ONE MORE ROUND
Atlanta's Martial Arts guru, Joe Corley, 9th Degree Black Belt and Master Instructor at Atlanta Extreme Warrior and Joe Corley Karate, is the author of a regular column in Official Karate Magazine.
This latest column involved the Masters Hall of Fame, into which Master Corley was inducted this year.
Master Joe Corley and his world class staff of instructors have earned the awards of being named
Best in Atlanta, the
Best of Cobb Life and the
Best of Atlanta in Creative Loafing magazine. Joe Corley's ring name was Gentleman Joe Corley, and his column,
One More Round, is penned under that name.
For more information, contact Joe Corley at 678-236-8100 and visit the website at http://AtlExtremeWarrior.com
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One More Round
by Gentleman Joe Corley
HUMBLE
WARRIORS
From Fort
Worth, Texas, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
The Men
Were Men, and the Women Were (still) Proud of It
It was Saturday night, June 7, 2014 AD, and many across our land
were looking around wondering where we
Americans and our country are.
Those of us in the Ft. Worth Hilton were not wondering.
We stood tall, with hands to hearts, as country music icon Eddy
Raven delivered a moving, soulful Star Spangled Banner followed by America the
Beautiful.
We applauded Eddy’s passion-filled
salutes to our land, and then we cheered each other. We knew from where we
had come, and we have faith we can make a difference going forward.
Grandmaster Pat Burleson hosted the Texas Brand of the MASTERS
HALL OF FAME, eloquently presented in the Ft. Worth Hilton and produced by the
tireless and creative Jamie Cashion.
There was more than 3,500 years of experience represented in
this one ballroom. Platinum, Gold and Silver ranked Masters of the Martial Arts
moved powerfully across the stage to receive not just another award, but to
stand on a red carpet with peers they may have beat on in a previous life.
Tonight, they are relishing a bond—a bond of courage, character and
class—Texas, America style
The gentleman who is J Pat (GM Burleson) had his quiet signature
on this atmosphere of humility of greats.
John Rushkin said about Humility,
“I believe that the first test of a
great man is his humility. I don't mean by humility, doubt of his power. But
really great men have a curious feeling that the greatness is not of them, but
through them. And they see something divine in every other man and are endlessly,
foolishly, incredibly merciful.” These
Warriors on this night in Ft. Worth were models of Humility. This Atlanta 70's Warrior
calls it the Clint Eastwood Assertive
Paradigm. All these men and women here "walked softly", but they all carried
"A BIG '44'".
Their era had been preceded and modeled for them by their
parents of “America's Greatest Generation",
the men and women from every walk of life who went after the Nazis and the
Pearl Harbor murderers with a passion. These honored martial artists on this
night had presented their world with a peacetime version of this ethic, and
they had set a Standard we pray will be replicated in a new generation.
Today's martial arts instructors are themselves cut from a
different cloth and have been raised in a "kinder and gentler" world.
Their students of today are daily pressured by the mind-numbing, often
mind-less, digital revolution where words mean different things and/or are
often meaningless--a world where bullies can now be anonymous "keyboard
warriors", lurking, insulting and name calling from the murky shadows of
the Internet. A world where every one is a Master
of Something.
This Southeastern Warrior has observed a special brand of men
and women from the Southwest, molded by and modeled after J Pat Burleson and
Allen Steen. I always admired and respected their toughness. And pride. There
was never begging for "contact" points, before or after safety gear,
shaking off whatever clobbered them with "I'm OK, let's go".
Losers bowed and shook the winners’ hands. No whining allowed. Parents
and coaches respected the calls of the hard working officials. There was honor.
Respect. Courtesy. American Warrior
style.
Yes, the men were men. And yes, the women were proud of
it.
And I, a visitor from another place, was honored to have been
invited to join this group on this June night, some 4 decades later. In months and years ahead, it will continue to
be my mission to share with the world at large the intensity, the integrity and
the fierceness that was represented in Ft. Worth at this Masters Hall of Fame.
And for our friends who do not have a frame of reference to
identify personally with what I have tried to convey here about these humble
warriors, please search out their names to see what you can find on YOUTUBE and
GOOGLE via Masters Hall of Fame in Ft. Worth, Texas. . What great legacies you
will enjoy!
