august 2013 - iogkf...ture regarding goju-ryu history. i believe that his illness resulted from a...
TRANSCRIPT
AUGUST 2013
WHAT’S BIG IN IOGKF MAGAZINE
Message from Sensei
Tetsuji Nakamura Page 1
INTERVIEW WITH
THE GIANTS Master Morio Higaonna &
Master Choko Kyuna
Page 6
Wheelchair Course With Sensei John Marrable
Page 3
MCF CANADA
EVENT REPORT Page 15
And Much More!
WHAT FREE EXTRAS ARE ONLINE?
Everything in this
Magazine and with
videos and more!
New Video of Terauchi
Sensei’s Training
Methods
Free Self Defence with
Sensei Ernie Molyneux
A session with Sensei
Linda Marchant,
courtesy of Canada
Event Reports and
more articles from
around the World!
I hope everybody had a wonderful summer, or winter for the members in Southern Hemisphere. This year’s three major events finished as a great success, the South American Gasshuku in Peru, the North American Gasshuku in Canada and the European Gasshuku in Italy. In Italy, Higaonna Sensei became ill and was unable to teach during the last two days of the Gasshuku. However he came on the last day and gave us a great lec-ture regarding Goju-ryu history. I believe that his illness resulted from a mix of things such as jet lag, stress, over work, and dehydration (SENSEI had only two hours sleep the night before and drank two cups of espresso as he felt tired that day). Higaonna Sensei told me later that sometimes he forgets about his age and just pushes himself too much. It is same for us all that we sometimes (most of time) forget about his age as his appearance on the floor is super human. His skill and strength are beyond anybody on the floor who is much younger than him. However, he still is a human being who is 75 years old this year. It was a wakeup call for all of us, as his students, that we really have to take good care of him. After this incident, I spoke to Higaonna Sensei. He told me that he still wants to travel to major events and teach, but he prefers to have less social events requiring his at-tendance. This includes late night dinners, dinners with sponsors, sightseeing, etc. We also have to make sure he gets a break every hour and that we do not disturb him for autographs or private pictures during these breaks, and more and more.... One another thing that I reconfirmed. During Higaonna Sensei's absence, the eight senior instructors attending the event taught all of the classes. I spoke to many participants at the Sayonara party and everybody told me that they still had a great Gasshuku. The strength of our organization is that not only do we have the best living master with us, but at same time we have many great senior instructors who train hard daily and are lining up behind Higaonna Sensei. As the newly appointed chief instructor, I stress that the quality of our organiza-tion is something I must focus and maintain for the future generation. During my speech at Sayonara party in Italy, I mentioned that we are witnessing a very unique time in the history of our art. Higaonna Sensei is in the final stage of mastering the art and he is ready to pass everything to us now. We must not to miss any opportunity to learn from him. Higaonna Sensei will be in Moscow in Sep-tember for the Euro-Asian Gasshuku and in Liverpool in October for EGKA 40th an-niversary. I will also be there for both events. I am also teaching in Hamburg, Germany in September and Bratislava, Slovakia in November (actually I am writing this message right now in Santiago, Chile where I am teaching a weekend seminar). There are many other senior instructors teaching Gasshuku in different corners of the globe. Please check the event schedule on our website for a listing of the various Gasshuku and make your plan. I am looking forward to training with you in the near future.
I would like to thank everyone for their positive feedback on the IOGKF Magazine. So far it has been a great addition to IOGKF and I hope you will all read it, print it off and share it with your students. It is a great tool for bringing our great articles to the Dojo without needing a computer or telephone.
I travelled to America and Canada for the first time this year and I was so happy to meet
many new people and receive their feedback and also was to improve the newsletter
and magazine. Remember you can contact me to share your ideas and thoughts for the
newsletter and the IOGKF Magazine with me. Please email: [email protected]
Please be sure to check out Nakamura Sensei’s messages in this edition and also to Sensei Adrienne’s administrative announcements as they both have really important points in them for us all to understand.
