SENSEI: Mr. Kevin Terry
I have had a love for the Martial Arts ever since I was 8 when I saw my first martial arts movies. It was Chuck Norris in Good Guys Wear Black and Bruce Lee in Chinese Connection. After seeing these movies and before my first actual karate class, I was always running around the house kicking and punching, so when I was 12, my mother finally agreed and enrolled me in my first karate class in the style of Wado-Ryu under the instruction of Mr. David Rhodes in Lexington, TN. I had earned my brown belt under Mr. Rhodes but a year later I had to stop training at this school because at the time, I was traveling around visiting relatives in different states, working, and just trying to find myself and grow up. I began training in karate where I could, going to a lot of different types of martial arts and seeing what they had to offer however, I was never really satisfied with the teachings that I had received. In 1993, I finally ended up in Pittsburgh with some coaxing from my best friend who moved here a year before. I soon began training in karate again and participating in a lot of point tournaments as well as doing amatuer Kickboxing matches however, I was still unable to find the instructor that I was searching for. Then I began studying Aikido which turned out to be a great experience. The instructors were knowledgeable and the style fit me so well however, I had recently moved to East Pittsburgh and the school was just too far to travel being that my wife and I had just had our first child which meant that I had to stop training.
It wasn't a total loss though because I had ordered some tapes from Master David Deaton who was a 7th dan in Wado-Ryu, which was the original style that I started with. After I started studying the tapes, I found what I was looking for, which was that I wanted to get back into Wado-Ryu but I was not learning from the tapes what I had wanted to learn. I finally decided to call Mr. Deaton to ask if there was a Wado Ryu Instructor in my area and coincidentally, he told me about Master Bill Herzer, who was a 6th Degree Black Belt in Wado Ryu and only lived within 5 miles from where I lived. I called Mr. Herzer and we talked for a while, eventually setting up a day to meet. I finally met Mr. Herzer face to face in April of 1999 and began my training in Wado-Ryu once again. I earned my black belt in Wado-Ryu under Mr. Herzer in October of 2000, which made me feel more complete in my journey of the Martial Arts than at any other time. I knew that day that no one was going to just give it to me and I had to prove to the testing board at my test that I earned and deserved the right to wear the black belt. That is where the respect for your belt ranks comes from, "earning what you get". I earned my 2nd dan in June of 2002 and my 3rd dan in January of 2007, which I again tell you "I earned it". I will continue to pursue the knowledge of this style and hope to gain the belt ranks that go with it, never forgetting that it is in the pursuit of those ranks that gives you the knowledge you need to master this style and not the belt ranks themselves. I never want to wear or hold a belt rank that I didn't earn or deserve.
I love the Martial Arts and I have pursued it my whole life. I want to pass on to others what I have learned and how it changed my life and that is why I teach. I know that others can benefit from it as well. I was a very shy, hard headed and angry teen. Wado-Ryu with all it's teachings from my instructors in the style began to change all of that in me. It was not easy but my instructors stuck with me and helped me understand the lessons that I was learning beyond the physical portions (kicking, punching and blocking) and to look at the mental portions (discipline, respect, patience and etc.). The way I teach is the way I was taught, not to focus just on the physical but the mental portions as well. This is to help the students character grow in a good way and to help them control their emotions (which is important in those teenage years). If I focused only on the physical side of Karate, that is the only thing the students will know and understand about it. So if there is a confrontation with someone and tempers are high, they will most likely resort to being physical instead of using their minds. The mental side of Karate is to help the students understand and respect the physical side of what they are being taught. It is also to help them know and understand how to control their emotions so if they get into a conflict with another person, they can remain calm and focused. This is hopefully so that they can calm down the situation before it gets physical and someone gets hurt. I never wish this to happen ever but if a confrontation does get physical, they again stay calm and focused so they don't hurt someone out of anger and regret it later. Always know what you're doing by staying calm and focused and you will minimize those regrets. The goal for a karateka in a physical confrontation is to not get hurt and to not hurt your opponent unless your life is in danger. (Example: someone pulls a knife, bat or gun)
I have been teaching karate ever since I was 24. I understand because of the way my instructors are with me now and were with me as a teen that an instructors responsibility is to teach his /her students the way I have explained above. To hopefully make good, law abiding, caring and responsible adults with a good sense of one's self. I have always loved Wado-Ryu Karate because of its teachings, philosophies and it's belief that we train for peace and harmony in our lives and to also have respect and love for ourselves as well as the others around us.
My life is not amazing. It is straight forward in that I was looking for something, found it, stayed with it, and allowed it to change my life for the better. You can do the same or just let life pass you by and do nothing to change it. So get out there and find it, it might not be in the martial arts like myself, but you'll never know unless you try. So come try it, I'll be waiting.