News from Okinawa; December 10, 2013

October 14^th
Mr. Anthony Gibson from Canada promoted to 3^rd dan. He joined the New Zealand group and stayed in Okinawa about two weeks. Mr. Kevin Plaisted kyoshi 7^th dan and Mr. Tim Herlihy 5^th dan came with their four students to Okinawa, stayed from October 5^th to 17^th and practiced karate at the Taira Dojo. They have been students of president Taira for many years and practice at Taira Dojo. We do have a consensus that Soke’s students will be hosted by all Dojo Owners in Okinawa. We alsodo have Dojo Owners’ meetings on how to host your karate practice before you come to Okinawa depend on your schedule.

Here is a quote from Mr. Gibson:

“It was an honor and privilege to test at the Nagamine dojo in front of such respected masters. I always cherish my visits to Okinawa and the people who make it so special. Arigato Gozaimasu” 

Mr. Herlihy’s quote:

“Training once again at Jitchaku dojo to fine tune kihon, kata and kobudo is always a pleasure and attending the”Gateway to Okinawa” seminar held at the Budokan to support Taira Sensei was also a high light for the kiwi’s. Day trips that included historical site visits, attending the amazing “Naha great tug of war” and visiting the many Karate master monuments was very exciting and thoroughly enjoyed by us all. Practicing with many WMKA friends was fantastic and we hope to see everyone again in 2014.”

October 24^th
Mr. Steve Woolston came to Okinawa to take a 4^th Dan Evaluation test in Okinawa from England. He was once in EMKA for a short term but left and now a member of Matsubayashi Ryu International in Ireland. They practice Matsubayashi-Ryu 18-kata and 7-Yakusoku kumite as same as us. But he didn’t have any WMKA Dan Certificate from Soke himself or from any WMKA Dojo Owners. He strongly wanted to learn traditional Matsubayashi-Ryu karate-Do, and to be affiliated into WMKA. He sent his sincere letter to president Taira. The top three directors discussed it very carefully to answer his letter and accept his request. He passed the test and earned a 4^th Dan certificate together with WMKA Dojo Owner License. He is a first authorized WMKA Dojo Owner in England. Please drop in his dojo and help him to spread Matsubayashi-Ryu Karate-Do in England when you visit Europe.

Mr. Woolston’s quote:

“I am honored that my dojo has been accepted as full members of the WMKA, and proud to be their first representative in England.  During my recent trip to Okinawa I trained twice per day and thank all the Sensei that I trained under for their time and patience; we are now busy working our way through the various corrections to kata and yakusoku kumite.As I am sure everyone in the WMKA around the world is, we are now very much looking forward to the event planned for October 2014 in memorial to Soke Takayoshi Nagamine, and I am sure that we will be lucky enough to make many new friends in Matsubayashi-ryu from around the world.”

Other karate trip groups to Okinawa

1. Karate trip from the mainland of Japan
   Mr. Yuichi Danjo Renshi 6^th dan from Osaka district practiced at the Nagamine Dojo on August 29^th . Mr. Katsuhiro Tsukamoto Renshi 6^th dan and Mr. Keisuke Satonaka 4^thdan from Tokai district practiced karate at both the Shinzato and Makishi Dojo on October 14 & 15^th. Unfortunately, I don’t have their photos.
2. Three Karate trip groups from the USA between October 8 to 22^nd
   They were Mr. and Mrs. Gerard Cappiello Renshi 6^thdan from New York, Mr. and Mrs. Mastin Scott Renshi 6^th dan with his two students from Ohio, Mr. Steve Will with his two students from New Jersey. They practiced karate at six Dojos, Taira Dj/Arakaki Dj/Tome Dj/Namanie Dj/Shinzato Dj & Miyagi Dojo. They also observed the 3^rd Dan promotion test of Mr. Anthony Gibson in the Nagamine Dojo and enjoyed visiting many sightseeing spots in Okinawa.

