Fellow
employees at the U.S. Food & Drug Administration know Rik Lostritto as a
scientist. But to students at his Gaithersburg dojo, Rik Lostritto Sensei
is the source of knowledge and inspiration in Uechi-Ryu Karate.Master Lostritto, Sensei Return to www.awcnf.com home
Total Personal Development - Authentic and Traditional Uechi-Ryu Okinawan Karate
September 2003
Fellow
employees at the U.S. Food & Drug Administration know Rik Lostritto as a
scientist. But to students at his Gaithersburg dojo, Rik Lostritto Sensei
is the source of knowledge and inspiration in Uechi-Ryu Karate.
Like many of us, Lostritto Sensei first became interested in karate while in college. He started his studies in a martial art called Kwoi-Kan at the University of Connecticut. Lostritto Sensei started his study of Uechi-Ryu while working as an Associate Professor of Pharmacy at UCONN. He studied Uechi-Ryu under John Spencer Sensei in Willamantic, Connecticut where he attained Shodan (1st Degree Black Belt) in 1988 and taught classes part-time. Last year, Lostritto Sensei earned the rank of Godan (5th Degree Black Belt) and the title of Shihan (Master Instructor) that as awarded to him by Master Kiyohide Shinjo. Lostritto Sensei still visits Spencer Sensei’s dojo several times a year to study and refine his Uechi-Ryu, and to keep in close contact with his Sensei and friends there.
In 1995, Lostritto Sensei moved to Gaithersburg, MD and started his work with the U.S. Food & Drug Administration. Soon he opened his own dojo (and says he got some key tips from Master Folta about starting-up and operating a dojo). Master Lostritto has done well in producing some top-notch students who themselves have gone on to win championships at significant national and international tournaments. Yet Lostritto Sensei contests that he himself remains a student as he observes, “You don’t really learn something until you have to teach it!”
In March 2003, Lostritto Sensei realized his dream of nearly 20 years - to visit and study in Okinawa! There he studied for 10 days with his Sensei’s Sensei, Hachidan (8th Degree Black Belt) Kiyohide Shinjo and his younger brother, Mr. Narihiro Shinjo. Lostritto Sensei now warns his students that working with the top Sensei’s is not a project to be undertaken lightly. He and the two students who accompanied him to Okinawa had trained vigorously for six months in preparation for workouts in Okinawa. Even with that foundation, they found very demanding classes in Okinawa that ran three hours each evening with no breaks and with many drills, including drills with weighted jars, kata, bunkai, and yakusoko (prearranged) kumite. The classes focused on strength, endurance, technique, and relentless repetition. The students performed kata in groups and individually. All students worked one-on-one with Master Shinjo or a Sempai (senior student). After the first workout, Lostritto Sensei says his arms felt heavy like lead. With the help of a shiatsu massage, however, Lostritto Sensei was able to recover and enjoy the rigorous training during the rest of his visit to Okinawa.
Another high point of his trip to Okinawa was a visit with Toyama Sensei, now 75, and the last known surviving student of Uechi Kanbun Sensei, the founding father of Uechi-Ryu Karate-Do. Lostritto Sensei reported that Toyama Sensei remains healthy, agile as a cat, and is still active in Uechi-Ryu. Toyama Sensei’s advice to mid-life students is “to develop as much skill, speed and power as you can up to the age of 60, then work to maintain that level.”
Lostritto Sensei says he found the people of Okinawa to be warm, open, and yet passionately intense. Every evening after workouts in the dojo, they enjoyed late dinners, discussions, and socializing with their generous Okinawan hosts. The Okinawan’s also gave the Gaithersburg Dojo visitors a festive “Sayonara Party” during their last night there.
For the near future, Lostritto Sensei plans to accept some new students in his recently enlarged dojo. He also practices Reiki, a form of energy healing. This year marks another milestone for Master Lostritto - his 50th birthday.
About the authors: Jane and Gordon Cash are students at the Academy of World Champion Nestor Folta, Oakton, Virginia.