Ryute® News January 2015
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
RyuTe® News January 2015 This issue is dedicated to the Memory of Dale Cox 1948 - 2014 Inside this issue ® ● Dale Cox Memorials ● Whose art is it anyway ● Note from Robin Oyata ● Birthday Seminar ● Letter from the board● RyuTe committees ● 2nd Annual DC seminar Flier ● News you can use ● 1 Remembering Dale Dale Cox - I know that I will miss seeing Dale, what a gentleman. Dale had that quiet strength, com- mitment and perseverance in his life. Taika had a great respect for Dale and the man that he was. To see Dale continue to come to seminars with his wonderful wife and train to the best of his ability was very inspiring. Dale always had a smile, kind words and ability to be focused on training. He will be much missed at the seminars. I definitely enjoyed Dale and Micki's company and hearing how Micki did when she would go to the casino and the smile on Dale's face knowing how much she enjoyed it. It never failed, every Christmas there would be a package of goodies from Dale and his wife. Another RyuTe® family member to be missed and remembered and honored with what we do now. By Robin Oyata __________________________________________________________ In thinking about Dale, I can only tell you what I personally saw and heard: his loyalty and attentive- ness to his family; his unfailingly good attitude; his strong convictions; his extraordinary teaching skills. These were all visible, all the time. I first met Dale before I got married in 1987; regrettably, I was not able to stay with him at the time. When I was eventually able to seek him out again, his physical infirmities had started to affect him no- ticeably. As he put it then, he was perfectly willing to take me on as a student again, if I didn't mind an instructor who always had an oxygen tank "strapped to his butt." Between his illnesses, his father's last years, and my own scheduling issues, progress was painfully slow--I was only promoted to ikkyu fairly recently--but he never gave up. His endurance was lacking, but the skill was still plainly there, as was the expertise in instruction. Dale was not only very analyti- cal himself, he was very good at coaxing good thinking out of his students. Very rarely would he say, "This is why and how." More often, he would ask me to try to figure something out, and if I got within reasonable sniffing distance he would give me enough to let me finish figuring it out. I would ask him, "Does this mean that?" and he would answer, "Well, think about this..." I know Dale wanted to live to see me make shodan. He wanted his students to progress and he wanted Taika's teachings to be available to all who were genuinely interested. He was a very selfless man who did his utmost, especially given his illness, to help me progress, and I miss him. By Dan Paden 2 Whose Art is it Anyway?* By Jim Logue September 2008 Last year I began to revise “Ryukyu Kempo History and Basics” also known as the “blue book.” First, to replace any connotation of Ryukyu Kempo with RyuTe®, and secondly, to add history and technical information that has come to light since the first edition 28 years ago. As I researched various sources and from Taika’s own insights, I discovered things that I had overlooked or that I didn’t fully understand when I first began to write the book. Like almost everyone, I had preconceived notions of karate’s development and how it was passed down through the centuries. We know that Taika’s teachers were a product of generations of family art. Mr. Wakinaguri and Mr.Uhugushiku both were the last links to their family art. They revealed to Taika concepts and ideas that had been kept as “secret” for many generations. Indeed, it has taken Taika many years to reveal this to us; partly because we wouldn’t have understood and partly because he had to gain our trust. The finer detail of the art, the family art that is being passed to us, is not for everyone. Taika was left with the “keys” to understand the concepts and principles that explain the finer detail of karate. As part of the trust his instructor’s had for him, he was left with a scroll that contains these concepts in principles in picture and word form. Combined with his early training and years of experience, Taika is bringing us to a new level of understanding. This is far beyond any that would be revealed if we studied any other system. He is teaching us the real art, his art. The basis of our study is linked to Mr. Uhugushiku and Mr. Wakinaguri, but the interpretation and execution is purely Taika Oyata. What we are attempting to learn is his art; an art that is both simple and complicated. Each of us process information in a different way and we execute techniques based on our own peculiarities and habits. Taika attempts to polish us, but often our own egos and self interests interfere. Our study requires our full attention and constant practice. It is not anything that we should embellish with our own ideas! Modern karate has dealt an almost lethal blow to the understanding of karate by putting emphasis on rank and prestige mostly for monetary gains. Modern karate also tries to combine various aspects of other martial arts to form the “ultimate” martial art. Modern karate tries to discover what’s already there and we fall into that same trap when we think we understand and embellish the knowledge that we have been given with our own ideas. So, whose art is it anyway? Wakinaguri and Uhugushiku entrusted Taika with the responsibility for their family art. It is his to pass to us in a way that it will remain as pure as possible. Our responsibility is to study and train in such a way that the art will come to us. Our responsibility for the future is to protect and cherish the gift of the art given to us. * Note from editors: This is the first in a revival series of Jim Logue articles we will be publishing in the next few newsletters. This one was from September 2008. 3 Holiday Greeting From Robin Oyata Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Holiday and Happy New Year! I have been truly blessed by everyone. It is amazing and wonderful to see how RyuTe® is growing and evolving and the commitment, dedication and love to each other, RyuTe®, Taika's memory and his family. Where there is sadness and loneliness in my heart, it is being replaced with joy and happiness about what is happening with all of you. It is with deep love, honor and respect for all that have stayed the course, have not given up, and remain committed to RyuTe® and the realization of what you can do as one, that continues to put a smile on my face. It is not an easy task, nothing worthwhile is. I can only imagine how proud Taika would be of all of you as well as Jim Logue. Greg Lindquist would be too if he could see how everyone trains and works together. Our condolences and prayers go out to long time RyuTe® practitioner, Darrell Pope. His wife, Marsha, re- cently passed in November, 2014. 4 RyuTe Birthday Conference 2014 By Joseph Krystofik About 60 students from around the country gathered in Kansas City for the annual RyuTe® Birthday Conference. This year’s conference was a departure from the norm with RyuTe® morning breakfast provided with registration to help attendees fuel up for the day’s training. Formal training began on Thursday afternoon with a session entitled, “Evolution of Technique: Concept to Complexity.” This was interesting in that it started with an application from kata with practitioners adding follow-up techniques or variations that enhance its effectiveness. One of the key objectives of this session was to get everyone thinking and grow in our understanding and vision. This was followed up with an preview of Friday’s agenda and the first of a three part series on the history and evolution of RyuTe® karate. We learned about Taika’s family and some of his personal history from his early child- hood through experiences during and following World War II. Friday morning focused on Shi Ho Happo No Te for Black Belts and morning seminar for Kyu rank students. The kata has been taught in thirds during the past two national confer- ences, so Black Belts were divided into three groups depending on how far along they were with the kata. Two options were given for the first session of the afternoon: Bogu kumite led by Mike Cline and Robby Collingwood, and tuite techniques led by Lee Richards and Lisa Ohmes. Stu- dents in each of these sessions enhanced their skill tremendously thanks to the excellent instruction of the teachers. The final session of the afternoon focused on weapons training, with students having a choice of working on cane drill, manji sai, chizikunbo or bo. Completing the evening was a bus trip out to the cemetery to pay our respects to Taika. Though dubbed an “ice cream social” on the agenda, the visit graveside was not a party; rather, it was a time for everyone to pay our respects, renew and strength- en our bonds as students of the master and brothers and sisters in the art.