This is defiantly MY STORY ! It was the last of summer of 1971 ! Oh my god it was so hot, I lived in Reno Nevada and everybody went to Sand Harbor lake Tahoe to COOL OFF ! It was my last year in junior high school. This year I was hoping to NOT have any problems but during the course of the year having to take the bus to school there is always one kid who is an asshole. And as LUCK would have it this kid became the bus bully, and Everybody was a Victim ! And through the year he became the biggest bully in school this kid was big. Everybody spent the whole year being bullied by this kid. I did my best to avoid him but at last my time came !
The Knock Out !
It was the last day of school, i have done a great job avoiding this kid all year, but my time has come. I was in the back school yard and this kid walked up to me and swung his Big Fist and hit me square in the temple, I was stunned and I hit the ground. He still above me laughing calling me names saying common Pussy stand up and fight! As I lay there on the ground my head was spinning, and there was ringing in my ear's. All i could see was he mouth moving but i could not hear any words. I try to kick me in the head but i lifted my hand up and blocked the kick. At that point he turn around and said Pussy as he walked away. School bell ring, it was time to get to the bus to go home but i could still not get up off the ground. As I started gaining control of myself by the time i got up the bus had already left. Which means i have to walk to my dad work to get a ride home. I waited in the breakroom at my dads work. At 5 o'clock my father showed up, Saw me and asked what happened. I told them about the kid and the fight at school. He said well I guess it is time you learned to defend yourself !
YMCA JUDO : a short interlude!
We showed up at the YMCA to sign up for Judo class, So I started attending and Learning Judo, Rolls & falls. I was actually getting pretty good at it ! After about three months, We showed up to class 1 night and there was a poster on the front door which said : JUDO STUDENTS I have to leave RENO due to a DIVORCE< Mexico is NICE this time of year ( I LOVE IT ) ! I have given all the student cards to Sensai Lague at the Sparks Judo/Ju Jitsu School, please go their for further training ! Well that was the let down as i really like my teacher. But life always changes So my dad Drove me to the new school, and as I was to find out, this is where Real Martial Art's begins!...... Enter The Little Dragon ! Don't laugh, I was still small as I was only 15 years old !
Meeting The Real Miyagi :
My first class was a little stressful as these other students were really Good at the Art ! It wasn't just Judo, but it also combined Hand & Wrist locks, Arm Bars, with a mixture of throws & strikes, I came to learn it was more like a Samurai Jujitsu or Street Combat jujitsu. As the weeks rolled by I became more confident that the head instructor took an interest in me. He started working with me on a more personal basis. He Began throwing me almost the full length of the mat. I guess I became the teachers pet for lack of a better word, but it looked like he was picking on me, 1 Class my Dad stayed to watch, IT made me nervous having him there. Sensai Lague started throwing me training me hard. All of a sudden I heard Excuse me, Excuse me please. I was my father. Sensai Lague walked over to me dad and said, can I help you. My father said: Ya why are you picking on my kid so much. Sensai Lague replied, " Because I Like him" ! After that and a long conversation, my dad ended up trusting the Sensai with me and my Dad never came back to class again ! I trained all the way through High School.This was my freshman year in high school. My Sophomore year in high school was a little more interesting.
