Okami

Well let's see I've been blown up three times by terrorist, left holding a bomb in a parking lot while 5 Army chaplins gave me the last rights. I was kidnapped once and escapped, been in one nice Mexican standoff with guns, and I had to drop a bull moose at my feet with a pistol, only killed one bad guy with my bare hands, slept with a bobcat for 5 days and these are the things I ain't doing. 1. Jump out of a perfectly good airplane. 2. Wrestle a tiger, my instructor did it but I'm not. 3. Get married for the 3rd time. You bet one thing I was scared all those times, but im still here.

To me it was anything Bill Wallace did, I was right sided to his left but everything he did was a winner. I taught this to my sudents and they did a lot better than I ever did. They old Bill Wallace tape will show you and it doesn't matter what style you are. Something he does will work for you. It work for us.

I dont think a Kata Board should change if as this would compromise the score trend, the high and low are gnerally dropped so there shouldn't be a problem here. Myself I have a proclivity of grading my own students a bit lower. As far a free fighting I want to watch my students not judge my students. But to test the politics of a certain area (Louisiana) while judging black belt free sparring I noted the big hero that I didn't even know and he went up against a very good challenger. I waited for the right moment after some real all day politically correct calls from the other judges and when the challenger scored a perfect reverse punch on the hero I called it for the hero who was caught dead to rights. All four flags went up and they all saw what I really didn't see. I went to the challenger later and appologised, but I just had to know the deal, he understood, but still I promised never to referee again. This was in fact the worst refing I eversaw in the world. It goes however with Louisiana politics.

I wrote the rules to the Armed Forces Karate Assn years ago, although similar to the CKL rules they were geared tward international competitors. They worked well. I once broke a 3 overtime tie between Cynthia Rothrock and George Chung in forms, that day Cynthia won on my vote by one tenth of a point. George ask me what he did wrong and I said he short stroked the round house kick, he smiled and admitted it. That was one of the greatest acts of sportsmanship I ever wintnessed in my years. I was not looking at their belts, I wanted to be fair.

This annoys all you grasshoppers???? Ok its really a test but I shouldn't really tell you...

You know to tell the truth I never really met a fake Black Belt. Of course I never went looking for one either. With me it deals with ability not some certificate on the wall with scrigly writing. If a person can go into open compitition and win or place or just make a good showing that should tell you right there. I dont question someones rank, in a real fight it is the quick and the dead. I just hope they are on my side if they say they are a Black Belt. Now its nice to be black belt in the miliatry because you always get to "Take the Point," or be his body guard once the Co finds out you are a warrrior. I know I got to do both. Should have kept my mounth shut.

Practice alone in front of a mirror until you get it right.....Then go kill some watermelons..

Well I have studied a lot of styles after I made Black Belt this is justt the progression of a martial artist. If it were my student I'd want them to make at least a Shodan with me alone and then go see what else they could learn from others.

I would highly recommend some old reruns of grandmaster Capt Kangaro, Sensie Mr. Rogers from the Pine Tree School of Romper Room Dojo. I mean really they are good...learned alot from them myself.

My favorite weapon is the 22 rifle,the key to all marksmenship which made me world class in two sports, both Karate and Shooting, and it looks like the crossbow is next. Other wise it is the Katana, the most deadly close in weapon ever.

Tashida Yamashita was the best weapons man I ever saw the way he used the scicle and chain was the most difficult I have witnessed. The other would be a 3 sectional staff. I once saw a brown belt hit himself right between the eyes and right in the nutssss at the same time. I dont know what Master Po would have thought but Grasshopper was sure a hurtin.

Well lets see what will I do if faced with Samuri in my truck patch. If they are within 300 yards I could use my black powder rifle, the Japanese had a match lock back in the days of the Samuri so I guess that is a traditional martial arts weapon. I prefer a Thompson Encore just for extra measure with nice Nikon BDC scope (remember Nikon is traditional japanese). At two hundred yards I would go for an English Longbow like the Britts whipped the French with in 1415 at the Battle of Argencourt. But I prefer my Mathews switchback compound bow that will kill an elephant if you hit him in the right place. Now if old Mushashi gets within 70 yards a preaching from the book of 5 rings he is gonna get the surprise of his life when he gets a load of my Scorpyd Crossbow (Invented by the Chinese about 6000 years ago) that even Leonado Da Vinci couldn't figure out. It shoots an arrow 370 feet per secound and will go through him and his Sempei too. Now if you live here in Louisiana you can get all this good stuff down at the Marry Carter Paint Store Me, I like my Bowie Knife for close work, a traditonal Louisiana weapon from the days of the Alamo.

