Interview with Shihan Yokota

Can we please start by asking you how you first started you karate training and why?

(Kousaku Yokota)     My father was a Kodokan judo blackbelt, so he encouraged me to take up judo when I was in junior high school.  There was no judo club in my school so I went to the ward police station headquarters where the policemen were teaching martial arts (only judo and kendo).  I took up judo when I was 13 and practiced for 3 years.  I earned a junior black belt and won a high school championship.

One day a short boy joined the judo club.  I clearly remember him to be quite strange because every time I threw him down on the mat he would spring up and gets in a strange stance (I think it was a cat stance now that I think of it).  Normally a new student would not jump up from the mat after being thrown down like he did.  I had never seen this unusual move.  After a few weeks I got to know him better so I asked him why he did this.  He said he practiced karate and he was taking up judo to learn how it was to be thrown so he could fight a judo man.  Up to that time I really believed that judo was invincible and greatest martial art so I said to him “So, you learned karate cannot beat judo, right?’  To my surprise he said, “Judo is great when some body grabs you but a judo guy cannot beat a karate guy if he is more than 3 feet away.”  I did not understand what he meant as I did not know the techniques of karate.  He explained and demonstrated what karate could do and I was very fascinated.  When I went into senior high school, although the Judo club tried very hard to recruit me, my mind was set.  I wanted to start karate.  Again, there was no karate club in my school so I joined a karate club at the main YMCA in my hometown, Kobe.  That dojo happened to be the headquarters of JKA (Japan Karate Association) of Hyogo prefecture taught by late Master Sugano (9^th dan).

 

(SB)     Can you please tell us a little about Sugano Sensei, and your early experiences with him and karate?

(KY)     Sugano Sensei was a big guy especially a man of his generation.  He must have been 180cm tall and weighed about 90 – 100kg.  When I first joined the club in 60’s, I was one of the lowly students so I did not have any interactions with him.  One thing I can say is that he flunked me when I took my first kyu test.  It is unbelievable that I could not even pass my first kyu test.  It is a long story so I will not explain how it happened.

Sugano Sensei was independently wealthy.  He owned a bar and a tobacco shop that were very profitable.  After the evening trainings, he used to take us to his bar.  We did not drink any alcohol but we enjoyed the informal gathering with the other instructors.  At those get together, we could ask him some personal and karate related questions which we could not do at our dojo (it’s a Japanese tradition that the students never ask questions).  He told us that we should never pick up karate as a profession to earn living.  This is because by doing so, your students become the “customers”.  You would be afraid to lose the customers and your training methods would change thus the quality of your instructions would be compromised.  He had a big impact as I was thinking of becoming a full time instructor and living on this profession.  Actually, none of the instructors under Sugano Sensei’s command were full time instructors.  They all had some kind of jobs to support their families.

As far as the karate is concerned I remember he had a very “heavy” punch.  His fist was like a hammer and when he hits you (in a demonstration) I did feel like a sledgehammer had hit me.  The impact went through my whole body.  He had a very scary face as well.  I don’t know the translation but his face looked like a Japanese “oni”, like a goblin or a devil.  He told me that the local yakuza (Japanese mafia) were afraid of him and I believe it.  Here is a not so scary looking picture of Sugano sensei.

Unfortunately, he liked to smoke and drink.  After having some drinks he told us some interesting stories and some crazy things he did when he was young.  I would not go into this but I really enjoyed listening to his stories.  He had heart attack when he was in his 60’s so the doctor told him that he should not drink or smoke.  I remember him saying; “I would not like to live long if I cannot enjoy my life with my favourite vices”.  He passed away in 2002 at the age of 74.  Like Asai sensei he was not scared of dying.  He went like a samurai but in a different way.

I want to add something here.  As I lost my original sensei in 2002, I was free to resign from JKA.  This is why I could transfer to JKS in 2002.

 

(SB)     You enjoyed a very successful competitive career am I right? Could you please tell us about some of the most vivid memories you have from your competitive years.

