A Story About Commitment & Perseverance by Grandmaster Santiago Armstrong

As many of you know I’ve won my share of Kata championships during my tournament career. This story is about how I made the transition from under belt Kata competitor to one of the elite Black Belt Kata Champions on the East Coast. 

As an under belt in the 1970s I was pretty good in Kata. I won my share of tournaments and even won an Under Belt World Championship in 1975. I had what they call 'natural ability' and it showed in my Kata. At that time, I would practice my form but never really understood the meaning of Kata. To me, they were just moves that needed to be memorized and performed well. 

As I got closer to my Black Belt and began to really observe the Black Belt division, I noticed the level of Kata competition was much greater than what I was used to. I remember entering my first Black Belt tournament in 1976 and placing fifth in Kata. This was an eye opener for me. I had never placed this low at any tournament before. I went back to the drawing board and began practicing different forms, looking for the right one that would give me an edge. The katas of my choice at that time were Kwanku dai, Kwanku sho, and Gankaku. For the next several years I was hit and miss with Kata. I took several third place finishes but these were always at small tournaments. In 1978 I began training in Jujitsu with Sensei Claudio and put my tournament career on hold. Then in 1983 I entered the Metropolitan Open tournament and took third place with Gankaku. I was still not happy with my performance and went back to work narrowing down my Kata of choice. 

Then in 1984, I moved my family to New Jersey due to my job and lost touch with the dojo. For the next two years I concentrated on my job and raising my family. My wife and I had been blessed with twin boys in 1980, and from the time they were 4 years old I began training them in Karate. Well, in 1986 my wife noticed that I was miserable and told me to go back to the dojo. I returned to the dojo with a renewed energy and appreciation for the art that I did not have before. As I continued to train I got the itch to compete again. This time however, I approached my kata training with a new perspective. It seems that my Jujitsu training had given me a new understanding of the actual moves and dynamics in the Kata and I turned my emphasis to a single kata (Kwanku sho). I returned to the tournament circuit and found my competition to be extremely tough. My main competition was Sensei Lou Ferrer. He was also a Jujitsu player who had excellent Kata and was a regular to place 1st at almost every tournament he entered. In my first two tournaments back I placed 3rd and 2nd with Sensei Ferrer taking 1st place honors. In those two competitions I studied how Sensei Ferrer moved and his mannerisms. He was very sharp and precise. After my last 2nd place finish, I turned to my Sensei and said Sensei Ferrer will not beat me again. 

It was 1988; I broke apart my kata and started from scratch. Every movement had to have meaning; I would not rest until I could visualize the imaginary opponents in front of me. You see the Kata took on a new meaning. I would come to the Dojo and first see the Kata done in my mind. Then I would perform the Kata, then I would do the Kata one section at a time until I was satisfied that each segment was done with the proper tempo and meaning. Lastly, I would do the complete Kata just as I would in competition. After a while I enjoyed performing this Kata so much that it became part of me. It took on another meaning for me. I still wanted to perform my kata in competition but that was not the driving force. The Kata started and ended my day. I thought of the moves all the time, and the applications that they implied. 

I still needed to get the competition monkey off my back however, and between 1988 and 1990 I performed Kata in competition as never before. I faced Sensei Ferrer in my first competition back, and beat him for 1st place. After that day I never lost a Kata competition in the remaining tournaments I entered during those last two years. I even received a perfect score for Kata at the East Coast Championships that included many of the top 10 competitors from the country. 

I retired from competition in 1991 and concentrated on training my twin sons as well as my students until I moved to Arizona in 1994. There is one last chapter in this story that I must share with you. For you see, I began teaching in Arizona in 1995. In 1999 my students expressed an interest in the USA World Championships in Las Vegas. As I trained them for competition they commented to me that they wanted to see me compete in Kata once again since they had never seen me in competition. I told them that I would train for the competition if they dedicated themselves to get ready also. 

So at 45 years old and away from competition for 8 years, I dusted off my Kata and began to train. My children thought I was crazy to compete again. They told me that competing on the West Coast was different than competing against familiar opponents on the East Coast. Well, I paid them no mind and continued to train. 

We flew to Vegas on a Thursday for the 3-day competition. Most of the young students competed on Friday and all did very well. It was my turn to compete at the Masters division of Traditional Kata on Saturday. There were about thirty competitors that day. All I remember was getting in the “Zone” and performing my Kata. I really wasn’t concerned about the outcome. You see, I was a relatively unknown Martial Artist out in the West so my reputation meant nothing here. 

My students had watched me compete and were anxious for the results. Well, one by one the scores were called out and Black Belts were being eliminated. I knew I was in the top three but not sure what place. When the 2nd place Black Belt was called I knew I had won. I shot a knowing look at my wife and the students just before they called my name. I had just become the USA World Kata Champion, in the Masters Division. 

I have had a love affair with Kwanku sho for over 25 years now. As I get older and the moves become more difficult to perform at the competitive level, it pleases me to know that the intricate moves in the Kata sustain my desire to continue perfecting each movement. Also, all the Katas have given me a virtual library of techniques in my pursuit of expanding my Jujitsu. 

So you see, it is true what they say about striving for perfection, seeking mental discipline and learning the way of Hoteikan. 

Perfect Practice, Commitment and Perseverance!