All posts tagged: Karate

Yoshimasa Matsuda at Naminoue Shrine, Okinawa

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On Friday I photographed 9th-dan master Yoshimasa Matsuda and his son Hirokazu Matsuda at Naminoue Shrine, Naha City, Okinawa. On January 31st Matsuda will receive the rank of 10th-dan. Naminoue Shrine is the most famous shrine on Okinawa. The fact that Matsuda is a local resident and supporter of the shrine meant we were given permission to use it as a background for the photographs.

Morio Higaonna, 10th dan Okinawa Goju-ryu karate.

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Morio Higaonna, 10th dan Okinawa Goju-ryu karate. Photographed at the Naha Budokan on September 1st 2014. Higaonna is the founder and Chief Instructor of the International Okinawan Goju-ryu Karate-do Federation. He is also a Living National Treasure. Described by some as the most dangerous person in Japan in a real fight. Morio Higaonna produced a blood curdling kiai (shout) when demonstrating techniques. He was also a lovely humble man, who was praised the project, and encouraging in what we are undertaking. His smile grew over the brief photo session as I kept asking him to punch again, or do a different technique.

Yoshitaka Taira, 10th dan World Matsubayashi-ryu (Shorin-ryu)

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Yoshitaka Taira, 10th dan World Matsubayashi-ryu (Shorin-ryu) was the first sensei I photographed for the Karate Masters Portrait Project. At that time, we only took a simple head shot and a single pose of them in their favorite stance. More recently we try to get a much wider variety of images, so when I saw Taira sensei at the seminar last week, I asked if could get a few additional shots of the project.