HIS Karate-Do

Well, I recently returned from a really nice time in….Vegas. Yes, old Vegas, the “ninth island”, favorite destination of local folks, especially the older folks using Vacations Hawaii. Except, I didn’t use Vacations Hawaii or stay “downtown” or go primarily for the gambling. Actually, I went to accompany my son…honest! He was there for a traffic engineering software seminar and since his wife couldn’t go, for just $700, I was able to go along. It was really great…terrific accommodations at Caesars with a front row view of the Bellagio, Paris, and Planet Hollywood from our room. I spent most of my days (Matt was at the seminar most days) walking and exploring the sights on the Strip. Evenings, we ate dinner and talked, smoked cigars and talked, and I was able to finish reading two books during the trip. I had a lot of time for reflection during the week, and a lot of time to catch up talking with Matt. Looking back, I remember the first time I ever saw my son, a tiny helpless baby who brought home the miracle of life that God has implanted in each of us. Lynne and I felt such a great sense [...]

When I was training in Aikido, our head instructor, Sensei “Koa” Kimura was an older (actually, only in his mid-fifties) local Japanese man. He was solidly built, with thick muscular wrists and forearms…this was apparent to me, a frequent “attacker” who had to grab his wrist or arm or gi before getting slammed into the mat. My dad told me that Kimura Sensei worked in a car repair shop as a “body and fender man”, which explained the strength of his upper body and arms. His primary teaching method was to demonstrate technique by throwing or taking down an uke and have us copy him (typical Japanese methodology). His explanations/exhortations were pretty much limited to: “Yoop! Yoop!” (his form of kiai), “Shoulders down!”, and “Focus on One Point.” When we did the technique with some semblance of correctness, he’d exhort in rapid fire fashion, ” You see! You see! You see!” If we did it wrong, he’d say, “Chikara…No good!”. Chikara, of course, means bodily strength and in Aikido, we were trying to develop technique and reliance on mysterious Ki force versus using physical power. Ironically, on one of his frequent trips to the islands back in the 1960’s, I [...]

Again, just wanted to really thank Sensei Trish and Sempai Donna (also Sempai Wes!) for organizing and being the emcees of such a terrific Christmas celebration for the karate ministry members and their families. I actually think it was even more fun than last year, because there was more room for us to make fools of ourselves. Seriously, when I told the girls they didn’t have to go through so much effort…they said that they just wanted to bless everyone in the ministry, which they did! I think the fun, the food, the games, the conversation, and just the social interaction amongst everyone is so invaluable. Our members make up an unusually nice group of folks and when we’re busy training, we’re often separated into different groups by belt, skills, knowledge and age. Everyone kind of trains in their own “lane”. It’s such a great opportunity for these barriers to be broken down, and to get to know each other a little better. When I was a young teen training in Aikido back in the early 1960’s, even though I enjoyed the classes, some of the memories that stand out most to me are from the annual parties that the [...]