Japan's 'Karate Kid' Visits Howard County

World Heavyweight Champion Stanley Crump was immediately impressed with the young prodigy. After all, at just 19 years off age, Mitsukuni Teruya had already achieved the rank of third degree black belt in the Uechi Ryu form of karate. And now he was competing in the world championships in Clearwater, Fla.
What makes these distinctions even more impressive is that the discipline is so advanced that very few dojos (karate schools) in the United States teach Uechi Ryu to children.
Upon learning that Teruya was planning an American tour to do demonstrations and immerse himself in American culture for a year, Crump was more than happy to invite Teruya to his Uechi Ryu dojo, Ellicott City Fitness & Karate (ECF&K).
In some ways, it was like Crump was returning a favor.
In 1998, when Crump won his first world championship, he met the legendary Uechi Ryu Master, Kiyohide Shinjo, the nine-time world champion who is also the president of the Okinawan Karate Association. Shinjo invited Crump to Okinawa to live and train in the birthplace of karate. "It turns out that Mitsukuni is also a student of Master Shinjo, so I'm very honored to be hosting his student the way he hosted me," Crump said in a recent interview.
Maryland was the fourth leg of Teruya's United States tour, and he's now staying in Oakland, Calif. Previous stops included Connecticut, Missouri and Florida, so the young Okinawan is truly experiencing a wide range of America, both geographically and culturally.
He stayed with the Crump family for about a month, leaving for California on Feb. 13, and has enjoyed day trips to Washington, D.C.; Philadelphia; and New York.
Teruya deftly claims that Maryland has been his favorite stop on his tour. That's either because he's politically astute and knows how to flatter his host; or it could have something to do with Crump taking him to New York City, where they met with some of rapper Jay-Z's crew and had lunch with Renee Neufeille of the R&B/hip-hop group Zhane. Both are very popular in Japan.
When asked what surprised him most about American culture, particularly in Maryland, Teruya said, "I was happy to see so many women who are confident and working. This is different from Okinawan culture. But I liked that there are so many things that are in common between us all. Though the world is a very big place, it is a small world, also."
Locally, ECF&K is a business partner of Worthington Elementary, where Teruya delighted physical education students with demonstrations in January, and where he participated in an International Arts Day celebration on Feb. 3. The event was a big hit for the kids and a great opportunity for the young Marylanders to experience Japanese culture.
Crump has been so pleased with hosting Teruya that he plans to create a formal exchange program for an artist-in-residence. ECF&K also has been invited to host the Uechi Ryu World Cup in 2016.
Uechi Ryu, a form of karate characterized by "deceptive, soft, round movements ... followed by hard, vicious linear attacks and strikes" combines with a systematic body-toughening regimen that is surprisingly well-suited to children within the curriculum developed by Crump and his partners.
It not only helps kids build confidence and fitness, but also positions them for sports and effective self-defense, should the need ever arise. The pounding "toughens you so that if you get hit with a punch or foreign object," said Crump, "it doesn't hurt because you're used to it."