HIS Karate-Do

“Hey! Adrienne!”  Catchy title and song, but today’s note is probably not about what you’re thinking it’s about, haha.  I did want to expound a little on developing one’s eye, and the tiger mon is an iconic one that is universally recognized as a symbol of the Shotokan style of Karate-Do, so the title is still fitting.  One of Master Funakoshi’s early supporters in spreading the Okinawan art in Japan was a famous artist, Hoan Kosugi.  He encouraged the Founder to write a book on Karate-Do and promised to design an appropriate cover for the book. The tiger symbol was the result.  Why a tiger?  I’ve heard several different stories: one was that the Founder used to walk up a winding mountain trail on Mount Torao, so called due to its resemblance to an undulating tiger tail; another was that the book was to be a master text for Karate-Do, therefore, a Tora No Maki and a clever pun on the word Tora.  In any case, this enduring image has represented our art across the globe, from its earliest days. Speaking of art, there is a college degree that not too many people possess.  Did you ever hear of a [...]

This past Saturday, we had a really great potluck immediately following training.  It was an informal little gathering such as we haven’t had in years, and was due to the planning and hard work of Sensei Trish and Roxanne.  Each of the five sensei’s were able to attend, along with Sempai’s Dave, Kevin and Robert (Sempai James and Helen had a conflicting engagement). Predictably, the black belts all congregated on one end of the long tables while the rest of the group filled in the other end.  If we were on a ship, we’d probably have tilted one way and capsized :0…haha.  The good food and small talk made for a very relaxing and enjoyable time and without their gi’s and belts, the senior members actually looked like the regular folk that they are.  The sunny, cool weather and nice ambiance of the new enclosed area at the center combined for a perfect setting. The anagram game and like-a-charade game (drawing pictures or using play-doh) to figure out the underlying karate terms proved to be difficult, fun, and “untilted” the ship by mixing all of our club members together.  Craftily designed by our potluck planners, the activities served to bring [...]

In the last few years of his life, my dad would often lean back and exclaim, “Time waits for no man…”  Yes, Dad was the original man of deep (and trite) thoughts.  By then, in his late eighties, his eyes closed, I’m sure he could see himself when he was young, muscular, and as he would describe himself, “athletically inclined”.  Dad was also an honest, if not too humble, man. Last Monday night, our old sensei, Shihan Kenneth Funakoshi held a rare seminar in Hawaii.  Sensei’s Wayne, Peter, Trisha and myself all attended (Sempai Kevin too).  They all trained – I trained in vicarious fashion sitting in a comfortable chair.  I apologized to Shihan in advance, and let him know that I would have loved joining in the line but didn’t want to risk re-injuring my achilles tendon. Needless to say, it was nice to see him, feel his charisma, hear his booming commands, and feel like it was 1974 in the old Pucks Alley dojo. Shihan is the same age as Sempai James, they’ll be 79 years old this year.  Although he has aged and his legs seemed rather stiff, his great strength and confidence were still evident in [...]