(KY)     Though I did enjoyed the competitions when I was active in that aspect of karate, to be honest, I was not very active in the tournaments when I was training in Philadelphia during the 70’s.  I have treated karate as a martial art since then so my motivation was always beyond tournaments.  I competed in the US only a couple of years and got some good experiences. There were many good competitors in East Coast region so I enjoyed competing against them.

As I was not getting enough training at Philadelphia dojo, I decided to go back to Japan to complete my Kenshusei training there.  I went back in ’81 and stayed in Hyogo prefecture for two years.

Upon returning to Hyogo, I went back to Sugano sensei’s dojo and continued my serious training.  Even though my purpose of the training was not tournaments, I will mention about them as you are asking about my competition experiences.

I entered the prefecture championship, which was elimination round for the national championship, a few months after my return.  Luckily I placed first so got a ticket to JKA All Japan Championship in Tokyo.  That is probably the most memorable experience out of my competition days.  I competed with the best competitors of the world in that era such as Osaka sensei and Yahara sensei.  They are my age group and they were in their prime time.  Also, this is the first time I witnessed, with my own eyes, Master Asai’s techniques in his demo.  I was truly impressed by his techniques as they were very unique and unlike JKA karate.  His arms are like whips and flew around so fast.  It was unbelievable and he left a tremendous impression on me.

In 1981 I also represented my prefecture in Kokutai (All Japan Athletic Fair), which was held in Shiga prefecture.  It is like a miniature Olympics and karate was one of the new events.  Also, it should be noted that JKA joined WUKO hosted tournament for the first time.  It was memorable as I saw and competed against, for the first time, the top-notch karate practitioners of other styles such as Shito Ryu, Goju Ryu and Wado Ryu.  I was also exposed to the protective gears like Menho (face protector) and large fist pad.  I believe in not using any protective gears including groin cups so I did not like them.   These equipments allowed the techniques that were way short in distance (as you are not supposed to touch the face mask to win a point).  That was also the first time I saw a fighting style with a lot of hopping.  This kind of kumite may be popular in Shotokan now a days.  In 70’s and early 80’s our stance was low and pretty much stationary.  We moved our steps carefully and never hopped.  We believed in Ippon shobu and our moves are very similar to two samurai in a sword fight.

I represented Hyogo prefecture in All Japan Championship in ’82 and that was my last event in my competition life.  I was 35 years old and many coaches were younger than me.  I returned to the US (California) in ’83 and never competed again.

 

(SB)     You mentioned you competed with the likes of Osaka and Yahara. Did you ever get the chance to fight either of these?

(KY)     At the national championship, (read more...)

 

Shihan Yokota has published numerous articles and books:

+Marcus Hinschberger

Shotokan Myth #6 Makiwara Training

Makiwara is a true tradition of karate and its training is a must for all karate-ka.

The makiwara has been a fixture in karate dojos since its introduction to mainland Japan in the early 20th century. We have seen pictures of Funakoshi sensei punching one with his geta (wooden clogs) on. I have even heard that some of the modern day sensei would carry portable makiwara in their suitcases with them when they travel.

The makiwara had been an important training tool in my karate life as well. Let me explain how I got introduced to this traditional equipment in my first days of karate training. At the first dojo I joined in the early 60’s (Kobe Shotokan Karate Club), I remember there were several makiwara posts, some were wrapped with straw ropes and some with softer pads. I also remember that those pads were no longer white or have their original colors, whatever they were. The pads I saw were reddish black, covered in dried blood. It was obvious that my senpai punched these posts over and over again even when their fists were bleeding. My senpai, Kato-san once said, “Now look. My fist is so strong I can punch like this.” He punched straight into a wooden 4 x 4 beam of the dojo. Bang! Bang! The beam shook but he felt no pain. (At least he did not show it.) Wow! I was very impressed. If he could punch that beam like that, he could easily kill me. Honestly, it really made me scared of this senpai and he won unconditional respect from me. So as soon as I was allowed to punch a makiwara I started the tradition with full might. My dohai (student who started at the same time) Nakai and I punched the makiwara hundreds of times every day. In a year Nakai had developed some very respectable calluses but I couldn’t. I was frustrated and thought I was not punching hard enough. No matter how hard I punched the makiwara, the calluses on my fists did not get larger. ( Later, I realized that this was due to my skin’s very rubbery and soft characteristics. Actually, these characteristics are very good for they also allow me to be flexible as well. ) Despite not developing any respectable calluses, I kept the makiwara habit for more than 15 years. I must admit that the resonating sound made by hitting a makiwara in a dojo was euphoric, especially when the rhythm is so close to that of my own heartbeat.

