Sunday, December 25, 2011 by C. Michial Jones
Recently, I spent some time with my Uncle Pat. As we reminisced about our childhood, it struck me how much our shared history on the mat shaped the man I am today.
Pat is more than an uncle to me; we grew up more like brothers. He started karate a few years before I did, which meant he was my Sempai (senior) for a long time. While Pat had to take breaks over the years for work and family, he always found his way back to the dojo.
The Staircase Lesson
One of my earliest memories of training with Pat took place upstairs at our house. I was just a young boy when he looked at me and asked, “Do you know how to breakfall?”
I answered confidently, “Yes, Dad showed me.”
Without a word of warning, Pat shoved me down the flight of stairs. I tumbled and rolled, landing in a tangled heap at the bottom. As I looked up, dazed, Pat leaned over the railing and said, “Well, you didn’t learn very well. Come back up here so you can try it again.”
Standing One’s Ground
That was Pat’s way. I took many an “ass-whooping” from him over the years. I hated fighting him because he was relentless, but that hatred was fueled by a fierce determination to eventually give back as good as I got. I kept coming back, time after time, year after year.
The turning point came when we were both brown belts. During a particularly grueling session, I finally stood my ground. I didn’t back down, and for the first time, I gave him a beating as good as any he had ever given me.
When it was over, he didn’t get angry. He looked at me and said, “I’m proud of you. I’ve been kicking your ass for years; it’s about time you kicked mine.”
The Role of the Sempai
While my father was my Sensei, Pat was the one who drilled me over and over on the basics. He was the one who refused to let me settle for anything less than my best. In traditional karate, the Sensei provides the direction, but the Sempai provides the friction—the heat that tempers the steel.
I am eternally grateful for those stairs and those beatings. Pat was instrumental in shaping me as a young man. He taught me that “learning” a technique isn’t enough; you have to be able to apply it when the world shoves you down.
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