First Kudo Seminar in Detroit Michigan
The year is 20.X.2…
In order to keep up on the goings ons of the full contact karate world I was reading an issue of “OSU!” magazine; a fine publication despite its formatting errors. While reading this magazine I saw a flyer for a Kudo seminar in Detroit Michigan. In fact the first Kudo seminar, and it was featuring the founder of the art: Azuma Takashi ‘Jukucho”. The flyer failed to mention whether the event was open to all or not so I checked their website, I was still unsure, but read their mission statement about creating a perfect unified sport fight art to act as a natural feeder for mixed martial arts competition. This was perfect, as I was in training for an MMA fight that was less than a month away. Since I had recently come into possession of a pre-paid “house phone” (through no fault or effort of my own; that’s a different story all together) I decided to make use of it and give the phone number on the flyer a call. One Mr. Dan Kendall.
Dan picked up, and we talked for a while. He seemed a very earnest sincere guy when it came to the arts. He asked about my background, and I gave him the condensed version. His was more or less the same coming from Enshin Karate. I told him about my MMA training, and how I liked the mission statement on their website. “I wrote that.” Was Dan’s reply. I could tell we would get along great. “look foreword to seeing you at the seminar!”. Likewise.
Now I just needed a place to stay, and I knew just the person. I wrote a friend of mine, Abby, who lives near Detroit and who had I had just seen a few months prior in Las Vegas. I told her when I would be up, and she said I was more than welcome to crash with her, perfect! Everything was going according to plan. However, it seems nothing is ever that easy.
I was to set off early in the morning for Detroit, so the night before I left I sent Abby a message to remind her. I received a reply from Julie, a mutual friend of ours who lives in Colorado that Abby spends time with. “That’s odd”, I thought “Julie must be over at Abby’s”. I sent a message asking if that was the case. “No, she’s with me in Colorado.” was the reply. Oh. Well I was supposed to go stay her place for a few days starting tomorrow. Will she be back at her place in the next 24 hours per chance? I immediately received a call from Abby that went like this (note the lack of pleasantries or greeting):
A: You are not coming tomorrow!
N: Yes I am.
A: No you’re not!
N: Yes I am.
A: Stop Joking!
N: I’m not! You stop joking!
A: I’m not! I’m really in Colorado!
N: That’s fine, I can find a different place to stay, no worries.
A: You said you where coming in September!
N: No I didn’t.
A: Yes you did!
N: I said March.
A: No you didn’t!
N: Yes I did. It’s fine; I’ll just crash somewhere else.
A: Are you sure you didn’t say September?
N: Not anymore, you seem pretty sure! But I’m pretty sure.
A: It’s fine, you can just crash with my brother and mom.
N: … But I’ve never met them.
A: No it’s fine, they’ll love you.
N: Are you sure? Shouldn’t you at least ask them?
A: I’ll talk to them really quick and find out how this is your fault and call you back.
-A few minutes later –
N: Hello?
A: Yeah, you’re good. They’re excited to meet you! And you said in you’re message that you’d be up September 10th 2011. I thought “What an idiot! It’s 2012!”. So ha, your fault!
N: I didn’t say that….
A: Yes you did! You said “I’ll be up the 9-10-11”.
N: The 9th, 10th, and 11th! Of this month!
A: …
N: …
A: …still your fault.
And with that I now had a place to stay again, though this time it was with family of friends that I had never met. I was concerned I may not get along with Abby’s brother Michael because of our age difference. He had just turned 19, and I was “22-ish”. Turns out, he’s so funny and laid back I joked he’d replaced Abby.
Michael showed me around town (and to nearby Bob Seager’s house) and even took me to a party full of 18 and 19 year olds. Michael told his friends some of my stories and they loved them. Of course, since I was in training for a fight I couldn’t drink at all or eat, so I mostly just socialized. One of my friends remarked later “A party of 18 and 19 year olds!? What, do you feel cool? Are you proud of yourself?” Absolutely!
