I am a Kiwi, married to Yoko, a Japanese girl I met 6 years after I started in Shorinji Kempo
We have 3 kids born in 1997, 1990 & 1993. 1 Girl & 2 boys followed.
We met in NZ and shortly there after I popped up to Japan for a few week to meet her folks and see a bit of her culture.
2 years latter in 1988 (married with one kid we returned to NZ to bring up our kid/s.)
I was Ni Dan at the time.
Since then my life has been focused very much on training and growing the membership.
Did a pretty good job after years of re-inventing the wheel in so many ways.
In 2003, with an unidentified food allergy causing problems and a growing dis-satisfaction with the administration of Shorinji Kempo I left the style.
Since then I have set about re-branding Shorinji with the new name Sotai Kempo
Keeping to the same syllabus and adding only a few techniques and training methods.
The big difference is in the structure and attitude.
I have loosened up big time instead of following the party line all the time.
For example I practice non contact, semi contact, and full contact sparring depending on the grade and willingness of both participants.
So the principle "let people choose what they want", give best advice to the benifits and drawbacks of what they choose and don't limit or exclude anything
"Because Kaiso said in 1947 post war Japan" which often does not work in other countries, cultures and times.
I started writing a booklet on the philosophy and theory, which has now several years latter expanded to 8 contents pages and still growing.
The saga continues
"Never Give Up"
At 21 years old (1981) I checked out 27 Dojos around Auckland (of about 600) Shorinji Kempo was the only one I went back to for a second look.
Shortly there after I joined up and said I'd give it a year to see what I thought; realizing I didn't have any experience to determine what was good or bad.
9 months latter I realized this was exactly what I was looking for.
I have no regrets about the choice.
I went to every training the first 3 years and passed Shodan on minimum time.
Early in 1986 I met Yoko in Auckland and soon followed her to Japan.
I was introduced to Tai Sensei in Osaka by David Eyre a Kiwi who was one of my sempai for the first year or so before he went to England and onto Japan.
This was very fortuitous for me as David was San Dan and very fluent in Japanese.
So I had a translator and a partner who was equally as keen as I was to do dumb things like finish work at 9:15pm ride our bikes to Osaka castle park and train from 10:00pm to 11:00pm every non-dojo nite in the snow.
I was was also very very fortuitous in that for some (As yet explainable reason, maybe pity) Tai Sensei took a shinning to me from the beginning.
Never was a training wasted, He always took a big hunk of time to come over to Dave & I to answer questions show us waza, more often than not spending 2 hours a nite with us alone.
Then we (all the seniors) would go for a meal & a few drinks.
I passed Nidan about a year later and return to NZ in 1988, to find the only Dojo in Auckland had lost its sole use permanent Dojo & had been split in two clubs.
I was given the Mt Albert branch and Peter Monk (then Go Dan) had St Helliers.
Again I would go to every training at both Dojos.
Latter that year we found an empty building in the CBD and made an offer to hire it on a monthly basis, and when that was accepted, sanded down the floor to make an awesome solo use premises.
Latter that year Peter moved into the same Dojo.
6 months later I moved over to the new North Shore Dojo and trained with my first Instructor again for a year before establishing Takapuna Branch, during which time I returned to Japan and passed San Dan.
Within 9 months we moved into our own premises where we slowly renovated it and built the membership over the next 10 years or so.
Membership peaked at around 175 before we had to move out to a nice hall but in a bad location.
In 1998 my wife's father was terminally ill so the whole family went up for three weeks.
I took the opportunity to book in my Yon Dan grading for the middle three days.
I contacted Tai Sensei and asked if he would mind checking to see if I was infact up to speed.
He rang a friend who had his own premises above one of his wharehouses and said
"Every one trains, every nite for a week & a half before Stewart goes to Hombu, then every day after till he leaves."
So I had 2 or 3 hours a nite with 2 7th Dans and 50 kenshi to act as my partners.
"So grateful to everyone."
I went off to Hombu with my 12 year old (Sho Dan) daughter as translator and passed Yon Dan.
When we got back to Osaka we had another week & half going over the Go Dan and Roku Dan syllabus most of which Tai Sensi had already sent me on Video.
Then back to the challenges of training a large group and keeping it all together, until 2003 when a growing disquiet about a new attitude that had appeared at Hombu.
It was becoming apparent that the organization was becoming more important than the people who made it up. When over 90% of Shorinji kempo Instructors are volunteers and often financially support the Dojo are regarded as little more than a number, this is not something I could live with.
So February 2003 I rang Tai Sensei and told him of my decision and closed down the Branch.
Mid 2003 I was getting really antsy for some training, so started again with my daughter and some senior students occasionally. Meanwhile I statred to re-organize and re-write and update the entire written works of Shorinji re naming it Sotai Kempo. (Sotai means pair or together).
Two years ago we bought a new house to accommodate a growing family, it also has a large 6m x 5.5 m play room which has been turned into a private Dojo.
And from there we continue the journey.
Hey Stewart , I agree with you. When the taller fighter is forced to punch at
shorter level he ends up dedicating more of him self into the punch. Making
it easier for the shorter fighter to cover the needed range to attack. But it
depends on the level and technique the taller fighter use to strike. But yeah
, people fail to realize that martial arts comes with science as well. Sun
Tzu said the war is won way before the its fought. As a student , its knowing
your range , master timing and observing the opponents style.
Thu, 10/06/2011 - 07:38