I wondered if makiwara training is a true tradition and whether it was handed down for many centuries.We knew that the makiwara came from Okinawa but we have little documentation to support its history. I discovered, to my surprise, that this tradition is only 100 years old since its invention. It is believed that Matsumura Sokon (1809 – 1899) initially invented the makiwara and Itosu Anko (Master Funakoshi’s sensei, 1830 -1915) popularized it in the early 1900’s. Matusmura sensei took kenjutsu called Jigenryu of Satsuma. Jigenryu is a very unique style and their main practice is (read more...)

Shihan Yokota has published numerous articles and books:

Shotokan Myth # 5 Kime

Kime – Trademark of Shotokan karate

 

The readers will agree that perfect kime is what we dream of when we do the oi zuki or gyaku zuki. Bang boom! Look at Enoeda sensei’s tsuki (photo on below)  Yes, this is Shotokan.

Indeed, the powerful punches and kicks are trademarks of Shotokan karate.   When you look at Shitoryu kata, their performances look smooth and fluid but their techniques look “weak.”  The Gojuryu kata have a lot of neko ashi dachi and sanchin dachi, and although their arm movements are circular, these movements, just like their stances, look short and do not have enough kime. (Note: I want to emphasize that I am in no way trying to bash any styles at all.  I am simply comparing the general impressions of shotokan and other styles.)  If the impressions above coincide with yours, then you want to ask, “OK, so what?”  Hold your breath, here is a shocking statement: Kime (more precisely, encouraging it) is probably the most harmful action for most Shotokan practitioners while training, particularly for beginners. I am aware of the graveness and controversial nature of my statement.  However, I am convinced that all instructors and serious practitioners must be aware of and understand well this prevalent problem in Shotokan training.  Despite the risk of being misunderstood, I dare to write this article as I believe this knowledge must be expressed publicly.  So, please read on to catch the true essence of my statement.

I want to emphatically state that I am NOT identifying kime itself or having a correct kime in your techniques as a problem.  If you are capable of producing a good and correct kime and you feel your overall movements are fluid, then this may not be an issue.  What I wish to convey is that the overly tensed body that kime creates is the problem. (read more...)

Shihan Yokota has published numerous articles and books:

Are we practicing Bujutsu or Budo? Does it matter?

Are you practicing karate as Bujutsu or Budo?  Do you care?  I hope you do.  I believe it does matter and we must ask this question to all karate practitioners and instructors.  Unfortunately, many of them do not care.  Even if they do, they either fail to understand the differences or they are too lazy to research about these concepts.

Let’s look at the popular reasons for the people to pick up karate and practice:

• Self defense

• Health/physical conditioning

• Stress reduction/mental wellness

• Competition/tournaments

All these reasons are good and respectable ones.  We must not pass the judgment on any of the reasons and to regard any of them is better than the others.  Though I am glad to see the people practicing karate for whatever the reasons, I have a strong concern with the current trend of tremendous amount of participation in the tournament activities, especially by the children and the youths.  In fact too much emphasis is put on winning.  The participants are told to do whatever necessary to win the matches.  The things they are encouraged to do are to use only the certain techniques that are easier to score, to bend the rules, to do illegal things (by hiding them from the judges), to change kata moves to look “fancy”, etc.  Their ultimate goal is to win without paying much attention to anything else and that is the essence of Bujutsu, martial arts.  The 16^th century Japan was in a war period and they cared only the best swordsmanship in order to survive in a battle.

Well then, what is different between Bujutsu and Budo?   I believe a half of the problem comes from many of us not having clear understanding of the differences between the two terms and concepts.  Most of us consider them as same or believe that they are inter-changeable.  This is the gravest misconception and it is where the serious problem begins. (read more...)