Quote from Mr. Cappiello:

“In my opinion, if any one person is serious about Okinawan Karate they should make it a point to get to Okinawa. The level of karate is like nowhere else in this world and you can feel the presence of the great Sensei’s who have passed and the great Sensei’s of the present day throughout the dojos and throughout the island of Okinawa. They teach you (The Way) of karate: and in their way you can find humility, respect, and honor and to be humble. Okinawa is my home away from home (thank you Okinawa and all of the people who live there). I will be there for Soke’s Memorial in 2014 with all my honor”.

Quote from Mr. Will:

“We enjoyed our October trip to Okinawa visiting our roots in karate.  We got to meet and train with each of the senior instructors of Matsubayashi-Ryu. It shows how we are one big family within the WMKA. We are looking forward to coming back in November 2014 for the Memorial Event for Soke.”

3. October 23^rdto November 5^th
   Mr. Ole-Bjorn Tuftedal from Norway visited Okinawa and enjoyed karate practice twice a day at five Dojo; Taira Dj/Tome Dj/Nagamine Dj/Shinzato Dj and Miyagi Dojo. During his stay he practice with Mr. Woolstone from England and also observed his 4^th Dan evaluation test in the Nagamine Dojo. They both enjoyed Okinawa together.

Quote from Mr. Tuftedal:

“For a European karate teacher it is invaluable to come to Okinawa and practice with and receive instruction from the masters. In the west it is easy to forget about the DO part of karate, but traditional karate-do is about the lifelong Way, working hard learning and through this trying to evolve as a human being. Many of us are still first generation teachers, i.e. we often come from other styles and have not had the continuous contact with our teachers and with the cultural environment and heritage of Okinawa, and we have not grown up within the tradition. This is equally important for the technical understanding and development. Receiving corrections and learning more is a fundamental necessity. I therefore want to express my immense gratitude to the teachers that host me on my visits. A pleasant aspect of my last trip was to attend Steve Woolston’s test for 4th Dan at the end of October, and I congratulate him with passing. I also welcome him as being the first English dojo owner to join the WMKA/EMKA. Well done!”

4. Mr. Martin O’Malley & Mr. Michael O’Neil from Ireland came to Okinawa for their 2^ndtrip this year, from November 3 to 9^th.
   They practiced karate twice a day together with the other groups from Norway and USA.

Mr. O’Malley’s quote is:

“During our visit to Okinawa we had the opportunity to work out at six different Dojo, studying under the expert guidance of the most eminent teachers. All of the teachers worked so hard to welcome us to their Dojo, to help us improve our understanding of Matsubayashi-ryu, and to make our whole visit such an enjoyable and rewarding experience. We are looking forward to our next visit to Okinawa and to the Memorial Seminar to honor the memory of Soke Nagamine in November 2014”. 

5. Mr. Ed Barron Renshi 6^th dan and Mr. Michael Norvell Renshi 6^th dan from Missouri
   They visited Okinawa from November 3 to 10^th  and practiced at the Taira/Arakaki/Tome/Miyagi and Nagamine Dojos. They also met the members from Ireland and enjoyed many tour spots in Okinawa. They were the last scheduled group to come to Okinawa this year.

Quote from Mr. Barron:

“Thank you for all of your help and support that made my Okinawa trip a great success. I was very pleased with the training that I received from all of the dojos that I trained at. I will be forever grateful to all of the senseis that shared with me their knowledge and wisdom of Matsubayashi-ryu.  My training at the Hombu dojo was the most personal and emotional because this was the last dojo that I trained with Sensei Soke, a great man that I had known, loved and respected for more than 40 years, for which I will remain eternally grateful.”

Quote from Mr. Norvell:

“I would like to thank you Mr. Nomura and Kyoshi Tsugio Miyagi, Hanshi Iwao Tome, Kyoshi Shinjo, Bunshiro Nagamine, Hanshi Toshimitsu Arakaki and