MARTIALFORCE.COM
PRESENTS
AN INTERVIEW WITH
KEVIN THOMPSON…BEHIND THE MASK
JULY / 2013
Interview and transcription by Bill Beason
I MET KEVIN THOMPSON WHEN I WAS 13 YRS OLD…HE AS WELL, WAS ABOUT 13…
DID I SAY MEET?
WELL TO ME…IT WAS MORE LIKE, “SO…THAT’S HIM” THE YEAR WAS 1974.
SO THIS INTERVIEW IS 39 YEARS IN THE MAKING.
KEVIN THOMPSON HAS BEEN CALLED BY MANY NAMES. AND ALL, DESERVEDLY SO… SOME OF YOU KNOW THEM, EIGHTH WONDER OF THE WORLD, SHAKIL, ASATIDA, TOTAL PACKAGE…I CALL HIM TRIPLE CROWN
HOWEVER…AT INCEPTION, HE WAS KNOWN AS “LITTLE K.A.” NAMED AFTER HIS TEACHER…WHO WAS THEN KNOWN AS KARRIEM ALLAH.
BECAUSE OF HIS AMAZING ABILITIES AS A YOUNGSTER... HE WAS GIVEN THAT NAME AND THIS MONIKER HE WOULD IN TIME OUTGROW AS HE BECAME A MAN…BUT YET, HE WILL ALWAYS BE REMEMBERED AS…LITTLE K.A.
(Little K.A.)
THE DEDICATION AND MATURITY NECESSARY FOR A PERSON TO HAVE AT THE AGE OF 5 TO NOT ONLY BEGIN PRACTICING THE MARTIAL ARTS, BUT TO PERSEVERE IN TRAINING, IS NOT SOMETHING THAT IS TAUGHT…IT HAS TO COME FROM INSIDE. KEVINS OLDER BROTHERS, MYLO AND EARL, MORE THAN A DECADE OLDER THAN THEIR LITTLE BROTHER…SAW THE NEED TO INTRODUCE HIM TO THE WORLD OF KARATE. THE TOUGH STREETS OF THE CITY OF NEWARK NEW JERSEY REQUIRED YOUNG MEN TO BE ABLE TO SURVIVE OR BECOME VICTIMS TO THE ENVIRONMENT. YOUNG MEN, YOUNG BLACK MEN IN PARTICULAR WERE AT THE MERCY OF THE STREETS…DRUGS, CRIME, POOR ECONOMICS, ROTTEN EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM…AND BROKEN FAMILIES, DISCRIMINATED MANY YOUNG MEN OF THE 60S AND 70S. HOWEVER, THE DISCIPLINE WHICH KARATE PROVIDED WOULD PROVE TO BE THE DEFINING INGREDIENT, WHICH WOULD TAKE THIS 5 YEAR OLD, ON THE JOURNEY OF HIS LIFE.
THE SERIOUS NATURE NECESSARY WHICH WAS DEMANDED BY HIS INSTRUCTOR KARRIEM ALLAH WAS STRICT AND DETAILED. AS A YOUTH, KEVIN WAS REQUIRED TO CLEAN THE DOJO, AND EVEN SLEPT THERE ON OCCASION. AND PERHAPS THESE ASSIGNMENTS PROVED TO BE HIS BONDING WITH THE ARTS…AS HE HAD TO LEARN TO APPRECIATE THE FLOOR ON WHICH HE WOULD TRAIN…SWEAT AND BLEED ON. THE DOJO WAS A PLACE TO TRAIN, NOT MAKE FRIENDS; IT WAS NOT A SOCIAL CLUB.
AS I INTERVIEWED MY DEAR FRIEND KEVIN, I WAS REMINDED BY HOW MUCH WE HAVE IN COMMON, FROM OUR PHYSICAL STATURE, TO OUR PERSONAL EARLY EXPERIENCES; NOT JUST IN THE MARTIAL ARTS, BUT OF LIFE IN GENERAL. ALSO, THE HIGH DEGREE OF TRAINING THAT WE WERE PRIVILEGED TO BE PART OF, AS WELL AS THE COMPETENT INSTRUCTORS (KARRIEM ALLAH, AND ERROL BENNETT) WHO TAUGHT US WELL AND PUSHED US HARD! WE BOTH HAD A SIMILAR EXPERIENCES IN THAT WE PRIMARILY TRAINED IN ADULT CLASSES AT OUR RESPECTIVE SCHOOLS AND THAT TYPE OF ADULT INSTRUCTION RAISED US TO A DIFFERENT LEVEL. THIS EARLY PLATFORM HAS KEPT KEVIN THOMPSON HEAD AND SHOULDERS ABOVE THE REST FOR DECADES. THUS WE CONCLUDED, THAT ALL OF THESE ELEMENTS, MADE US INTO THE MEN THAT WON CHAMPIONSHIPS, AND SET THE FOUNDATION ON WHICH WE BECAME THE MEN THAT WE ARE TODAY.
TENS OF THOUSANDS OF MARTIAL ARTISTS HAVE KNOWN OF, SEEN, CHEERED FOR OR EVEN BOOED, THIS MAN FOR PARTS OF 6 DECADES…A MARTIAL ARTS CAREER THAT STARTED AT AGE OF 5 AND IS STILL RAGES ON IN HIS HEART AT 52. A COMPETITIVE RECORD THAT BEGAN IN THE LATE SIXTIES AND ENDED IN THE SECOND DECADE OF THE 21ST CENTURY. AN IMPRESSIVE CAREER WHICH HAS EARNED HIM A PLACE IN THE SPORT KARATE WORLD AS THE BEST ALL AROUND MALE COMPETITOR OF ALL TIME IN SPORT KARATE HISTORY, ALSO, KEVIN IS A BLACK BELT MAGAZINE HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE, AND NOT SURPRISINGLY INCLUDED WITH THE LIKES OF BRUCE LEE AND CHUCK NORRIS AND OTHER GREATS! HE IS AN ENIGMA, A PUZZLEMENT AS TO WHERE DID HIS KEEN ABILITIES EMERGE…ONE WHO IN ALL PROBABILITY, WILL NEVER BE MATCHED IN ACCOMPLISHMENTS OVER SUCH AN EXTENSIVE PERIOD OF TIME AGAIN…AT LEAST NOT IN OUR LIFETIME.
DURING OUR COMPETITIVE DAYS, I PERSONALLY STUDIED KEVIN THOMPSON SINCE I PERCEIVED HIM TO BE MY BIGGEST THREAT IN BOTH THE SUPER JR. DIVISION AS WELL AS THE LIGHTWEIGHT DIVISION AS ADULTS. ALTHOUGH THERE WERE GREAT KARATEKA OF OUR GENERATION IN THE TRI-STATE AREA, HE WAS THE MOST TALENTED FROM BACK IN THE DAY, AND EVEN AFTER MY DEPARTURE FROM THE MARTIAL ARTS WORLD I STILL KEPT UP WITH WHAT HE CONTINUED TO DO…AND I WANTED TO GET DEEPER INTO THIS MANS HEAD, FOR THE SHEER FASCINATION OF IT…SINCE WE WERE NO LONGER COMPETITORS …I FELT THIS TO BE A GOOD TIME…TO SEE WHAT MOTIVATED THIS MAN AND I WAS SURPRISED BY SOME OF HIS THOUGHTS…AND UNDERSTOOD COMPLETELY OTHER PHILOSOPHIES OF HIS TO THE POINT THAT HE WAS ANSWERING MY QUESTIONS WITH WHAT SEEMED TO BE MY OWN EXPERIENCES…BECAUSE AS HE SPOKE, A LOT OF HIS DRIVING FORCE IN THOSE EARLY YEARS, WAS THE SAME AS MY DRIVING FORCE…EACH OTHER. OUR RIVALRY FUELED OUR DESIRE TO EXCEL IN OUR PERSONAL TRAINING BECAUSE THE POSSIBILITY EXISTED AT EACH LOCAL EVENT, WE WOULD HAVE TO FACE EACH OTHER!