Protecting my Little brother;
As I went through my Sophomore year, I met a Filipino guy named "Toasty", The Son of a Filipino Diplomat stationed in Reno working on Exporting Goods to the USA! We became fast friends. and he fought like Bruce Lee, GOD he was fast. He told me back then P.E. in high school was Martial Arts, he said you either fought or you got your ass kicked. He used to ambush me in the halls at school, he said to prepare for the unexpected, But I think he liked scaring the shit out of me. On day I went to my locker to change books, and my brothers locker was a ways down from mine, I saw him standing there hiding his face, I asked him what happened, he told me never mind, so I turned him around and saw his face bleeding, he had a cut in his lower lip. So I said BULL SHIT what happened, he said Darrell was picking on him and hit him pushing 1 of his teeth through his lower lip. Now I got pissed NOBODY hits my little brother BUT ME! I asked him where is he, my brother told me he was in the lunch room. I put all my books in the Locker and took off running to the Lunch room ! ! thing Martial Arts never did was help me control my temper, I had developed a DON'T TAKE NO SHIT attitude, as I was about to open a 165 pound can of WHIP ASS on this Prick ! He was a smart ass JOCK, and I did NOT like JOCKS! As I walked into the lunch room you could hear Butts Pucker, Everybody there knew I knew how to fight, so as I walked up to Darrell I said hey, did you hit my brother. He said whats it to ya, I slapped the table with both hands as both girls sitting on each side of him screamed and jumped away yelling at me to leave him alone. I got right in his face and said, IT MEANS A LOT TO ME, YOU are protected in this lunch room, but when you leave Give Your Soul to GOD, Because YOUR ASS IS MINE! At that I turned and walked away, and he never said a word ...NO-ONE DID! At 17 years old I was NOT Small anymore, I had growed quite a bit being raised on a ranch and lifting 100 pound Bails of hay tends to do things to a young mans body! As I walked back to my locker to get my books, I walked back outside to go to B hall, as I looked up I saw 15 jocks walking with Darrell & his 2 cheer leader Girl friends towards me, Darrell Yelled Hey Tough Guy....... I set my Books down against the wall and backed up between B & C hall on the lawn, I figured if I have to fight all of them it might as well be on a soft surface. As I was backing up I felt a hand on my back as I turned to protect myself and to see who it was, my Heart jumped with relief, it was toasty. He smiled and said I got your back. There we were facing of 16 guys, and other students were lining up at the windows on both sides of the 2 halls waiting for the show to begin! Everything happened so fast, it is hard to explain, we gave as good as we got and even better. I could dear Toasty making Bruce Lee Noises and guys screaming, I on the other hand was Blocking, and doing Locks with strikes, Could I have done worse YES I could have broke bones & even Killed if I had wanted to, I did however say I had a temper BUT I am NOT Stupid ! I could even get the Sensai in trouble as he was showing me stuff that he probably should Not have ! With in a few minutes we heard whistles and the Police were there. They broke the fight up, and we all went to the front office to see the Dean of Boys! Both Deans liked me And Darrell as a Known Trouble maker. Soon my Dad was there with Toasty's father. And other fathers or Mothers were showing up for the other boys, and some needed MEDICAL ATTENTION!
We both were called into the office of the Dean First. He had already talked to our dads. The Dean said You boys know that there is no fighting on school grounds. We both said yes sir. He said well as being it was self defense and you both had no recourse, I am excusing your suspension this time, so you can go back to class. Then he said before you go, Off the Record he whispered, did you kick there ass, we both smiled and said we believe we got the best of them, he said Good...Real Good,.... then he composed himself and raised his voice and said well it will not be tolerated in the future, do you understand me , and we said Yes, then he said Get you ass to class! Before we left I asked the Dean what is going to happen to the rest of the boys. He said they all get a weeks vacation, I turned to my Dad out side and said, Darrell hit Mark and busted a tooth through his lower lip , that is what started all this. He understood and I said you need to see him he may need stitches. My dad said I know you would NOT start a fight, But if you must fight WIN ! He said he was proud of me ! The rest of this year was uneventful, after that NO-BODY fucked with us, the whole school knew what had happened, and it actually made us both popular for awhile, Did we ask any different, No we were the same 2 boys as before. We were actually nice, why be an asshole. We were NOT raised that way. Martial Arts is for self defense ONLY! BUT hey there is more to see on level 3!
Finally the Original Karate Kid~……………………………………………………………………………….