 

 

Shihan Yokota has published numerous articles and books:

Shotokan Myth #1 Hikite

A good hikite is necessary to make a powerful punch.

Hikite is a Japanese word consisting of 引 “hiki” meaning pull or draw and 手“te”, a hand.

When I started karate training in 60’s, my first instruction was given by a senpai and he showed me how to do chudan zuki from a natural stance.  I never forget him, Kato senpai.  He was barely 5 foot tall but was as fast as a lightening (as I remember him doing Enpi).   Anyway, Kato senpai said “Put your left hand out and set your right fist at your right hip. OK that is where you start a punch.   Now, draw your left fist to your hips very quickly and at the same time you punch with your right fist, like this.”  He showed me the impressive chudan seiken zuki several times in front of me.  Though it looked quite simple and easy to imitate, I found the turning of a punching fist was difficult and so was drawing the other fist to the hip (hikite).  He explained “You need to pay more attention to your hikite than to the punching fist.  The faster and stronger you draw your hikite so will your punch become”.  As it was my first day at karate training, his statement made a big impact in my head.

A few months later, when I learned a kihon kumite of 5 attack (Gohon kumite), I had a problem with hikite again.  As we all know after the fifth block the defender needs to throw a counter punch.  As a defender, I kept my blocking hand out (rising block, down block, etc) as I delivered a counter punch.  My senpai said “No! No! No!  You need to do your hikite as you counter punch.  Your punch will be much stronger with a strong hikite”.  I thought I did a good counter punch but, no hikite was a big mistake which I had to correct.  To be honest, it was difficult not only because the coordination of two arms but more so because I was afraid to lower my block hand from jodan age (rising block) as the opponent’s fist was near my head.   I feared that his fist might hit my face but I later found the opponent was nice enough to hold his fist above my head.

I suspect this kind of experience described above is very common for most of the people when they start karate training.  I must emphasize that the correction and change forced by that senpai were right thing to do and I would have done the same thing in the same situation.  In punching with a hikite two arms move to the opposite directions simultaneously.  This process must become as natural as two feet move in harmony while you are walking.  If you drag one foot behind and try to walk with only one foot, it will not be a smooth walk and the movement is not natural.  Walking mechanism is very natural to us and hikite mechanism can also be natural to karate-ka after a year of practice.  After it becomes a part of your natural move, no one thinks too deeply about it and you will have a powerful punch accompanied by a good hikite.  Here one has mastered a karate technique.  This is great.  We are all happy.  Now I can almost hear you say, “Well then, what is the problem?” (read more..)

 

 

Shihan Yokota has published numerous articles and books:

Nunchaku, an unique weapon & its benefits to Karate

The nunchaku (ヌンチャクin Japanese and 雙節棍in Chinese) is a traditional weapon of the Kobudo and consists of two sticks connected with a short chain or rope.  I do not believe further introduction of Nunchaku is necessary as it became very popular among us by the Kung Fu movies in 70’s stared by Bruce Lee.

Out of a dozen or so different kinds of Okinawan Kobudo weapons such as Nunchaku, Sai and Tonfa, Nunchaku is most popular or known by the public.  Less known factor is that Nunchaku can produce the most dynamic and versatile techniques among the Kobudo weapons due to its construction of having two sticks joined by a chain or a rope. The quick swings and striking motions are very sexy and many people remember the fight scenes of Bruce Lee.  One can spin Tonfa pretty fast but it cannot beat the speed of Nunchaku.  Sai can be a deadly weapon with its sharp end as it can spear through just about any protectors, but the destructive power of Nunchaku at a full impact of said to be over 500kg is far greater than Sai or Tonfa could produce.  Not only it is fast and destructive but also it has another very exciting characteristic; flexibility of two sections. I am not saying Nunchaku is a better weapon than Sai, Tonfa or other Kobudo weapons. Just as one cannot say a certain style of karate is better than another, different weapons have their own particular uses and advantages thus cannot be compared by a simple set of observations.   It is very unfortunate that modern day Shotokan (at least from what I know of) has dropped Kobudo from its regular training.  I do not know the situation regarding this subject in other karate styles such as Shito-ryu, Goju-ryu and Wado-ryu, so I will discuss this subject only referring to Shotokan style organizations.  There was a justifiable reason (at least then) why Kobudo was dropped but I will not go into this historic aspect of karate even though it is a very interesting subject.  What I want to mention here today is that karate definitely lost a very effective and useful training tools when the masters decided to drop Kobudo from its regular syllabus.  I do not think they were aware at that time of the seriousness and the amount of handicap and disadvantage this omission would bring.  Shotokan style now is said to be very linear and lacks circular movements.

