ARTICLES AND COMMENTARY

 

KELLY'S TOURNAMENT

AND

HALL OF FAME SELECTIONS

  

          FOREWORD BY:
          DENNY SHAFFER, SHIHAN

     Thank you to Sensei Jason Anzur for doing a first class job in leading The Dragons through another successful competition. The small team of eight brought back 19 (nineteen) trophies: 8 kumite (5 first) 8 kata, 3 weapons.

            Thank you Kelly Markham for being such a good host.  I also appreciate the other masters and sensei's giving words of advice and encouragement. Time has sure changed things. In the day you couldn't let your students go without you because they would get severely hosed by the judges. There is still a hose carrier or two but, the overwhelming majority are people that you not only trust but would want your students to be like. Several wear the dragon tab selected by my students.

            I also want to congratulate Sensei Tony Williams. I understand that two calls could have gone either way at the end of his, Leon’s and Austin’s matches. I'm not suggesting that he didn't win. I am going to make a point from the example. If I had been the least bit undecided as to who got the point first, Tony would have gotten my point. Tony is a long time champion and has represented himself and Isshin-ryu in and out of the ring for years. It is up to the newcomers to clearly take it away from Tony. Close is not good enough. This is an unwritten rule in the fight game. I have adopted that philosophy. This only applies in grand championship fight, not prelims. Would I give Tony or anyone else a point, or ignore a point from someone else??? Absolutely not!!! Read what I said carefully. Tie goes to Tony and the next established champion of many years too.

 

 

Submitted by: Sensei Jason Anzur

Kelly’s Hero’s Tournament

            I want to start by saying “Thank You” to Master Shaffer. It was a real honor to lead the Dragons to the tournament. I know how difficult it was for Master Shaffer to go to Shreveport and send us the opposite direction. But he was with us in spirit. Trying to fill his shoes wasn’t an easy task, but I want to thank him for entrusting me with his Legacy and Reputation. It really didn’t sink in until I walked through those doors at the gym and I was surrounded by all the other Masters and Grand Masters. I also want to thank everyone that watched over the Dragons and kept an “eye on us” so to speak.

            The day was off to a great start when Master Markham presented Ron Honeycutt and Jim McDonald with the Hero of Hero’s award. The adult competition was a little slimmer than usual, but quality fighters. Our day started off great with Woody (Uriah Wood) winning first place in the Sho-dan / Ni-dan kata division. Then our new Yellow belt Keith, had a good day winning 2^nd in kata and 1^st in kumite. He’s got Red Dragon written all over him.  Our guys did great, we had one in the Kata Grands and two in the Kumite Grands. The best fight of the day goes to Alicia MacDougal and Master Laney’s student Samantha Ferguson. A couple of weeks ago Samantha had her day, but it was Alicia’s turn this tournament. The two really went after each other in the last two tournaments, which displayed their intense training ethics.

            The Grand Championship match came down to Tony and Austin McAdams. It was a close match and extremely difficult to call. I’m glad I wasn’t one of the judges, they definitely had their hands full. But Tony came out on top, yet again winning the Grands.

            We thank you Master Markham for a wonderful day of fellowship and competition.  Its always great to see our Isshin-ryu friends and peers. And look forward to the next event.

Red Dragon Tournament Team; 8 Competitors, 19 Total Trophies! 8 Kumite (5 first place), 8 Kata, 3 Weapons

 

A  HALL OF FAME WORK WEEKEND

             I was on the first Hall of Fame board when it was governed by the IIKA. That was almost twenty years ago. Much has changed since then, as I discovered this weekend in Shreveport. I was reelected to serve on the board after the retirement of Master Toby Cooling. I had no idea how much work it would involve. This weekend was a real education as to how much time the board, (especially chairman Tim McGhee) puts in, to guarantee a successful Hall of Fame weekend; especially the nominations and inductions. The category study begins when Tim sends out all the nominations a month before the meeting. We then place them in a category book and start the process of reading each one. A preliminary selection of the best candidate is made, to be followed up with a more in-depth conversation of each at the meeting. Of the twelve board members, winning a category requires a fifty percent vote. Hall of Fame induction requires a seventy percent vote. I have served on other boards that made selections of everything from, other directors, to deciding its chairman and president. It was a tough process, but nothing compared to this one. There were countless category nominations, with fifty two Hall of Fame applicants. Each got their fair amount of consideration. This required a lot of conversation and research. Even those who in all honesty had no business being nominated, were treated fairly and given the same consideration as the ones who were inducted. There was also some nonsense and negativity from the people nominating potential inductees. Here’s a suggestion: If you are interested in getting your nominee inducted, do not spend half your time telling the board what a bunch of single minded jerks they are. How stupid is that? Believe it or not, every one pushed through that and still gave the guy a fair evaluation. At the end of the day, some very worthy candidates for Hall of Fame induction were selected. It was a long and grueling day, but I left there satisfied that we had all made the best selections based on the information we received and the attention given each applicant.

            We also found time to research several ways to make the Hall of Fame a better event. You can’t do everything at once, but improvements are in the works. As they become a reality, Tim McGhee will make these announcements.  I would advise all to go to the IHOF web site and get on the mailing list.  (http://www.isshinryu.nxs.net)

            I left proud of the guys I served with this weekend and convinced that all had the best interest of the IHOF and Isshin-ryu at heart. Many had other activities to attend that week-end and had to take late flights in and out. Others like myself drove a long way to attend so as to fit busy schedules in. Reese and I drove for thirteen hours on Sunday so I could be back for Class. One night we did a seminar at Master Clyde and Trish Stanley’s dojo. We did have a day to relax and socialize but it was mostly work. The weekend went smoothly mostly because of the hosting of The Stanley’s and the organizational skills of Tim McGhee.

            The Isshin-ryu Hall of Fame is a living documentary of past and future leaders, brought to life one time a year. It is for people who serve Isshin-ryu with honor and distinction. All board members feel and accept the full weight of the responsibility for maintaining that direction. After spending a weekend with its director and members, I am convinced that the IHOF is in good hands, and will continue to grow and flourish.