I would also like to point out that IOGKF South America has started an online newsletter
where articles are published in Spanish. Please check it out by visiting http://
www.iogkfargentina.com.ar/IOGKF/newsletter.html
If you want to have your say on article published in our magazine or online newsletter you can! Send you letter to the above email address and you my be featured in the letters to the editor segment of this magazine. We also have topics come up for discussion on our official International Facebook group. Join us by facebook searching IOGKF International Karate - Official Group. Many people have joined in the last few weeks and it is the best way to keep up to date with all the latest IOGKF news and event information between our newsletters and Magazine releases. Finally a huge thank you to Ciara McGrath for one again putting together the online component of our newsletter for us all! She has done a fantastic job as always and I definitely could do it without her!
Please send me your articles for our December newsletter or if you have any ideas for articles, etc please share them
with me. IOGKF Newsletter and Magazine is produced by IOGKF members for IOGKF members and we love to have sug-
gestions from all of you on how to improve our services.
1 On a personal note, it is hard to believe that I have held this position for one year al-ready. The 12 months have flown by. I have truly enjoyed the challenge of this position. There was, and still is, much to learn.
Many emails are still being sent to Nakamura Sensei, who held this position until his ap-pointment last year to World Chief Instructor. Please ensure you are using the correct email address to reach the Administrative Office at [email protected].
2 General areas of administration:
a. BB gradings – all aspects should be directed to this office
b. Website
c. All financial aspects
d. Contact information for member countries
e. Membership inquiries
3 Chief Instructors’ Gasshuku
October 16 to 19, 2013 in Okinawa Registration forms must be sent to the IOGKF administration office by September 30
th.
Any questions regarding the chief instructors’ meeting or the black belt grading at this event should be directed to the administration office.
TRANSLATED BY: SENSEI TETSUJI NAKAMURA
INTERVIEW BY: SENSEI DAVID LAMBERT
During the 2013 MCF Event, I was invited
by Nakamura Sensei to join Higaonna
Sensei and Kyuna Sensei for a day of
touring Niagara Falls, Canada.
Three giants of traditional Karate,
disguised under a deep cloak of humility,
kindness and mutual respect for one an-
other and for every other person they came
across. They are three happy and
relaxed people. However when we sat down
to discuss traditional Karate, they became
serious and focused on their goal of helping
people to understand and protect true tradi-
tional Karate & I hope this insight into
their thoughts will help do just that...
KYUNA SENSEI: : Six years ago, the Okinawan tra-
ditional Karate promotional association was estab-
lished. The head of this association is also the head
of the Okinawan prefecture. There are currently four
major traditional Karate groups right now in Okinawa,
however this association has helped to bring them all
closer together.
The purpose of the group itself is to protect traditional
Karate. Right now we estimate that Karate is being
practiced in 180 different countries across the globe
and that around 500,000 people are currently practic-
ing Karate. We want to bring them all to Okinawa to
learn the true Karate.
There is currently sports/competition Karate and tra-
ditional Karate being practiced in the world today. The
association is trying to establish and inform people
across the globe about traditional Karate.
Because the head of the association is the Okinawan governor, the government has come on board to help find representatives for traditional Karate and Higaonna Morio Sensei is definitely one of those. The associations focus has also turned to the construction of an Okinawan Karate hall. Construction is planned to start this year, with the hope that it will be completed in two years time. The Okinawan government has an official office set up for this project and once the hall is complete they are going to have a big festival in Okinawa to celebrate. Higaonna Sensei and I are very good friends and on this trip in particular we have had the
chance to discuss the future of traditional Okinawan Karate. Before of four main styles all
had a little ego, but now they have pushed this aside and have an open mind to work to-
gether to produce the next generation of Karate people, so true Karate will survive.
KYUNA SENSEI: Well, when something happens in Japan or any other country, like a natural or economic disaster, it is traditional cultures that save us. Traditional cultures gives people power and respect and fortitude. Also in mainland Japan there are many martial arts like Judo & Kendo and they originally came from Bushido. However Okinawan
Karate has different roots with the underlying philosophy being respect. Even if you are strong in martial arts, doesn’t matter if you are older or younger, you show everyone re-spect. So by teaching this traditional spirit of respect, traditional Karate can offer peace and harmony in each country and also between countries.
