Butler Community College - Grizzly Growl Yearbook (El Dorado, KS)

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Mack demonstrates a proper technique to star pupil, Stuart Gordon, in a karate training session. Karate 19

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Karate Don ' t buy a weapon; develop one Karate is viewed by some as a vicious way of deterring anyone with intent to do bodily harm. On campus, however, an instructor and a hand-full of students disagree. Though there are many reasons for getting involved with Karate, the most obvious is self defense. But Sandi Taggart, Karen Mason and Rose Soto, three women in a class instructed by Goldie Mack, said a built-in defense mechanism is not the only reason for pursuing the art. I like the class because I ' m able to set a goal that is within my reach and get there, Taggart said. Mason, who said she was challenged by her boyfriend, has become a Karate enthusiast. I love it — it ' s a lot of fun, Mason said. Although Taggart and Mason had differerent reasons for starting the class, they agreed with Soto who said, The teacher is real in- teresting. He doesn ' t sell you Karate, he helps you understand it. The response seemed typical of students in the class. He is the most motivated person I know. He really cares about you and what you learn — he ' s a real in- spiration. Stuart Gordon, the most advan- ced student in the class, has other reasons for tackling the martial arts. The training is good physical conditioning, something very im- portant to an exercise physiology major. It keeps me in shape men- tally and physically, said Gordon, a paramedic for the Butler County Emergency Sevice. Mack has 16 years of experience in the martial arts, with degrees in three different styles. He has a Brown Belt in Shoto Kan (a Japanese style), a first-degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do (Korean style) and a second- degree Black Belt in Kenpo, the Chinese style he teaches here. His work doesn ' t stop there. In addition to his hours devoted to teaching Mack does some writing on the side. He has had one book published — The Instructor ' s Technical Manual — and is working on another, I Am Somebody. He said the new book is based on his philosophy that Life is a game... as long as you know the rules and how to use them, you can win. Mack became involved in Karate, he said, because he was reared in a Chicago neighborhood where self defense was necessary. I grew up on the South Side of Chicago and found out early in life that I had to either let them beat on me or learn to fight back. And learn he did — so much so that he has traveled more than 200,000 miles teaching and lec- turing on Karate. To some men that would seem like giving up a lot for nothing in return, but not to Mack. My reward is being able to share my experence and to open doors to those who are genuinely in- terested in finding what they want and helping them get it, Mack said. There is another philosophy that keeps Mack going — a philosophy he said was relayed to him by one of his most respected teachers: A coward would rather buy a weapon than develop the one he has. Expert Goldie Mack instructs Kevin Powell on proper stance involved in mar- tial arts during a training class on the campus. (text and photos by Randy Ruark) 18 Karate

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Maynard Ferguson Big band plays Jazz artist Maynard Ferguson and his band delighted a large audience here Feb. 22. Ferguson, performing only two days after his son ' s death, was not present earlier in the day for a clinic attracting several hundred high school students, but members of his band proceeded with the clinic. At Ferguson ' s concert, popular songs included MacArthur Park and Hey Jude. Butler ' s Jazz Arts Big Band, which opened the concert a half-hour before Ferguson came on stage, teamed with the Ferguson band in Gonna Fly Now, the theme from Rocky. Appoximately 38 schools were represented at the afternoon pops clinic. Among those attending the concert were students and teachers form various colleges and universities, as well as from the high schools represented. The clinic started with each band member in- troducing himself with a short solo. Then the band broke up into sections and opened up for students ' questions. Though it has been some time since the band released an album, Steve Wiest, one of the trom- bonists, said the Ferguson band will release an albumin Japan. Butler ' s jazz band, directed by Doug Talbott, got a chance to show what it had learned at the clinic by doing the warm-up for the concert. The concert attracted one of the largest crowds in history for such a campus event, drawing people from a wide area of the state. Prime seating was provided in half the Gym, and most of those seats were filled. Rhonda Brooks, cen- ter, and Ann Ridgway receive musical pointers from Dennis Diblasio of the Ferguson band. 20 Maynard Ferguson