HIS Karate-Do

While I’m sitting here at home, waiting for a visit by a someone to service our refrigerator, thought I’d send out a short story about a couple of brand names that one finds on certain karate uniforms (gi’s) and belts.  No, don’t rush to look at the brand name on your karate stuff, haha.  Items from these brands typically cost more and are favored by many black belt karateka. The brand name that us old-timers are familiar with is Tokaido.  It was the brand that all of our sensei’s and sempai’s bought, so naturally, we made sure to buy this brand when we started training – despite the hefty price tag.  I guess that the creation of the Japan Karate Association (JKA) in 1949, coupled with the fact that one of its black belt members, Sugiura Motokuni established the Tokaido Company in 1958, resulted in each brand becoming closely associated with the other.  And, as the JKA became known as the premier karate organization world-wide, the Tokaido brand became equally famous for its quality – worn by hundreds of thousands of serious karateka.  Cost-wise, a Tokaido Shikon middle-weight uniform will run you about $229 plus shipping…about the cost of a suit [...]

Well, we’ve just held our first exams since last July and it’s a good time to reflect on HIS Karate Foundation’s philosophy regarding examinations and promotions.  Let me begin by describing what it is NOT:  It’s not about getting promoted so that you can have a belt of a different color.  It’s not about keeping up with your peers or gaining a higher rank above your kohai’s.  It’s not about competing and showing than you’re better than others in the dojo.  It’s not about “cruising in regular class” and saving one’s best effort only for exam time (one should always put in 100% effort).  It’s not about receiving a really nice certificate that you can frame and hang on your wall to impress others (although, these are very nice indeed).  And it’s certainly not an additional source of revenue for our dojo – we’re lucky to break even, haha. These are some of the negative things that can develop in dojos where exams are routinely held every few months with the aforementioned factors in play.  Understandably, most students naturally focus on any upcoming exam in anticipation of reaching higher rank.  Over the years, I sometimes see students who place less than their best effort in class and [...]

Haha, I guess that it’s around now that we stop saying “Happy New Year” when we someone for the first time in 2018.  Five days in, though, the year is still very new.  I have such great memories of the new year – and several relate to karate. Waaay back, nearly 50 years ago, it was the cusp between the 1960’s and 1970’s.  I was a young freshman at the University of Hawaii, enjoying the holiday season and my first semester break from classes.  One fateful night, I called an old friend and classmate to wish him a Happy New Year.  He invited me to come over and talk story.  I drove over to his parents’ Pearl City home (hadn’t seen him in a year or two, as we went to different high schools) to wish him and his family Happy New Year as the world said goodbye to the 1960’s.  Years earlier, we trained in Aikido together but had lost touch with each other and the dojo by 1969.  While waiting for him in the living room, I noticed that there were several karate trophies on the stereo – with his name on them.  He had started training in Shotokan Karate and [...]