SPECIAL DUAL-COVER MEMORIAL ISSUE

Transcription

Martial Arts Grandmasters International TM
SPECIAL DUAL-COVER MEMORIAL ISSUE
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OFFICIAL KARATE Fall 2012
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CONTENTS
fall 2012
8 I The Greatest Karate Fighter Ever
40 I Cyberspace Comments
Should Children be Allowed to Make Black Belt?
12 I One More Round
44 I The Self-Defense Series
TM
The Passing of the Champ, Joe Lewis
TM
TM
GM Jim McMurray on Knife Defense
Joe Corley reflects on Joe Lewis
16 I An Intangible Cultural Asset
46 I Jim Mather’s Karate Life
22 I What is a “Real” Black Belt?
48 I Nutritional Self Defense
Dr. Craig Rubenstein on the Dangers of Anti-
Honoring Soke Takayoshi Nagamine and his legacy.
Part Two of Hanshi Dan Tosh’s article on
the black belt.
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Infalmmatory Drugs (NSAIDs)
50 I Martial Marketplace
TM
TM
New.
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28 I Wisdom from a Grandmaster
Who Writes our Martial Arts History?
TM
27 I Karate Kids Korner
Dr. Andrew Linick tells you how to get great PR.
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Helping Your Brain with Pushups?
30 I MAGI® Benefits Expanding
TM
Why you should be a member of MAGI®.
32 I Favorite Fighting Techniques from
the Masters
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TM
Fighting techniques from William Shelton.
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34 I Canadian Connection
TM
New
35 I American Samurai
TM
Gary Lee on the Bokken Master
36 I Kung Fu Korner
Sifu Karen Schlachter on meditation
TM
38 I Real Life
Ted Gambordella recounts the story of a
TM
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MMA champion who had the courage to
stand up in Real Life!
Be sure to “Like” us at
www.Facebook.com/OfficialKarateMag
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fall 2012
THE VOICE OF THE MARTIAL ARTS SINCE 1968
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EDITORIAL
new
From
I
received
Editor and Publisher: Andrew S. Linick, Ph.D.
Managing Editor and Creative Director: Keith D. Yates
Editorial Consultant: David Weiss
Contributors: Cezar Borkowski, Joe Corley, William
Shelton, Emil Farkas, Ted Gambordella, Gary
Lee, Terry Maccarrone, Craig Rubenstein, Karen
Schlachter, Dan Tosh.
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Joe Lewis
Profile of a Champion™
The Greatest
Karate fighter ever
The Passing of a True Legend
A
lmost everyone involved in the sport of karate has acknowledged Joe Lewis as the greatest karate fighter to ever step into
a ring. He won the grand championship at one time or other
at practically every major point-karate competition in the 1960s and he
was considered the first national champion in the sport of kickboxing,
later also called full-contact karate. One of the first super-stars of karate
he appeared on the covers of all the major martial arts publications,
including, of course, Official Karate, numerous times.
Joseph Henry (Joe) Lewis was born on March 7, 1944, in Knightdale, North Carolina. He was the fourth of five brothers and his father
supposedly moved the family to a farm because the five of them were
so wild (Joe was 10). He joined the United States Marine Corps in 1962.
He became one of the first U.S. Marines deployed to Vietnam with the
Eight Marine Brigade. He was later stationed in Okinawa and began
studying Shorin-ryu Karate with Eizo Shimabukuro, John Korab, Chinsaku Kinjo and Seiyu Oyata. In spite of the fact that Americans were
viewed with suspicion by many Asian karate instructors he won their
respect and earned his black belt in just seven months. He became one
of the first to teach Asian martial arts techniques to the U.S. military.
He returned to the states and began a winning tournament career that
would be unsurpassed. In fact he won his first black belt grand championship at Jhoon Rhee’s 1966 U.S. Nationals in Washington D.C. after
only 22 months of karate training. His wins included Ed Parker’s International Karate Championships and Joe Corley’s Battle of Atlanta.
But perhaps his real impact was felt in the world of kickboxing, the precursor to today’s mixed martial arts craze. In the late 1960s
Lewis often trained with Jeet Kune Do founder Bruce Lee and they
discussed the effectiveness of full-contact training as opposed to the
popular point-karate competitions. In 1968 Jim Harrison of Kansas City
hosted the first “World Professional Karate Championships.” Lewis
beat well-known fighters David Moon and Fred Wren to become the
tournament’s first champion. Lewis also won the first kickboxing, “to
the knockout,” contest in January of 1970 by beating Greg Baines in Los
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Angeles. Later that year he defended his U.S.
