The Artist

The definition of an 'Artist' might be loosely described as someone who participates in a creative activity, using an expressive arrangement of elements or movement, such as painting, poetry, dancing, acting, writing, music, etc.

So you might ask where does the "martial artist" fit in with the above description? Well it could be perceived as, someone trying to obtain or perfect a specific level of skill, which focuses on providing techniques for the art of fighting or warfare.

I really feel that a much better description might be; someone who studies, perfects and expresses a range of techniques and creative movement to not only prepare for adversity on many different levels, but also ultimately find peace and harmony within oneself and their environment.

Over the last thirty-five years I have been trying to figure-out what it actually means to be a martial artist? I've recently come to the conclusion and it's my own personal view that it really has nothing to do with fighting. That element of my training disappeared many years ago. Today I now use the martial arts as a Way of life, as well as a journey of self-discovery.

I suppose the ultimate goal of any martial artist is to try and better his or herself on many different levels and that's exactly what I'm still aiming towards. I'm constantly learning, training and improving all the time. I no longer think that I'm better than anyone else, just hopefully better than I used to be.

I'm really lucky that I was brought up from a very early age with an artistic viewpoint. You see, despite my father being employed, as a builder’s labourer for most of his working life, he was also a talented Artist. The majority of his free time he just quietly sketched and painted away, hardly ever displaying or exhibiting any of his work.

My dad developed his special talent to draw during his early childhood years. Later on in his life I think he could have easily have been an accomplished artist. At the age of nineteen however, like thousands of other young men, he was unfortunately called up to serve in the British army to fight in the Second World War.

Even while serving in the forces he would often find time to sketch. He loved drawing battle scenes, landscapes, as well as planes and warships of that era. But without a doubt his favourite subject was drawing portraits of beautiful woman. Many of these wonderful portraits and pictures have now been safely preserved for future generations to see.

  

There were times when my father would just sit me down and encourage me to draw. He would get me to half-close my eyes, hold a pencil up and view objects from an entirely different perspective. He allowed me to visualise beyond the normal point of view, which made me see things in a completely different way.

I just loved the way my dad could grab a pencil and using an odd scrap of paper he could make a picture emerge right before my very eyes. He had fantastic ability where he could bring most subjects to life. I now feel truly blessed to have had many wonderful moments with him just painting away with him by my side and I still really miss him now he is no longer here.

Another huge influence in my life was my Middle School art teacher, a magnificent man called Laurie Shepherd. While I was struggling with the bullying and drudgery of school, this gentleman was the one shining light in my life. While many other teacher’s just taught their specific subjects strictly by the book, Mr. Shepherd had the ability to connect with and inspire the many pupils he came into contact with.

It was during his lessons that my remarkable art teacher was somehow inspirational enough to get the best out of me. He was able to encourage me to express my feelings down on to the paper. I recall once painting this impressive locomotive train hurtling along the tracks. I now realise that this picture reflected a lot of my pent-up anger and frustration. It was a piece of work, which would eventually gain me top marks toward my final exam results.

Sadly I moved on from Middle School to High School and inevitably lost touch with Mr. Shepherd. My artistic ability also declined, the new art-teacher at High School was basically passion-less and just an ordinary technician who was unable to associate with me on any level at all. My ability to draw and paint gradually fell by the wayside.

My story about Mr. Laurie Shepherd didn't end there. Several years after I had finished school I came into contact with him again. By coincidence he’d also started studying martial arts at the same Kuk Sool club as myself. It was really great to be reacquainted with Laurie again and to now have him as a training partner, as opposed to him just being my schoolteacher.

After a couple of years training together, I noticed that Laurie was struggling to keep his attendance consistent. I discovered it was because of his new role as Deputy Headmaster at my old school. It was a position, which created much additional pressure on his shoulders and a job, which I felt that he’d acquired out of loyalty toward the school rather than for his own career advancement.

Despite his overwhelming work commitments, he returned back to his Kuk Sool practice. This time however an interesting situation had developed - due to the time that he had taken out, our roles had actually reversed. I was now teaching, inspiring and encouraging him, just like he had done previously for me in his classroom.  It was a strange feeling, teaching your own teacher, but on another level it did feel somewhat rewarding.

After a lot of hard practice, commitment and dedication on Laurie’s behalf, he finally achieved his first degree Black Belt in Kuk Sool Won. I knew that it wasn't easy and had taken him nearly ten years to reach this level. Laurie being a proud Welshman, had to truly feel that he was worthy wearing that prestigious black belt around his waist.

With the ever-increasing strain form his work duties, including dealing with the persistent Ofstead school inspections. My dear friend Laurie, over a continued period of time, sadly became further and further overworked and eventually became sick and unwell. It was only a matter of time before he was forced to retire from his duties at school due to extremely poor health.

It soon became apparent that Laurie’s illness was far more serious than anyone first thought. Despite having a major operation to try and treat the initial problems, there was very little hope of a full recovery. My dear friend, teacher and fellow martial artist, was diagnosed as being terminally ill.

I think Laurie knew beforehand that his time was limited and therefore made a concentrated effort to paint everyday. Early in the morning he would go down to his art studio in his garden and allow the paint and the brushes to flow. In a short period of time he had produced literally dozens and dozens of wonderful abstract pictures, something that he hadn’t done for many years since he attended Art College.

During the later stage of his illness, I remember visiting Laurie on several occasions. On one particular afternoon we sat, drank tea, laughed and chattered. We also talked about a specific book, which I knew that he really liked. The book was called Sword and Brush, written by David Lowry. This book obviously had great meaning for Laurie and I believe that he truly recognised the distinct connection between the Artist and the Warrior.

Sadly, Laurie Shepherd passed away in March 2000. His funeral at the local church was absolutely packed-out with hundreds of old school pupils, ex-teachers, family and friends. Laurie had obviously made an immense impact not just on my own life, but on many other people’s lives as well. Everyone that turned up did so to pay their last respects to a very caring individual.

For me, Laurie Shepherd was more than just a teacher or a friend; he was an extraordinary human-being. Both he and my Father had the gift to see things from an entirely different perspective and both also had the vision to see the ‘good’ in other people as well.

I would like to finish this post by dedicating the following paragraph to;  Victor Ducker & Laurie Shepherd.  

The Introduction - Sword and the Brush; Spirit Of The Martial Arts, by David Lowry

The Way of the sword, the Way of the brush: one an encounter of harmony between brush and paper, the other a meeting of conflict between swords. The results are inevitable and immutable. For the calligrapher as for the warrior, reality is reduced to a single unique encounter of perfect clarity.

View Paintings & Drawings buy visiting the link below

http://martinducker.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/the-artists-pictures.html