ON APRIL 20TH 2013, I VISITED KEVIN AT HIS HOME IN WEST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY…AND WE SAT DOWN WATCHED VIDEOS OF OUR MATCHES, OF OTHERS AND DISCUSSED OUR PAST…AND BEFORE WE GOT INTO THE INTERVIEW…THE EXCHANGE OF THOUGHT AND FEELING WAS A DYNAMIC, HONEST AND SPIRITUAL ASSESSMENT OF EACH OTHER, AND OF HOW WE, INFLUENCED ONE ANOTHER OVER THE YEARS. ESPECIALLY THOSE EARLY FORMATIVE YEARS IN THE MID 70S.
( APRIL 20TH 2013 )
Kevin and Bill
I EXPRESSED TO HIM, HOW HIS MOVEMENTS, AND CONCEPTS OF FAKES AND ANGLES TAUGHT ME HOW TO RESPOND DIFFERENTLY… HARD FAKES WHICH THREW OTHERS OFF BALANCE I LEARNED TO COPE WITH BY WATCHING HIM…HE RELATED HOW ALTHOUGH HE WAS CAPABLE TO SWEEP HIS OPPONENTS…HE PERFECTED HIS ABILITY TO DO SO, BY INCORPORATING MY TECHNIQUE.
(EARL, KEVIN AND KEVIN JR)
BILL-When you were very young, you were called 8th wonder of the world…
KEVIN- Ahhhhhh
BILL- and I remember seeing the article in Black Belt Magazine, and all I remember was this little kid, in his gi, kicking straight up in the air, with a headband on…looking fierce…do you remember that article…
KEVIN-yeah yeah, I still have that article, I have it downstairs in a book, I had a student that made for me a gift and he gave to me all these Black Belt magazines…that had me featured and I think that one was Black Belt 1974…(ACTUALLY 1976)
BILL- Now let me interject here…I think Kevin, there has been an underrating of you with regards to the type of national exposure that you should have had in your career…that you deserve…every time that I picked up a magazine…there were always all these guys, I didn’t know who they were and I’m sure that were deserving, however, I did feel that from the standpoint of your accomplishments, there should have been more articles and covers highlighting you over the years.
KEVIN-To comment on that Bill…I don’t view that as important…
BILL-that’s just my opinion K…you just didn’t get the recognition…
KEVIN- WE…did not get the recognition…ha ha ha ha ha
BILL- how were you influenced by the movies, Bruce Lee, kung fu etc.?
KEVIN-My beginner influences were Mylo and Karriem, and then Earl began to work with me in my later adult career…
BILL-How much older are your brothers…?
KEVIN-Mylo is 16yrs older, Earl is 10yrs older…but to get back to your question of course I was influenced by the movies as was every other child was…got to go the movies and see Bruce Lee, the great Bruce Lee brother! We all had our broomstick and dog chain linked nunchuka…wanted to be like Lee…
BILL - ha ha yeah, we used to drill holes in the bottom of ours and pour in hot lead to add weight to them…used to sharpen our shurikens also…lol
KEVIN- is that right , are you serious ???really!? Ha ha ha…you from NY the Bronx Bill…ha ha ha yall was killin…ha ha ha.
BILL -Yeah man we had real throwdowns back then…but not very long lived…got too dangerous…
Okay, I’m going mention it…lol, Over the years, you’ve heard people say…that you were a midget…because you were so good…that you were an adult pretending to be a kid…I was told you were really 19 years old…back in 75
KEVIN- yeah yeah…ha ha ha
BILL-Did that ever bother you?
KEVIN- naw man…not at all
BILL- and we know that’s not the case…you were just a prodigy…what can we say?
Your five foot, four, I'm five foot four…
KEVIN-I'm 5’5’ Bill…you watch it buddy! ha ha
BILL-Ok ok…well I guess I’m 5’5” also…anyway, you’ve fought many larger opponents over the years…do you think your height has been an advantage for you? Or not really?
KEVIN- I do…and because it was a sport…it allowed a smaller guy to compete with a bigger guy…if it were full contact or something of that nature…we would not have been able to hang in there the same way with those heavyweights…so, with the sport of “point”, hit to score type contest, it was to our advantage as you well know…
BILL-Smaller target, quicker, more agile…
KEVIN-You know it Bill…ha ha ha…and I think you mentioned on the couch there…although we were smaller, we were also very strong for our size…pound for pound and it was very deceptive, so when we hit heavy weights…they were surprised because they weren’t expecting it from someone our size…
They were surprised to get hit by a lightweight that hit like a heavy weight…and I was talking to Nasty…and that’s what Nasty said to me…
BILL- cool…we will get to Nasty later on…
Now I remember hearing of you as a seasoned veteran when I was just starting out…in the early 70s, so when I say Sunnyside Gardens…what can you tell me about that?
KEVIN-Yes…Sunnyside Gardens is where it started man…the word was out…that if you u didn’t come up through Sunnyside Gardens days or those late 60s days you didn’t come up at all…
Then when you look around…that was the place where many of the good strong instructors took their students…it was a proving ground…it was Aaron Bank’s tournaments and you went in and it was like 3 and 5 dollars to compete…and you got small trophies…
BILL-and Bragging rights!
KEVIN- ha ha ha yeah and bragging rights! Small trophies and bragging rights and real fighting…
BILL- Sunnyside Gardens was a monthly thing right?
KEVIN- (excited by a moment of recollection) A monthly thing! Yeah a monthly thing…you had to prove yourself every month…you got that right Bill…it was good…it was historic…it was good for all the practitioners…
(SUNNYSIDE GARDENS ARENA QUEENS NEW YORK)
JIM BROWN, KEVIN THOMPSON, RICHARD ROUNDTREE AND JIM KELLY
BILL-Of those that you competed against in youth divisions back then…is there anyone else that is around today from then????
KEVIN- (long pause)….(thinking)….uhhhhh “Look-up” Mycal Sledge…
BILL- But Mycal is older than us…just ahead of us…I mean from your divisions…
BILL- I’ll answer that for you…the answer is no…you’re an enigma!
KEVIN-(Kevin laughs and repeats me) “an enigma!” …I was going to say speedy Wilson…but he was older too…
BILL- Although you may have been competing against those older guys…
You didn’t compete in fighting with those men but you did compete in kata against adults…
KEVIN-and weapons…and breaking…because I use to do breaking too…
BILL-So who did you compete against then?
KEVIN- Fred Miller. Alex “Plus One” Steinberg, Chuck Merriman, used to do san chin , the next Bruce Lee, William Louie, William Oliver, ya know I competed against these guys in kata and weapons ya know…I can remember there was one time it was at Fred Hamilton’s tournament I had tied with Fred Miller and Errol Bennett…and we were going at it…
BILL- ya know that’s a legendary story…
KEVIN ( excitedly)…you know of it??? you heard it???? You’ve got to be kidding me? Really???? Wow anyway we tied and I only knew two kata…
BILL- and you went out there and made up a kata on the spot!
