Just So You Know....

Ladies and Gentlemen... Taira sensei has left the Building

In recent weeks there has been much made, in some circles, of the fact that Masaji Taira sensei has decided to leave the Jundokan dojo and form his own group. It's not a big deal, but you know what we westerners are like, we love a good "scandal"...we thrive on it, the gossip, the side taking, and the running down of the (stupid idiots) who don't happen to agree with us. Well I'm sorry to disappoint you, but non of the above applies here.

Taira sensei is an exceptionally talented karate-ka, his insight into the fighting strategies found in the kata of goju-ryu is profound. As a recently retired police officer who spent a career dealing with the unruly, the aggressive, and the down right nasty elements found in certain parts of Okinawa, his karate is grounded in the practicality of its application. For a (physically) small man, he produces an amazing amount of power; I know, because I've been on the receiving end of it many times.

But here's the thing...like sensei's Ko Uehara, Morio Higaonna, Teruo Chinen and others over the years, Masaji Taira is but the latest in a long line of exceptional karate-ka to have emerged from the Jundokan dojo. I have often mentioned the approach Eiichi Miyazato sensei took to teaching his students, that is, to work things out for themselves, to find their own way, to take ownership and responsibility for what they do with karate. Miyazato sensei was not interested in gathering followers! As Taira sensei himself said in a recent interview here in Australia: "Should a student ask a technical question, Miyazato sensei would often answer, 'What do YOU think?' He was like a guide, allowing a student to reach their own understanding through trial and error."

Taira sensei is now in a position to develop his karate in the direction that he believes is right. Those who feel his karate has more to offer than the karate practised at the Jundokan, should follow his example and stop relying on the Jundokan name to give themselves credibility. As Miyazato sensei would have said, take responsibility for your self and your karate. For in truth, if you don't have the integrity or strength of character to do that, I doubt very much you will ever understand the karate being pursued by either the Jundokan or Taira sensei.

As far as I am aware, there was/is no ill feeling surrounding Taira sensei's departure from the Jundokan, and nor should there be. Karate lives when we are are engaged in practice, so let those who would seek to make more of this situation than actually exists, focus their attention on training, learning, and making progress in their chosen appraoch to karate.