Michael’s house just so happened to be within 5 minutes of where the seminar was being held, so it was absolutely perfect. As was the seminar itself.
The seminar drew in Martial arts practitioners from all over America. Mostly Kyokushin karate type guys, but also some Taekwondo and MMA as well. Azuma Jukucho was joined by his Los Angeles branch chief and the Japan middleweight Kudo champion. Kudo itself is a relatively newly named art more commonly recognized by the name Daido-Juku. It is an art similar to Kyokushin Karate that incorporates clinch work and Brazilian jujitsu style ground fighting as well. During Competitions a headgear and facemask are worn and all MMA techniques are legal and encouraged, including headbutts! The seminar was held in a well-matted martial arts school located within a larger sports complex. Once I walked in I was formally introduced to Dan Kendall, who was just as nice in person as on the phone. We talked for a bit and he said that if it wasn’t for a knee surgery he was having on the exact same day, he was going to make the 8 hour drive to come see me fight! I thanked him but told him the video would b on the Internet, so there was no worries.
As we all put our gi on, Jukucho passed out temporary patches (mandatorily worn) so that no matter what school we came from, we were united as Kudo for the days we trained together. While getting dressed for training I put on my training cloths (dogi) and when I went to pull my belt tight… I ripped it in half! The old raggedy black belt had seen it’s share of action and had finally given up the ghost. I’m sure the look on my face was one of mortification. “I think it’s time you got a new belt.” Someone said. “I can fix it” was my reply. First I tried staples. Not good. Next was sports tape… worked for a second. A girl eventually came by with duct tape and fixed me up. Temporary, yes, and gaudy, but functional. This event would eventually send me on a quest in Japan to get a new belt (a story for another time).
Once the seminar was underway properly it was what one would imagine it to be. Basics, footwork, throws, counters, and grappling, all followed with live sparring all with a practical fighting emphasis over a multi day period.
During the grappling practice no one could get an ankle lock to work on me, not realizing I’m not the average guy. “Can I try?”, asked one MMA instructor from Ohio (I think). Sure, I said. He gave it his best, but to no avail. “Woah! You’re incredible! You’re pain tolerance is off the charts! You should consider fighting MMA!” I told him I was actually in training for a fight in a few weeks. “You’ll do great.” Thanks. The trainees from the seminar were on unexpected Nash-duty during the breaks from training. I would reach for a giant sandwich and someone would say “aren’t’ you losing weight for a fight?” yea… “Then that’s not for you! Here, have a tiny fruit cup.” Thanks! “I know it’s tough, but we got your back.” I sincerely thanked them. I like to eat. The training itself was mostly basic to account for the wide variance in skill levels, and also to familiarize people with Kudo and proper body mechanics, in case they weren’t used to it. The live sparring is where things got really interesting however.
During the live sparring there were various phases: stand up fighting only (like kickboxing), grappling only (like Brazilian Jujitsu), and all. During the stand up only portion I was paired up with a middle ranked man at one pint who was not wearing a mouthpiece. “Better take it easy on the head” I thought. I performed a slow head level roundkick. My opponent dodged… into the kick, teeth first. He went down hard. I stood over him as blood gushed from the gums that seemed to be holding onto his two from teeth for dear life. “Damnit! That’s why you wear a mouthguard. No I look like ‘That guy’. The guy who Plays way too rough” I thought to myself. I mad sure he was all right-ish. He naturally sat out the rest of the fight. “Ok, next opponent I need to go super easy on.” My next opponent was a stout looking man, a black belt. “Ok good” I though, “this guy will be alright”. As soon as the match started I kicked him in the head. He went down. “Dammit! Now I AM that guy. I’ve got a pile of bodies forming in the corner!” The grappling was predictably a stalemate as it’s not my forte.
They’re not going to want me to play with them anymore if they think I’m out to go balls to the wall all the time, I thought. Turns out, just he opposite was true. Dan told me “Wow, it was so great to have you, and train with someone of your caliber. If you’re ever in the area feel free to stop by and train. If you don’t have a place to stay you can crash here. You don’t even need to warn me, just spontaneously show up!” He had no idea what a perfect storm he had just invited.
