The Okinawan term “Chinquchi” deals with the concept of proper body management. In the world of karate, that means coordinating the use of the body’s various muscle groups through the proper order and timing of muscle contraction and relaxation (dynamic tension) during the execution of any given technique. And, on top of all this, you also have to coordinate the proper timing of your breathing during the technique as well.
Or, as Sensei Harrill would simply say, execute your techniques with proper focus.
This is one of the key focuses in Isshin-ryu Karate’s version of Sanchin Kata. In Isshin-ryu Karate, Sanchin Kata is performed slowly for a long time. The karateka first focuses on proper posture and structure. Then second, on which muscles are doing what and in what order while executing the techniques during the performance of Sanchin Kata (or, any technique). And finally, how the breathing times to…
Christmas Day, I drove up to Arden, North Carolina, to have dinner with my dad at Ardenwood, a very nice retirement community where he lives. Ardenwood sits on mountain ridge overlooking the surrounding Appalachian Mountains. It is an incredible view, and they’d hired a new head chef and the food is pretty darn good. I was looking forward to the visit. We visited in dad’s apartment for about two hours, and then headed to the dining facility for dinner.
There were seven of us at the table, all friends of dad. Besides dad and myself, there were Gabby, Elaine, John, John’s son (also John), and his wife, Alita. Gabby was from Switzerland, Elaine had a PH.D in Organic Chemisty, John Sr. was a retired Army colonel, and John Jr. was a retired Marine Corps major. I am not sure what his wife, Alita, did. It was a very interesting group…
Last night after work, I drove up to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, for the 2022 Isshin-ryu Hall of Fame banquet. I’ve been to this event three or four times in my life. The last time I went to the Hall of Fame Banquet and Tournament was several years ago, in the late 90s, if my memory serves me correctly, when Sensei Sherman Harrill presented at the Friday evening pre-banquet seminar. My brother, Dan, a very accomplished aikido instructor, drove down from Gastonia, NC, and attended with me. We had a great time and even got to sit at a table and drink a couple of beers with Sensei Harrill and Sensei Harold Mitchum. Sensei Eddie Satterfield was there as well. So, it had been a while, but I attended last night’s banquet for a very particular reason.
I had to steal the photo of the location from Google Maps because honestly, I didn’t even think to take a picture of the place while I was there. But afterward, it really hit me just how good the burgers were. I have been CRAVING a badass burger so much since we got home. They don’t have any locations near me otherwise I would totally go again soon.
There’s such an epic menu. I didn’t even try anything too heavy when we went for the first lunch. I got stuffed just on the Philly and the housemade chips! My SO had a salad and it was fantastic. I snuck a bite…
You can get pimento cheese as a dipper along with your homemade potato chips. I think you can get dipping sauce along with your fries and tater tots. Both of which really looked and smelt amazing too. I just…
What a great seminar last weekend. The seminar was planned by Senseis Steve Gower, Chris Moulinier, and Bob Noel, and was held at Balance Martial Arts in Morrisville, North Carolina, which was a great location. I actually lived about two miles from there for about three years, and never stopped by. That was my loss!
We had eight instructors covering nine different martial arts. Attendees included both children and adults, and I must admit I was flabbergasted by the wonderful behavior, attentiveness, and serious practice of all of the younger attendees. What a great bunch of folks. Everyone trained hard, asked thoughtful questions, and I think, came away a better martial artist.
Saturday’s Line-up
Chito-ryu Karate
Sensei Manuel Byers opened the seminar with a great session on Chito-ryu Karate by teaching one of their basic katas. Chito-ryu is a style of karate founded in 1946 by Dr. Tsuyoshi Chitose. Sensei…
This intelligent 16-year-old young lady has a post here that a lot of Americans should read and then real spend some time thinking about.
Jealousy. I have touched on this topic before but feel an unsettling urge to dwell on it a little deeper. Recently, I have been jealous of someone at school, for reasons we can talk about later, but the point is: it turned me into a green-eyed monster!