KYUNA SENSEI: When I began training, Karate was still a secret. There was no open practice, doors were always closed. After World War II Karate started to be taught to foreigners and they were also asked to start paying fees. From this point the mentality became more open and Karate became more accessible. Also after the War, Karate became more sports orientated and it started to grow bigger and bigger. That’s when we first realised we needed to develop tradi-tional Karate to make it stronger and stronger. It is really im-portant that we make sure people understand and learn about traditional Karate and its values and now little by little,
traditional Karate is getting stronger. Modern Karate is more about how it looks and pleas-ing the audience. But traditional Karate is different; we don’t care how it looks to other peo-ple. Some sports Karate-ka change the blocks slightly so it makes their gi create a noise to make it look better. Or they perform movements with a really big motion to make it look bet-ter, when traditional Karate-do is about small movements, just moving and protecting your own body – we don’t need big movements. It’s also important to practice for someone who is stronger than you. You develop the skill to
use your opponents’ power against them.
HIGAONNA SENSEI: Karate was still practiced in secret at this time and to even join a Dojo you needed someone’s reference, you couldn’t just show up. Karate instructors back then felt they were giving a dangerous weapon to students, so they wanted to be sure they could trust the people they were going to teach. The instructors felt responsible for all of their students, because if they fought outside, they may kill someone and they didn’t want this. Sometimes people with ego’s would come to training and
the instructor would send them away saying no you’re too
strong already, you don’t need Karate training. The same
would go for street fighters who would come to training,
they would be turned away and told you’re good enough
already [laughs].
Miyagi Chojun Sensei learned from Ryuko Aragaki Sensei
from when he was 12-14 years old. Because Chojun Sen-
sei was studying so hard and taking his training so serious,
Ryuko Aragaki Sensei wrote a reference letter for him to
take to Kanryo Higaonna Sensei. It is only because of this that Chojun Sensei would have been allowed to become a student of Kanryo Higaonna Sensei. Back then it was different. Karate was always practiced behind closed doors, you didn’t show
anyone anything. People would always come trying to steal your techniques.
KYUNA SENSEI: Yes, people were always
coming trying to look in on training to steal
techniques. Also people who were training for
one year, were taught differently to people who
continued on for two or three years.
HIGAONNA SENSEI: Yes, yes that right.
KYUNA SENSEI: A person who had been training for only one year was taught Kata slightly different to those who had been training for two or three or more years. They were all taught slightly different.
HIGAONNA SENSEI: That’s why in Goju-ryu all the Sensei’s Kata are slightly different.
Kyuna Sensei: Naifanchi in Shorin-ryu for ex-
ample is a three year Kata, you had to study it
for at least three years. But people who training
for three years and people who trained for ten
years had different Kata. So to determine why
a person did their Kata the way they did, you
with. To be taught a higher level, the Sensei would look at how many years of continuous training they had done and also how many hours they were training alone everyday. In the sport Karate world, you train hard because you’re hungry for something or because
you want to make money. But traditional Karate is different; you have to really love it, be-
cause you can’t make heaps of money or win anything from it, you have to love it to get bet-
ter.
SEE MORE ONLINE AT
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NEWSLETTER WEBSITE:
www.iogkf.com/newsletter
Sensei Morio Higaonna, a man who has spent a lifetime on the Dojo floor
and who has dedicated his life to the protection and distribution of Goju-ryu
Karate across the globe. The countless hours of practice, the endless
repetitions, the inconceivable amount of miles travelled and the
uncountable litres of sweat he has put his body through can not be equalled
by any other person. The
Okinawan prefecture have
recognised this effort with-
out reward and on May 8th,
2013 Higaonna Sensei was
awarded the status of a
living cultural treasure in
Okinawa by the governor.
Every drop of sweat and all
his hard work now
deservedly recognised!
Higaonna Sensei (back right) pictured during the ceremony for his award
A celebration party was also held in Higaonna Sensei’s honour. IOGKF mem-
bers from all over Japan and the world travelled to Okinawa to attend the
event. Higaonna Sensei is said to be quite humbled by his award. It is a true
testament to his character to have so many people come to show their
respect to his lifetime’s achievement. Photos from the party are shown below
What is your Opinion of Karate as a sport?
