Please respond to these questions as you see fit: 
  
1 EARLY YEARS:  Please give us a brief background of your early years in Isshinryu?covering such areas as: 

A Training. How was training at Mr. Long’s dojo?

     I imagine everyone remembers his/her initial experiences and the first dojo. I loved the dojo at the corner of 
Gay and 5th Avenue. The dojo was upstairs. We had a main dojo floor and kumite area where the windows were 
covered with bamboo sticks so that no one would fall out onto the street. There were two smaller rooms for 
training, and there was an office, a lounge, and dressing rooms and the shower room. But the main reason I loved
 it was the floor surface. The floor was a wooden floor covered with linoleum. It had much greater “give” than 
the concrete floors in most dojos, and the linoleum surface was perfect for pivoting, and it had more traction than 
wooden floors.
     I also loved the training schedule. Mr. Long was open Monday through Friday from 12:00 noon until 9:00 at 
night, and on Saturday the dojo was open from 9:00 to 12:00 noon. Most hours of operation were for individual 
workouts, with students coming and going throughout the day. At times, Mr. Long would reserve certain nights 
and Saturday mornings for “classes.”
     The curriculum consisted of Chart I and II, 10 reps to each side, at the beginning of each workout. Then came 
kata practice. Any new kata part was practiced 20 times before it was added to the rest of the kata. Kumite 
practice, or “matching,” was a part of every training session, and knife defense techniques and practice with an 
opponent were regular parts of training at the Harold Long School of Karate. “Classes” (street techniques, kumite) 
at times were regularly scheduled; at other times they were the result of a large crowd in the dojo, and at other times 
they were the result of too much standing around and (as Master Shimabuku said) “too much talkie talkie” by 
students.

Did you ever consider training in other dojos under someone else?

     I never considered leaving Isshinryu because I always felt privileged to be training in a style where we had 
the possibility of learning the entire system. I had met many other early karateka whose instructors knew only 
small portions of their styles. I never considered leaving Mr. Long to train under another instructor. Certainly 
I associated with other instructors both in Isshinryu and in other systems and learned much from them, but I was 
the student of only Mr. Long. One of my students, Bruce Guillaume, summarized my feelings when he referred to
 that mentor-student relationship as being one of the unique aspects of martial arts training.
     In addition, when I became experienced enough to compare systems, I realized that both techniques and the 
method of delivery of techniques in Isshinryu were superior to those in other styles. That’s one reason I have never
 understood how an experienced Isshinryu instructor can offer to teach other styles in his dojo. I could never teach 
a punching method to my students that I know to be inferior. I want a trust between me and my students that can 
only be present if I am teaching the very best karate I know. 
 
B Competing in Tournaments. I recall that you were quite a tournament competitor, tell us about that experience. 

     For the first ten to twelve years of my experience in karate, tournaments were all important. 
I loved the competitive aspect of training; in fact, during this time I thought the main purpose of training was 
the competition.  I competed in practically every tournament the Harold Long School of Karate attended in 
the middle and late 60s. Then in the late 60s and early 70s, I took my own students to tournaments throughout 
the southeast and we competed as the Harold Long School of Karate. My own training and competitive nature 
dictated the type students I trained. My students were very much like me: they were young and they trained 
for tournaments; I had not yet learned to deal with older students or younger students or students who were not 
athletic and who did not have the same outlook on karate training that I had. Only after my own need for 
competition had diminished was I able to devote my energy and skills to training my students to be the best that 
they could be. I taught them the same style, but the methods of instruction and the ultimate goal for instruction
 began to depend upon the individual student’s needs and desires.

C Dojo Operations. You operated your own dojo(s) for many years. Do you feel gratified with that experience? 

