Initially motivated by the high thrills of the Hollywood martial arts scene in 1968, training for the Garden Grove, Ca native began with a coincidental acquaintance with Philip Perales (10th Dan). Wiseman recalls his first experience with Perales’ karate:
"My first recollection of Mr. Perales was at my Junior High school 8th grade athletic awards assembly (1968). His karate club performed a demonstration as part of the assembly. Mr. Perales did Gakesei and broke a brick while holding it in his left hand at the end of the kata. I was impressed by this and on the way home I told my dad that I wanted to do karate."Soon after, Wiseman began training on the Tuesday evening of August 22, 1968. Karate training was intense! There was a strict culture in Perales’ class where the students training hard and did exactly as they were instructed to. As a white and yellow belt, Wiseman was allowed to attend class twice a week. Saturdays was a plus. Students visited the dojo to first perform household chores like pull the weeds, clean windows, wash sidewalks, and disinfect the punching bag. Then they practiced kata repeatedly, without pause unless directed to do so. Upon the end of practice, students were to clean the dojo prior to going home. The karate-ka should remarkable dedication and interest in learning the style as class attendance and practice was clearly a choice. Furthermore, students were required to work for the chance to even learn the style. Once a student received a blue belt, one was allowed to attend class daily. Thus, the lower rank requirements and class restrictions instilled a yearning for karate in a student. Karate-ka were also required, not asked, but required to spar without equipment and regularly attend tournaments. This strict regime was the groundwork for discipline, an expectation that Perales had for all of his students. Wiseman describes the firm discipline that was expected of the students:
"…if we were told to work on three steps of a particular kata then you better work just the three steps. If you got caught working more than that you had a bunch of pushups and you weren’t allowed to go to the next field trip (horseback riding, fishing, etc). If we were helping teach a new student and we were told to show them the fudo dachi, if you showed that student anything else, you were ‘consequenced’ so to speak."Even personal items such as the care of uniforms were mandated. A student was required to wash one’s own uniform; the parents were not to meddle in this affair. The consequence of allowing one’s parents to wash a uniform were severe; a student was required to mop the floor with one’s gi top and run laps at a nearby school. This deep penetration of karate into Wiseman’s life infused Shorei-ryu into his blood. This has paid dividends as the love for karate has withstood the test of time and tribulation throughout Wiseman’s life.
Ironically, Wiseman’s arduous induction into the Shorei-ryu Yudansha came during a period of great test, making his story a prime example of dedication to the art. As a young man, Wiseman committed himself to the seminary in hopes of becoming a priest. However, Wiseman explains that there was a deep opposition to karate in the seminary culture:
"I went away to the seminary to become a priest and while I was there, they didn’t like karate. As a result, I had to work out in secret. I would get up every morning around 2 or 3 and gi up then go down to the basement and work out for about an hour ½ on my ippons, taezus, omotos (without kiai) and kata. What motivated me to work out like this was the fact that someone said that I shouldn’t work out and that they didn’t want me to do it anymore. They also told me that they didn’t want me to do karate anymore."It was during these college years that Wiseman discovered he was to test for his black belt. Wiseman describes how he was advised of his review date:
"August 24, 1976, I came to southern California for summer break from school and called sensei to find out where we would be working out. It was during the call that I was told I would be going up for my Shodan beginning the next day which was august 25. After a Two Day review. August 25 & 26, 1976- almost to the date I began Karate eight years earlier- I was promoted at 10:38 p.m. on August 26, 1976 to Sho-Dan."The juxtaposition of his review date to this trial period during the seminary speaks volumes about Wiseman’s dedication to the art. One’s Shodan review is one of the most coveted days of a Shorei-ryu karate-ka’s life as it is the date one is bestowed the responsibility to contribute to the advancement of the art. Karate becomes a personal journey of self-realization encompassing a large portion of one’s life and not just by the practice time slots in the dojo. When a teacher decides his pupil is ready to enter this period, it is usually when one has shown intense dedication and indoctrination into the art. It is especially inspiring that Wiseman received this honor while he was away from the dojo and at the seminary, amongst a world of opposition. This event epitomizes the Wiseman’s experience as an inspiration applicable to the general population of karate-ka. Many students face this same ordeal. One is pulled away from the traditional dojo by personal obligations like school, family, career, etc. However, it is always possible to keep karate abreast allowing it to enrich one’s life through perpetual self-improvement. Upon receiving his Sho-dan, Wiseman was transferred to Los Angeles where he was allowed to teach karate. The priest at the new church in Los Angeles, St. Lawrence didn't have the same beliefs as the older priest leaders in northern California. Soon after he began a karate class at St. Lawrence. At this class is where he first met John S. Soltis (9th Dan) in 1978, who would soon begin the study of Shorei-ryu under Wiseman's direction. This relationship has proven to be very formidable and essential in the roots of the Los Angeles Shorei-ryu organization. Wiseman’s karate knowledge and experience continues to enrich the karate-ka experience in the Los Angeles Shorei-ryu organization.
Inspired by the advancement of Shorei-ryu through teaching, Wiseman continues to enthusiastically practice in the Los Angeles Shorei-ryu dojo despite adversity. Wiseman is inspired by the possibility that the white belts he guides will one day carry the style forward. He continues to instruct students with a keen eye for form, power, and the unification of body and karate. Despite his seemingly physical limitations, he continues to use a karate mentality to prevail:
"I now have damaged vertebrae, spinal stenosis, bone spurs on the spine, and rheumatoid arthritis in the hip (nothing too serious) I am limited in my range of motion. Flying kicks, Super low stances, and other range of motion problems put me at about 70% of where I was years ago. The good news is that I have found the beauty of 1 cup of fresh blueberries each day."Wiseman currently resides in Long Beach, Ca. He teaches at a continuation school in Lynwood, Ca and frequents the Los Angeles Shorei-ryu dojo to assist the other yudansha teach form and kata. Wiseman has written several karate articles with the most visible one being published in Black Belt Magazine in 1982. He has also studied other styles such as Tae Do (’74-’76) under Mike Chung and Hung Gar Gan Fu (’78-’79) with a senior student of Ark Wong. From an insightful man with an expansive karate resume, Wiseman translates Shorei-ryu into a fundamental rule of humility: remain teachable.
