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 Karate is really a combination of sport and art, one in which the mind and body must be fused before achieving results. True, there are kicks and hitting motions, but they are combined with mental exercises that calm the spirit and promote a wholeness of being. Karate also serves a number of practical purposes, says Al Farnsworth, owner of White Dragon Kenpo Karate. In his karate school, Farnsworth teaches both groups and individuals and has been studying karate himself for the past 16 years. Currently he is studying under the founder of Kenpo Karate, expert Ed Parker, for his 3rd degree black belt in Kenpo and he also holds a 2nd degree black belt in Tae-Kwan-Do.  In
addition, Farnsworth has a black sash in Kung Fu and a brown belt in Jujitsu
and American Karate. Farnsworth was chosen from 40,000 applicants
to be featured in the "Who's Who in American martial Arts" and has owned
the White Dragon Kenpo Karate school for the past four years. "We
have programs that are tailored to individual, " he says. "We have
programs for kids, rape prevention and executives. We concentrate
on weaponry, self-defense, and competition." Karate is for almost
anyone and can be beneficial, both physically and mentally, Farnsworth
says. Attesting to the fact that nearly anyone is suited to karate
is Jayne Wheeler, a 5'2" woman in her mid 50s who looks like anything but
a karate expert. Blonde, petite, and attractive, she looks as if
she'd be more at home at a garden party than in a karate studio.
"Al the other students say they don't want to hit me. They say I
look like their mother or their grand mother," Wheeler says, laughing.
"They're usually a little apprehensive about the age. But we get
past that obstacle very quickly. "They say, 'I can't hit you,' and
I say 'You'd better because I'm going to hit you," she says. Wheeler
first became interested in Kenpo Karate - a system that stresses basic
blocks and kicks and no wasted motions 0 after a Las Vegas woman was kidnapped,
raped, and killed after leaving the Boulevard Mall one night. Wheeler,
who works at the Boulevard, realized that the brutality of the crime hit
all too close to home. It could have been her, or any female employee
or customer, for that matter. She decided to find a means to defend
herself. She thought of carrying a gun but realized that weapons
aren't always effective. By the time she got her gun out of her purse,
she could end up the way the woman did. So Wheeler tried Kenpo Karate
- a pretty daring move for a woman in her 50s. "I don't think my
husband thought I'd do it and stick with it," says Wheeler, who's been
studying karate for three years now. "I think my whole family thought
it was a joke. "But they're very proud of me now, and my grand kids
have even started taking karate," she says. "When people come over
to the house, the first thing my family doe is take them over and show
them my karate trophies." Wheeler remembers feeling like a "freak"
at first in her classes because of her age. "I knew I had to keep
up with the kids in the class. But not only did I keep up with them,
I passed them." She has earned a brown belt which is just below the
black belt. But she says she had no intentions of earning belts when
she first began studying. All she wanted was to learn how to defend
herself. Now she not only takes classes, but she also volunteers
her time to teach classes at Farnsworth's school as well. Kenpo has
given her the self-confidence she was seeking, especially in potentially
dangerous situations. She says that after work, other women in the
store where she works walk to the parking lot with here. The other
women are "not afraid" when they walk with Wheeler because of her
karate training. "What's essential is what it's going to do for me
on the streets. That's getting down to brass tacks," she says
emphatically. "My feeling is that you have the right to protect yourself
in any way you can. If you have to take the eyes, then you take the
eyes." It's hard to imagine this woman gouging out someone's eyes,
but the intensity in her voice is convincing enough. She says she
has a lot more confidence in her ability to defend herself in necessary.
"Thanks to Kenpo Karate and Al Farnsworth, I'd put up a hell of a fight."
-Lisa Godwin (LV/May 1987) |
