A matter of respect
"It's a lifetime thing, and you never know it all."
At the level of 7th Dan, Paddy Doyle can't go much further in Karate -- he knows of one 8th Dan Master in these islands, a Japanese gentleman living in London. But it's not about achievement, it is about discipline, respect, and a way of life.
Contrary to the popular image of Karate, it isn't a fighting thing, either. "In fact, we call it the 'Wado-Ryu', the 'Way of Peace'," says this quiet Dubliner, who teaches the discipline every Tuesday night in Kilcullen's Community Centre.
He got into it more than three decades ago, when a friend suggested he come along to the Dojo of Peter Suzuki in Parnell Square. "I had been doing a bit of boxing, but I was very impressed with what I saw Mr Suzuki doing, and decided to take it up," he recalls. "It took me about five years to reach the level of 1st Dan, and maybe three years more to get to the next level."
It takes commitment, something which Paddy Dunne emphasises when a new group starts learning with him. And not everyone has that.
"If you attend classes regularly, you'll progress, and after six and 12 months you'll see quite an improvement. But there are the youngsters who come in and want to learn Karate in a day, and that's just ridiculous."
The key benefits of learning Karate are instilling discipline and gaining self-confidence. And perhaps that's the underpinning of the 'Way of Peace' idea, as people with self confidence rarely get involved in fighting or other problems.
"It is also a sport that keeps you very fit, and you learn how to be absolutely in control of what you do. The exercise is brilliant, and no matter what age you are, it keeps you feeling young."
Paddy has been involved in Karate for some 36 years now, teaching for many of those years. And learning, still.
"All your life in Karate, you are learning. You never know it all, and you never will. From time to time we have Masters coming over to Ireland from Japan, and you realise it then, that there's always more."
It's never too young, either. The children's sessions on Tuesday nights are for youngsters from the age of five upwards. For whatever age they start, the first lesson is the one that those who stick with it will continue to benefit most from. Having respect, for the teacher, for the others in the class, for themselves.
It is a good foundation for any calling in life.
NOTE, November 2014: Paddy Doyle has now retired from instructing.
Brian Byrne.
