Ryute® News January 2015

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, commitment 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

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.

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, recently 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 conferences, 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. Speaking on behalf of the Oyata family, Robin, thanked everyone for coming, for continuing to honor Taika by diligently training and studying the art that Taika entrusted to us, and for continuing to support the RyuTe® Association.

Saturday’s training veered from the published agenda a little bit with a review of Shi Ho Happo no Te and the bo and jo technique and spider web being deferred to a future conference. The bogu group continued to work on drills, concept and theory, then culminated in participants being paired up to put their skills to the test against an unwilling opponent. This drew quite an audience and those watching enjoyed seeing these combatants try to land their best techniques while not getting hit themselves. The day’s training ended with a “movie session” of a rare Taika seminar. Con- cepts and principles that Taika imparted at that seminar are central to the art and will be studied for years to come.

As customary, the weekend ended with a banquet honoring our late master, Taika Oyata. Students who tested for either black belt rank or regional instructor certification were presented with certificates and Johnny (Ichiro) Jandrakovic and his students performed traditional Okinawan drum- ming to the delight of everyone there. Robin addressed the group thanking everyone for coming and for their continued support and dedication. She also recognized some long time students who were not in attendance, especially the late Dale Cox, who had recently passed away.

As always, the weekend was uplifting and invigorating for the excellent training, the new and renewed friendships and genuine feeling of hope for the unity within the RyuTe® Association. Until the next National Conference in Washington, D.C., March 2015, Nin Tai! 5

From the Board

2014 was a year of moving forward. After decades of Summer Conferences in Kansas City, we tried something new based on feedback from all of you. We moved the date of the conference to the Spring to allow people to fi- nancially recover between National events, and we changed the location to try to get closer to the large East Coast contingent of members in the hopes of increasing participation. The event was a great success and we will be re- peating it again this year at the same location in Tysons Corner, Virginia. The agenda is nearly final and will be put out as soon as we can get it to you. There will be reinforcement of material from Birthday, as well as some new things you may not have seen before.

Birthday seminar in 2014 was a great time of exchanging ideas. Your feedback was that this was one of the best since Taika died. Everyone contributed with humbleness, magnifying the value of the learning. We also recognized the first group of Certified Regional Instructors with testing at both Spring and Birthday Seminars. Look for many of them to be teaching at National seminars this year and in the future. Most of you also provided clear feedback that you want more training opportunities in 2015. This is a focus area for us this year and our goal is to offer 4-6 regional seminars at a minimum in 2015. We are trying to pull one together in the Philly area prior to Spring Conference so look for that info soon. If anyone wants to host someone for a seminar, let us know so we can help make it happen.

Finally, we provided sign up sheets for participation in various committees. While many of those have kicked off, it isn’t too late to join. We expect to have updates from several of the committees at Spring Conference. They are making progress and are eager to share ideas and recruit new members.

Hope to see many of you in DC at the end of March.

Blake Burgert Mike Cline Robby Collingwood Johnny Jandrakovic John Risko J.P. Steele Jim Toolan

6 Be a part of a committee and make a difference

Here are a list of committees that you can volunteer for. If you think you can help out, contact the board liaison or newsletter staff, so you can be added to the list. Some committees are already in communica- tion with ideas so sign up today to be included.

Committee Board Liaison Translation and Language Jonny Jandrakovic Research and History Seminar Committee Blake Burgert Bogu Kumite Empty Hand Kata Advisory Jonny Jandrakovic Technical Weapons Advisory John Risko Tuite and Kyusho Advisory Jim Toolan Association Issues Jim Toolan Finance J.P. Steele Communications and Outreach: Newsletter Robby Collingwood Marketing J.P. Steele Webpage and Facebook Design Robby Collingwood

Black Belt renewal time!!!!!!! Don’t forget to renew today

7 8 News You Can Use!

Association Website: http://www.Ryu Te .com/

Board member contact: board@Ryu Te .com

Newsletter: Submit news and articles to: Robby Collingwood - [email protected], Joe Krystofik- [email protected] , or Helen Cawley - [email protected]

This newsletter is a publication of the International Ryu Te® ® Association. It can be printed and distributed to those without email or internet access.

IMPORTANT RYU TE® BUSINESS INFORMATION

For all orders and Oyata Enterprises business please contact Steve Burris;

Steve and Missie Burris 4251 Smithfield Drive Tucker, GA 30084 home: 770-270-0394 Steve: 404-272-0015 Email: [email protected] Business Hours: Monday , Tuesday, Thursday Friday 5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m and Weekends after 10am

Photo Credits: Photos used in the newsletter were derived from several sources including: Helen Cawley, Lisa Ohmes, Lee Richards, authors, and Ryu Te® Association Archive. They are the property of the photographer and the Ryu Te® Association. Photos should not be reproduced without permission.

For permission to use or reproduce a photo contact Newsletter staff who will contact the original photographer.

Editors’ Note

We thank all of the contributors to the Ryu Te® News. The articles demonstrate the deep commitment Ryu Te® practitioners have to the art and especially to our teacher, Taika Oyata. Please continue to send us your insights into the unique, fascinating and effective art that Taika has taught us. We also want your news - Seminars, fund raisers, community service, tournaments, etc.