Though I had my first martial arts experience when I was nine years old, my fascination with martial arts started when I was about 10 years old and my friend Eric introduced me to, Arthur, a brown belt in Shotokan karate who was teaching free karate classes at the community center in the projects we lived in. One day Eric asked if I wanted to train karate with him at the community center. Not really knowing what to expect, I said yes.
Anyway, Eric and I took the three minute walk to the community center. When I walked into the center for the first time I remember thinking that this was a big space. The floors were tiled and it was a bit cold. On the floor there were two guys stretching doing push-ups and sit-ups. One of them had a black gi on and was wearing a brown belt and looked like he weighed about 200 pounds, the other had a white uniform on and I believe he was wearing a green belt. I guessed that the brown belt was Arthur. He reached out to shake my 10 year old hand with a big hello smile and I noticed that his hands were big, very rough and the knuckles looked freakish, hmm…. I thought that was a odd, (why did his hands look so freaky?). I guess I didn’t care, because I was now curious on what he was going to teach me. I found myself a bit in awe of Arthur and was ready for him to reveal the secrets of the martial arts to me.
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fter a few minutes a couple of other students arrived. Before I got a chance to meet the others, Mr. Arthur called the class to attention. We all lined up the wall. I awkwardly got in line but I was missing one piece of vital equipment….my groin cup. Mister Arthur walked towards me, but I noticed something was a little different. That the smile he had greeted me with earlier was gone. He now had this look as if he was going to kill me. The next thing I knew…BAM, I didn’t see it coming….I was on the floor grabbing my groin after being kicked in the most sensitive part of a man’s body by this 200 pound karate guy. After going down the line kicking the other students who, by the way, were wearing their cups, I composed myself, somewhat, and guessed I learned my first lesson in martial arts, never come to class without wearing a cup!
Once Mr. Arthur finished checking if everyone was prepared, we started the exercises. At the time I thought I was in pretty good shape, but was I wrong. In 1971 there was no such thing as nice soft Swain mats! It was hard tile on concrete! Our exercises started with push-ups, 100 standard push-ups and 100 reverse push-ups…all on our knuckles!
Then came the regular push-ups, with one special twist, Mr Arthur going around the students and sitting on our backs while we did push-ups. I struggled to lift my ten year old body, plus about 200 pounds of dead weight, off the hard tiled floor. As I fell to the ground exhausted and out of breath, I laid there wondering whether or not I was going to die during my first karate lesson. Wouldn’t that suck!! Here I am a 10 year old kid, weighing about eighty pounds with a grown man on my back doing push-ups. Oh, I forgot to tell you that it was summer time and it was about 90 degrees outside and I can’t even begin to tell you the temperature inside of the community center with all those sweaty students. After the push-ups came the punches in a horse stance position. Mr Arthur expected everyone to do their push-ups in very low stances. After about 100 punches my thighs were burning. Then came the real torture. He had students take turns climbing and stand on my thighs from the rear, and I have to tell you, some of those students weren’t exactly light weights. The pain was excruciating. This lasted about an hour…I was just praying to survive.
Side note here, now you know why my push-ups are awesome! :)
Next came the kicking drills, 500-1000 kicks were not unusual. Finally, after about two hours these exercises, punches and kicks came the sparring. At this point I knew that I was fresh meat for all the other students. They all new it was my first time and they were more than ready to give me a taste of what they must have all experienced when they did their first class. They proceeded to give what would be my second lesson of the day, “If you don’t know what you are doing with your hands and legs you should not spar!”
On the walk back home (which took a little longer because my body could barely move), Eric asked me “so how did you like the class?” I barely had enough energy to tell him in my coolest voice, “Yeah, it was okay.” I didn’t want him to know that I got my butt kicked and that I was dying!!! from my first karate class and that I had a lot to learn.
My next step was to get some information about martial arts and how these guys can choose to come to a class like this. How could anyone want to come to a class like this, where you would get your butt kicked!?
So the first thing I did was go to the library and find all they books on martial arts and start reading… I was intrigued by the training.. the mindset… and, deep down I wanted to prove to Mr. Arthur, my friend Eric and all the students that I was not only tough enough to take the training that they are doing but that I was going to be better than them.
My martial arts fascination, training and journey had begun…. and it has lasted 47 years……..the story continues……….
