Shihan Adam Pearson Story
Interview by :
Shihan Eddie Morales
Martialforce.com
Online martial arts magazine
In a day and age when a newcomer to any martial arts is uncertain if they are making a good choice because lack of knowledge or in some parts of the country lack of good instruction, you can always find an instructor who in his or her own right and through hard discipline and sweat has forged a solid foundation and understanding of what works and what doesn’t work.
It sounds simple enough and you would think that everyone and anyone would know the difference in practical technique but somewhere between movie land special effects and modern-day survival a new breed was created. A breed that is oblivious to the question “ what does that move or technique mean”.
I myself prefer the old school hard strike that is common placed with strong mental posture that is created by repetition and hard basic training.
It is difficult for the new student to determine if what they are seeing in the school (Dojo) they have chosen is actually something that would save a life. In the course of choosing someone to write about that maintained a realistic approach to the old style training I found a hand full that still practice the old way while keeping up with any and all “realistic” innovations and one man came to mind, that man is Shihan Adam Pearson.
I first met Shihan Pearson in a class given by Ben Otake and I was impressed and surprise by his enthusiasm and drive for technique. It was like watching and working with someone who embraces life through the embodiment of karate. His skill was obviously a product of hard dedication to his art.
The following week I watched Shihan Pearson teach a class and saw how he freely passes on his knowledge and wisdom to his students with dedication and passion. Shihan Pearson demonstrates every move and leads by example. His way is stern, hardcore and no-nonsense training. For the new student that is in search of instruction with longevity it would be a blessing to come across the path of Shihan Pearson. My observation was that he is an open book of knowledge and the only stipulation is that when you come to one of his classes you leave the bullshit at the door and train hard. The words “I cant” do not exist in his class.
The following is my interview with Shihan Pearson for Martialforce.com.
1) Martialforce-What style of Karate do you practice and teach and why did you choose it?
Adam Pearson, Shihan-Well, I practice Gosoku-ryu karate, which is the style of grand master Tak Kubota; it literally translates to English as the style of power and speed .the reason I chose this particular style of karate was because it seemed best suited for me. When I was fifteen years old I went around looking at karate schools and I went to Ed Parkers because my cousin was an instructor there at the time and my friends the Trejo brothers were going there, they were great friends from high school. I signed up and gave them a deposit but a friend of mine was telling me about the IKA Tony Tulleners and Tony’s Tigers so I figured I at least had to take a look. I went there to watch the black belt class one night and these guys had so much blood on their gi’s that I thought they were apprentice butchers. This to me looked more real and brutal and even though I was terrified about what I saw I could imagine myself as a black at their skill level so I went the next day to get a refund from Ed Parkers school and signed up with the IKA at Tulleners school. This was back in 1968.
2) Martialforce-Who is your instructor/s?
Adam Pearson, Shihan -Tony Tulleners was my original instructor along with Sifu James Ibrao who was a big influence in my life.
3) Martialforce-What do you think about practicing tournament competition versus practicing street defense?
Adam Pearson, Shihan -I am a big proponent of street defense and basically what you practice in tournament and what you practice for street defense comes down to the fact that tournament is a sport where as when you score a point the referee will stop the match or pull you and your opponent apart from any further contact. In street defense you have no referee to stop the match or pull you apart so you have to continue to strike until the confrontation does not exist. I believe both have great value and, for instance tournaments teach you timing, speed, distance and furthermore trains you to face an unknown opponent with equal skill, someone that’s not from your school that you may even be a little bit afraid of but you learn to control your emotions and technique and this in turn makes you a better martial artist. In the street it a completely different frame of mind, it’s a matter of survival so both types of training in my opinion can be very valuable and be gained from. But to make a point one thing should be understood and that is that a person that is not a very good tournament fighter could very well be an exceptional street fighter and in some occasions the reverse is true. It’s a matter of your priorities in training.
4) Martialforce-Do you think the popularity of Martial Arts is today what it was twenty years ago and if so then what do you feel has changed or not changed?
Adam Pearson, Shihan -Well, I am glad that the martial arts have survived throughout the years .In movies there are a lot of special effects and a true devotee of the arts knows what’s real and not. The good thing is that it seems all movies have martial arts in them and in whatever the form it has survived.
5) Martialforce-What is your opinion on cross training in different martial arts styles?
Adam Pearson, Shihan -I truly believe in cross training because back when I started each school would stay to their own and their was a lot of bad mouthing of other styles within the martial arts community. I learned early because of friends who trained in different systems that it was good to share knowledge because you grow in understanding the levels of combat plus it makes you more flexible in your technique. I look at this as a positive experience.
6) Martialforce-Do you think that children can benefit from the training karate has to offer?
Adam Pearson, Shihan -Absolutely without a dought. I have taught hundreds of children in my 35 years of martial arts and I have never seen one child not benefit from martial arts training. You have to teach them accordingly like the very young in a playful atmosphere but still maintaining your lesson plan and the older intermediate or advance together so they could benefit from the training and be matched with partners equal to their skill level. When you put at beginner 8 or 9 year old with an intermediate 13 years old for instance, I think that’s a recipe for disaster. So it’s all in the way you teach them but definitely all will benefit.
7) Martialforce-Do you feel that karate or any martial arts are being taught these days the way it was taught when you started your training?
Adam Pearson, Shihan -No, absolutely not, it was a lot more brutal back in the old days. I think in a time of creature comfort people just want more comfortable things and karate is not one of the more comfortable things. I think the difference is that my teacher had a very brutal training as all teachers back then and they passed their teaching in the same manner and gained the same result. As generations pass it changes so its much more different. You can still find places with the old training if you seek it out.
8) Martialforce-If you could sum up in one word how you feel about the results of your karate training what would that word be?
Adam Pearson, Shihan -The word would be “honor”. Honor for your training and the way of bushido. Honor for your instructors for knowledge they past on to you. Honor for your opponents throughout the years .I don’t think there is anyone that doesn’t remember their best fight or someone they lost too. To sum it up it most definitely would be honor.
Sensei J.Serrano,Shihan A.Pearson,Sensei R.Hart
