Karateka come and go in our Club. We have Members that go away for awhile but then they return. It brings me great sadness to announce that our Club is about to lose another Karateka. Imjimbrae is heading back to his homeland.
When I started at Green Belt that was the start of Sparring for me. I had seen the Black Belts fight each other and had seen how hard they go. I also had witnessed a few Black Belts being tossed to the ground and the fighting continued. I had images of me being tossed to the ground and lights out for me. In the beginning I had a fear of Sparring against the Senior Belts.
My views on that has now since changed. I no longer fear it. I trust the Senior Belts not to give me a good wallop. Our style is all about control. And not seriously hurt anyone. Our aim is to subdue the attacker so we can get away. I will always hold a fond memory of Imjimbrae with me.
When I had just started out at Green Belt and at Sparring there was one Class that stands out in my mind. It was the Class where I met Imjimbrae for the very first time. Sensei told us to don our Sparring Gear, Green Belts included.
Sensei placed the Black Belts all in a row and told the Green Belts to pick a Black Belt and stand in front of them. I being new to the Sparring World was a tad scared of the whole idea. I was not too keen with it at first. I stood in front of Devlin and got set and ready to do battle. Then Sensei called "Hajimae" and we started to Spar. I had images of Black Belts beating us to a pulp but those thoughts soon vanished as Devlin allowed me to do all the hitting and he just stood there giving me a target. We did this for about three minutes. Most of our Sparring Matches are three minutes long.
Sensei stopped us and Green Belts were told to move down one. I was then faced with Andy. We started again and I found that Black Belts were not hitting at all. I was waiting for a comeback from them but they would not strike back.
Again we were stopped and I was faced with Harvey. We started again and again we did all the hitting and the Black Belts just stood there giving us a good target. Harvey even encouraged me to hit him like I mean it. Each time he begged me to hit harder. Like the obedient Karateka I am (I always do what the Senior Belts tell me to do) I obliged Harvey and gave it all I got. When we Spar with Black Belts they do give us great tips. I was really enjoying the Sparring bouts with the Black Belts.
We were stopped again and were again told to move down one. I stood in front of nobody and thought "cool I can go sit down I am pretty tired after all". That moment of relaxation came to an abrupt stop when I was faced with Imjimbrae. Imjimbrae is the tallest in Class. I had never met him before until that night and I was a tad uneasy about sparring against him. I was literally shaking. We both set our distance as he stepped further away from me. I had a bad feeling about it. Then Sensei gave the word to begin. Imjimbrae came at me with arms and legs flying and doing a bit of a war cry. I turned white as a ghost and was about to bolt out of the Gym that night. Imjimbrae started to laugh and came over and gave me a hug. I guess that was his way of breaking the ice. In a soft voice he said "let's begin". And we Sparred. He taught me a lot that night. And that is a memory I will hold very close to me. Imjimbrae you will be missed in Class I hope you come back and visit us soon.
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