I was talking with my dad recently (I take dad out for lunch once a week) about how only he, my uncle and aunt, remain from his generation of relatives that I grew up with. Of course, it’s a natural thing, and no one lives forever…however, as the members of a particular generation dwindle off to a precious few (dad will be 86 in January) of our kupuna, it becomes more evident that a special generation is leaving us by ones and twos. Dad and others who are 80+, belong to what Tom Brokaw called, “The Greatest Generation”, folks who had lived through the Depression, fought in World War II, helped fuel the economic/political/military giant that America was in the 1950’s and 1960’s, ushered in the Space Age, the Age of Television, and the Age of Computers, and so on. Most of us alive today, belong to the Baby Boomer generation, or possibly the Gen-Xer’s. We have inherited all the good they accomplished, mixed in with some of the not-so-good. My dad said that within a few more years, they’ll all be gone and, with them, I suppose, the passing of an age.

In that light, I was a little surprised to read of the recent passing of one of JKA Shotokan’s living legends,

Master Hidetaka Nishiyama. Master Nishiyama was one of Shotokan’s earliest pioneers. He was a senior to many of the instructors who spread karate to the world in the 1960’s, and in fact, helped establish the JKA Instructor’s Course. One of the earliest and most influential books on karate was written by Master Nishiyama back in the early 1960’s (Karate – The Art of the Empty Hand). It is still in print. It was also, coincidentally, my first real exposure to the ideals and concepts of karate, back in the 1960’s, when I was still practicing Aikido. My next door neighbor, Mr. Furuichi, had an old hardback copy of Nishiyama’s book and gave it to me, as he no longer practiced martial arts and knew that I did. I found it an interesting read and pored over the many excellent photos contained within the book, never realizing that some years later, I would be begin practicing and teaching the art for so many decades. So I would have to admit that through his writings, Master Nishiyama had an indirect impact upon my future karate training.

As it turns out, in the mid-1970’s, I was assigned to an Air Force base in southern California and as a young shodan, was helping teach karate for a local Shotokan instructor who had several dojos in the area. He was closely aligned under Master Nishiyama, whose main dojo was located in Los Angeles, 150 miles away. Master Nishiyama would make the long drive up the California coast several times a year to visit and teach in various of the dojos. So I was very fortunate to train under him a number of times during those years. It’s ironic, but I remember thinking that he seemed to be in very good shape for someone of his “advanced” age (at the time, he was around 50 years old, seven years younger than I am today). One of my fellow officers at the base was also from Hawaii and an expert in both Aikido and Karate-do. His karate training was directly under Master Nishiyama at the LA dojo and he received his shodan from Master Nishiyama many years earlier. Interestingly, a dojo-mate was the well-known actor John Saxon (an ikkyu) who, some years later, went on to start in the kung fu classic, “Enter the Dragon”…he played Mr. Roper in the film and shared top billing with Bruce Lee. My friend and I often worked out together during our free time. My primary instructor, Kenneth Funakoshi, had also spent much time training under Master Nishiyama back in the 1960’s. So the man had some direct and indirect input into the karate that I have learned over the years.

Master Nishiyama was not liked by quite a few folks in karate, mostly because of his stubborn beliefs and actions in the political side of karate in America. However, I think few doubted his devotion to the art. He was one of the original Shotokan pioneers who brought the art to the United States. Imagine devoting one’s entire life to the practice and teaching of karate (full-time), being one of the first to venture to a foreign country, and living there for the rest of your life. He was around 80 years old and had lived and taught in the U.S. since around 1960. Those of us who come afterwards, owe quite a bit of what we enjoy today, due in some part, to his tireless efforts. Within the next decade or two, the first generation of great JKA masters will all have trained or taught in their respective dojos for the last time. Hopefully, the good things they did and taught will be remembered and passed on.