A story in three parts by Judy Barnhart, 8th
degree blackbelt Shorin-Ryu Karate USA under the direction of Grand Master
Ansei Ueshiro
On death and dying:
Part one:
The Invite to the Wake.
I can still smell the lilly’s and the roses. Must be on my
clothing or in my hair. We attended a wake for a former karate student
yesterday. His wife called me a week ago to let me know he had passed.
She said:
“Ted would have wanted you to know. He always spoke about
you and Sensei Barnhart and he never forgot what you taught him. He use to
practice his kata and the karate gave him a whole new life. Karate helped dramatically
with his back problems even though his doctor told him no.”
I was shocked. It’s never easy to hear that someone you
remembered as healthy and happy is dead.
I told her:
“I’m so sorry. Ted just stopped by last month with a few
friends to show them his karate school and I gave them the grand tour. Oh no.”
We hadn’t seen Ted since 2002. He and his son Scott, who was
ten at the time, trained in our dojo for about nearly two years.
Ted was a big man physically. He weighed at least 300 pounds
and he stood around 6 foot tall. Aside from his appearance, Ted was easy to
remember, as he was appreciative and respectful and had a big personality. Ted
was someone who gave back to the dojo anyway he could. Ted was there for landscaping days, karate compai's, beach workouts and when we put a new roof
on the Museum building next door, Ted was there to help. He gave us a day of his time to lean in and get the job done.
Even as big as he was, his kata reflected grace and precision.
I don’t know why he stopped training but according to his wife, Mary, he never
did stop the practice of his kata.
I told Mary we would be there on Wednesday at 3:00PM and we
were.
To be continued.
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