Karate-Do is not a sport.
We must be honest.
Sport is one thing and the martial arts is something completely different.
What will remain of competitors at the end of their careers, what will remain with them besides
some medals which will rust?
The experience of the competition could be a good experience for young people. I myself have par-ticipated in tournaments and competitions for many years in my youth (also because at that time there was not much choice in Italy). But this experience must be proposed with great care and atten-tion, proposed with honesty and integrity and thinking to rules that should not push the practitioner
to distort his practice in order to achieve success in a competition.
The ethical, moral and technical values expressed in the practice in the Dojo should also be reflected
in the competitive performance. We call it Shiai: a test for some technical and psychological skills
acquired through a confrontation with an opponent whom is just help for the confrontation with
oneself.
You are not competing against anyone other then yourself, against your physical and psychological limi-
tations.
On the contrary, I think most people went very far from this approach, in a totally different direction, with a total neglect not only of the technical skills and effec-tiveness of the Martial art but also of its educational and ethical aspects. Our organization, IOGKF, has no
competitive purpose.
When we dared to propose a 'competitive experience' to our youth we were very, very careful about the for-
mula we adopted.
We designed it and perfected it so that it could allow a healthy and effective opportunity to verify the psyco-physical qualities and techniques with tests that re-quire the practitioner to have a complete and non-specialistic preparation. This formula was faithful to the curriculum and educational setting of IOGKF and
the Dojo practice.
Our students, teenagers and adults, practice hard and with great enthusiasm and do not need to be moti-
vated in their training by a possibility to get a medal.
Not to mention the attitude of the world of sports ka-rate towards so-called “amateurs” or “non-agonists” who seem to be considered exclusively as “affiliations
meat”and who in the traditional school, on the
contrary,constitute the pillars of the Dojo and of the School. Paradoxically, the GrandMasters of Budo, including Higaonna Sensei, who have never been champi-
ons of the sport, would be considered “amateurs” by Karate sportspeople.
And these amateur trainees assigned to a secondary division “consoled” by Dan grades that replaces
the medal.
Otherwise, what is the sense of those pathetic exams for various black belt dan grades, in which I have unfortunately participated in sports federations, if not to provide a consolation for those who
prefer hanging their little diplomas on the walls instead of practicing for real?
Even in a purely sports world, if you want to play tennis with someone you must know how to hit the ball beyond the net. Similarly, if you come to take a swimming certificate exam and sink miserably in
the middle of the swimming pool, no instructor will ever dream of acknowledging your certificate.
Yet, this has happened in the world of sports karate with devastating effects for the reputation of Ka-
rate not only as a martial art but also as a simple sport.
Today, there seems to be a reverse tendency, given the failure of the sports approach, and illusive
teachers of the traditional Karate-Do beginning to “resurface” nearly everywhere…
However, speaking about the traditional Karate-Do, we do not, as it is commonly and conveniently interpreted, use Japanese terms or ape obsessivey the gestures that are considered “ancient” without
understanding their meaning.
The tradition consists only in passing on the spirit and the deepest meaning of the art “ishin den shin” (“from heart to heart”, as they say in the Zen), in an uninterrupted lineage of people who have been able to dedicate their lives to study and research. And it is though this passage that the art be-comes enriched with new insights by virtue of unity, of undisclosed alchemy, of any teacher-student relationship, which, if authentic, results in maturation of the student who will not be his/her Master’s
clone but who will, in turn, be able to propose a fresh interpretation to enrich the art.
Instead, we have been and still remain deluded by those who want to make things cheap so that one can reach an understanding of Budo only by taking federal courses and exams. As a result, Italy is full of masters who often have never had a true teacher and have never really stepped onto an authentic educational path guided by a demanding human relationship with a Teacher who bears a tradition. However all the while, both in the Way of Budo and in the Zen, it is exclusively through this personal
relationship, which embraces every aspect of one’s life, that the knowledge is passed on.
It is not just a matter of technique, it is the spirit that must be translated. Without it, at best, it is just a
sport.
