11/21/2023 0 Comments Tai sabaki shodanKonishi Sensei, however, was a visionary in the sense that he saw value in cross-training. Such a request would be considered a "challenge" to the dojo. During this era, it was unheard of for one martial arts school to allow a martial arts teacher from another system to teach in their dojo. Funakoshi asked if it would be possible to use the training hall to practice Ryukyu Kempo To-te jutsu. They approached Konishi Sensei with a letter of introduction from Professor Kasuya of Keio University. In September 1924, Hironishi Ohtsuka, the founder of the Wado-Ryu style of karate, and Gichin Funakoshi, the founder of Shotokan karate, came to the kendo training hall at Keio University. With encouragement from his wife, he quit his job and opened his own martial arts center in 1923 and called it the Ryobu-Kan ("The House of Martial Arts Excellence"). Though Arakaki was in no way a master of "Te", Konishi Sensei found the system to be very intriguing.Īfter graduating from the University, he became a salary man however, he was not completely satisfied with his occupation. Konishi Sensei found the techniques of "Te" (as referred to by Arakaki) very similar to those of Takeuchi Ryu jujitsu. Konishi Sensei's first exposure to "Te" (which later developed into karate) was through a fellow classmate at Keio University, Tsuneshige Arakaki of Okinawa. He was Keio University's kendo team captain and continued coaching the university's kendo club after his graduation. While the average tenure at a university is four years, Konishi Sensei remained at Keio University for eight years because of his love for kendo and jujitsu. In 1915, he commenced studies at Keio University in Tokyo. At age 13, Konishi Sensei began studying kendo as well. This particular jujitsu style is known for its strong kicks and punches, very similar to karate. When he entered the equivalent of a western high school, he began training in Takenouchi Ryu jujitsu. Konishi Sensei began his martial arts training at age 6 in Muso Ryu Jujitsu. If there is one shining light I located in the pandemic, it is my journey back into karate and the Uechi-Ryu community.Yasuhiro Konishi was born in 1893 in Takamatsu, Kagawa, Japan. I am proud to be a member of the Sitka Alaska Uechi-Ryu Club and the IUKF. It is difficult to express the immense gratitude and admiration I have for Sensei Duane and Sensei Darin–their generosity, kindness, encouragement, guidance, and passion and expertise in the martial arts. After such a long absence from Uechi-Ryu, I struggled to remember and perfect the moves, and to learn new approaches and variations. I enthusiastically agreed and began participating in all of Sensei Darin’s online sessions, as well as meeting with him and Sensei Duane via Zoom on weekends. He encouraged me to attend Darin Yee’s online workouts, and offered to be my sensei again. As the years went by, I often thought about getting back into Uechi-Ryu Karate, but I had no idea how to do this without the support of a community in Anchorage, Alaska where I lived.Ī year ago, my sensei from Sitka, Duane Swanson, contacted me out of the blue. But I was unable to sustain this over time and eventually stopped. I then headed to college and, over the next few years, continued to practice on my own and dabble in other forms of martial arts. I first earned my Shodan in Sitka, Alaska when I was 17 years old. What I value most about this promotion is that it has served to more deeply validate and honor my commitment to Uechi-Ryu Karate. This was not something I had set my sights on when I returned to karate after a long absence.
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