Part 1 (2/2)

Like many other japanese budo masters of that time, Ohtsuka had been recruited into the ultra-nationalist and secret Black Dragon Society, the members of which had worked as spies and assassins for their government in Chinese and Russian territories Collectively, their , and Ohtsuka unashamedly appropriated techniques from other martial arts if they were shown to be effective But like his good friend Morihei Ueshi+ba, the founder ofspirit' as he had witnessed within the YMCA teaood techniques in the world counted for little in a real co for a decade with Gichin Funakoshi+, thekarate to japan from Okinawa, Ohtsuka became frustrated with Funakoshi+'s rule that forbade his students to spar with each other; at the tierous However, this did not sit ith Hironori Ohtsuka; he had been training in bushi+do (the way of the warrior) since he was a child and knew that without the ele any combat system would be limited in its effectiveness Initially, he and other like-minded students donned kendo ar sessions Then he did soivable to some japanese Shotokan karateka: he broke away and formed his own school It was a move that was implicitly critical of Funakoshi+'s philosophy and estion of his friend and colleague Eiichi Eriguchi, he called his school 'Wado', which nowadays can be benevolently interpreted as 'way of peace', but in 1934, when patriotic fanaticisiven Ohtsuka's on Society, Wado would have been ain could be construed as a slight to the Okinawan-born Funakoshi+

But whatever Ohtuska's original motivations were, it seemed that Eddie cox and the rest of the black belts had interpreted the Wado ethos as: 'there is nothing so peaceful as aat the YMCA, more than a few boxers and practitioners of other martial arts had been drawn to the dojo by its reputation in order to test themselves as well as the members of the karate club and I had seen this ethos put into practice with frightening efficiency

Always prepared to enter any sort of karate coinal YMCA teath and breadth of Britain during the 1970s, when, fuelled by the sort of fil Fu television series, participation in theblacka knife as a hting art see with the way Eddie cox had been taught at the Teham by his japanese instructors, Toru Takamizawa and Peter Suzuki, I was introduced to jiyu ku) very quickly The s on which to capitalise; they rarely attacked and when they did their techniques were light and relatively slow To so with their prey, but I took it as their way of helping me to develop the correct techniques and selfconfidence

The days of such easy lessons soon passed, and as I became more proficient, every little advance in my technique was paid for with the pain of constant repetition, and on the occasions when I failed to concentrate, with blood and humiliation

”Ichinisanshi+ ” cox sensei continued to call out Sweat ran into my eyes and down my back Those of us on the second row did our best to match the black belts at the front for speed and power I could see vapours of perspiration rise froue as I took in gulps of air Our white karate suits clung to our skin as we did our best to focus our onies would coed the sensei, ”just ten more” No one believed him; after that there would be a call for a 'last five' The blood in ums started to boil; my muscles felt knotted and spent With a last deterining punching the instructor, the black belts in front of me, the person who had scratched my car, or anyone else who had upset me that day ”Good,” said the sensei, ”last ten!”

Ten? It was never a last ten! To a ed Without any instruction to do so, we started to shout with every punch and kick Disregarding the signals froed up the strength toelse existed other than the challenge to get to the end of the session without collapsing

The concrete floor had becolass condensed and for the rusted metal frames The misty s not only indicated the intensity of our efforts but also shi+elded us fro in the world outside and,activities of the prostitutes who peddled their wares on the street corner I often wondered what so in at us would make of the scene To those who had never had the dubious pleasure of putting on a karate uniforht have appeared that ere engaged in some sort of bizarre ritual or an elaborate dance as we reacted in unison to our partners' ned to expose the weaknesses of each partner, a dance that was periodically punctuated with a violent exchange of punches, kicks, strikes and throws amid a cacophony of loud shouts kiais that echoed around the hall's cold, ashed walls

Finally, our efforts were brought to a halt with a shout of ”Yame!” The sensei then sent those of us ere not black belts to kneel at the ins of the concrete floor We would have to wait, anxiously, for our turn I exchanged a nervous smile with Clinton Leslie looked untroubled; he knew his di at five-foot-four) would probably protect him from what lay ahead for some of us The tiredness of my limbs tempted me to sprawl out onto the floor, which was ominously painted blood-red, but it was a temptation I quickly overcame; such a course of action would certainly have led to some sort of painful reminder of correct dojo etiquette Fifty press-ups on the knuckles was a favourite punishment

