Greetings to all of our readers and welcome back to school, work and the Fall season in general. Over the Labor Day weekend I traveled back to my hometown of Toronto, Canada to visit friends and family. When I arrived I made a point of visiting my former teacher Kancho Takemasa Okuyama. We had spoken in sometime and I wanted to reconnect with him as I do not get the opportunity to travel back to Canada very often.
In an article I wrote last month about How To Choose a Karate School, you will note I did a lot research and visiting karate schools in Toronto in the 1990's before I found him, and consider myself very fortunate to have done so.
Visiting him was a pleasure and going back to my old dojo brought back a lot of fond memories. It also reminded me of what I admire about him most, which I would like to share with you today on the anniversary of the attacks of September 11th.
In an article I wrote last month about How To Choose a Karate School, you will note I did a lot research and visiting karate schools in Toronto in the 1990's before I found him, and consider myself very fortunate to have done so.
Visiting him was a pleasure and going back to my old dojo brought back a lot of fond memories. It also reminded me of what I admire about him most, which I would like to share with you today on the anniversary of the attacks of September 11th.
First a little background about him. Kancho Takemasa Okuyama (born 1944) is
the head of the International Karate Association of Canada. He began to train in Japan at the age of 7. In line with the
family tradition, he practiced sumo and judo. At the aged of 13 he started to learn karate from master
Kinjo from Okinawa.
In 1960, he started to study at the now famous Takushoku University in Japan. He studied political
science and foreign trade, regularly training karate with masters
Tabata, Hamanaka, Ozawa and Tsuyama.
In
1966, he arrived in the USA to continue his studies and trained for three years
under the instruction of master Takayuki
Kubota. In
1970, he moved to Canada where
he is influential person in the Gosoku-ryu and Shotokan
karate environment. In the same year he placed third in kumite at 5th
Annual All-Stars Tournament. He established IKA Canada Kubota Cup in 1971. In
1992, Takayuki Kubota awarded him with the Kancho
title and 8 dan degree in karate. In 1997, he published a book
called Ultimate Karate which demonstrates karate techniques for the serious
student, showing intricate applications of stances and hand techniques beyond
the Heian katas and Tekki Shodan.
Kancho received the Key to the City of Cali, Columbia from
Mayor Ricardo Cobo, and special awards from the City of Be'er Sheva, Israel
from Mayor Kakuv for peace work between Israel and Palestine. He has also trained law enforcement personnel around
the world including: Columbian Military & Special Forces Police, Canadian
Military Police, Moscow Police, Israeli Military, Ecuador Police. He is also President of
Hachi-O-Kai World Budo Federation and an artist who occupies himself with traditional painting
and playing the Japanese flute.
Aside from being an accomplished and incredibly skilled lifelong martial artist, dedicated to preserving the art and teaching many students along the way, what has always impressed me about him is who he is as a person. In my opinion he embodies the true spirit of the martial arts. Always humble, enthusiastic in his love for karate, steadfast in his teaching through the perfection of technique and welcoming to everyone to comes through the door. Kancho is also a gifted painter. Enter his dojo and you will find the walls are covered with his artwork. He is someone who can see the balance, beauty and harmony of all things in life, the yin and yang if you will. The power of karate with the softness of painting. In another article I wrote about What Do Ancient Samurai Have To Do With Karate Today, I discuss the idea of the duality of violence and benevolence in ancient samurai. Kancho is a modern day samurai.
Most importantly, he teaches a way of connecting karate with the past, present and the future. Karate is energy, and that energy lives on through those that have come before us and those who will train after us. I have included a short essay from Kancho below which explains it in his own words.
One final thought. Today is the anniversary of the attacks of September 11th. That horrific day changed the world as we know it and will forever live in the collective consciousness of the world. We now live in a changed post 9/11 world. Bombarded with images from that day, the war on terror and a seemingly endless pretext for future conflict. Yet karate can act as a counterweight for the violence and conflict we experience in the world today. On the surface, karate appears to be a fighting sport or a violent martial art. In reality it is much more than what you see. Karate is about an inward journey of self-discovery. Karate is about connecting with the world around us. Karate is about the never ending pursuit of becoming a better person and self-realization. Karate is about achieving an inner peace. A peace that can translate outward if you choose to make that your goal. Kancho has made that his goal, and that will always be his greatest accomplishment in my mind.
