickly left because of the level of contact from the beginning. There was little besides training. We didn’t receive lectures, nobody was derided from other styles or within Isshinryu. Your karate was what occurred on the floor. You knew who had skill and you worked, step by step to get it yourself.
But the events that occurred in that year… more to come.
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