Richard Barathy/American Combat Karate

[marmaduke]

Paul I'm having a lot of difficulty with your statement about Finnegans house. If what you say is true you and me were buds. Therefore I need to come clean on the Marmaduke. My name is John Valente, whats yours? Also Renshi Fochi I know you know me very well and I want to say a very belated CONGRATS! I remember when we used to dream about Dragon Tatts on the forearms, you made that dream a reality. Did you go to that lady Margarite in Lyndhurst? Does Eric S. train at all?? How is your golf game? I want a reunion! Can you help with that? Oosh again on your endevors.

 

[renshi2226]

Hey John V,
I been trying to figure out who you where. Eric S does train in Levittown with john G and myself. Eric trains with me on sunday mornings at 930. You definitely konw who Paul is !!! and by the way the dragon tatts look amazing. John Fochi

 

[marmaduke]

John, out of respect for Kyoshi Barathy and the Barathy Family a new thread should be created for American Combat Students Alumni and for current students who are interested in where your school came from. I'm not that good at navigating this chat site but I will try to start one called "American Combat Karate Alumni" Please look for it soon. Please tell Eric to join in and any others. I live 120 miles away now but if you guys are sparring with pads I would love to come down and get my *** kicked, just like old times. I think Eric owes me a beating. He might enjoy that. Also a reunion would be great if done correctly. Of course my memories of old times include the Tai Zen people. I'm hoping old animosties are now in the past.

 

[renshi2226]

John, you know that there would be NO animosity. Its called MATURITY !!!. We are all grown men and not children anymore. I think a reunion would be a amazing idea. If you have any ideas on how to get it started, let me know. So i guess since you live a 120 miles away from here, i would imagine that your not at Mercy Hosp anymore. My golf game is still pretty strong. the real question is how is your dart game. lol

 

[paultyznar]

Paul I'm having a lot of difficulty with your statement about Finnegans house. If what you say is true you and me were buds. Therefore I need to come clean on the Marmaduke. My name is John Valente, whats yours? Also Renshi Fochi I know you know me very well and I want to say a very belated CONGRATS! I remember when we used to dream about Dragon Tatts on the forearms, you made that dream a reality. Did you go to that lady Margarite in Lyndhurst? Does Eric S. train at all?? How is your golf game? I want a reunion! Can you help with that? Oosh again on your endevors.

Hi John.
I think I remember you ! I think you were younger than me ( lucky ). Im 46 now. Like I had previously posted I started at:
Massapequa - A wrestling school on Broadway, the wrestling pads gripped your toes on spin kicks and we were breaking toes there and had to move.

Massapequa- Near the Train Station. We came in on a weekend and demoed the old Hobby Store ( ?) and made it into a proper school .

Huntington- I didnt train there except a few times but I worked on getting it built, Im a carpenter by trade.

Renshi Finnegans House- Near where I currently live. I trained there as a "no belt" student. I had a tough time adjusting to Tai Zen. Renshi Finnegan was something of an Idol to me. I wanted to be just like him. I trained with him for almost 7 yrs.
I had a brief stint at teaching Tae Kwon Do.
I was fortunate enough to work as a bouncer with some of my Teachers. I had broken my ankle and had to have reconstructive surgery which to this day hinders my ability to fight. As a young student, I was in Awe of all my instructors who worked at Hammerheads in Islip. I wanted it all, the skill, the sense of self assuredness, the physique that came with the training. Most of all, most of all, we all wanted those tattoos !!!!! LOL
I have nothing but the highest and utmost respect and admiration for anyone dedicated and determined enough to achieve the goal of receiving those tats.
As I mentioned, I trained for 7 yrs, and I was no slouch. I only ever became a yellow belt in that system.
I always wanted to go back, but Im in such bad shape it would be a joke

 

[marmaduke]

OK out of respect lets all jump over to the "American Combat Karate Alumni" thread.

 

[Bushi40]

Hello all.

From time to time I like to read what is being said. It's great after all these years how our memories bring back friends now old friends. See what Richard Barithy did, in his own way he kept his American combat Karate still alive, perhaps not physically, but in sprit. It don't get better that that.

Just a short line to say hello.
GrandMaster Gene Perceval
Still kicking at 68
ENJOY

 

[Burnerbob]

Hello all.

From time to time I like to read what is being said. It's great after all these years how our memories bring back friends now old friends. See what Richard Barithy did, in his own way he kept his American combat Karate still alive, perhaps not physically, but in spirit. It don't get better that that.

Just a short line to say hello.
GrandMaster Gene Perceval
Still kicking at 68
ENJOY

And do not sell yourself short. Many humble thanks to you and all the others who helped a problem child overcome his difficulties (born with an inner ear problem which caused me to fall over for no apparent reason).