     I operated my dojo from August 1967 continuously until I retired from education in Tennessee and moved to 
Rome, Ga, in 2003. After a couple of years of getting settled in a new place, and with my wife, Carol, now able 
to have joined me and already teaching a ladies class, I will be teaching in my own dojo again soon.
     Operating a dojo has been the most rewarding part of my karate life. I have often said that nothing in karate 
is more honorable than training and teaching. All other activities in karate are only secondary. The real leadership 
is in that dojo with students. I have been able to learn so much as a result of teaching Isshinryu. Students raise 
questions that must be answered; the non-talented must be taught as well as the talented. The same methods and 
explanations that are correct for one student simply do not work with the next student. An instructor is always in 
the process of learning the art with each class he/she teaches.
     I am often asked about leadership opportunity within the IIKA, and I answer that we want more involvement in 
the operation and decision making by the members, but I also answer that no service to the IIKA or leadership in 
Isshinryu Karate could be more valuable or important than teaching students in the dojo and helping them to 
progress. Conducting seminars, participating in tournaments and meetings, and visiting other dojos are 
all important, but they are nil in comparison with promoting Isshinryu by teaching one’s own students.

D Sponsoring Tournaments. This year you are celebrating your 33rd annual tournament. That is a long time. Many 
of today’s competitors were not even born when you started. How much longer do you think you will be hosting 
your tournament? Any memories you would like to share with us. 

     All but a few of the competitors in this year’s tournament were not born when it started. Wow, I hadn’t thought 
of it like that. I’ve certainly enjoyed hosting the tournament all of those years. The first tournament I sponsored 
was actually in 1971. It was a small event that was held at my dojo in the YMCA. Schools from Cleveland 
(Randy Webb), Knoxville (Harold Long, Allen Wheeler), Maryville, Athens, Johnson City (Travis Brasfield), 
and Roane County (Tommy True) all gathered at my dojo with some very small trophies and no entry fees. 
That was my warmup for the Southeast Isshinryu Karate Championships (later named the Athens Karate Games)
 that began in 1972 in Athens. Since then, there was one year that I did not have the tournament-in 1975 or 1976. 
When Mr. Long realized that the Athens tournament date had past, he made sure that I would not forget it again.
     The tournament began as a closed Isshinryu event; I later opened it to other styles and we joined the Southeast 
Karate Association as an early “circuit” tournament. At times we were having close to 400 competitors. The Athens 
Karate Games was the third largest tournament in the southeast, third to the Battle of Atlanta and the Battle of 
Nashville. 
     After Mr. Long re-opened his dojo in South Knoxville (It must have been middle to late 80s by this time), he asked 
me to close the tournament. It once again became a closed Isshinryu tournament. I sponsor the tournament now for 
one reason only: to provide this activity for the IIKA dojos. It’s great to see old friends and to see the quality 
of karate students that we’re training today.
     I don’t know how much longer I will continue to sponsor the tournament. Maybe that decision will be based on 
the need for it.
  
2 YOUR LINEAGE: 
A Through the four decades in Isshinryu you trained many people. Tell us a little about the notable ones you trained. 

