Black belt Kim Pringle, of Mole Creek, brought the martial art of shotokan karate to the Meander Valley region three years ago. A number of her students, and Mrs Pringle, will attend the World Shotokan Karate Championships in Sydney next November. ISABEL BIRD spoke with her.
How did you get involved in shotokan karate?
When I was about 18 or 19 I met some people in Western Australia who practiced martial arts.
I went along, had a bit of a train and it really went from there.
I didn't start any formalised training until I got to Queensland in about 1979.
I first started teaching in about 1984.
What drew you to the sport?
It is definitely not a sport - it is a martial art.
The competition side of things has bastardised martial arts.
But basically, I got a bit over team sports and really just liked doing things for myself.
What are some of the basics of the art?
There are three major components.
The "kihon" are your basic movements - set forms of combinations of basic movements.
They came about as gymnastic exercise when the Japanese weren't allowed to use their martial arts.
The second is "kata" which is a collection of movements to an imaginary opponent.
It is quite wonderful, people can look very graceful and extremely dynamic.
The final component is "kumite" the fighting component.
It is like a triangle, you can't have one without the other and must practise all three.
What is the mental strength required to reach a high level?
Say you have 20 people who start training. If one of those 20 goes through to shodan (black belt), that is about as successful as you will be as a teacher.
The dropout rate is very high ... the mental capacity required is huge.
To some people it can be very monotonous, you are doing the same thing over and over.
At the end of the day the person, whether they are a child or adult, has to make the decision that they want to be there.
It is in the spirit.
You can't create that in a person.
Technique and ability I can teach, but I can't give them the heart that is inside them.
(But) the greatest thing that has happened in my life is finding karate.
It is not all about ego and punching and kicking, it goes to enhancing peoples lives.
Why do you think it enhances peoples lives?
To do something that requires a lot of physical effort is one of the greatest soul searching things a person can do.
It provides personal development and discipline.
How is shotokan karate used as self defence?
I am not a big person - size is irrelevant.
The number one factor is the element of surprise.
If you were a trained person presented with a situation it comes naturally to you, and that is from years and years of repetitive work and training.
You automatically walk - it is the same principle.
You are going straight to your target on the body where you know that the appropriate strike will put that person on the ground, or in a position where you can scream, yell, holler or run.
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