However, this claim is not true as one can observe the kata like (read more...)

 

 

Shihan Yokota has published numerous articles and books:

Debunking Shotokan Myths

Shihan Yokota: Debunking Shotokan Karate Myths

Save the Date – Sunday May 12th 2013

 

 

Please contact:

Sensei Bernardo Mercado

Little Karate Joke

A little Karate Joke:

 

Helga's mom brought her to her first Karate competition. Noting that the organizers seemed a little shorthanded she approached the table. "Good morning," she said to the Director, "you look a little shorthanded. Anything I can do to help?" "Well it just so happens we're short a fighter for the under 90 kg division," the director replied. "Sorry," Helga's mom said, "I don't know a thing about Karate." "That's OK" said the director. "We need referees, too."

 

JKA Instructors and Graduates

JKA Instructors & Graduates

 

The following table lists graduates from the legendary JKA Instructor program.

Name	Year of Graduation	Rank	Position
Mikami Takayuki	1957	9th dan	USA JKA/AF Southern
Takaura Eiji	1957
Kanazawa Hirokazu	1957	10th dan	Founder SKIF
Tsushima Toshio	1958
Yaguchi Yutaka	1958	9th dan	USA ISKF Mountain States
Ouchi Kyo	1959
Sato Masaki	1959
*Saito Shigeru	1959
Inaba Mitsue	1960
Kano Masahiko	1960
Watanabe Gunji	1960
*Ogata Kyoji	1960
Kisaka Katsuharu	1961		USA
Nakaya Ken	1961
Ogawa Eiko	1961
Ueki Masaaki	1961	9th dan(2011)	HQ Shihan Chief Instructor Worldwide
Keinosuke Enoeda	1961	9th dan	"Deceased 29th March 2003".
*Miyazaki Satoshi	1961	8th dan	"Deceased 31st May 1993".
*Mori Osamu	1961
*Takahashi Yoshimasa	1961
*Majima Kenshiro	1962
Sakai Ryusuke	1962	7th dan
Jitsuhara Shoji	1963
Ochi Hideo	1963	8th dan	"JKA Germany".
Takahashi Yasuoki	1963
*Itaya Michihisa	1963
Abe Keigo	1965	9th dan	Japan JSKA [2]
Oishi Takeshi	1965
*Tabata Yukichi	1965
Takashina Shigeru	1966	8th dan	USA JKA/WFA South Atlantic
Kawazoe Masao	1967	8th Dan (Also Chief Instructor ITKF)
Higashi Kunio	1967
Iida Norihiko	1967
Okamoto Hideki	1967	8th dan	Egypt
Takahashi Shunsuke	1967	8th dan	Chief Instructor TSKF Australia [3]
Yano Kenji	1967
Okuda Taketo	1967	8th dan	"Butoku-kan (Brazil)".
Baba Isamu	1970
Horie Teruo	1971
Nishino Shuhei	1971
*Hayakawa Norimasa	1971
Kanegae Kenji	1972
Osaka Yoshiharu	1972	8th dan	HQ Full-Time Instructor
Sato Teruo	1974
Mori Toshihiro	1975
Imura Takenori	1977	7th dan	HQ Full-Time Instructor
Kurasako Kenro	1977	7th dan	HQ Full-Time Instructor
Kawawada Minoru	1978	7th dan	HQ Full-Time Instructor
Komaki Masaki	1978
Omura Fujikiyo	1978	7th dan	"JKA Thailand".
Fukami Akira	1979
Kaneko Taneaki	1979
Sakata Masashi	1979
Abe Miwako	1980
Tsuchii Takayuki	1980
Yamamoto Hideo	1980
Ohta Yoshinobu	Attendee	7th Dan	"Head JKA England".
Ogura Yasunori	1982	7th dan	HQ Full-Time Instructor
Imamura Tomio	1983	7th dan	HQ Full-Time Instructor
Kashiwagi Nobuyuki	1984
Koike Tsuyoshi	1984
Yokomichi Masaaki	1984
Izumiya Seizo	1986	6th dan	HQ Full-Time Instructor
Shiina Katsutoshi	1986	6th dan	HQ Full-Time Instructor
Hanzaki Yasuo	1987	6th dan	HQ Full-Time Instructor
Nakamura Yoko	1987
Naka Tatsuya	1989	7th dan (2012)	HQ Full-Time Instructor
Noda Kenichi	1990
Taniyama Takuya	1990	6th dan	HQ Full-Time Instructor
*Imai Hiromitsu	1991
Takahashi Satoshi	1992	5th dan	HQ Full-Time Instructor
Kobayashi Kunio	1993	5th dan	HQ Full-Time Instructor
Ogata Koji	1994	5th dan	HQ Full-Time Instructor
Walter Crockford	1996	5th dan	"JKA Canada".
Ikenaga Atsushi	1996
Hirayama Yuko	1998	6th dan (as of 2012)	HQ Secretariat
Okuma Koichiro	1998	4th dan	HQ Full-Time Instructor
Iwasawa Mayumi	1998	3rd dan	HQ Secretariat
Aragaki Misako	2003	3rd dan	HQ Secretariat
Ubukata Koji	2003
Yamada Satomi	2004
Nemoto Keisuke	2004
Okuie Satomi	2004
Kurihara Kazuaki	2004
Shimizu Ryosuke	2004
Kumeta Riki	2008