     I have had many excellent black belts open schools of their own and many who were content to train without 
sharing their training. My early Maryville black belts that some of the old timers would remember include Lewis 
Simerly, John Kiser, Harold Wheeler, and Jim Quagliana. These were outstanding representatives for Isshinryu 
Karate. Lewis Simerly was the man I eventually left in charge of the Maryville dojo. John Kiser was one of the 
finest all-around students I was ever associated with. John competed in tournaments as a white belt, a green belt, 
as a brown belt, and as a black belt. He didn’t compete as long or as often as many others, but his record would be 
hard to match. John won every division that I ever saw him compete in: 1st place kata in each tournament and 1st 
place in kumite in each tournament. Harold Wheeler was an outstanding fighter and meaner than most. Jim 
Quagliana was another of the most well rounded students I ever trained.
     When I opened my dojo in Athens, I trained black belts like Lee Paul, who was 100% heart and who is now a 
7th dan; Mike Nichols and Speedy Wade were both well rounded martial artists. They were excellent fighters, 
kata men and weapons men. Following these men were longtime karateka like Joyce Reno, now 6th dan; 
Sid Wright, 7th Dan and early master of Sanchin kata as well as a terrific fighter; Scott Shamblin, another of the 
most well-rounded karateka in the world, who now heads OKU (Mr. Wheeler’s organization); Steve Barnes, my 
first full-contact fighter who is now a medical doctor; Breck Helms, 7th Dan, outstanding fighter now operating a 
dojo in Cleveland, TN; Bruce Guillaume, 8th Dan, dedicated student of Isshinryu as well as physical and mental 
fitness, excellent instructor, head of the Maryville dojo; Mike Lewis, 7th Dan, second in command in Maryville, 
very well rounded practitioner of Isshinryu and excellent instructor; Tom Grubb, now a member of LAPD and 
operating a dojo in Los Angeles, once landed a ridge hand technique at a Nashville tournament that did so much 
damage, it led to banning of that particular style of fighting gear in southeastern tournaments; Carol Burris, 
7th Dan, outstanding competitor in kumite, kata and weapons and excellent instructor;  Barbara Aderhold, 
English teacher who was an outstanding 
karateka and instructor; Jimmy Longwith, well rounded instructor and head of the Winthrop University Isshinryu
 dojo in North Carolina; Patrick Lee, 6th Dan, maybe the best Isshinryu kata person training today and an 
outstanding fighter and instructor; Dennis Thomas, 6th Dan, IIKA tournament coordinator, IIKA web site 
manager, operating a successful dojo in Athens; Larry Coleman, 5th Dan, well rounded competitor and instructor 
in Englewood, TN; Stephanie A. Huskey, 5th Dan, champion in kata, weapons, and kumite operating her own 
dojo in Athens; and Bob Davis, 6th Dan, started karate later than most.- When Mr. Davis entered his 60s, he was 
still getting better, stronger, and quicker. He always wanted to fight the young black belts. He made me wonder 
if there is an age when one cannot continue to get better and better; Jim Cobb, 6th Dan, IIKA Tournament Official, 
Maryville dojo mainstay; Pete Simmons, 5th Dan, IIKA Tournament operator and records keeper, instructor in 
the Maryville dojo; James Frye operates a dojo in Athens.

B In your judgment, how many people are in your lineage? 

     It would be really hard for me to say anymore. For years, I could have told you an exact number. When I read 
this question, I started trying to remember my black belts. Those in the above question are my higher ranking 
students, but shodans and nidans, certainly over 100-maybe 200. There are at least 100 of my black belts living 
in the Athens-Cleveland-Maryville areas. There are people like Lee Paul, who went to Richmond, VA, and started 
a dojo. Years later, he left it to Steve Little, now a 6th Dan. Steve still operates a very successful dojo in Richmond, 
and his oldest son, Brian, now operates his own dojo in St. Louis- in fact, he has brought a bus load of students to 
each of the last two hall of fame tournaments. Jim Bolt left the Maryville dojo years ago to establish a dojo in Texas; 
Jimmy Longwith has been operating a dojo for years at Winthrop University in N.C.; Tom Grubb has taught for 
years in Los Angeles; the Maryville dojo, which was my first, opened in 1967 and remains active in Isshinryu today; 
many from that dojo operate dojos in various areas: Charlie Abbott was one of the early ones, as was Mike Garner, 
6th Dan, who operates his own dojo in Seymour, TN. 
  
3---IIKA: This year’s annual report is very impressive. Congratulations on a job well done. 
a---You are the Chairman of the Board of the IIKA. Please give us an assessment of the accomplishments 
and growth of the IIKA since Mr. Long’s departure. 
b---Are you and the Board grooming some younger Masters to step in as the elders retire? 
     