I finally made it to my Senior year of High School…………..So do you all remember the Bully who knocked me out in Jr High? Pay Back is a BITCH! REVENGE is a DISH BEST SERVED COLD ! I don’t know where he went but he was back on the Bus, and guess what he was a RUNT compared to me, he quit growing after Jr. High ! So when he looked at me he did not recognize me. So it was payback time, as I got on the bus I walked to his seat and sat next to him. He was going to suffer! So I said, You the new kid ! He said no, he had to leave for a couple of years because of some anger issue problems because his Dad was a Drunk and used to beat the shit out of him every day, so he said I would go to school and beat up the kids at my Jr. high school. So after my Dad died they sent me to a home where I got counseling to cope with the abuse and I am getting better every day. Now I feel really bad, But I learned my lesson. I said how’s that. The Home they sent me to had a Big Bully there, and he beat the crap out of me and broke my nose. It made me realize how bad it was and it helped me change, so I don’t hit or fight anymore. So IF YOU are the Bus Bully go ahead and hit me because I will NOT FIGHT Back. WOW, I was all prepared to get even and the cold plate of Revenge was not even served! NOW I felt like an asshole. I had no idea he was in that situation, but as I am Italian I have to mess with him a little. So I said , do you ever remember beating up a little kid in the back play ground at Billinghurst Jr High on the last day of school ! He said he did. I then told him I was the little kid! The FEAR in his eyes was about as bad of a look as it can get! Then I said, Give Your Soul To God, Because YOUR ASS is MINE! Its pay Back time BITCH are you ready? He started to shake, and he got tears in his eyes,. I know I am BAD, But I can’t help myself, then when we got off at his bus stop, and the Bus pulled away I looked at him and he was shaking, I held out my hand to shake his! He said what are you going to do, I said NOTHING I am just messing with you, I feel bad you had to go through that with your Dad, So let’s just call it even, ok ? He shook my hand and started to apologize and I said don’t, …..Really it is ok. He got tears in his eyes and said please forgive me. I said its done. And YOU ALL who are reading this Thought I was going to BEAT the SHIT out of him ! Common I am NOT Heartless. After that day I never saw him again. But the year is NOT over yet. Out of the couple of dances we had at school I only went to 1, the Sadie Hawkins dance. It was ok, and there was no fights at that dance, But let’s set the mood for the finale: On You Tube Listen to ;
It happened at Sand Harbor Lake Tahoe Nevada. Senior Graduation Fling at the white sugar Beach at the lake , winter was gone spring came early and it was getting HOT! Beer and GIRLS , White Beach and Water that only changes 5 degrees all year so it is COLD all the time ! WE got up their late and the SUN was cooking, and as we were walking to the beach a Young Girl in her 20;s popped out of the buck brush with nothing on but a smile! She said I Boys, wanna play ? Remember all the BIG stories GUYS talk about in High School, You know the SEXCAPADES, YA well 99.9 of it is all BULL SHIT! She was very pretty and had nice boobs and everything else, and she was there for the, TAKING! SO what did all 6 of US 18 YEAR OLD BIG MEN DO? WE RAN AWAY! I can hear the GIRLS Laughing now ! And she did the same thing ! By the time we got to the Beach, the party was in full swing, it was getting about 2:30 or so in the afternoon when a guy named Swartz picked up a popular girl named Morgan, as she was screaming telling him to let her down, and he walked her right into the lake and dropped her in that cold ass water. Back then there was no such thing as water proof make-up, she walked out of the lake looking like a drowned rat and her beautiful blond hair doo was History. So a guy walked up to Swartz and told him to knock it off, and Swartz said or what ? So I said Swartz quit being a dick ! He got pissed and said, you want to fight pussy, I told him no but you really should apologize to Morgan, he then said YOU apologize to her, Karate Boy, I said you never change, your going out of High School and still you are a DICK ! He walked over to me and took a swing which was easy to block, now everybody is yelling at me to kick his ass, this was not school grounds ! Swartz kept taunting and taking shots , it was easy to block them with little effort, then my buddy George said, Rob its time……………………………………………………………………………….
What happened next even scared me. When you train you train to also take a HIT, you also train to NOT be afraid of a HIT! And last you Train to remain completely calm and focus so you can let the BEST Martial Art OUT! This was self defense, I did NOT want to fight, I refused him 3 times and I was defending a Rich Girl who did not even like me. I started to control my breathing, I will use what Toasty taught me. It’s a Bruce lee Strike. So we are moving around in the sand each jockeying for position, I was so focused and totally relaxed, he kept taking cheap shots and wild punches, then he moved the wrong way, here was my opening, I took a little hop step with my right foot, my right hand was by my stomach, as my foot hit the sand I was on 1 leg with force momentum, my right had came up so fast like I was going to back hand slap him, and at the precise second just before I made contact with his temple on the right side if his head I made a double snap Fist while I exhaled, and made full contact, I hit him so hard it stunned him for 1 moment , He just stood there, he did not move and then he fell face first into the sand out cold, I thought I had killed him, then other guys ran over and rolled him over and he was still breathing, 1 guy got some lake water and poured it on him, he started to wake up, everybody was cheering and saying how cool that was, but inside I did not feel cool, I kind of felt sick ! I was standing off to the side with my friends…………………. I looked at Morgan, NOT even a thank you ! All I got was a blank stare. I felt my spidey sense go off, something was wrong , there was a disturbance in the force, I will be a son of a Bitch he was up and coming at me again., I ducked just in time , as he made a full swing , his hand grazed the top of my head,. If it had been a second sooner he would have NAILED ME. As I faced him off , I said, are you serious, Really, you don’t want to think about this a moment. He said I am going to kill you mother fucker. So we did the dance again, I kept blocking, honestly he was no match for me
