My Painful Path to Success

My Painful Path to Success (Success=training with Taika Oyata)

**Disclaimer-if you are easily offended or of a delicate, sensitive nature , do not read this blog**

Nin-Tai: perseverance, to endure

If anybody is interested, I have a few more stories to tell about the good old days.
After witnessing a demonstration of real Okinawan Karate in 1986 , by a true Master, I
was hooked. After  speaking directly  to Master Oyata, I was determined to get an opportunity to train with him personally.
 The same friend who invited me to Mr. Oyata's tournament and demonstration
suggested I visit Kyoshi Greg Lindquist (now Tasshi Lindquist)at his school in Overland Park, Kansas.
I was told at the time that there were a lot of good  Ryukyu Kempo schools in Kansas City,
 but that Kyoshi Lindquist's school was one of the best and that he was also  a very good teacher.

( I make this distinction because in my experience, you can be a good martial artist,
with strong technique and fighting skills-but if you cannot break it all down and explain
it, every nuance- A thru Z, you are not a good teacher).

Every truly worthwhile endeavor in life is a challenge. I  state the obvious for anybody that has
not trained at a classical martial arts school. Training is a serious matter and you are exposed to
quite a bit of pain and suffering. If you are sensitive,your feelings are easily hurt, you don't like to sweat or to feel pain, you should stay at home and  play video games, text your friends endlessly or continue to work on your quilting skills.

Kyoshi Greg Lindquist
I sauntered into Kyoshi Greg Lindquist's school in the Winter of 1986. I had seen him introduced
at the demonstration.
Knowing he was one of Mr. Oyata's senior students made it all a little more
intimidating. Kyoshi Lindquist was friendly enough, so I asked a lot of questions.
He was patient and thoroughly explained the system, weapons training,
 the katas and how the beginning classes were run.
I have always been a little impatient and slightly hyperactive. Back then, I was also pretty cocky.
Some people that knew me  back then might tell you I had a chip on my shoulder a mile wide.
After talking with Kyoshi and studying him for awhile , I mistakenly thought he was too tall and large to be very fast and was probably nowhere near as good as Mr. Oyata.
I explained that I was a good fighter, had some Judo/JuJitsu training and some previous Shotokan Karate training from my father.
 Oh and that  I was very fast, with super reflexes! Ah, the exuberance of youth........
To his credit, Kyoshi only asked if I wanted to come out onto the wood deck and work on some
techniques. I said "sure" and the rest is rather painful history.

Tasshi Greg Lindquist-(the way I remember him back in the day)

*Tasshi-if you see this, I borrowed this picture from your website!

Ask and you shall receive
Kyoshi invited me to attack him however I wanted-
When I tried to throw a very quick punch, he struck my arm so hard it almost knocked me to the floor, while my arm felt like it was either broken, on fire or both.
I tried to throw a sneaky, fast kick-he stepped aside while striking my leg so hard, it dropped me and
charlie-horsed my outer thigh-Good times!
Too young to know better and too stupid to care,
I moved in for a lapel-grab/throw position-big mistake, I got an arm bar followed with a quick neck slap. Man-he was quick, I didn't have a chance.
I got to see and feel several well executed and excruciatingly painful tuite techniques that day.
The  minimum effort and the speed which Kyoshi displayed was impressive-The pain was instant and unbelievable.  I had to learn how to do  this and wanted more than anything to learn this so I could train with Mr. Oyata!
The funniest part about all of this: I signed up for classes on the spot, thanked him for the lesson(beating) and could not wait to get back to his school for more lessons(beatings).
*I really did learn some important lessons that day!
I really wasn't that fast, that good, had no super reflexes or secret built-in resistance to pain.
I finally learned to respect my elders and was learning to not judge people by appearances.
That  first beating commenced on a Saturday, I showed up a little sore for my first class the following Monday.
I want to be very clear about something. Other than the late Taika Oyata, there is nobody in Ryu Te I
respect more than Tasshi Greg Lindquist. I have always felt he was  the best teacher I have ever
 met and am  fortunate to have been his student. Although I do not train with him like I used to,  I have tremendous respect for him as my  teacher, his  depth of knowledge and technical skills.


Mike Whitney-"Mad Dog"
Kyoshi's partner at the dojo was Mike Whitney. Mike was short,  muscular and very intense.
Just for a point of personal reference, his nickname was "Mad Dog".
He trained very hard, punched very hard, kicked very hard -everything he did hurt!
Taika Oyata  taught him a lot of very effective tuite/submission techniques because he was a police officer.
His tuite was quick, efficient and painful-you had  just enough time to get your hand in front of your face, to stop you  before your face hit the floor and you were yelling and tapping from the pain.
Mike was also very good with toe kicks, I used to have bruises all over my body from his expertly placed toe kicks. We practiced kicking a bag full of rocks and sand to toughen up our toes-it works, to this day I feel no pain when I stub my toes, or more importantly,when I toe kick someone!
I really liked and respected him, he was a good teacher and an excellent martial artist.