We watched the six black belts perform a series of crisply executed techniques I did not kno they were doing it, but their high-velocity punches snapped and their fast kicks cracked as sinewy lih the air They shared a lot in corades by japanese masters; they were in their mid-twenties and at the peak of their powers; and, with the exception of Declan Byrne, they were black men who had been born in Jah so had recently won the Chester and North Wales Open and the Northwest of England Open chah for the second teaed to be in the first teahters and two reserves in a karate tearabs

The YMCA had established itself as the top Wado Ryu club in Britain during the previous five years and in recognition of this Eddie cox had been appointed as national Wado teah a japanese instructor continued to hold a nominal post And while the YMCA had triu the newly-inaugurated British Karate Federation Clubs' championshi+p would make its status as the country's top club official The tourna two teaer wanted to be in the 'B' team It would be only a et our opportunity There were thirty other students to choose froht one of the black belts ould know that ere being considered for a first teaain

The black belts immediately ceased their actions All eyes followed Eddie cox He began to talk of the fighting techniques that had just been so expertly de tournament But his words were indistinct to me: I was so tired that all I could do was to listen for any an to pace in front of us and pointed to those he wanted to pair off with the five black belts who had remained in a line Three were already on their feet before he pointed to Clinton and me

I respected them but I had no fear of any of the black belts I was apprehensive about which one of theht affect my chances of selection for the first tea that in some way reflected their personalities and every one of them had won some sort of national title Eddie cox and Declan Byrne had theThe twoa black Jaood karate techniques and a vicious streak that lay well hidden under gregarious personas until they donned a karate gi or were faced with a real life coh their approach did not best suit competition karate (as both were of the opinion that sport was so that had to be lived) they had both won British titles at junior level and were inal team that had won so many tournaments Declan and Eddie had worked side by side as electricians and had on occasion been co on building sites Men ere faht little of it soht On occasion they were told if they could get past Declan (and they never did) he would fight them, but if he and Declan were pressed for time and had work to do, Eddie would knock thees As well as working together they were as of one mind when it caanized by Tatsuo Suzuki and the other japanese instructors, and when the time came for Eddie to take his third dan examination, it was Declan who had acco course in London The club's two outstanding competitors were Ewart Campbell and Jerome Atkinson Both Ewart and Jerome competed at an international level and had the exceptional confidence found in real top class fighters Just below them as cohtweight national chao Robinson, who had won a national Wado Ryu title

We lined up in front of the black belts and I foundChester Morrison I waseither Ewart or Jero as an exercise and kept his punches light, unlike Hugo Robinson, a bear of a man whose front hand punch would leave indentations in the flesh of his opponents; and most definitely unlike Eddie cox, or Declan Byrne, ere unpredictable and so in the dojo like a brawl in an alleyway, or the fights they'd had on building sites

Eddie cox inspected the two lines ”No, no,” he said, ”Clinton, you go with Chester Ralph, pair up with Jerome” I suppose it ht than I But although I had grown close to six-feet tall and weighed around a hundred and ninety pounds I was a et compared to Jerome We boith the co from the waist whilst the black belts responded with a curt nod of the head This was folloith a shout of ”Haji erupted all around me

With an opponent of my own size and ability I sometimes took chances in order to draw hi on the adversary: I could fall back into a defensive ressive and atte fast and hard combinations of punches These were the same combinations I practised with Clinton in my backyard, or with my friend Mick at the factory, the same punches I threw at an always-coainst Jerome, no such options were available to me He was the dominant one I tried to attack, but whatever I threw at hi before my attacks were halted by powerful counter-punches to ht briefly about Declan Byrne, who trained with Jero adin to have suspicions about his sanity When he was not taking blows fro his fists against a wooden post called a makiwara that he had erected in his backyard, when (in his words) there 'wasn't much on TV'

