ARTICLES AND COMMENTARY

THE ICA

A DAY OF FIRSTS, FUN,
AND FELLOWSHIP

   The Isshin-ryu Cross trainers Alliance had its quarterly jam this weekend in Knoxville. Prior to the event, the Harold Long Foundation had its quarterly meeting on the Friday night before. The meeting was a series of reports that all reflected progress. Six display boxes have been purchased for the display and protection of Mr. Longs memorabilia. Those purchasing boxes were; the Long family, Laney’s Steel Hand dojo, Shaffer’s Dragons, Cas Cox, The Karate five, and two by the Honeycutt family and dojo. There have been other promises, but no money to date. There is a push on to have these boxes for display along with their donor engraved plates by Hall of Fame time.

   We also had our ICA senior advisors meeting Saturday morning before the Jam. Talk about progress and success; this group has really shifted in to overdrive. The solidarity and resolve expressed by everyone was a motivating experience. These guys are not just planners, they are doers. All are active trainers and dojo operators, so they have more of an interest in the future than a fixation on the past. I have sat in meetings where I was bored to death and discouraged to see the apathy and the lack of creativity and genuine concern for the purpose we were supposed to be meeting on. Most boards, only a couple of people say much of anything, one or two are morons and talk like magpies totally off the subject and the others sit like figures from the wax museum. Not this group. Everyone participates, it is relevant, and they take their share of responsibilities. Then they go out and bust their tails teaching theirs and everyone else’s students, some of the best and baddest street fighting techniques and strategy, only a group like this can teach. Along with them, we have attending Masters who also add to the endless pool of knowledge. Not far behind is our Development board of 5^th dan and below advisors. These guys and girls are masters in transition and lack only the experience and a few more years to be in the same class as many of us. So to say the least, we are deep in leadership and loaded with talent.

   As I have stated, the ICA is not a promotional group by design. We are a training group dedicated to the further education of each other’s students as well as ourselves. However, we have the collective rank and high profile masters to promote anyone we deem worthy. We will not promote anyone’s student without their permission and blessings. However, we will reward those who are without sensei’s and are not members of another association. The exception to that is if we feel someone has been secretly blackballed for promotion due to their affiliation with us, or their participation in another discipline other than Isshin-ryu. We damn sure don’t promote on the good old boy system.  

   So the senior board along with some attending member Masters, flexed its promotional muscles and promoted its first Ku-dans. It was a defining moment for our young alliance, and demonstrated our desire to reward rank based on merit and demonstrated ability. We believe that the amount of time you have been in Isshin-ryu has everything to do with the amount of time spent ACTIVELY PARTICIPATING, in Isshin-ryu. In other words, it is not based on what you have done in the past and how many years you have “been around.” It is also not a sudo retirement rank. It is a challenge to go forward at an accelerated leadership rate.

   Three of those accelerated leadership people were selected for promotion Saturday.

   Master Cas Cox. J C Burris and I went in to the Hall of Fame together. Cas stayed as a 7^th dan for 25 years. He was actively training but due to health, family, and his preference of training outside the lines of supervision and politics, kept him out of the main stream. I always felt silly running around out-ranking Cas. He was my first Sensei and Instructor when I began visiting Mr. Longs dojo. His promotion now brings the Harold Long legacy more into focus. He was, is, and will continue to be, for those who know; Harold Longs best and favorite “go to guy”, instructor.

   Master Butch Hill. Butch is a well known, well respected, martial artist. I am proud to say that he is a former student of mine at the Nashville Dojo, a one time mecca for Isshin-ryu fighters. He is most responsible for keeping the Nashville dojo light still in the window. While others moved on the develop their own dojo, or just moved on, he labored long and hard to preserve its tradition. I am proud of what he did for the Nashville tradition He has since passed on the baton to Trice Fasig. Although we are contemporaries, he still at times addresses me as sensei.  He is a Hall of fame member and Past president of the IIKA. He was promoted to 8^th dan the same day I was. Participation in other martial arts disciplines caused to leave the IIKA, and join James Ogle in perusing their endless amount of cross training knowledge. This decision put him in a state of promotional limbo. In all honesty, he didn’t care one small bit about the rank. But I do. He deserves it and he will wear it more proudly and justifiably than most. The rest shared my opinion and eagerly signed his certificate.

    The ICA is proud to announce the addition of Master Pete Mills to our advisory board. Master Mills bring many years of assorted martial arts expertise, to include the many black belts he has trained and promoted. He is James Ogle’s sensei which is his major contribution to the martial arts world. I was on the first IIKA board with Pete and faced him in the tournament ring. He is no different now as he was then. He is aggressive, smart, and a true innovator.

   I can remember Pete working on and teaching advanced self defense techniques, when the rest of us were still faking it. He was introduced at the Jam and he then went to work for three hours working people through some great take downs and floor work. He is in great shape and I was amazed at his skills and flexibility. As my guys described him; he’s for real.

   The day began with me teaching some punching and blocking drills. It consisted of blocking multiples punches and staying in position to retaliate. It is fun but challenging. I then demonstrated effective, in close, body punching. After that it was take downs and one throw.

   I broke the group into four corners with the four principal instructors. After a sufficient length of time, each group rotated to the next instructor.

   We had Master Butch Hill teaching knife defense,

   Master William Mason teaching varied strikes and blocks,

   Master James Ogle leg and arm bars.

   Master Pete Mills teaching take down and floor dominance.

   After the break, Sensei Theresa Barnette demonstrated and talked on how to run a tournament kata. Because we had been doing such high intensity stuff, I was afraid that sitting and watching a tournament kata demo, was going to flop. Not so. Theresa was superb. She created interest and held the attention. I don’t know one other person that could have done it as well as she did.

   After that, Theresa with the help of Master Sandra Strong, then demonstrated how to not telegraph and tip off your attack. She also showed how to defend against someone’s best technique. It set the stage for some very good upcoming kumite. Master Strong who helped her, also participated in the lively kumite. She did this with a casts on her hand and wrist. What a warrior.

   I won’t even try to tell you about the kumite. But if you notice some ageless, kid at heart master out there fighting Leon, you might recognize him as, Master Kelly Markham.

   I’ll let the pictures do the talking.