KEVIN- THAT’S RIGHT! YOU HEARD??? Made a kata on the spot!
BILL- AND WON!
KEVIN- THAT’S RIGHT, THAT’S RIGHT! HA HA HA…MADE IT UP ON THE SPOT…WOW
ERROL BENNETT (LEFT) THE LATE FRED MILLER (RIGHT) MID 1970’S
BILL-Ok you mentioned a few names that you competed against…that I’ve forgotten about, but you also competed against Toyotaro Miyazaki, Hawk Frazier, Sheldon Wilkins…but you filled in the rest of my list…
KEVIN- yes, yes ,yes…all good kata guys…
BILL-How did that make you feel as a youth to compete and win against those guys?
KEVIN- that actually gave me a great deal of confidence for when I competed in my regular division…it without a doubt gave me a high level of confidence…and this led me into the mode of being inspired …just to really, really do the very best that I could do…especially when I began to win…
BILL- so it lit that fire in you, the winning?
KEVIN- absolutely to go back and to win more against the adults…
BILL- we always hear about others in sports, young ones coming up, in professional ranks, but they’re teenagers and competing against adults..but we never hear of someone 8 or 10 yrs old doing that…but you were…for all intents and purposes, competing and winning against the “professionals” the experts of the day. That’s remarkable.
KEVIN - I made black belt at age 10…so I wasn’t 8
BILL-Ok but still at 10 when do you hear of something like that???
KEVIN-Back then though when did you see someone throw a straight up side kick??? Today now that’s a dime a dozen…but back then it wasn’t traditional…we (members of the K.A. System)were always breaking some sort of tradition…we would bounce we would move back and forth side to side…
BILL-Different for the time…
KEVIN-Yes, cause back then, if you moved it was perceived that you were somewhat scared to fight, but our teach taught us that you needed to get the best angle then you fight
BILL- You Jersey guys would come in and get in a circle and have pep rally of sorts.
KEVIN-He (Karriem) had a system of karate and what he told us was …if in fact you strike fear in your opponent…you have already won the match…that’s why we use to go and don’t talk to anybody, sit and give you a mean face…all intimidating factors…like you said we used to get in the ring and chant!
Hey I even remember the song…
(THEN THIS LOOK OF GLEE COMES UPON KEVIN’S FACE AND HIS VOICE RAISES AND HE SINGS)
K A BOY…K A BOY…YOU LOOK SO SWEET….YOU KNOW YOU CANT BE BEAT…WHOSE BAD? IM BAD, YOU’RE BAD!...THEN WE WOULD START TO BOUNCE AND THE YELL…AHHHHHHHHH RUMBLE YOUNG MAN RUMBLE!
Karriem was inspired by Ali and he took what Ali did and brought it to karate…and used it and it worked…
BILL-This brings me to our first encounter….do you remember when we first met?
KEVIN- no Bill I don’t, tell me…
Bill- it was at a tournament, I was in the locker room alone, you and your boys came into the locker room and surrounded me…and then you came up to me and you looked me up and down and put this smirk on your face and said, “Hmmmmmmmmmph!” basically saying, you ain’t nothing…and walked away.
KEVIN-( laughs and says) I apologize…ha ha ha….Bill I don’t remember but I apologize…
BILL-Do you see how much of an influence you have been on me??? Because I remember all that…and the reason I remember is because you traumatized me man…ha ha…I don’t think I was scared but I had to now get prepared for when we would meet in the ring, it was inevitable that we would do battle…I was alone in the locker room and I thought you guys were crazy! But, ya know, I didn’t flinch…you all might have kicked my butt that day, but I knew I couldn’t show you fear.
And we didn’t fight that day…but you traumatized me bro…but that’s ok…
KEVIN-It wasn’t me man, I didn’t mean to bother lol…that was Karrem…lol…
BILL-Do you remember our very first match?
KEVIN-No I don’t…when was that? Give me some history…
BILL-It was at a Billy Davis Tournament, Staten Island NY, it was 1975 or 76, and it was the super jr…nighttime finals…
KEVIN-Do you remember when they used to have that Bill??? Night time finals…all divisions…everyone used to stay and watch…
I remember having reffed the adult division, white belt division…on the stage and everyone was featured…and I was featured as the head ref at age 12…just a kid…go on now…go on.
BILL- We had seen each other at other tournaments but had never fought and I had just made black belt and there were three of us…in the division for the finals, me, you, and Robert Wright a.k.a Mr. Graceful from your school…
I beat you and Robert Wright that night…and I think that is when the rivalry really started…like who the heck was this kid to beat “Little K.A.”? I swept you out right off the bat! And knocked that headband off your head! Nobody had ever brought a fight to you like we fought that night. Nobody had the skill and if they did, certainly didn’t have the courage to fight you hard…I had to bring it… Certainly no other kid gave you such a match. It made you take notice.
KEVIN- The respect started then…
BILL- You were already the seasoned veteran at that time…and yes, it was on from then…Additionally I saw you and Robert Wright beforehand fighting the Garris Twins @ Fred Hamilton's Bare Knuckle Event @ Town Hall…I was watching you then…I had that on 8mm video man, I used to watch it over and over.
KEVIN- So you were studying me, uh?
BILL- Yeah man, I was, watching you…even back then.
KEVIN- Yeah I remember that, Fred Hamilton’s Bare Knuckles!
BILL- So we just talked about the first fight, and we just finished watching the video of our last fight…
KEVIN- oh my gosh!...full circle, wow…man…full circle…beautiful man…beautiful.
BILL- So I beat you the first time and you beat me the last time…and I will put this on the record…that last time…you put it on me K…you spanked me good…ha ha ha
Win lose or draw, I never wanted those fights to end…man because I treasured those fights we had because every fight was a learning experience for me…how much could I do against you…how well could I defend myself against you! Because quite frankly… you were the guy to fight in the divison…you were a gauge for me so to speak…a standard with which I could measure myself against. You were my benchmark.
KEVIN- you know what that is Bill…too many fighters…let me rephrase, the term fighter puts someone in a box…I’m gonna say practitioners of the art…and you are a practitioner of the art…and too many practitioners don’t have that zeal or the want or that motivation…you know what I’m saying? To get better…and in order to get better what do you have to do? You have to fight the best ones out there! You don’t back peddle…You’ve got to hit them straight on brother…there’s no going high to the left or high to the right…you’ve got to go right for them…and that’s probably why whe are here today brother…talking…absolutely…
BILL- So I beat you the first time we fought and you beat me the last time we fought…with about 35 to 40 matches in between.
KEVIN-But you know what they say Bill…I’m gonna put it to you this way…it’s not how you start…it’s how you finish…(both laugh)
BILL- So you just retired in 2011…let me ask you…you’ve been so explosive for all these years…how have you maintained that level…for parts of six decades…kata, weapons fighting…sometimes 10 fights in a day…I’ve never seen you off your game!
KEVIN-well just from trying to do the right things bill…I never smoked, I never drank…I never did the knotty head, you know, taking drugs…so I kept my body clean and just continued to train and again… allowed it to be second nature, so that it wasn’t something that would considered to be a chore…
BILL- so do you think this is something natural, your ability? Or something you had to develop?
