IRKRS

"By 1985, twenty years of training in traditional martial arts [TMA] had left me rather frustrated by its rule-bound practices, inflexible rituals and cultural ambiguity. It wasn’t that I disliked TMA or wanted to leave it but I could no longer accept its modern interpretation of ritualized practices [i.e. kata, hyung, xing – classical choreographed routines/forms/patterns]. Consequently, I began to search for a teacher, a style, or even an organization that could teach me the original and more functional combative application practices in a rational, coherent and systematized manner. Specifically, I was looking for someone who could -

#1.Use realistic acts of physical violence as a contextual premise from which to improve my skills rather than continue to depend upon the rule-bound reverse punch scenarios, etc.

#2. Teach prescribed, yet practical/functional, defensive templates through which the original habitual acts of physical violence could be recreated and effectively negotiated.  

#3. Reveal how such prescribed templates [i.e. the mnemonic rituals which make up the classically choreographed routines] not only culminated the lessons already imparted but, when linked together, clearly offered something greater than the sum total of their individual parts.

#4. Clearly identify and demonstrate where these prescribed mnemonics exist in the classical-based choreographed routines [handed down in TMA] and how they’re linked back to the habitual acts of physical violence.

While there was certainly no shortage of excellent practitioners everywhere I looked, I found no trace of such teachings anywhere in Japan or Okinawa! Dissatisfied, I began to cross train. Cross training opened many new doors of opportunity while providing valuable insights about both training and life that I had never before realized. Based upon this experience I was compelled to make my own deductions, which gradually resulted in the establishment of the HAPV-theory and two-person drill concept. Such findings ultimately lead me to discover lost practices and the essence of what the ancient masters taught."

Patrick McCarthy is pre-eminent in our field. Pioneer is a perfect description of his considerable status and accomplishments. I think he is at the pinnacle of karate research, practice and dissemination. Apart from our friendship, I can say quite dispassionately that Karate would still be 'fumbling' in the dark were it not for his exceptional work. Where does he get the energy? " - Nathan J. Johnson England

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