There’s a Lot to Love About Karate

By Jake Ten Pas

In the popular recent romantic comedy Anyone But You, loosely based on Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, Sydney Sweeney’s character asks her begrudging love interest, “Are you hot girl fit?” after the muscular male struggles to keep up with her while swimming. The phrase, coined on social media, refers to a physique that is visually pleasing but functionally underwhelming.

He must not have been a student of karate.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a really bulked-up karate person,” says Sensei Bill Plapinger, who’s been leading the program at MAC for 24 years now. “If you look at teachers from the past, they were muscular not from weights but consistent training in calisthenics and karate basics.”

That’s because karate is an ancient and practical pursuit, based on increasing speed, power, agility, balance, and focus, not on looking “swole” in Instagram or Tik-Tok posts. Too-big muscles actually can get in the way of improving one’s practice.

At age 72, and following heart valve surgery seven years ago, Plapinger is still in better shape than a lot of people half his age. He says he bruises easier than he used to, so he must be human, but looking at him and listening to his stories suggests a sidestepping of the normal aging process that afflicts mere mortals.

Yet that is exactly who karate is for — everybody. “Here at MAC, we are a noncompetition club, which I like. Because no one sits on the bench, there’s no first string, second string, third string. We just train,” he says. “Not everyone agrees, but I think tournaments make you better for tournaments. They don’t make you a better practitioner. As I told one student recently, ‘It doesn’t matter the color of your belt. It’s your heart, buddy, that’s what’s important, and you’re great.”

Concentration is Key

It’s no surprise that those learning the martial art from Plapinger respond to his encouraging words, but they also appreciate his commitment to precision and direct feedback, as member Carol Pausz can attest. “He’s an excellent instructor. He will tell you when you’re doing something well, correct you when you’re not doing something quite right, and he doesn’t necessarily sugarcoat anything. He’s just like, ‘Nope, this is the way it has to be,’” says the school principal who’s training to test for her black belt in October after beginning karate at MAC in 2016.

“He gives you enough praise when you are doing well, so you don’t completely feel like ‘I can never do this,’ but he also has very high standards. So, he will just be in the trenches with you, which I think a good coach does, and help you be better and push yourself to grow.”

Pausz adds that she’s extremely nervous about the perfection necessary to earn her black belt, despite that exacting nature of the sport being one of the aspects that draws her to it. “There’s a constant sense of improvement and need to improve, but no matter how many years you do karate, you can never reach the pinnacle, you can never exhaust all of the knowledge, katas, or aspects of karate.

When students test for a black belt, they have to be invited by the entire organization of which they’re a part, in this case the Japan Karate Federation Ryobu-Kai NW in Hillsboro, after they’re suggested by their sensai or instructor. They also have to understand all of the adjudicator’s commands in Japanese and be prepared to execute any forms or movements communicated during the test, which takes place only once per year. “I feel like I’m in pretty good shape for this, but there’s always that component of, what if I forget?” Pausz admits.

It may come as some consolation to know that Plapinger failed his first black belt test along with the rest of his class in 1986, but that all of them rededicated themselves and passed it the following year. Besides their shared love of this exacting discipline, both are educators to the core, and Plapinger was a special ed teacher before coming to MAC. He explains that it instilled in him a sense of the inherent worth of all individuals and reinforced the drive to fight for that which is valuable.

He also appreciates that karate is all about making the most of the body you have. “I like the fact that everybody’s there for the same reason. “We’re all learning how to use our bodies to create speed and power.”

Not-So-Idle Hands

This journey of self-discovery doesn’t just happen in the dojo — in this case MAC’s Studio Three — either. Beginner students are expected to practice at least five minutes a day several times a week outside of class. That might not sound like a huge time commitment, but Plapinger says a lot can be accomplished if students stay focused. “Students need to know this is not a six-week thing, this is something you have to do over a long period of time. But you’d be amazed what you can accomplish in just two minutes if you do it regularly. You can go through all four of your practice blocks in that time.”

