THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 11, 1994 TAG: 9409090305
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 29 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Lee Tolliver
LENGTH: Medium: 51 lines
When Billy Gibbs was in the sixth grade, he beat a Wilson dealer representative in a putting contest.
His winnings consisted of a Wilson Tour Special putter - a club that turned out to be his favorite, a club that he used for years, a club that earned him a reputation as one of the best putters around.
But last weekend, the First Colonial and Virginia Wesleyan graduate went out to his Honda Accord to find that it had been broken into and his golf bag stolen from the trunk.
The other clubs - Big Bertha War Bird drivers and woods, and Founders TVI irons - he says, can be replaced. The Titlist Staff Bag with his name engraved on it can be replaced.
But the putter had special memories.
``And it couldn't be replaced anyway,'' said Gibbs, 35. ``They don't make it anymore.''
Anyone happening upon the club - it has a bad ding on the top and another one on the bottom - should call Gibbs at 486-2007.
Here come 'da judge: Judging a karate tournament is little different than competing in one.
Just ask John Pohle, a fourth-degree black belt in Shotokan karate and a veteran referee of more than two dozen tournaments and hundreds of matches in five years.
``Refereeing requires a tremendous amount of skill - you have to evaluate each technique,'' said Pohle, who has been teaching karate since 1974 and is the chief instructor of the 35-member Virginia Beach Shotokan Karate Club. He is also a teacher of gifted students at Lynnhaven Middle School.
Pohle recently returned from refereeing dozens of matches at the grandaddy of all tournaments in the Japanese Karate Association - the 5th World Shoto Cup Karate Championships - held in Philadelphia last month. The World Shoto Cup brought thousands of karate students from around the world to compete in either kata or kumite (sparring).
``You've never seen this kind of karate before on TV,'' Pohle said. ``It's traditional Japanese karate.''
``It's extremely challenging - that's why I like judging,'' he said. ``It's still a part of karate training for me.''
Pohle's club meets Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Plaza Middle School. For more information, call 422-9788. by CNB