Hanshi McGrath Presents

MASTER Steve Armstrong

April's

Devil Dog

First Generation Student

Master Steve Armstrong

        This month’s Devil Dog, with whom I had a close relationship early during my climb up the ladder, as an emcee at tournaments, Master Steve Armstrong. Having heard about me through several karate magazines, he called and asked me to work the mike at his annual tournament, at the Seattle Arena.

        Typical of Steve, who was always an unusual person, rather than go right to his home, he drove me to Tacoma and simply stated, “You just have to see this before you leave Washington.” As it turned out, the topic of wonder was the largest carved Totem Pole in America, made by a local Indian Tribe. We stood outside the car for about five minutes, staring at the Totem Pole, when Steve asked, “Have you seen enough?” I told him it was well worth the long drive and he then took me to his home in Seattle.

        At the dojo, he allowed me to teach a class, as I learned to teach under Sensei Don Nagle. He was complimentary of O’Sensei Nagle and showed no reticence to say that others were excellent. We talked more about Isshin-ryu, The Corps and his dojo, while I told him about the three dojo's I was running in New York. We discussed his amateur boxing background, having had 72 fights and winning 68, as he said, ”I was a good to middlin’ fighter. I asked if he had done any bull riding in Texas and when he said he had not, I said that was good, because he would have harmed the bulls.

        At the Seattle Arena, I was stunned to look up at a full house of more than 17,000 people who I had a lot of fun with, throughout the tournament. They were really enthusiastic fans of karate and cheered the fighters on. Steve himself could barely stay in his chair during the kumite. I was afraid that he might jump in and fight both opponents and at six foot, six inches and about 250 lbs. he would probably win. Steve had the largest fists that I have ever seen. However, with his wit and good humor, he and I had a wonderful time during the entire affair. I returned the following year and when Steve introduced me, probably the same audience, gave me a standing ovation. With the late Ed Parker doing a demonstration, the audience got their moneys worth.

        A year later, Steve came to New York and stayed at my home. We were on our way to a Karate Unity Conference at the Waldorf Hotel, with all of the highest ranked Sensei's on board. Aaron Banks was hosting the event. From the start, Steve and I knew that their was no chance that all of the many styles of Karate in the United States would ever unify and the idea of Tae-Kwan-Do banding together for the good of all styles was impossible. In fact, we were at a table with mostly Korean Sensei's and it was deadly quiet, until a young man tried to pour water for the Koreans near him and, instead, he dropped the pitcher in their laps. Steve busted out laughing and from there on he and I told one joke after another, regarding the mishap.

        On the way in, we took the Long Island Railroad to Manhattan. We were at the Babylon Station, where trains for NYC come right out of the main terminal. As we stood there, I saw a train leave the yard and get on our track. I told Steve that our train was coming and pointed it out. Steve bent forward and as we moved closer to the track, the train roared by us at top speed. It was an Express going to another station closer to New York. Steve turned to me and said, “You guys in NY must be really quick. I don’t think I could have gotten on that train, even if I had a head start.” I fell apart, laughing and the day was spent in fun.

        Grand Master Armstrong was born in Guymon, Oklahoma on September 22, 1931. At sixteen years old, he was in Kobe, Japan with the United States Marines. While he was there he studied karate under a Japanese Sensei and before leaving that tour zone Steve had made Black Belt. In 1948, he wound up back in Japan at Yokohama, where he began to study karate under another Sensei and had to start as a white belt again. Once more he earned his Black Belt. However, Steve was mystified that the both Sensei's told him that it was not to be used to fight and he felt there was no reason to practice if you couldn’t fight. His study, was cut short with Steve sent to Korea in 1950, the beginning of the Korean War. After his tour in battle, he was transferred to Eighth and I Marine Barracks in Washington, D.C.,  where he became a Presidential Honor Guard for President Truman.

After that tour he decided to leave the Corps to go back to Texas, where he had grown up and enroll in the University of Texas. Upon leaving the University, he reenlisted in the Corps and was assigned to Okinawa, where he came under the guidance of Shimabuku Tatsuo Soke, the creator of Isshin-ryu. Steve said, of Shimabuku, “This is where I started to learn karate and what it was all about. My other Instructors were good, but I wasn’t a good student. Karate was only a method of fighting for me until I met Shimabuku.” He became the number two student, after Harold Mitchum, who was number one. This was some time after Sensei Nagle and his group had left the Island. He of course was again a Black Belt and was given 7^th Dan shortly afterward.

        Upon leaving the Corps he started to teach In Downtown Tacoma in 1960, then moved to the YMCA and again to 54^th and South Tacoma Way. He also taught at several Colleges and Universities. He taught Elvis Presely in the 70’s and Presely gave him a massive gold ring for his time at the dojo. I remember that he had the largest Mizu-Gami I have ever seen and a painting of a tree of Isshin-ryu lineage with him painted on the tree as though he was standing in front of it. From left to right he showed Mitchum, Nagle, Long and Steve. Shimabuku, when he came to Steve’s dojo, filmed the kata's that most of us have a copy of till this day. Before going back to Okinawa, Shimabuku gave Armstrong a diploma for Tenth Dan, dated ten years in advance and as elected, ten years after Steve took the step to Ju-Dan and deservedly so, since he was always one of the best and a true man, to the soul. Unfortunately, some years later he had a Pituitary tumor rupture, which actually had an effect on his mind and manner. For some time, he was unable to be in the company of others for fear of harming someone. He is now at the Washington Veterans Hospital, 1141 Beach Drive #202, Retsil, Wash. 98378. Phone – (360) 895-4645. Write to him, whether you were a student of his, friend of his, or just a karate-ka who would like to chat with an old warrior and one of the best. God Bless him.

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