He fights as you sing prick-song,

Keeps time, distance and proportion….

The very butcher of a silk button,

A duellist, a duellist.

— Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet 11, 4

To watch two martial artists in action is a joy to behold, as those two fighters go at each other with skill, artistry, power and style. Remember Bruce Lee in the movies? Every martial artist wanted to be like him. That’s the fighting part of it, but there is also great beauty when the kata, or form, is done to perfection. That’s when the martial artist does a series of complicated, pre-arranged moves, simulating fighting multiple opponents. It’s akin to a deadly ballet.

I have been asked to do a television documentary on the history of martial arts in Jamaica, and hopefully I’ll get a chance to produce it, as soon as funding becomes available. Until then, I’ll try to apprise you of what’s been happening on the martial arts scene over the past years here on the Rock.

It’s a world that has many Jamaicans hooked, and I’m proud to say I’ve been a part of it for quite some time. I’ll tell you how we get our kicks, right after these responses to ‘Miserable’.

Hi Tony,

Regarding ‘Miserable’, they say that you can catch more bees with honey, and women by changing their tone and words a little, could have them achieving the same results. Using your example of miserable, “Turn off the TV and come to bed, no more cricket,” could get the bee in the honeycomb if she had said it in a sweet voice: “Honey, turn off the TV, I need you to come to bed.” Most men would be in bed in a flash, of course, expecting some honey. But there is also another saying, “Misery loves company,” so she might as well get him miserable too, while she’s in that mood.

Errol

Hey Teerob,

Nothing is worse than a miserable woman, and I have experienced the hell that those tyrants can bring. It’s worse than being in prison, for at least in prison you get to sleep when the lights go out. Not so with the misery, for she will wake you up to spew her tirade at any time of the night. And you were right about the mothers being miserable too, for most of the miserable women I knew had miserable mothers who made their husbands suffer. You got this one right, Teerob.

Peter A

My journey into the martial arts, specifically karate, began many years ago at the YMCA. The year was 1970, and I was a mere lad who thought that I could fight. I was introduced to the art by my friend, the late Oscar Lawson, who had started taking classes a few weeks before.

At that time, Alan Monteith, considered the founding father of karate in Jamaica, had a vibrant class going at the YMCA, but sadly by the time I started, he had left for the USA.

But he left behind a cadre of well-honed, disciplined martial artists, and they were my first instructors. It was baptism by fire as we were thrown in the deep end, having to fight from the very first class. There was no safety equipment then, only bare knuckles and bare feet, so you had to have courage from the start.

That first class was a rude awakening for me, for I thought I was a pretty good scrapper who could hold my own in any fight. Well, big mistake, as even now I remember the punches and kicks that I got from guys who were much smaller than me.

Back then we were not fussy about promotion to higher belts, plus our instructors weren’t ranked high enough to promote us, as they were only brown belts. It was when Sensei Errol Lyn arrived from New York, armed with his new black belt from Seido Grandmaster Kaicho Tadashi Nakamura, that we got a chance to move up the ranks. Up to then, I was a white belt for many years, but a white belt who was kicking above his weight class, as the boxing term goes.

We were the school of hard knocks, and gradually more schools started to take root. I was Seido, but there were others such as Shotokan, headed by Sensei Gary Turnbull, Taekwondo, Korean in origin, and KungFu, which originated in China. But whatever the style, a kick is a kick and a punch is a punch, and it’s the individual who makes the difference. I have encountered guys who belonged to no single style, but who were formidable fighters.

The Seido annual open tournament was the only game in town, and there were some standout triple champions such as Karl Woolery from Shotokan, George McFarlane from Seido, Bruce McFarlane also of Seido, Herbert Stewart from Taekwondo, to current sensation, Olympian Kenneth Edwards, taught by his brother Keith Edwards, from Ningen Karate.

I reluctantly and humbly include myself as being heavyweight champion for three consecutive years back in the 80s. We got very little press coverage in my time, and it was only after I won a few tournaments that Lindy Delapenha decided to include it in TV sports. I remember him saying to me, “Robbie, I didn’t know you were so good. I’ll put you in sports news then.”

His view was that karate was not a sport, but a deadly martial art. But it was after we returned from overseas with many trophies that he really lauded us. Lindy, by the way, was a formidable boxer who could really handle himself, and knocked out more than a few guys.

But that was then. These guys now are much faster, acrobatic and scientific than we ever were. Now, there are about eight tournaments every year, so martial artists have the opportunity to showcase their talents more often. What is pleasing is to see the thousands of children who have taken up the activity, as the discipline is most beneficial. Now, if only the parents could learn from them.

Back in the early days, senior black belts were few and far between, but now there are quite a lot. Most are genuine, while others are self-appointed. In the Seido system, getting a black belt is not an easy task, as it’s not only about fighting or physical skill. Surprisingly, what many students fear is the detailed essay that has to be written.

Combine this with having to study the manuals and remember the complicated techniques, plus the challenging fighting of multiple opponents, and it’s like the labours of Hercules. That belt has to be earned, and is not given away.

It gets more difficult the higher up you go. I just returned from Seido Headquarters in New York where I spent a week, including overnight sessions, going through promotion tests, moving from the title of Jun Shihan, to Sei Shihan. Tongue-twisters, eh? The exams are no cakewalk and really test your mind, body and spirit. It wasn’t easy. Just imagine being tested for all that you know from GSAT, to CXC, to university level. It’s stressful. No wonder I lost more hair.

Being promoted and having many stripes on your belt doesn’t make you kick or punch any harder. After all, I was in my prime as a fighter many years ago, but I don’t think I could win a tournament against these flashy young guys nowadays. But it makes you more rounded, disciplined, patient and a better teacher.

Oh, I still fight my entire class every week, and hard too, which keeps me in good stead, but no more tournaments. As Clint Eastwood said, ‘A man must know his limitations.’

The martial arts have evolved tremendously in Jamaica, and the combined team, spearheaded by Jason McKay and coached by Claude Chin, is still unbeaten internationally for over seven years, as it tours the world blazing a fantastic path.

Other schools have done well. The Seido team triumphed in South Africa, London and Japan, with Bruce McFarlane being the only fighter to date to have won in all three countries. Betty Salmon of Seido won in South Africa and London, and came second in Japan. Every year, various schools from Taekwondo, Ningen, Rising Stars and others go to the US Open and perform admirably. We are a force to be reckoned with.

Now, there are Aikido and Capoiera schools, and the MMA, or Mixed Martial Arts, is making its mark. The choice is greater now than ever before. Martial arts can be life-changing. Many trailblazers should not be forgotten, people like Monty Allen, Leroy Bennet, Kid Buff, Noel (Garth) King, Errol Lyn and, of course, Allan Monteith.

There’s so much more to tell, but for now, that’s how we get our kicks.

More time.

seido1@hotmail.com

Footnote: I mentioned that I just returned from New York, having gone through a most challenging week. That was tempered, however, by the pleasant flight on JetBlue. Jamaicans are not the easiest people to deal with, and love to carry bag and pan on board. But when the chief stewardess announced that the person who left their bag at the front of the plane had better come for it quickly or she would eat out the bun and cheese, the passengers erupted in rapturous laughter. Who would have expected that from an American?

Flying is no fun anymore, especially when you watch the news and see those weirdos doing wicked acts, but those light moments go a far way to ease the tension.