2012 In this issue: Upcoming Events 1 Upcoming Events Newsletter Sep-Oct 2012 .pdfYoshukai Karate...

Yoshukai Karate International Fall 2012

Year of the Dragon 2012 In this issue: Upcoming Events .................................................................. 1 Dojo News ............................................................................ 2 Yoshukai’s Senpai – An Interview with Lee Norris ....... 5 Safety Tips for the Holiday Shopping Season ................ 14 Featured Exercise ............................................................... 15

Yoshukai Karate International would like to wish all our members and their families a HAPPY AND HEALTHY HOLIDAY SEASON!

Time is a precious commodity – especially around the holidays. It seems that no matter how hard you plan, that never-ending “to-do” list launches its annual sneak attack and devours what little time you have. This year, try something different. Before you launch into panic mode, set aside some time for yourself and your family. The time you take for yourself should be spent doing something good for your body. Go the gym, go for walk or do some stretching. If physical activity is off the menu, try meditation or a nap. Then, make sure to spend some quality time with your family. Do something fun and rejuvenating or just relax and enjoy the moment. Remember what is truly important – family and friends!

Once you recover from the holiday festivities, we have a full schedule for 2013. In January, the Bamboo Dojo will be hosting the annual Yoshukai Winter Testing for 1st kyu and Dan grades. In February, Mr. Copeland and Mr. Drysdale will be hosting their annual Cross Training Seminar that includes a blend of Karate and Aikido training. In March, the Sylacauga Karate School will be hosting their annual Spring Training and Test.

We hope to see you at these events!

January 12, 2013 Winter Testing

2:00 PM Bamboo&Dojo&&2111&14th&Ave.&&Vero&Beach,&FL&

For more information:

John&Matthews&(772)&770A2491&&

Upcoming Events

February 2, 2013 Cross Training TYKI Dojo

1:00 PM – 4:00 PM TYKI&Dojo&

Sears&Town&Mall&3550&S.&Washington&Ave.&

Titusville,&FL&For more information:

Ricky Copeland (321) 794-2789 Alan Drysdale (321) 269-2394

!

March 2, 2013 Alabama Spring Training

& Testing 9:00 AM – 1st Kyu/Dan Testing

1:00 PM - Training Sylacauga&Karate&School&226&North&Broadway&AVe&

Sylacauga,&AL&For more information:

(256) 249-3106 !


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2013 Events to watch out for… January 12

Winter Testing, Vero Beach February 2

Cross-training, Titusville March 2nd

Alabama Spring Training & Testing March 22nd – 24th

New Zealand Summer Camp April

Kata/Kumite Clinic (details TBA) May 4th

Randy Gettings Memorial Beach Training June

Summer Test Review (details TBA) July 18th – 21st

YKI Summer Tai Kai – Webber Intl. Univ., Babson Park, FL

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9th Kyu Hali Toreihi

Edgard Walton Bhakti Patel

8th Kyu Jason Cheng

TJ Deale Ethan Perkins

Reid Herringdine

7th Kyu Heather Collier

Tyler Collier Brett Grimes Seth Joiner

Emily Thrash

6th Kyu Robert Boss

Hannah Scrogham Dylan Skinner

Kevin Mendoza Corbin Holland Keegan Holland Steven McLeroy Abigail Patten

5th Kyu Dylan Seifert

Dawson Dobson Anna Claire Patton

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3rd Kyu Danielle Scrogham Jeanine Cleveland

2nd Kyu Collin Yeager

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Port Orange Yoshukai green belts Robert and Hunter Schattie attended Kyoshi Larry Mabson's Martial Arts Foundation Free Tournament in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Saturday November 3, 2012. Robert earned a 2nd place trophy in kumite and 3rd place in empty hand kata. Hunter earned 3rd place in his fighting division and 3rd place in his empty hand kata division!

Shihan Steve Harrington, Davon and Sal from Holly Hill Yoshukai attended Holly Hill's "Trunk or Treat 2012" handing out flyers and treats to more than a thousand prospective Yoshukai students on Halloween evening!

Tournaments and Other

News…


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The Sydney City Dojo has moved to a new location - check out the photos below!

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For more information and class times, please email Neil Frazer at [email protected]

The new dojo is located at: 491 Parramatta Rd, Leichhardt, Sydney, NSW2040

Telephone: 02 95500129


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Congratulations to Helge and Isabel Hermann as they welcome the arrival of their precious new baby girl! We hope Mom and baby “Lily”

are doing well and we look forward to seeing many more photos!