Kickboxing Association title by knocking out
“Big Ed” Daniel in the second round in Dallas.
He went on to defeat seven more contenders,
all with knockouts earning a 10-0 record in the
USKA with with 10 knockouts.
In 1974, promoter Mike Anderson introduced the PKA with what was called “fullcontact” karate. In front of a national TV audience on ABC’s Wide World of Sports, Joe Lewis
became the first national heavyweight champion
of the PKA. The other winners of that event were
Jeff Smith (light heavy) and Bill Wallace (middleweight). Lewis, Smith and Wallace would
become the most recognized “faces” of sport
karate. Lewis, in fact, was the first karate fighter
to appear in both The Ring magazine and in Sports
Illustrated.
Lewis’s impressive physique and good
looks helped him land acting roles in the 1978
film, Jaguar Lives and in 1981’s Force Five. He
turned down a role in Bruce Lee’s movie Way of
Dragon, which eventually went to Chuck Norris.
Although he never made it big in Hollywood he
did become a popular private-instructor with
the well-healed of Southern California and he
honed his teaching skills eventually becoming
a storehouse of intricate fighting strategies and
techniques. His seminar schedule took him all
over the world as he trained tens of thousands of
karate fighters, boxers and mixed martial artists.
Lewis was inducted into practically every
contined
As a U.S. Marine
With Bruce Lee
Against Chuck Norris
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above: Against Greg Baines in 1970
above: Against Allen Steen in 1966
above & below: Against Bill Wallace
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Hall of Fame and named “Man of the
Year,” “Fighter of the Year,” etc. by every
major martial arts publication. He won
numerous civic awards for his efforts in
crime prevention and self-defense and
his books and videos are viewed all over
the planet.
In a 2004 interview, Chuck Norris
said, “In my mind, Joe was the greatest
fighter the tournament scene has ever
had. And he is the greatest to this day, as
far as I’m concerned.”
Radford University professor Jerry
Beasley, a martial arts historian and student of Lewis said, “He was the missing
link. When martial arts were first brought
here there was always an Asian instructor
in charge. Americans were taught they
could never be as good. Joe Lewis came
along and beat them in competition. He’s
the guy Americans looked to and said, ‘If
Joe can do it, we can too!’”
In July 2011, he was diagnosed
with a malignant brain tumor. Doctors
gave him only weeks to live. After a
valiant struggle the champ passed away
one year and forty-five days later, on the
morning of August 31, 2012. He was 68
years old. He is survived by his son, J.
Cameron, his daughter Kristina, and his
former wife, Kimberly. Joe Lewis was
truly one of the most respected karate
men in the world and his legacy will live
on for generations to come.
above: With Bruce Lee & Ed Parker
above: Aaron Banks raises Lewis’s glove in victory
with referee Peter Urban looking on.
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One More Round
One Warrior Down
I
GM Joe Corley
write this column with part of my psyche
exploded for now. I will get it back. It will not
be easy for me.
Having just returned from the funeral and
memorial service week-end for our
great warrior / pioneer Joe Lewis,
I have wept, and I have seen the
toughest men on this planet weep.
We cried for the loss of a
man who was bigger than life and
who meant so much to the lives we
have chosen. His intensity was without equal, and
it connected with other men in a truly unique way
I have yet to fully understand.
My dad, who taught me to box and play
baseball, died when I was 10—lung cancer.
The father of my professional PKA life has
died from brain cancer. My mind searches for
meaning, divine dots to connect. So many things
scrambling my conscious mind….so many psychic
explorations.
In the past 3 years I have come to believe
that our lives are parts of a BIG PLAN—a PLAN
that has many options. What many see routinely
as coincidence, I have been directed by my most
trusted mentors to experience as messages and
clues in the BIG PLAN. These BIG PLANS are the
coalescence of the positive energy of one or more
of us who believe fervently in the outcome of a
worthy dream. Those familiar Rhonda Byrne’s
THE SECRET and who subscribe to the Joel
Osteen philosophy that our creator seeks success
for all of us will understand this belief.
Consider but one of the clues:
Joe Lewis is laid to rest on Saturday,
September 8. On the same day that we laid Joe
Lewis to rest on the East Coast, veteran star Rick
“the Jet” Roufus and new heavyweight star from
the Dale Cook camp, Randy “Boom Boom” Blake,
fought in the very same building on the West
Coast where Joe Lewis, Jeff Smith and Bill Wallace
were crowned as the original world champions,
just 6 days shy of 38 years ago. Roufus (46) was
but 8 years old when they won their titles; Boom
Boom, of course, was not yet born.
