Ho Ho Hi-ya

Since 1972, Steve Cooper has been learning as much as he can about how to run his body and mind like a well-oiled machine. But in 2019, he reached enough long term training goals to devote much more of his time to teaching: becoming a 10th-degree black belt in karate and gaining a teaching certification in Grand Master Chen Chuan Gang’s School of the Wild Goose. At the time, he says he struggled with finding a new purpose before realizing he “didn’t need to repurpose, just needed to continue purpose.”

Now at 70 years old, Cooper teaches very exclusive martial arts classes on Mondays and Wednesdays, just outside of Nashville. Meanwhile, he continues his own studies in other areas that run the gamut from impersonating Santa Claus to decalcifying his pineal gland. I had the absolute joy of speaking to him about all of this.

MORE THAN FIGHTING

Cooper’s always been what some would call a “health nut,” and has certification in acupuncture as well as chiropathy. Each morning, he spends a couple of hours practicing Qigong—a thousand-year-old health practice involving deliberate breathing, slow movement, and careful full-body posture. Following Qigong, Cooper spends forty-five minutes in seated meditation, and his “day starts at about noon after that.” 

His fascination with karate began in 1972, when he was on a drive with a friend. The two saw a sign for a karate demonstration, pulled over, and checked it out. Cooper started taking karate classes himself the following week. His friend, he laughs, “dropped out when he got married, as a blue belt.” But fifty-two years later, Cooper’s still at it. 

He has completely devoted himself to the practice, visiting Japan to study under Tetsuo Suzuki himself—the founder of the Wado International Karate-Do Federation. Cooper has also studied in China four times, which is where he trained directly with 28th lineage holder of the Wild Goose Qigong system, Grand Master Chen Chuan Gang. In 1997, Cooper met George Dillman, the American martial instructor famous for his practice in pressure point karate. “Once I saw that I said ‘I’ve got to learn that,” marvels Cooper.

So he did: Cooper then trained with Dillman four times annually, even traveling with him for periods of time. Dillman ran a karate camp in the hills of Pennsylvania where Cooper studied frequently. The camp, he says, was previously operated as a boxing school by none other than Muhammad Ali. After decades of hard work, Cooper was one of the top instructors in the George Dillman International Karate System. While Dillman’s system of pressure point karate is often seen as controversial and somewhat suspect, Cooper assures me that it is absolutely real, and effective. He found he picked up on the system fairly quickly, explaining that his background in chiropractic helped him “learn pressure points pretty easily,” adding that “the same points for disabling or knocking out an attacker are the same points we use for healing.” It all has to do with the method of activation, and the intent behind it.

Cooper has worked from both inside and outside of the established medical industry. For eleven years, he worked in orthopedics at Vanderbilt University. His tenure there ended, he explains, because they mandated that their employees get the flu vaccine. For a decade, the University had been exempt from such a mandate—but then they accepted a federal grant requiring employees to be vaccinated each year. Cooper retired on the very day before the mandate took effect, and “played, on [his] phone, Bang on the Drum All Day as [he] walked out of the building.” He muses that one could call him an “anti-vaxxer,” but adds that he resents the label and prefers to be called a “pureblood.” The man hasn’t had the flu since 1968, and never once took the shot.

BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT

In addition to his focus on health, Cooper has worked as a news and comedy writer for WLAC, a jeweler, a deputy sheriff, a contractor, a musician, and even done some acting. Today, he continues acting—but only seasonally. As a member of the Official Brotherhood of Real Bearded Santas, Cooper spends half of each week through the holiday season talking to and taking photos with Middle Tennessee’s kids. He’s been working with one photographer (who he made a point to mention “never acquiesced” during Covid) for ten years.

He loves being a Santa Claus, and acting as that magical figure for children. There’s a lot of insight to be found in speaking with and guiding youth, as well as plenty of laughs: one year, he remembers, a child told him they wanted Alice Cooper for Christmas. On the flip side, he says, some kids reveal deep traumas to him—asking to “raise grandpa from the dead, bring back their dog, get mom and dad to stop fighting, bring dad home,” etc. I like to think a man like Steve Cooper is well equipped for such conversations. He remarked that he has a real appreciation for the newest trend in asking for things from Santa, which is a “want, a need, and a read”: something the kid wants, something they really need, and something they will read. Cooper’s invested in the growth of upcoming generations. 

Personal growth doesn’t stop as you get older, either. He’s always researching something himself—currently that’s decalcifying the pineal gland (sometimes colloquially called the “third eye”). Largely, he’s found, that’s about removing the plethora of poisons that calcify it in the first place. Citing Operation Paperclip, the United States secret intelligence operation in which 1,600 former Nazi German scientists were brought under the employment of our government, Cooper points out Grand Rapids, Michigan. 

This was the first city to have fluoride added to their water supply, and it happened the very same year as Operation Paperclip: 1945. Cooper says fluoride is a major contributor to the calcification of the pineal gland, along with the mercury and aluminum often found in our deodorant. “The armpit’s absorbent,” he notes. “It goes straight to your brain.” In fact, a 2017 German study determined that it leads to neurotoxicity and Alzheimer’s Disease.

Aside from avoiding far too common poisons, Cooper has found seven dietary supplements that can aid with the process of decalcification. These are potassium iodine, burdock root, chaga mushroom, chlorella powder, turmeric, amla fruit extract, and Schisandra powder. Alongside regular health practices like getting sun (especially in the morning and evening), limiting alcohol intake, and regular meditation, it’s possible to create a profound difference. 

Along with his studies and Santa Claus-ing, Cooper continues to teach martial arts every Monday and Wednesday. On Mondays, he runs a morning Qigong class, and on Wednesdays is a two-hour evening class on “Killing and Maiming.” He also travels for seminars over the summer. His classes, however, are extremely exclusive—often hosting students who are ex-military or law enforcement. There are absolutely no kids here. “I kind of have to interview someone before I take them as a student,” he explains. Cooper has found his life’s purpose in teaching and learning, and he seeks out students who are of a similar mindset.