KEVIN-definitely it was natural man…and I say that because I didn’t think about it…and something that you don’t have to think about is natural…
BILL- So then you added dedication and hard work…and you‘ve kept this up for 40 plus years…
KEVIN- yes, it just enhanced it…and I just want to add that I was blessed by the Almighty Creator…and we know what the power of the Creator allows us to do…and we don’t do it unless he allows it…it doesn’t happen…and that’s a great question…
I would just say, the natural ability allowed me to continue along with the constancy of the training…I used to train like crazy…in every home that I ever lived…in the basement…I had a dojo… a place that I could train, in private…that’s the key…a place to be free of distractions…something that these kids today don’t have…they’ve got too many distractions and don’t really get to focus on their art…
BILL- you are in possession of many trophies…and well over 1000 trophies…you had to have won multiple trophies @ every tournament that you ever went to…you’ve never come home empty handed…how important are your trophies to you?
KEVIN-trophies mean a great deal…it means accomplishment…it means your hard work has been rewarded…and if your work didn’t work out too good then you got a 3rd place trophy…that was your work for that day…so it was a motivator for me…to do better, to get back in there to train harder…
(A SMALL SAMPLE OF KEVIN’S GRAND CHAMPIONSHIP TROPHIES)
BILL- What are your fondest memories of the early days, I’m not talking about the team days, I mean the bare knuckle days, just before all the safety equipment?
KEVIN-Well you sitting right here in front of me Bill…(both laugh) you were my nemesis brother, I always talk about you brother! And what I do Bill, and what I honor so much is the award in which you gave me …which was your belt…
( BILL - upon my retirement I mounted my original obi on a plaque and presented it to Kevin)
…and check this out Bill, I read those words man…and I look right back at myself and those words are coming from my mouth just as well Bill…just to think …that I would have to face Billy Beason…going to New York…I better get ready! You understand?! Man it kept me sharp! In the mirror, doing my sit-ups, doing my drills…I’m thinking about you! Believe me brother! My wife has heard you name in this house a great deal! And that is what basically kept me motivated man, and gave me…shall we say?…a STRONG! Strong! Current!
( IN 1992 WHEN I PRESENTED KEVIN WITH MY ORIGINAL OBI [black belt] )
BILL-But there were others K
KEVIN-oh yeah, hey Bill, if I trained that hard for the level of facing the best…that I thought I might have to face…the others came easy! Train hard win Easy…So if you may not have shown up or if I didn’t have to fight you, it didn’t matter, it prepared me for everybody else brother!
BILL- How do you feel about the contact rules that limit the kind of contact that could be made…from what we came up with?
KEVIN-we were talking about that earlier…I think it definitely took away a great deal of the true practitioner, the true karateka…spirit of fighting, man…now it’s just a game of tag…we weren’t about a game of tag…we came up from when there were no pads… you had to hit in order to score…they wouldn’t score it if it didn’t hit…if it didn’t hit good enough it didn’t score…now check this out…if you scored with a punch or kick or whatever now today…all they do today is say score…and it didn’t matter what they were calling…back then, the referees had to be specific and in agreement… “what did you see? I saw kick…I saw Punch”! And if one saw a punch and one saw a kick, it nullified the point…That’s good karate…that’s what we came up with! Came up under those auspices…
BILL- But you managed to adapt to the game.
KEVIN- I had to…I had to…
BILL- you were smart enough to play the game
KEVIN-Absolutely…I had to if I was gonna be out there Bill…that’s what I tell all my students…adapt…Hey, if you wanna be out there…you have to make a transition, to understand that here in the dojo you are learning true karate…and out there on the tournament circuit, hmmmph…I tell them you learn all the double kicks and triple kicks you want, but you get out there in a fight…you squat down and you hit them with that reverse punch…
BILL- have you ever met Muhammad Ali?
KEVIN- Yes, it was 1975, when my teacher Kareem was training for the Jeff Smith bout down in Washington DC, The Rumble In The Jungle…when Ali fought Frazier, we use to go up to Ali’s training Camp in Penn. And his wife Belinda used to take us out on the horses…when I was a small kid…it was awesome…and we would give demonstrations and it was a wonderful thing…Holmes was his sparring partner, it was a beautiful time…
BILL-when did you start fighting adult division?
KEVIN- I was 18…
BILL- they threw me in adult division when I was 16 or 17…
KEVIN- At 17 really? Well I guess you was the midget! ( both laugh)
BILL - yeah Ed Boze of New Jersey, was the regional representative for Karate Illustrated Magazine and he saw me fight adult division against Archie Rullen among others at an Ed Brown tournament in Connecticut… I won that day and the next month In Karate Illustrated magazine, he rated me # 10 adult black belt division and commented that “Billy Beason can no longer be considered a junior any longer” and they didn’t allow me in junior division anymore…lol
KEVIN- So, you had been in adult division since? Wow…
Bill- which were your most successful years on the circuit?
KEVIN-Ahhhhh man….obviously I have to consider the awards (long long pause lots of pondering) ummmmmm 95, no no no…93….no no…late 89 90…
BILL- (at that point I stopped him and said) Kevin…you have never…had an unsuccessful year…and he laughs…and says, I like that Bill, I like that…that’s very nice of you…
KEVIN- But I think my best year was in 89 when I was inducted and received the award from Black Belt Magazine…Black Belt Hall of Fame…and in 95 I won the Triple Crown but this was a real Triple Crown because of the competition I was up against…Mike Bernardo in Weapons, Ninja Turtle Ho San Pak Kata and Steve Nasty Anderson, for kumite…
BILL- All awesome men! Great Champions, very meaningful victory for you.
KEVIN- Absolutely…Three Grand Championships in one Tournament…National Tournament…and I didn’t get no ink for it
BILL…lol
KEVIN-But it was some good money that day…I took home close to 20 Grand in one tournament…it was a good day…
BILL- How did you prepare mentally for events?
KEVIN- What I would do Bill is I would visualize the whole day man…I would visualize everything…from walking into the event, who I would see, what I would say, shaking hands greeting people…doing my forms, fighting, everything, the whole day in my mind man, to the point where I was standing there with my trophy at the end of the day man…that’s what I would do and then go out there and do it…and if I didn’t win, I would go back in my mind and replay the moments and see what I did wrong and how to correct it.
BILL- that’s deep man…so you created the outcome?
KEVIN- there ya go Bill…I would create the outcome.
BILL- When you were on the Teams, Budweiser, Atlantic, JPM…you were with some of the greatest point karate legends of all time…that the world would ever see…and never see again because the sport has changed so much…what did you learn from them?
KEVIN -Wow! I always looked at myself as a student…and I think that is the meekness and humility… of my character, I always stayed under the radar with myself…I never had that over the top ego…
BILL- I object!
KEVIN - Listen to me Bill…when I became a adult (both Laugh)when I was a kid…that was different ha ha ha
BILL-OK…Ok…you had to catch up with your ego…( both continue to laugh) I used to say we had to open both doors for you to go thru because we had to make room for your ego too…ok…let’s get back on track…what did you learn from Nasty? Physically or mentally?
KEVIN - Nasty was so smart, so strategic, his ways of stalling…take a time out, break the rhythm, take away their steam and controlling a match…but on top of that he was a great fighter…he gave me some history about himself the other day…when he was coming up he had won close to 100 straight tournaments…without losing…amazing…no body disputes it…he s an all time WAKO champion…4 times winning back to back…so, to win at all costs…
BILL- Mafia?