I sent Rick Roufus and Dale
Cook / Randy Blake notes during
the day to let them know they
had been passed on this day the
virtual baton to carry our dream
forward. The Jet and Boom Boom
both won their K-I fights on this night, utilizing
the kind of smart techniques their real martial arts
/ kickboxing champion predecessors and pioneers
had used.
I knew it was their day. Not an ending.
A New Beginning.
It all ties back to Joe Lewis. My friend
Mitchell Bobrow put it in interesting perspective
at the service. “Think about how many things
Lewis affected—the perception of the first Battle
of Atlanta, the first PKA World Championship,
the impact on someone like me (Bobrow), just
(hanging with but) losing to him at the first
Battle of Atlanta and Jhoon Rhee Nationals and
what that did to my reputation, the Jhoon Rhee
Nationals, Ed Parker’s Internationals….it’s
amazing his impact….”
For me, it is all true. I actually started
writing a book in 1999 and by 2010 I had
completed only 3 paragraphs. Then in 2010 I went
to Jhoon Rhee’s 80th birthday celebration at the
Capitol Rotunda in Washington DC, and Lewis
came in for the prestigious gathering.
When we all found our way to the DC
Hyatt later, the casual musings from Lewis that
night broke my writer’s block and by the next
morning, my book was ready to write. The
same Joe Lewis, whose brainchild was the PKA
and whose participation at our Battle of Atlanta
jumpstarted a now 44 year old tradition, caused
my synapses to fire once again. These were not
I have seen the
toughest men on
the planet weep.
12
TM
coincidences.
and loved ones through these insipid battles. That was the last time I would see him,
He smiled, he radiated charm, he sparred and he
though we communicated by phone and email
knew he was loved. and through Jeff Smith. No man could have had a But the brutal assault on his brain
better friend than Jeff Smith.
continued unabated. Doctors confided it seemed
The working title of the book is PKA
the aggressive type cancer borne of agent orange,
Reflection. My Master J is Pat Johnson my Master O
which had taken so many Vietnam vets. The VA
who was there for Kwai Chaing Kane in Kung Fu:
hospital in Philly became home. Pain medication
The excerpt of the events of the Joe Lewis
his diet. The brain turned negative, and at times
Memorial Services:
the champ felt forgotten. “Now I will remember this night in DC
Everyone around him understood his depression
with the maestro Joe Lewis forever. For it was on
and managed the outpouring of love coming in
this night and exactly because he was Joe Lewis,
from around the world. They continued their
that our PKA story found its voice. support for the one who had stirred their souls.
“Providential”, I thought,
Still they prayed for miracles. “that the man whose brainchild
The champ’s brain told him no
became PKA would be the stimulus to
one cared. The DC Bomber told the
unblock the telling of the story I had
champ and his brain that multitudes
started 10 years earlier.” cared. The champ would sleep 22
I would write, though at
drugged hours daily and wake
undisciplined intervals of inspiration,
up angry and depressed. When
and I would work on raising the
he awoke he would see cards and
money needed to combat the mindless
letters from all over the world
UFC explosion. The PKA saga would
adorning his hospital room, thanks
bring all the kings men together again.
to the DC Bomber. Joe Lewis would be front and center—
“The Lord empowered Jeff
Kristina
&
Joe
the man who started it all.
Smith to channel the world’s love to
Then one fast year later the bad news hit.
Lewis, and there was no one better for that job”,
The invincible champion, the genesis of our story, I thought.
was struck with brain cancer. Miracles have saved Chuck Norris chartered a plane and
countless others, and surely, such a miracle would brought Roy Kurban, Skipper Mullins, Ed Daniels,
save our champion. Pat Burleson and Allen Steen (all Texans who had
I prayed. Tens of thousands around the
shared the arena of life with the champ). Wallace
world sought divine intervention. Miracles
joined them there, and the champ’s spirits were
happen. The indefatigable champ surely would
renewed. The Texans all knew how good they had
beat off this dread attack. made Lewis feel, and it made them feel good-
The universe had a different plan. He
albeit sad. Chuck was there for his friend.
would fight hard, but he would lose. Three of his
On Friday, August 31, some 13 months
favorite warriors would join him in his valiant,
following the diagnosis, the champ gave up the
post-surgery struggle. Light heavy champ
fight. Jeff Smith and Bill Wallace had spent 5 of his
Jeff Smith and Superfoot Wallace would take
last 7 days on earth, and he was comforted. him on award winning trips to England and
Millions of martial artists around the globe felt a
Switzerland where long-time adoring fans and
huge sense of loss. new generations alike would marvel at his unique Writers would call it the passing of an
charisma. era. I rather saw it as the beginning of a new time.