Father-son duo Dr. Richard and Cameron Koesel find karate so applicable to everyday life that they find themselves working practice into their busy lives in creative ways, and say that it’s almost become a filter through which they view the world.

“I’m a radiologist, so the nature of my job is very sedentary as I’m at a desk in front of a workstation reading studies all day. Sometimes I’ll need a break and instead of just standing up, I might do a couple little karate exercises.” Richard says. “There’s so much of the martial arts that can go into everyday life, as far as attention to detail, discipline, and focus. I think it’s very universally applicable.”

“You always feel connected, and I relate so deeply to karate,” Cameron adds. “It’s part of me, and I often find myself practicing at home. I’ve also made friends in those classes who I might not otherwise hang out with if we weren’t taking karate. We’re all training together, working toward common goals, and trying to help each other out. It’s just a really happy community, and that makes me look forward to every class. Both Koesels appreciate the self-defense — and even offensive aspects of the sport, and say that it’s given them confidence in who they are and their ability to move through the world safely. In addition to bonding with their fellow practitioners, karate has provided another shared point of interest for just the two of them.

Teenagers aren’t always known for their effusive expressions of adoration for their parents, but Cameron has no qualms about how karate has helped him relate to his pops. “I’ve told him many times after class that I know a bunch of kids at my school who do not have a good relationship with their fathers. I’m really lucky to have a very strong and growing bond between me and my dad. We’re very lucky.”

“We’ve done all of our advancement tests, for each belt level, together thus far,” says his proud papa. “Usually, I’m standing right next to him, and so it’s just fun to have this common thing that we can talk about, or we’ll give each other pointers.”

The Koesels are purple belts, which Richard says Plapinger describes as the beginning of the intermediate stage. To be more precise, they’re “low purple,” and are preparing to test for “high purple” — meaning they’d add a white stripe to their belts — around the holidays.

Clearly, this color is less important than the memories the duo are making together, not to mention the joy they get from seeing each other improve. Richard first took karate when he was around Cameron’s age, 13, growing up in New Jersey. Initially, it was only Cameron who was going to take karate at MAC, but as his dad sat on a bench at the edge of the studio watching his son in action, it brought back fond feelings that ultimately spurred him to don a gi, or uniform, and join him on the mats.

“Watching him do it, it brought back all those memories, and I said to my wife, “Well, why should he have all the fun?”

All About That Base

In the big scheme of sports in America, karate really isn’t that old. The art form itself dates back centuries in Japan, with various theories pinning its origin anytime between the 1300s and 1600s, but more recognizable permutations have existed since at least the early 1800s. It wasn’t until 1952 that Japanese masters started to bring karate to America, Plapinger says, and so when he first explored it as part of a PE class in 1972, there were still a paltry number of schools teaching the discipline compared to today.

In his lifetime, Plapinger has seen the sport grow by leaps and bounds. “When I first started training, the instructors had only been here for about 20 years, so I was getting the brunt their intense instruction,” he recalls. Plapinger tries to make the pursuit of karate more accessible for his own students, but without losing the strong emphasis on nailing the fundamentals.

“Especially in the beginning, if you don’t fix your mistakes, your base will always be weak. It’s like the leaves of a tree. Those things fall off, but the roots of the tree are solid. That’s the same with karate. Your roots, your basics, are the connection to the ground, digging in and creating a foundation for future growth.”

Similarly, he compares the ceremony that opens every intermediate and advanced class as being a statement of common purpose from which the rest of the session grows. “It’s like being in church, this is a sacred time.” Plapinger tells his students that they aren’t bowing to him, but bowing to their time together, to the student-teacher relationship, and to the experience they’re about to share.”

Like the belt, this is all symbolic. “My belt is black. It looks so cool, it’s shredded and all the color is coming off, but it means nothing. It’s meaningful because I gave it life. I tell my students that they’re right where they need to be to give their belts life, regardless of the color. They must have patience in their training. It’s all about the journey, and what a journey it is!”