Burlington

Lethal discipline: Local karate instructor joins Martial Arts Hall of Fame

If used in a real-life situation, a student of this discipline can and will end a life to save another.

It is for this form of karate that Chet Chesher, 37, of Burlington, has been named Teacher of the Year.

With such a designation, Chesher, a fourth-degree black belt who teaches about 15 students in the lower level of his Cedar Park home, joins such people as Chuck Norris as an inductee into the Martial Arts Hall of Fame in Houston, Texas.

Three of his students, Tim Masker, 20, Jim Mascaretti, 21 both of Racine; and Joe Treffinger, 16 of East Troy, were at his home last week for a training session.

Treffinger said he want to learn this tech-nique so that he can teach it to others. But Masker and Mascaretti were training for more personal reasons.

"I want to know what to do if I find myself in a predicament where my or a mermber of my family's life is in danger," said Mascaretti.

Masker said that he is not interested in tournament fighting and is looking for a method of defense that he can use if he needs to.

"We don't train people for bar fights or competitions," said Chesher. "If you think about it, all those fancy moves are just for show. There are three reasons to study Kenpo Bu-Jutsu - to protect yourself, your family and/or your country."

The students bow to their Master but do not address him as by any titles, though he has earned them. They call him Chet. They also don't spend a lot of time stretching or air boxing because the purpose is not physical fitness or show.

I don't teach forms. I don't teach high kicks. I don't teach people to back away. I teach violent overkill and rapid hand movements. Students learn to issue 12 to 20 strikes to vital areas before stopping."

Because of the graphic nature and planned outcome of the techniques Chesher teaches, he does not train anyone under the age 16. He also does background checks on his students before accepting them into the program. Students do not need to have trained in another martial arts discipline as a pre-requisite.

He said it is important to understand that he does not train people to use their body as a weapon.

"We are training to respond with lethal techniques in life-or-death situations, not to stalk and kill," he said.

Chesher has also trained women in this discipline.

"Women can use the same techniques as men," he said. "It does not require power and strength. It is a matter of exact angles and direction."

Chesher was nominated for induction into the Martial Arts Hall of Fame by his former Grandmaster Ron Brandbury, a 10^th degree blackbelt, who himself has been named Grandmaster of the Year.

Chesher started his first school in 1991. He trains people in Kenpo Bu-Jutsu part time and works as an engineer full time for a company in Burlington.

While he currently has not students from Burlington, Chesher said that people from all walks of life can benefit from this type of training as they may travel to locations whre is might be useful.

Bradbury will be in Burlington on Sept. 16 to demonstrate this form of martial arts during a seminar at Burlington High School, 225 Roberts St.

For more information on the seminar, not open to anyone under age 16, call 763-5762. There is a fee for the seminar.