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Yoshukai’s Senpai – An Interview with Lee Norris By Ben Cleveland, 4th Dan

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football. I said “Yes” and was told to report to the Air Force football team. Within two weeks, I became good friends with a man named Zimmerman, who asked me to come over to the gym to watch a karate class. I had no idea what karate was. I went with Zimmerman and watched a class, and wasn't all that impressed with it since I didn’t really understand what they were doing, but I decided to join up anyway. That was in September 1962.

(BC) What style was it you went to watch? (LN) It was a Goju Ryu class, taught by Hiroko Watanabe, a 4th degree. He was part of the All Japan Karate Do Federation, of which Dr. Chitose was President. Watanabe taught at the base gym at Itazuki Airforce Base. (BC) What was class like, what did y'all work on? (LN) Classes were on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and cost $8 per month. We worked out for two hours, on basics, floor work, kata, and after you'd been in class for a while, kumite. We didn't have safety gear, so sparring was pretty tough. It was a small class, although there were a lot of students who came through the dojo. Most didn't stay long once they found out how hard the training was.

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I got the chance to sit down with Lee Norris at his home in Gainesville, Florida on February 2, 2012, and talk to him about his 50 years of studying karate. Lee, a retired electronics technician, started karate in 1962 while stationed in Japan, and received his black belt in 1964. When Lee returned from Japan in 1964, he opened the first karate school in Orlando, Florida, and when Mike Foster returned from Japan in 1966, Lee joined in with him to begin spreading Chito Ryu (and later Yoshukai) in Florida.

The Dojo Desk Reference defines senpai (pronounced sempai, with an M sound) as “the senior man”, or “the one who came before, as opposed to kohai, or the one who comes after. The senpai / kohai relationship always exists regardless of the level of training or understanding that either one elevates to.” “Okinawans may use the term shija (older brother).” 1 Mr. Norris is Yoshukai’s Senpai, he is our “older brother”. (BC - Ben Cleveland) When and why did you begin karate? (LN - Lee Norris) I was in the Air Force, and was stationed in Japan. My first day in Japan was August 3rd 1962. As soon as I landed in Japan, I was asked if I played

Goju Ryu Class (Japan) taught by Watanabe Sensei, US Air Force. Seated in front row (from left): Lee Norris, Foster Sensei, Yamamoto Sensei and Watanabe Sensei.


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The base had a handball court inside and a tennis court outside, and we’d train on one or the other depending on the weather. When we'd work out on the tennis court, we’d go the full length of the court doing basics and kata. Up and back, up and back, over and over. We worked on punches, blocks and kicks, with Wantanabe correcting us. Once you were half way proficient in basics, he'd teach you the H Forms. There was no explanation about what you were doing, and bunkai was never explained. I was there two years, and worked on 11 kata. There was one stretch when I spent 6 months working on Sanchin. As a matter of fact there were times when I was working Sanchin so hard in class, working the dynamic tension and dynamic breathing, that the last thing I remembered was everything going black. I was straining so hard during the kata that I’d pass out, and would wake up with someone asking me if I was all right. Sanchin is an interesting kata. You would never, ever win a tournament in this country (USA) doing Sanchin, but when I was a brown belt I won second place in a tournament in Japan doing Sanchin. It’s different today. Today, students want to start learning the “next” kata, whatever the “next” kata is, when they don't really know their current required kata well. According to Iain Abernethy, each kata originally was a self-contained fighting system. Years ago, the Okinawan karate masters only knew two or three kata at most. Dr. Chitose studied Seisan for 7 years before he was taught another kata. Students need to really delve into the kata they’re working on instead of being so anxious to go to the next one. (BC) Did you work out any on your own, in addition to the regular classes? (LN) Yes, at work! I was a jet engine mechanic and worked graveyard shift, which meant I went to work at

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midnight and got off at 8 am. There were three of us on that shift, and if an aircraft had problems, we tested the engines, did leak checks and troubleshooting. We'd document any problems we found, and the day shifts would do the repairs. Once the repairs were completed by the day shifts, we'd test the engine again the next night to make sure the repairs were completed properly and there weren't any other problems. One person had to stay at the shop all night, even if there were no jets that needed to be tested for repairs. The other two guys were married and I was single, so if there was nothing to do, they'd go home and I'd stay there by myself all night. The jet engine shop was a big hanger, and during the winter I'd go out on the shop floor and work out to stay warm, and in the summer I'd go outside and work out.

