Tuesday August 4th(my 40th birthday)

I truly love my students. They take care of me when my family or I need help. They know when it has been a rough day at school and will sometimes greet me with a Mountain Dew at the front door of the lobby. They truly look after their teacher, so it didn't come to a surprise to wake to the wonderful decorations that were pain-stainkingly arranged all over my front property to announce to the neighborhood that the "end" must be near and that they will soon be rid of me.

I left early that morning to pick up Gibu Sensei, Makoto Gibu Sensei and Izumi Sensei and check them out of the hotel. Today they were going to begin their home stay with my family and stay with us for the rest of the week. As we pulled into the driveway, I could hear Izumi Sensei giggling in the back and I started to wonder how I was going to get all of their luggage through the door with all of the toliet paper and police tape across our porch.

We got them all settled in and let them unpack and relax a bit. We had a family of deer come up to the backyard and feed while our guests took pictures.
Around 12:30, we took our guests to Paul's Deli where Joe Wilson is the manager. We had made plans to do this early on in the year so that Joe could show them where he works and enjoy some time with our guests.

As it turned out, the Americans and the Okinawans had been planning together behind my back and had a surprise birthday party for me in Paul's with about 60 students and parents from the dojo. I am not easily surprised. I still shake every present under the Christmas tree, I do recon on birthday gifts, etc. This caught me blindsided. What a great surprise and to have my family, my students and my teacher there made it the best gift ever.

Evidently, Lorie and Joe began planning this in advance with our Okinawan guests and soon I was going to be left at the hands of my "big brother" from Okinawa City and I knew that it was not going to be pretty. Izumi Sensei had already given me a friendly warning on Sunday about today.
Joe had arranged an amazing spread of food and each of the students presented me with kind gifts and cards. Gibu Sensei presented me with a beautiful laquerware plate with Shuri jo on it that had been engraved on the back. After lunch, it was time for humiliation to begin as Izumi Sensei took me back in the kitchen and had me put on the birthday "uniform" that he had brought from Japan for me. He had me walk out to the party and re-introduce me to the group and had me switch my new wigs a couple of times. It was hillarious and I couldn't have felt more lucky to have these special people with me on this day. Never in a million years would I have thought that I would be spending my 40th birthday with Gibu Sensei. If you would have told me that back when I was a shodan, I would have thought you were spending too much time at Joe's bar. Another memory that I will cherish forever.
Yudansha Keiko
That evening, we had black belt only practice from 6-8 and had a chance for all of us to train together under Sensei's watchful eye. We started with Dantai tsuki keri which is a spirit building, high repetition of basics in "old school" fashion.(In shiko dachi and with hundreds of repetitions)

Sensei then began to check our techniques, hand positions and mechanics as we went through some of the kata. We also worked on Fukyugata ichi(Nagamine) and Fukyugata ni(Miyagi) which are used in large embutaikai or taikai so that various ryus can do the same kata together. It is also used as a elimination round kata in competition before letting competitors move up to the selected kata division.

We finished with Naihanchi Shodan bunkai that worked as a two-person drill. Gibu Sensei told us that these were the true applications to how Naihanchi Shodan's bunkai were originally taught and how they are supposed to work. He said that many people(Americans) have strange applications for this kata but have never been shown any of them on Okinawa. He said that these are the applications as Chibana Sensei taught them and passed them down.

After watching Izumi Sensei and Gibu Sensei do the drill, the movements made a great deal of sense and it made me realize how truly wrong some of the "oyo" were that we were shown at various camps throughout the years.

I am just thankful that we are getting our information from a direct source and from someone who is willing to share it openly.

After training, we headed back for a quiet birthday dinner with our guests and had some good conversations around the dining room table. It was nice to relax together and let Madison and Emily get to spend time with their new family members. After Gibu Sensei and Makoto san went to bed, Izumi Sensei and I sat out on the outer deck, propped our feet up on the railing and listened to the waterfall in the pond. Jet lag was really hitting all of them and I knew that he was struggling to stay awake but he hung in their long enough so that we could spend time together.

Contents Copyright © 2017 Shorin-Ryu Shorinkan Karate of Williamsburg

Click Here to Return to the Shorin-Ryu Shorinkan Karate Home Page