MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- Station residents and members of the Iwakuni community received world-class karate instruction and participated in the first Japanese/American Friendship Martial Arts tournament at the IronWorks Gym Friday and Saturday.
Martial Arts Hall of Fame member and former Marine, Howard Jackson led a seminar on "closing the gap" with opponents, which is when a fighter moves toward an opponent before attempting to strike and score a point in semi-contact competition karate.
"This is awesome," said Gail Benton, a black-belt karate instructor, who traveled to the seminar with her family's school of karate from Sasebo, Japan. "This is a once in a lifetime thing right here. They're excited to meet Mr. Jackson," Benton said of her students, "and we're having a great time."
Step by step, Jackson showed participants keys to success in competition karate. He said winning tournaments is not about fancy kicks but rather about perfecting the basics.
"The basics are the foundation," Jackson stressed to the participants, some dressed in white karate uniforms others in camouflage utilities. "You have to learn how to set your opponent up so you can score your point."
Saturday, Benton's students along with Station residents and Japanese locals participated in the first ever Friendship Martial Arts Tournament. Jackson attended the event as a special guest and took time to help judge the event.
Fighters scored two points by landing a kick to the opponent's head and one point for hitting the midsection. Fighters were allowed to use punches, however only kicks were scored and participants wore padded sparring gear to prevent injuries.
The tournament format was single elimination with divisions organized by age. At the end of each bout, fighters' height and weight were measured. The smaller fighter received additional points to help keep the competition closer.
Friendship was an added reward for the participants, according to Billie Scott, SemperFit health promotions director, who announced the opening ceremonies.
Following the tournament, an awards ceremony was held and lunch was served in the IronWorks' atrium.
Jackson, who served in the Corps from 1970-1973, is a world champion fighter in karate and kickboxing and currently works as a personal protection officer of karate champion and actor Chuck Norris -star of the hit television show, "Walker: Texas Ranger."
While working for Norris, Jackson read a piece of Norris's fan mail which inspired him to travel to Japan and give the seminar.
"I ran across a letter asking Mr. Norris to come to Japan, unfortunately his schedule couldn't allow it, but being a former Marine, I decided that this was something I definitely wanted to do," said the Detroit native. "Giving back to the Marines like this is like I'm coming home and I hope to do it more often."
Although Jackson fought professionally for more than a decade, his biggest match-up came long after his 1983 retirement.
Jackson began a battle with acute Myeloid Leukemia, February 13, 2002, which required him to receive strong doses of chemotherapy before his cancer went into complete remission more than a year later.
Because of his fight for life, Jackson decided helping others should be his top priority. That is why he made his Iwakuni journey, he said.
"Everyone was motivated, and I'm glad they're here," said Jackson. "I'm very impressed with their abilities and hope I can do this again."