Martial Arts Up North

Ray McKenzie is a 4th Dan, and Mick Isaacs a 2nd Dan, both are Instructors with UKASKO. Together they have decided to run a series of tournaments in Leeds, West Yorkshire namely: The Yorkshire Karate Championships, Open Semi-Contact Series 1997.

I recently interviewed them after a hard work out in Dewsbury.

Sue Isaacs: How long have you both practised martial arts?

Ray McKenzie: I started martial arts at the age of nineteen. I have been practising martial arts for fourteen to fifteen years.

Mick Isaacs: I started when I was going on seventeen, I am now the grand old age of forty, so have been training for twenty three years.

Sue Isaacs: Why did you both decide to learn martial arts?

Ray McKenzie: At nineteen years of age I was competing in athletics up to international standard in the decathlon. I had the chance to turn professional but could not get financial backing, and as it meant I had to give up my job, I could not afford to do it. My girlfriend at that time was practising martial arts. I decided to go along to keep her company and joined in.

Mick Isaacs: Well you have probably heard this story so many times before. I had been to the pictures to see one of the Bruce Lee movies, and from that time on I was hooked.

Sue Isaacs: What styles have you both trained in, what styles do you practise now and why?

Ray McKenzie: I have practised Shotokan, Wado Ryu, four styles of Kung Fu, Kickboxing(semi-contact and full contact), Taekwondo and Ju-Jitsu. The styles I incorperate into my syllabus are Taekwondo, Wado Ryu Karate and Kickboxing which can be split up into Sport Karate and Traditional Karate. The styles I have chosen gives a broader spectrum as some students like the fighting aspect and some prefer kata. In view of the various styles I have learned I am able to offer the students something new all the time.

Mick Isaacs: The first style I learnt was Kyokushinkai, I then went on to do Shotokan, Wing Chun, Thai Boxing, Ju-Jitsu, Aikido and weapons. I have always reverted back to Shotokan, which along with freestyle are the styles I practise and teach now. The reason I chose Shotokan is because out of all the Karate styles I have seen and tried Shotokan is the strongest and most expressive. Freestyle, however, gives me the oppertunity to express myself freely and to teach techniques from various systems as a whole.

Sue Isaacs: What do you feel are the benefits of training in a martial art and what benefits have you both gained personally?

Ray McKenzie: It has taught me self discipline, which is very, very important. Respect for both myself and other people, which is a quality I expect from my students, including loyalty, which I feel is sometimes lacking. Conversing with children and meeting people from different styles.

Mick Isaacs: The main benefits are, it keeps you fit, it is also a way of learning to defend yourself. It teaches you self discipline and respect, not just for other people but for yourself. Personnaly, I feel that from training and meeting different people I have more self - confidence. It has given me a greater sense of awareness. It has also given me the ability to pass on my knowledge to my students enabling them to excel, not only in martal arts but in life.

Sue Isaacs: Ray, can you tell me about the Phoenix Karate clubs?

Ray McKenzie: The Phoenix Karate clubs started around 1985, so they have been going for about eleven years. I supervise a number of clubs throughout the Yorkshire area.

Sue Isaacs: Mick, can you tell me about The Seacroft School of Karate?

Mick Isaacs: The Instructor at the club where my wife and I trained started to change the Shotokan system. Obviously to attain Black belt status at that club it would not have been recognised as Shotokan, so we left. We opened the Seacroft School of Karate four years ago, which has gone from strength to strength.

Sue Isaacs: Why did you both decide to join UKASKO ?

Ray McKenzie At that time I was with another association, which I will not mention! They did not offer anything at all for students. They seemed interested only in lining their own pockets. I joined UKASKO as they were offering a lot and I have not looked back since.

Mick Isaacs: When we decided to open the Seacroft School of Karate we needed some backing, at that time my wife and I were 1st Kyu. We looked through the magazines and Roy Stanhope`s association offered just what we wanted.

Sue Isaacs: As Instructors what do you hope to achieve from your

students ?

Ray McKenzie: I expect students to understand the art. I would like them to be of a high standard, enjoy their training and achieve what they want to achieve i.e. dan grade status, be a good fighter or a kata person.

Mick Isaacs: I hope my students achieve the best they possibly can and as an instructor I feel it is my responsibility to help them acheive their own goals. Having said that, we always strive to get the best from them. If we feel that they can acheive more then we push them a bit further.

Sue Isaacs: You have both been very competitive, is it neccasary for students to be competitive to attain a high standard in martial arts ?

Ray McKenzie: Yes and No, as long as they enjoy training that's the main thing, but a little bit of competitiveness is helpful because it stops people being lazy, to some extent. If anyone is lazy in my class they get a kick up the backside. Having said that, being competitive keeps them striving to better their own standards.

Mick Isaacs: It depends on how you look at being competitive because it can be one of two things. You can compete against other people or you can compete against yourself. On the whole i would say that students have to be competitive in one way or another.

Sue Isaacs: As you both practise different styles - Ray you practise Wado Ryu, Taekwondo, Kickboxing and Freestyle, and Mick, you practise Shotokan, Traditional Weapons and Freestyle - how did you both get together ?

Ray McKenzie: I will let Mick answer this one.