I tried another attack on Jeroain in my bedroom mirror failederoded, punch by punch, block by block All thoughts of strategy had vanished: it had becoht for me to save face I launched another attack in an atteht but Jerome's fist thudded onto my body and my own punches fell short I told myself to cool down, to wait for him to attack, and then hit him with a counterpunch as soon as he moved forward I looked into his eyes for an indication of his next move but they remained expressionless Suddenly, he shi+fted his stance to attack; I moved to counter him and instantly realized that his manoeuvre was merely a feint I was already coh with round but esture I bracedthud or was it more of a crack? For a second or two I rehtened toin air as they waited for ure and they were expectingI heard was the sensei shouting for the sparring to halt I also heard the concern in his voice Jerome took hold of my shoulders and asked if I were okay I nodded It was difficult to speak but I was grateful that his concerned grip had stoppedlook as I ed to tell him that I was only winded

Satisfied that there was no ive, the session was called to a close The coloured belts were told to rise for the final bow and I was glad that I hadonto the concrete floor as they had expected As weroom, Clinton came over to me He looked me over for a second and rested a hand on hed, ”that was one bitch of a kick, man”

I responded with a wince The road to the first tea to be a hard and painful one to travel

Chapter Three

Today is victory over yourself of yesterday; tomorrow is your victory over lesser men

Miyamoto Musashi+ The Water Book

THE EARLY MORNING routine within the factory where I worked had not changed since my first day there Harold, as always, arrived before anyone else, at least three-quarters of an hour before the buzzer that would sound for the shi+ft to begin After opening up the e, unwashed enamel teapot It was hardly a ceres and to give the pot's encrusted brown interior anything but the briefest of swills in cold water was soe Editions of tabloid newspapers, theon the long table while faded pinups from the older editions adorned the unpainted cement block walls

I had not had a decent sleep in the two days since hts as the darkness served only to a on my back on my hard bedroo was theme intense pain

Mick Davies, a fellow maintenance fitter, could see that I was notup for our fifteen- break ti I told him that I had a bit of aso tender that if he soin agony He voiced his disappointment and playfully punched me on the arm The tiny shockwaves travelled to the centre of ed not to show my discomfort until he had headed off to the canteen

Mick was a few years older than I was but he had uncontrollable mousey-coloured hair and a cherub face that made him look more like a schoolkid He was also well known around the factory for his prowess as a Shotokan karate black belt When we had firston that I also studied karate, but as we got better acquainted I confessed that I was a fellow exponent Initially, my revelation was met with a hint of condescension when I ed to al admiration when I told hi for our working relationshi+p to turn into a friendshi+p Mick was born, bred and still living in an area that had a completely different ethnic ht up He once commented to others that I was the first black person hom he'd had a proper conversation At first I couldn't uilt or pride But, as I later learnt, for Mick it was a simple expression of fact My first encounter with hi my second day as a fresh-faced apprentice when he had ordered o to an isolated area of the factory As we entered the large assembly room androng A group of hard-looking wo us, but a well-honed instinct for survival hadfor the fire exit I was only just through the doors when I heard the screams of the other apprentice I later learnt they had stripped hirease over his private parts I found Mick alhter, but when he saw my terror he doubled over and his face turned so crien Initially, I was not sure how to react, but as I had escaped the apprentices' initiation rite, I found it easier to forgive hi Mick aboutso Such was the reputation of the YMCA that to ad we had been trained to accept from the first day: the sort that was self-inflicted in order to push us to the very limits of endurance; and the type inflicted by others so as to ensure that in a fight we did not immediately collapse or surrender But as the day wore on, I felt the urgent need to share my pain with someone When it finally beca to the toilet, but ht no one was looking

The factory nurse was Brenda, a short woman as almost as wide as she was tall Her face was as pleasant as her disposition, but there were times, as on this occasion, when her demeanour became that of an old fashi+oned, no-nonsense ain, Mr Robb, what is it now?” she asked

”The sa myself just so I can see you, Brenda”

Her stern face softened ”You are going to get me talked about I see more of you than any other person in this factory,” she chuckled Then changing back to a more serious tone, she asked me the real reason for my visit

”It's my chest,” I replied ”I've taken a knock and now I can't breathe properly”

”Let ain When will you ever learn?” she said scornfully, before ordering an by exaentle and despiteher throat, she said, ”Can't see one hand on top of the other, she gently pressed down on h s stiffened as I let out a loud groan from between my clenched teeth

She frowned and then said, ”This is worse than I first thought I think you've got a cracked sternum I'm not equipped, nor aht was ofand the British Clubs' chae it up for me?” I asked

”I'll tell you what I'll do I'll put on a couple of bandages for you, but you o and see your doctor today”