I despise this feeling. Every bit of it. But I can’t help but envy her. As I analyze this emotion, there is one thing that becomes clear…
We live in the age of envy. Human beings have always felt what Aristotle defined in the fourth century BC as pain at the sight of another’s good fortune, stirred by “those who have what we ought to have”. It is true, I feel innately uncomfortable about this girl’s great accomplishments even though I don’t want to feel this way one bit.
However, I recently came across the Growth Mindset. When we have a…
Well, let’s face it, life is just one kick in the pants after the next. I have noticed, however, that life is better with a dog (or three). Dogs are optimal companions, vigilant guardians, perpetual playmates, and even extemporaneous vacuum cleaners. Studies have demonstrated that these generators of joy actually reduce stress levels in their human companions.
The Petsitters Compendium
I hope you will check out the rest of this great post here! And if you like it, let him know!
Thank you, Joy, for the great post about Adirondack Bear Tales and a few “interesting” facts about me. Your friendship and support means a great deal. And yes, more memoirs are coming …
Author D.C. Gilbert
Did you know Darren Gilbert played guitar in a rock band while in high school?
Here is a short excerpt from her post:
This guitar-playing, ballroom-dance-winning hitchhiker was born in Ilion, NY, but grew up in North Adams, Massachusetts, nestled in the heart of the Berkshire Mountains. An avid reader, Darren Gilbert particularly enjoys military history, epic sagas, spy novels, and historical fiction.
Joy Neal Kidney
Please click here to read the rest of Joy’s great post!
Joy Neal Kidney is a fellow blogger and author. Her two works, Leora’s Letters and Leora’s Dexter Stories are great reads for anyone interested in American history and the sacrifices earlier generations made so we could have the country most of us are so proud of today.
Please visit Joy Neal Kidney’s Amazon Author Page. And if you haven’t read Adirondack Bear Tales, check it out here!
Growing up, my family used to spend several weeks every summer at Raquette Lake in upstate New York. We started out camping at Golden Beach Campground. I was 6 months old on my first camping trip. Later we purchased a lot in Burketown, essentially a marina and restaurant on the south bay of the lake. Lots had also been purchased by both sets of grandparents and a great uncle. Many of the other lots were bought up by other employees of Remington Arms Co. of Ilion, NY. So, on our sandy dirt road, almost every knew everyone. Summers at Raquette Lake were almost always a large friend and family get together.
We would typically go to the lake in late July or early August to avoid the black flies and the worst of the mosquito season. One year, for some reason, we had gone earlier, and we’re going to be at the lake for the fireworks on the Fourth of July. I was maybe twelve years old or so. We drove down to watch the fireworks at Old Forge, NY; about twenty minutes south of Raquette Lake on Route 28.
I’m not completely sure who was there. I know myself, my brother, and my Mom and Dad were there. And my Nanny and Grandpa Klippel were certainly there, because my Grandfather is the key figure in this tale. I do remember others being there and suspect my Aunt Carol and maybe my Uncle Ken were there. Grandma and Grandpa Gilbert may have been there, as well as various other cousins, aunts, uncles, etc.
We had found a spot to sit on the hill overlooking Old Forge Lake, or Fourth Lake (being the fourth lake in the Fulton Chain). It is not a particularly large lake; really more like a rather big pond. We were sitting there talking and waiting for the fireworks to begin when it began to cloud up and look like it was going to rain. I remember people trying to figure out if the fireworks would be canceled if it rained. The consensus was that it would depend on how hard it did rain, which seemed fair enough.
Once it got dark enough, the fireworks began. It was positively glorious. However, very shortly thereafter, the rain began as well. I remember being so disappointed as people began getting up to leave. My family, too, was getting ready to leave; everyone that is, except my Grandfather Klippel. He remained seated and simply took his handkerchief out and put it over his head. We had been hurrying to the car, but I had stopped and looked back. I watched as my Grandfather took the handkerchief, which by now had become soaked, and wring it out and place it back on his head. I was stunned, What was he doing? Even at that age, I knew my Grandfather was a bit of a character, but this was like nothing I had seen before. I walked back to where he was sitting.
“Grandpa, what are you doing? It’s raining.” It was actually raining quite hard by then.
“Well,” Grandpa replied, “if our ancestors could fight a war for this country and our freedom, the least I can do is sit through a little rain to thank them for doing so.”
