They Call Me Sensei

By REESE RIGBY

This is the story of Sensei Reese Rigbys journey into Isshin-ryu karate-do from beginner white belt to ninth-degree black belt grandmaster, starting with his school of fourteen students in 1973 and growing to approximately three hundred karate students and an additional one hundred combined cardio kickboxing and tai chi students in 2012. In writing this book, Sensei Rigby wanted to share his story with his students, family, and others who are interested in a martial arts journey. This book is a tribute to his Isshin-ryu instructors, Grandmaster Angi Uezu and Grandmaster Tom Lewis, and his tai chi instructor, Sifu Diane Cannon.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Nov 29, 2012
• ISBN: 9781477293072

REESE RIGBY

Sensei Reese Rigby is a ninth-degree black belt in Isshin-ryu karate-do. He started his martial arts training in 1969 and has had his own dojo since 1973. As a result of Sensei Rigby’s dedication to Isshin-ryu and his high level of achievement in the art, he has been inducted into the Okinawa Isshinryu Karate Association Hall of Fame and the Isshin-ryu Hall of Fame. Sensei Rigby is a co-vice president of the OIKKA, an international Okinawan Karate Association founded by Grandmaster Angi Uezu, and is a board member of the Isshin-ryu Hall of Fame. Sensei Rigby’s lifelong goal has been to live and teach the art of Isshin-ryu karate-do. He and his wife, Judy Rigby, own Rigby's Karate Academy in Dover, Delaware, where they continue to teach traditional Isshin-ryu karate and tai chi.

Book preview

THEY CALL ME

SENSEI

REESE RIGBY

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AuthorHouse™

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.authorhouse.com

Phone: [phone]

© 2012 by Reese Rigby. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 11/26/2012

ISBN: 978-1-4772-9309-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4772-9308-9 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4772-9307-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012922188

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Acknowledgement

Foreword

Introduction

1. Getting Started

2. Starting My Own School

3. Tournaments

4. Isshin-Ryu History

5. Charging For Classes

6. Proper Dojo Etiquette

7. Joining Associations

8. Code Of Conduct

9. Change

10. A New Sensei

11. A Visit From The Master

12. Okinawa, Here We Come

13. Bodybuilding Days

14. Master Uezu’s Stroke

15. A New Beginning

16. Cardio Kickboxing And Tai Chi

17. Hall Of Famers

18. Childhood

19. Change

20. Celebrations

21. White Belt To Black Belt

22. Raised By A Village

23. Anti-Bully Pledge

24. Notable Students

25. My Timeline

26. Final Thoughts

Resources

This book is dedicated

to Judy Rigby, my wife of forty-four years.

From my first thoughts of writing this book, I knew there could be no other person who I would want to dedicate it to.

She has been by my side from the very beginning of my martial arts career, from our humble start as a part-time martial arts club to a well-respected Isshin-ryu karate school with approximately three hundred students of Isshin-ryu karate-do.

She has been by my side from white belt to ninth-degree red belt. She has seen the best side of me and the worst side in my training of Isshin-ryu karate and tai chi.

She has sacrificed much so that I could continue my training. She has been by my side during it all.

I dedicate this book to the love of my life: my wife, Judy Rigby.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

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I wish to express my sincere thanks to Jordan Henry and Jackson Parker—two of my students who did a great job designing my book cover. I would also like to thank my sister-in-law, Susan Rigby and a very dear friend, Bettye Buchman for being the initial editors of my manuscript, They Call Me Sensei.

FOREWORD

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I have had the pleasure of knowing Reese and Judy Rigby for many years. Every now and then, a student will come along who is exceptional; the Rigbys were just that. After many years training together, traveling and socializing like some other students, I consider them family.

I had no idea of their achievements after I left the East Coast and moved to Wyoming. During the twenty years I was gone, these two accomplished so many feats that I was not aware of. I’m extremely proud of Reese and Judy. Thanks for being a part of my life.

Tom Lewis

INTRODUCTION

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My name is Reese Rigby. I come from a small city in a small state: Dover, Delaware. I have been training in Isshin-ryu karate since 1969 and have had a martial arts school since 1973.

This book is about my journey in the martial arts of wrestling, karate, and tai chi. It is a book about my growth along the way. More than anything, my intent is to express my love for the martial art of Isshin-ryu karate-do.

I hope that this book can inspire others more accomplished than myself to share their journey with others. This is my journey from beginner white belt to the grandmaster level of ninth-degree red belt. This journey is what has made my experience so special.