(BC) When did you meet Dr. Chitose? (LN) One day Watanabe took me to Chitose Sensei's house, and we stayed there three days. I assume Wantanabe met with Chitose to discuss some association business (the All Japan Karate Do Federation). The association included Chito Ryu and Gogen Yamaguchi’s

Goju Ryu and Watanabe was part of Yamaguchi’s Goju Ryu. The Federation only existed from 1957 to 1964 or 1965 I think. Watanabe and I trained with Dr. Chitose while we were at his house, and I got some pictures after our workouts and some pictures of Dr. Chitose punching his makiwara. I also trained with Chitose Sensei at group workouts we had at Yamamoto's tournaments. Anytime Yamamoto had a tournament, Dr. Chitose was there because Yamamoto was his number one fighter. (BC) You said Yamamoto periodically came to Wantanabe's dojo? (LN) Yes, he'd visit about twice a month. Sometimes Yamamoto would come alone, sometimes he'd bring a couple of students. They'd ride the train to a station near

Lee Norris (center) with Mike Foster Sensei (right) and Hiroko Watanabe Sensei (left)


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the base, and after training I'd take them back to the train station in my car. Before I’d take Yamamoto back to the train station after class, though, we’d usually go to the airmen's club. It took the service men about two visits to figure out that you'd better not mess with the dude with the long hair (Yamamoto). At first they were making fun of him, but Yamamoto didn't speak English and didn’t understand them. I heard them, and explained to the airmen that there are certain people in life you don't mess with, and that the long haired dude they were making fun of was probably the toughest fighter in Japan, and that they really, really didn't want to make him mad. It didn't take long for word to get around, and the airmen gave Yamamoto a wide berth.

Yamamoto was one tough fighter. I'd classify him as a Japanese Mike Tyson, he was that good and that tough. I don't think Yamamoto had been beaten by anyone in Japan, and he'd fight anybody. (BC) What did y'all work on when Yamamoto came to Wantanabe's dojo? (LN) Fighting! Yamamoto also taught us the bo and taught us the sai, and sometimes he'd show us self defense techniques or applications out of a kata. Mostly, though, he'd fight with us. Yamamoto's people were all good fighters. We

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(Watanabe's students) also went to Yamamoto's dojo a lot, so we became good fighters too. One of the things I remember about training at Yamamoto's dojo was that you never got hurt. Now, you got bruised up, but never seriously hurt. His students would help you, work with you. You never saw a lot of higher kyu ranks in class because the Japanese couldn't afford to test. When you'd go to Yamamoto's dojo, you saw a few black belts and a whole dojo full of white belts (this was true at a lot of dojos). You might line up across from somebody in class and think “he’s just another white belt like me”, but that person may be more than equivalent to a black belt based on time on the floor and experience.

I remember Yamamoto lined up in front of me once and invited me to front kick him, as hard and fast as I wanted to. But Yamamoto didn’t line up in a fighting stance, he lined up in a shiko dachi, on his tip toes, standing wide open in front of me with his arms stretched out to his side. Well, I thought I could get him, so I launched my front kick at him. Quick as a cat he dropped his weight to his left, squatting on his left leg and my kick sailed over his right arm. Before I could retract my kick he flexed his bicep, which caught my ankle between his bicep and forearm, and stood straight up. That took my other foot out from

under me, and I was hanging upside down by my ankle! Yamamoto walked around the dojo, holding me upside down by my ankle and talked to the other students. Of course, they fell out laughing! (BC) What was the train station incident you mentioned to me? (LN) I was a 1st Kyu at the time, and after a workout I was taking Yamamoto back to the train station. There were four of us - Richard Judge (a brown belt), Wantanabe, Yamamoto and myself. When we got to the train platform six or seven guys were standing around, and I thought Yamamoto knew them because they were all talking. But Wantanabe told us to take our watches off, which told me

Lee Norris executing back (groin) kick against opponent during first “Shiai” in Tampa, Florida.


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there was about to be a fight. Apparently, these guys had called Yamamoto a “sister-boy” because of his long hair. Yamamoto said something to Wantanabe, and Wantanabe told Richard and I that “Yamamoto says he'll take care of it”. Then Yamamoto side kicked one guy and punched another guy at the same time! Both went down, knocked out. As his foot was coming down after the side kick, Yamamoto grabbed another guy by the throat and punched him, and knocked him out. Everybody else took off running! Yamamoto then went to the three guys who were out cold, took off their watches and put them in his pocket, took out their wallets, took their money out of their wallets and put their money in his pocket, then took out his business cards and put a business card in each of their wallets where their money had been, and put their wallets back in their pockets. I guess he wanted them to know where they could find him if they wanted their watches and money back. He then nonchalantly walked off to wait for his train. (BC) What are some other memories you have of training in Japan? (LN) I remember my very first tournament. I had just made green belt, and thought I was getting really good. There were maybe 150 competitors. A folding table set up outside the ring with trophies on one side, and Dr. Chitose sitting behind it, and I think Yamamoto's father in law was sitting there also. My first fight was against this little Japanese guy, who looked like he was still in grade school. Yamamoto was center judge and said “Hajime”. Well, that little dude did a jump front kick, and I thought, “I've got him!” About the time I thought I was doing a killer down block, he spun and back kicked me so hard I thought he’d caved my chest in! That back kick hit me so hard, I went airborne, landed on my back and slid into the side of that table, which promptly fell over and dumped all those trophies everywhere! Watanabe came over and asked what happened to me. I told him the other guy’s back kick drove my sternum into my backbone. I don't think that fight lasted 3 seconds. I also remember my first fight outside the dojo, when I was still a green belt. I'd taken a taxi outside the air base going over to the annex. A dude stepped out into the street and stopped the taxi. I told him “this is my taxi”