     Just before Mr. Long died, he set in motion a senario that he had always promised he would not allow to happen. 
I remember his dissatisfaction with Master Shimabuku’s allowing his son Kichero to assume 10th Dan in Isshinryu. 
It was widely circulated that Master Shimabuku did not want this to happen, but that Kichero took advantage of 
Okinawan tradition in taking his rank. Master Shimabuku made no clear plans for Isshinryu in the US, instead 
appointing earlier by letter at least three people to “head” Isshinryu. All had been awarded the same ranks. When 
Bob Trias died, he had no clear successor, thus his association split in several directions. When Ed Parker died, 
the exact thing happened again. Mr. Long had known all of these leaders, and he had vowed that he would never 
allow this to happen to his following. But it did happen again as he named four 10th Dans and made several other 
designations for 9th Dans and “hanshi.” This confusion has been hard to reconcile.
      Earlier, when Mr. Long retired from the IIKA, he assumed the title Chairman Emeritus and gave up his vote in 
board decisions. He explained at that time that he envisioned all decisions being made by the consideration and vote 
of the group of experienced Isshinryu board members. His statement was that “the group could make better
 decisions than any individual.” He told us that the board would be making all rank promotions from that day forward. His 
recommendations would be just that- only recommendations to be approved by the board. Mr. Long helped establish 
the ranking guidelines that the IIKA continues to operate under, one of those being that no person had the authority 
to promote to a rank equal to his own. And for 10th dan rank as well, the recognized board (in Isshinryu) must 
make the designation based on its need for leadership. The most experienced among Mr. Long’s students know 
that he always advocated that 10th dan was not his to give.
     The IIKA reacted to this confusion without consternation; as the established Harold Long organization, we 
recognized our leaders and continued promoting the activities that made us the association that we had always been. 
As chairman of the board, my leadership focus is to ensure that the association continues to perpetuate the art of 
Isshinryu. In a time of much cross-training, some identity loss, and the redefining of Isshinryu by some, it has become 
an imperative to me as the ranking leader that we not lose our focus on the heart of our existence, the perpetuation 
of Isshinryu karate. And the essence of Isshinryu karate is found in kata training. 
      To this end, we have re-written the IIKA constitution to solidify our purposes. Having accomplished this task in 
approximately the past two years, we are now beginning work on our bylaws, the day to day operating procedures. 
Board member Don Bordinger is organizing the proceedings.  We have worked on strategies to involve younger 
members of the dojos with the operating of the IIKA. The most notable example being the establishment of a 
committee made up of one dojo member (other than the head instructor) from each dojo in the IIKA. That 
committee worked directly under the president. Since our initial presentation of that committee idea, we have 
added training sessions regularly at the various dojos and new methods of communication among dojos, board 
members, and instructors. When the results of our recent revisions are in place, even more instructors will take 
a place with the leadership of the association. We have established an associate board, and details will become 
clear in the by-laws. 
     The IIKA is clearly progressing in the goal of perpetuating Isshinryu karate. Our president Tommy True has 
brought new life to our endeavor, and he is involving our next generation of leaders.

c---How do you rate the success of diversity in the IIKA? 

     The IIKA leadership is made up of four board members with more than 40 years in Isshinryu, all from the lineage 
of Harold Long. Most of the others have over 30 years. We were once students together, and in that sense, we have 
always been and continue to be peers. Through the years we loved Isshinryu and our associations with others in 
Isshinryu. When Mr. Long turned the IIKA over to me (us), our interest became promoting Isshinryu karate. We 
never had a thought about diversity or the need for diversity. We were interested in karate and being involved with 
others who shared our enthusiasm and dedication, some African-American and some female. As time went on, our 
association diversified and our board diversified, but that was never a conscious plan. At present, there are two 
females and two African-American members of the Board of Directors of 14 total members. We are proud of the 
extensive experience of our leadership, and we intend to use that experience as we progress through this new century 
of Isshinryu study.
  
     4---MR. LONGS LINEAGE: I know that Mr. Long held you in high regard all through the years you associated 
with him. 
a---When did he start discussing with you his wish that you lead his lineage after he retires? 
b---Were his wishes documented? 
c---Did he ever discuss with you any changes in those plans? Are you aware of any publicly made statements by him 
of any changes he wished to have made? 