When the seminar had ended we all went out for the usual celebratory meal. It got off to a bit of a rocky start though when it was revealed that the restaurant we were at had no alcohol, which is a huge deal in Japanese culture, but everyone got over it. We had Indian food, and it was great (though I had less than I normally would). At one point Azuma Jukucho was trying to figure out who I look like. “you know, he was in that movie!” The Japanese agreed, and the rest of us had no idea who he was talking about. It turned out he meant Benicio Del Toro from some old movie. That guy is super Spanish. “If he had brown hair, you would look like him.” I guess I’ll take it as a compliment (though I checked just to make sure, and no I do not look like him). I also got to know a guy from South Africa while at the dinner, who lived a very similar life to myself. He now lives in New Jersey, but lived in Singapore for something like 8 years. He over heard me talking about Morio Higaonna’s IOGKF Miyagi festival training camp. “I’ll see you there” he said. You’re going!? “Yes.” I looked foreword to seeing him again in Okinawa!
After the seminar was completely done and we all went our separate way I said farewell to Michael and headed out to Michigan State University to visit another buddy of mine, Annette.
I had met Annette in Thailand, and we hadn’t seen each other since then. We went out and caught up on the happenings of the past 8 months. Then we went back to her dorm and hung out with her friends; they seemed to find me interesting, so I got some new friends. MSU is known as a party school, but I didn’t get to do any partying properly as I was in training, and they all had class the following morning; we all just socialized casually. Annette mentioned she wanted to go to Antarctica, and I mentioned I was planning to go. She seemed keen on going together. Noted, and factored into future plans.
The next morning I set off, training and visits completed. I was to be back though; next time, I wasn’t planning on being in training so Abby, Michael, Annette, and all my new friends and I could fully party properly. Firstly though, there was the matter of the first MMA fight to count on my national record to take care of.
-Nash
In order to keep up on the goings ons of the full contact karate world I was reading an issue of “OSU!” magazine; a fine publication despite its formatting errors. While reading this magazine I saw a flyer for a Kudo seminar in Detroit Michigan. In fact the first Kudo seminar, and it was featuring the founder of the art: Azuma Takashi ‘Jukucho”. The flyer failed to mention whether the event was open to all or not so I checked their website, I was still unsure, but read their mission statement about creating a perfect unified sport fight art to act as a natural feeder for mixed martial arts competition. This was perfect, as I was in training for an MMA fight that was less than a month away. Since I had recently come into possession of a pre-paid “house phone” (through no fault or effort of my own; that’s a different story all together) I decided to make use of it and give the phone number on the flyer a call. One Mr. Dan Kendall.
Dan picked up, and we talked for a while. He seemed a very earnest sincere guy when it came to the arts. He asked about my background, and I gave him the condensed version. His was more or less the same coming from Enshin Karate. I told him about my MMA training, and how I liked the mission statement on their website. “I wrote that.” Was Dan’s reply. I could tell we would get along great. “look foreword to seeing you at the seminar!”. Likewise.
Now I just needed a place to stay, and I knew just the person. I wrote a friend of mine, Abby, who lives near Detroit and who had I had just seen a few months prior in Las Vegas. I told her when I would be up, and she said I was more than welcome to crash with her, perfect! Everything was going according to plan. However, it seems nothing is ever that easy.
I was to set off early in the morning for Detroit, so the night before I left I sent Abby a message to remind her. I received a reply from Julie, a mutual friend of ours who lives in Colorado that Abby spends time with. “That’s odd”, I thought “Julie must be over at Abby’s”. I sent a message asking if that was the case. “No, she’s with me in Colorado.” was the reply. Oh. Well I was supposed to go stay her place for a few days starting tomorrow. Will she be back at her place in the next 24 hours per chance? I immediately received a call from Abby that went like this (note the lack of pleasantries or greeting):
A: You are not coming tomorrow!