Like many Japanese styles, Goju-Ryu also has its beginning in China, how does the
Kakie exercise correlate with other similar training methods, such as the Taijiquan Tui
Shou? Could you clarify how this training method works and what its purpose is?
It is interesting that just recently Master Higaonna’s Goju-Ryu Teachings have been introduced into
the Fuzhou Schools in Southern China, where Goju-Ryu originally is from.
I believe that it is the first time a similar thing has happened in China involving a “Japanese” Karate
style.
In one of his many visits to China in search of the origins of Goju-Ryu in the footsteps of Kanryo Hi-gaonna Sensei, Master Morio Higaonna and his students have given demonstration of our Katas. The Chinese Masters were moved and stated that the old forms that had been lost in China are still pre-
served in Okinawan Goju-Ryu...
Kakie is a fundamental exercise in Okinawan Goju-Ryu. I believe that it bears many similarities to the
TaijiquanTui Shou exercise and to the Chisao of Wing Chun.
The influence of the White Crane style is evident in this exercise.
Kakie trains sensitivity at contact with the opponent’s arms and body in order to anticipate his/her in-
tentions and to apply close-range levers, throws and impacts.
Even though this exercise is certainly fundamental, it should be, as mentioned before,integrated with
and complemented by other exercises of the Goju-Ryu system.
Scenery like nowhere else in the world, training with the best on the planet and sharing
the experience with great people from all walks of life – that was MCF 2013.
The annual Miyagi Chojun Festival was held in Niagara Falls, Canada during the first week of May inside the beautiful Crowne Plaza hotel. IOGKF Canada members under the guidance of Nakamura Sensei worked incredibly hard to create an event like no other. Special guests to this years festival were of our Higaonna Morio Sensei and his friend and colleague, Kyuna Choko Sensei, a 10
th
Dan Master in Shorin-ryu Karate.
A group of IOGKF Canada members and
some visiting country representatives from
Australia and Chile went to the
airport to meet and welcome Higaonna Sensei & Kyuna Sensei to Toronto. They were then driven by Nakamura Sensei to Niagara Falls where they took their rest before a tour of Niagara Falls the next day. Niagara Falls has two main waterfalls, the Canadian falls and the American Falls. One is very smooth and flowing, while the other is rough and crashes on the rocks below.
Higaonna Sensei commented the two falls are like Go & Ju (hard and soft).
Training began on the Thursday with
around 500 participants showing up
to learn from Higaonna Sensei. The
focus was on basic training and
sweating together and no one let this
objective down. The kiai’s echoed
through the ballroom of the Crowne
Plaza.
This energy was continued later on that night at the MCF welcome party where Sensei
Genaro did a great job as MC and put attendees through some great party games. There
was plenty of laughter and good cheer, but afterwards the focus quickly turned to sur-
viving the next 3 days of intense training.
The next morning, the mayor of Niagara
Falls came to try his luck at Goju-ryu
training during our morning basics ses-
sion. Higaonna Sensei was awarded with
a honorary pin from the Niagara Falls city
council for his efforts and the Mayor
passed an honorary black belt in our
style. Higaonna Sensei and Nakamura
Sensei did a great job at putting the visit-
ing Mayor through his paces and his visit
was very well received by all.
Training for each day then moved into group training sessions. World class instructors
travelled from all over the globe to share their knowledge at the Festival. The group
training instructors were Master Higaonna, Nakamura Sensei, Sensei Ernie Molyneux,
Sensei George Andrews, Sensei Gene Villa, Sensei Linda Marchant, Sensei Bobby
Smith. Each instructor had their own unique style and all taught a different the aspect of
training. From Kata to street and Knife fighting, no stone was left unturned.
Specialty session were also give over the course of the weekend by Kyuna Sensei (Shorin-ryu 10
th Dan), Dozono Sensei (Shotokan 8
th Dan), Sifu Hung (Chinese Martial
arts Master), Sensei Linda Marchant (who took a female only session) and Sensei Bobby Smith (who taught street self defence). All of these sessions were very well run and ex-tremely popular with all those who participated.
