Conejo Valley man is America’s top black belt

By John Loesing Acorn Staff Writer

MICHAEL COONS/The Acorn KARATE MASTER--Sixth-degree black belt Mel Pralgo teaches students traditional Okinawan karate.

Mel Pralgo is an English teacher at Newbury Park High School who reminds his students every day to study hard and do their homework.

The same message hits home when he teaches karate class at his studio in Thousand Oaks.

"Even though you’re tired, you still have to try hard," Pralgo tells the students following a recent workout session. They kneel attentively, waiting to be dismissed. Pralgo will have a few more words of wisdom before they depart.

Pralgo, a 62-year-old black belt who’s studied karate for more than half his life, also is the teacher for the high school karate club. He volunteers his "dojo," the Traditional Karate Institute on T.O. Boulevard, for the group’s weekly training.

Some of the students might not succeed in the sport, he says, but sometime during the instruction, all will learn about the importance of self-discipline and the connection between mind, body and spirit.

The karate that Pralgo teaches is Okinawan Goju-Ryu, a style that goes back a thousand years and is held in high esteem by karate purists.

"I do it for the love of it and wanting to pass on what is considered a cultural treasure," said Pralgo, who went to the Japanese island of Okinawa at the end of last year to earn his sixth-degree black belt.

Under the International Okinawan Goju-Ryu Karate Do Federation, Pralgo and fellow sensei (teacher) Miko Peled from San Diego are the only two Americans to achieve the honor of sixth dan.

Those who seek fifth-degree and above must go to the country in person to be tested. With a strong interest in seeing their teacher succeed, the students at the studio raised $3,000 to help pay for Pralgo’s 10-day trip.

"At this level you’re expected to pass on to your students," he said. "They felt it’s better for me to have this level because their spirit improves as well."

The investment has paid off.

The students are now taught by one of the premier karate experts in the country. Pralgo’s wiry, 5-foot-8-inch body belies the power and skill behind each of his punches. And when he talks, students listen.

"What’s nice is the [studio] owner is the teacher," said Thousand Oaks resident Lynn Burdick, whose 11-year-old son John has been a Pralgo student for almost four years.

"I think he’s matured in confidence," Burdick said about her son. "He knows he can defend himself if he has to."

Pralgo’s testing in the capital city of Naha included three hours of physical training and a demonstration of the highest level of Goju-Ryo-style katas, or forms.

"Goju-Ryo means hard-soft," Pralgo said. "It represents both strong and flex, yin and yang.

"I was testing on technique, form, application and stamina. Not that it was much harder, but it was more for the subtlety and understanding of the katas."

When he returned to his Moorpark home after an all night flight back to California, Pralgo said he opened his e-mail and received a message telling him he had passed. The honor culminated 10 years of hard training. He said it might take another 10 years to get his seventh degree.

A total of 14 men were seeking either fifth, sixth or seventh degree black belts. Pralgo said several failed.

The students back at home are attracted to more than just Pralgo’s elevated black belt status. They say they feel comfortable in his clutches.

Pralgo said. "That’s the essence of the Okinawan system."

Okinawan karate was mastered in the early 20th Century by the great sensei Chojun Miagi. Hollywood later used the Miagi figure as a main character in the "Karate Kid" movies.

"My teachers wanted to make sure that you understood all the application as it was originally developed and taught by the founder of the style, Chojun Miagi," Pralgo said.

The students haven’t been disappointed.

"He’s real familiar with the traditional way he learned and he hasn’t changed it any," said Dave DuVarney, a longtime pupil. "He’s also patient and understanding."

Pralgo first went to the Far East in 1974 to train under the Okinawan Goju Ryu master, Morio Higaonna. Pralgo continued his training under sensei Higaonna when the two men returned to the States.

Pralgo opened his school in Thousand Oaks in 1993.