 

[CGMWilling]

Hi, This is Renshi Matt Willing. I am happy to see a lot of people where positively affected and hold fond memories of the "old days".There have been a lot of good people that I do miss very much (both alive and dead). If anyone wishes to contact me they can at Renshimatt@aol.com

 

[Jcmint01]

I would like to say hello to all. I would like to let you all know my father was a great man,one of the best martial artists ever,you dont get on the covers of magazines and do t.v shows for no reason.I'm glad to see he is still a topic of conversation,but the man died 12 years ago,and in the last years of his life he was different still great but in a different way and NOBODY knew him all this talk about him is from the early years.we all change. Let the man rest in peace. there is no American Combat Karate without him........

Hey Cuz, longtime no here. i was reading up on your Dad too. He was like a movie star to us when we were young. He passed away way to young. I would like to catch up with you. BTW this is Joey.

 

[anthony321]

i used to train in this style in the school in levitown for a few months jsut over a year ago, i had 2 stop for several reasons but iv tried a few different styles and id have to say this is the best style iv ever trained in and im hoping to be able to start up after im able to get my license

 

[ymrkaicho]

I just ran across this thread in google and was happy to see some people were keeping ACK alive.
I trained there in my teen years at the small dojo next to the Lock Stock and Barrel in Valley Stream. The names of seniors I remember from there were Russell Sensei, L.Romeo was a brown belt, Pat Giacuento - brown, the DeAngelo twins, and of course Barathy Sensei. It was 74 and 75 if I recall. Those were hazy days of my wild childhood.
I also remember going to an event where Romeo,Giacuento, and the DeAngelo's were promoted to Black at a Golf Resort on a weekend event at some place that I believe belonged to someone in Barathy Sensei's family. At the time Barathy Sensei lived up in the garden apartments in Floral Park.

Kent Bergstrom
Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu

 

[hollywoodrat]

A Message from the hollywood rat
click here

 

[renshi23]

hey Mark , glad you are ok and feeling better renshi rocco happy new year

 

[millerskj]

I trained at Richie Barathy's gym in the late 70's. I was a student of American Combat Karate and learned the specialized weight training routines for the art.

I was in awe when I used to watch him spar (beat the crap out of) his students.

I noe teach traditional Okinawan Goju Ryu Karate.

Jeff

 

[millerskj]

Kent,

I used to train at Barathy's gym. Where do you train today?

Jeff

 

[artiemillerjr]

Just wondering if anyone out there from ack/rab's remebers my dad and would be willing to share some stories about him. His name was artie miller. He was close friends with kyoshi barathy and many of the blackbelts at ack. He passed when i was 13 and i would appreciate anyones words. He had acquired his brown belt before he passed. I did train with ron mcaffrey for sometime with my dad..now i teach muay thai in massapequa.

Thankyou,

artie miller jr.

 

[renshi23]

spoke to hanshi mccaffery today told me he used to bounce at the paladium with your dad. he said your dad was one tough fighter . i see don every tues i have been training with him for 32 years . and said he has many stories of your dad

 

[Burnerbob]

I was wondering if anyone remembers Frank (can't remember last name) aka "Animal", used 100 lb. dumbells and built like a brick ***** house. He was a good friend of DeMarco Sensei from USA Goju. Sorry I'm getting a little old. :uhyeah:

 

[MCK]

I'm pretty sure you're thinking of Frank Pogliani. My father is a very old friend of his and trained with him and Richie back in the early 70's. He tells me stories about them all the time. I remember meeting Frank when i was about 12. I remember my dad pointing out to me the size of his fists, and they are enormous. I guess they'd have to be to go through 33 inches of granite. He also gave me a short lesson in kicks, making me aware of the fact that I was faliling my arms out to the sides way to much in an attempt to stabilize my balance.

I've been thinking about enrolling in the Tai Zen program in Nassau County. If anyone in this discussion thread has some insight they could offer me about it I would greatly appreciate it. I've heard and read about Mr. Tague and must admit I've become infatuated. It is well known that there are alot of horrible martial arts schools out there these days but I know for a fact that this one is both reputable and unique, arguably superior to most other programs. I just got finished reading the old 1976 3-part article including an interview with Howard Tague along with some photographic demonstrations of his method and philosophy put into practice, which include Mr. Barathy. It really is amazing and undoubtedly his system offers things that few others could even hope to rival. I especially love how there is a substantial practical and philosophical relationship emphasized between the mind,the body, and the parent mind. It appears to be a very holistic system propogated by a very disciplined individual. even from the few short quotes contributed by Mr. Tague it is apparent that the man has attained an exceptional mastery of both the physical and pshychological components of the martial arts. I almost feel compelled to take advantage of the fact that his school is minutes away from my home.

I just discovered this website tonight and this is my first post so thanks for allowing me to participate in the discussion. Much respect to all those dedicated enough to pursue such a difficult and rewarding path in life.