Block, Lock, and Drop the Monkey Called Mind

Just show him a wooden block. The 72-year-old man can break that into pieces just by piercing it using his fingers. However, Bruce Robson, an Anglo-Indian veteran Karate teacher and one of the earliest instructors of the martial arts in Coimbatore, explains that the idea of self-defense in Karate is first defending oneself from his internal enemy called ‘the mind’

“To put it in simple words, you should learn the art, first to defend yourselves from the mind, which is a monkey that resides in you and misdirects you. By doing so, you can feel the contribution of Karate in building your confidence and strength in controlling your body and mind “explains Robson, who has taken five degrees of Black belt in Karate.

The veteran martial arts teacher says that there are no instructors in India to grade him above the fifth degree. But, he says, by practice, he is both mentally and physically qualified for the seventh and eighth degrees in Black belt

“However, if I want to academically qualify myself above the fifth degree, I must go to Japan, and I have plans of going and learning there sometime in the future. And this wish of mine to progress further in the art is just to help my juniors come up in their lives” says Robson, who has been teaching Karate in Coimbatore for around 48 years.

Robson learned martial arts in Madras in 1969 under the famed master ‘Karate’ R.V.T.Mani - the father of Karate, who later turned to be an MBBS and film actor.

“Though I had a passion for Karate in my student days, my martial arts teacher Mani advised me to complete my schooling first. Later, during the days of my learning at his Karate school Budokai, which means ‘The school of spirit’, I had the opportunity of meeting various Karate instructors from Japan. 

I had the pleasure of meeting my teacher’s guru Gogen Yamaguchi, the most well-known Japanese Karate master, who was popularly called ‘the cat’ for his softness and agility” recalls Robson.

Robson is one of two experts in Ninjutsu, a style in Japanese martial arts, which is very rarely taught in India. He says that his counterpart in the style is Anand Mohan. 

Robson and Anand were once colleagues and they taught martial arts at Budokai. The school, which is now run by Anand, is the only institution that saw the golden jubilee (1965-2015) in India.

Robson, who follows a diet of fruits for his supper, starts his day at 4 AM and practises Vipasaana meditation for one hour. The man, who dislikes owning a mobile phone, has never missed his punctuality even by a minute to his classes in the city.

“When I began teaching Karate in Coimbatore in 1976, the town was calm with less traffic. Those days, I could walk even in the middle of Variety Hall Road, Oppanakara Street, and Big Bazaar Street!“