A sense of power

Though he's blind, Earle Harrison is no easy mark. Anyone with bad intentions sneaking up on him would be wise not to.

By JON WILSON

© St. Petersburg Times, published April 30, 2000

ST. PETERSBURG -- Earle Harrison sees in a way most people can't: by sensing another person's energy.

[Times photos: Cherie Diez] Earle Harrison trains at American Executive Karate.

It sounds peculiar. But the concept is familiar to martial artists, who learn to tap into their own internal force.

"It's called ki -- your energy field," said Bill Klase, a karate grand master.

Harrison, one of Klase's students at American Executive Karate, must use the sensory technique more intensely than his classmates. The 37-year-old software specialist has been legally blind all his life because of a congenital eye condition.

His disability is not obvious on the floor of the dojo, where Klase's students train.

Harrison, a big man at nearly 6 feet 3 and 257 pounds, moves easily among a dozen others participating in exercises, drills and sparring.

He seldom bumps anyone -- accidentally, at least -- and he shows no trace of self-consciousness.

Class leaders and other students sometimes help Harrison's orientation with voice cues. During sparring sessions, they'll make extra noise by talking or shuffling their feet so Harrison knows the direction in which to punch or kick.

During a sparring session, Harrison joked with Stephanie Sandstrom, a 17-year-old black belt.

"Tie a cowbell around your neck," he said.

"How about I just talk. Can I do that?" Sandstrom asked.

During a few practice minutes, Sandstrom compromised by shuffling and making a series of hissing noises throughout the session.

Harrison works on his kicks.

Otherwise, Harrison is simply another student.

Harrison, who lives in the Edgemoor neighborhood, started the classes early this year and goes for one-hour classes twice a week. Exercise and camaraderie are his reasons.

"This gives me human interaction. It's something I love to do," Harrison said. He studied the sport years ago for a short while before an auto accident temporarily put him out of action.

At American Executive, Harrison has earned an orange belt, the second step in a belt-ranking system that goes from white -- the lowest -- through several degrees of black. He'll test next month to reach the next rank, a yellow belt.

Sparring when you cannot see your opponent is particularly interesting.

When Harrison first started, he worried about striking a partner too hard by accident.

"You really find yourself holding back. You don't want to hurt anybody because you can't see them. I still have some insecurity about that," Harrison said several weeks ago.

By last week, he was more confident about distance and spacing.

"One of the most interesting things is being able to home in on people's energy, as opposed to even hearing them," he said.

Martial artists explain the phenomenon as feeling another's energy. Some compare it to using the "force," the term injected into popular culture by the Star Wars movie series.

On a more mundane level, punching-pad drills help students learn to measure distance to a target object.

Harrison's roundhouse kicks produce resounding whacks on a thick square pad.

"If I was out on the street, I wouldn't want to be on the other end of that," said Dave Haney, a yellow belt student holding the pad.

Haney said he respects Harrison's sensory perception.

"He hears shuffling. He can feel air movement.

"Basically, his handicap is not a handicap."

Blind martial artists are uncommon but not unheard of, said Klase, who has taught martial arts in Pinellas County since 1969. He had his first experience with blind students in 1975, when he spent two months teaching a class of 15 in Houston.

"They do fine," Klase said. "You can't show them things; you have to give them a good visualization verbally. There's a few things you can do hands-on, but you have to do it mostly verbally."

Harrison works at Henter-Joyce, a Pinellas company specializing in products for blind people. Of its 71 employees, 31 are blind, said Ted Henter, who founded the company.

Henter himself is blind, a world champion water-skier -- and a martial artist. He attends three classes a week at Amir's Academy of Martial Arts, where he studies kickboxing.

Harrison, said Klase, has a promising future in karate.

"He'll get his black belt if he stays with it," Klase said. "He's got ability and the concentration and the focus. And the desire. Most of all, the desire. He wants it."

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