Black Belt Bio

Master Ernie Temple

Rank: 9th Dan
School: Ernie's Temple School of Isshinryu

Bio

ERNIE TEMPLE- 9TH DAN, ISSHINRYU KARATE
       I CONSIDER MYSELF ANYTHING BUT A PEDIGREE IN THE MARTIAL ARTS! BUT MY LOVE FOR ISSHINRYU IS DEEP, PURE AND IT IS STRONG. I TOOK MY FIRST CLASS IN NOVEMBER OF 1965 WHILE STATIONED AT FORT DIX WITH A 6 TH DAN JUDO STYLIST. WE ALSO WORKED OUT WITH MY ROOM MATE, A SHOTOKAN STYLIST. THAT GOT ME GOING TOWARDS SHOTOKAN, AS IT WAS THE ONLY EXPOSURE THAT I EVER HAD REGARDING KARATE. OUR HAND TO HAND GUY WAS A TOUGH E-6 WHO TAUGHT KNIFE. TODAY, I STILL TEACH HIS TECHNIQUES. THESE 3 MEN WERE THE CENTER OF MY TRAINING. BECAUSE OUR TRAINING PLATOON WAS SEPARATED FROM THE REST OF THE REGIMENT, WE WERE BASICALLY ACROSS THE ROAD ABOUT A 1/4 MILE AWAY FROM HEADQUARTERS, SO WE GOT TO DO A LOT OF INFORMAL WORKOUTS. SO MUCH SO, THAT OUR PLATOON SCORED HIGHER THAN ANY OF THE OTHER PLATOONS IN THE ENTIRE BRIGADE. AFTER HOURS WE WENT BEHIND THE BARRACKS AND THE JUDO INSTRUCTOR, WHO WEIGHED IN AROUND 260 LBS. PRACTICED THROWING US AROUND LIKE RAG DOLLS, AND AT 155 LBS. I FLEW PRETTY GOOD. (85 POUNDS AGO AND 40+ YEARS AGO)
       OUR KARATE PRACTICE WAS INTENSE, THOUGH WE WOULD RATHER SPAR MORE THAN ANYTHING. KICKING WITH COMBAT BOOTS GAVE A WHOLE NEW MEANING TO BLOCKING. THERE WASN'T ANY SAFETY GEAR AND IN FACT, THERE WEREN'T ANY RULES OTHER THAN WE COULDN'T KNOCK EACH OTHER OUT IN FEAR OF GETTING IN TROUBLE WITH THE HEAD DRILL INSTRUCTOR,.
       WHEN I GOT TO FORT GORDON IN 66' AND WE FOUND THAT SOME OF US WERE TRANSFERRED TOGETHER, WE STARTED OUR WORKOUTS AGAIN IN THE SAME MANNER, BUT WE PICKED UP A FEW MORE GUYS. WE DIVIDED UP THE GROUP AND WHEN IT CAME TO KUMITE, MY GUYS WERE FROM PITTSBURGH, SUMMIT,NJ AND CHICAGO. WE HAD A NASTY LITTLE GROUP. THERE WAS VERY LITTLE KATA, JUST FIGHTING. WE TRIED A LITTLE TOURNAMENT THAT WAS ON BASE AND NOT VERY WELL ATTENDED. THEY ALLOWED US TO COMPETE EVEN THOUGH WE DIDN'T HAVE UNIFORMS AND I GOT BEAT LIKE A DRUM IN ABOUT 30 SECONDS. SOMETHING SAID THAT IF I EVER GOT INTO A FORMAL DOJO, I BETTER LEARN HOW TO FIGHT AND WIN.
       WHEN I GOT BACK HOME, IT WAS MARRIAGE, KIDS, WORKING TWO  JOBS, ETC. SO MY WIFE SUGGESTED I GET INTO THE ART SERIOUSLY. A HIGH SCHOOL FRIEND OF MINE WAS TEACHING SOMETHING CALLED ISSHINRYU KARATE. HE STARTED HIS TRAINING WITH HAROLD LONG WHILE HE WENT TO COLLEGE IN TENNESSEE AND HE BECAME A VERY TOUGH FIGHTER. WHEN HE MOVED BACK TO NEW JERSEY, HE HOOKED UP WITH GARY ALEXANDER. HE HAD A VERY SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM WHEREIN I ASSISTED HIM FOR ABOUT 6 YEARS. I EARNED MY BLACK BELTS 1 ST DEGREE UP THRU 4 DEGREE WITH HIM. HE INSTILLED A GREAT LOVE FOR ISSHINRYU FOR ME. 
       IN 1975, I TOOK OVER THE WATCHUNG HILLS ADULT EDUCATION KARATE PROGRAM AND FOUND THAT I HAD A CHANCE TO ALSO START UP A NEW PROGRAM IN SOMERVILLE THE FOLLOWING SPRING OF 76. IT CAME DOWN TO EITHER TEACHING AT WATCHUNG OR GOING WITH THIS NEW PROGRAM IN SOMERVILLE. MY WIFE WOULDN'T ALLOW BOTH. SO SOMERVILLE IT WAS AND THAT'S WHERE I HAD THE CHANCE TO TRAIN SOME TOUGH WHITE BELTS NAMED TOM ELLIASON, BRAD PASKO, JACK HARTLEY, JOHN KELLY, GEORGIA TEMPLE, RAM BHAT, LEN SZYMANSKI, ED WESTLING, JACK ATWELL, THE CARPENTER'S, CHRIS VAN HOUTEN, THE MAGURA'S, THE CHERWINSKI'S, TERRY REILLY AND THE TEMPLE BOYS. A LOT OF THEM STILL TRAIN TODAY!
