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| Entrance to Shoshin Nagamine sensei's Kodokan dojo - Kume |
I visited the Kodokan dojo for the first time in 1992, and have returned a number of times over the past twenty years since then. Sadly it's founder, Shoshin Nagamine sensei, is no longer alive and as so often happens when the founder of a dojo passes away, their dojo becomes a "different" experience when you visit.
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| Inside the Kodokan |
As the world headquarters for Matsubayashi-ryu, the Kodokan receives many visitors each year, but I wonder how many of them stop to think of the investment Nagamnine sensei was making when he established his dojo in Kume village so long ago. The Kodokan is one of the oldest dojo in Okinawa, and I believe the Okinawan government should get rid of the bar next door to the dojo (that was once the Nagamine family store), and preserve the dojo as a tangible cultural asset.
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| The Kenshinkan dojo of Testuhiro Hokama sensei - Nishihara |
I visit the Kenshinkan dojo almost every time I'm in Okinawa. Over the years Hokama sensei and I have spent many hours discussing karate and its history. He has some very interesting opinions that don't always follow the script, so to speak, when it comes to the development of karate prior to it leaving Okinawa for
Japan and the rest of the world.
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| The Kenshinkan Shomen |
Perhaps best known to visiting foreigners for housing the Okinawan karate / kobudo museum, the Kenshinkan dojo has a fairly large membership of local karate and kobudo-ka. Although I've never received instruction from Hokama sensei, in a formal sense, I've watched him teaching others on many occasions. His approach to karate and kobudo is very fluid, and really quite different to the way I have been taught. Still, there is no doubting Hokama sensei's effectiveness, either with a weapon, or empty handed.
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| The Seibukan dojo - Chatan |
Mt first visit to the Seibukan was last year (2011), and I have to say, I really warmed to the dojo as soon as I stepped through the door, even empty it has a great atmosphere. The genkan has a small bench where visitors can sit and observe the training; and what a treat awaits anyone fortunate enough to find themselves sitting there.
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| Zenpo Shimabukuro sensei |
Shimabukuro sensei is the real deal. He's straight forward and to the point, but smart and insightful, he has been training almost all his life and is the son of a famous karate sensei. In short, his life has been steeped in karate from birth. His skill and ability on the dojo floor are real, but more importantly (to me anyway), is the way he conducts him self off the floor. I make no bones about my liking for Shimabukuro sensei and his karate. He is a gentleman of the old school, whose consideration for his students is sincere, real; but don't think that translates to him taking it easy on them....for that would be a big mistake!
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| The Kyudokan dojo - Tsuboya |
Tucked away down a small back street, only a minutes walk from the Higaonna dojo, stands the world famous Kyudokan. I discovered this dojo on my first to Okinawa in 1984, and have vivid memories of standing in the open space outside the dojo watching the dojo's founder,Yuchoku Higa sensei, teaching a class. I have to admit, at the time I had little idea of the stature of the man I was watching that night.
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| Today's master of the Kyudokan is Minoru Higa sensei |
Although I never did meet Yuchoku Higa sensei, I have met and interviewed the present headmaster of the Kyudokan, Minoru Higa sensei. From the first moment of our meeting I was impressed by the man, he was old, yes, but had a youthful vitality about him that you can spot in the best of Okinawa's senior karateka. Softly spoken and extremely generous with his time, I left the Kyudokan feeling excited by my visit.
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| The Shubukan dojo - Shuri |
Like the Seibukan, and the Kyudokan, I visited the Shubukan dojo for the first time last year. My work brief was to interview a number of prominent teachers of Shorin-ryu, and this is how I found myself stepping through the doors of so many dojo for the first time.
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| Yasuhiro Uema sensei, headmaster of the Shubukan dojo - Shuri |
I'd seen Uema sensei before, many times, but on
DVD. Meeting him face to face was better than I'd imagined it would be. He was open and friendly and willing to sit patiently with me and answer my questions. The dojo was bathed in sunlight and, being on the top floor of his home, also caught the breeze that blew in from the East-China sea. While I was in the Shubukan I found myself, on more than one occasion, being very aware of my surroundings; I simply love being in an authentic dojo.
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| The Bunbukan dojo - Shuri |
The Bunbukan dojo of Masahiro Nakamoto sensei is so close to Uema sensei's dojo, you could throw a stone from one dojo to the other; mind you, you might have to run if you did! The Tori-hori area of Shuri is well known as the home of many of Okinawa's great karate and kobudoka. Choshin Chibana sensei lived right here in this area, as did many other great budoka during the age of Ryukyu.
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| Your's truely with Nakamoto sensei earlier this year |
Nakamoto sensei shows no sign at all of his age, and as I approach my sixth decade of life, I'm inspired by sensei such as him who, well in to their seventh decade, are still living their lives and conducting their training without the usual excuses I hear from karateka in the West who are younger then I am. So...if you're 30+, unfit, and spend your time "dinning out' on the things you used to do, perhaps it's time to think of something less demanding than karate or kobudo.
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| The Jundokan - Azato |
I can not write of the dojo I've visited in Okinawa without mentioning the two dojo where I am welcomed as a student; the Jundokan in Azato, and the Shimbukan in Tomigusuku. The first I have been a student at for over twenty years, and the second, for a somewhat shorter length of time.
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| The Shimbukan - Tomigusuku |
At both dojo I am accepted as a student, and have always been on the receiving end of insightful instruction and great hospitality; in return I've brought very little to either dojo, except a willingness to try my best. To have an Okinawan home for my karate and kobudo training is something that grounds me. My sensei and sempai stop me from developing ideas of being better than I am, and allow me to chart a steady course toward the place I want to be; all I have to do, is maintain a desire to continue.