, he was more like a minute steak. All I have to do is wait for the opening, This time I used a round house kick and again I knocked him out, but this time I told the guys do not touch him, he is mine! I rolled him over on his stomach, I sat on top of hin and I took his left arm and locked him up from behind, and waited, in a few seconds & with some lake water he finally came around and got really pissed off but he could not move the harder he moved the more I twisted his arm till he started crying, I told him to quit and after about 5 Fuck You’s he relented and promised he would stop as I told him you have attacked me twice, next time I break a bone! Or I can tear your are right out of the socket right now, your choice. He Surrendered, and even told Morgan he was sorry ! His friends helped him up, his arm was really sore as I hyper extended it a bit so he was unable to use it, he told his friends he wanted to go home! I never saw him again! Not even at the reunions. Throughout high school I competed with my Dojo, “School”, and I never lost a Fight , after a while the Sensei turned against Martial Conventions as they started turning into UFC matches!, He feels this kind of gives Martial Arts a bad Name and because of UFC and Cage Fighting, martial arts has been OUTLAWED in 4 States in America I was told , but do not quote me !~
I Used to teach Girls Self-defense to over 7000 girls a year in the High schools System. These young women would cry when we had to leave to another school, they would beg us to stay. Every class we would have to call the school police because 2 to 4 girls had been raped at a party, I thought I was teaching Martial Arts, apparently NOT ! There is way more stuff you get into, and I see a lot of girls get attached to me and the other male instructor, these girls suffer “ Lack Of Dads Love Syndrome”, and it can get intense!. I was the head instructor with a Husband & Wife team, Both Black Belts helping me, I really miss them. I received letters of appreciation from all the girls coaches at every school we went to. I ran into crazy girls we had to take down for the police, I had 1 girl who BIT and drew blood on 1 of my instructors, he threw her and she hit the gym floor hard. The Coach was going to kick her out of school, but I asked the Coach am I NOT the one in charge here at this time, to which she replied indeed you are. WE sent the girl to study hall to think about it. The next day she came in tears to apologized not only to us but her whole class, and BEGGED the instructor she bit for forgiveness, wheeping. She became one of our best students! To Date the Art I teach is Danzan Ryu Zenyo Bu Jutsu, and by Martial Arts Magazine they rated it as the Most Deadliest Martial Art in the world, It’s the Magazine they print like 4 times a year. Added to our system is the Lost Deadly Tibetan Martial System, our school grew from 1 school or Dojo to worldwide schools & a worldwide Federation. Our Head instructor Herb Lague is the Highest rank in this world at RED Belt –Shodai/ Professor, and is the only White man to sit on the Japanese World Board of Elders. He has been like a dad to me. I owe him everything. It has been a Great Honor to have known him.
In 2011 I retired and moved to the Asian South Pacific to live out the rest of my life. I operate a FREE Dojo here as a 2nd degree Nidon, “ Black Belt” Teaching Onna Bugeisha, or Girls Samurai Street Combat Jujitsu & Kenjitsu to a limited number of Girls about 4 every year. It is my goal to get a few ladies trained to instructor level, and then let them take it from there. I want to go fishing where I can drink Sake and watch the line ! I do not think the girls will let me go, they love their sensei ! I feel like I am a Hostage sometimes ( Just Joking ), I love them all, they are all sweet hearts. I did train 1 poor girl who had been gang raped. On first class I touched her to start her training and she freaked out, I had her mother come to help, after awhile she trusted me, But would NOT let any other man touch her , NOT even her Dad. I tried to get her to find her center with meditation, and to obtain forgiveness against her attackers & and to find love in her heart, but it went from a Victim to anger. During the course of her training she has given me 3 bloody noses, and got me in the groin 1 time, THAT was a lucky shot! And she did NOT feel sorry! I finished her training &* GOD HELP any Man who tries to do anything with her ! They will be sorry ! After her training they showed up one day all packed up to move, they said they have to go far away where no-one knows them to find her a husband, The family will cut all ties with family & Relatives here, HOW SAD ! The Mom said the guys here know she is NOT a Virgin here so they won’t marry her. The father gave me 2 chickens a Duck & a shank of Bananas for payment, I tried to refuse and said NO Payment was necessary, but my Neighbor said If I REFUSE its an INSULT! They can hardly feed themselves , it made me feel very humble, and right before she left she came over and gave me a hug, no tears, no smile or emotion then ran and hid in the car. WOW! There was Definite tears in my eyes when they drove away. Is this a life or what ?
In Closing, Martial Arts is VERY Rewarding, especially teaching. Please forgive all the typing & grammar mistakes, I tried to make it readable so just look past all that crap and enjoy the story! My work goes on, there are LOTS of Girls to train, and endless supply in fact ! I wish I had a better facilities ! But life goes on !
Blessings to you all ~