Ohtsuka teaching at Goju Kai

[wadoka]

I stumbled across this page again and it made me want to post the image of Ohtsuka Sensei teaching some Goju Kai students. I might have highlighted it on the old AK forums but worth redoing again I feel.

http://www.gojukai.com.au/Japan_Karate_do_College.html

The image is shown below and the text says "WADO-RYU founder Hironori Otsuka, now over 80, demonstrates block-and counter moves on Govender Krishna as Simbolon Edyson (left) and John Sullivan watch."

wado-goju2.jpg (20.73 KiB) Viewed 12508 times

When it said John Sullivan and the Goju connection I thought, this isn't the Go Kan Ryu guy and luckily it isn't. That person is Robert Sullivan, phew.

I have enlarged that image slightly which is why it is pixelated but you can see the original on their web page.

The article includes the following paragraphs:

Hironori Otsuka, founder and chief instructor of wado-ryu, concentrates more on skull sessions, using the blackboard to explain a difficult point. In discussing energy, mass and motion, it seems he is conducting a class in physics rather than a session in karate.

But Otsuka is also strong on basics and kata, spending the first half of his training period having his charges practice straight punches and kicks, punch-kick combinations, blocks and counters, etc. Now more than 80 years old, Otsuka Sensei sometimes gets carried away in his huddle discussions, spending more time talking to the students and less time letting them train.

John Sullivan, who studied under Otsuka Sensei before coming to the college, complains about the lack of organization in wado-kai. He points out that there is no hombu dojo and that it is therefore difficult to take an examination for a higher rank.

[Gusei21]

i think Otsuka Sensei is teaching them how we use our jodan uke. contrasting it with the Goju/shotoryu age uke.
Classic Otsuka Sensei explanation. I think others here have also seen him teach how we use jodan uke this way.

[Tim49]

I think you will find the original article here:
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=HdcD ... &q&f=false

Tim

[oneya]

Just a small correction here wadoka, Ohtsuka meijin was actually teaching at the 'Nihon Karate do Senmon Gakko' , circa 1973, rather than the Goju Kai.

http://www.gojukai.com.au/Japan_Karate_do_College.html

As it says in the article and a particular Goju Kai shihan's bio. “The Japan Karate-do College opened in April, 1973, offering lessons from the chief instructors of all the major schools of Japanese karate (except shotokan). Hinori Otsuka of wado-ryu, Manzo Iwata of shito-ryu, Hiroyasu Tamae of rembukan and Goshi Yamaguchi of goju-ryu-they're all here along with Motokasu Inoue, the chief instructor of ryukyu kobudo. The famed Gogen "Cat" Yamaguchi (Goshi's father) is president of the college.”

I have told the story before of the Goju Kai 5th dan – a nicer fellow you would be hard pressed to find - he was the first Australian graduate of the Japanese karate do college - also a founder member of the Kokusai Karate do Shihan Kai – and was one of a group of senior instructors (shihan) from all styles that I was teaching Kihon Kumite to as an inductee into the Kokusai Shihan kai in Australia.

He was the one who said: “Wado ryu is so difficult you need to be a black belt before you start the style”

I had forgotten that "except shotokan" qualification - I wonder why that was..?

oneya

[oneya]

i think Otsuka Sensei is teaching them how we use our jodan uke. contrasting it with the Goju/shotoryu age uke.
Classic Otsuka Sensei explanation. I think others here have also seen him teach how we use jodan uke this way.

That particular technique also was/is a standard feature of Suzuki Tatsuo's 'Sanbon Kumite' syllabus from early times in the UK.

oneya

[wadoka]

Oneya, it was a rushed title on my behalf.

I've not read all of the articles but is that still Mr Yamaguchi's dojo?

[oneya]

Oneya, it was a rushed title on my behalf.

I've not read all of the articles but is that still Mr Yamaguchi's dojo?

I am not sure wadoka, it (IKGA) is a vast 200,000 strong karate empire now spanning the world and I am hidden away on a little peninsula in south east Australia so my contacts with Paul are virtually moribund. I will see if anyone has the answer to your question though.

oneya

[wadoka]

This is a good interview by Graham Noble with the third Yamaguchi son, Goshi.

http://seinenkai.com/articles/noble/nob ... guchi.html

He mentions the college and Ohtsuka sensei briefly.

[oneya]

This is a good interview by Graham Noble with the third Yamaguchi son, Goshi.

http://seinenkai.com/articles/noble/nob ... guchi.html

He mentions the college and Ohtsuka sensei briefly.

Ah thanks for that Gordon. I remember Goshi Yamaguchi, as an icon of Goju Ryu karate he was part of a special seminal moment along my wado ryu pathway and with apologies to those who have heard this story before. It was in 1988 when we – my brothers and I - as San no Ya were floor managers for WUKO World Championships in Sydney, During a quiet moment I found myself standing at a bank of three urinals with another icon of Shitoryu karate Fumio Demura on my left and Goshi Yamaguchi on my right. We stood there with our left hands deployed in the requisite kake uke as we exchanged pleasantries and for a moment I pondered nagasu as we released three pure streams of budo energy down the gurgler.

There was also a moment of epiphany as I realised that education was not the great solitary leveler of mankind that I had thought up to that point. It occurred to me then that human nature with its unrelenting requirement of obedience when considering the emissions of the human body can simultaneously drain the beauty and majesty from mankind and turn men into cattle. but this was not the moment of epiphany, it was not then, it was a moment later when I realised the a man could regain that beauty and majesty, he just had to remember to take his dick out of his hand first.

oneya

[wadoka]

i think Otsuka Sensei is teaching them how we use our jodan uke. contrasting it with the Goju/shotoryu age uke.
Classic Otsuka Sensei explanation. I think others here have also seen him teach how we use jodan uke this way.

For those that may not have been shown this, here are some photos of Shiomitsu sensei doing similar.
http://www.wado.co.uk/Wado.co.uk/Series_3.html