N: Yes I am.
A: No you’re not!
N: Yes I am.
A: Stop Joking!
N: I’m not! You stop joking!
A: I’m not! I’m really in Colorado!
N: That’s fine, I can find a different place to stay, no worries.
A: You said you where coming in September!
N: No I didn’t.
A: Yes you did!
N: I said March.
A: No you didn’t!
N: Yes I did. It’s fine; I’ll just crash somewhere else.
A: Are you sure you didn’t say September?
N: Not anymore, you seem pretty sure! But I’m pretty sure.
A: It’s fine, you can just crash with my brother and mom.
N: … But I’ve never met them.
A: No it’s fine, they’ll love you.
N: Are you sure? Shouldn’t you at least ask them?
A: I’ll talk to them really quick and find out how this is your fault and call you back.
-A few minutes later –
N: Hello?
A: Yeah, you’re good. They’re excited to meet you! And you said in you’re message that you’d be up September 10th 2011. I thought “What an idiot! It’s 2012!”. So ha, your fault!
N: I didn’t say that….
A: Yes you did! You said “I’ll be up the 9-10-11”.
N: The 9th, 10th, and 11th! Of this month!
A: …
N: …
A: …still your fault.
And with that I now had a place to stay again, though this time it was with family of friends that I had never met. I was concerned I may not get along with Abby’s brother Michael because of our age difference. He had just turned 19, and I was “22-ish”. Turns out, he’s so funny and laid back I joked he’d replaced Abby.
Michael showed me around town (and to nearby Bob Seager’s house) and even took me to a party full of 18 and 19 year olds. Michael told his friends some of my stories and they loved them. Of course, since I was in training for a fight I couldn’t drink at all or eat, so I mostly just socialized. One of my friends remarked later “A party of 18 and 19 year olds!? What, do you feel cool? Are you proud of yourself?” Absolutely!
Michael’s house just so happened to be within 5 minutes of where the seminar was being held, so it was absolutely perfect. As was the seminar itself.
The seminar drew in Martial arts practitioners from all over America. Mostly Kyokushin karate type guys, but also some Taekwondo and MMA as well. Azuma Jukucho was joined by his Los Angeles branch chief and the Japan middleweight Kudo champion. Kudo itself is a relatively newly named art more commonly recognized by the name Daido-Juku. It is an art similar to Kyokushin Karate that incorporates clinch work and Brazilian jujitsu style ground fighting as well. During Competitions a headgear and facemask are worn and all MMA techniques are legal and encouraged, including headbutts! The seminar was held in a well-matted martial arts school located within a larger sports complex. Once I walked in I was formally introduced to Dan Kendall, who was just as nice in person as on the phone. We talked for a bit and he said that if it wasn’t for a knee surgery he was having on the exact same day, he was going to make the 8 hour drive to come see me fight! I thanked him but told him the video would b on the Internet, so there was no worries.
As we all put our gi on, Jukucho passed out temporary patches (mandatorily worn) so that no matter what school we came from, we were united as Kudo for the days we trained together. While getting dressed for training I put on my training cloths (dogi) and when I went to pull my belt tight… I ripped it in half! The old raggedy black belt had seen it’s share of action and had finally given up the ghost. I’m sure the look on my face was one of mortification. “I think it’s time you got a new belt.” Someone said. “I can fix it” was my reply. First I tried staples. Not good. Next was sports tape… worked for a second. A girl eventually came by with duct tape and fixed me up. Temporary, yes, and gaudy, but functional. This event would eventually send me on a quest in Japan to get a new belt (a story for another time).
Once the seminar was underway properly it was what one would imagine it to be. Basics, footwork, throws, counters, and grappling, all followed with live sparring all with a practical fighting emphasis over a multi day period.