On the Saturday night, IOGKF Canada hosted the Sayonara Party in the same room we
had been training in. It was a beautiful dinner party and we got to see some Canadian
humour with some funny videos made at Shudokan Dojo. It was also the time to put
some nerves to rest when Higaonna Sensei announced the successful candidates from
the Black Belt grading tests held earlier in the day.
It was also the night for the IOGKF
Idol competition. Members from
each country sang and danced in
front of the large crowd (& Hi-
gaonna Sensei) to be judged by
Sensei George, Sensei Ernie and
Sensei Dozono. It was a great and
entertaining night!
On the last day of the MCF a Mas-
ters demonstration was held and
all the event instructors and guest
instructors gave performances. It
was an awe inspiring event that further proved how IOGKF is traditional Karate at it’s best. The crowd applauded loudly and students of all levels walked away feeling proud to be a part of our great federation.
Thank you to all of those who assisted Nakamura Sensei in preparing and running such
a fantastic event. Feedback from across the globe named this event as one of IOGKF
International’s best ever. The next MCF is in Tampa Bay, Florida in 2014!
The incredible video library website by Sensei Ernie Molynuex (IOGKF 8th Dan) & Sensei Roy
Flatt (IOGKF 7th Dan). Covering all aspects of the Goju-ryu syllabus, including Kata &
Bunkai - A private lesson with some of the best in the World -
Online Previews available!
Letters to the Editor is one of our newest edition to IOGKF Magazine. This section gives you,
the reader, the opportunity to respond to the articles we publish. You can have your say and
share your thoughts on anything printed. All you have to do is email your letter to the IOGKF
International Editor at: [email protected]
Be sure to include your name, grade, age, member country and the title of the article you wish
to respond too. Please check with your chief Instructor or senior Dojo instructor to gain per-
mission before responding.
We asked our Facebook group members their thoughts on an article we published in our April
2013 Edition of the International Newsletter and Magazine:
THE IMPORTANCE OF TRADITION TODAY. In this ever changing world, do you think traditional is something we need to place a greater
emphasis on in our everyday life or is it something that is dying & fading with the times?
Thanks for sharing // it really makes you to reflect on everyday life and spiritual matters.
- Sandrine Villegas (Colombia)
Great article! I have to say what a true gentleman our Higaonna Sensei is :) - Greg Foord (IOGKF England EGKA)
Brilliant article.... traditional Karate rocks!! - Avnish Bharat Mehta (India)
www.iogkf.com/newsletter -- 100% FREE to all visitors to www.iogkf.com!
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read and enjoy!
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and videos which bring you as close to being there as
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What do you have to lose? Nothing! You will Gain!
The Story of Motti Yifrach…..By Sensei Sara-Rivka Yekutiel
Motti Yifrach was a normal, healthy, active child who was born in Jerusalem, Israel in 1960. At age 11 he was stricken with an extremely rare disease that caused his bones to weaken. Then he broke his femur and spent nine months in bedridden in a cast. Substandard medical care left him with a shortened left leg and extreme scoliosis. It also left him angry, irritable and frustrated. Like many children around the world, Motti loved Kung-Fu movies. One day he saw a sign outside the home of Dan Russell, an Englishman who had come to live in Jeru-salem’s Bucharim neighborhood, right down the street from Motti. There was Japa-nese writing on the sign. It was an advertisement for a Karate class. “Karate rehabilitated me,” says Motti. It was the perfect outlet for his aggression. There were brutal workouts which included hours of basics, punishing calisthenics and aggressive fighting.
Sensei George Andrews, today an 8th dan, visited Israel in 1973 to lead a Gasshuku and made a big impression on the teenager. “He moved fast like a panther,” Motti recalls today. “Excellent Karate – and, very, very scary. I wasn’t scared of him, but I had a ton of respect for him.” Motti remembers several gasshuku with Sensei George. Once they ran 5 kilometers through the challenging desert terrain of Wadi Kelt over mountains and through rivers. Another time Motti had to plead with his parents to skip school to attend an overnight Gasshuku at the Kinneret Lake.
