In Memoriam: Nick Adler (1939–2026)

It was just a few days ago when I was viewing an interview of Nick Adler that a friend and fellow karateka emailed me to tell me Shihan had just passed away. Shihan Adler, tenth dan in Isshinryu karate, also held rank in Matayoshi kobudo (a weapons system), judo and jiu-jitsu. The master cross-referenced with many styles, and I took a number of workshops (and tournaments) that he hosted that included a myriad of styles with other masters to whet one's appetite in controlled mayhem. As an Isshinryu karate instructor spanning over sixty years, Shihan had trained thousands of students.

It was Shihan Adler that tied a black belt around the waist of my blood speckled gi all those years ago in a Long Island dojo. After I left that school shortly thereafter (which had nothing to do with the master) I trained under other teachers. Though competent and qualified as they were, none could compare to the encyclopedic knowledge and pedagogy of Shihan.  

Shihan Adler began his Isshinryu training with Ed McGrath, and later Don Nagle. Sometime during this period, as a brown belt, he made a trip to Okinawa to receive tutelage from Tatsuo Shimabuku, the founder of Isshinryu. In his telling of that trip one particular story stood out:

 

We're hanging out in the dojo waiting for the soke [Shimabuku] to arrive when this older gentlemen walks in wearing a bowler-style hat. He looked like a drifter. I'm leaning against the wall with one arm, and he was so short he just walks right under my arm and past me. It was him! He was so inconspicuous hardly anyone else even knew he was there. Later he comes out and calls me up to demonstrate something. "Punch" he says while motioning to his chest. I'm almost six foot, he's like five foot nothing, in his fifties or thereabout, so I halfheartedly throw this uninspired punch. "No, no...punch." Okay. So I wind up with this fireball, but just before it reaches his chest, he steps back and middle blocks like a whip, landing his knuckles into the belly of my biceps. Dead arm, useless. And painful. "Try other arm?" he quips. No thanks!  

 

All my advanced karate and kobudo forms I learned from this man. Aside from his technical prowess, and affinity for karate tradition, he was pragmatic and philosophical. He once said "the more you know how to fight, the less you'll want to fight." To that I would add an old kendo saying (to paraphrase), "Though the best sword need not be drawn, does not mean it cannot be drawn." Power is a choice, but sometimes a necessity.

Rest in peace Shihan.