 Mike and Kung Fu DaveThe first bogu kumite(full contact fighting) match I ever saw in the dojo, Mike knocked out a guy they called Kung Fu Dave with one punch :
 knocked out, hell-he looked dead, it took a few doses of smelling salts to bring him around and he had a major concussion. For the first few minutes, he didn't know who he was or what had happened.
 This made quite an impression on me. This was not "tippy tap" point fighting. Up close and personal, this was balls to the wall, let's get it on, I'm gonna knock you out- on steroids.
(I know it made an impression in/on Kung Fu Dave's head) I never saw Kung Fu Dave Bogu fight again.

The guy that played JP in the movie "Grandma's Boy" has an uncanny resemblance to Kung Fu Dave

Kung Fu Dave-as I remember him

" From life's school of war, that which does not kill me, makes me stronger"-Friedrich Nietzsche

Bogu/full contact fighting is only one aspect of Taika Oyata's art, but a very important
one that should never be neglected.We did a lot of bogu fighting in those days.
Our instructors would throw the beginners in with the advanced students-
It was painful, you got your ass handed to you repeatedly.
I'm still not convinced it builds character, but it will toughen you up, make you mean.

You learn quickly to keep your hands up, how to block  powerful kicks and punches  and the importance of moving to your opponents weak side.
You also learn what it feels like when people are trying very hard to knock you out and
kick your ribs in.
There are two kinds of people in this martial arts world:
Those who do bogu fighting and really like it and those who try it and never want to do it again.
It hurts-it is an exercise in pain , but it teaches you to fight, to respond, to accept the pain and continue fighting. Life is a test and what better test than to  fight someone trying very hard  to knock you out, to physically  hurt you.
I loved bogu fighting then and I love it to this day- a chance to hit people,  hit and kick them as hard as you can and not get into trouble/thrown in jail ? Sign me up.

I had been training for several months, working on basics/ exercises and the first katas.
Aside from Bogu fighting and endless kata training, we did a lot of heavy bag training, shield training, suburito drills (wooden sword) makiwara and lots of tuite/grappling.

Kyoshi Stark
Around  this time, I had the  privilege of meeting and training with Kyoshi Steve Stark.
Kyoshi Stark was teaching classes at Kyoshi Lindquist's school and  he ran some incredible,intense workouts! The wood floor was literally drenched in sweat when the workouts were done. Back in those days, I would personify him as hell on wheels. Other than Taika Oyata, I had never seen anybody punch or kick with so much power. He also had the most incredible version of  the Kusanku kata I have ever seen.

I only saw Kyoshi Stark  Bogu fight one time, it was over after the first punch. The student Mr. Stark fought was a U.S. Marshal, a giant of a man-it made no difference.
Kyoshi Stark hit him one time and he was on the ground/done. He had to be helped to his feet and stupidly insisted on continuing, wouldn't take no for an answer. When the match started again, Kyoshi Stark kicked him and I believe broke/bruised  some of his ribs.
I had never seen anybody hit and kick so hard, so fast and drop somebody 2 times their size.
If you ever trained one on one with Kyoshi Stark, you know what I am talking about. I learned a lot about punching power, speed and timing from training with him. I  learned firsthand he has an extremely strong punch. He drop punched me in the chest and gave me a bad pleurisy. Pleurisy  is a medical term used  to describe having  all of your muscles mashed together like two pieces of buttered bread. I can assure you the effects are very painful and long-lasting (it hurts to talk, breathe, move or laugh). The only known cure is single malt scotch, although good bourbon will slightly dull the pain, it does not have the rejuvinating qualities of a fine single malt.

I also learned several kyusho/ nerve strikes from him, based on empty hand forms and weapons katas, the pain was so immediate and excruciating I have never forgotten them.
 Kyoshi Stark always answered  my questions with painfully demonstrated technical applications.
I was able to train with Kyoshi Stark over a period of many years and eventually helped him run classes at his school in Overland Park, Kansas. He is an extremely talented martial artist and I  consider it an honor to have trained with him.
Did I mention how hard he hits?

Mr. Stark wrote a great book titled-Quest : The Ancient Way about his experiences with Mr. Oyata.
I encourage anybody interested in what is was like to train with Taika Oyata, Okinawan martial arts and the true meaning of perseverance to check out his book!

Keep asking and you will get knocked out-

This was at a  time  when Mr. Oyata was traveling more,  he  was also  showing more Kyusho techniques, especially the neck strike knockouts.

As Taika Oyata's knockouts became more well known, we began to get a lot of strange people coming into the dojo. Everybody wanted to learn this neck strike in 3 easy classes!

  A funny story about one of these crazy bastards:
We had one guy that wore what I referred to as a Christmas hakama/uniform . Red top with green pants-classy!

He used to bother Kyoshi Lindquist after every class to knock him out-"Please sir, will you show me the knockout, please sir, knock me out". This went on and on. I offered to do it slowly, over several minutes to shut him up.

