Well, we (Trish, Lynne and I) just got back from an enjoyable 5 days in….Vegas. My old Sensei, better known today by his students world-wide, as Shihan Funakoshi, was hosting his eighth world karate tournament in the city. This was to be his last tournament there, possibly the last one in the US . Next year, it’ll be held in England , and since his dojos are primarily located in Europe , likely to be on that continent from this time onward. Hence, it was probably our best and last chance to attend, not so much for the tournament, but to have the opportunity to train with Shihan.
Of course, throughout the seventies and eighties, I had been able to train with Shihan many hundreds of times, but Trisha could only vaguely remember being his little white/blue belt student when she was six years old. So this was going to be a possibly last time for me to train with my old sensei and a first time for Trish to train in his advanced class as a black belt. It was a lot of fun, and I realized two things: 1) That much of what I share with our brown/black belts in jyu-kumite kihon is based upon what he once drilled into me, and 2) The several new things (for me) that he taught at the seminar, I had actually figured out over the ensuing decades. Shihan is a brilliant Shotokan expert with the awesome charisima that I remembered so well from my years as his student. I was able to reaffirm how much I owe to his past tutelage and also realize that much of what I now learn on my own, whether from my own training or from the teaching process, I also owe, indirectly to his past guidance. It was a great experience for both Trish and I. Although we had lined up in the back, Shihan directed Trish and I to the front row so that we could better hear and understand what he and his son, Sensei Kyle (Sixth Dan) had to share. Fortunately, the seminar consisted primarily of techniques that both Trisha and I were very familiar with (whew!, it could have been embarrassing if we were struggling like many of the younger brown belts and other sensei’s from Miss, Calif, NY, etc; who had never done this type of kihon).
We got to “talk story” with Shihan (10th Dan), Kyle, and his other son, Sensei Kevin (7th Dan), part of a family that has devoted their entire lives and energies to promulgating the art of Shotokan Karate-Do. It was a reunion, alright…I first met Kevin when he was around 10 years old (he’s now 45!) and Kyle actually used to train with us as a 13 year old junior black belt (he’s now 33).
L-R; Sensei Kevin, Sensei Kyle, Sensei Trish, Shihan Kenneth, and me
In the photo above, Mrs. Nakamoto was actually able to round up the busy family for a few minutes and a group photo just prior to the seminar. Shihan and his two sons had recently returned from attending the funeral services in Japan for Shihan Asai, who also greatly influenced both Trish and myself.
On that somber note, it was a great reminder to me, to relish every moment we have in the dojo and in life (captured by our memories or the occasional photo), and be truly thankful to Him and those He uses to help us along the Way.