He looked and felt stronger on these jaunts An opportunity for the 2nd generation warriors
following the series of invasive surgical and
Lewis, Smith and Wallace had influenced to bring
daunting radiation assaults. He was with friends
back to their great sport the glory the
continued
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Master J, why do I feel so empty and powerless
and so sad?
Master J: My son, we mortals are powerless in the
bigger scheme of the universe, but as individuals
and groups, we combine our spirits for strength.
Our minds cannot comprehend or explain
adequately the passing of our loved ones and
the peace they will feel in the after-life. That is
what our faith brings to us. Faith, my son, is your
friend and your comfort. Our creator has given us
this gift of faith, and though it will be hard, you
will embrace this loss as a necessary part of the
process. You feel there is another piece of the plan
you cannot make right, but have faith, my son. It
will be made right.
With time, I know I will put it all in its
right place. We all will, and some of the wiser
ones among us already have. But still today, I am
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more than a little empty.
As with all explorations into self
awareness, the journey is ever-changing. For now,
more questions than answers for me. But I tried
to wrap the week-end’s feelings into a Facebook
post, penned on the flight home from Raleigh
Durham, to share with those who could not be
there, as follows:
A quick post to say how powerful was the
week-end with my best friends in the world and
with the best friends in the incredible world of Joe
Lewis. I learned so much more about him than
I have ever known, and it gives me even greater
respect than ever. He brought his fierce everything
as a marine to everyone and every activity he
touched, he attracted the positive energies of all he
met, and he changed our world. Mitchell Bobrow
put it all in perspective--”without Joe Lewis, so
many things never would have or could have
happened”. My special thanks go to Jeff Smith
and Bill Wallace for all I know they meant to
and did for Joe Lewis and to Mike Allen, Dennis
Nackord and all the others who made Joe Lewis
feel so loved during his one year struggle. Their
tributes to Joe make me tear up again, even as I
type. And to Walter Anderson, editor emeritus
of Parade Magazine and Joe’s lifelong Marine,
fox-hole and bunk mate who so eloquently gave
us insights into Joe the Man and Marine, I can
only wish that we could all have friendships like
the two of you shared. So very powerful. I am so
glad I was there. Thanks to the all in the Joe Lewis
Fighting Systems Black Belt Association for your
hospitality for all who joined in your grieving and
celebration.
Thanks Joe Lewis—for who you were and
what you did for our martial arts world. We all
knew how special you were. We will miss you for
a long-long time.
9th dan black belt Joe Corley is founder of the
Battle of Atlanta and an inductee into the Karate
Masters Hall of Fame®. You can reach him at
wwwAtlExtremeWarrior.com.
E
D
N
E G
M
M DIN
O
REC REA
D
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—Skipper Mullins, World Champion
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Golden Boy had started. Jeff Smith, Bill Wallace and I joined
hundreds of Joe Lewis mourners for the
celebration of his life and to honor him on a hot
and humid week-end in the technology triangle
that is Raleigh NC. In this burgeoning vista for the
future, the police would stop traffic and salute the
passing funeral procession as unknowing drivers
would wait patiently for the throng of cars to pass,
as they have in rural areas forever.
I had learned much more about the champ
in those 2 days than I had ever known. The eulogy
by lifelong friend Walter Anderson (“Andy” as he
was known in their Marine Corps days) traced
the adult life of Joe from Vietnam to his final day.
I was comforted by the knowledge that Joe Lewis
had been so fortunate to have been blessed by the
friendship of one as giving and caring as Andy.
Some of the toughest men on the planet wept at
the gravesite. A full military service, 21 gun salute
and tightly folded flag presented to the family
at graveside tugged my heart almost outside my
body as 5+ decade old memories of my own dad’s
service rushed to the front of my mind. I had to retreat from the site, visibly
shaken, and some of the strong men jumped to
make sure I was ok. I was moved by their gestures
of kindness as they struggled to fight back tears I
could not contain.