KEVIN - Ahhhh man! Flexibility…
BILL-Plowden
KEVIN - Under punching! King of Under punching…
BILL- at some point I started under punching, copying you…so in essence, I was learning what Richard Plowden was doing…wow, I copied you, you copied Plowden…but ya know what, when done correctly, that underpunch was a winner.
Any females you learn anything from on the team?
KEVIN - Linda Denley…
Fearless…relentless…she continued to be fearless and she just understood the mode of a fighter…smart strong, kept the pressure on…she hit you sometimes and just look at you and put her fist up at you…that was Linda brother, fearless…and when we did training camps, she would stand right on in there, when we did round robins, with the men…and that’s why I think she was so good…in beating all the women…
BILL-Coach Merriman?
KEVIN - Just awesome…I call him the father of all fathers as far as coaches are concerned…I remember sitting with him after one of the tournaments, and he would speak to me about the philosophical concepts of threes…the spirit mind and body…uh…small medium large…and he began to speak of everything that he was given in those terms…what he did was always very strategic…a true kata man…as we know everything comes from the fundamental base…and kata is the essential element of the application…so if you do not have kata…you do not have fighting…
BILL- Ok, now you bring me to a question that I was going to bring up later on…Some of the best fighters on the circuit back in the 80s and 90s, weren’t the best kata guys, Only saw Billy Blanks do kata once, never saw Nasty do Kata…yet they prevailed.
KEVIN - Right…(obviously seeing my perspective)
BILL- how do you think they adapted, because they were playing a different game?
KEVIN - I will tell you Billy…because I was teammates with them… (voice inflection changes and gets very serious) they were very good practitioners of the kata. Nasty didn’t do kata in competition, Billy Blanks, GOOD KATA! Richard Plowden… Anthony Price…all good kata.
BILL- so they just weren’t doing kata in competition (except for Terry Creamer)
KEVIN - That’s right! That’s right!, what they did was they created foundation for themselves…(in kata), but they “SPECIALIZED”…in fighting. Keep your philosophy pure…ALL THOSE WHO CAN FIGHT! YOU BETTER BELIEVE…IT CAME FROM SOMEWHERE…because it goes back to the shadow boxing…and the shadow boxing is just another element of kata.
BILL- Watching you do kata, irritated me and amazed me at the same time…first, it irritated me because first I knew I was never gonna beat you in kata, but secondly, it amazed me because I could see your invisible opponents as you did your kata…
KEVIN - yes, yes…yes…what our teacher taught us…always said…make the onlooker feel what you are doing…
BILL- okay, lets flip it…many great kata competitors during that same era…were not great fighters, or at least not great competitive fighters…what is your perspective on that?
KEVIN …we spoke earlier about development, how each of us was a seed planted and when it grows, if it sprouts and grows… goes in a certain direction…some turn in one direction while others go a different way…and some of those guys, well some of those guys just didn’t make a certain turn…they did not put their true application…meaning the true good strong kata guys were not great fighters…they went off in a different direction…
BILL- so do you think it has more to do with heart? Or essentially focusing too much on the kata…
KEVIN - (Kevin’s inflection heightens) YES! YES! That’s what I’m talking about Bill…when you do kata Bill, what my teacher said…it’s more about just performance…it had to be spirit mind and body! You have to have soul and heart…that’s why he said you had to have something called “one punch kill”
BILL- ippon ken
KEVIN - you know it, the Japanese term…( getting excited) HE SAID, EVERY BLOCK IS A BROKEN LEG OR A BROKEN ARM…EVERY PUNCH IS A BREAKING OF THE CLAVICLE, EVERY KICK IS CRUSHING A RIB, THEREFORE YOU KIA TO YOUR MAX! YOU ARE A KARATE PRACTITIONER! YOU ARE IN SHAPE!…KIA! AND MAKE IT STRONG!…THAT’S WHY WE KIA ON EVERY BLOCK! EVERY PUNCH! EVERY BLOCK! EVERY STEP! IT MEANT SOMETHING! WHEN I STEPPED DOWN I WAS CRUSHING SOMEBODIES TOES! I VISUALIZE THESE THINGS! WHEN I CAME OUT… I WAS BLOCKING AND BREAKING SOMEONE TRYING TO GRAB ME…WHEN I STEPPED OUT INTO A GREETING STANCE HARRRAAHHHHH!...YOU KNOW WHAT IM SAYING…PRESENCE! AND IT MADE US…
BILL- the way that you would introduce the kata, in that spirited way… quite frankly K…I’ve been around for a long time…was copied by others...you know that…and you don’t get the credit.
KEVIN - Bill, I like that and I don’t get offended…not at all…it’s not a problem…you know that kia, I call it continuity kiaing… Which is to energize yourself and to finish your man…
hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
BILL- ok, that brings me to another point…this continuity kiaing…I called it a tigers roar…or growl…I don’t know about you, but back in the day, when I was in the tournament arena, gym, or what have you…and I would see YOU…NOTICE YOU!…I would go into a different state! I would get this growl that went on like what you call continuous kia…I would take notice and stalk you as prey…and kinda growl….I would go into predatory mode…
KEVIN - ha ha GOOD GOSH BILL! (responding excitedly) YOU GOT TO BE KIDDING BILL…HA HA WHHHOOOOOOWEEEEE!
BILL…Yeah man…I had to Ki myself up…I had to start that engine going…
Kevin- WOW! YOU GOT IT RIGHT BILL…YOU GOT TO START THAT ENGINE BILL…DON’T START IT WHEN YOU’RE READY TO FIGHT…TOO LATE THEN…
BILL- when I got in my zone that’s how I was. I wanted to take you down, your mask was my target…and it was that way with others too…but more so with you…Kevin Thompson…in fact, that kime, that focus I think started with you…and that type of kime carried over to others…but you lit that fire in me K…When I fought you it was something different though…a different level of intensity.
( Bill Beason vs. Kevin Thompson early 80’s “I wanted to take you down, your mask was my target” )
BILL- Coach Rodriguez…J.P.M, the John Paul Mitchell Team…tell me about him…
KEVIN - let me preface that question first with how I came to be on Team John Paul Mitchell…Before I got on the team there was a real reluctance to make a move to get on any team because we thought Chuck Merriman would be starting the old team back up so I declined offers from other teams…then what happened was, I spoke with Coach Merriman and he said the funds and the budget wasn’t there to reform the team and “to go your own way”…Coach said…ya know what team you should go to…JPM with Don Rodriquez and his players. They really have character and if you are to go anywhere, go to JPM…Now, I’m not the kind of guy that’s gonna go out there looking for stuff like that Bill, so I didn’t…Low and behold, about a month later, Donny called me. I didn’t know if Chuck Merriman had anything to do with it and Donny asked me if I would like to be part of the team…
I told him…definitely,
That was about 93 or 94, I had won the Ocean State Nationals that year and we have been together ever since.
Donny is a gentleman of great character and knowledge, his experiences outweighs many martial artist on the circuit now, listening to him; one can learn a great deal. You know that old adage, not to judge a book by its cover; certainly this fits him, because many people would judge him by his cover. That’s just not fair.
What sticks with me about him is his work ethic and ability to mend people together and to create good scenarios.
His philosophical credo is about team unity…T= togetherness, E= everyone, A= achievement, M= more…so he would say together everyone achieves more…T.E.A.M and he knew how to make us a winning team…
I knew that together we were strong…when we walked together; there was so much power…through that I began to reflect on the word togetherness…and that’s what you do as teams…bring team and each ones individuality together…and that made us a strong team!
