Author: TSMA Page 171 of 202

Karate Community Honors Charlie Barron

On July 18, 2012

Heather Barron-Galvan remembers her father as a man who put his heart into everything he did.

That dedication showed in many aspects of Charlie Barron’s life, but it was most evident with one of his greatest passions — karate. Barron taught the martial art in Yankton for 14 years before passing away last December.

“He always trained hard and put everything into karate,” Barron-Galvan said. “It was really a big part of his life. He was a really good teacher. People respected him and how he was with people.”

Barron-Galvan recently learned those with the International Karate Convention held in Lincoln, Neb., which Barron attended each year, felt the same way. During the convention last month, organizers gave out the inaugural Charlie Barron Memorial Spirit Award in recognition of Barron’s 25 years of dedication to karate. Barron-Galvan was chosen as the first recipient.

“It’s been hard on us, so it’s really cool that they’re recognizing him, because that was a big part of his life,” Barron-Galvan said. “And for me to get it, it really means a lot.”

Barron, who worked for the Yankton School District as a school psychologist/behavior specialist for 26 years, moved to Yankton with his family in 1991. A few years later, he decided to share his love for karate with others and opened his own dojo, the Yankton Karate Club.

“He dedicated a lot of his life to making his dojo respectable,” his daughter said. “He did a really good job of teaching and running things. He put a lot of himself into the dojo and dedicated a lot of hours to it.”
Barron-Galvan, who began training with her father at age 11, said what stood out most about his work at the dojo was the fact that he would teach all types of students.

“He took in whoever was willing to train, no matter what their ability,” she said. “He was also willing to work with students with physical disabilities and cognitive disabilities. He modified it and made it so they could learn and could feel successful.”

Thirteen-year-old Mason Ballard, who was a student of Barron’s for six years, said he wouldn’t have the skills he has today without the help of the late teacher. Ballard, a brown belt with three white stripes, also attended the karate convention last month and received the Men’s Spirit Award.

“He was a good teacher, and he always made it really fun to do,” Ballard said. “He was a really good trainer who focused on the important stuff.”

Since Barron’s passing, the Yankton Karate Club has been closed, as no one from the dojo possesses the necessary level to certify those who are training. With hopes of reopening the facility, Barron-Galvan and fellow students Pete Moore and Shawn Mann have been traveling to Norfolk, Neb., to continue training.

“We’re trying to get in a position where we can run the dojo. To test anybody above a white belt, we need to be a third degree black belt, and the three of us are only first degree black belts,” Barron-Galvan said. “So we suspended the dojo for now, and then we’re hoping to reopen it when we are ready to take on some more students.”

The three have also been helping Ballard with his training and have provided the young student with transportation to Norfolk.

Virginia Ballard, Mason’s mother, said she has been amazed by the way Barron-Galvan, Moore and Mann have stepped up to aid her son.

“It’s just really awesome that these people have helped Mason and mentored him along, because he’s loved it since he was 6 years old,” she said.

Barron-Galvan said her efforts toward reopening the dojo, as well as helping Mason with his training, are simply things she “needs to do.”

“I know that’s what Dad would have wanted,” she said.

Master honour bestowed at Wick martial arts seminar

By TSMA

On June 22, 2012

In Uncategorized

Vince Tait demonstrating techniques on KSD Martial Arts secretary Gary Beardsley at the seminar in the Assembly Rooms.

FOLLOWING the visit of two martial arts grand masters to Caithness, Vince Tait has been graded to fifth Dan Master.

KSD Martial Arts recently hosted the annual Northern Budo Alliance Bushi seminar in Wick Assembly Rooms where instruction was given by Soke Gunter Bauer, 10th Dan Hapkido (Grand Master), Soke Mark Kemp, 10th Dan Kempo JuJitsu (Grand Master), and Kyoshi Neil Hourston, seventh Dan (Master).

As well as the one-day seminar, the two grand masters instructed at a regular KSD training session in Castletown.

During the weekend, KSD chief instructor Mr Tait was under intense scrutiny as he sought to be graded to master level.

Following the award, Mr Tait said: “This is a real honour for me and I am delighted to have been deemed worthy of being promoted to master.

“I feel very proud. This is also a tribute to our club and the members who work hard as a team to support our activities.”

Grand Master Soke Gunter Bauer said: “Sabumnim Vince Tait runs a great club in the Far North of Scotland and brings an array of martial arts skills from a number of disciplines to KSD Martial Arts.

“Vince has dedicated a great deal of time both training and instructing in over 30 years of martial arts and has demonstrated the qualities required to become master.”

KSD Martial Arts club secretary Gary Beardsley hailed the visit a success.

He said: “It was great to work with the grand masters in Caithness. They travelled up from Manchester and as a club we feel that it is important that our students have access to instructors of this calibre without having to leave the area.

“Over 70 martial artists from Caithness and throughout the Highlands, including the Scottish Kempo Academy, Scottish Fighting Arts Society, and Bass Korean Martial Arts School, attended the event.”

Grand Master Soke Mark Kemp said the journey north had been worthwhile.

“We had a fantastic time and were impressed with the students and their level of commitment, I congratulate Sabumnim Vince Tait on his success and promotion to master.”

KSD Martial Arts meets in Castletown, Thurso and Halkirk. It is a modern scientific form of non-competitive self-defence with traditional values and is suitable for all ages and physical abilities.

Griffin continues teaching, honing martial arts craft

By TSMA

On June 21, 2012

In Uncategorized

Blue Springs, MO —

The amazing thing about Ed Griffin – or “Coach,” as most know him – isn’t that he’s a 78-year-old that could easily drop guys half his age in the blink of an eye.

