Sensei Bruce Fogleman was my instructor in Okinawan Karate and related arts from 1994 until his passing. I wrote this as part of a tribute to him from his students.
Sensei Bruce Fogleman began his martial arts training in 1960 with Harry Smith and several of his students at Harry Smiths Dojo in Hall Manor. Sensei joined the Navy in 1964 and did a four year tour. He had an overwhelming urge to serve his country and to see the world. During that time he trained in both Aikido and Chinese boxing with his shipmates. Sensei explained that from 1960 until 1968, he played with the idea about seriously training in the martial arts; it was, for him, simply a hobby for those years. Upon his return to the states he became a Police Officer and began training in earnest with his partner, Sensei Jim Clark, who he credits as his Sensei. Sensei often remarked that alongside serving his community through police work and caring for his family, martial arts had become his life. Sensei Fogleman received his Black belt in 1974 from Sensei Clark and Kempo/Chuan Fa Grandmaster Daniel K. Pai. In 1976 he received his second degree from Sensei Clark and Angi Uezi.
I first met Sensei Fogleman in the late nineteen eighties, going to train at the Swatara school with a friend who had taken a few lessons there. I also encountered him from time to time at Sunset golf course. I began to train with Sensei in November of 1994. I remember arriving early before anyone else, and asking Mike Stoss (who was a brown belt at the time) if he was the instructor. I liked training there very much, and found the head instructor to be warm and welcoming. He stood next to me for much of the class, explaining some of the finer points of the techniques"The punch should bounce like its hitting a rubber wall, We block with the soft parts of the arm, and all of our movements come back to the center, so we are ready to hit again." I had been studying judo and jujutsu for quite some time, and thought the innovations initiated by Shimabukuro Sensei were intriguing. Sensei Fogleman was very interested in the judo and jujutsu I had learned, but found some of the movements to be too slow. I remember him telling me to grab him and throw him, I didnt want to, but he insisted. I grabbed his gi and began to drive toward him for O soto geri, an outside reaping throw. Senseis response was to punch my solar plexus the moment I began to move. Point made, he went on to explain that self defense was better the simpler it was. "Keep it simple, stupid" was a principle I was reminded of frequently while training with him. In an attempt to apply that philosophy to the entire Isshin ryu system, he taught what he thought of as the core of Isshin ryu practice. Although his requirements changed over time, this is what he suggested I teach when I started the club at Elizabethtown College:
Sanchin Kata
4 H Forms-The basic Forms created by Sensei Ralph Lindquest (with sai variations)
Seisan Kata (with sai variation)
Seiunchin Kata
Naihanchi Kata
Shishibon (Tanbo Kata taught by Shihan Don Monismith)
Wanshu Kata
Chinto Kata
Tokomine No Kun
Kusanku Kata
Kusanku Sai Kata
Suansu Kata
While this was not the entire Isshinryu system, Sensei said this was the essential part. You could dig deep with those tools, everything else broadened your study of those basics. He imagined a continuation of a process Shimabukuro Sensei had begun, continuing to streamline and improve the effectiveness of his teachings. He suggested Sanchin kata should be taught first, practiced at every class, and tested last, since it could be learned quickly and took the longest to get right. The founder of Goju ryu had said, Sanchin is the core of karate, there is no karate without Sanchin, and Sensei agreed with his sentiment. Sensei liked the Sai variations of Seisan and the H forms because they made students spend more time practicing the basic katas. Sensei believed that after black belt students should expand out from the core and focus on what they were interested in. He sighted Sensei Mike Stoss and his Bo Kata as an example. When I expressed an interest in softer, more internal martial arts and kenpo, he told me without hesitation, I should go study with Don Monismith. Anything I learned, I would have to teach him.
It was a relatively short period before I began working out in a semi private morning class with Sensei, Glynis Berger, and David Spangler. We would work on kata under Senseis direction, at Dave Spangler's pace...not an easy task. Every error, start again, and again, and again. We would often use some kicking drills and weapons kata to warm up, then go through empty hand katas, then work on sparring. We alternated from having class in Dave's church basement to the dojo in back of Paul Evankos house. I was a criminal justice major, and when he found this out, Sensei insisted on taking me to meet Sensei Evanko, who was the state police commissioner at the time. When we worked out behind Sensei Evankos house, bag work was an integral part of training. Sometimes the training was very physical. Kata was always the focus. One morning I was showing him several forms I had learned in Shotokan, when he began doing them with me. He explained those were the kata used in Seidokan. Turns out, Sensei had practiced with the local Seidokan group on and off for many years. He was also familiar in varying degrees with forms from both Tae kwon Do, and Kung fu. Koteki was standard practice. The uke waza, aka, blocks were very hard, occasionally causing deep bruises. I was taught the fine art of self-abuse using a makiwara. I began to learned tokomine no kun in a thunderstorm with mud up to my ankles. On many winter mornings, ice could be heard breaking in the water bag. Glynis and I also did impromptu weapons kumite, at Senseis direction.
