Warriors

WARRIORS

Sensei Kim would end each class with a samurai story that would depict some moral or life lesson. His storytelling abilities were nothing short of mesmerizing and although many have tried to emulate his skill, few have succeeded.

ITTOSAI YANAGI: Shuriken Hits the Peach

Public knowledge, information which is passed by word of mouth or script, is not important in relation to seeking and obtaining enlightenment.

ITOMAN BUNKICHI vs The Turtle

Bunkichi’s teacher was Yada (not the same Yada from Chatan).

Bunkichi had an encounter with a man named Kame (turtle). Kame had his name because of his style, he fought with twin swords very low to the ground, springing up to attack – he’d learned it in China.

ITOSU YASUTSUNE (Ankoh): Naha vs Shuri

Sho Iku was the king of Okinawa at the time of Itosu’s birth in the year 1830, in the town of Shuri, Okinawa. He died in 1915. The pronunciation of his name in Chinese is Ankoh. His father was a member of the nobility and had the rank of Shizoku.

When Itosu was seven years old, his father took him outside and tied him with a belt to a big pole stuck in the ground...

TAKEDA TAKACHIYA on Faith

Japan at one time did not have a national police force. If a man was murdered, the only way for his relatives to get justice was for them to find the killer and fight him. When caught, the murderer would be given a fair match, he would not be ambushed, for instance. The family would first have to register their grievance.

AGENA TAIRAGAWA: The Small, Calm One

Agena, nicknamed ‘Tairagawa’ (the small, calm one), out of affection by the Okinawans, was born in 1870 in the tiny village of Gushikawa, Okinawa. He died in 1924 at the age of 54.

Agena was the first son of an upper middle class family, and as such he became one of the first non-noblemen to take up karate.

OHNO SENSEI: “Strength vs. Technique"

Ohno Kumao, a senior to Sensei Kim in the Bu Toku kai, said Ono Jiroemon Tadaaki was right. He had been observing a Judo championship in 1957, (the first world tournament), and a big man won. He was Japanese and won because of his strength. Ohno Kumao said that Japan would start losing in ten years if strength was all there was.

The following story illustrates the unimportance of strength.

HARIGAYA SEKIUN: “Sword of Heavenly Reason”

You must free yourself of your intellect. The martial artist trains in the beginning for physical perfection (self-defense) and then for mushin (no-mind). Harigaya Sekiun developed the ‘Sword of Heavenly Reason’. If you don’t think you’ve conquered your intellect, when you face your opponent then you have mushin.

GENHACHI KOMATSU: Kyudo Specialist

Tanaguchi is a Japanese man in South America who founded the Universal Brotherhood. He is considered a saint by his followers since he has done miraculous things and is convinced that you can do ANYTHING with your body.