I hope you enjoy reading this book as much as I have enjoyed writing it. The writing of this book has brought back many memories that I cherish very much. Just because I am writing a book about my experience doesn’t mean that I am planning my retirement. I love what I’m doing too much to retire anytime soon!

1

GETTING STARTED

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Most of my students think that my martial arts training started in 1969, but my actual training started in 1964 with high school wrestling, which is one of the oldest martial arts. My father wanted me to be a basketball player. He soon found out that was not my thing; I was just not good at it at all. I can remember my father calling my basketball coach and asking him why I did not get put in the game. His answer was, Mr. Rigby, have you ever watched your son try to play basketball? When my father got off of the phone, he said that I could wrestle the following year, which made me very happy; that’s what I had wanted to do all along anyway!

My brothers and I seemed to have a special talent for wrestling. We were not bricklayers at that time; we carried the material for them as laborers. That made our grip and forearms strong, which is perfect for wrestling. We made a name for ourselves in the wrestling world. Between the four of us, we earned five state championships and several second or thirds. My youngest brother, Morgan, was all-American. Was he the best wrestler in the family? My brothers might want to argue that one! My other two brothers, Roy and Harry, went into coaching, and both were named outstanding coach of the year for the state. My sons, Reese Jr. and Kevin, were also very good high school and college wrestlers. Reese Jr. followed in his uncles’ footsteps and was outstanding coach of the state of Delaware. My brother Harry was inducted into the Delaware Wrestling Hall of Fame; hopefully my other brother, Roy, will also be inducted in the not-too-distant future.

My sister, Freeda, was also a great athlete; she excelled in field hockey, basketball, and softball. She was all-conference in softball for three years. She also coached field hockey on the high school level.

I had a wrestling scholarship to go to college but gave it up when my parents got a divorce just before I graduated from high school. It took me a long time to realize that sometimes things work out the way they are supposed to. At the time, my dream was to go to college and be a coach. But instead I became a bricklayer.

Wrestling wasn’t the only sport my family did; we also played football and baseball, and my brother Roy was good at track. Harry had a tryout for professional baseball but was a little too small to be a catcher in the pros. Morgan loved basketball, but wrestled because the rest of us did. If anyone asked me who was the best athlete of us all, I wouldn’t be able to say because we all had our special talents.

In 1968, I married my high school sweetheart, Judy Miller, who went to Holy Cross High School. We had our first son in 1969. One month later, I started karate training in Isshin-ryu karate at the YMCA, with Doug Hasting as my first karate instructor. It was very hard for me to call him Doug, which was what he wanted to be called. I was used to calling people who coached me Coach or Mister. Doug Hasting was a student of Sensei Tom Lewis from Salisbury, Maryland. Sensei Lewis trained with Grandmaster Shimabuku, who was the founder of Isshin-ryu karate. In my first class, I trained in corduroy pants and a white T-shirt while everyone else had on white gis (uniform). For the next class, I got Judy to bleach my gray sweat pants; at least I didn’t feel quite as out of place until I got a gi. I was so happy to finally get my first gi, but I didn’t even get to wear it to class because my beautiful wife shrunk it. That was ten dollars down the drain! That wouldn’t have been so bad except we did the same thing the second time: ten more dollars gone, which we could not afford. Finally I wised up and ordered a bigger size. Duh!

I loved karate training from day one and just could not get enough of it. That first year, I practiced seven days a week: two days with Doug and the rest of the week on my own. One thing I couldn’t understand was all the striking they did with closed fists. My perception of karate was of open-hand strikes. I guess I got that from TV or the media.

After I got my green belt, I had a setback, or should I say Judy and I had a setback. I became paralyzed in my right leg. I could not do karate, nor could I work and make any money for my family. I was in the hospital for three weeks, and it was another three weeks before I could go back to work on a part-time basis. I swear, I don’t know how we survived. I was very lucky to have such a loving and supportive wife, and I still have and love her forty-four years later.

When I came back to karate class, my leg was still weak but I found ways to compensate for it. Many times in class, I would fall down because of my leg. In karate, we have a saying: Seven times you fall down, eight times you get up. I sure used up that saying in my early years. My leg is the same now as it was then—well maybe a little older . . . okay, a lot older—but I have learned to adjust to it over the years.

In my training with Doug, I remember my first promotion to yellow belt as being a very happy moment for me. I wasn’t a new student anymore. I was an advanced belt. I can say that because there weren’t any higher belts at that time. After training for six months, I got my green belt; that really seemed advanced to me. As a green belt, I went to my first tournament as a karate practitioner. I was used to wrestling tournaments. This was a whole new experience for me, and I didn’t do very well—although I did enjoy competing again. I wouldn’t