Shotokan karate in Fish Camp
by Betty Bryant
of the
mariposa tribune
Karate Camp at Fish Camp. |
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FISH CAMP — The calm of the beautiful
green lawn at Camp Green Meadows at Fish Camp was broken by shouts
the weekend of June 15 as approximately 75 karate practitioners
came together to learn and teach this difficult way of life.
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And
that’s what Shotokan Karate is.
It’s not
just something you do three times a week, like going to the gym. It’s
not a way to dominate others; it’s a way to dominate yourself.
According to Hanshi Vincent A. Cruz, head of
the International San Ten Karate Association (ISKA), “Karate is a
discipline that has assisted me all my life in dealing with people. It’s
something that comes from the heart.
“You
learn not to be aggressive but to be good in your inner self.
Perseverance, humility, dedicating your life to the training of your
body and your soul — once you give your heart and soul to it, there’s no
turning back.”
Hanshi Cruz was born in
Brooklyn to a Spanish father and an Italian mother. He was raised in
Puerto Rico and began to study karate in Japan almost 50 years ago. He
taught karate to pilots in the US Air Force for twenty years, and now
lives in Fresno, working as an environmental health inspector with the
county.
Mariposa plays host to karate camp
Hanshi Cruz says one primary reason for the
camp, which is really an instruction program for instructors, is to
create a sense of brotherhood and to provide the chance for high-ranking
teachers to come together, from all over, to share their art.
The camp this year is the fourth to be held
at Camp Green Meadows, and was hosted by Mariposa’s Claw of the Dragon
Karate Club, with Sensei Bruce Clayton and Sempai Beth Waldow. Students
stayed in the bunkhouses, some in tents, some in their RV’s, with meals
provided by Miriam Wackerman and “Simply Savoury.”
About 20 Karate students came up from
Riverside with Sensei Armando Jemmott. Sensei Rick Llewelyn brought a
dozen students from his dojo in Benecia, California. Sensei Gilles
Lavigne brought three black-belt students from Quebec. Other senseis
traveled from exotic locations such as New Jersey, Florida, Puerto Rico
and Reedley.
“We had students planning to
come from India, Ghana, and Beijing,” said Sensei Clayton, “but they
couldn’t get visas in the aftermath of the 9-11 terrorism.”
The teachers all look remarkably fit and
healthy, no matter their age. Sensei Jerry Fitzpatrick said, “I’m 67 and
I’ve been doing karate for 50 years. I don't know why I do it. It’s just
something I want to do. The worst that’s ever happened is a broken
finger or toe.”
And Bruce Clayton said about
Jerry, “He led the class for two hours this morning and ran everybody
into the ground.”
At the closing ceremony
Sunday, Sensei Clayton received a surprise promotion to fifth-degree
black belt. The Claw of the Dragon meets three times a week at the
Mariposa Academy of Performing Arts Studio (owned by Tamara Andrews),
and provides for all levels of instruction. Current members include Beth
Waldow, Jennifer Clayton, Alex Jones, Mark Radanovich, Bret Banning, and
Sam Anderson.
Glossary for the karate-impaired:
Dojo — training hall, school.
Sensei — teacher, professor, master in the
sense of schoolmaster
Sempai — the most
senior student in the school, the assistant instructor
Hanshi — the highest ranking person in the
organization.
History of karate in brief:
Karate was developed about 150 years ago, on
Okinawa, by bodyguards who were not permitted to have weapons. Well,
bodyguards need to have some way to deal with problems, and so the chief
bodyguard came up with many of the moves and techniques, which were
later refined into a teachable system.
The
art moved to Japan in 1922, and Hanshi Cruz began training, in 1954,
with a man who had been a student in that first school, the Shotokan, in
Tokyo.
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