Florida’s Fists of Fury: The Southern Paws of Nick DePaolo

“Creativity is the ability to introduce order into the randomness of nature.”- Eric Hoffer
 

Surrounded by the water and forestry of New Brunswick’s capital Sensei Nick DePaolo introduced us to the scope of his imagination. Sensei Nick is one of the most creative and proficient Karate-ka I have met. In Sensei Nick’s Koryu Uchinadi Concepts seminar—hosted by Sensei Geoff MacDonald—he demonstrated his creative, encouraging and high energy teaching style. In a room full of students with seemingly random backgrounds, that of Shoto Kan, Chito Ryu, Goju Ryu and Shito ryu with various technical level and ages, Sensei Nick introduced the entry level of KU to the participants. In the seminar, the group explored a flow drill consisting of applications for judan uke, gedan burai, uchi uke, soto uke, kake uke and shuto called Shiho uke-waza futari-geiko, as well as, tegumi, Okinawan hand grappling consisting of trapping, deflecting and bumping and how to transition between them and to the ground. 

Josh Stewart, Geoff MacDonald, Nick DePaolo and Me

“The comfort zone is the great enemy to creativity; moving beyond it necessitates intuition, which in turn configures new perspectives and conquers fears.”- Dan Stevens

            

        The enthusiastic students were introduced to tegumi practices as our warm up. Tegumi encouraged everyone to get up close and personal, something that may have been uncomfortable for a group of individuals who had only just met. The tegumi we grappled with were straight punch, back fist, hammerfist and six ways of engaging the hook punch! At first, individuals reached out towards the impact coming towards them instead of waiting for the opponent to come close to making contact, then receiving. However, due to the repetitive nature of the exercise everyone quickly overcame their anxiety concerning the technique and of each other. Eventually, Sensei Nick went to the next level of the exercise encouraging everyone to switch between the various type of tegumi. Again, encountering various attacks at any point was frightening, but Sensei Nick promoted the positive energy by saying “it’s the best I’ve seen all day!” By renewing everyone’s confidence and willingness to attack the drill we were able to move closer towards intuitively anticipating our opponent’s spontaneous attacks. 

Shidoin Josh Stewart & Geoff MacDonald experiment with Tegumi.
Not only is Sensei Geoff MacDonald an awesome practice partner, he
is also an amazing host who defines hospitality.

“True creativity often starts where language ends.”- Arthur Koestler 

One of the most impressive things about Sensei Nick is his teaching ability. In many ways, I learned creative ways to convey a message without necessarily using language. Sensei Nick’s way of teaching incorporates various different visually, auditory and physical cues. When teaching the first movement of Shiho uke-waza, a defense against a bear hug where you under-hook the opponent’s right arm to keep them from grabbing with that hand as you simulate grabbing the groin with the other hand by reaching as far as you can between the opponents legs; Sensei Nick called attention to the importance of the under hook by snapping his fingers engaging both the auditory and visual learner.  (Video of Shiho uke-waza can be found at the following: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9YNjPyg3Qo)

To emphasis intent throughout the drill Sensei Nick would make sound effects as he went through the drill. For example, Sensei Nick would make aggressive growling noises like “Ruff!” when attacking throughout the drill. In the event of receiving he would make a noise like “Op!”  By making these sound effects it was not only engaging for those watching, but promoted the aggressive nature of the exercise.  As the group practiced they also mimicked these auditory cues, intensifying the energy in the room.

Another way Sensei Nick engaged the visual learner was through waving the hand or making the attacks obtuse for beginners. For example, at the point in the drill where you defend a finger four behind the back and come around to right hook punch while grabbing the partner’s right hand with the left hand, he would emphasis the attacking hand by opening it. Sensei Nick also maintained the importance of making the movement large for those doing it for the first time. By making the movement big the student can learn to recognize the situation, as the student progresses the attacker can make the movement increasingly more subtle. Not only this, but because the student can recognize and assess the attack successfully, there is an increase in self-confidence, a wonderful side effect of learning to defend oneself. 

Second sequence of Shi ho uke waza futari geiko

“Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity.”- Charles Mingus

            

     An amazing element of Sensei Nick’s style is the simplicity in which he addresses receiving impact, especially in relation to the head. If you want to protect your head and face, then put your palms on either side of your forehead, much like a helmet. When the attacks are coming from either side of your head simply move your palm, which will move your arm into the correct position to receive the impact. The best part is it’s already in our nature to assume this position when we perceive a threat coming towards our head. Furthermore, it facilitates the idea of moving from the body. As mentioned earlier, at the beginning of the seminar there was a tendency for those receiving impact to reach out towards the attack. Reaching out can only increase the possibility of getting hit, because you remove your hands from your guard. Be aware your hands must be in contact with the head before impact is received, less you will be executing a teisho on yourself by receiving the attack on the forearm and then your own head. This has been by far the simplest and effective way of receiving impact that I have encountered. 

Taking techniques to the ground with emphasis on 
protecting the head

“Creativity involves breaking out of established patterns in order to look at things in a different way.”- Edward de Bono

As a practitioner Sensei Nick is the fastest and most intense of the people I have worked with. I enjoy his way of doing two person drills the most. Sensei Nick’s continuity in movement demonstrates a simple and eloquent way of performing techniques. In many ways Sensei Nick broke away from established patterns of Karate and KU through the use of mitt work. At the seminar we took our striking and receiving drill called Uke Waza (a.k.a Quadrant drill) and applied it to mitt work. This was a great way to focus on aiming and intensity within the drill. At the same time, it helped those holding the mitts to understand the role of the coach; it was their job to keep their partner working hard and motivated. Also, it’s not just the person striking who gets to practice the fundamentals; the person feeding the mitts has the opportunity to practice skills too. In many ways, it’s harder to receive the impact as the “coach” than it is to hit, you have to remember the drill and ensure the pads are in the right place at the right time. With that said, feeding the mitts assists in improving hand speed, distancing and knowing your targets in a fun manner for both practitioners. 

“Anxiety is the handmaiden of creativity” - Chuck Jones

In my previous article about training out West I mentioned a dilemma: “whether I should do as I am taught, or follow the principles that lie within those teachings”. It was through training with Sensei Nick that I began to realize a way to deal with this anxiety.  In Sensei Nick’s seminar, he took the basic drills and the fundamentals they teach and found new ways to reinforce them, for example through mitt work and increasing intensity.  I learned everything one needs to be successful can be found within the drill on the condition the basics are always reinforced and taught in a manner which promotes positive outcomes; that being, it is only through promoting the participants self-confidence and presenting a positive atmosphere will the student continue to study and master the basics. Sensei Nick addressed the anxiety of the beginner in that learning basics are in many instances quite boring, repetitive and sometimes mechanical and used that to find a creative way to teach KU in a way which is both fun and practical. As teachers by addressing the issues of our novices, I believe our students will not only find confidence in their technical skills, but also in the ability to find faith in their own ideas and imagination, hopefully generating not just skilled karate-ka, but inventive teachers.  
  
For more information on Sensei Nick DePaolo and Koryu Uchinadi, 
please visit the following: 
 http://www.alphafightingarts.com
 http://www.koryu-uchinadi.com

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What you can look forward  to next:
Demons, Divination and Inquisition from History in Relation to 
"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix"