Master Mason,
I am glad that you agreed to be interviewed for the Karate Five web page.
As you know, we became acquainted with each other some forty years ago,
however, I did not get to really know you until our recent association as
part of the Karate Five Association. There is a lot about you that people do
not know and is worthy of being told. I hope these Q’s&A’s will do that. MM
1—You were one of the pioneers that brought karate to East Tennessee.
Please tell us about:
a. Your martial arts background and training:
1a. I earned my first black belt on the island of Okinawa in 1965 having
trained there with Grandmaster Zenryo Shimabukuro at the Seibukan
Dojo. The Seibukan Dojo was one of the premier dojos in the far east
having had the top fighter in the All Okinawa- All Japan free style
tournament for 3 consecutive years, 1963-1965.
After having trained in Shorin-Ryu for 12 years, I trained in Kajukempo,
with Master Johnny McCurry. Kajukempo became the basis for the
eventual Dragon-Cobra-Te system. I also trained briefly with Master
John Boone in Chinese Filipino Red Dragon Gung Fu, and with Master
Khenshu Benu Ra in Cobra-Taek.
In 1977, my system was enhanced by training for 2 years with the late
Master Moses Powell. In 1979, the system was further enhanced by
Master Garry Mullins of Shaolin-Do shared his knowledge of Shaolin,
Tai Chi, Hsing-i and Pa-Kua. All of these elements were responsible for
the system known as Dragon-Cobra-Te.
b. Your experiences of operating a dojo in Morristown.
1b. I ran a dojo in Morristown for 25 consecutive years for the Parks and
Recreation Department. I consistently had 50-60 regular students in
the Morristown dojo. During the early 90's, I expanded to include dojo's
in Newport Tennessee (at the community center) and Greeneville
Tennessee (at the Y.M.C.A.). Both of those dojo's kept approximately
40 students each on a regular basis.
c. Who are some of the notable people that trained under you over the years?
1c. My concept of notable is different from most people. I will list 3 of
my former students and tell why they were/are notable in my eyes.
John J. Sims, Sr. - John was responsible for me being a teacher. When
I came home from Okinawa in 1966, teaching the martial arts was not
in my plans at all. I moved next door to John after I got married and
he would come over each day and practically beg me to teach him.
This action continued for 2 solid weeks so I finally agreed to take him
as a student. The thing that impressed me about him was that he had
the most determination of anyone that I have met in my entire life. He
would not give up until he had mastered whatever exercise or
techinque that you showed him. I've not had a student with that type
of determination since.
Dr. James W. Ford - Dr. Ford was a brilliant physicist, who taught at
Walters State Community College. He came to me in the late 60's as
a Brown belt in Bujitsu Kai, with 3 years experience. He trained with
me for a year and I promoted him to Shodan. After his promotion, he
started a program at Walters State. We remained friends over the years
but he did not train with me after he got his promotion. 30 years later,
he did tell me that I was one of the 2 individuals that he respected in
his martial arts career. The first being a Major Salter at Vanderbilt
University.
Dexter Kyle - Dexter trained with me up to the level of Green belt in
the late 60's. He is on my list of most notable because he was/is a
patriot. He got drafted in the Army and after basic and A.I.T. volunteered
to be a "tunnel rat " in Vietnam. He was subsequently wounded after
triggering a "booby" trap and spent 6 months in the hospital in Japan.
By the Grace of God, he recovered to the point that he leads a "normal"
life. He and I both agree that America is still the greatest country on
the planet and wish that those that disagree would leave America and
go elsewhere. Most americans who have never been to a foreign country
can not imagine just how good they have it in the good old U.S.A.
2—You and your dojo were in the past involved in cross training. Why cross-train?
Why not pick one style and try to perfect it?
2. I cross train because it makes sense to me. By getting a feel for the
methods of several different arts, I am better prepared to deal with
something that might happen in a real encounter. If I don't know closeup
and personal techniques how would I deal with them in the street? If I
picked one style and "perfected" it and that style did not offer the training
to deal with certain attack scenarios my knowledge base would be limited.
One of the main reasons I chose to be a martial artist was to learn enough
to get home safe and I believe that crosstraining tilts the odds in my favor.
3—After operating a dojo for about three decades you decided to take a sabbatical.
Why the break? Did you totally shut down the dojo and stop training? Why get back
and operate a dojo now?
3. To be honest with you after running a dojo for 25 years I thought that I had
accomplished all of my martial arts goals. I thought I left the dojo's in good
hands but apparently I had something that the other instructors lacked.
When I retired, I didn't hang around because I wanted my successor to have
a free hand to put his stamp on the program without looking over his
shoulder. Perhaps I could have done it another way but that is the way I
chose to do it.