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Profile of a Grandmaster™
An intangible
cultural asset
By Des Chaskelson
and Reece Dummings
Soke Takayoshi Nagamine, August 12, 1945–April 25, 2012
Honoring Soke Takayoshi Nagamine and His Legacy
T
he birthplace of modern day karate is Okinawa, which was once an
independent country called “Ryukyu Kingdom.” There was an indigenous
martial art called “Te,” meaning hand in the Okinawan dialect. The art
of “Te” had many Asian influences, especially from China, but finally became
Shuri-Te, Tomari-Te and Naha-Te in Naha City, Okinawa. These three were the
origin of present day Karate.
Takayoshi Nagamine was born
in Naha City, Okinawa on August 12,
1945, the son of the late founder of the
Matsubayashi-ryu style of Okinawan
Shorin-ryu Karate-do, Osensei Shoshin
Nagamine. Osensei Nagamine was in
a generation that had been schooled by
many of the great martial arts masters
with his most influential teachers
being Ankichi Arakaki, Chotoku Kyan
and Choki Motobu. Before Osensei
Nagamine’s passing away in 1997, he
was named a “living intangible cultural
asset” by Japan.
Sensei Takayoshi Nagamine
was the Soke (inheritor of the style) of the
Matsubayashi-ryu system, and the headmaster of
the World Matsubayashi-ryu (Shorin-ryu) Karatedo Association (WMKA) in Okinawa, Japan. On
April 25, 2012 Soke Nagamine unexpectedly
passed away at the relatively young age of 66,
leaving many who respected and knew him
well with a void in their heart. He will be sorely
missed, but his teachings and his budo spirit will
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live on, as does his legacy. Soke
Nagamine established a strong
world-wide organisation, which
has a bright future ahead of it
according to the new Association
President, Kaicho Yoshitaka Taira,
Hanshi 10th Dan.
In an interview with Mr.
Mike Clarke, author of over 300
articles for international martial
arts magazines, and author of five
books, Soke spoke about his early
years in Karate.
Mike Clarke (MC): When did you
start training in Karate?
Takayoshi Nagamine (TN): I began training with
my father when I was seven years old, now I am
fifty-nine years old [in 2004], so I have trained in
karate for almost all my life.
MC: Was your training any different from the
other students in the dojo?
TN: No, not really. In the dojo everyone
was treated the same, me included. But
afterwards, in our home life away from
public classes, I received a lot of discipline
from my father. For example, if students did
one hundred punches, then I would have to
do four or five hundred punches, the same
with all the basic techniques.
MC: Because of who your father was, were
you expected to train in karate?
TN: No. He never told me I had to do it.
But watching him when I was a boy, really
made me want to do it. In fact, he always
demanded I did my homework and any
jobs I had to do first before I was allowed to
practice.
At the direction of his father,
and in order to help the development
of Matsubayashi-ryu Karate-do on an
international scale, Soke Takayoshi
Nagamine went to the United States at the
young age of 20 in the late 1960s and opened
his first dojo in Cincinnatti, Ohio. Outside of
his personal dojo, Soke Nagamine regularly
travelled around the United States to teach
clinics and seminars until he returned to
Continued on next page
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Okinawa in 1979.
He returned to assist his father,
Osensei Shoshin Nagamine, with the World
Honbu (Headquarters) Dojo and the World
Matsubayashi-ryu (Shorin-ryu) Karate-do
Association (WMKA). In 1991, Osensei retired
and in a speech passed the leadership on to his
son.
In 1992, Soke Takayoshi Nagamine
called together senior instructors in Okinawa
and the US and formed what is now known
as the World Matsubayashi-ryu (Shorin-ryu)
Karate-do Association. In the United States,
the late Sensei Nick Racanelli, Hanshi 8th Dan
and Sensei Fred Christian, Kyoshi 8th Dan
attended the meeting and were the first US
members of the WMKA.
In 1997, after the passing
of Osensei Nagamine, Soke
Takayoshi Nagamine took the
position as the second Soke
(head) of Matsubayashi-ryu
Karate-do. In 2008, he was
promoted to Hanshisei 10th
Dan in Matsubayashi-ryu. Soke
Nagamine helped to establish and
teach at dojo throughout the world, including
in Australia, Canada, United States, and
Europe.
Soke Nagamine was a great ambassador
and spent much of his life around the world
teaching seminars and clinics. He would
regularly host international seminars, with the
most recent being held in Naha City, Okinawa
in November 2010 to celebrate the 75th
Anniversary Festival of Matsubayashi-ryu and
to commemorate the 13th Anniversary Tribute
to Osensei Shoshin Nagamine’s passing. The
event was attended by over 250 members of
the WMKA.
