Sensei Frank Gorman featured in Okinawa Times newspaper

Sensei Frank Gorman was featured in the September 26, 2021 edition of the Okinawa Times. The photo used in the article shows Sensei Gorman (second from right) at Sensei Bruce Tulgan’s Hampden, CT dojo with Senseis Bruce Tulgan, Peggy  Hess, Lawrence De Voe, and Robert Kaiser (left to right).

translation courtesy of Sam Malissa

Training Toward Self-Actualization

By Miguel Da Luz

After training Uechi-ryu Karate in Okinawa during the latter half of the 1950s, George Mattson returned to America and wrote The Way of Karate. Published in 1963 and going on to become a best seller, the book is associated with the dramatic rise of karate’s popularity in North America, as well as the starting point for the spread of Uechi-ryu.

Frank Gorman read the book and contacted Mattson, who introduced him to Charles Earl, at the time running a dojo in Rhode Island. This was Gorman’s first encounter with Uechi-ryu Karate. He was twenty years old. When asked why he was attracted to the style, he answers, “Mattson’s book was different from other karate books at the time. It didn’t just teach you how to kick and strike, it also got into the philosophy of karate, the ways it connects to our humanity. It was really appealing.”

Gorman was born in Pawtucket, Rhode Island in 1942. He had been training with Earl for three years when when he visited Okinawa for the first time, in 1965. There he was taken on as a student by Kanei Uechi, the son of the founder of Uechi-ryu Karate. Gorman trained with Mr. Uechi for twenty-one years. When Mr. Uechi retired in 1986, Gorman began to train under the tutelage of Ken Nakamatsu. “In 1978, when I was training in Okinawa, Mr. Uechi arranged for me to go around and train in five different dojos,” Gorman recalls. “When he asked me what I thought of it all, I told him I was confused, because all the different masters had their own way of training. I asked him what I should do, and he said: ‘Watch Nakamatsu.’”After teaching classes at several different YMCAs, Gorman opened his own dojo in Massachusetts in 1973, and another one in Florida when he moved there in 1987. Today he lives in Hamden, Connecticut, where he teaches at his student Bruce Tulgan’s dojo. A handful of students train there regularly, and groups from around the US and as far away as Argentina periodically come to train as well.

Before he became a professional karate teacher in the 1980s, Gorman worked as a machine engineer in the wire and cable industry. He applies his analytical skills from this line of work to karate and is known for his detailed and precise instruction.

“Ego can get in the way when training. I think everyone should proceed slowly and patiently with their training. It’s better not to try to learn everything at once. It’s impossible to learn the countless lessons of karate and really understand them without long years of dedicated training,” Gorman asserts.

Frank Gorman believes that the greatest goals of karate are self-improvement and self- actualization. As he trains day by day with those who want to learn from the knowledge he gained in Okinawa, building mutual understanding, he approaches his research and instruction with the knowledge that his and everyone’s individual paths and individual ways of practicing karate are all still what he calls “a work in progress.”

Louisiana Dojo Represents at Local Tournaments

by Rubert Ward

Earlier in the summer, students from the Mushindo Martial Arts dojo of Cottonport, Louisiana, under the direction of Sensei Rubert Ward, represented Jiteki-Jyuku/Uechi Ryu at two local tournaments: the Annual Mushindo Martial Arts In-House Tournament and the Louisiana Governor’s Games Martial Art Championship.

On Saturday, May 1, 2021, Mushindo Martial Arts held its 3rd Annual Mushindo Martial Arts In-House Tournament, an event exclusively for Uechi Ryu students. A total of 27 students competed in the following divisions: Dragons division (3-6 years), Tigers Division (7-12 years), and Cranes Division (12 – 14 years). Tournament events consisted of Empty hand kata, Sparring, Weapons kata, Chambra, Synchronized forms, Padded sword, and Parent & Student (Empty Hands Kata or Weapons Kata). The students were excited to demonstrate their skills in front of family and friends. The tournament admission fee was 2 cans of food or non-perishable items which were donated to a local food bank.

The Louisiana Governor’s Games Martial Arts Championships was held on Saturday, June 12, 2021, and fifteen students from Mushindo Martial Arts made the trip to Shreveport, Louisiana to participate. Tournament events included: Kata Forms, Weapons Forms, Musical Forms, Synchronized Forms, Sparring, Padded Swords, Grappling, Special Olympics Division, and Senior Division. Age groups ranged from Mighty Mites (5 & under) to Adults, and various styles of martial arts were represented by competitors from Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana. The students from Mushindo Martial Arts were awarded numerous trophies/awards and were proud to represent their dojo and association at such a prestigious event.

An Interview with Sensei Frank Gorman, Part 1

conducted by Robert Kaiser 

During a recent trip to New Haven, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Sensei Frank Gorman for an informal interview. The conversation lasted well over an hour, with Sensei Gorman answering with replies that were candid and inspiring. The transcript could easily fill multiple newsletters and will be included as installments in coming issues.

While the majority of the questions for Sensei Gorman had been provided to me by students from across North America, I started by asking him one of my own about something that is on everyone’s minds: COVID-19.


Robert Kaiser – 8th dan; Mount Vernon, NY:

Sensei, we all practice karate as a way to better our lives, become better human beings, and improve our health. We keep religion and politics out of the dojo – this is one of the most important tenents of our dojo lives. COVID-19 is a health issue and not a religious or political one, which is the only reason I bring it up. As teachers and dojo owners, do we have a responsibility to care for our students’ and members’ health and safety?

Absolutely, yes.

Are you vaccinated?

Yes.

How do you feel about vaccinations for COVID-19?

I think everybody should get vaccinated.


Peter Basch – 4th dan; Washington, DC:

Master Gorman, at what point in your training did you know that Uechi Ryu would be a central focus of your life’s journey – was there one thing in particular that grabbed your attention and “hooked you” on this Okinawan style?

At first, it was George Mattson’s book “The Way of Karate”. It was different from other karate books. It wasn’t so much a book about punching and kicking.

After starting training I eventually went to Japan and Okinawa. It was on that first trip that Mr. Ryukyu Tomoyose met us at the airport and took my teacher, Charlie Earle, and me to his house. He wanted to see what we had learned. He then showed us his Sanchin and it blew me away. He was so fast and strong, and his kata was beautiful. He Then took us to see master Uechi Kanei to “fix” us. Mr. Uechi watched our Sanchin and invited us to return the next day for practice.


Bob Miessau – 6th dan; Bozeman, Montana:

Sensei, I’m turning 60 this year. Please share any insights you have on how our training should evolve as we age.

Probably it is the same answer of how you should train when you are 30 or even 20. Don’t abuse your body. Train sensibly. Train smart. And take care of your health.


Mike Harrigan – 8th dan; Egremont, Massachusetts:

Frank, do you see a correlation between the evolution of an individual’s Uechi training and his or her life’s journey? For example, as we develop patience, focus, spiritual concentration in our training, are we simultaneously developing them in our daily lives? Are we becoming one with our training?

The answer is absolutely “yes”.


Ryan Dean – 8th dan, NAJJA President; Largo, Florida:

If you could go back in time, what might you have changed about your training?

That’s a tough question. I think that I would have, I felt that I was too egotistical to see the forest for the trees, to really understand what I was really doing, what I was really learning through my martial arts experience. The thing I would change is I would put my ego in my back pocket and just study the art for art’s sake.

I moved up in the ranks very fast, and I don’t think that was good for my ego. I wish I had been more humble during my early years of practicing.