That statement struck me, and I sat down next to my Grandfather. He asked me if I wanted the handkerchief, but I shook my head. It was too much fun watching him periodically wring it out and put it back on his head. We sat there together waiting for the rain to stop.
To be honest, I don’t remember if the rain ever did stop, or if the fireworks were canceled. I just remember sitting there in the rain, being proud as hell, and watching my grandfather once more wring the water out of his handkerchief, and place it back on his head.
I first met Sensei Roy Loveday in 1983 at Wheeler’s School of Karate in Powell, TN. It was at the same time I first met Sensei Sherman Harrill. I remember Roy being present at a few amazing classes Sensei Harrill taught, and then both were gone. It wasn’t until much later that I learned the backstory to that, but it really doesn’t matter for this post. This post is about Roy Loveday, a former Navy SEAL, a Vietnam veteran, a solid karateka, and a friend.
I got reintroduced to Roy when I started bringing Sensei Sherman Harrill in for seminars in the mid-90s. Sensei asked if he could invite Roy as his guest, and I said, “No problem, Sensei. Please do.” After that first seminar, Sensei and I would often visit Roy whenever he came into Clinton, TN, for future seminars. Sometimes we would train, and sometimes they would reminisce, and I would just listen. Sensei Harrill and Roy Loveday were great friends, and it was fascinating to sit there and listen as they talked back and forth about Isshin-ryu Karate and their shared history. After we finished training at one of these sessions, Sensei surprised both Roy and me with new rank certificates.
Roy Loveday, Sherman Harrill, Darren Gilbert
After Sensei Harrill passed away on November 4, 2002, I started bringing in his senior student, Sensei John Kerker, for seminars. John had inherited Sensei’s dojo in Carson, IA. Although health issues were beginning to make it hard for him to train, Roy Loveday would still come and support us. I remember one comment Roy made to me as he watched me struggle to understand how to to make one of the techniques we were working on flow properly. He came over and stood there for a minute and watched. Then he commented.
“Darren, don’t forget your elbow principles.” “Elbow principles?” I asked. “What the heck are those?” I hadn’t heard that phrase before. “When a technique gives you a problem, give it to your elbow to solve,” Roy replied. Then he grinned and walked off.
It turned out that was a great pearl of wisdom, and applying the “Elbow Principle” has help me understand and solve a lot of difficulties in technique since.
Mark Radunz, John Kerker, Darren Gilbert, Mel Sims, and Roy Loveday
Roy passed away on February 11, 2021, at age 76. He was born on October 25, 1944, graduated from Central High School, and enlisted in the US Navy, where he became a SEAL. Roy served in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam during the war. After Vietnam, he retired from the Norfolk Railroad and served as a Free Mason. Sensei Loveday studied and taught Isshin-Ryu Karate for over 40 years and held a 7th Degree Blackbelt.
In addition to Isshin-ryu Karate, Roy also studied Shito-Ryu and Tai Chi. He wrote and published an Isshin-Ryu training manual. I was honored to help by being in some of the photographs demonstrating weapons techniques with Sensei Harrill. It was a real honor. The dojo patch (shown in the post banner) adopted by Sensei Sherman Harrill and proudly worn by his students was based on Roy’s design. The name would just change depending on the school.
For hobbies, Roy enjoyed rebuilding old ’55 Chevys, and I still remember one old Chevy truck he was in the process of painting on one of my visits over to his house. Roy was a master diver and loved SCUBA diving.
For anyone who knew Roy and would like to pay their respects, the Family will receive friends from 6:00 – 7:00 PM Saturday, February 20, 2021, at Mynatt Funeral Home Halls Chapel, with a service to follow at 7:00 PM. Rev. Mark Large, Rev. Danny Scates, and Daniel Beason will be officiating. Family and friends will meet at 12:15 PM for a 12:30 PM interment on Monday, February 22, 2021, at East Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery on John Sevier Highway. Online condolences may be left by clicking here.
It saddens me, because I just moved back to Knoxville, Tennessee and was looking forward to reconnecting with Roy. He was a good man who served his country and had a lot to share. He will be missed.
D.C. Gilbert 