just for kicks
You don't have to be Jackie Chan to have fun, teacher says
Article by Ernie Garcia
That's the sound karate master Debbie DeLuca elicits from a student just before the 7:30 p.m. adult class is set to begin.
Ryu Renshi Dan has operated in Dobbs Ferry for 27 years, though not always at 96 Main St., says Jose L. Guzman, the sensei, or school master, who oversees the instruction of more than 100 students. The school offers group and private classes daily, with rates ranging from $70 to $90 a month for adult classes that can meet up to three times a week.
At the 7:30 p.m. Tuesday night classes, there are four instructors and nine students practicing various punches and blocks.
Guzman, a Tarrytown resident and special education placement officer in the New York City Department of Education, said becoming a skilled martial arts practitioner takes time.
"The average to attain a black belt, depending on the person, is four to seven years," says Guzman.
DeLuca, a Yonkers resident and Guzman's student for 20 years, said that anyone can learn karate, no matter their current physical condition. "We take into account people's age and physical ability. We don't push them to do 100 push-ups. If you can only do five, do five well," she explains.
Tonight's class starts with push- ups, and not all of the nine students do them the same way. Some do them the easy way, on their knees, while others stick to the traditional straight body lowered to the floor technique.
By 8 p.m., the entire class is throwing kicks, though not to DeLuca's liking.
"Once you start to shuffle," DeLuca explains, "then your opponent knows that you are coming towards him."
A few minutes later, the students practice a punch-and-block routine that looks like the karate version of patty-cake.
Later, the group practices katas, a series of movements including punches, kicks, blocks combined in a specific pattern that resembles a choreographed dance. The students must learn to perform these routines without mistakes if they are to advance to a higher level at the school's June 8 adult promotions tests.
About 20 minutes of the katas leaves the students winded. Shortly after 9 p.m., they are then dismissed by shaking the teachers' and each others' hands.
Justin Kurian, 31, came to Ryu Renshi Dan for about four years when he was a teenager growing up in Dobbs Ferry, and returned recently as an adult. "I came back because I really enjoyed the instruction," says Kurian, a corporate lawyer who lives in Manhattan. "I thought the way they taught karate and discipline was very productive."
Ernie Garcia at egarcia@thejournalnews.com or 914-966-4005.