NEVER RUN A DEAD KATA
(Lessons I Learned In The Dojo)
FORWARD WITH THE FOREWARD
“Never run a dead kata.” (Master Hirinori Otsuka)
The statement “never run a dead kata” was made by the man who developed the style of karate that I practice called Wado Ryu. Wado Ryu is the study of “the way of peace/harmony” It breaks down like this, WA (peace/harmony) DO (way) RYU (style) My journey on my quest for my Black Belt was a long and convoluted path. Now, the DOJO is considered to be the school as a whole…but more than the school…the workout area…where you bow…step on the mats…and begin the process of learning not only the physical aspects of karate…but the code of karate…or the heartbeat of karate. Before we get into the “lessons I learned in the dojo”, I believe that it would be a good idea to let you know how I got to 10/29/07, the day I earned my 1st degree Black Belt. Part of the process was to write a paper entitled WHAT EARNING A BLACK BELT MEANS TO ME. Come with me and get an overview of my journey.
WHAT EARNING A BLACK BELT MEANS TO ME
Rodney Boyd Ik Kyu (1st Degree Black Belt)
To understand what earning a black belt means to me, you must understand the beginning of my journey. The roots of my desire to earn a black belt, extends back into the mid 1960’s. My first exposure to the martial arts was through a movie (actually a series of eight movies) starring Peter Lorre as a character named Mr. Moto. Mr. Moto was a Charlie Chan type detective. Mr. Moto was small, unimposing, wearing wire rimmed glasses and a white suit. The difference between him and Charlie Chan was that he would not only use his detective smarts to solve a crime but…he would use ju jitsu against the bad guys. I was amazed at how this little; unimposing man was able to beat the bad guys, without shooting them, but by merely throwing them around. The size ratio did not compute…but the seeds of martial arts were planted deep in me.
My first physical encounter using martial arts was in the 6th grade (around 1963)…and was based on what I saw in the Mr. Moto movies. I was definitely not trained in the martial arts, and I was definitely not physically up to the task. I was a scrawny, skinny, proverbial 98 pound weakling. I was standing in a hallway outside of the gymnasium at Mitchell-Neilson Elementary School, when a larger student started picking on me. He was kidding around and I did not feel threatened at the time, but all of a sudden, I found myself taking this large, imposing person and grabbed his arm, twisted my hips and threw him over my shoulder…more likely my hips. Everyone was surprised at what had happened including the people around me, the guy who I threw over my shoulder, but nobody was surprised more than me. I had merely imitated what I saw in a movie on late night television. From that moment on I was fascinated with the martial arts, but for some reason, I never cultivated that desire until 1972. From 1963 to 1972, I would read karate books by Bruce Tegner and watch Elvis give somebody a karate chop in the movies and even play around with my friends, as we would flip each other around in my backyard. It was not until a fateful event in 1972 that I would come closer to my desire for a black belt.
1972 was an eventful year for me. I got married (still married after 40 years), I had a steady job, and I got beat up on the side of the road in front of all my co-workers, God, and the rest of the world passing by that day. Another event in 1972 was an advertisement that was placed in the Daily News Journal for a karate class that was forming in Murfreesboro Tennessee. The ad was a little larger than a postage stamp, but it caught my eye. The cost of the class was $15.00 a month and was being taught by someone I knew, Mr. Newton Harris. I figured that after my encounter with my Goliath, that I needed to learn how to defend myself. We met for our first class in Crichlow Elementary School…in the basement…and later moved to a dojo on Vine Street. The school was at that time was the Bushido School of Karate. The style was called Wado Ryu. At that time the climate for karate was hot. On the television, Batman and Robin were kicking and punching the bad guys. As a matter of fact, Burt Ward who played Robin had a black belt in real life. In the movie Billy Jack, Billy was taking his foot and placing it on the right side of Mr. Posner’s face, telling Posner that there “was not a damn thing that he could do about it.” Carl Douglas was singing that “everybody was Kung Fu fighting, their fists were fast as lightning”, as Kung Fu was a hit T.V. show, and Bruce Lee was making a name for himself as Kato on the Green Hornet and the T.V. show Longstreet (teaching a blind lawyer martial arts), along with movies like Marlow with James Garner. The “chop suey” movies were all the rage. Again, the climate was hot…and ripe for karate.