So, when we walked in together, when we trained together when we were uniformed together in the “Black and White” everyone knew we were Team J.P.M.
Donny, well, I hold him in very high esteem…he didn’t have to be a world champion himself to understand what it takes to win and to help others to win.
He knows his art well in Kempo as a student of Ed Parker…his consistency with promoting his tournaments about 30yrs now, you look at the man for his accomplishments…what he has done for others…he was always busy, in helping others to take a step up.
I’ve learned a lot from him, his character is supreme and he has always fought for his team and is a man of high moral standards…I am blessed to have been part of J.P.M and to have been coached by Don Rodriquez. JPM was family and Donny was our Father…
(AWARD GIVEN TO KEVIN BY DON RODRIQUEZ COACH OF TEAM JPM )
BILL- few NYC competitors rose to the national level of competition…You, Jerry Fontanez, Tony Morrison, Andre Richardson, Sam Roberts( Kevin interjects “ and yourself” and I respond…”but I didn’t go as far as you guys did”…Kevin comes back “ but that’s alright…but you did it and that’s what counts”)…back to my question…out of so many great NYC karateka…why do you think that to be so?
KEVIN - I’ll tell you…economics…it's expensive out there on that national circuit. I’ll tell you brother…here (NY/NJ) you have some of the best! fighters, some of the best! practitioners…I use to boast about New York brother…and started to claim New York, I never claimed NY before, cause I’m from New Jersey, but when I went out there… that’s all they knew, the Big Town…and they always said K.A. from New York, I would say New York / New Jersey, we got the best… so I claimed New York and I used to just start naming off …and I used to brag and I would say east coast was the best!
BILL- it took a long time for them to come to us (rated national competitors)…eventually though, the great competitors started coming to New York… and Chuck brought some…Nasty, Blanks, Jesse Thornton, Joey Shifflett, all those on the Atlantic Team, Budweiser…Mafia, etc.
KEVIN - and let me say this, that’s when they started understanding…they said these boys can fight! I gotta fight; I can’t go in there with none of this point stuff…
I’ll say this openly…Nasty came relentlessly…he came and put his title on the line constantly…I will say Billy Blanks, he came down to New York a few times…but most guys came when they were on teams…but Nasty came when there were no teams…
BILL-Kata…as good as your kata was why did it take so long for you to win grand championships on the national circuit?
KEVIN - (switching his thought reflectively) speaking of kata, ya know who else had good kata but was a fighter???? Tony Young…man Tony Young…
BILL-(in line with his reflection of great fighters and their kata) Well Kev, let me say that you’ve broadened my horizons and have given me history…because I didn’t understand that about these guys, and I have to respect what you have to say on that matter because you were there and thank you for that insight…
KEVIN - yeah man, in the team camps man, yes, there was kata and we used to practice kata…
But back to the question…I was the new guy on the circuit…I had to pay my dues…I do believe that I was on the bottom end and I had to work my way up…one year I went to the Diamonds and I won 3rd place in traditional kata and Miyazaki won 1st place and Stuart Quan 2nd…then there was a guy from Chicago Deno Cain…I had beat him out and some other great ones out…and at that time I think I got recognized from that point…the year after that I won the division…
(Continuing his thought) And to break into that kata /weapons division, man, really you’re not in control…I can remember a million times you performed nasty kata Bill, and you received low scores or received 3rd or 4th place…but because you were new on the circuit and you hadn’t paid your dues…same with fighting Bill, I remember you came with that knit suit…they didn’t know you…you had to pay your dues…before you would be recognized…
BILL - From the word hajime! What’s going on in Kevin Thompsons mind?
KEVIN - OH! STALK AND GO! STALK AND BLITZ! ANGLES, ANGLES, ANGLES! FAKE AND GO! MAKE HIM JUMP!PUT THE PRESSURE ON…THAT WAS MY WHOLE POSTURE…STAY ON YOU…TAKE CONTROL OF THE MATCH, THIS WAS MY RING, I OWN IT…I CONTROL IT…AND WHEN I LOST A MATCH, I WENT BACK AND VIEWED IT… IN MY MIND, WE DIDN’T HAVE TAPES THEN, AND IT WOULD BE THE TIMES IN WHICH THAT GAVE UP GROUND AND OR DIDN’T TAKE CONTROL OF THE MATCH…AND I WOULD CATALOG IT…
BILL – how quickly would you size up your opponents?
KEVIN- FROM THE POINT OF GOING TO THE TOURNAMENT, I KNOW CERTAIN GUYS ARE GOING TO BE AT THAT TOURNAMENT…IM TRAINING FOR THOSE GUYS…I KNOW YOU’RE GONNA BE THERE…I KNOW JOEY SHIFFLETTS GONNA BE THERE…I KNOW DENO CAINS GONNA BE THERE…AND SO AND SO…I KNOW JEAN FRENETTE GONNA BE KICKING IN A CIRCLE…I KNOW TERRY CREAMERS GONNA BE WAILING HIS BO…
BILL- SO YOU APPROACHED PREPARATION FOR KATA AND KUMITE THE SAME WAY?
KEVIN - FROM A DISTANCE…I’D PREPARE…FROM A DISTANCE…IN MY MIND…I’D PREPARE…YOU HEARD THAT SAYING…IF YOU FAIL TO PREPARE…YOU PREPARE TO FAIL…
BILL-MANY GREAT FIGHTERS HAD BANKABLE TECHNIQUES…THE TIMING AND BLITZ OF NASTY ANDERSON, THE AX KICK BY PEDRO XAVIER…LEFT LEG OF BILL WALLACE…BUT YOU WEREN'T LIKE THAT…I’ve seen you hit people from the right side, the left side…front kick, sidekick, roundkick, spinning back kick…and might I add such a tight spinning kick, not a hook but a back kick very compact…
KEVIN - yeah that’s right, that’s right…My teacher Karriem called it a straight back kick…
BILL- so here’s the question I ALREADY KNOW THE ANSWER…are you just that good…or did that come from the way you trained…
KEVIN - (laughs) I like the way you put that Bill…I’m gonna say…that’s the way I trained…I trained with hands…I trained with feet…I trained in kata, I trained with weapons, I worked the left side and worked the right side…I worked on what was weak, until it got it strong…you have too…
We (as people) are so into whatever we are doing good and we stay with that…instead of looking at our deficits…I always say…we train in 3 levels right…spirit, mind and body…right?…so if you say…your spirit is good…and your knowledge about what your doing is good and your physical technique is lacking…you put your spirit and mental aside…which is your knowledge base…and you start practicing some more…if your practicing too much and if your mental…your knowledge of your bunkai about that kata is not correct…your kata is pretty good, your stance is pretty good…sit your butt down!…and get your knowledge base…start studying some more…so practice on your weak points…in life…in life Bill…in life.
BILL- Well Kev, its evident that you have lived that philosophy…
KEVIN - Embodied Bill…
BILL- Yes sir…yes sir…and this way…this way of life, is something that your children also will glean, more so than your students and others, because your more invested with them, and they with you…time wise, physically and emotionally…and spiritually…
BILL- okay, here we go…lets wind this down K…toughest opponent, any era of your career…any era?
KEVIN - (he chuckles heartily) Billy Beason
BILL- get the heck out of here!
KEVIN - Ehhhhhh ehhhhh! Bill, don’t do that, my wife told you earlier man, down to this day… I talk about you all the time…my wife doesn’t lie!