Griffin, who teaches combat judo at Gautreaux’s Martial Arts Center in Blue Springs, is a ninth degree black belt in jujitsu and judo. Impressive in it’s own right, but what is truly phenomenal about Griffin is that he keeps finding ways to add to his repertoire.

Griffin might be nicknamed “Coach” for the way he loves to teach his martial arts students, but more than anything, he’s a lifelong student.

“I’m a coach because I’m a teacher and I learn from my students,” Griffin said. “I still want to learn.”

And Griffin has. Constantly. Ever since he delved into martial arts in 1953. In recent years, Griffin has honed his focus a softer more efficient style of judo. Sure, Griffin could whoop about anyone, and once upon a time he relished that ability.

“I used to knock people down and walk all over them and abuse them,” Griffin said.

But as Griffin reached his 60s, he started to realize the benefits of a more reactive style. Instead of aggressive power moves, he started practicing a reactive style that utilizes true body movements.

The pros of this technique were obvious. For one, it would allow Griffin to keep practicing even as he continued to age. He also found the style more stimulating.

“I can still do (power mechanics), but I wasn’t getting intellectual satisfaction from it,” he said. “I needed to study more. I needed to develop something better.”

Griffin’s now an expert on body angles. Lift an arm toward him and he’ll pull off a swift, seamless move that leaves you on the ground in half a second.

“It’s doing what the body wants to do,” he said. “It’s letting people fall where they want to fall. That’s it. That’s all there is to it.”

Griffin explains that the body naturally will fall at a 22 1/2 degree angle. Finding ways to move opponents in a position where that’s possible is key to the approach.

Griffin swears he never thinks about what maneuver he’s about to execute as an opponent nears him. Everything he does is instinctive and dependent on muscle memory. Just as he’s taught so many students over the years, he’s also trained his body.

And he’s done it through hands-on experience. Every Tuesday morning, Griffin trains with Bob Parkay, of Independence, and Richard Cloe, of Wellington. Both are advanced students who have worked with Griffin for at least 12 years. Every week, Griffin takes the mat with them and inevitably ends up tossed to the mat a dozen or so times.

“He’s one of the few masters that will crawl on the mat with two knotheads like us,” said Parkay, a second degree black belt.

That’s the mentality that’s made Griffin what he is. He says he can’t help a student by watching them. He needs to physically experience their moves and techniques to be able to pinpoint the improvements they can make.

That, in turn, helps him continue to progress.

“Every time I come out I learn more from my students than they learn from me” Griffin said.

And that philosophy has not only allowed Griffin to pursue his passion for seven decades, but it also earned him recognition from one of martial arts’ greats. In 2009, legendary martial arts teacher Professor Ridgely Abele presented Griffin with the Meijin Award, which is an achievement award for excellence. Griffin said Abele only gave out about a dozen of the awards in his lifetime.

“That means more to me than anything,” Griffin said. “I look at it every day and think, ‘Thank you, Professor. And I miss you.’”

Like Abele, Griffin is an advocate for martial arts above all else. He acknowledges the years and years he’s devoted to reaching his level. But he also adds that there’s no reason for anyone to be too intimidated to try it out – regardless of their age.

“It’s really important to understand that people can practice to an advanced age,” he said. “It can be safe. It’s healthy. It’s good for you.”

Couple takes on their 70s kicking, thanks to self-defense classes

By TSMA

On June 20, 2012

In Uncategorized

PALM BEACH GARDENS — Stanley and Adele Janow’s transformation from average to avenging takes seconds upon their arrival at Hwang’s Martial Arts.

The North Palm Beach couple visits the Fairway Drive studio to master the punching, kicking and choke-hold defenses of Krav Maga self-defense — the kind the Israeli army made famous — at their combined tender age of 147 years.

The Janows, 18 months shy of their 50th wedding anniversary, have taken private lessons twice each week since March. Their sweaty, spirited, vigorous workouts belie their ages — and, their instructor says, set an example other seniors can follow.

“The Janows are by far my oldest students,” said their instructor, Kristina Hwang, whose experience with the Janows has made her think of starting a self-defense class for seniors.

“The fantastic thing is they actually do physical self-defense moves and not just talking about safety. It’s given them a lot more mental and physical self-confidence.”

The Janows recommend taking self-defense — which they took up at the suggestion of their daughter, Lori Beth — to their peers.

“You need exercise, and you read in the paper all the time about elderly people getting mugged or attacked,” said Stanley, 77, who spent years as a chemist and a salesman and manager for a pharmaceutical company and who now runs his own business. “You need a natural defense to ward that off.”

Both Janows say they have received excellent health benefits from their self-defense training.

Adele, 70, said exercise such as Krav Maga can help seniors keep their minds sharp and avoid problems such as osteoarthritis, breaking bones and herniated disks. Stanley said his blood pressure, cholesterol and weight all are down since starting the workouts.

“Before starting, I was having difficulty twisting off the cap of my water bottle or getting out of my chair,” said Adele, an attorney and a retired speech therapist.

“Now, we are working on springing up off the floor into a vertical position.”

How did you get started doing self-defense training lessons?

Adele: ‘Our daughter suggested we do something so we would feel safer when going out which would also give us good exercise. I do pilates, too, but that’s not the same as this.’

Stanley: ‘My daughter knows I’ve always liked boxing. She thought I might like this. I was reluctant at first because I wasn’t exercising at all, but I liked how Kristina taught us. Had I come across an abusive instructor, I wouldn’t have come back.’

How did you two meet?

Adele: ‘He picked me up while I was working in an upscale restaurant in Boston while attending Emerson College. The owner had told me not to date any customers, but he said I could make an exception for Stanley.’

What’s the best feeling about taking this self-defense training?

Stanley: “I was an Army reservist during the Korean War. I used to think I could take on the world. Now, this training is giving me that same impulse like I know what to do in a tight situation.’