During the grappling practice no one could get an ankle lock to work on me, not realizing I’m not the average guy. “Can I try?”, asked one MMA instructor from Ohio (I think). Sure, I said. He gave it his best, but to no avail. “Woah! You’re incredible! You’re pain tolerance is off the charts! You should consider fighting MMA!” I told him I was actually in training for a fight in a few weeks. “You’ll do great.” Thanks. The trainees from the seminar were on unexpected Nash-duty during the breaks from training. I would reach for a giant sandwich and someone would say “aren’t’ you losing weight for a fight?” yea… “Then that’s not for you! Here, have a tiny fruit cup.” Thanks! “I know it’s tough, but we got your back.” I sincerely thanked them. I like to eat. The training itself was mostly basic to account for the wide variance in skill levels, and also to familiarize people with Kudo and proper body mechanics, in case they weren’t used to it. The live sparring is where things got really interesting however.
During the live sparring there were various phases: stand up fighting only (like kickboxing), grappling only (like Brazilian Jujitsu), and all. During the stand up only portion I was paired up with a middle ranked man at one pint who was not wearing a mouthpiece. “Better take it easy on the head” I thought. I performed a slow head level roundkick. My opponent dodged… into the kick, teeth first. He went down hard. I stood over him as blood gushed from the gums that seemed to be holding onto his two from teeth for dear life. “Damnit! That’s why you wear a mouthguard. No I look like ‘That guy’. The guy who Plays way too rough” I thought to myself. I mad sure he was all right-ish. He naturally sat out the rest of the fight. “Ok, next opponent I need to go super easy on.” My next opponent was a stout looking man, a black belt. “Ok good” I though, “this guy will be alright”. As soon as the match started I kicked him in the head. He went down. “Dammit! Now I AM that guy. I’ve got a pile of bodies forming in the corner!” The grappling was predictably a stalemate as it’s not my forte.
They’re not going to want me to play with them anymore if they think I’m out to go balls to the wall all the time, I thought. Turns out, just he opposite was true. Dan told me “Wow, it was so great to have you, and train with someone of your caliber. If you’re ever in the area feel free to stop by and train. If you don’t have a place to stay you can crash here. You don’t even need to warn me, just spontaneously show up!” He had no idea what a perfect storm he had just invited.
When the seminar had ended we all went out for the usual celebratory meal. It got off to a bit of a rocky start though when it was revealed that the restaurant we were at had no alcohol, which is a huge deal in Japanese culture, but everyone got over it. We had Indian food, and it was great (though I had less than I normally would). At one point Azuma Jukucho was trying to figure out who I look like. “you know, he was in that movie!” The Japanese agreed, and the rest of us had no idea who he was talking about. It turned out he meant Benicio Del Toro from some old movie. That guy is super Spanish. “If he had brown hair, you would look like him.” I guess I’ll take it as a compliment (though I checked just to make sure, and no I do not look like him). I also got to know a guy from South Africa while at the dinner, who lived a very similar life to myself. He now lives in New Jersey, but lived in Singapore for something like 8 years. He over heard me talking about Morio Higaonna’s IOGKF Miyagi festival training camp. “I’ll see you there” he said. You’re going!? “Yes.” I looked foreword to seeing him again in Okinawa!
After the seminar was completely done and we all went our separate way I said farewell to Michael and headed out to Michigan State University to visit another buddy of mine, Annette.
I had met Annette in Thailand, and we hadn’t seen each other since then. We went out and caught up on the happenings of the past 8 months. Then we went back to her dorm and hung out with her friends; they seemed to find me interesting, so I got some new friends. MSU is known as a party school, but I didn’t get to do any partying properly as I was in training, and they all had class the following morning; we all just socialized casually. Annette mentioned she wanted to go to Antarctica, and I mentioned I was planning to go. She seemed keen on going together. Noted, and factored into future plans.
The next morning I set off, training and visits completed. I was to be back though; next time, I wasn’t planning on being in training so Abby, Michael, Annette, and all my new friends and I could fully party properly. Firstly though, there was the matter of the first MMA fight to count on my national record to take care of.
-Nash