     He used to entertain us with fits of comical rage. Someone was always “in the barrel”; we learned that most of 
the time his fury could not be taken seriously, but the oldtimers could tell when he was serious. He could be docile 
and he could be demanding. I came to know Mr. Long as well as anyone ever knew him through the years. He spent 
the night at my house too many times to count. During the last five years, with his health growing progressively worse, he
 decided that he was dying a number of times, and he shared his plans for Isshinryu each time. One thing I 
know for sure: He would have told me if his plans for me had changed. That was Harold Long. Perhaps his finest quality 
was just that: he would tell you what was on his mind. 
      The beginnings of my leadership experience with Mr. Long began very early. I remember the first time he asked 
me to withdraw from competition so that I could help him officiate a tournament. Later, I was developing the Burris 
dojos. I operated two dojos at the time in addition to my weekly trips to the Harold Long School of Karate. My dojos 
regularly visited each other for training. We had summer camps at Maryville College. We checked into the dorms on 
Friday night, dressed and went to the gym for our first sessions of the weekend. We ran classes of one hour each for
 each kata, including weapons kata. Also, a part of the kata instruction consisted of watching films of Master 
Shimabuku and discussing differences in his presentation and ours. We ate meals at Maryville College cafeteria, 
and at the end of the Saturday sessions, we had access to the swimming pool for relaxation. On Sunday morning, 
we had a short devotion and we were back to work. We ended the weekend in the early afternoon with a kumite 
tournament. 
     Mr. Long knew of the successes of the Burris dojos, both in membership and in competition. He asked me to 
come to Knoxville one Saturday to talk business. He had in mind sending me to Chattanooga to open a Harold Long 
School of Karate there. I was honored, but I was already running two schools with large memberships and I was 
also teaching English at an area high school. I turned down the opportunity, but then Mr. Long asked me to begin 
to spend less time with my own organization and spend more time helping him with the operation of the IIKA. I did 
reluctantly back off promoting my own dojos and I began to spend more time on the roads back and forth to Knoxville 
to be with Mr. Long. He named me to be his “executive secretary.” 
     One of my projects as executive secretary came in the late 70s. Mr. Long looked at many things in terms of his 
military career, and he had decided that after 10 years in his present 8th dan rank and Master Shimabuku no longer 
living, the time was right for his rank to be elevated to 9th dan. I went to work on it. The first year and a half was 
spent trying to establish a positive communication with Master Suzuki’s organization in Japan. Master Suzuki, 
because of his great respect for Master Shimabuku, had presented Mr. Long an 8th dan certificate from his
 organization when Mr. Long visited Okinawa and Japan in 1973. I assumed that Master Suzuki would be willing 
to help us elevate Mr. Long to 9th dan since Master Shimabuku was no longer living. After many translations and 
contacts over probably two years, I came to the realization that it was not going to happen. So, we set out to have 
our own organization make the promotion. I again wrote to Master Suzuki to see if his organization would 
acknowledge Mr. Long as 9th after we had promoted him. I gained no response, and in looking back, it was 
probably unclear, even with Japanese translation, exactly what our intentions were. So over a period of time, 
the IIKA board made our intent known and set up a meeting in the fall of 1979 in Knoxville. Several IIKA members 
from other areas attended the meeting. When our plan was presented, much discussion ensued. The strongest 
objection came from a well-known New York instructor and first generation student of Master Shimabuku, Dennis 
Fink. Mr. Fink was strongly opposed to making the move in rank. Toward the end of a very long session, Mr. Long 
told the board that he appreciated our efforts, but that he would not accept the rank without a unanimous vote from 
all those present. The ordeal ended with that. It was a couple of years later before the discussion took a new form. 
This time, I had a Ku-Dan certificate specifically printed for Harold Long, and the board voted unanimously to 
award the rank. Several years later, now two decades since his 1966 promotion to 8th dan, in 1987, a similar 
scenario occurred when Mr. Long went to 10th dan. I won’t get into the details here, but the Ju-Dan process was 
also multi-year with some very interesting details. The Ju-Dan certificate was designed and hand painted by a local 
artist in Athens, TN, with an Okinawan Island theme and scenery, and was awarded to Mr. Long by the board of 