By 1977 Motti drifted away from karate. At 18 he studied sociology and economics at the Hebrew University and at 27 went to Betzalel Art College to study photogra-phy. Since 1995 Motti has worked at the Bilingual High School in Jerusalem where he teaches photography to Jewish and Arab students together. Six years ago Motti saw another sign with Japanese letters hanging up in his neighborhood. The words ‘Goju-Ryu’ and ‘IOGKF’ caught his eye. I still remem-ber his phone call.
I had been struggling, since moving to Israel in 1996, to develop a student base. Everyone told me that the macho Israeli cultural wouldn’t accept a woman teaching
men, so I had been teaching women-only classes with limited success. When, dur-ing the space of one month, two men approached me about teaching them I took that as an omen and hung up signs advertising a new, mixed class. Motti told me he had trained as a youth and I invited him to a class. I have to ad-mit that when I first saw that he was physically challenged I was surprised. But right from the first class Motti worked hard. I told him that he needed to tell me what moves he couldn’t do, and I would help him find a substitute move. Today, instead of kicking with one leg he punches or does an elbow strike. In kata he leaves out certain kicks and simply moves forward. Motti is very strong and can do more pull-ups than anyone else in the dojo. His arms are like clubs but when he fights he exhibits Ju at a high level with deep understanding. He is very patient and kind when working with lower belts and especially loves working with teenage boys. And when a youngster needs a little assistance with attitude adjustment, Motti’s my man.
After his first two years of training I asked Motti if he wanted to get his black belt. I realized that he was in need of motivation. I also realized that I was reticent to push him the way I push other students, so when he said he wanted that black belt, I made a vow to start pushing. I met wheelchair-bound Sensei John Marrable, Godan from New Zealand, in 2010 at the European Gasshuku in Sweden. Inspired by speaking with him and seeing his demonstration, I was even more determined to help Motti progress. I began correcting Motti more and instead of assuming that he couldn’t do certain moves I told him to try. His kata improved steadily and he began to move up the ranks. In July of 2011 he received the rank of 1st Kyu and in January 2012 we began an intensive program of preparation for his black belt test, including a lot of hojo-undo, kata, self-defense, basics and randori – in the dojo – plus homework. My other students enthusiastically worked with Motti and we were all excited about helping him achieve his goal.
On Tuesday, July 24th, 2012 Motti participated in a grueling, four-hour test at IOGKF Israel’s honbu dojo in Netanya. The temperature was close to 40 degrees Celsius with humidity hovering around 95%. With the 20 other people testing for brown belt and up moving and sweating it felt like a tropical rain forest. Basics, moving basics, one-step sparring, chi-ishi, makiwara, sandan-gi, bunkai, push-ups, sit-ups, nigiri-game, randori , bag work and then kata. Motti punched hard, gave 100% and demonstrated a high level of technical proficiency. In the middle of the test, Sensei George Andrews (who by coincidence was here in Israel to teach and vacation) showed up to watch. Motti’s kata was strong, powerful and beautiful. His fierce fighting spirit flowed through every punch, kick and block. His kime and focused tanden were impres-sive. The grading panel signed his IOGKF booklet. Sensei George presented it to him, and thunderous applause broke out in the dojo. Sensei George told us about meeting Motti so many years ago. He reminisced about his first Gasshuku, running through Wadi Kelt. “I kept looking back to see if
Motti’d given up, but he was always right behind me. He never gave up.” I thanked Motti for being my student. Without my students, I am not a teacher; my students make me what I am. What I respect most about Motti is that not only does he never quit, but he neither makes nor seeks excuses for being physi-cally challenged. ‘Everyone has something wrong with them, Sensei,’ he told me. ‘It’s just that with me, it shows.’ I then presented Motti with my own black belt. I’ve had many students reach black belt over the years, but have never done this before. It was the only way I knew to express what I felt.
Check the International Website &
Facebook group for more details!
Full Event Coverage
A look back at 40 years of Karate
Interview with Sensei Ernie Molyneux
Photos for the Gasshuku
Full Event Coverage from Okinawa
Photos from the event and social events
Part two of our interview with Higaonna Sensei
and Kyuna Sensei
A Special Edition to celebrate Higaonna Sensei’s 75th Birthday
