HIS Karate-Do

Six decades ago, beginning shortly after Hawaii became a state, three exceptional karateka were dispatched in succession to our islands to establish and nurture the growth of Shotokan Karate-Do in Hawaii.  Each was a stellar member of the Japan Karate Association which, for many years, was considered the premier karate organization in Japan and throughout the world.  Each was a graduate of Takushoku University, famous for producing some of the finest karrateka.  The first chief instructor of the KAH, Hirokazu Kanazawa, had won the inaugural All-JKA championship in kumite.  The man who became the second chief instructor of the KAH had been captain of the Takushoku University karate team.  The third KAH chief instructor, Tetsuhiko Asai, was a former All-JKA champion in both kata and kumite.  Each young karateka would go on to devote the rest of his life to practicing and sharing the art of Karate-Do with others.  Each would reach the very highest of dan rankings, lead large karate organizations of their own, and achieve great notoriety throughout the karate world.  This, despite the fact that none could even speak much English upon landing on our beautiful – though very foreign shores. Sadly, on Dec 8, Master Hirokazu [...]

An interesting aspect to the transition of Japanese martial arts into world-wide activities has been the challenge of transmitting the various techniques and philosophies through the barrier of different languages.  I’ve mentioned before, that among the early American karateka who studied under the first Japanese sensei’s, there were some who were fluent in Japanese.  This presented a distinct advantage in being able to understand what the sensei was trying to impart, beyond just the basics.  The first Japanese instructors, having a limited command of the English language, often had to rely on  exhortations like “Fastah!”, “Deepah stancu!”, “Moru Hipu!”, and…well, you get the idea.  At least, if the student had some fluency in the Japanese language, the sensei could comfortably explain the techniques in more detail and since a number of the early students were kibei (Japanese Americans who had been sent to Japan as children to truly learn the language and culture), even deeper, more nuanced explanations were possible.  Yes, language could be a real challenge.  In spite of this, lessons will usually involve a sensei demonstrating skillful technique which students strive to emulate over many thousands of repetitions.  Practice, practice, practice is always the best teacher. Recently, I [...]

Have you ever wondered, what the odds are that a new white belt will ever make it to black belt? The most common answer that I’ve heard was, “Hmm, maybe 1 percent?” Of course, it varies, depending upon the karate style and dojo, but this agrees with my own personal opinion of one’s chances of making shodan. Curious, I tried googling the internet in search of any scientific study regarding this phenomenon, haha (I couldn’t find one). However, I did come across various quora where veteran karateka would share their estimates of the odds, and their most common guess was also in the 1-2 percent range. Think about it, back when you were a white belt, how many of your fellow new beginners lasted long enough to take the blue belt exam? Maybe half? That means of every 100 new beginners, perhaps 50 might make it to blue belt. Then, a similar winnowing phenomenon occurs at each higher rank level. Of the 50 blue belts, perhaps 25 make it to the green levels, then maybe 10-12 to the purple levels, at by sankyu (lowest brown) it’s down to a half-dozen. And at the more difficult brown belt levels, more attrition [...]