Ramsey Nicholson
I am Ramsey Nicholson born in Chicago Illinois with the fortunate opportunity of growing up in sunny southern California. My exposure to Shorei Ryu happened in 1995 as I was a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Consultant at Roosevelt Park. I did not join the style until May 2001 as I was immersed in Five Family Kung Fu, Choy Lay Fut. I spent five grueling years as a kyu rank under John S. Soltis (9th dan) and Scott Wiseman( 9th dan). Both of whom laid an excellent foundation and preparation for becoming a black belt. The most prominent memory of my kyu rank days is the sweat I consistently poured onto the floor during the workouts, which to this day maintain their intensity. Furthermore, repetition was the crux of these workouts. It was the method that reinforced proper form, power, and speed while instilling a deeper understanding of the techniques being taught. My sweat and pain paid off on December 2, 2006 at 2:14 pm in the Lynwood dojo. 250 pushups, five fights against black belts, 8 broken boards, 12 katal and twenty waza techniques later I was promoted to Shodan by a review board headed by my sensei Soltis.
Proper training and a fierce spirit afforded me numerous tournament accolades. At the competitions that I attended, I placed no lower than third in kumite and kata. My first tournament, in Carson, Ca, 1 learned that tournament sparring is different than free from sparring as it was more segmented and required a more methodical approach. I placed first in kata as a green belt for that tournament and brought home a 3 foot trophy. As a san-kyu (3rd grade brown belt), I placed first in kumite and kata at a tournament staged in the city of Paramount. The second time I competed at the Paramount tournament was in 2007 as a Shodan; I placed second in kumite and kata.
What keeps me going in Shorel is the opportunity to teach what I've learned. Each student who walks onto the dojo floor brings a unique story as to why they are there and what they hope to achieve. When I stepped onto the floor on May 2001, I was not thinking of becoming a shodan. The feeling did not hit me until my brown belt promotion, which is when I determined that being a black belt is an attainable goal. My teaching methods come from my kung fu background in learning to count the moves of the kata, calling out the names, pivots, stances and blocks. The training and exercising methodology does come from my kyu days where I expect the student to sweat, profusely. The style of Shorei-ryu has roots from Okinawa which employ many waza to develop a student's strength and agility. In this aspect, Shorel-ryu is suitable to a wide spectrum of participants. Furthermore, Shorel-ryu is a style geared towards giving the student a way to deal with different problems by using the lessons learned during kata. The transmittal of teaching methods and lessons learned from past master through kata has helped me because I gain a round-about perspective that includes wisdom from different eras. I've incorporated several philosophies in my teaching methods and well as my personal development. I've learned that grit and hard work defined who you are; if you had a broken toe you still fought, sprained ankle you still tested. These characteristics are seen in the way I want students to break free of their limitations or intimidations of hard work. There is no doubt the most complex kata I have learned to date is Seiunchin. Seiunchin translates to "The calm before the storm" and is part of the tiger series. The internal and external dynamics of Seiunchin gives the kata grace and power. Furthermore the kata's intricacies like its complex breathing pattern take years to achieve. It's this intense involvement between kata and karate-ka that makes Seiunchin my favorite. The most difficult aspect of being a martial artist is separating the two aspects of personal and martial. When class begins I am in martial art mode. When class is over I am in a martial art mode. When I want to relax, I am in a meditative mode which is still martial. Therefore, 1 am always in martial arts mode which has transpired into all aspects of my life. Thus, the martial arts have become my way of life.
