Despite the aches and pains of aging, McKinleyville’s black belt and martial arts teacher Alex Stick continues to push himself in an effort to improve his skills.
“It’s a philosophy that every time I do a routine, I want to do better than last time. That’s what helps me maintain a consistent level of excellence, ”Stick told the Times-Standard.
Where a younger practitioner was looking for victories and rewards, Stick, now 60, has achieved a level of excellence through constant immersion and dedication to the world of sports karate and martial arts.
“Shooting trophies and medals and stuff like that to get trophies was a big distraction and I tended to go up or down emotionally, put it on or not. Now that I’m older and, hopefully a little wiser, I’ve realized that’s not the goal. The goal is to improve every time. ”
“By doing so I realized that things are taken care of much better than focusing on results,” he added.
Looking inward has been of great value to the local black belt as the years go by.
Stick is currently one of the best martial artists in the world, in four different categories, in the ranking of the North American Sports Karate Association. It ranks first in the men’s 50+ creative weapons category and third in both men’s 60+ traditional hand shapes and men’s 60+ traditional weapons. It is also among the top 20 in the world in the hands of Chinese over-18s, sitting in 18th place. Stick has also been inducted into the U.S. Martial Arts Hall of Fame.
This year again this summer it competes on the NASKA circuit, Orlando and Washington, D.C. with the competitions that will take place. He recently competed in an Atlanta sanctioned tournament with 50 rings at his level and also with the world’s top sports karate teams. as an individual competitor like himself.
“It’s like going against all these big teams of David and Goliath,” Stick said.
To continue performing at this level, Stick gets up bright and early, doing gym work at 7am, instead of training too much, focusing on important movements. Outside of his physical work, he always has cats and other movements in his head.
“There’s a constant loop of these shapes in my head. I’m imagining how I’m doing it … They pass through my head over and over again. It is very repetitive. But in doing so, I work a lot of kinks and when I get into my real performance, it’s almost on autopilot, ”he said.
Stick is a practice that is done on an individual level and practiced individually, mostly in solitude. The owner and teacher of Seven Star in McKinleyville supports the role that several people have played in him and his success.
“A lot of the things I do are very lonely,” he noted. “But what I’m realizing about martial arts is that I’m talking about my relationships with my teachers and students and the people who support me.”
Stick hopes to continue representing Humboldt County against the big teams in the martial arts world in the esters.
“Being from a small place like this and competing, it’s great to be a big league professional. Even if it’s in Humboldt County, or in a small place that works in a barn, go for it. ”
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