Angela Smith shares her journey that exemplifies this saying and how she found her way back to Kenpo. We welcome Angela back and look forward to following her future successes as she continues on her journey.
I believe I started Kenpo Karate when I was 7. Back then, my parents couldn’t afford much so my choice was to either do karate with my brother Neil Roberts or ballet. As I couldn’t imagine myself in a pink tutu I chose karate.
We joined with David Smith and Roy MacDonald. We moved with David Smith to Graham Lelliotts club where I achieved my cadet black belt at the age of 16. After Graham decided to move to Fresno California, the club was run by the late Paul McMurray and Ian Harris as Quennevais Kenpo School (QKS).
I took several mini breaks during this time, as a teenager/young adult working full time and going out with friends shifted my focus. However, when I did return full time, I achieved my first-degree black belt at the age of 27 and was the late Paul McMurray’s first and only female black belt. It was a surreal moment as we travelled from Jersey C.I. To Fresno to be graded in Graham’s dojo. It was also made special as my brother Neil was grading for his second degree. With my parents and boyfriend (now husband) cheering us on it was a real family affair!
As history tends to repeat, I too took yet another break. During this time, I married my husband who had sat on the sidelines and supported my journey in karate on every grading and travelled with me to competitions. I furthered my career and moved into a beautiful house to make our own. However, after some time I felt I had lost my identity. I knew I wanted to do something but wasn’t sure on what. So, I tried different activities and hobbies and yes, I even tried ballet! I would smile at the thought of what younger me would say to that! Taking dance classes, especially street dance and contemporary, it amused me as some of the moves were akin to the movements in karate. In my competition days I use to always enter into creative form with music, so it felt familiar to me, but I use to do my forms to punk/rock music not RnB and pop!
In August 2021 my brother, who is now a 4th degree had taken over QKS after Paul’s passing in 2015 relocating and given QKS a new meaning Quantum Kenpo Systems, contacted me as his club was growing and as he had several young girls in the class “it would be good for my girls to see a strong female black belt they can relate to”. I immediately went into my attic to locate my gi which had been presented to me at my black belt grading. As it was a woman’s tailored gi that had been fitted to my younger selves’ measurements I was dubious that it would even still fit. Sure, enough after some slight tugging it went on!
I went up that night to help teach the kids. It was another surreal moment. The location may have changed, and the students were different, the instructors were as I remember them (Neil, Matt, Steve, Jack and Aaron) the memories of all those years in a dojo came flooding back. I eased myself back into teaching first by being the student’s helper, telling them to drop their stances or tying their belts properly etc. partly because the students didn’t know me, so I needed to build a good rapport with them, but it was also nerves. Could I teach again? What if I taught them incorrectly because I either remembered it wrong or the form / technique had been modified whilst I was away? Thankfully my brother had sensed my nerves so for a few classes I shadowed him.
After a short while I was tasked in teaching the junior white belts. It all came back, explaining why we have horse stances, the outer rim theory and our center line all of it. Thankfully blocking set and the base 10 techniques had never left my memory! It wasn’t long before I decided I wanted to train myself again. Wearing a black belt but not remembering techniques past green belt I felt like a hoax and wanted to rectify this.
I am still teaching the students which I love to do and now retraining on my forms which thankfully only needed a few adjustments as well as relearning long form 4 again with the hopes of completing that before the end of the year and then all my focus will turn into techniques. Now at 36 I am so grateful to my brother who has ignited my passion for the art and his patience for teaching his big sister! Thank you, brother! It’s never too late to go back into the mat.