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-David B.Week 4Didn’t take as many extensive notes this week; most of them are written at night and I’ve been too exhausted to write much. Since the kids had finished their performance they only came for Tuesday and Friday’s sessions, but they’ve earned the rest. I’m grateful for the festival, as it gave me a chance to train with them nearly every day for three weeks. Who knows if Sensei would have made himself so open and available to me if the kids didn’t have this performance to work toward. 毎日疲れているから今週はちゃんとノートに書いてなかったからごめん。演武が終わったから子供達にはちょっと休みを取らせて、稽古は火曜と金曜日だけだった。先生と二人だけで稽古できるなんてすごい経験だったけど...

-David B.Friday 9/27/2019:Met up with Sensei early today, and went to the Karate Kaikan with him and his wife Ritsuko. We met up with Miguel Da Luz, who I had recognized as an interpreter in some of the videos I’d seen in my research. The kaikan was just finished 3 years ago so there's still plenty to do, and Miguel is there 4 days a week and works for the Karate promotion arm of the Okinawan government. They had already made setsumei (explanatory) books for Goju-ryu and Uechi-ryu, and translated them into English, Spanish, and French (and maybe German?). Next up they intend to tackle the olde...

-David B.Wednesday 9/25/2019: Sensei came through today, not only bringing naihanchi back up, but also letting me swing around a little nunchaku when I first arrived. Mostly just for exercise, but he emphasized holding them in different grips and feeling their weight in different ways, and using different muscle groups to emphasize the training of the wrists, forearms, and shoulders. I hope I get to see his sai some day, he's apparently quite accomplished with it.やった！今日はナイハンチとヌンチャクも出来た。ヌンチャクは実用より運動のために振っていて、色んな持ち方で振ると肩、前腕、手首も全部強くなると説明してくれた。いつか先生の得意のサイを見せてくれれば嬉しいと思う。I asked him a question about...

-David B.Week 3Sensei told me about a monk that came to Okinawa to pray for the restoration of its pristine waters and landscape. He was around the island for 6-8 years and Sensei would see him around the same place all the time. Finally he approached him and asked "what's the purpose of meditation (mokusō)? What do you think about?" His answer: the only point of meditation is to relax by thinking about nothing. We all have complex lives and go through our days with our minds filled with thoughts, the only common approach to stress relief available to anyone is to relax and let those thoughts ...

-David B.Week 2Classes continue, and the kids have been coming every day to practice with me. After kihon, we'd do kata, then maybe some kobudo. So far I've gone along for Pinan shodan, Pinan nidan, and Passai sho. I've followed along with Naihanchi and Chinto but don't feel too comfortable with them yet. クラスが続いている。普段は週に二回だけだけど、子供達も毎日一緒に稽古をしにくる。必ず基本から始め、そして型と古武道。今までピンアン初段と二段とパッサイ小がちょっとできるようになった。ナイハンチもチントーも少しやっているけどまだまだだ。 Paraphrased nuggets of wisdom:“If you have a bad practice or habit, your form will not correct itself; rather you will perfect doing it the wrong way. Your certainty in your m...

-David B.September 13, 2019 / FridayIt’s important to know that there are peaceful moves in the kata; the beginning of kusanku is raising your hands in apology, to show you aren't a threat before bringing your hands together in a mudra similar to the buddha. You then acknowledge your opponents to the sides with a gentle kamae, but it's not till the the 5th count that your opponent comes at you and you have to move explosively. Sensei explained that your expression is a part of the kata: it hardens with the body in the moment of impact, but like the body it should relax and soften immediately a...

-David B.September 12, 2019 / ThursdayWell, today is my birthday. I should probably do something to celebrate. Work and train like normal? Sure why not. The ride into the dojo has been getting quicker, I'm down to 30-40 minutes now that I found the right route. Got to the dojo and changed. Kōya, sensei’s tall grandson, was playing around upstairs. I asked about his training, and he'd been doing it for seven years, since he was 5 years old. He's got quite a headstart on me, and what I understand with my head he’s been drilling into his body. The latter seems more valuable when the pressure is o...

-David B.September 11, 2019 / WednesdayI arrived a little early and Akamine Sensei showed me some of his photos. Some were of his students that visited, some of himself and Soken Sensei, including a photo of Sensei when he came to Akamine's wedding; clearly the men shared a deep bond and Akamine Sensei has a great affection for his teacher he carries long after his master passed away back in 1982, at the age of 93. I realized that much like how my friend Hiro means his wife when he uses "she" or "her" out of context, Akamine Sensei always means Soken Sensei when he says "Sensei." The other da...

Below are my notes from a month of training with Shihan Yoshimatsu Akamine, a direct student of Sensei Hohan Soken and head of the Shorinryu Matsumura Seito Karate-do Hozon-kai Honbu. September 10 to October 5, 2019. I hope they prove to be of benefit, and inspiration for every karateka interested in the hidden roots of Shorin-ryu.-David B2019年9月10日から10月5日まで、平日毎日、沖縄で少林流松村正統空手道保存会本部の赤嶺嘉松師範と稽古ができ、以降はこの経験の思い出や印象。自分以外の少林流のルーツに興味を持っている空手家のために書きました。誰かの役に立ちますように。引用が記憶から英訳され、また日本語に翻訳されていますので、不正確のところがある可能性があります。申し訳ございません。Week 1September 10, 2019 / TuesdayArrived in Okinawa a little earlier than expecte...