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and he said “not anymore”. Well, we fell out and started scrapping, and he started beating the daylights out of me. I finally caught him with a back kick, which took the wind out of him and doubled him over, but by that time he could have the taxi, because my nose was laid over to one side and my mouth was busted up and I was in no shape to go to the annex. That was on a Saturday evening. Monday I went to class with two black eyes. Watanabe said, “what happened to you?” and I said “this karate stuff don't work!” (BC) What was Watanabe's response? (LN) Watanabe's response was “You need to train more!” I became fanatical in training, because that false sense of “I'm a big, bad green belt!” was gone. All I wanted to do was train. Like I said before, there were lots of nights when I was on duty where we didn't have anything to do, and I'd be by myself in the shop, and so I'd train.

(BC) When did you meet Mike Foster? (LN) Mike Foster came back to Japan for a three week visit in January 1963. He walked into the airmen’s club on base and someone told me “That’s Mike Foster over there”. I’d heard of him because Watanabe had been Mike Foster’s original karate instructor, so I went over and introduced myself and told him I was studying karate with Watanabe. He asked me if I knew where he could find Watanabe, and I told him “Yes”. Watanabe worked for the Kyoto Ball Bearing Company, which was a division of Ford Motor Company at that time. Watanabe was a college graduate, but only made $125 per month. I took Mike downtown to where Watanabe worked.

Tournament hosted by Yamamoto Sensei (bottom row, 7th from left). To the right of Yamamoto Sensei is Dr. Chitose and to his left is Watanabe Sensei. Mr. Norris is in the top row above Yamamoto’s right shoulder.


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Mike Foster came to the dojo that night, and proceeded to beat the tar out of everybody. Watanabe pulled me to the side and asked me if I could take Foster over to Yamamoto’s dojo the next day, and I said, “why yes…yes I can!” So the next day, I took Foster over to Yamamoto’s dojo, and got to watch Yamamoto do to Foster what Foster had been doing to us! (BC) Was that the first time Foster met Yamamoto? (LN) Yep! It was a “meeting” Foster would never forget. But it also sparked a desire in Mike to train with Yamamoto, because here was somebody (Yamamoto) that could really fight! From then on Mike Foster came back to Japan to train with Yamamoto every chance he

got, and even lived in Yamamoto’s dojo for a while. (BC) What year did you get your black belt? (LN) It was in May 1964, after I placed 2nd place in a tournament in Japan. Dr. Chitose promoted me to black belt. My 1st Dan was in Goju Ryu, since I was a student of Watanabe, but as I said Watanabe was part of the All Japan Karate Do Federation, and Dr. Chitose was president of the organization. Currently I’m a 6th Dan in Yoshukai and a 4th Dan in kobudo (Ryukyu Kobudo Hozon Shinkokai). As I said, my original Shodan rank was in Goju Ryu, my Nidan and Sandan ranks where in Chito Ryu from Chitose and Yamamoto, and my Yondan rank was in Yoshukai from Yamamoto. To be honest, though, rank doesn’t mean anything to me. All your belt does is hold your gi shut. People get caught up in the “I’m a this, and I’m a that”, and it doesn’t mean

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anything. What means something is getting out on the floor and training, training, training. When I work out by myself, I wear a white belt to remind myself how far I still have to go. (BC) When did you come back to the United States and when did you open your own dojo? (LN) I came home to Orlando, FL on June 5th, 1964 and there was no karate being taught in Orlando at that time, although Jackie Johns did have a Judo school just outside of Orlando. I started teaching Goju Ryu out of my house, and began with two students (Fred Kelly was one of my first students). Later I taught karate at Jackie Johns’ Judo School, but that didn’t last very long.

