TT: WLendId youBrsL sLarL LraInIn and wLy?

GA: I BrsL sLarLed LraInIn In IaLe 19SS, wLen

I was very youn aL MIIILary EooL Camp, and
LLen wLen I joIned LLe UB MarIne Corps... and
Lave noL sLopped IearnIn sInce! In LLe Corps
we all had to learn their hand-to-hand combat
systems, both in order to be able to survive
armed and unarmed close combat scenarios,
as well as giving us well-rounded skills for
land, sea, air operations, range weaponry and
marksmansLIp. I was prImarIIy Head oI EIre
DIrecLIon ConLroI (EDC) Ior a squad oI 81 MM
MorLars wILL Weapons 1/9/8 EIeeL MarIne
Eorce, AsIan LLeaLre. We were ood aL wLaL
we dId very accuraLe! Eack In LLose days,
the hand-to-hand combat in the military
(UBMC) consIsLed mosLIy oI judo and JujILsu
with atemi-waza
[-LQ\WZ[ VW\M" Atemi is constructed of the words ate,
which means strike or blow, and mi, which means body.
Thus atemi-waza are techniques with which you strike
the body]
Karate had not yet surfaced, but when it did,
IL was an InLrIuIn Idea Ior many MarInes
who wanted more than the traditional judo
/ JujILsu meLLods. And so many MarInes
sLaLIoned cIose Lo 0kInawa IsIand and Japan
LraIned wILL LLe IocaI BenseI. EuL Ior LLose oI
us, like me, that were always at sea, we never
had much time to get to the Sensei and so we
wouId seek ouL oLLer MarInes LLaL Lad and
train with them on-board and in between our
'BpecIaI FrojecLs.'
TT: WLaL Lappened Lo your LraInIn once
you returned to the US?
GA: After serving a six year tour in Asia,
I reLurned Lome wILL LLe UB MarInes and
was very fortunate to be geographically
based In Jersey CILy, New Jersey, an area
that had become a central training point for
UB MarInes Irom aII over LLe UB. And LLere
I meL up wILL Don NaIe, a MarIne wLo Lad
spenL mucL oI LIs Lour oII duLy In 0kInawa,
wLIIe we were saIIIn around LLe FacIBc on
our LacLIcaI BoaLs, IookIn Ior or makIn -
trouble! Anyway, Don had trained and made
a name Ior LImseII In 0kInawa and LraIned
under LLe IssLInFy 0rand MasLer TaLsuo
Shimabuku.
[-LQ\WZ[ VW\M" IssLInFyu Is a sLyIe oI 0kInawan karaLe
founded by Tatsuo Shimabuku and named by him on 15
January 19S6. IssLInFy karaLe Is IareIy a synLLesIs
oI BLorInry karaLe, 0ojry karaLe, and kobud. TLe
name means literally, one heart way]
Don drew many UB MarInes back Lo Jersey
CILy Lo LraIn wILL LIm and IL was LLe perIecL
storm environment for training hardcore
mil-spec level no holds barred contact karate
/ judo BLLIn. Eew cIvIIIans wouId joIn us
or have the stomach for the contact that
was standard procedure in the dojo; blood,
bandages and broken bones - a daily way of
life! I credit that environment and my US
MarIne comrades Ior LLeIr BLLIn spIrIL
and willingness to go to the line, and train
in a manner that many of todays modern
martial artists would have never believed
had actually taken place. In our dojo, if you
wanLed Lo be a BLLer...Y0U EI0HT!
TT: How Ion were you LraInIn wILL Don?
GA: I spent approximately eight years directly
LraInIn and workIn wILL Don NaIe and
IssLInry KaraLe BysLems. DurIn LLIs LIme
I became known as 'IssLInry's BLLer' and
TOUGH TALK caught up with Gary Alexander
wLo sLarLed LraInIn In LLe mId 19S0s wILL
LLe UB MarIne Corps' advanced LandLoLand
combat training and now, with well over 50 years
experIence and Lundreds oI BLLs undeIeaLed,
wILL 10LL Dan In many sLyIes, 0ary Is one oI LLe
most advanced martial art and close quarter
combat specialists in the world.
