DAN DOVIDIO

My path of “The Way”

My journey started over 45 years ago. As the oldest sibling, I was asked by my mother on numerous occasions to “bring your brothers to Karate”. Seeing I was still a teenager and had my driver’s license I would drive anywhere. But little did I know, those days I chauffeured my brothers to karate that it would change my life. I remember sitting there watching class and hanging out waiting for my brothers. I had a chance to see first hand what Mr. Durkin was teaching. I really never thought of joining, but once I saw Mr. Durkin on the floor and how he communicated with his students, his character intrigued me. He would talk to me after class not as a potential student, but just as a person of interest. He treated everyone the same way. His attitude was more of “Hey look how great you are or could be” and not “look how great I am”. All aside, that is how a teacher should be giving their students that TLC. That humbleness and how he was presenting the curriculum really drew me in and then I became a student.

Once on the floor, (the infamous Green Rug! I can still smell it when I think about it.) all I wanted was more and more of it. Once you get bitten by the Uechi Ryu Bug it is very contagious and addictive. The classes back in those days were 1 ½ to sometimes over 2 hours a night. We trained long and trained hard. Over the decades, I have seen a lot of great people come and go but the key attitude is you are always welcome to come back. As the years roll on, there are many who have been able to be consistent year after year. I have been very fortunate to be one of them. I was able to stay no matter what life threw at me. GM Durkin was there for me and lifted me up when I fell down.

I have some great memories from my early kyu rank days trying to get to that black belt. I remember in “84” when Kanei Uechi Sensei and other masters came to New England for the summer camp. I remember Miyagi Sensei took a shining to me. The fact that neither one of us spoke the same language made it even more incredible that we were able to communicate through our Uechi Ryu connection. He helped me with my kata’s technique and I felt this was the real Mr. Miyagi and I guess I was the real Daniel Son. It was a very cool time in my journey of “the way”. Once you get to black belt you never lose that rank. After reaching that goal, it is a cross road that a lot of students face and some have felt they have reached their goal. But truly, it all starts to begin at that point.

In 1985 I had the opportunity to go to Okinawa with all the American and Canadian Uechi practitioners for a winter camp. I remember leaving on Thanksgiving and the flight took us 24 hours to get to Okinawa. I recall we sat on the runway in Alaska to refuel and waited for the headwinds to calm before we could continue on to main land Japan before getting to Okinawa.

Once there, I had the pleasure to train in many different Dojo’s of the senior legends we have heard and talked about for years. I got to train at the Soke headquarters with Kanei Uechi and his son Kamei Uechi . It was a night I will never forget. As I look back, it was surreal. That night was a special one for all of us . I was excited to be in “The Dojo” and was looking forward to what we would work on during that class. One night we went to Master Shinjo’s dojo. Master Shinjo Sensei was known for being a great champion fighter. We started class like we typically do, warm ups and a Sanchin and then the rest of the night was sparring one match at a time. Four of us from the Salem Dojo fought that night, myself, Sensei Rose, Sensei Burrows and Sensei Rozumek. I tell you we held our own with his senior students. I was convinced that we had something special here and I was so happy I was a part of it all. Then the highlight of the trip was to compete in the All Okinawa Karate Championship Series. I had competed for years and every time I competed I was nervous mentally and physically. This time, I started and it all went way. There was a calmness that came from all that had lead up to the event. Being in Okinawa and training every day and doing my kata in front of Master Kanei Uechi, I felt I was in a familiar place and felt confident and ready to go. I made it through all the qualifications, which you needed to win, to even get into the actual tournament and then I made it past the

first round. My final match was with the current champion Maemiya Sensei. I remember being on the sparring platform and all the matches were done one at a time and all eyes were on the 2 fighters. As I was in the middle of the match, with all the stimuli in the venue, I could hear as clear as day Sensei Durkin yelled out “Let’s go big Dan”. His voice cut through all the noise and charged me to try to win. But of course, I was fighting the reigning champ and I lost the fight. I gave it a good effort though. It was sad to leave but all in all I am so grateful I did go and experienced my training in that way. It just made me realize how fortunate I was to be part of this historic event.

1990 was another year that was a pivotal part of my journey. We as the Butokukai hosted the Camp 90 in Henniker NH. It was the year I opened my own dojo. The camp was filled with hundreds of Uechi Ryu practitioners and senior visitors from Okinawa. Even though my school was brand new and I didn’t have anyone from my school attend the camp (other than my lovely wife Karen) we had a fantastic time training with friends that still train today.

I have had the privilege to teach some great people over the years. I am honored to have a hand full of students that still train and have stayed with me for three decades , and I got to teach my son Chris. I guess after 44 years of training the things I was taught are the same things I hope I have passed along to my students. You can’t keep them all, but the ones you do, keep bringing you fulfillment. The thought that I effected these people in a positive way to make them stay after all these years is a gift. The Uechi system is the core of what is passed on but also the traits of that go along with it too. I call them TLC. Yes, Tender Loving Care but I am talking about Trust, Loyalty and Commitment. The Trust between student and teacher is built on knowledge that they will be safe in an environment that could be dangerous if it is not constantly monitored. The Loyalty that is built between the student and teacher is unique and personal and gets stronger and more rooted year after year. Commitment is the hardest of the three, but the trust and loyalty helps fuel that commitment class after class. Sensei Durkin has taught me that a little TLC can go a long way and last a life time. I am looking forward to many more years of TLC and memories with my one and only Sensei and mentor that has been like a father to me. My journey is barely over. I am always learning and looking forward to my next class.

See you there, Dan Dovidio