When I decided to open a commercial dojo, I opened my own dojo in Orlando close to Orange Ave in late 1964 or early 1965, then later moved to Orange Ave, and was there from 1966 to 1971. I had the very first karate school in Orlando, Florida. I came home from Japan in June 1964, and meanwhile Mike Foster went back to Japan in September 1964 on a 90 day visa. However, instead of just staying 90 days Foster lived in Yamamoto’s dojo for 19 months before he was caught and deported back to the US. (BC) When did you meet back up with Mike Foster in the US? (LN) It was a couple of years after I came home from Japan. In 1966 I took Fred Kelly, Mike Waltz, myself and my wife (at the time) to the first USKA tournament in Miami. We went to compete in the tournament. Well, in

Photo taken by Lee Norris while attending his second tournament in Japan


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walked Mike Foster, who’d been back from Japan for only three weeks. Mike Foster competed and annihilated everyone at that tournament. I’d become pretty good friends with Mike in Japan because I had a car over there and used to carry him around everywhere, so when I saw him at the tournament I went to talk to him. He said he was moving to Tampa to open a dojo, and I told him I had a dojo in Orlando with about 20 students. Foster opened a dojo at 703 East Platt Street, Tampa, about a block from the University of Tampa. I’d take any of my students who wanted to go with me over there on Saturdays to train. That was the beginning of Chito Ryu here in Florida, and we were called Yoshukan. Mike Foster was a 4th degree in Chito Ryu and I was a 1st degree in Goju Ryu (soon to be promoted to 2nd degree in Chito Ryu). There was only one other black belt with us at that time, a man training with me named Sam Young, who had received a 1st degree black belt in Issinryu while stationed in Okinawa as a Marine. Foster’s class in Tampa grew to 15 students, and then he started also going out to St. Leo College to teach additional classes. Eventually I was transferred with General Telephone to Tampa. Foster had moved to a new location, which was bigger and had some rooms in the back. I rented a room from Foster, and we trained all the time. I worked in Tampa for 8 or 9 months while Sam Young taught my class in Orlando. During this time Don McNatt had joined the organization. The Tampa dojo then moved to its third location, on the riverfront, about 1969. Sometime in 1970, Mike Foster got an ironworker’s job, and moved up to Illinois for work.

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(BC) What was your training like with Mike Foster back then? (LN) We'd take the class outside and run them to the local park. We [would] also beat the living daylights out of people with a bamboo shinai. We spent enough time on kata to get by for tests, but we usually did what we did in Japan, which was get in line and do basics up and down the floor for about 45 minutes, then we fought. We did round robins with each other, and Mike Foster would fight each person in class every time we fought, day after day after day. We [worked] on sweeps also. Mike Foster would turn you upside down in a heartbeat, and about the time you

hit the ground his fist was buried in your chest! Somebody might try to hold their leg up and do multiple roundhouse kicks at you, and they might hit you with the first one. But if you grab their leg, turn them upside down and slam them to the floor, they usually didn’t try it again. Mike Foster is one of the finest fighters I've ever seen in the dojo. At one time there were probably 30 guys who trained

under him that would have done anything for him,

we'd have laid down our lives for him. It was probably the closest thing I've seen to how a samurai felt about his lord. (BC) What happened after Foster moved to Illinois? (LN) I had been transferred back to Orlando after I broke my hand fighting (boxer’s fracture), so I started driving to Tampa on Saturdays to teach there and would go to St Leo’s at least one day a week to try to keep that dojo going. Yuki Koda came over in 1968 and was teaching, and Koda went to Lakeland to teach at Don McNatt’s original school. At this time we had 17 schools in Florida, and eventually Foster did come back from Illinois.

