Kongo Rikishi

Read Part 1 of "On Giving Glare"

It was 1972 and I found myself at a guru maharaji convention in Montreal. I wasn't a devotee, I got talked into going by some of the cult members. So I'm in the convention hall and I get completely disgusted with the cult thing that's going on around me. I just want to get out of there, so I head for the exit. I enter the lobby and head straight for a door. There are several of the cult members loitering around the lobby and when they see me they immediately surround me, physically stop me, and tell me that I am not allowed to leave...

Maybe it was a poor choice of words on their part. I found out later that the guru himself was expected to arrive at those very doors in a little while, and I was experiencing their security lockdown. Not knowing this at the time, however, I became immediately concerned for my safety.

A man sitting at a desk in the corner of the room appeared to be in charge, so I went over to him, glared at him, leaned in real close, and said this: "You can not keep me here against my will. I am a trained fighter, and in a few minutes I will make another attempt to go through those doors. If anyone tries to stop me I will hurt them. The blood will be on your hands."

Having said my piece I turned and walked to the far end of the room, and began stretching. I wasn't so much stretching as intimidating them. Some stretches, some kicks. The looks on the faces of those guarding the door told me that they were very concerned.

From the corner of my eye I see that the guy in charge sent a runner into the building. That had to be bad and I wasn't going to wait around until their backup arrived. I looked around, studying the group of guards, and picked out the weak point. I lock eyes with one guy and start walking toward them. No one moved a muscle. This concerned me as I was fully ready to fight my way out, but I wasn't ready for them to be passive. For one thing, I don't hit anyone who's not trying to hurt me. I was also concerned that they would allow me to get in the middle of them before they pounced.

I am very close to them now, still with eyes locked on that one poor guy who must have expected an imminent beating. He was not my target, however. I was using him as a distraction. My real target was the guy standing a few feet away from him. As I got to a good fighting distance I began dropping into a lower fighting stance. I was crossing into a horse stance, preparing to kick the first guy. They still aren't moving and I'm very concerned about that, but at the critical moment when my attack should begin their leader shouted "let him go." They parted like the Red sea and I left the building.

--
Kongo Rikishi, eternal student, Shotokan
Shotokan Karate Academy