Karate Champ Struggles to Be More Than All That He Can Be : Morse High Product Allas Seeks Elite Title This Weekend

SAN DIEGO —  An old martial arts proverb states that the trainee’s struggle is always with himself. That struggle centers around the quest for perfection.

Ferdie Allas struggles with karate not because he isn’t good at it, but because he is very good.

Still, his efforts add up to something less than perfection, which is to be expected. But the ultimate goal of a karate expert, unattainable as it may be, is perfection. That’s what makes karate a continual struggle.

Allas, 25, has studied karate since he moved to San Diego from the state of Washington at age 10. Last year, he finished seventh in forms competition at the world championships in Cairo. He is the favorite in the men’s 21-and-over black belt division at the USA Karate Federation Pacific League Championships today and Sunday at the Town and Country Convention Center.

A tricky schedule and occasional splashes of frustration have never slowed Allas, whose summer routine barely affords him time for meals. He works 9 to 5 as a security consultant, teaches karate for three hours after work and then trains for three or four hours.

His workout partners tease him, saying: “Didn’t you plan to have some social time in early 1994?”

There is a reason Allas, a graduate of Morse High School, puts up with this rather tangled schedule. Somebody once told him he could be a world champion. Since seventh place isn’t good enough, he endures the complications.

And perfection? Well, the more he strives for it, the better he gets. The better he gets, the more he wants to be perfect. Seeking perfection inspires excellence. But, of course, it never produces perfection.

“You can train all you like, but you can never reach that perfection,” Allas says. “But you strive for it.”

He strives through injuries and through days when his schedule has limited him to only an hour or two of sleep the night before. Karate teaches him to be ready.

“I married myself into it,” he said. “The hardships that you put yourself through, it’s the only way you sharpen yourself. When you have things you don’t want to do, still you do it.”

That explains it. Why else would he continue in karate after all the pains and aches?

Once, a workout partner kicked Allas in the mouth, knocking out three teeth. Fortunately, he has met a lot of people through his years of training, including an oral surgeon.

“I called him up and said, ‘Hey, can you put my teeth back in?’ ” Allas said. “He said, ‘Sure, come on over.’ ”

Allas wore a brace for two months, and now his teeth are fine. This week, two of his fingers are taped together because he popped one of them out of its socket during a sparring drill. He shrugs it off: “One thing with karate: When you make a mistake, it shows.”

“Ferdie is very different from any other athlete you see,” said Minobu Miki, his longtime instructor. “He really puts himself into it. He has had lots of injuries, and he always comes back.”

Allas received his black belt in 1986, impressing his instructor so much that he was promoted immediately to second degree. That, said Allas, is rare.

“I’ve never heard of it happening,” he says, smiling.

Allas, now a third degree, says he would be lying if he told people he has never had to make use of his karate skill in a real-life situation. He tells the story of the time two years ago when he and his brother Angel, also a black belt, were eating at a taco stand. Two men approached and began hassling them. After Angel asked the men to leave them alone, one of them approached Angel, asked, “Are you being sarcastic?” and hit him in the mouth.

Both Ferdie and Angel reacted at once and the men made a quick exit.

“They just picked on the wrong guys,” Allas said.

There are people who train with Allas who think he’s a bit of a madman, that he’s too intense.

Why does he train as if there’s no tomorrow? The answer is simple.

“That’s the way Mr. Miki has always taught me,” he said.

And he applies the teachings to more than just karate. Allas is a senior at San Diego State, working toward a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. Time is of the essence, particularly during finals week. There are plenty of late nights.

“I was surviving on six packs of Coke,” he said.

His grade-point average, just below 3.0, hasn’t suffered from the vast amount of training. He figures he has two priorities, school and karate. He has been taught not to compromise either one, even if he has to sacrifice sleep.

There might not be anyone capable of defeating Allas this weekend, though he knows everyone is gunning for him. Competitors he has never heard of concern him more than high-profile karate athletes.

“The people who are the no-names are the most dangerous,” he says. “But it’s a challenge. That’s why I train so hard.”

Pointing toward this year’s world championships in Mexico City, Allas plans to improve on his seventh-place finish. This time, he knows what to expect. In Cairo, his nerves got the better of him.

“I was really nervous,” he said. “It finally hit me that I was that far up. And my heart started going. I felt that I didn’t have enough energy in me.”

It didn’t discourage him, though. His mind is still set on being the best.

“Some people don’t believe in themselves,” he said. “I figure I could be world champ one of these days.”