If you have been reading our website, several months ago I wrote a little
piece that described the 5 hour training session that I had with Master Willie
G. Wilson when I came out of retirement. Master Wilson has made great
strides since I trained with him in the late 70's. My coming back has
nothing to do with running a dojo, or very little with learning a new art
( Isshinryu ), but more with being able to train on a frequent basis with one
of the few remaining "working" masters. Also, I feel like I have plenty more
to give to the art because I am still able to train regularly.
4—Now you are part of the Karate Five organization. Tell us about your relationship
“over the years” with the Karate Five.
4. My relationship with the Karate 5 has been a good one over the years. As I
said earlier, we crosstrained in Sanuces Ryu and Vee Arnis JuiJitsu in the
late 70's. We did several successful joint projects as we each developed in
our own way. If my association had not been good, I would not be a member
of the Karate 5 today.
5—You have known and associated with Isshinryu people since the early days.
5a. Did you know Mr. Long? Tell us about your experiences of dealing with him.
5a. I met Mr. Long when we started going to tournaments in 1967. He was
cordial in his dealing with us and that sufficed. We were very much in
the minority since we were Shorin-Ryu at the time. The different styles
were very clannish at that time.
5b. What was your opinion of Isshinryu people in the early days?
What is your opinion of them these days?
5b. In any style there are some good practicioners and some bums.
Isshinryu in the early days had it's share of each category. History
tends to repeat itself doesn't it?
5c. Why did you choose Isshinryu for your new martial art? How would you
compare Isshinryu to other martial arts that you have been associated with?
5c. As I alluded to earlier, I didn't choose an art, I chose a man, Master
Willie Wilson. I will say that Isshinryu is a good art. It contains a lot
of the answers to self defense situations if you work it. In my opinion,
it is the student that makes the art work and not the other way around.
6—How is your present Morristown Karate Five Dojo progressing? Anything
special you want to tell us about it.
6. The Morristown Karate 5 Dojo is progressing nicely. We may not reach
the numbers that we had in the old days but we will surpass the quality.
As time goes by, we will be a factor in the martial arts community.
7—What is your opinion of (a) tournaments and (b) shiais? What do karate kas have
to gain from such events?
7. I think that tournaments and shiais have their place in the martial arts.
When I was coming up, I wanted to test my skill. If you don't test it
somehow, it's like swimming on dry land. Also, they create an environment
for the development of friendships. We all learn from each other if we
manage to keep our egos in check.
8—Do you think that women are treated equitably and fair in these male
dominated martial arts?
8. Thanks for asking this question. My answer is a resounding "no". I have
been to a couple of tournaments this past year where Theresa Barnett
and Julie Gabbard did the best kata by far and did not get the appropriate
scores. A man should not get a higher score just because he is a man.
I would like to see the gender removed from kata competition.
9—What is your opinion of the Karate Five web page…as compared to many
of the others on the web?
9. I am biased in favor of the Karate 5 Web page since I am the current
webmaster. The number of hits we get, indicates to me that we are
doing something right. We constantly strive to make our site a place
that all martial artists can enjoy.
10—How would you like to be remembered? What would you like for your
legacy to be?
10. I would like to be remembered as a good martial artist and a better
man. I would hope that I can reach enough young ones in the time
I have left, so some of them would like to emulate what I have done.
I was a good martial artist when I left the island of Okinawa in 1966.
I am a good martial artist today. The reason that I am a good martial
artist is because I trained hard then and I still train hard today. I am
good, not because of where I trained but, how I trained. Too many
people try to get mileage out of the fact of where they trained.
I don’t believe that Master Willie Wilson or Grandmaster Denny Shaffer
spent any time on the island of Okinawa, but I have seen them do
things that I didn’t see the masters on Okinawa do, but they are not
given the SAME respect. They take to the mats on a regular basis.
Is there anyone out there who trained on Okinawa or any other island
that can tell me of any master over there that did the same thing?
Another MYTH that I would like to destroy is the one that some
individuals started by saying that they trained 10-12 hours a day on
Okinawa. Each serviceman had a job responsibility of at least 8 hours
a day. When you factor in sleep time, travel time and whatever
recreation you choose to do, there is not that much time left. The
biggest factor is that the dojos were not open 24/7. Our dojo was one
of the most respected on the island and it was open 4 hours a day for
6 days a week. The last thing that I will say on this item is, if you have
attended one of the Karate 5’s Modern Arnis Seminars, you will see that
it is hard to train for 8 consecutive hours. Let’s get real!!
In closing, I would like to thank the Karate 5 Association (of which I am a
proud member), for giving me a chance to do this interview. SEE YOU ON
THE MAT!!!
Master William L. Mason
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