Mick Isaacs: Well basically, we met through the association. Ray is the association's Freestyle coach. We first met about four years ago when we joined UKASKO, but have really got to know each other through the Phoenix inter-club tournaments. Over the past six months I have been training regularly with Ray at his clubs.

Sue Isaacs: From my experience there seems to be a lot of political prejudices, from style to style and even from association and association. You appear to have broken down some of these barriers. In your opinion is this the way forward ?

Ray McKenzie: I believe it is. Mick and myself have been working together for the past six months. We have a lot to offer each other. What you find with some styles and associations is that they are narrow minded and therefore whatever exists outside that style or association they do not want to know. I believe we should work as a family unit and not be fractionalised. Basically to gain public respect, as there are so many champions of this and champions of that, we need to work together as one.

Mick Isaacs: This is definately the way forward. Throughout the years that I have been training, what I have tried to do is go round to different clubs and train in different styles, because I feel that you can learn something from everyone. I have been to so many clubs who turn you away. I have found the main reasons for this is that you do not do their particular style; or you are not in their association; or sometimes because your face does not fit. I think if more instructors and chief instructors alike, opened their doors to more people, the martial arts would benefit as a whole.

Sue Isaacs: I understand you have both studied other styles including Chinese and Korean, is there a style in your opinion that is the best ?

Ray McKenzie: My answer to that is that the style is only as good as the person, it is not a style that is the best, it is what the person makes of that style. For example, Jeet Kune Do, the system invented by Bruce Lee, in my opinion could never be performed as well by someone else. Therefore Bruce Lee was the best and not the system.

Mick Isaacs: No! You cannot say that any particular style is better than another. For instance, someone could practise a particular style and never be any good, but someone else practising that same style could be very good. An important thing to remember is that if you are a person who has a flair for kicking, then Taekwondo or Kickboxing are ideal styles. If you prefer to grapple, then Judo or Ju-Jitsu are ideal.

Sue Isaacs: People who enter freestyle competitions are mainly Karate, Taekwondo and a few Kung Fu stylists, but there are many stylists, for instance: from Ju-Jitsu, Judo and other lesser known styles that do not compete. Why ?

Ray McKenzie: Ju-Jitsu have started their own competitions. A lot of them cannot move over to the freestyle side because their fighting involves locks and holds. Judo is a different thing altogether, as it is now classed as a sport and not a martial art, Judo has therefore got its house in order, by gaining Olympic recognition. I think Freestyle Karate should be aiming for the same status. we need to work together, bringing all styles together, working as one in a universal freestyle system.

Mick Isaacs: I agree entirely with Ray, I would like there to be a tournament whereby all the grand champions from various competitions can compete for the title of "Champion of Champions"

Sue Isaacs: What is freestyle? One Saturday morning Mick and myself had split the class up as usual. Mick taking those students who wanted to do freestyle and me taking those who wanted to do Kata. A young boy of eight, who had decided to do Kata, said "I want to learn proper Karate". In my opinion freestyle is a sport, a diluted version of "the real Thing". Do you agree ?

Ray McKenzie: Yes and no, depending on who is teaching it. Freestyle must have an origin, say for example Wado Ryu or any other traditional style. Freestyle can incorperate techniques from various styles.

Mick Isaacs: Yes, to a point. Freestyle that I teach, is taken from various martial arts that I have studied in the past. I also study the form of other fighters and steal their techniques. As Freestyle is geared up for competition, it is a sport. Shotokan is strictly a martial way and the techniques are taught differently in that they are killing techniques, as opposed to freestyle, which are scoring techniques. So yes, Freestyle is a diluted version of Karate.

Sue Isaacs: Can you now tell us about the Yorkshire Karate Championships ?

Ray McKenzie: We have both competed and reffereed various tournaments. Mick has reffereed at the MAI and Clash events. I have been on the reffereeing scene for a number of years. I have been a major refferee at the FSK and have reffereed on the MAI and WAKO circuits. We have selected the refferees for this tournament because of their experience, rather than refferees who are just put there on the day. We are offering something for competitors in the north, to avoid them having to travel further south. There is a lot of talent in the north and hopefully this tournament will enable more people from the north to compete.

Mick Isaacs: Most tournaments are held in Manchester, Birmingham and London. Our tournament is within easy reach for people north of the border. What we are trying to do is make the Yorkshire Karate Championships a major tournament in the north. In 1997 we aim to establish the Yorkshire Karate Championships by staging a series of three tournaments throughout the year. The first being 23rd February 1997

Since this interview the Yorkshire Karate Championships has established itself as the biggest Semi-Contact open tournament north of Manchester. It is almost at the end of its third succesfull year.

Ray McKenzie now 4th Dan has now broken away from UKASKO and is currently running his own association (Phoenix Karate Association) anyone interested in joining a new and growing Multi-Style association can contact Ray on 0114 2797148

Mick and Sue Isaacs now 3rd and 2nd Dan respectively are still teaching to the same high standard and have students who hold English and British titles and are now competeing at World level.

1999 see`s Mick and three of his students competeing in the WKA World Karate Championships in Hannover.

We can be contacted on 0113 2651103 or alternatively we can be E Mailed at sskleeds@ntlworld.com