Pride COLLEGE NEWS/FEATURES
)
Tuesday, October 1, 1996 3
Kobudo class trains students in self-defense skills
By Whitney Larrimore
Assistant Editor
Kobudo is a popular
yet not widely understood
martial art that instructor
Tom Beck is introducing to
Methodist College.
Kobudo, he ex
plained, is "a non-sport mar
tial art tradition with em
phasis on modern applica
tion and practicality." This
particular martial art is a
form of Ninjutsu which fo
cuses on "traditional warrior
ways." Right now there are
25 students enrolled in the
Methodist College class.
These students met every
Tuesday and Thursday night
from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Stu
dent Union.
The atmosphere of
the class "is not one of com
petition or egoist aggres
sion," explained Beck. "We
are one body regardless of
sex, race, or background
working together to im
prove ourselves and the
world." Kobudo is not like
Tae Kwon Do or Karate in
that there is no competition
between students and it's not
a rigid sport. Students who
do decide to take part in the
class need not have any
prior experience or rigorous
physical training. In fact,
having no prior knowledge
of any form of martial arts
at all is a good thing if one
decides to participate in the
class. Beck philosophically
explained that "if your cup
is full of something else, ev
ery thing added will only
over flow." This is not to say,
however, that any students
with prior training in a dif
ferent martial art should not
”...You gain an understanding of your personal
strengths and weaknesses and adapt to the situation."
—Kobudo instructor Tom Beck
try Kobudo. Beck explained
that anyone who did have
prior experience should try
concentrating on the
Kobudo form and not treat
it like the martial art they've
been trained in, because the
two simply are too different.
The particular sys
tem Beck teaches "includes
comprehensive falling, roll
ing and evading," as well as
"grappling skills including
throws, chokes, joint ma
nipulation, submission
holds and strikes." The mar
tial art itself has two capaci
ties, armed and unarmed,
and four ranges which are
kicks, punches, trapping and
grappling. Kobudo focuses
on attacking an opponent's
body at weak points such as
specific nerves, bones and
muscles.
However, the train
ing itself is actually very
safe. "We start off slow to
gain sensitivity and under
standing, then as control in
creases, we increase speed,"
Beck said. There is also no
sparring between students
since sparring only "encour
ages a competitive nature"
in people, something which
Beck wants to completely
avoid.
Interestingly
enough, there is a need for
more female students in the
class. "They [women] are
an equal in this art because
you gain an understanding
Speech communication now
offered as major or minor
Staff Report
The 1996-97 school year
will be the first in which the new
major and minor in speech com
munication is being offered at
Methodist College.
The speech program
provides training in human com
munication for professionals en
tering business, industry, social
service, the ministry, and educa
tion. According to John
Humphreys, speech instructor and
debate coach, the objective is to
produce graduates whose under
standing of communications prob
lems and solutions makes them
uniquely qualified to contribute
their expertise to the betterment
of society.
The opportunities for
speech communication majors are
varied and expanding, according
to Humphreys. Increasingly, orga
nizations are recognizing the need
for skilled communications pro
fessionals in all facets of the work
place. Consequently, graduates
of your personal strengths
and weaknesses and adapt
to the situation," said Beck.
He added that women gen
erally have a tendency to
possess a natural flow that
men do not. Since Kobudo
focuses on natural flowing
body movements, women
have a slight advantage over
men. "Men tend to rely on
brute strength alone which
can be a downfall," he said.
Kobudo is an art in
which anyone can partici
pate, from children to
adults. Beck also pointed
out the importance of learn
ing an art like Kobudo. "In
today's ever-demanding so
ciety, it is important that
more good people learn to
protect themselves to gain
the security to enjoy life as
it was meant for us to." Be
cause of its practicality,
Kobudo can be more effec
tive for self-defense pur
poses than some of the more
sport types of martial arts,
he said.