       IT WAS ALSO AT THIS TIME IN 1976, I WENT TO PRESTON CARTER, JR. FOR SOME CROSS TRAINING AND HE RANKED ME IN SHOTOKAN VIA THE JKA, JAPAN KARATE ASSOCIATION AFTER I GOT THE FORMS DOWN. I WAS RANKED SHODAN IN 76 AND MADE NIDAN IN 77'. WHEN SENSEI CARTER DIED IN LATE 77, I HOOKED UP WITH DR. EDWARD WALTER BOZE, JR. DR. BOZE WAS AND IS JUST AN OUTSTANDING INDIVIDUAL. WHILE WORKING OUT WITH HIS DOJO IN EAST ORANGE, I WAS COMPETING HEAVILY ON THE TOURNAMENT CIRCUIT AND HAD MY SHARE OF WINS IN FIGHTING, KATA, AND WEAPONS. I ATTAINED RANKS OF 5 TH , 6 TH , AND 7 TH DAN WITH DR.BOZE OVER THE YEARS. JUST BEFORE HE RETIRED IN THE MID 80'S I LOOKED AROUND AND DIDN'T CARE FOR WHAT I WAS SEEING IN THE ART AND DECIDED THAT MY PROGRAM WAS GOING TO BE THE MODEL FOR OTHER PROGRAMS TO FOLLOW. I GOT INTO THE AAU PROGRAM AND THEN IT BECAME THE USAKF PROGRAM. IN ORDER TO GET A FEEL OF WHAT THIS AAU COMPETITION WAS ABOUT, I ENTERED EVERYTHING THEY HAD AND OUR DOJO DID QUITE WELL. IT WAS AT THIS TIME I WON IN EACH OF THE CATEGORIES FOR THE NEW JERSEY AAU STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS, WEAPONS, FIGHTING AND KATA FOR ABOUT 3 YEARS RUNNING. WE MET AND DEVELOPED SOME FINE FRIENDSHIPS, IE, ART SABATINO, JH KIM, AND MANY OTHERS.
       WE STAYED AT SOMERVILLE UNTIL THE ADULT EDUCATION PROGRAM WENT BUST IN 1980. AT THAT TIME, I TOOK THE 40 STUDENTS I HAD AND WE WENT TO A FRIEND OF MINE IN DUNELLEN, WHO HAD THIS BUILDING AND THAT'S WHERE WE'VE BEEN SINCE. WE USED THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS BUILDING BRIEFLY IN THE SUMMERS IN 77-79 WHEN SOMERVILLE WAS CLOSED. AFTER 30 YEARS THERE, WE ARE NOW IN THE PROCESS OF MOVING TO A NEW LOCATION IN DUNELLEN, NJ.
       ISSHINRYU REMAINED AT THE HEART OF MY STUDIES EVEN THOUGH I WAS NOT CONSIDERED A "BLUE BLOOD". I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO COMPETE AGAINST MANY OF THE TOP COMPETITORS AND EACH TIME I DID, GRAND MASTER NAGLE WOULD APPROACH ME AND GIVE ME THE THUMBS UP. HE'D SAY, " YOU DID ALRIGHT PAL". WHETHER HE WAS WATCHING ME OR NOT, MASTER RALPH PASSERO APPROACHED ME IN LATE 1994 AND SAID THAT MR. NAGLE WAS LOOKING TO ADVANCE ME IN RANK. ON NOVEMBER 13, 1996, GRAND MASTER NAGLE CAME TO OUR DOJO AND PRESENTED ME WITH THE RANK OF HACHIDAN, 8 TH DEGREE BLACK BELT. IT WAS TRULY AN HONOR, COMING FROM THE MAN WHO BROUGHT ISSHINRYU INTO THE UNITED STATES IN THE 50'S.
       I HAVE HAD THE CHANCE TO SAY I COMPETED ACROSS 5 DECADES, TAUGHT LITERALLY THOUSANDS OF STUDENTS, DEVELOPED A TRULY FINE PROGRAM, BUT ALL OF THIS WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE IF MY WIFE WAS NOT IN MY CORNER. SHE HELD THE DOJO TOGETHER WHEN I WENT DOWN FOR THE COUNT IN 1986 WITH BACK SURGERY. MY IMMEDIATE GOALS WERE TO INSURE THAT OUR PROGRAM WAS PASSED ONTO GOOD HANDS WHEN WE SET UP ED WESTLING IN FLEMINGTON, GENE SMITH SET UP A DOJO IN NORTH BRUNSWICK AND NOW IRA HOROWITZ HAS HIS DOJO IN WATCHUNG AND JAY THAXTON IS IN PISCATAWAY. JACK HARTLEY AND JACK ATWELL REMAIN THE MAINSTAYS FOR THE HOME DOJO. THINGS LOOKED GOOD AND ADMITTEDLY, I WAS LOOKING TO SLOW DOWN A BIT. ISSHINRYU WAS CERTAINLY IN GOOD HANDS WITH GRAND MASTER McGRATH. AND NOW, WELL, AFTER HIS ELEVATING ME TO 9 TH DAN IN 2005 AND NAMING ME TO TAKE OVER THE REINS WHEN HE RETIRES, WELL IT LOOKS LIKE THINGS ARE CHANGING AGAIN!
       I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE FUTURE CHAPTERS WILL SAY ABOUT ALL OF THIS, BUT IT WON'T BE BECAUSE WE DIDN'T GIVE IT A 100%. I LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH MY GOOD FRIEND, MASTER RALPH PASSERO. HE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR KEEPING THE NAME, DON NAGLE FRESH AND STRONG IN EVERYONE'S MIND AND HE'S DOING A HELL OF GOOD JOB!