Original Yoshukan Karate Dojo card


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I was then working for Western Electric and got transferred to Miami in 1971. Sam had gotten a different job and couldn’t teach, so I had to close my dojo in Orlando when I moved to Miami. I quit teaching in 1971. While in Miami, I worked out with Okazawa, a Shotokan practitioner in Miami, a really great karate man. Soon, though, I had to start moving all over the place due to my job. I trained in a lot of different dojos, and a lot of different styles, but always with the same results. I just wanted to line up in the back of class and workout. As soon as the instructor saw that I could punch and kick pretty good, he wanted to know what training I’d had. Once I told him I was Yoshukai, I’d have to line up and fight one at a time with everybody in the dojo, from the lowest kyu ranks up to the black belts. It was an ego thing with them, because everyone knew who Mike Foster was and they wanted to see if they could beat somebody who trained with him. All I wanted to do was line up and train. I finally landed in Gainesville in 1982, and started building a dojo in 1984 over my garage. This project took a while because I was doing all the work myself, and finally completed it in 1990. Mike McClernan moved to Gainesville in 1987, and when I found out he was here we started working out together again. (BC) What were tournaments like in the late 60s and early 70s? (LN) Tournaments were rough. Both of my hands have been broken, two times apiece, from punching underneath and hitting elbows or kneecaps. The first USKA tournaments were in the 60s, and there were no pads or safety gear. If you showed up with even an ace bandage on, you had to take it off or you couldn't compete. You paid $5 to get in a tournament, and you paid that entry fee to either break somebody's nose or to get your nose broken. The rules were minimum face contact, which meant you couldn't draw blood. You could leave a big red mark, but as long as there was no blood, it was fine. I remember a green belt [Goju Ryu] who'd pay $5 just to go to a tournament and punch somebody in the mouth. He didn't care if he got disqualified, as long as he got a chance to punch somebody in the mouth. There were a lot of people who competed during those days that did the same thing. You could also do sweeps and takedowns during those days. I remember seeing Bob Bremer at that Miami tournament (when I met up again with Foster). In Bob's

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first fight he swept a guy and both of them went down. It looked like a bar brawl. (BC) Did you ever get to see Dr. Chitose again after you’d moved back to the US? (LN) Yes, both Dr. Chitose and Yamamoto went to Canada in August 1967 to demonstrate karate at the World Expo. Mike and I went to see them (Mike flew and I drove). Mike [Foster] and I both competed in a tournament put on by Mas Tsuruoka (one of Chitose’s black belts in

Canada), and Foster beat everybody. Yamamoto and Foster put on a bo and sai demonstration, and then Dr. Chitose put on a demonstration and threw Yamamoto and Mike Foster around like they were rag dolls. After the trip to Canada, Chitose Sensei, Yamamoto and Mike Foster flew to Covington, KY, to visit Bill Dometrich's dojo. I left Canada and drove down to

Yamamoto Sensei’s 11 year old sister in-law performing bo kata. Watanabe Sensei on floor, Yamamoto Sensei seated on chair. February, 1964


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Kentucky to see them. During this visit to Kentucky, Dr. Chitose made Bill Dometrich head the USA branch of Chito Ryu. Bill began training with Dr. Chitose in Japan in 1953 (while Bill was in the army), and once he was discharged and returned to the states in 1955, Bill started teaching Chito Ryu. I think Mike Foster felt like he should have been named head of Chito Ryu in the US, because he had won every tournament he’d entered and was unbeaten. After the Canada/Kentucky trip, Yamamoto flew down to Tampa with Foster and stayed here two weeks. At that time, we weren't real good at kata because all we did was fight. Yamamoto took each person, and taught them one kata, and that person was responsible for teaching that kata to everyone else. (BC) You were Tiger Moore's original instructor, weren't you? (LN) Yes, I had a school at the Sanford Naval Academy. When I started it, Tiger must have been in the 6th or 7th grade. I sometimes used to take my students up to Rock Springs at Apopka (Florida) to train outside. When you'd go down to the second landing, there was a stream, and I'd make them get in the water and walk upstream punching. Tiger's head wasn't too much higher than the water line. (BC) Do you have a favorite Kata, and why? (LN) I would say Bassai, but I also really like Naifanchi. Remember, though, from 1966 – 1970 we didn't spend a whole lot of time on kata, we spent our time fighting! (BC) Do you have a favorite weapon, and why? (LN) Sai is my favorite. I train with nunchaku, bo and tekko (like brass knuckles) also, but I really love sai. (BC) Did you ever study another form of Budo besides Karate? (LN) I'm a 4th degree in Kobudo. I used to go to Bill Dometrich's summer camp every year in Covington, KY, and I met his daughter, Devorah Dometrich in 1991. She had trained with Akamini Sensei in Okinawa for a long time, and was his only American deshi (student). She had never been down to Florida, so I asked her about coming down here. My dojo was the first dojo in Florida she ever came to (in 1993), and eventually she started a circuit, which included several stops in Florida. The exposure I had to weapons prior to this was what Yamamoto did, and he mainly took our empty hand katas and adapted them for weapons. What I discovered through Devorah Dometrich was that the bo kata we did