Beck himself became
interested in the martial arts
as a young boy. "Ever since
I was young, my father, who
has several degrees in mar
tial arts, and my mother.
Wanted!!
Individuals, Student Organizations, and
Small Groups to promote SPRING BREAK
TRIPS. Earn MONEY and FREE TRIPS.
Call the nation's leader, INTER-CAMPUS
PROGRAMS.
1-800-327-6013
http://wwAv.icpt.com
who is very philosophical,
influenced me to become in
terested in the martial arts."
Beck has been a student of
Kobudo since 1988 and an
instructor since 1992. He is
a second rank black belt in
Aikido and a second rank
black belt in Judo. He has
experience in boxing, wres
tling, and Filipino stick
fighting and spent three
years living in Japan.
Beck became in
volved with Methodist after
meeting Richard Terell who
is involved in the intramu
ral sports program. "Richard
introduced me to Mike
Sinkovitz, a retired special
forces member, and from
there it grew," Beck ex
plained.
The Nine Winds Dojo is
the establishment which
Beck owns and operates pri
vately at the Parkton Ar
mory. His particular school
is a branch of a much larger
head organization called the
Bujinkan, which means "di
vine warrior." Beck holds
classes at his Dojo on
Wednesday and Friday from
6:30 to 8:30 and uses Sat
urday as a make-up day for
floating schedules or trips.
Students from Methodist
College are free to come to
his Parkton Dojo if they
wish or they can attend
classes in the Student
Union.
The Kobudo class does
not currently count as an
elective course carrying se
mester hours. It is, however,
a very inexpensive program.
There are no test fees or
rank fees and students pro
vide their own equipment,
such as outfits, at wholesale
prices. Methodist helps pay
the membership fee, which
happens to be the only fee
charged. Students partici
pating now pay $30 a month
and the remaining $10 is
picked up by the college. If
more interest is shown by
students in the class, how
ever, this arrangement could
change to the students' ad
vantage.
The program itself
will run year-round includ
ing the summer, and anyone
can join at any time. Beck
said he would remain at
Methodist as long as "there
are good people desiring in
struction." Beck also en
courages students who are
interested in his class to call
him at 630-0276.
\
have found employment opportu
nities as communications consult
ants, media specialists, trainers,
public relations specialists, thera
pists, or performers.
In addition, many em
ployers seek graduates with dem
onstrated competencies in human
communication to fill a wide vari
ety of positions that require con
stant and skillful contact with the
public or personnel. Also, speech
communication majors have found
the degree to be an excellent step
ping stone into graduate work and
law programs.
The recent expansion
and reconfiguration of the speech
curriculum not only supplies a
firm foundation for the program,
but also provides new opportuni
ties for students in other majors
to gain valuable interdisciplinary
knowledge and skills.
Anyone interested in
what speech communication can
do for the individual should con
tact John Humphreys in Reeves
121 or call 630-7612.
Stay up
all night
with
quantum
physios
not iDanking#
If you’ve got better things to do at night than wrestle
with your checking account the College Account
from Wachovia is for you. We make it easy with
free checking and a Banking Card
with Visa Check, for free transactions
at any Wachovia ATM. Your card is also
accepted anywhere they take
Visa®-so you can pay for everything
from pizza to car repairs right from
your checking account, but with credit
card convenience. And when you need
help balancing your checkbook,
Wachovia’s toll-free telephone banking lines are just
a phone call away You can get your balance or find
out if a check cleared with our auto
mated Phone Access® service. Or call
I-800-WACHOVIA (1-800-922-4684)
to reach a real Wachovia banker any
time, 24 hours a day Plus, you may
qualify for special student overdraft
protection, credit card and savings
accounts. It’s easy! (At this point in
your life, shouldn’t something be?)
And it’s yours until you graduate.
WACHOVIA
Wachovia Bank is a member FDIC. Accounts subject to approval.
Credit cards are issued by Wachovia Bank Card Services. Delaware.