My Times with Sifu Larry - Part 1
by Dick Harrell
My first impressions upon meeting Sifu Larry in 1974 are vivid. I had left my Shotokan school after almost 3 years and moved around Charlotte training first at Kim's School of Tae Kwon Do for a few months, then with Buddy Springs and Joe Martin at their Kung Fu school. A friend had called to say that a Bruce Lee student had moved to the area and was beginning to teach Jeet Kune Do at a friend's Kung Fu school. Skeptical, I remember thinking "now why would a Bruce Lee student be coming to Charlotte? Probably isn't the real deal!" Being a Bruce Lee fan and obviously searching for something different in my young martial arts development, I was determined to seek him out and see for myself if he was "legit", as if he, or anyone needed my confirmation!
Excited to see a "real" Bruce Lee student, I decided to drop by Ed Echeverria's Kung Fu school where Sifu was evidently teaching I discovered he was teaching a small, hand-picked group of students, and classes were not for public viewing. I remember thinking "wow, now this is really getting interesting!" Needless to say, I had to get in to see him now more than ever, so I decided to work up enough nerve to call him and hopefully convince him how badly I wanted to study with him in the hopes he would accept me as his student!
After several unsuccessful attempts to contact him, I finally reached him one evening before he was about to teach class. We spoke for only a few minutes but in that brief conversation it was apparent to me that this guy sounded pretty legit! He invited me to come by the "kwoon" as he referred to the kung fu school, the next day to meet. I was so excited I could hardly wait; hardly able to sleep that night. Little did I know what was to transpire from the meeting the next day, and how meeting Sifu Larry would not only revolutionize my training and way of looking at martial arts, but also change my life!
