Okinawan Shorin Ryu Karate Expert - William Christopher Ford.

William Christoher Ford is a 5th degree blackbelt in Okinawan Shorin Ryu Karate and was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012 by the Masters Hall of Fame. He's been featured in over a dozen films and is often cast in theatric work. He also played a supporting role in Karate Kid III.

How did failing your first black belt test affect you? Do you believe having the possibility of failure on your promotion test is a good thing? Why?

First of all, "Failing" is simply not getting the result you wanted or expected at the time. "Failing" was one of my best teachers. I learned that I was not prepared… my stances were weak, my stamina insufficient, my visual and mental focus all over the place. ..so I took the lessons of that experience and trained harder and worked on my shortcomings. I started running and doing rope work, practiced my kata more seriously, and prepared myself mentally. When I took the test again, several months later, I was better prepared and I passed. I learned the value of working hard for and earning what I wanted, goal setting, persistence, humility, and the dangers of being overconfident. These are invaluable lessons that I might not have learned had I not "failed".

Can you tell us about your most memorable moment in your martial arts career.

My most memorable moment in my martial arts career was opening Kaizen Dojo. It is joyful beyond measure to be able to share my experiences with my students and to be able to positively impact their lives empowering  them with self-protection skills, helping them to build their confidence and self-esteem, teaching them self-control and how to respect others and themselves. I love what I do and it is an honor and privilege for me to be able to do it as my primary career.

Name 3 characteristics that help someone become successful in martial arts.

Persistance, Desire, An open mind. And here is a 4th: Be a beginner every day.

What makes Kobayashi Ryu unique from the other 3 major schools of Shorin Ryu Karate?

The styles are similar, in my opinion, but the kata curriculum varies with each style and school. Sometimes the kata used are the same with slight differences and sometimes altogether different kata are used across the styles and dojos. 

Now, the way that I was taught Kobayashi Ryu is different than many other dojos, in that both Sensei Richard Rabago and Master Tadashi Yamashita emphasized lower stances, in order to strengthen the legs and hips, though not as low as say, Japanese Shotokan. But definitely lower than what you'll typically find in most Okinawan Karate. Probably closer to Shito Ryu. Also we do not use a deep back stance (kokutsu dachi). We use cat stance (neko ashi dachi), front stance (both lower and higher), horse stance, and sumo stance (shiko dachi) in our kata. 

In regards to what I teach at Kaizen Dojo… I teach traditional Shorin Ryu as a base but with a more modern approach. I am very open-minded and believe all styles have many great things to offer. I really like Western Boxing, Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, and Filipino Arnis too. Concepts from these arts are brought into our curriculum. Wrestling, Pencak Silat, Kung Foo San Soo, Wing Chun, Hung Gar, Aikido, Judo, all have great value in their own way. 

I believe kata is a template and the techniques can be applied in a myriad of different ways. But kata must have a combative application and these applications must be practiced in a variety of situations with an ever increasing level of resistance from your training partners… that is critical. Without that, you have a pretty , little dance. There must always be a combative attitude and application. But more important than any "style",  is situational awareness, verbal de-escalation, diffusing the situation if possible, and Run Foo ("RUN, FOO!") if you can escape.

What are the clues that a student should look for that reveal the fact that a martial arts school is genuinely interested in sharing their martial arts knowledge for the love of it or just interested in the money?

Watch the instructor teach. Does his teaching style resonate with you? Look at the quality of the students. Ask a ton of questions.  See if he pressures you to commit right away. Talk to the other parents. Check the school out on YELP. Remember high tuition does not necessarily mean that the school is only about the money. If they are offering a high quality program with tremendous value, than it might be worth the investment, however, I would be wary of long-term contracts that you can't cancel easily, hidden fees, price gouging on testing fees and equipment and if all the students are testing every month regardless of skill and you see 7 year old black belts running around the school, run the other way!

Critics state Karate styles have no defense techniques against ground fighting. Is this true? If so, how do you offset this with your school’s training?

I have no emotional attachment to any one style. One must use whatever is effective and appropriate to the situation. BJJ is taught at our school by Jocelyn Chang, a black belt who has studied BJJ for 19 years. Guro Marc Lawrence teaches Filipino Arnis at Kaizen Dojo. They are both very complementary to karate (old style Okinawan karate or modern sport karate). But there is no one style that is the be all and end all. A martial artist should be open-minded, well rounded, and adaptable. That's why I admire and respect fighters like Lyota Machida, Georges St. Pierre, and Jon Jones. They have been able to utilize their karate, muay thai, and boxing skills effectively against their opponents as well as their grappling skills.

What advice would you give a 15 year old on how to pursue his goal to act in a martial arts movie?

Study the martial arts and action films you like. Why do you like them? What makes them work in regards to story, acting, action, soundtrack, editing. Listen to the filmmakers' commentaries on how the film was made. Analyze the fights. Look at the angles and how they were shot.

Get a camera and start putting your own fights together. Learn the difference between a real fight or sparring and a fight meant for a film and yet again, a fight meant for a stage production. All are different. Often times moves that work in a real fight can't be read by the camera which means your audience isn't getting it or they are seeing all the "misses" in the fights because they are shot poorly.

Learn to edit.

Take a few acting classes. You eventually want to get into a class that teaches acting for film and television meaning they use a camera to record your performance in  class so you can get feedback. This can be a very painful process but you will learn very quickly the difference between what works for the stage and what works for film and television. If you should ever come to Los Angeles, I have a few great teachers that I could recommend. Hone your craft and keep honing it.

Get involved with student films and indie films to gain experience and to network. This can be invaluable. Most of these don't have the budget to pay their actors but you will learn a LOT! And usually, you get CCM (copy, credit, meal). Ask to get a copy of the completed project but also of your scenes. You won't always be successful in getting a copy but it's always worth asking for. Now, many of these folks own their own equipment or have access to people who do and they are often looking to shoot something while they are in between projects. These are the people you want to become friends with. They might be interested in shooting an action short (or a feature!)

Build your network and keep building it.  You can find out about various projects that are being cast through actor submission websites like Nowcasting.com ( great for student films and indies), Castingnetworks.com and Actorsaccess.com.

Nurture your  relationships with stunt people, martial artists, actors, filmmakers, casting, cinematographers, sound people, editors. Network.

You may want to eventually consider self -producing at some point. Not easy but worth considering.

You eventually may find yourself a big fish in a little pond. Don't be afraid to become eventually a smaller fish in a bigger pond if

you want to move up.

Stay humble. Stay balanced.

Have a plan, a plan B, and a plan C.

Never give up.

Have fun!

For more details about William Christopher Ford, visit his professional webite and his dojo's website.