INTRODUCTION
On August 3rd 2005 I flew
to Okinawa (southernmost Japan)
where I met with and interviewed
some of Okinawa’s senior-most
Martial Arts Masters. This
trip coincided with my thirtieth
year of active involvement
in the Martial Arts although
I was no stranger to Okinawa
for I was there both in 1990
and in 1991.
From
1975 until 1995 I had dedicated
myself to the practice of
Okinawan Gojuryu Karate-Do
but, as a result of my in-depth
research into the origins
of this particular karate
system, I found myself switching
to “Fujian Fist”
(Classical Martial Arts from
Fujian Province in South-East
China) which I have now been
actively pursuing for the
past ten years. My reason
for visiting Okinawa at this
time (2005) was to understand
more fully the link between
Okinawan Karate and predecessor
– the Chinese discipline
I now so passionately practice.
I
had been in Okinawa for this
very purpose more than a decade
ago, but that was prior to
my extended period(s) of time
in Fuzhou (capital city of
Fujian) now it was time to
update my research by revisiting
Okinawa in order to further
my research.
In
order to do this, it was my
intention to meet with one
of Okinawa’s most senior
Karate Master, a seventy-eight
year-old Toyama Seiko. We
were both highly interested
in this meeting, as the possibility
existed of establishing a
tangible link between our
respective Arts. Indeed, it
was my hope that the ground
covered during this trip would
represent a milestone in terms
of historic value, lineage,
and physical technique.
And
it did!
One
may plan a trip as detailed
as you like, but you never
know how things are going
to work out until you actually
get there for we all know
very well about “the
most carefully laid plans”…
My
recent visit to Okinawa -
my third to date – got
off to a very good start but
then, having arrived in Tokyo,
things started to look a little
less certain. More causes
for slight concern then arose
(and quite unexpectedly) but
then Life finally settled
down for me and the outcome
of this adventure (and it
was an adventure!) proved
beyond expectations. In the
end, it seems that absolutely
nothing went wrong!
But
that was not how it started…
DEPARTING FOR OKINAWA
My
flight from Heathrow Airport
in London (England) to Narita
International Airport just
outside Tokyo went very smoothly.
Like clockwork, in fact. Having
cleared customs and then bought
my ticket for the ‘De
Luxe Bus’ that would
take me from ‘Narita
International’ to ‘Haneda
Domestic’ I waited outside
the Narita terminal as several
busses passed me by. Waiting
in the queue it was impossible
for me not to notice the young,
quiet, and well-dressed coach
operatives who, upon the arrival
of each and every bus, bowed
from the waist as they smiled
genuinely to the driver of
each vehicle. My bus very
soon arrived and as we pulled
out I noticed a beautiful
Zen garden that was still
within the airport compound.
With its carefully raked sand
and purposefully placed rocks,
this garden, with all its
simplicity and its elegance,
redefined the word ‘beauty’!
Welcome
home, Simon-san!
The
ninety-minute journey to Haneda
(Tokyo’s Domestic Airport)
passed soon enough, but upon
checking-in for my internal
flight to Okinawa I was informed
that Okinawa was just catching
the tail end of a typhoon
and so all Okinawa-bound flights
were either cancelled –
or being re-routed to Osaka’s
“Kansai” International
Airport together with lengthy
delays. As a result I would
thus be delayed by a minimum
of twelve to eighteen hours!
If
I was lucky!
It
was already 6pm and it seemed
as if I would be spending
the night either at Haneda,
or in a hotel. “If you
stay here, sir”, said
the airport manager,”
we cannot give you any food.
But we can supply you with
a blanket.”
After
a rather lengthy discussion
with airport operatives I
managed to persuade them to
check-in my luggage after
which I then proceeded to
the departure gate. Checking-in
my luggage if I was not going
to fly did not, of course,
make any sense, but I figured
that if my bags were checked-in
then perhaps they would make
an effort to, somehow, send
me out that night. The very
fact that that were happy
to check-in my bags also suggested
(at least, to me) that perhaps
they were more optimistic
than they were letting-on!
My
wait at the gate together
with countless others was
almost enjoyable for I was
not allowing the possible
(probable) flight cancellation
worry me. Everyone knows that
worrying solves nothing but
only serves to encourage ill
health, yet we all choose
to worry, nonetheless! I do
not subscribe to such a self-destructive
path.
