“Oh, my God, we’re a bunch of nerds.” It was the after party for the Isshinryu Hall of Fame tournament. And, I couldn’t help but think that even by karate-nerd standards, that we, as a group, were nerdier than most.“Oh, give them a break. They’re just cutting loose; it’s kind of cool.” That was the soothing and rational voice of my new friend Melanie.“No,” I argued. “First of all, I meant all of us.” I gestured broadly to make sure she knew I included myself in that statement. “And second, it’s like watching your parents ‘cut loose.’ Part of you says it’s cool that they are doing that. The other part of you doesn’t want anyone to know you’re related.”The Isshinryu Hall of Fame (or IHOF to those in the know) is the largest single gathering of our style, when the different schools, associations and affiliations temporarily put aside their differences and celebrate what it is that we have in common. It’s kind of like a family reunion, with the same amount of affection and dysfunction. There’s the people you can’t wait to see (Creamer’s crew from STL), the people you knew but didn’t realize were even related (Tapetum) and the people you kind of dreaded seeing but still ended up having a fun time with. “See that guy over there with his back to us?”“That guy…kind of looks like his shirt might be a Hawaiian shirt?” I asked. His shirt was pale colored but it looked like it could

read more: IHOF 2012 Roundup