7/31/2011 SENSEIS AND TEACHERS

SENSEIS and TEACHERS

 

This is a list of my Senseis and people I call my teachers.

 

My first Keishinkan Sensei was Yasuhiro Odaohara, who I trained with for four years and tested from 8th kyu to 1st kyu. I was working for the Dojo and was lucky enough to be with Yasu all day and to take class from him two to three times a day. We became great friends and I learned most of the katas from him. He was the one who introduced me to Sensei Takazawa. We would travel to tournaments and went all over the Northwest teaching and putting on demos; what a great time that was. Being with him so much, I picked up alot about karate and Japanese customs and the food.

 

The head of U.S. Keishinkan, at this time was Sensei Nobuhiro Shinohara. Sensei Shinohara was whom I tested for shodan (first degree black belt). He lived in Longbeach, California, and would come to Boise a few times a year to teach and test students. He lived in Boise in 1972 and taught  here for 8 or 9 months when the dojo was just starting out. This was right before I starting to train. When Yasu left. I moved to Longbeach to train with Sensei Shinohara and stayed there for 5 months before coming back to Boise.

 

I met Kei Shin Kan Grand Master Sensei Takazawa for the first time in May of 1975 when Sensei Shinohara brought him to the United States.  I tested for my 5th kyu purple belt under him.

 

These are the major Senseis I call my teachers; I have a few more that I have met in Japan over the past years as well. They are Sensei Katayama, Sensei Omae, Sensei Fujimora, Sensei Akaine, and Ko Yokoyama. I also trained with a Kyokushinkai blackbelt name Yoichi Kaiwa for a number of years in Boise. Yoichi was an exchange student at the college and we shared a dojo and teaching. I picked up alot from him on full contact fighting and alot of great training methods, which I still use now. Master Takazawa promoted him to shodan.

 

There are alot of students of the Keishinkan Dojos who where my seniors and teachers. They are Barry Billups, Ted Nydeggar, Al Sneddan, Bart Coy and J.D.Conn. They all had a part in helping me along the way,  going over Katas and sparring.

 

I have also taken classes from a number of Senseis that were not Keishinkan, they are Mr. Chinen (goju-ryu), who helped me with hojo undo; Mr. Kanazawa (shotokan), whom I took a sparring class from, and learned the kata Jion.  Mr. Demura (shito-ryu), whom I learn Bo Kata and Bo basic from;  Mr. Dillman whom I picked up a lot of Bunkai and kata applications from; and Sensei Dean Stephens (okinawan-kempo) who taught me Tokumine no kon and Hakatusru. He also trained at my dojo for a couple of years.

 

The list is long, but some of my best teachers have  always been my students. They are the real push to keep learning and training. So, as you can see, you can learn from everyone. I read everything I can get my hands on and watch all kinds of sports, from boxing to MMA.  So in a way,  these are my teachers too.

See you in the dojo

One thought on “7/31/2011 SENSEIS AND TEACHERS”

  1. Good Post Sensei.
    Ron has talked to me before about other styles and to not shy away should I have interest. I guess it’s just part of my character to have the kind of loyalty I do to certain things in general. I can’t really see myself practicing with anyone else or any other style for that matter, but with a move up north ahead of me, I need to be a little more open-minded. They practice Shotokan on campus, I have a pretty busy work week, but I think I’m going to try to make class when I get a chance. Like you said, there’s plenty of remarkable and influential instructors out there, I just haven’t meet them yet. And there’s always the unexpected opportunity that I may meet someone who’s interested in what I know. Either way, my Karate is Keishinkan, and my Dojo will always be in Boise.
    Osu! Arigato Sensei!

Leave a Reply

US Branch of Japan Keishinkan Karate