Dear all WMKA and EMKA members:
Honoring Soke Takayoshi Nagamine and his Legacy
Most of you have already enjoyed and been impressed by the Magazine article of Soke Takayoshi Nagamine on Official Karate Website. The magazine article is a successful co-product of all WMKA & EMKA members around the world. As you can see, the magazine article was coedited by both Mr. Des Chaskelson and Mr. Reece Cummings together with many Dojo Owners and members who contributed their tribute quotes to Soke. I want to express my gratitude from the bottom of my heart to everyone who worked on the magazine article.
The magazine article was first proposed by Mr. Des Chaskelson. He wrote to us that one of the US karate magazines, Official Karate, was interested in an article about traditional karate rather than sports martial arts and wants to publish a tribute article about Soke on their fall edition. He emphasized it is a perfect fit with Soke and what Matsubayashi-Ryu Karate-Do is.
In his letter, he asked us two questions and we answered as below:
1. Permission from Okinawa headquarters and quotes from Okinawa about the article.
2. Permission to invite many Dojo Owners in WMKA and EMKA to work on the article.
Of course, we agreed on both of them and only one quote from Okinawa, my statement to WMKA and EMKA in the article. We discussed and decided we should focus on Soke’s activities in overseas where he dedicated so much of his Karate life.
We are very glad and proud to see the Magazine article about Soke in the worldwide Official Karate. We are not the only ones to know Soke’s virtue and value as a great Karate Master. The article shows Worldwide Karate society recognized him as one of the most prominent Karate Master in the world.
A man will always reap just the kind of crop he sows. Soke was a great pioneer and his open minded character perfectly fitted to the overseas society. He planted many Matsubayashi-Ryu Karate-Do seeds around the world starting from Cincinnati Ohio USA in 1960’s. And as of 2012, there are many trees, some big and some are still growing, throughout the world. Each tree will become a grove to forest and then to mountains in the future.
I pray for you the best in your everyday and Karate life where you live.
Sincerely Yours
President Yoshitaka Taira
World Matsubayashi-Ryu karate-Do Association