メディア・Media
2020年2月23日 (日)
週刊沖縄空手 第152号
(沖縄タイムス社提供)
Okinawa Times Newspaper Article
(Copyright license received)
(Article published February 23, 2020 in the Okinawa Times as part of their ongoing weekly Karate Series, #152. Translation by David B., March 2, 2020)
Captions:
Top Left: Yoshimatsu Akamine performing the Hakutsuru Kata. Courtesy of Haebaru Town - Shorin-ryu Matsumura Seito Karate-do Hozonkai Hombu (Photo by Ayako Ochiai)
Center Right: Yoshimatsu Akamine discusses the kata he learned from his master.
Bottom Right: Akamine’s master, Hohan Soken. Courtesy of Nishihara Town.
Top Center: Yoshimatsu Akamine in his youth, facing a makiwara. Zealously following his master and training hard. Courtesy of Haebaru Town.
Bottom Center: Yoshimatsu Akamine(center of back row) among his students as they follow his training. Courtesy of Haebaru Town - Shorin-ryu Matsumura Seito Karate-do Hozonkai Hombu, June 2019.
Center Left: Yoshimatsu Akamine executing an unnamed kata. Courtesy of Okinawa University, Naha City.
Researching the secrets of "White Crane"
Shorin-ryu Matsumura Seito Hozonkai Director, Yoshimatsu Akamine (77)
Passing on the beautiful kata entrusted by his master, without changing it.
Succeeding his late master Hohan Soken, Yoshimatsu Akamine has inherited the role of director of the Shorin-ryu Mastumura Seito Hozonkai (Preservation Society), and continues the unbroken lineage of the secret Hakutsuru "White Crane" kata. With fingers fanned out like the wings of a crane taking flight, a kick snaps out to create a "beautiful," recognizable posture. To this day, Akamine Sensei continues to accumulate experience and practice as he preserves the Karate he learned directly from master Soken, who had taught him that "the 'beauty' of kata is not for show." (Ministry of Economic Affairs: Sonyu Sunagawa)
Cultivating the next generation with the indelible words of the master.
He takes a small breath at the end of his long and narrow dojo, and continues his research one step at a time, performing the crane-like dance with his senses sharpened and the image of his master burning in his eyes.
His introduction to Master Soken was through his father's recommendation around the age of 16. The first day he took the bus from his family home in Haebaru to the dojo in Nishihara, but without entering the dojo, stood at the gate and conversed with the master for only a few minutes. This continued for a week, returning to the dojo without any training. Akamine Sensei reflects that "we continued to return to casual conversations on everyday life, but in that he was testing my mettle, to determine whether I had the will to train karate diligently.
And so he was accepted as a student, but he doesn't remember much "teaching" per se, or having his hands or feet corrected during training. Master Soken was a man of few words, and he would silently observe and mirror his master. The two of them would repeat the movements over and over with few words being exchanged, until the young Akamine would be completely absorbed in his training and the movement would soak into his body. Before he knew it, they'd be moving onto the next movement or kata. This unique but natural means of training and mentorship continued in earnest. "Watch and Learn' became the means through which the knowledge was passed and absorbed into my body."
One of the few times Master Soken used his words to pass on the wisdom of Karate that flowed through him, he said "When Karate becomes a mere tool for fighting or for showing off, the tradition and real meaning of kata is destroyed." These are the rare words of a master who had watched the transition of martial arts over many years.
In later years, he uttered the phrase "The answers are all in the kata." Reflecting on the greatness of his teacher, Akamine Sensei said "I have learned the depth of 'kata.' To allow traditional karate to take root in our lives. It's a precious inheritance, bequeathed to the world by my master." This knowledge and passion has been chiseled into his heart.
It's now been more than 40 years since he established his dojo in his hometown of Miyahira, in Haebaru. He's poured his energy into passing on the art to his young students starting in elementary and middle school, beginning as he did with the Pinan Shodan kata. Faithful to the basics just as his master was, he hands down the unmodified teachings in the same way as he learned. Last year he visited his daughter who had settled down in America, and taught a workshop to a group of westerners so they may also learn the true traditional karate of his master.
"Through tempering and training you get to face your true self; that is the appeal of Karate," he says. When appraising the karate that has spread around the world and is known to many, he points out that the old methods and teachings are in rapid decline. Traditional karate is something we should preserve and protect; as a guardian of this art, he is determined to continue to support the next generation's development for the rest of his life.
Akamine Sensei works hard every day towards this goal. "I will pass on the beautiful kata that my master entrusted me with, without change" he says with determination as he looks to both the past and the future.
2019年6月23日 (日)
週刊沖縄空手 道場めぐり75
(沖縄タイムス社提供)
Okinawa Times Newspaper Article
(Copyright license received)
(Article published June 23, 2019 in the Okinawa Times as part of their ongoing weekly Karate Series, #75. Translation by David B.)
Dojo Meguri (Dojo roundup): Traditional Technique, preserving the complete teachings
Shorinryu Matsumura Seito Karate-do Hozonkai Honbu
Hougen: あかみー、型の中んかい答えはあるよ。しみてぃみーね、なんくるわかいさ。
These words from his master Hohan Soken echo in the heart of Sensei Yoshimatsu Akamine, and he carries them as he would any treasure. For 22 years from the time he was 16, he learned karate and kobudo man-to-man from Soken Sensei. Karate was attractive as something that he could practice on his own, and he would meet each day with training, even when it wasn’t scheduled. It’s been over 40 years since he opened his own Dojo and started teaching, and nowadays has students as young as elementary school ages with whom the sweat flows on the dojo floor. “Without step one you cannot hope to take step two,” you could say about Pinan shodan, the foundational kata he teaches first.
As you get older your body doesn’t follow your commands the same, so it’s important to follow your teacher’s instructions carefully, Akamine says, still using his time with Soken sensei as the foundation for his own strong practice and instruction. “Also, as you grow older you start to appreciate just how amazing your master was, and how important it is to preserve his “natural stances” and the treasure of his words, for future generations. No need to change your master’s art to make it your own, just share it with others and keep the old teachings alive.
Words by Masami Tamaki