Punching the Clock: Not just for kicks
What do you call a person who can hold their breath for at least two and a half minutes, hang from a railing without regripping for three minutes and can be considered a deadly weapon in a court of law? A black belt at Tribute Martial Arts.
Tribute Martial Arts owner and head instructor Ron Lewis is a fourth degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do and has spent the last 28 years practicing the art of combat and restraint.
“It’s not so much teaching someone how to fight, but giving somebody more than one option. Just because you know how to fight doesn’t mean you have to,” he said.
The Korean fighting style traces its roots back to the 9th century when competing kingdoms in the region began teaching special fighting techniques to often out-numbered soldiers as a way to make them more formidable.
The style incorporated many Asian philosophies of internal balance and control with Buddhist influences having its own code of honor and strict discipline.
“The jump kick, for example, was originally designed as a way of dismounting riders on horse back,” said Ron.
I was able to walk in Ron’s shadow as he instructed a large variety of classes at his Hale Street studio, from wrangling 5 and 6 years olds through an obstacle course to grappling with adults in fast-paced 30-second submission rounds.
“Maybe the most difficult thing for an instructor is evaluating each student’s learning pace and also knowing how they learn,” he said.
One of the first things to know, advised Ron, is that martial arts “isn’t just about kicks and punches;” it teaches students confidence, discipline and encourages a fit mind and body.
“We strive to instill in our students a sense of responsibility and respect for another,” he said.
We began the afternoon working with the 7 to 8-year-old class by practicing the beginning levels of the forms called “Hyung” in Korean.
“For the younger ones, we try to build coordination and listening skills,” he told me.
Ron complimented the younger students’ work ethic. “When they’re this young, they always seem to make their first attempt their best one. As you get older, you’ll notice more and more students pace themselves even when you’d rather have them make a full effort the first time around. They get smarter,” he joked.
The class finished up its day with a grappling game that focused on escapes. To explain grappling, imagine high school wrestling but without any rules – obviously there is no striking or pinching allowed, but twisting and even choking (which are high school wrestling no-no’s) are. The match is over when an opponent submits by tapping out. The younger group’s workout was not to that level of intensity, however.
Two kids begin in the middle of a large square with for pads in each corner. One student holds the other and the goal is simple: the one who begins at disadvantage must knock all the pads out of the box in 45 seconds while the other attempts to keep them from escaping. The kids loved it, and Ron was forced to deny repeated requests from the youths to keep on going.
The next class was the youngest called ‘Little Ninjas,’ which is 4 to 6 year-olds. The class teach kids how to control their bodies and focus their attention through fun games and challenges.
Following through on a promise Ron made during the last class, we constructed an obstacle course out of punching bags, mats, bungie cords, medicine balls and balance beams.
The course: A quick run through a tangle of bungie cords, up a balance beam, jump from a small platform and kick two punching bags, another bungie cord had to be pulled out from the wall and stretched to a distant point with the tension fighting against them, another kick to a bag before crawling through a mat tunnel, move a 15-pound medicine ball from one point to another a few feet away, run over to Ron, do a barrel roll and tackle a free standing punching bag, the end. Most could finish the course in less than a minute.
Martial arts class is sometimes actually more like a class than you might think. Most imagine an aerobics-style instruction with lots of physical activity, but that’s not always the case.
The adult students gathered around the instructor as he reviewed the “vitals” chart, which is slang for the vital areas of the human body that can suffer critical amounts of damage, making a few listeners squirm.
Striking a red area on the body can cause severe damage and death; yellow areas are often very painful but lack permanent damage, and green represents the parts of the body that will absorb most blows.
In the adult class, Ron quickly reviewed a list in class Tuesday on the “red areas” of the body noting the first of dozen of possible tactics if one were ever caught in a confrontation for their life.
“A hard blow to the top of the head can cause a concussion or bleeding. It can dislodge the brain if you can smack it good enough. And here’s another one, you can also take your thumbs and apply pressure directly on the eyes, push them right in there if you can. There’s always the nose – a strike at the tip of the nose with a slightly upward angle, all these can cause serious injury or death,” he said.
As Ron discussed the chart, an occasional skeptic in the audience would wonder out loud how a pinch or a twist could be practical in a real fight.
Anyone who’s been a martial arts student for any length of time would realize this to be a mistake, because what you really just said was: “I volunteer for a demonstration.” (It’s amazing how many remarks I made equaled that translation.)
The human body is capable of doing amazing things and just when you think you’ve got it figured out, a 4th degree black belt brings you to your knees in compliant agony with a pressure point that until a second ago you didn’t even know existed and it seems you have an eternity to contemplate the unexpected weakness before you’re released.
Other class room studies include the appropriate use of force in New York State law and reviewing a code of ethics, the five tenets of which are courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control and indomitable spirit, explained Ron.
I finished my day grappling with a group of students and then with Ron himself. Considering I’ve got about 20 years on him and about 40 pounds, you’d think I would last more than 30 seconds before tapping out with a scissor leg lock around my neck. But I didn’t. Something I learned is that few things can beat experience and practice.