directors at the Athens Karate Games.
     As far as documentation goes, I have numerous letters that I have not been through since his death. I have gifts 
of meaningful things that he gave to me and brought to me. He gave me an oil painting of himself, painted by a 
talented student, that hung in his dojo for years. He gave me his original HSK red and white belt-the one he was 
wearing in the pictures with Master Shimabuku in 1966. He brought me many old documents and record books and 
his dojo assignment books through many of the early years. He tied his red belt on me at my dojo in February of 
1988 when he promoted me to 9th dan in front of my class. That was the only promotion he made to 9th Dan until 
ten years later, just before his death, when he made several high rank promotions. In 1993, Mr. Long and Mr. Nagle 
jointly announced their retirements in Elkton, Maryland, and in an elaborate signing ceremony, they jointly named 
me, of the Harold Long lineage, and Joel Buchholtz and Toby Cooling, of the Don Nagle lineage, to head their lineages of 
Isshinryu. Mr. Buchholtz and Mr. Cooling were both promoted to 9th dan during that ceremony; it’s interesting to note that 
Mr. Nagle backdated Mr. Buchholtz’s certificate to a much earlier date.
     Mr. Long had an elaborate certificate made for me as his inheritor as a member of the World Head of Family 
Sokeship Council. He took me to New York to be inducted. It was a great trip; New York certainly has a world of 
talented martial artists. I was honored the first year. I continued to go for two or three years after the location 
changed to Florida, but what I learned was not good. The first “induction” into the sokeship hall of fame with 
people like Peter Urban, the American Goju legend, some of the first “cage” fighters, and Chuck Wepner, the 
original “Rocky,” was an honor. Later, I began to see that if I attended and paid my money each year, I could be 
inducted over and over. And anyone I recommended could be inducted over and over. But you could not be inducted 
if you did not pay your money. I had been associated with the Isshinryu Hall of Fame since its beginning, and I knew 
that it was the real thing. Surely, politics has played a role in every human endeavor, but no one could pay his money 
and be inducted into our hall of fame. I decided that the “sokeship” hall of fame gave a bad name to halls of fame, 
so I made the decision to not return, as many other dedicated martial artists have done.
     It was also about this time that Mr. Long told me that any privilege he had in Isshinryu, I should also have, but I 
would never have done anything to make myself seem to be his equal. I am presently publishing a book on Isshinryu 
karate based on notes from years ago, but I did not consider publishing while Mr. Long lived and was publishing. 
He had just begun to use the titles renshi, kyoshi, and hanshi, and his own, hanshi-sei (which he said that I should 
also take upon his death). He told me that my students and association members would be honored if I gave them 
such designations. It is interesting to note that Master Shimabuku was not a very formal kind of instructor, and he 
had never used these titles. 
     In 1997, about a year before his death, Mr. Long hand wrote a certificate designating me Ju-Dan. He gave it to 
my wife, Carol, to keep until his death. She immediately feared that there would be those who would claim that it 
was not authentic, so she asked him to write to someone he trusted telling him of this Ju-Dan designation. He agreed 
that it was a good idea, and he wrote that letter to Mr. True.
     As Mr. Long’s life came to an end, I was fortunate to spend part of the Sunday afternoon with him at the hospital 
just before he died. Mr. True had been staying with him at the time, and he left the room so that we could talk. I can’t 
say for sure what Harold Long told others, but I do know what he told me. Our discussion that day was no different 
than in the years before. I was careful to let him lead the conversation; I didn’t want to say anything disturbing to him. 
He reminisced and he laughed his “har-har.” Toward the end of the visit I asked him if he wanted me to proceed 
with plans for the IIKA Mizu Gami that we had discussed earlier but had never gotten around to doing. It was to be 
modeled after the original Isshinryu Hall of Fame plaque that had Master Shimabuku’s bust in it, but the patch 
would be the mizu-gami with Mr. Long’s bust in it. Then in his resounding voice he said, “I approve!”  The IIKA 
board members wear that patch regularly today, and if you’ve never seen it, it is shown on the IIKA web site 
(www.iika.com). Shortly after we discussed the patch, some former students from his Knoxville dojo came in to 
give him a haircut. Our discussion ended then, so I said my goodbyes and left at that point. He died only days later.