Soke Nagamine was dedicated to
perpetuating the true, traditional art of
Okinawan Matsubayashi-ryu Karate-do in
eighteen kata and seven yakusoku kumite.
Soke’s ideology can be seen in his
discussion with Mike Clarke when speaking
about karate in olden times, and whether Soke
thinks it has changed since then. He said “well,
inside [a person’s mind] I think it’s all the
same, but, there might be some changes in the
way some people interpret karate today, even
from as recently as forty years ago. This has to
do with people’s cultural background, I think.
Even on Okinawa now, there are many who
just see karate as a kind of sport instead of a
martial art.”
He continued, “sometimes I am
asked ‘what is the difference?’ It’s true some
sports are tough like boxing or professional
kickboxing, they’re very tough. But no matter
what, all sports share the same definition.
They have tournaments and the
participants are trying to improve
their record or previous result.”
“Karate is not like this, it is the
study of death and being alive.
Yes, death and being alive. If a
person opens a karate dojo it is
important to understand this
philosophy. Martial arts cannot
compete with sports because
they have a different philosophy. In sport you
compete against someone else, or perhaps
your own record, but in martial arts you only
compete against your ‘self’.”
It is interesting to note Soke’s
response to Mr. Clarke’s question about
whether he thought that Westerners (nonOkinawan karate practitioners) understood the
meaning of Karate-do.
“Yes they do, some people anyway.
Many western people have been training a long
time, and they understand things better than
some people here [Okinawa]. It all depends on
the person and if they are open to such ways of
thinking. Even physically, western people can
be better at karate due to their bigger bodies
and greater strength. It all depends on the
philosophy in their soul.”
“Sometimes countries [outside of
Karate is not
a sport…it is
the study of
death and
being alive.
18
Okinawa] have less discipline in their education
programs and in their traditions, “ said Soke.
“But in Japanese culture they have a discipline
culture, they have a history in tradition,” he
said, indicating what benefits Karate-do could
have to practitioners in the West, or other
places that may lack that discipline culture
from other means.
Soke continued, “Sensei will teach
students good discipline in the class and this
way the children known how to respect their
parents and seniors. By teaching discipline
programs, you get healthier and you help other
people. Also in Okinawa and Japan, crime is
very much less committed by the karate people
and martial arts people. This is because they
teach you how to respect others.”
In an interview in 2011, Soke Nagamine
explained the five basic fundamentals of
Matsubayashi-ryu Karate-do:
‘We have this five fundamentals philosophy. This
philosophy was from my father and his teacher,
and it’s very, very old – up to 700 years. Basically,
the five philosophies are contributing to our
understanding, to our essence of the mind’. These
philosophies included:
1. You have to live in accordance with the
principles of nature. You have to respect your
parents and respect your philosophy.
2. We are studying movement. Once you study
movement, you have to know how to function
with your body to be able to use these moves.
To become functional, you have to be conscious
of every move you make.
19
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3. You have to learn very well from your
experiences and from other people’s
experiences – experiences that will teach you
something valuable. Not only in education,
but in experience.
4. You have to strive for a sense of history and
culture.
5. Know what you can do, and what you can
learn from the art of Karate. Don’t obtain any
techniques by your imagination. You have
to prove what you can by doing—action, not
imagination.
Soke Nagamine also explained the
importance of humility in martial arts saying,
“the more knowledge you have, the more
humble you are going to be. You’re going to be a
very dedicated person, not overconfident. That’s
what martial arts teaches you as a philosophy: to
be humble is very important.”
20
Soke further elaborated by talking about
what his father, Osensei Shoshin Nagamine,
had said to him: “Well you know we human
beings are not perfect, not at all. I believe my
father was a very fair and honest man, and he
would often say to his students, me included,
‘rectify your mind, and always look to your
feet.’ What he meant was that we should always
be ready to do karate. He was talking about our
mind, our attitude. Always remember what it
was like to wear a white belt. ‘Sho-shin’, have a
beginners mind. We must never think we have
become something big in karate. No matter
what, every day when we practice we realize
there is something more to learn.”
OK Mag
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For classified ads in print or online
call Shane Clarke.
1-631-924-3888 or 1-631-775-6075
or email [email protected] or
[email protected].
Sensei Des Chaskelson, 5th Dan, WMKA, Cocoa Beach, Florida, USA.
Reece Cummings, 3rd Dan, WMKA , Canberra, Australia
To read a longer version of this article, go to
www.officialkaratemag.com.
21

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