BprIn 2018 \W]OP\ITSUIOIbQVM 15
BrmIy puL LLe sysLem InLo LLe pubIIc IILL by
wInnIn LLe very BrsL karaLe cLampIonsLIps
ever LeId In LLe WesLern HemIspLere
LLe Mas 0yama's NorLL AmerIcan KaraLe
CLampIonsLIps aL MadIson Bquare 0arden,
New York, In 1962, and LLe Mas Tsuruoka's
EIrsL CanadIan KaraLe CLampIonsLIps In
ToronLo, Canada. AII bare BsLed, knock ouL
and full contact. I was heralded by the press
as LLe BrsL InLernaLIonaI karaLe cLampIon
ever recorded! I also started producing the
BrsL annuaI ConLacL KaraLe CLampIonsLIps
In AmerIca aruabIy LLe worId's BrsL -
which is now in its 50th year.
TT: Did you have a goal to eventually
compeLe wLen you BrsL sLarLed marLIaI arL
training?
GA: No, I dId noL eL InLo LLe marLIaI arLs Lo
be a tournament champion or professional
competitor; I originally got into it in order
Lo become a beLLer MarIne and Lo be skIIIed
at hand-to-hand combat. A survivor! I only
fought in these events in order to place
IssLInry karaLe on LLe marLIaI arLs map,
by beating all the others by knockouts and
pLysIcaI damae! I was wrILLen up In EIack
EeIL MaazIne as '0raceIuI as a EaIIeL Dancer,
and Deadly as a Rattle Snake. and was
LeraIded as LLe very BrsL bare BsLed IuII
conLacL karaLe cLampIon In NorLL AmerIca
and Canada and BrsL InLernaLIonaI cLampIon
- ever! I Lad proved my poInL: MIssIon
Accomplished! At that time I did not need any
further accolades outside of surviving against
the numerous challengers I had away from
the limelight; wise guy black belts thinking
they had something to prove, the occasional
bad guys and other physical altercations that
cropped up in day-to-day life, both against
singular and multiple attackers, armed and
unarmed.
In 1974 I was In EIack EeIL maazIne's HaII oI
Fame and in Karate International magazines
HaII oI Eame In 1989, and aILer S0 years and
Lundreds oI BLLs, Lo LLIs day I sLIII remaIned
unbeaten and undefeated!
TT: Did you enjoy testing yourself and
your abilities?
GA: Absolutely! I have always believed
in testing myself physically, and test the
skills I had developed in the karate martial
arL, and consequenLIy I dId a IoL oI BLLIn
against many styles and developed a - lets
say - respected reputation for this. I am not
style oriented though, as there are various
methods of delivery, and just so many
punches, kicks, blocks, grabs, trips, throws,
etcetera you can learn. So lets say I am
weapon oriented; I am primarily a stand-up
BLLer wILL a oneLIL, onekIII menLaIILy. IL
has worked for me and in those earlier days
it was purely a matter of answering any
challengers that would enter my school or at
my semInars. MosL dId noL come back! I aIso
travelled extensively around the US visiting
marLIaI arL and BLLIn scLooIs LLaL needed
to instil some respect amongst its students. I
am not a vigilante but I will get involved if I see
people abused or attacked, or if I am abused
or attacked and I believe all of these physical
challenges and personal wars - if you will
have served to build upon my experiences. If
you want respect, you have to earn it!
TT: And BnaIIy 0ary, do you mIss LLe
MarInes?
GA: TLe MarIne Corp was LLe BnesL educaLIon
I could have ever received, and it has sparked,
conLrIbuLed Lo, and enLanced my cLosen Way
oI LIIe! I Lave been ouL oI LLe MarIne Corps
Ior many years now, buL LLe MarIne Corps Las
never been ouL oI me! I Lave used EooL Camp
and Drill Instructor mentality in my schools,
In my BLLIn, and In my deaIIns ever sInce
and have taught self-defense and martial arts
to military and law enforcement, professional
BLLers, oLLer marLIaI arL InsLrucLors, as weII
as to thousands of men, women and children.
TLe name oI my BLLIn Leam Is DevII Dos!
***********************************
0ary AIexander Is LLe Iounder oI LLe
InLernaLIonaI AssocIaLIon oI MarLIaI ArLs.
You can conLacL 0ary by LeIepLone on + 1 782
906 016S or vIa emaII: aryaIex2verIzon.neL
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16 \W]OP\ITSUIOIbQVM BprIn 2018
Interview: 0ary AIexander