Last night was the 2nd Anniversary of the DOJO Bar, Naha. It has become a fantastic hangout for both the local and international karate community. Because of the friendliness of the staff, the good food, and the central location it has even become a hit with mere mortals that lack a black belt or fists of steel.
After photographing Seiei Nakaza sensei, I took a few shots of his senior student, Brian Hobson. It might seem strange to call a 7th dan black belt a student, but even those who have studied karate for decades often visit Okinawa to learn from the masters of the art.
Seiei Nakaza 9th Dan Okinawa Shorinryu Kiyobukan, the latest local legend to be photographed as part of the Karate Masters Portrait Project.
Okinawan karate has several training techniques that are designed to strengthen and condition the body using simple everyday objects. Sanchin are heavy jars that are gripped with the fingertips. Makiwara is a striking post the top of which is often wrapped in leather or straw. It is similar to a boxers punching bag, but with a smaller target. In the photo below Gaja-sensei demonstrated how a simple bucket of stones was used for fingertip conditioning. He thrust his hand in so hard and fast, the force sent some stones flying out of the bucket. Here’s a short clip showing a few different techniques by various masters including Kiyohide Shinjo.
On April 30th, I took portraits of Kiyohide Shinjo. He is a 9th-dan Uechi Ryu karate master and a nine-time all-Okinawa kata and kumite champion. He dominated karate to such an extent he was known as the Okinawan Superman. Shinjo-sensei has conditioned his body to be able to withstand huge blows without sustaining damage. He can smack his knuckles, fingertips and toes into pretty much anyone or anything. Shinjo sensei put on his serious face for the portraits, his whole body tense and ready to strike. I’m pretty sure opponents who witnessed this face were just about to lose their fight and quite possibly consciousness. This was the second time I have photographed Shinjo-sensei, the first time was in 2006. Read my Island Icons interview with Kiyohide Shinjo for Okinawa Living Magazine.
This week I drove up to Nago to photograph a master of Okinawan Kobudo, Yoshiaki Gakiya. Kobudo is the weapons system of Okinawan martial arts. As well as being experts in unarmed combat, kobudo masters learned how to use farming tools as weapons. In Matayoshi Kobudo, students study a wider range of weapons than most kobudo practitioners.Along with the familiar bo staff, sai, nunchaku and tonfa, they also use tools such as the kuwa (hoe) and surujin. Gakiya-sensei recently suffered from a major stroke so he can no longer practice kobudo, but it was an honor to see him put on his dogi jacket for a portrait. Gakiya’s top student, Neil Stolsmark, joined the shoot with his teacher. It was touching to see the level of mutual respect between these two men. Neil is immensely proud of his teacher, and Gakiya-sensei broke into a smile as he watched his friend and student stand before the camera.
Kiyoshi Yogi is a master of Uechiryu Karate & Ryukyu Kobudou. He was the sai world champion, the bou world champion, and the first Okinawa traditional karatedo world champion. Yogi sensei was the 17th master to be photographed as part of the Karate Masters Portrait Project. We stared on March 11th 2012 so we’ve being underway for a year. Over the past 12 months it has become clear just how important the project is. There has been praise and encouragement from all over the world, although the best feedback is usually the beaming smiles from the masters as we hand over the prints for their dojos. Hopefully over the next year we’ll photograph even more of these Okinawan icons. I’ll continue to take the portraits, James will continue to organize the shoots, and the karate masters will continue to share their knowledge with the world.
Yuukou Tomimoto, a Ryukyu kobudou master who studies a rare type of bo (staff) fighting that was passed down from the royal court of the Ryukyu Kingdom.
Dropped off a couple of photos for Tokumura-sensei today. It’s always great to see the karate masters beaming when they see their prints. Tokumura happily told me that he’ll get them framed and they’ll go up on the wall beside the portraits of his own mentors.
Kensho Tokumura, a lovely 72 year old man who knows how to kill you in a thousand different ways. Very, very, easily.
TRAVEL 67 : Chris Willson Photography 