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in Yoshukai (Sho No Bo) was a variation of Sakagawa No Kun Sho, but there were sections left out. Now, if you understood Yamamoto's knee situation, you understood why those particular sections were left out because of the low squats involved. There's no doubt in my mind that Chitose Sensei trained with Shinkin Tiaria (considered the father of modern kobudo), which is why I think our kata resembles theirs. When you read the history of kobudo, Shinkin Tiaria made many trips to Japan, and he'd do a circuit of many dojos before returning to Okinawa. I also did tai chi at one time, which helped me see the value of doing techniques slowly, and I've studied Shotokan. Most all karate is the same. There may be small technical differences (for example, Issin-ryu doesn't turn their fist over when they punch), but the primary differences are in other styles’ philosophy of why they do certain things. The basics are the same. (BC) How old are you now and how often do you train for yourself? (LN) Right now I'm 71. Before my cancer treatments I almost never missed a workout, but I haven't had a gi on since August (2011) because of the treatments I'm on. I still go up to my dojo and watch videos and read. I tried to get started back after New Years, and I put my gi on and went upstairs to the dojo. Well, I went up and down the floor a few times and was just exhausted. Before this, my normal workout was four days a week, for about two hours a day. I do basics. I do 2,170 basic techniques during a workout. Its 15 steps up my dojo floor, turn, then 15 steps back. One set consists of 7 times up and back. 6 times I do one technique up and back. The 7th time I do three reps of whatever technique I'm working on, so if its middle lunge punch, I do 3 middle punches. I do center punch, face punch, low punch, upper block, inside middle block, outside middle block, and backfist. Once I finish my first set (which consists of 7 times up and back), I strap on bungee cords and work 25 slow punches with my right hand with my right leg forward, turn around and do 25 pulls with my right hand (hikite), then turn around and do 25 slow punches with my left hand with my left leg forward, then turn and pull 25 times with my left hand (hikite). I then go to the makiwara and hit it 100 times. I'm not hitting 100% each time, but hard enough to know that my elbow is in a correct position as my punch extends, my wrist is not bending up or down or side to side.


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Then I do sit ups and pushups, and 25 curls. Now it’s back to my next set. I do 8 sets (one set of each basic technique), so you wind up doing 2,170 basic techniques up and down the floor, you hit the makiwara 800 times each workout. I do this Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. On Fridays, I do the same workout, but without the weights and execute the techniques at 100%. This is also when I do kata. I pick three kata, and do them 10 times each. I also use weights on my arms, and do the techniques slow. I worked up to 8 pounds for each hand, but I discovered that if I went over 8 pounds I was doing damage to my shoulder. The objective is to isolate the muscles involved in the technique. You shouldn't use ankle weights on your legs, though, since they can cause you to overextend your joints and you can injure yourself. Instead use bungee cords to slowly extend your kick and hold it. Most people will kick and use momentum to get their kicks up, rather than building up their muscles to extend the technique without having to use momentum. You have to build up to this, but once you can do this full workout for six weeks, you'll see a phenomenal improvement in your kata. A kata is made up of the 8 basic techniques I work on, plus some basic kicks. Students want speed, speed, speed, speed, speed. They don't slow down and work the fine points of the techniques. If you take a video camera and record their movements, then slow it down and watch frame by frame, you'll see that their techniques are not consistently landing in the same spot each time. The katas teach us to build power through shifting our weight. Look at a lunge punch. You're shifting your weight forward, and learning to time the punch to coincide with your forward momentum. Or look at a reverse punch. A reverse punch is like a baseball bat swing or a golf swing. Your power goes from the floor to the hips, then to the trunk, then to the arms. Do this experiment. Put one foot on a scale and raise your heel up. Now, drop your heel down and watch the weight momentarily jump up. This is weight transfer; you are generating momentum downward by your weight drop. In a lunge punch, you are generating momentum forward. It also has to do with timing. For the longest time I thought Mike Foster was just faster than everybody else. I realized over time that he wasn't necessarily faster, but

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he understood timing better than everybody else. The human body can only move certain ways, and if you understand where a person's weight is, you can know where he can move and where he can't move without shifting. Then you know where to attack. (BC) Is there any one you would have liked to train with? There's a whole bunch of people I'd like to have trained with. One person in particular I would have like to have trained with is Yamamoto's father-in-law. I did get to meet Imamoto, Dr. Chitose's number one student in Japan, but not while I was there. I met him through Devorah Dometrich (Bill Dometrich’s daughter) in Kentucky. Imamoto was in the Japanese Defense Force in Okinawa, and when Devorah Dometrich went to Dr. Chitose to get someone to train her, Dr. Chitose took her to Imamoto. (BC) What advice would you give to a Karate-ka who wants to improve? (LN) You have to always be a student, no matter how long you've trained or what your rank is. There are too many egos that want to say “I know it all”. The truth is they don't know it all, not even close. You go out and you find out what someone does well, and you learn how and why it works. Then you work on it until it becomes part of you. Then find somebody else that does something else well. Doesn't matter if it’s Yoshukai, Shotokan, Issin-ryu, Tae kwon do, boxing or whatever. Students are too eager to move on to the next thing. As soon as you show them one kata, and they sort of have the pattern down, they're ready to start working on the next kata. But they're not even close to having the first one down. Have your students take an index card and list a kata at the top, then mark it every time they go through the entire kata. Doesn't matter if they go through it fast or slow, in a tournament, in class or on their own, just have them mark it down each time they go through the entire kata. If you ask your students before they start to keep a record, most students will say “oh, I've been through such-n-such kata 10,000 times”. Once they start keeping a record of it, they'll be surprised how few times they go thru a particular kata. For example, if you went to class three days a week, and you did a kata twice in each class, that's six times a week you performed a particular kata which is 312 times a year. Sounds like a lot, but it would take 32 years at that pace to do a kata 10,000 times! I kept track one year of the number of times I did each kata, and I didn't do any one kata 200 times in a year.