Yes well, I do all that sometimes, when I feel like it. it is good to maintain a certain condition. However as far as self defence I'm never far away from a firearm. I live in a generally peaceful community in Louisiana where everybody goes armed, and quite legal by the way, although I wouldn't care if it weren't.

It means to kill with one blow, not nessarly the dim mak but certainly can be done if you train for it. Do you forget the armour of the samuri that was penatrated by the human hand. Funny how they forget.

Well I must say the only thing that plauges the martial arts is lack of a sence of humor. The most anal retentive people I have ever seen and the most egotisical have been martial artist. Somehow it was these that I most wanted to defeat. When you beat them they will usally have a type of nervous breakdown. One of my student black belts suprised me at a tournament in Arkansas with his free style weapons form with a toilet plunger, yes he did in fact win..The traditionalist were slightly preturbed. I saw one of these ninja nuts at Geisen Germany allow student to shoot at him with a blowgun while holding a dart board as a target, of course this was Ninja courage. The kid was a pretty good shot to but one of the darts was a bit bent and balistically inferior. It went just a little low and hit the master Ninja right in the nutssss. The right one to be exact according to the ambulance crew. Thats a true story from the days of the thunderdragons...

You asked a good question what does it mean to be a Black Belt. I do in fact know the answer to that question, and you will too.

Well lets see I made Black belt in 1974, I'm 55 now My grand master just died so that left me with the 10th Dan for what its worth, may as well be a white belt but I still train but on my own...i do wish I could find one worthy student but not lately.

I'm retired now but still keep fit. most recently the last of my grand masters passed away Lou Ellison and I inherited the 10th dan. Go ahead and scoff it is an American Stye but with a long heritage and good athletes and it works pretty good in a real fight. Of course it has a lot of goju ryu, and Tae kwon do in it as well as some others from my travels. It has beautiful Kata and devistating self defense that works. And should for some reason it doesnt work we have firearms training that will take up your slack should you run into a rock that you cant break....any way it worked for me for the last 45 years.

I had one champion black belt get on crack and just plain ruined his life. Thats pretty rare but if you teach enough human beings even one of the best will go bad. It is heart breaking but true, i recon it is part of that master thing they told me about, can't win them all. Maybe that is rule number one. I think I would like to forgive him.

Ok first lets look at what a Kia is. It means spirit. You do it for Three reasons, to clear your mind of the fear of attacking, to put your vital organs in their best defensive position in the body, and it startles the opponent. The is the same reason a lion roars when they attack. Now tell all your RomperRoom students that you teach and I dont all this and perhaps you will motivate them to yell and get the air out. Have them make their Chudans tight and let all the air out, and then Kia. This is all done with a motivational speech that will make Melvin Milktoast kringe in terror, but little kids espesically the mean little kids I wind up with will love it. Although some disagree with this one, dont actully say Keeyaaa. Use a one sylibal yell like Oie. This is because between the Kee and the Yaa there is an event horizon known as the point of kyo. Once you master this little trick of timing you can drop them with even a light punch or kick. You strike at the time of inhalation, or you can defend against it with a Kia...any question....now yell damit.

I guess i lived through all the martial art fads, let me see if I can recall them. There was Mat Helm (Dean Martin) who beat up Carlos Norris (chuck) back in the day. Spencer Tracy did a little karate in a movie and then on to Bruce Lee and the first fad, Kung fu. then there was the ninja fad, then the combat knife fad, then the Tae Kwon Do Olympic Fad, The Jujitsu fad and now the MMA thing...It works none of it is the best so go train in what you like and see what you can do, I did...

You know I've heard every last one of those and just laughed. The one that did get to me was the one about. "If I had a gun you couldn't do anything." Well I have been in that situation several times...I'm still here.