I often mention how fortunate we all are these days, as we can access all kinds of videos with regards to Karate-Do on Youtube. Recently, I was reading an article on the legendary teacher, Asai Sensei, which then linked me to a video of him demonstrating some of his amazing techniques and drills. Anyways, while perusing Youtube, I happened upon a video of a half hour interview from 1986 with our old teacher, Kenneth Funakoshi, recorded shortly before he moved to the mainland. Of course, I had seen this interview before and if you have good eyes, you can even find me somewhere in several of the short clips interspersed in the interview (no glasses and much longer hair back then 🙂 . However, since my own personal VHS copies of the 10 Tape series had actually disintegrated many years ago, I believe that this was the first time I’d seen the interview in perhaps 25 years. Oh, the magic of the internet! Here is the video: Instead of reviewing a boring lecture on technique or kata, it’s very easy to hear him just talking story at the beach – wearing his karate gi 🙂 Sensei was still pretty young [...]

The practice of Karate-Do is pretty much limited to one appropriate time and place – at the Dojo. I’ve always joked that if you ever performed kihon on a busy street, people would probably stare and then make a big detour around you, haha. Personally, I rarely ever show my techniques, though I’m known to unconsciously move my free hand in and out of a tate-shuto-uke while on the phone or my hips may sometimes start rotating or tilting while I’m standing and waiting somewhere. This is a bad habit, like your uncle or grandpa, practicing with an imaginary putter and golf ball while in the living room. I do try to control this, as we all know that the practice of the art has its appropriate time and place. Over the years, however, I can recall four times where I witnessed someone performing karate movements (Shotokan, no less) in the most unexpected places. The first time was shortly after I joined the KAH some 45 years ago. Early one morning, I was taking the long walk to class from the UH Quarry parking lot. Suddenly, The corner of my eye detected some vague distant movement, which caught my attention. [...]

Recently, at my son’s home, our evening repast (yes, I could have written evening meal, but repast goes better with reflections 🙂 consisted of some delicious old-style fare (beef stew and laulau) from the venerable Highway Inn in nearby Waipahu.  you all know the place, been there for nearly 70 years, serving up local food. As it often does, my thoughts drifted to….karate.  What!?!  Eating great local style food should start one reminiscing about the good old food from the good old days or something like that, right?  Well, in my usual roundabout way, I’ll explain how I ended up thinking about karate-do. I believe that I’ve mentioned that Sensei Wayne, Sensei Peter and myself were all members of the KAH Special Training group.  In addition, we were also members of the University of Hawaii Karate Kai.  The training was rather severe there, and the large group of young college students that would join at the beginning of each semester would rapidly dwindle to a few, willing to endure the rigorous classes.  Fast forward 45 years, and the club and the little building where we met and trained together, are both long gone. Sensei Wayne, Sensei Peter and myself are [...]