HIS Karate-Do

Well once again, it’s that season for reflection, or my usual Deep Thoughts, haha. Especially at this time of year, I feel extra blessed that Sensei Peter, Wayne, and I can continue to share karate with you all at HISKF. It’s been over 23 years since I started this club and am very aware that we won’t be able to do this forever. Today, your senseis would all be considered “elderly men” in our seventies. Now, it’s not purely about one’s chronological age and being “young at heart” (like us, haha) is a real phenomenon. If one’s age were the only life factor, I’d have some trepidations since the average male life expectancy in Hawaii is (wait for it)…77.6 years! And Hawaii’s average lifespan is ranked among the highest in the U.S. A pretty sobering statistic eh? Hey, no one lives forever, but it’s not just about living for a long time, but rather, it’s living in good health that makes it worthwhile. I’ve seen some estimates that the average “healthspan” (how long one can remain healthy) in the U.S. is a mere 63 years…a milestone that your senseis passed a decade ago. Just what is good health as applied [...]

Recently, we held one of our periodic belt exams. While students are patiently awaiting the exam results, I thought that I’d share my thoughts on what these exams mean to me. In life, there are all kinds of exams that may vary, depending upon the purpose these serve. I’d like to focus on just two specific types which I’ll call, the Final Exam approach and the Entrance Exam approach. For many folks, passing a belt exam means that “you’ve done it and achieved the rank.” So, whether it’s a yellow belt or attaining the black belt, one may naturally think that he/she is now fully qualified to proudly wear the rank that’s just been awarded. From this perspective, the student treats the test as a Final Exam and has a feeling akin to completing his/her studies and graduating from high school or college. One can now pause and look back on all that has been learned to get to this milestone. From such a perspective, each test seems to be a Final Exam which means they have mastered the previous rank and have graduated to a higher level. I guess that you may be surprised if I say that your [...]

Sadly, we just found out that Kancho Kenneth Funakoshi passed away on July 3. He was known world-wide as the founder and retired leader of the FSKA with many thousands of members from the USA, Mexico, South America, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Despite the many articles written about him, videos of his seminars, and honorific titles, he always remained down-to-earth and retained his easy-going, local pidgin. He could be a hard taskmaster in the dojo, but he also had a sense of humor and an excellent memory which was great for story-telling. Whenever he taught, his presence and commanding, piercing voice would fill the dojo and make everyone try even harder. Over the years, your sensei’s have received instruction from and attended seminars of many karate masters. However, that is not the same as consistent training under your primary instructor. Each of us trained under sensei in both regular and advanced classes from the early 1970s until he left for the mainland in 1986. Inevitably, what we learned from him went far beyond mere technique. His teaching style, personal thoughts about the art, even his philosophy of life exerted a strong influence on us. This teacher-student relationship is [...]