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(BC) What is your biggest regret? (LN) My biggest regret is not staying in touch with Wantanabe over the years. Wantanabe was a really fine person. If my health lets me, I want to go back to Japan and find him and thank him for being my first instructor, and for all the things he taught me.

I&know&that&many&of&you&have&already&started&to&do&your&Christmas&shopping,&so&from&a&security&perspective,&just&a&few&reminders…

When&walking&from&the&store&to&your&car,&always,&without&exception,&have&your&finger&on&your&remote&panic&or&alarm&button.

As&you&approach&your&car,&look&underneath&the&car,&and&while&loading&your&packages,&keep&looking&around&on&all&sides.

ALWAYS,&look&in&the&back&seat&before&getting&into&your&car!!!

Park&as&close&to&the&store&as&possible,&and&if&you&must&park&a&long&distance&away,&ask&the&store&personnel&for&an&escort.&Most&large&stores&employ&off&duty&officers&during&the&holiday&season,&and&they&are&usually&available&for&escorting.

During&this&time&of&year,&there&are&always&people&soliciting&for&charities&in&the&parking&lots&(some&legitimate,&some&not).&The&legitimate&ones&are&usually&set&up&at&or&near&the&entrance&(not&roaming&the&parking&lot).&Once&in&your&car,&never&roll&the&window&down&nor&open&the&door&for&anyone!

And&finally,&one&of&the&most&important&to&me&(which&I&see&all&the&time),&never&ever&post&your&holiday&travel&plans&or&out&of&town&photos&on&social&media&sites,&while&you&are&away&from&your&home.&“Surfing”&these&sites&for&such&information&is&a&favorite&tool&of&criminals.&Once&they&learn&that&you&are&out&of&town,&your&address&can&easily&be&obtained&from&numerous&websites&in&a&matter&of&seconds.&

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(BC)Thank you so much for your time and patience! (LN) You’re welcome! 1 The Dojo Desk Reference, pages 298 and 299.


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YOSHUKAI KARATE INTERNATIONAL www.YoshukaiKarateInternational.com

DOJO DIRECTORY

UNITED STATES The Bamboo Dojo

www.the bamboodojo.com

FIAMA Martial Arts Academy http://www.fiama1.com

Lee’s Martial Arts Academy http://www.yoshukaikarate.net

Port Orange YMCA [email protected]

Suncoast Yoshukai [email protected]

Sylacauga Karate School, AL [email protected]

Titusville Yoshukai Karate International

www.tyki.org

West Palm Beach Dojo [email protected]

Yoshukai of Tampa Bay www.YoshukaiTampaBay.com

GERMANY Yoshukai Essen

http://i-defense.de/

AUSTRALIA www.yoshukai.org.nz

Sydney City Dojo [email protected]

Melbourne Dojo [email protected]

NEW ZEALAND www.yoshukai.org.nz

University of Canterbury Dojo [email protected]

Tokomaru Dojo, Palmerston North [email protected]

Wellington Dojo [email protected]

MALAYSIA Koru Sports Academy

www.korusportsacademy.com

Ball Catch and Straddle Jump

Stand holding a fitness ball in front of your chest with both hands, your feet shoulder-width apart. Drop the ball, then lower your body into a squat position and catch it after one bounce. As you catch the ball, immediately jump as high as you can and rotate your body 90 degrees to your right. When your feet touch the floor, bounce the ball, squat, and jump to the starting position. Repeat this to the left, and return to the starting position.

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or

even touched. They must be felt with the heart. Wishing you

happiness.

Helen Keller

2012 In this issue: Upcoming Events 1 Upcoming Events Newsletter Sep-Oct 2012 .pdfYoshukai Karate...

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