 

Former JKA Instructors that are no longer with the JKA:

Abe Keigo, 9th dan (former JKA HQ instructor) JSKA Chief Instructor
Aramoto Nobuyuki, 8th dan (former JKA instructor)
Asai Tetsuhiko, 10th dan (former HQ JKA instructor) JKS/IJKA Chief instructor (passed)
Inaba Tsuneyuki, 7th dan (former JKA instructor
Isaka Akito, 7th dan (former JKA instructor) KWF
Ishimine Minoru, 7th dan (former JKA instructor)
Kagawa Masao, 8th dan (former JKA instructor) JKS Chief Instructor
Kagawa Masayoshi, 7th dan (former JKA member, not JKA instructor graduate)
Kanayama Kyosho, 7th dan (former JKA instructor)
Mizuno Yoshihisa, 8th dan (former JKA instructor)
Naito Takashi, 7th dan (Has left E.T.K.F & returned to JKA)
Shin Naomitsu, 7th dan (former JKA member, not JKA instructor graduate)
Tamang Pemba, 8th dan (former JKA HQ instructor) NSKF Chief Instructor
Tanaka Chougo, 7th dan (former JKA member, not JKA instructor graduate)
Yahara Mikio, 8th dan (former JKA HQ instructor) KWF Chief Instructor
Yamaguchi Takashi, 8th dan (former JKA instructor)
Kanazawa Hirokazu, 10th dan (former JKA HQ instructor) Chief instructor SKIF
Kase Yasuharu, 10th dan (former JKA HQ instructor) Chief Instructor SRKH (passed)
Kasuya Hitoshi, 8th dan (former JKA instructor) Chief Instructor WSKF
Katsumata (Suzuki) Yutaka, 7th dan (former JKA instructor)
Shirai Hiroshi, 10th dan (former JKA instructor) WSKA
Kyle Kamal Helou, 4th dan (JKS instructor) JKS
Tatetsu Meicho, 7th dan (former JKA instructor)
Asano Shiro, 9th dan (former JKA member, not JKA instructor graduate) SKIF
Kato Sadashige, 9th dan (former JKA member, not JKA instructor graduate) Chief Instructor IJKA (not recognized or sanctioned by Asai IJKA)

 

The list might not be complete.

 

Sources:

http://www.jka.or.jp/english/e_index.html

http://www.wikipedia.org/