Terry “Slider” Bass has been a great asset to the Karate Institute of America. A blonde, energetic and athletic guy, Slider has remained one of those students of the art who continues to support his roots and other Black Belts who are attempting to join the ranks of the Kiado-Ryu.
Slider slides. Watch him fight and you’ll understand the meaning of this phrase. Fighting was never his greatest natural skill but over the years he has developed into an extremely competent fighter with excellent movement and quick, efficient hands, both offensively and defensively.
A couple KIA stories about Slider.
One night his intermediate class was practicing rolls. The lesson escalated into jumping over bags to see who could land the safest. Jump after jump, other students kept falling by the wayside. The contest finally ended with Slider jumping over no less than eight bags (a stack approximately 5 feet tall) and, with a trajectory practically straight down from that height, landing and rolling as softly as a cat leaping to the ground from a tree branch. To have seen such skill in person was a thrill. It’s amazing he didn’t break a collarbone.
Another story is quite telling regarding his character and spirit. After one of his brown belt tests, which lasted for about six hours and went well past midnight, Terry, who was totally worn out with exhaustion, was asked to come to the front of the class and perform, once again, Institute Form #4, Technique Set, which is one of the longest and most difficult of the undergraduate Kiado-Ryu kata. When Slider heard this request, he looked at Mr. King with arrows flashing from his eyes! Yet, he performed the kata with great delivery. It was, perhaps, the best kata performance of his entire undergraduate career. Because he had nothing left to give physically, his movement was relaxed, graceful but still powerful. It was a never-to-be-forgotten moment.
Gratefully, Terry Bass still supports those following in his footsteps by attending their tests and occasionally coming to class when his family life and career allow.