BILL- Okay, okay, the question has an “s” toughest “OPPONENTS”…any era…
KEVIN - ok…I’ll just run them down man…I really just don’t want to leave anyone out man…I fought practically everybody…Ray Mccullam, Ray was an awesome guy…man there are so many…I don’t want to leave anyone out…and I would be remiss if I left someone out…
BILL - well then you don’t have to mention.
KEVIN - No, No, these guys have to be mentioned
Billy Blanks, Nasty Anderson, all those guys man, Anthony Price, Richard Plowden, Tony Young… Mafia Hollaway, ( Bill interrupts “ just say the whole Atlantic Team” Kevin laughs and continues” ). Everybody on the team and plus some more! You got the Jerry Fontanezes, you got the (the late) Adriel Muniz’s, you got the Sam Mcgees man, if you don’t watch it… he will take your head off man, you understanding what I’m saying man?...you got to give these guys credit!...you couldn’t sleep on them man, just because they didn’t go out there on that national circuit, these guys would hurt you brother…especially a Sam Mcgee brother…ha ha ha! He would sit on the reverse punch all night and day brother! Yeah man, all of those guys, locally here man, and I’m sorry if I left anyone out man…(continues to have names pop into his thought)…Jesse Thorton, and some of these younger guys man Pedro, Ronald and Donald Brady…Jadi man…Jadi is right from here man…Gerald Dawson…
BILL- Don’t include me in this category…Person you loved to fight the most?
KEVIN - ( laughs) uhhhhhhh, wow!, Loved to fight? man…wow…wow…wow….wow ( thought process continues as I could see him flashing back in his mind…finally says) obviously man, I fought Nasty the most…I fought Nasty out of all my teammates…because we used to get it in, and then, we go back and talk about it…He’s a talker man…That Joker could talk, ha ha ha…
BILL- Best Female?
KEVIN - Christine Bannon…all around, kata, weapons and fighting…a lot of people don’t give her credit, she did the same thing that I did as a woman…Triple Crown…man…she doesn’t get the same credit, because (for the females) fighting was highlighted back then and she was in the shadow of Linda, and Arlene Limas…Christine just texted me the other day, love her to death, love her…
BILL - Never fought, always wanted to?
KEVIN - That’s a real good question Bill…hmmm, a real good question…I’m gonna tell you Bill…Raymond Daniels.
At this point…Kevin mentions Damon Gilbert and Steve Babcock as J.P.M team co-captains…somehow the questions turned into medley of names that just simultaneously just started dropping from our mouths, expressing how “BAD” those guys from New England were. With admiration, we both talked about the skills of Alberto Montrond, David Collins, the late David Randall, Rocky Silva, Mike Conroy, Steve Babcock, Pedro Xavier, and others.
KEVIN - another good one…I’m gonna throw his name out there…Ibby Abdullah…
BILL - Yes! Excellent! Ibby just came out there and just started winning…and just kept on improving…really good timing and a cool head.
BILL - Were you ever fearful going into a match?
KEVIN - Concerned…I attribute my level of concern to the level of performance that I would have to match up to…highly concerned about certain fighters because of the potential…and what that does it heightens your level of performance…and that was how I prepared… all through that moment of meditation… before each match.
BILL -Was that prayer? ( when Kevin would turn bow his head in silent meditation before each match )
KEVIN - It’s called Duah…pronounced DO- Ahhh…which is a short prayer, and then I would turn around and it was on.
BILL - What is the most important thing to Kevin Thompson?
KEVIN - (without hesitation) Family…ummhmmm…family. Ya know Bill, due to the fact that when we were young, we didn’t make those things a priority, and I wish that I had, knowing really how important family is…
BILL - Legacy…how would you like…to be remembered…what reputation?
KEVIN - Bill, It’s a very, very hard question to answer because I’m not a person who puts himself up there, you know what I mean…I just do the work that has to be done and whatever accolades come with that, so be it…I’ve never thought about it…but I do believe that out of everything that I would like to be remembered for, if there is to be a legacy is that I was a true competitor… an individual that would thrive on winning…by any means necessary ( within the framework of the rules of course )…as the level of competition went up…it was my duty, within my ability to do more training…to excel in my level, to be the very best that I could be once I stepped on the floor…further, I would want my system to carry on… to have a legacy based on my students exhibiting the system in which I’ve helped to developed…so the legacy that I would like to be told about me is twofold…Kevin Thompson was a great competitor…as well as a giving instructor, who also thrived on teaching…teaching others how to learn and achieve…so to be a teacher Bill…known as just a loving and giving person that taught from the heart…a person that you’ve competed against and letting you know that you’ve been in a match with a strong competitor…personally we can never be successful without the influences of others…so in combining those two thoughts Bill, I guess that could be my legacy…
BILL - Last Question K… (Referring to his extensive tournament career of over 40 years) Kevin Thompson…did you stay too long, get out at the right time…or did you leave too early?
KEVIN - That’s a real good question man…(ponders) I do believe I got out at the right time…I felt as though it was time…and went out still on top.
BILL - Back in the eighties, you and I fought @ Madison Square Garden…it was a Budweiser event…we fought in the finals and you won…It was a Saturday event…and the next day, there was another tournament up in Connecticut. A Chuck Merriman sponsored event. At the close of that tournament…Chuck Merriman made an announcement and basically what it entailed was the assembling of the greatest martial arts talent on hand of the day and he was forming the Atlantic Team. Historical event! And what happened after he read off all the names introducing the team members, I was like dag! No one even approached me on this…and I felt a bit slighted…but I wasn’t gonna miss out on seeing more of what was to come, because he then had the team assemble at another location of the school, for the very first team practice…now this was historical…the top fighters in the country were going to be on one team! Nasty, Blanks, Denley Wright, Holloway, Thompson, Price , Creamer, Plowden, Nance, Llanos, etc. Now here’s my point…as the team gathered to make this move…you looked at me and said, “Hey Bill…you wanna carry my bag?” like I was your “boy” and I was like, “ you son of a *****!”
KEVIN - (laughs a hearty belly laugh) I don’t remember that Bill…
BILL - But let me say this, back then, was a different time…a different era…a different mindset, but I tell you today Kevin…I would carry your bag…I will carry you brother.
Kevin- I wanna say something…thank you brother, this interview was very, very… educational! It’s hard for people to do things that you have done as a true warrior… as a true champion Bill, you understand? You sit here and your asking me these questions…you understand me Bill? and I feel as though that I should turn right back around and ask every question to you…those are some beautiful questions brother…you’ve put thought, and your creative piece into those questions, I am happy, I am grateful, I am honored! , to be interviewed by you…it is humbling brother…that you do this…it is humbling…it is respectfulness that you show man…it’s not common…or shall we say, it is rare, for people of your stature, to come down and be the note taker, the question giver…and I know brother…I know…I KNOW!… in every question, you have probably answered that question four or five times already in your head…
(Regarding a picture that I photographed of Kevin slipping a backhand by Steve Nasty Anderson with a counter ridgehand tagging Nasty, Kevin relates the following ) [picture below]
The picture that I have on my wall…every time someone comes and says “ oh man this is beautiful” ya know I don’t even talk about the picture…I say, “ you know who took that picture?”. And you know why it’s like that… it’s like we’re posing…that’s my nemesis who took that picture, he knows me! , he studied me! He’s a fighter he knows what’s coming! So he was on the end of the SMASH and POW! He knows! I don’t even talk about Nasty…I start talking about you! It was about the humility man, even taking that picture and giving it to me Bill…and that was a long time ago man…so that humility brother has been in your heart and mind…and my heart and mind…for a long time.
