Pat's Excellent Martial Arts Adventure, Part 1: the 1970s

I was born a poor, black child in Mississippi...No, wait, that was Steve Martin. Actually I was born in Louisiana and grew up in Maryland. Being a rather portly young lad with the acquired nickname of "Fat Pat", I spent much of those early years being picked on and occasionally beat up.

My martial arts adventure began in February, 1972 at the tender age of 12. After a friend and I were chased onto the roof of a car by a rather large dog (at least he seemed large at the time), we decided that if we knew karate, we could have defended ourselves. We promptly enrolled at the Jhoon Rhee Korean Karate School of Bowie, falling prey to their the branding cry, "Nobody Bothers Me".
 

Next up, in 1976 I began taking Shorin Ryu Karate at Don Bitanga's Martial Arts Center in Beltsville. It was here that I was first exposed to Wing Chun through the head instructor (who's name eludes me). I later came to discover that his interpretation of Wing Chun was, how shall I say this, BS. It did spark my interest in Wing Chun, which would manifest itself again, at a later date. While I enjoyed the karate classes, putting over 30,000 miles on my parents Pinto Wagon (yes, I drove a pinto) in just a year, I knew it was not what I really wanted to study. What I was interested in at that time was learning animal-style kung fu. However, somewhere long the way I received my black belt in karate.

With it in mind to find animal styles of fighting, in the Spring of 1977, I attended a martial arts demonstration given at a local high school of what was advertised martial art styles that included animal styles of fighting. The exhibition was of a Burmese martial art called Bando. Once the demonstration was over, I got brave and went up to the special guest, the man who brought Bando to the U.S., Dr. Maung Gyi. After introducing myself, I expressed my interest in learning his martial art and asked if there was somewhere I might go to learn Bando. He was very open and friendly to me and he gave me information on the Catonsville Community College Bando Club.

I began my training in Bando at the at the CCC Bando Club in April of 1977 with Professor Jon Collins and Mr. Bob Maxwell. During my first class, I expressed my interest in learning one of the Bando Animal Systems to Professor Collins. He immediately had one of the senior students begin to show me the Tiger style of Bando. The next week, Professor Collins and Mr. Maxwell felt that my training efforts would be better served by studying Bama Letwhey (Burmese Boxing) and Python/Naban System (combat grappling). He then had me glove up and fight two experienced kickboxers (who immediately helped me find religion) in his club. While I can't say it was an enjoyable initial experience, I did enjoy the competition and effort intrinsic to kickboxing. From then on, I trained in Burmese Boxing, the Python/Naban system (combat grappling) as well as Middle Style Bando (Burmese defense system). I continue to do so to today. By the way, I did eventually return to the studying the Tiger Style about a year later, and later the Eagle and Boar styles.

In the summer of that year, I attended my first martial arts camp, the Third Annual Bando Kick-boxing and Special Weapons Camp. At the camp. I had the opportunity to meet some of the top martial artists of the time. It was quite exciting for a young, high school kid.
 

By the next year (1978) I began competing in Burmese Boxing smokers and club fights. It was at this time that I also began competing in Professional Karate Association (PKA) and World Karate Association (WKA) fights. During that time, the PKA, better known as full-contact karate, allowed only punching and all had to be above the waist. A minimum kick rule was also established to prevent the fight from becoming a boxing match. The WKA was similar to PKA, however, they allowed leg kicks. I also competed in various full-contact tournaments on the East Coast. My preferred competitions were those that allowed the full-range of Burmese Boxing techniques (punches, kicks, leg kicks, knees, elbows). I continued to compete in kickboxing matches through the early nineties.

 

During the 1978-1979 academic year, I spent my freshman year at Louisiana State University. In Louisiana I was able to compete in a relatively new (and short-lived) full-contact organization called the United World Karate Association. Again, its rules were similar to PKA rules, but the UWKA allowed knees to be thrown. It was also in Louisiana that I began my initial studies in Wing Chun from Sifu Chan of New Orleans. Being  poor college student, I was forced to construct a wooden dummy (or a reasonable facsimile) from materials purchased at the local home store. Not being able to find the kind of training I wanted (other than the Wing Chun I began learning), I transferred to Towson State University in Maryland for the 1979-1980 academic year. Easily accessible to Professor Collins club, I was able to continue training with him. In the fall of 1979, I assisted Professor Collins at a major demonstration, the "Masters Demonstration" held at Temple university in Philadelphia. Along with various masters of tai chi. kung fu, ninjitsu, karate, judo, etc, we demonstrated Bando and Burmese Boxing.

 

Pat's Excellent Martial Arts Adventure, Part 2: the 1984 - 89