Waiting
at the gate there were, in
total, five ‘gaijin’
(foreigners) including myself,
yet the airport personnel
made no effort to relay ‘developments’
in English – not until
I stepped forward and asked
them to do exactly that. Then
they hurriedly rallied around
in their attempts to find
an English-speaking airport
operative - which they finally
managed to do and thus gained
a great deal of ‘face’.
Ninety
minutes later we were informed
that our flight would, in
fact, be leaving that evening,
and although we left an hour
late we actually touched-down
upon Okinawa soil (actually,
tarmac) just a quarter of
an hour late - although the
question of our landing was
another area of slight cause
for concern!
Thinking
back over the last twenty-five
years and all the flights
I have experienced during
that time, never had I encountered
a landing such as this one!
ARRIVAL
IN OKINAWA
As
the plane began its decent
into Naha (the capital of
Okinawa) the aircraft seemed
to increase its speed whilst,
at the same time, rolled from
side to side in a most irregular
fashion. The movie screen
in front of me showed our
approach, but seeing the rain
water spurt up from the runway
and onto the camera (suspended,
I guess, from the underside
of the aircraft) just seemed
to provide added concern.
If we were going to crash
then we were going to crash.
I did not worry, but I did
adopt the crash-landing position
as I really did expect that
we would overshoot the runway.
Upon touchdown we were still
increasing our speed but then
finally the aircraft came
to a halt. Looking around
me, no one else had prepared
for the expected crash as
I had done, but the rest of
the passenger-list did break
out into rapturous applause!
They
say that bad luck often arrives
in groups of three. If that
is case then…two down,
one to go!
Whilst
I had been waiting at Haneda,
wondering if I was actually
going to go anywhere that
night, I had come to the rather
sorry realization that I had
not brought my hosts’
phone number or address with
me. Moments away from entering
Naha Airport’s ‘Arrivals’
lounge I was now hoping that
my hosts would still be there
waiting for me. Otherwise
I will be once more in trouble!
As
it happened and to my relief,
they were.
Gordi Seizan Breyette (7th
Dan Old-Style UechiRyu Karate-Do
and senior foreign student
under the karate Master, Toyama
Seiko Sensei) and his wife,
Sumako Matsuda (4th Dan Old
Style UechiRyu Karate-Do),
greeted me most warmly and
welcomed me to Okinawa. Sumako
drove whilst I and Gordi Sensei
talked in the back.
For
the past ten or twelve months,
Gordi and I had struck up
a friendship via email correspondence.
This was my first-ever meeting
with Gordi (or ’Seizan’
as he is more familiarly known)
and the first time for us
to hear each other’s
voice. Driving through Naha
and making our way out ‘into
the sticks’, Gordi Sensei
and I spoke of many subjects,
airing our views and opinions
regarding traditional martial
arts.
And
then came “Number Three”.
“Oh!
By the way,” said Seizan,
“Toyama Sensei is away
from home – out of town.
Unless he chooses to return
early, it’s quite possible
that you won’t be able
to see him.”
My
initial reason for visiting
Okinawa at this time was to
spend quality time with Toyama
Sensei (10th Dan Master-Level
Old Style UechiRyu Karate-Do)
…and now it looked as
if that would just not be
happening! But as with the
flight delay, the expected
crash, and now this, I did
not worry as such but just
accepted whatever seemed to
be coming my way. Que sera!
Problems can always be overcome
although first, of course,
we have to face up to them!
We
arrived at Nagahama Dojo about
one hour later. Nagahama Dojo
is a branch dojo of Toyama
Sensei’s ‘honbu
dojo’ (home, or headquarters
dojo) - the honbu dojo being
a mile or so from Nagahama.
Nagahama Dojo is attached
to Seizan’s and Sumako’s
house. Both the house and
the dojo are built into the
hillside and overlook the
sea. The entire area is quiet,
peaceful, and rather beautiful,
whatever the weather and time
of day.
We
arrived at the house around
1am whereupon I was immediately
shown to the dojo attached
to which is a small ‘tatami’
room – my sleeping quarters
for the next nine days. As
Seizan and I entered the dojo
a body stirred from within.
Scott Taylor, a Canadian student
who now lives in Korea, had
been staying with Seizan and
Sumako but was about to leave
later that morning. Seizan
introduced us and we all retired
to the lounge where we sat
and talked for a good hour
or so. Seizan and Sumako were
first off to bed leaving Scott
and I to talk for another
ninety minutes. I slept at
3.30am and at 4.30am Scott
left for the airport.
Continued
in Part 2 - Walking with Sumako,
Hokama Sensei, Master Toyama
Seiko
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