Just after Kevin spoke about the picture, I turned my recorder off… Kevin and I expressed some private thoughts about his current battle regarding his health. All I could do is listen to this man as he stands determined to maintain a positive champion’s attitude. Sometimes it is best to sit and listen…that serves as encouragement enough…so that’s what I did.
As we spoke, I told Kevin, one thing that we missed doing, was going into a dojo, locking the door and training with each other, one on one…teaching each other something more, something that could have made each of us better than we were.
Like a light coming on in a dark room, Kevin’s head snapped up and he said, “We should have teamed up! The two of us would have been unstoppable!” I said to him, “you give me way too much credit Kevin…it was what it was…I was going in a different direction from you, you were a skyrocket on the way up, and up you went and everybody saw that spectacular display for over 40 years!”
As we spoke about regrets…this missed opportunity… we realized that those things just weren’t meant to be, yet we were certainly grateful about how our relationship ended up. Paths cross in life, go in different directions and sometimes never cross again…some are parallel forever…others intersect later on…and at just the right time.Kevin Thompson, Sport Karate Legend and Icon…it has been my honor to have been your rival, it has been my privilege to be your opponent, it has been my fortune to be your friend.
KEVIN THOMPSON BILL BEASON AND OUR SONS…OUR SYMETRY CONTINUES CAN “YOU” SEE IT?
Billy Beason's Belt given to Kevin Thompson as a gift
upon Billy's retirement from competition in 1992
21 YEARS LATER
SPECIAL WORDS BY BILLY BEASON
On July 2oth, 2013, Kevin Thompson presented to me his obi…
Once again, this man has floored me.
The flood of emotion that washed over me at that moment when I looked down on the table and saw a black box, trimmed in red, with a brass plated reading, “Kevin Thompson Retires Black Belt Given To Billy Beason 2013”, containing his black belt, can only be described as deep sorrow, followed by humble gratitude, but certainly no emotion of joy.
From deep inside, I felt a surge of profound grief, as if a death had occurred of a close, close friend.
But I looked up and yet, there was my close, close friend looking at me, as if to say…I’m still here Bill…
It was like I saw an accident scene; of a car belonging to a friend crushed and mangled, then …heard a familiar voice from aside of the wreckage of my loved one, although a little banged up, a little bruised but still there, saying, “hey man! Here I am.”
So I forsook the belt on the table and rushed to Kevin and grabbed him and didn’t want to let go.
But I also felt angry! WHY…this emotion?
Because this disease is robbing him of the dearest things to him in life, his independence, his family, his secular career, his swag! Additionally, this horrid disease robs him of his art, and there isn’t a thing any of us can do about it! All I could do was embrace Kevin as a brother…I wanted to comfort him and I hope that it did…but I was surprised, that this embrace comforted me.
In 1992, I made a conscious choice to retire from the martial arts…the reason why, was a personal decision …but some of you know why…but that’s not for this story…
Gi’s get thrown away…along with pads, and other equipment. Even trophies and awards, well quite frankly… I had no further use for or connection to. But my obi, my rank, that piece of material that I wore around my waist for decades as I practiced kata, attended special trainings, sparred and competed in hundreds of tournaments, was always with me and physically close to me in those aspects of my art. Could that too, just be discarded as if it meant nothing or at the very best be regulated to box in an attic or drawer in the house?
Of course it couldn’t. I knew how hard I had worked to obtain it and what It meant to me…I watched it as it went from a new, deep, deep black, stiff belt…to a loose, tattered graying rope that hung around my waist…
I remember seeing the first signs of wear around the knot which appeared after many times of tying it as I gi’d up for practice, and I delighted in seeing the appearing frayed edges as they developed from the abrasive contact made between it and my gi which occurred over years and years of practice…I remember watching it fade as the salt from the sweat of my body transformed it…I remember it growing old with me in the art. I remember when I bled; I would wipe my wound with my obi.
So when I chose to retire, could I just toss this in the garbage? Are you serious!? The answer of course was no…the respect that I had for Kevin, moved me to present my belt to him…as a sign of deep respect because he in part was an ingredient, a necessary ingredient, that drove me to excel that made me…ME!…and I wanted to let him know that, so, every time he looked at it, or dusted it off as it hung in his dojo or mentioned to someone what it was when asked about it…that Bill Beason, his nemesis, his rival, respected him so much.
So fast forward to July 20th, 2013…when I was made aware, that Kevin’s speech was moving in the direction of this presentation, it was truly, truly surprising to me. I looked for nothing from Kevin at this event, I only chose to give and wanted to make it a memorable occasion for him…yet, he made it a memorable occasion for me.
The range of emotions could not be processed quickly enough for me when it hit me that Kevin was giving me this honor…so when I returned to my home in Florida, I needed to reprocess the moment and to recreate as best I could what happened…
It was about 2 a.m. and the house was quiet…I put the box containing the obi on a chair at about the same angle that it was on the table that evening…and I approached it in the same manner that I had that day…and tried to “feel”.
I slowed down my emotion to reveal to me what my first thought was and it was this.
“Kevin is never… going to practice anymore, he will never put this on again”
And that was simply it…the word NEVER reverberated in my mind…
And that made me so, so very sad, that his physical practice is over for him… that not because of choice, but because of this dreadful disease, this phase of his life is over…he will NEVER again, put this belt around his waist…EVER!
He will never again Gi Up! As it were…He will never again perform kata, he will never again practice basic things let alone advanced techniques…he will never teach by way of example and say “watch how I do it and you do it!” He will never again delight crowds or cause fear to strike an opponent in the throes of competition…
This wasn’t supposed to be over for him, this wasn’t supposed to be the way a warrior goes out…this wasn’t supposed to be the way for such a person…I had always felt that they would have to create an over 80 year old division just for Kevin Thompson!
And this isn’t just about the competitive arena, a martial artists life we all know is so much more, a way of life that incorporates body mind and spirit…but yet I felt hurt because part of his art has been robbed of him.
This loss I felt as if it were my loss…This loss, was a profound sense of loss to me, because I know what his art means to him and I recognized that! I felt sorry for him and rushed to hug him and to embrace him because this gesture, reflected a similar gesture 20 years earlier when I gave him mine…
The only person to ever wear my belt was me…
The only person to ever wear Kevin’s belt was him…
I’m sure he never put mine around his waist and I will never put his around mine.
I’ve trusted him with mine…I am trusted with his.
Kevin could of said, give this to my son to wear, or bronze it and put it in my school, display it for others to see… or bury it with me when I die.
But he has trusted it to me.
Is this an epic gesture of sorts repeated, that other warriors over centuries past have done for each other?
I wonder, did Ali and Frazier have some moment? Some private meaningful gesture that said “Man I love you this much”?
Well, I don’t know…but all in attendance that day know…Billy Beason and Kevin Thompson have something special…that they will never really understand…a bond different than blood…a bond as Kevin and I discussed, is like a diamond…yet a diamond is nothing more than carbon, an element that is common…time, impact and pressure turn that carbon into a diamond, which is considered rare and precious in comparison to the element from which it started…and that bond is very, very strong!
We started out as nothing…as carbon…we have come to be diamonds…noticed I didn’t say we finished as diamonds…
My beloved brother,
I am humbled…
Bill Beason