Karate-Do Training: The 8 Most Important Aspects of Karate-Do: Kancho Okuyama
Most importantly, he teaches a way of connecting karate with the past, present and the future. Karate is energy, and that energy lives on through those that have come before us and those who will train after us. I have included a short essay from Kancho below which explains it in his own words.
One final thought. Today is the anniversary of the attacks of September 11th. That horrific day changed the world as we know it and will forever live in the collective consciousness of the world. We now live in a changed post 9/11 world. Bombarded with images from that day, the war on terror and a seemingly endless pretext for future conflict. Yet karate can act as a counterweight for the violence and conflict we experience in the world today. On the surface, karate appears to be a fighting sport or a violent martial art. In reality it is much more than what you see. Karate is about an inward journey of self-discovery. Karate is about connecting with the world around us. Karate is about the never ending pursuit of becoming a better person and self-realization. Karate is about achieving an inner peace. A peace that can translate outward if you choose to make that your goal. Kancho has made that his goal, and that will always be his greatest accomplishment in my mind.
Karate-Do Training: The 8 Most Important Aspects of Karate-Do: Kancho Okuyama
1. Kime (ultimate focus and movement), foresight, stillness, determination and manners. Kime is a combination of the past, present and future.
2. Turning that which is incomprehensible into comprehensible and turning what is is comprehensible into incomprehensible.
3. Turning unconscious movement into conscious movement, and conscious movement into unconscious movement.
4. Turning the intangible into something tangible, and something tangible into intangible (Especially the universal power of gravity and the ability to push aside one's pain and feel others' pain.)
5. Turning that which is invisible into what is visible, and visible into something that is invisible (Invisible things can refer to the past and the future while visible things can refer to the present. Kata or any actions, are invisible until someone performs them.)
6. Turning silence into sound and sound into silence. (Especially being able to hear and be aware of the universal sound: true music.)
7. True reality exists between unreality and reality. (Myo wa kyo jitsu no kan ni ari). It also exists between your inner universe and your outer universe.
8. As life is like the spirit of water, take everything that has happened to you or will happen to you and turn it into something positive. Believing in life is very important. Like water changing into rain, which makes rivers, lakes, oceans, and many other things, yet always returns to it's pure state.
Karate-Do allows you to like in the past, the present and the future all in one instant. The past spirits of the Masters who have done Karate-Do before you live through your movements. Kime allows you to feel as if time has stopped and to live in that moment. Training also affects the future, as your current training will somehow be passed on to those who are not born yet.
In this moment, somewhere in the world, there is someone training Karate-Do- just like somewhere in the world the sun is rising or the sun is setting, for every moment of your life, you are practicing Martial Arts. When you are sleeping (a good sleep), when you are eating (consciously eating good food) and most importantly; breathing, your training is within you as you are living.
Enjoy your life, it makes you strong
Kancho Takemasa Okuyama
Since 1988, Way Of Life Shotokan Karate has been committed to teaching traditional karate and values for a modern world. Under the leadership of Norman Smith Sensei, Way Of Life Shotokan Karate instructs hundreds of students at our various locations from beginner to advanced levels of all ages that come from across the New York City metro area. Our unique way of combining martial arts training, etiquette and philosophy with the modern concepts of fitness, self-defense and competition is unparalleled. We ensure your training is vigorous, while maintaining a safe and fun learning environment that encourages students to reach their fullest potential.
Way Of Life Shotokan Karate Do martial arts school is now offically open at 501 East Boston Post Road, Mamaroneck NY, 10543 serving the local Westchester County communities of New Rochelle, Larchmont, Mamaroneck, Harrison, Rye, Port Chester, Mount Vernon, Scarsdale, White Plains and Yonkers as well as the Bronx and NYC metro area.