Tribute Martial Arts and Fitness is located at 58 Hale St. in the City of Norwich. To contact Lewis, call 336-5425.
Tribute Martial Arts owner and head instructor Ron Lewis is a fourth degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do and has spent the last 28 years practicing the art of combat and restraint.
“It’s not so much teaching someone how to fight, but giving somebody more than one option. Just because you know how to fight doesn’t mean you have to,” he said.
The Korean fighting style traces its roots back to the 9th century when competing kingdoms in the region began teaching special fighting techniques to often out-numbered soldiers as a way to make them more formidable.
The style incorporated many Asian philosophies of internal balance and control with Buddhist influences having its own code of honor and strict discipline.
“The jump kick, for example, was originally designed as a way of dismounting riders on horse back,” said Ron.
I was able to walk in Ron’s shadow as he instructed a large variety of classes at his Hale Street studio, from wrangling 5 and 6 years olds through an obstacle course to grappling with adults in fast-paced 30-second submission rounds.
“Maybe the most difficult thing for an instructor is evaluating each student’s learning pace and also knowing how they learn,” he said.
One of the first things to know, advised Ron, is that martial arts “isn’t just about kicks and punches;” it teaches students confidence, discipline and encourages a fit mind and body.
“We strive to instill in our students a sense of responsibility and respect for another,” he said.
We began the afternoon working with the 7 to 8-year-old class by practicing the beginning levels of the forms called “Hyung” in Korean.
“For the younger ones, we try to build coordination and listening skills,” he told me.
Ron complimented the younger students’ work ethic. “When they’re this young, they always seem to make their first attempt their best one. As you get older, you’ll notice more and more students pace themselves even when you’d rather have them make a full effort the first time around. They get smarter,” he joked.
The class finished up its day with a grappling game that focused on escapes. To explain grappling, imagine high school wrestling but without any rules – obviously there is no striking or pinching allowed, but twisting and even choking (which are high school wrestling no-no’s) are. The match is over when an opponent submits by tapping out. The younger group’s workout was not to that level of intensity, however.
Two kids begin in the middle of a large square with for pads in each corner. One student holds the other and the goal is simple: the one who begins at disadvantage must knock all the pads out of the box in 45 seconds while the other attempts to keep them from escaping. The kids loved it, and Ron was forced to deny repeated requests from the youths to keep on going.
The next class was the youngest called ‘Little Ninjas,’ which is 4 to 6 year-olds. The class teach kids how to control their bodies and focus their attention through fun games and challenges.
Following through on a promise Ron made during the last class, we constructed an obstacle course out of punching bags, mats, bungie cords, medicine balls and balance beams.
The course: A quick run through a tangle of bungie cords, up a balance beam, jump from a small platform and kick two punching bags, another bungie cord had to be pulled out from the wall and stretched to a distant point with the tension fighting against them, another kick to a bag before crawling through a mat tunnel, move a 15-pound medicine ball from one point to another a few feet away, run over to Ron, do a barrel roll and tackle a free standing punching bag, the end. Most could finish the course in less than a minute.
Martial arts class is sometimes actually more like a class than you might think. Most imagine an aerobics-style instruction with lots of physical activity, but that’s not always the case.
The adult students gathered around the instructor as he reviewed the “vitals” chart, which is slang for the vital areas of the human body that can suffer critical amounts of damage, making a few listeners squirm.
Striking a red area on the body can cause severe damage and death; yellow areas are often very painful but lack permanent damage, and green represents the parts of the body that will absorb most blows.
In the adult class, Ron quickly reviewed a list in class Tuesday on the “red areas” of the body noting the first of dozen of possible tactics if one were ever caught in a confrontation for their life.
“A hard blow to the top of the head can cause a concussion or bleeding. It can dislodge the brain if you can smack it good enough. And here’s another one, you can also take your thumbs and apply pressure directly on the eyes, push them right in there if you can. There’s always the nose – a strike at the tip of the nose with a slightly upward angle, all these can cause serious injury or death,” he said.
As Ron discussed the chart, an occasional skeptic in the audience would wonder out loud how a pinch or a twist could be practical in a real fight.
Anyone who’s been a martial arts student for any length of time would realize this to be a mistake, because what you really just said was: “I volunteer for a demonstration.” (It’s amazing how many remarks I made equaled that translation.)
The human body is capable of doing amazing things and just when you think you’ve got it figured out, a 4th degree black belt brings you to your knees in compliant agony with a pressure point that until a second ago you didn’t even know existed and it seems you have an eternity to contemplate the unexpected weakness before you’re released.
Other class room studies include the appropriate use of force in New York State law and reviewing a code of ethics, the five tenets of which are courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control and indomitable spirit, explained Ron.
I finished my day grappling with a group of students and then with Ron himself. Considering I’ve got about 20 years on him and about 40 pounds, you’d think I would last more than 30 seconds before tapping out with a scissor leg lock around my neck. But I didn’t. Something I learned is that few things can beat experience and practice.
Tribute Martial Arts and Fitness is located at 58 Hale St. in the City of Norwich. To contact Lewis, call 336-5425.
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