THUNDER BAY - Chucky Mady, a fourth degree black belt, has been practicing martial arts for 27 years, competing in various styles in contests around the world. And while the moves are complicated and take years of practice and training, when he steps up to an opponent, it all becomes very simple.
“It’s a fight, that’s all it is,” he said. “There’s a winner and a loser. But I don’t consider it losing I consider it learning. If you lose a fight, you are learning from your mistakes and then you go and win the next one.”
This weekend, Mady was one of more than 20 experts sharing wisdom, training, and experience during the Isshinryu Karate Expo at the Valhalla Inn.
This is the third time the local martial arts council has hosted the expo and provided athletes from across Canada and the world an opportunity to learn from leading martial arts experts.
“Thunder Bay is considered the martial arts capital of Canada,” said Susan Baldassi, a six degree black belt and coordinator of the expo.
“We are one of the only places in the world that we know that has a martial arts council that was established by former mayor Ken Boshcoff. We work together to promote the benefits and health benefits and social benefits of participating in the martial arts.”
The three day expo included workshops on self-defence, youth seminars, shindo or short stick fighting, body mechanics, grappling, as well as brown belt and black belt testing.
Trevor Warren earned his six degree black belt on Friday. He has been practicing martial arts for the past 33 years after taking a class at the Canada Games Complex as a kid.
“After I was 14 and 15, it ended up becoming a lifestyle and that’s all there was to it really,” he said.
Warren said participating in the expo is a great way to learn and practice skills from master martial artists he wouldn’t normally train with.
“I really like the traditional learning from people who have been in it for 45 years or 50 years,” he said. “They have so much knowledge to impart. I’ve been training for 33 years and I learned something completely brand new. It was an amazing experience. You don’t get that all the time.”
Lakeisha Johnson, who travelled from Abbotsford, B.C. to attend the expo, said it is also a great way to meet new people and learn different techniques, because when you practice martial arts, you are always learning.
“With karate it is something you can always learn and develop new ways to do things,” she said. “You always get to grow. It’s never something you learn once and that’s it, you’re done. You’re always having something to improve on.”
And that is the purpose of the expo, to provide first hand training and experience, especially for young people just getting involved in the sport.
“For the really young martial artists, we’re hoping to inspire them, to see people who are high ranking and accomplishing things in the martial arts and say: hey, I can be like you,” Baldassi said. “It’s pretty inspiring for them to see them to actually be able to approach them, ask a question, demonstrate a technique with them.”
On Sunday, Mady led a seminar on Kumite: How to win a fight. According to Mady, a fight or competition goes well beyond an individual’s physical capabilities. As so many martial arts teach, it comes down to mental strength, not just physical strength.
“It’s all in your head,” he said. “It’s all mental. You have to be prepared mentally before you are physically. If you are not prepared mentally, you are not going to win. You make it like a chess game, but you make them play your move. You move around and open them up and bait them. You leave something open for them to strike, and you bait them, and you just counter.”