I signed up for karate along with a few friends and we were having a ball. We would practice kata together, stretch every chance we got, and working out at the dojo four times a week, as the classes would go on for 2-3 hours. It was hot, sweaty, tiring, and fun. I was young, semi-flexible, and eager to learn…so I would not be a punching bag for some redneck on the side of the road anymore. The motivation of why I want to be a black belt at this time was self-preservation and fear. I went up
through the ranks to the point of being ready to take my green belt examination. Through a series of circumstances, I dropped out. Money, time, desire, all fizzled out. By that time Mr. Harris sold the school to Mr. Bill Herzer. For the next few decades, I would always have a desire to get my Black Belt. I would watch karate movies, I would go over in my mind the things that I had learned, but never could get back into it. It was over 30 years before I would walk back into a dojo. Over the years I would tell my wife Brenda and my son Phillip that when I was 50 yeas old, I would return to karate.My goal was that I would have my Black Belt by the time I was 55 years old. I was making that declaration when I was in my 40’s.
NOTE: I am currently 67 years old and still kicking, however I have had a slight setback with a stroke. I am currently working towards the 3rd degree black belt.
When I was 48 years old, I took my son Phillip to a Wado Tournament in Columbia Tennessee, and told him that I would someday be down there on the gym floor competing. 3 years later, I was. In September of 2001, I ran into Mr. Bill Taylor at Quiznos, who now owned Bill Taylor’s Bushido School of Karate. Brenda was with me as I introduced myself to him and told him that I was thinking about starting karate again and I told him my story, but after I laid out my story., I told him that I may be too old to start back again. He immediately related that there was a lady at the school who was 70 years old and just got her Black Belt…what was my excuse? That lady was Ms Betty Coleman, who continues to this day to be an inspiration to me. I had no excuses so I signed up and receive my white belt on 11/15/2001 and received my Ik Kyu (Brown Belt) on 11/17/06.
NOTE: I received my 1st Degree black belt on October 28th, 2007 and my 2nd degree black belt on April 16th, 2011.
Seven years from my first class on November 15th, 2001 to September 12 2007, I received my notification of my scheduled Black Belt exam for October 27 and 28th 2007. What does earning a black belt mean to me? At this point…everything. Attaining a black belt for me is a personal challenge to finish what I started in 1972 that transcends beyond the original intent of self-preservation because of fear of getting beat up on the side of the road again. As I learned various techniques over the past seven years…the spirit and attitude of Wado Ryu have been instilled within me. The principles of the way of harmony and peace are now my goals versus the belt around the waist. Now don’t get me wrong, the belt around the waist will be wonderful…but the black belt virtues found in the student guide overrides the belt. Modesty, courtesy, integrity, self-control, perseverance, and an indomitable spirit…that have been walked out by all of my instructors over the years are now goals that I strive for in the quest for black belt. What does earning a black belt mean to me? It means that accomplishing a goal that I will carry with me for the rest of my life and that I will walk out before others coming up the ranks with their own vision and dreams of a black belt.
This road has not been an easy one. At times…my body has weakened with various pulls, strains, aches and pains and at times…the desire for a black belt was overwhelmed with the desire to lay down and quit and at times my confidence was lower than the mat that my feet were standing on, but thanks to the encouragement, rebuke, understanding from my instructors and my fellow karatekas, I stand ready to enter the next level, where now I am ready to learn.
My real purpose and power, comes from my faith and love for God (Father, Son, Holy Ghost). Eric Liddle…a runner in the 1924 Olympics in Paris…and later to be a missionary to China…chronicled in the movie Chariots of Fire…is a source of inspiration for me. He states, “I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure.” Well, I am not fast…but I do feel His pleasure when I work out and compete. He also gave the secret of his success…and I hope it will also be the secret to my success…”The secret of my success over the 400 meters is…that I ran the first 200 as hard as I could…and then the second 200 (with God’s help)…I ran it harder.”