Kyoshi Lindquist was very patient for a few weeks. One day between classes, Kyoshi was at the front desk, working on something. I was out on the wood deck, training. Christmas hakama man came up to the desk  and started his "Sir please knock me out" speech. Without missing a beat, from his seated position, Kyoshi leaned forward and quickly smacked him in the neck, dropping him to the ground, a perfect knockout. I have seen  few things in my life more spontaneous, awesome and  very few things funnier than that! What made me laugh harder was Kyoshi continuing to work at his desk while christmas hakama guy lay silently on the floor, finally quiet, resting, all tuckered out.
Whenever I need a laugh, that is a Kodak moment I love to remember!

When the hammer drops, the bullshit stops-
We also had a lot of  "tough guys" come in, wanting to bogu fight- there were self styled Kung Fu masters, Missouri Hillbilly Shaolin monks, Olathe street fighter/ karate masters, Jeet Kune Do masters,  kickboxers- (most neither kicked or boxed very well)........etc.
The list is long and  undistinguished! I watched them all limp sadly  out the door in disgrace, never to return.
Some of them I got to fight, some were decent, most were pathetic. I took a great deal of pride in
pummeling  the ones with a bad attitude,who were rude to my instructor or the other students. One guy was such a jerk, when we were  getting ready  to fight, Kyoshi Lindquist gave me the "nod". I didn't know what the nod meant so I asked him "what"? He quietly  said" I want you to knock this guy on his ass". I did, more than once-it was beautiful! Never saw him again.
I soon learned that the people who ran their mouth the most could rarely back it up.
Fighting up close and personal, starting 1 foot away from each other can be intimidating for some.
Getting hit, really hard, repeatedly is even more intimidating for others.Some people's ego
can't take losing, especially a public beatdown. I was taught and trained by my instructors to
 rise up-keep fighting , push yourself constantly  to get better and never give up.

I began to compete in local tournaments-it was very intense to be in front of large groups of  people.
You never knew who you were going to be fighting. I had some great matches over the years, plus some not so great matches. The human condition dictates we all take a beating sometime.


One of my first tournaments, I fought a tallish, skinny guy that didn't look like much- he beat my ass up one side and down the other.  He was quick and powerful !  I managed to hit him really hard one time and knock him down, but ended up losing.

Another tournament, I fought a giant. This guy was huge,  twice my size. I was nervous, the adrenaline was pumping and I got close to him-using my hips and legs with an uppercut, I punched him as hard as I could in the chin/jaw, the effects were immediate and satisfying.
He went flying and laid on the floor, I had  knocked him on his ass  and split his chin open, blood was gushing. I found out later he had to get  stitches, the punch had peeled a big flap of skin off of his chin. Now that's a punch!  He was also asking everyone:who was that short guy and how could he punch so hard ? That made me very happy! (still does)

During another tournament I had my opponent-a big muscular guy, trying to intimidate me before the match. He came over by me and was punching himself in the face, trying to stare me down.
I was laughing at him, who does that? what a jackass!-I walked over to him and told him to save it, he was about to get plenty of that in just a minute.  What a tool- the more I thought about it, the more determined I was to whip his ass in a very public way. The good news is I beat him like a rented mule, I was on him like a buzzsaw, I hit him  so many times, he begged me for a kick!- I think he just pissed me off- Also, he was so big he couldn't move very efficiently.

I learned some important lessons-don't have any preconceived notions about people based on height or size.You never know how good your opponent is until it's on.
Also-don't take any crap off anybody or ever let anybody intimidate you.

I would not have traded these early  experiences for anything.As I was to learn from Taika Oyata,
Kyoshi Lindquist and Kyoshi Stark, this is your foundation, the building blocks of your training and technique.
You better build it strong.


Nobody accomplishes much in life without some  help- Teachers, mentors, friends.
I have a list of people who  helped me, trained with me, were  always  cool or offered good advice over the years-
Thanks and much respect to:
Taika Oyata, Albert Giraldi,Jim Logue, Greg Lindquist,Mike "Mad Dog" Whitney, Mike Huff,
Steve Stark,Steve The Lawyer, Bill Gossett, Vince Stallone, Brian McGrew  Bill Hufford,
 Barbara Mundis,Craig Isabel , Jim Massey,  Richard Benge, Jim Bryant, Jeff Runnels, Alan Amour, Robbie Morris, Mike Minor, Lee Richards, Matt Cowen, Mike Yoch and my good friend,  the nefarious  mastermind  Jon Dilley, one of the most technically proficient  martial artists I have ever trained with.
 *Look for a book on Okinawan martial arts and the  hypocrisy of martial artists from Jon in the near future.


Time for a quick rant-I need to vent about something.
Disclaimer-
**If you are of an extremely sensitive nature,  and your feelings are easily hurt, do not read the following paragraph:
I want to be extremely clear about something that really pisses me off-Politics and crybabies!
I hate politics and don't give a rat's ass who did what , who said what to who, who is mad at who,who got their little feelings hurt .................ad naseum.
Life is too short to worry about what other people are doing. 
Rule #1 -Don't be a bitch! Suck it up, grow a pair, ,get a life, dust yourself off and get back in the game Nancy! This is martial arts, not ballet.This is not an encounter group, we are not composing sonnets of  poetry or arranging pretty flowers.  Got it?   Are we clear?  Good! 


Sometimes the journey is more important than the destination-

There is no first attack in karate