5---THE FUTURE: 
a---I have recently read material that Isshinryu has suffered major setbacks (since Tatsuo Shimabuku?s death and) 
under Kichiro Shimabuku?s leadership. Do you believe that Isshinryu in the USA needs ties with Okinawa? 
b---What is the future of Isshinryu in the USA?

     We do not need ties with Okinawa. Isshinryu in the US has the experienced leadership and the knowledge base 
to stand on its own. That being said, I would certainly look favorably on the chance to associate with reputable 
Isshinryu practitioners on Okinawa.
     Isshinryu is 50 years old and in many dojos is well into its 5th generation of students. Isshinryu is thriving in 
many areas. Our biggest problem as a unified style is that because we are top-heavy in rank, we are promoting 
splits in our own memberships. And when we split into factions, the different factions generally have different 
philosophical bases as well as different methods of delivering techniques and different understandings about the 
effectiveness of techniques. These differences make for inconsistency among schools. The danger is that an 
Isshinryu school may not be similar to another Isshinryu school. Then we begin to lose our art, and unsuspecting 
newcomers have no way to judge the real against the newly envisioned. 
    Isshinryu will be carried on by those dedicated to the art. We are now seeing a return to the art of Isshinryu by 
many factions who have gone in all directions since Master Shimabuku’s death and also Mr. Long’s death. As 
more of our leaders emphasize learning the art of Isshinryu, the style will continue to thrive- maybe not in 
commercial settings- but it will thrive through those well trained in the art.

c---Do you think that the Isshinryu Hall of Fame (IHOF) Board, which is a mix of masters from across the nation, 
can play a role in uniting the Isshinryu people in the USA? 

The role is already established. In a time when associations will not come together, the IHOF can bridge that 
gap and provide an event, a forum even, for all of Isshinryu. I said years ago at one of the IHOF programs 
that the HOF is the single best attempt ever made to unite Isshinryu. When Mr. Long envisioned the Hall of Fame, 
he saw it as an additional step in achieving his personal goal for the IIKA: to unite all of Isshinryu. Because we 
now realize that all of Isshinryu will not be united in one association, the IHOF is now the most realistic avenue 
toward reaching unity among the Isshinryu groups.


d---Do you believe that it is possible to unite Isshinryu in the USA under one grandmaster?

No. After all these years and split identities and soaring rank, it would no longer be practical to unite under one 
leader. In an ideal world, we might say that the possibility lies under the leadership of only one man: Harold Mitchum. 
He is the senior man. I don’t know another Isshinryu 9th or 10th dan who would claim seniority over him. But we don’t 
live in an ideal world. Too many people- even our good people who wish good things for others- would ask what they could 
gain by going under Mr. Mitchum when they already have top rank. We still haven’t learned the real lessons from our study, 
even after decades. Collectively, we’re too selfish to come together.

e---Are you making any plans for your future retirement? 

No. In fact, this period of the last two years since I left Tennessee has been the only time in my Isshinryu life that 
I have not been teaching students at my dojo. Carol is teaching a group of ladies in Floyd County at present, and 
we are planning to open a dojo in the area soon. When my retirement comes from my professional responsibilities, 
I will certainly be as involved as ever in the daily routines of teaching Isshinryu karate. Also, I have just finished a 
book for my students that I have been writing for years. The publishers know it is coming, but I have some small 
details to straighten out before the printing. It has a different approach than other books on Isshinryu. While I am 
anticipating one kind of retirement in the future, I plan to spend much more time with Isshinryu karate.
  
6---LEGACY 
a---It has been close to eight years since Mr. Long passed away. Is his legacy changing as time goes on?or is it the 
same as it was years ago? 
b---What would you like for your legacy to be?

Mr. Long’s legacy was established long before his death. He was the most influential Isshinryu practitioner of all,
with the possible exception of Don Nagle. Mr. Long and Mr. Nagle were the two instructors who taught the most 
people and whose people continue to teach at other locations. During the later years, Mr. Nagle’s students were 
more widespread than Mr. Long’s, but Mr. Long was personally more involved in the spread of Isshinryu. Mr. Long 
was legendary in life, and I am sure the legend will grow much more with time. His legacy is that of a no nonsense, 
rough and tumble hard hitting karate instructor, who taught his karate to those who were willing to stick with him. 
He introduced karate to the southeastern portion of the US, and his influence has spread worldwide.

I would hope that my legacy would be that of an instructor dedicated to the art of Isshinryu karate.