Morning classes eventually began to include lunch. I began to notice something strange, everywhere we went, and everyone who knew him called him Sensei. Very rarely Mr. Fogleman, or Bruce, almost always Sensei. Strangely, when they met him, all of my friends and family followed suit. Over lunch topics expanded from martial arts to include a little bit of everything...Politics, news, law enforcement, history, religion, psychology, spirituality...Sensei had a broad knowledge about many things, mostly gleaned from reading and his personal experience. We found we had many things in common, a lot of the same questions. The big ones, life, the universe and everything were the ones in which I eagerly accepted his suggestions. He encouraged me to explore everything from Transpersonal Psychology and Hypnosis, to Zen Buddhism. Sensei had been raised an old order Brethren, and was taught by the church to reject violence. Sensei saw no conflict between those beliefs and his service in the military, law enforcement and as a martial arts instructor, as violence was completely different than self-defense. He saw no conflict between his Christian beliefs and those religious teachings that were followed by Asian cultures. Sensei reiterated something someone else had told me long before "truth is truth, no matter the source." Sensei maintained a close relationship with his roots, by frequent visits to Juniata County, and the old timers who could be found there. Sensei also maintained at least one contact with the elders of the old order river brethren tradition, who I eventually would find out, worked at Elizabethtown College. Increasingly I would go with him on trips up country and we also visited Chinatown in Philly on numerous occasions. We exchanged books (along with tae kwon do black belt Anne Rizza, who often joined us in our medicine drives) about virtually every topic. He was very giving with anything he had and valued the material very little.
Sensei had many interesting beliefs about the martial arts and how they related to life in a larger, modern context. He saw them as a living link between the past and its traditions, and the skills we could use to be successful in the future. Visualization, physical fitness, improved self-esteem; stress reduction, self-improvement and yogic style breath work were all benefits he saw in the practice of martial arts. Sensei believed that the art he practiced was largely an Indo-Chinese art, transplanted to Okinawa, and heavily influenced with many themes from other parts of Southeast Asia. He also believed the founder of Isshinryu was a mystic who drew on a multitude of sources when creating his art. Indeed, Tatsuo is known to have been a fortuneteller who was very skilled with the I Ching. Sensei taught me how to throw the coins for I Ching readings and bought me a copy of the book in the late nineties. Other things about Isshinryu led Sensei to conclude that Tatsuo had infused it with meaning beyond the physical movements. The most obvious example is the "water goddess patch". When Shimabukuro Sensei was asked why he had chosen such a funny name for his method, he replied, "Because all things begin and end in The One". Sensei saw this as an esoteric connection to Judaism, Christianity, Taoism and Vedantic Hinduism /Buddhism. He believed the katas were replete with further evidence. The Brethren Motto is a prayer "let peace prevail on earth", Sensei felt that was the true sentiment behind the sign of peace at the beginnings of the katas, Also, he pointed out the ending posture of Sanchin kata which has the practitioner forming two mudra (hand postions) that are common in paintings of Christian saints, Hindu deities, and Buddhist Bodhisattvas. During the times he could not practice, Sensei said he used visualization to maintain his kata practice. He also practiced Yoga on and off over the years. Sensei Fogelman had read the Art of Peace by OSensei Ueshiba, founder of aikido and expressed agreement with him that the essence of budo is Love. Sensei was convinced that martial arts were useful to the entire spectrum of human consciousness and endeavor, from the horror of warfare, to the practical needs of self-defense to law enforcement to spiritual meaning.
Sensei was always encouraging me to learn more, about anything. He wanted his students to learn anything they could. What he taught was, in his mind, the core curriculum, of both martial arts and life. I think the greatest teaching he imparted was Love. Love for his family, his students, and larger community through his lifetime of service to it. He is a mentor, as well as one of my closest and best friends and is greatly missed.
Thank you Sensei, God Bless...
Sensei's teachings are continued through his students and his belt was passed down to Sensei Jake Stoss
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