martial arts training : karate events

Karate Events

Seminar with Ishimi Yasunari Sensei	12-05-2007
Ishimi Sensei was born in 1943, Hyogo, near kobe, Japan. His first taste of karate was in Kushin-Ryu under Master Matsukazi. He later studied Goju-Ryu at high school before eventually meeting Tsuzikawa Sensei, a student of Ken-ei Mabuni, son of the founder of the Shitoryu system. It was the start of a study of Shitoryu that continues to the present day. Ishimi Sensei competed and captained his Kobe university team during the first half of the 60’s before arriving in Madrid in 1967. By now he had attained 3rd dan from JKF and was teaching at several gymnasiums around Spains capitol before setting up his own dojo. Later he was called upon to coach the Spanish team and was awarded 5th Dan by the Spanish National Governing Body and later received the same award by the JKF on one of his regular return trips to Japan. In 1980 Ishimi earned his World Kata Judge licence and in ’85 was awarded his Kyoshi teaching licence from Ken-ei Mabuni. In 2005 he was awarded his 9th Dan by the Spanish Governing Body and holds the rank of JKF 8th Dan. I met Terry Connell at Glasgow airport after receiving an invitation to attend Shitokai Scotland’s annual seminar under Master Yasunari Ishimi. After a bit of a false start (Ishimi Sensei was heavily delayed in Madrid) Terry and I finally welcomed Mr. Ishimi to Scotland nearly 3 hours after he was due to arrive. On first impressions you could quite easily mistaken Ishimi Sensei as a typical middle aged Japanese tourist (less camera). Dressed tidily in slacks, blazer and polo shirt yet somehow he managed a casual look of complete nonchalance. We left Glasgow airport and headed straight for the dojo as the seminar was due to start in 15 minutes time (talk about hitting the tarmac running!).
Completely unfazed Sensei quickly changed whilst being welcomed by various students clearly pleased to be in his company again. Once in the dojo and after a brief introduction ‘Seiza’ was called followed by Ishimi Sensei’ warm up which is relatively short and to the point, something I feel reflects the warmer climate of his home in Madrid. Certainly I didn’t feel that ‘warmed up’ but things were about to change. After a short series of stretching exercises, like most instructors Ishimi Sensei begins with kihon, lots of kihon. In fact a good hour of kihon followed by renzoku kihon (combination basics). Suddenly the docile Japanese tourist became master of his domain and everyone in attendance knew without doubt that the man at the front of the dojo was now in his element! Still outwardly placid, calm and assured, he spoke his third language competently and with the reverence of a Victorian school master. The drills became increasingly demanding in their complexity, now involving Tenshin Happo. Some drills seemed to have themes ie open hand blocks and strikes each techniques assigned a stance or posture. Each drill Ishimi Sensei performed first with relative ease explaining the finer points as he did so. Then when he thought we understood, we tried. The count was calm and constant, but not everyone was able to keep to it, myself included. Sensei paced from left to right and then back again. Just when you thought he wasn’t looking he would jump out at you to correct a technique leaving you with the impression he could see through his ears. The counts didn’t seem to fall neatly in blocks of ten but in multiples of around fifty or maybe more, I certainly lost count of the repetitions and instead worked hard to just perform and complete each drill to the count. The sweat was now flowing easily out of each pore. Sensei would call ‘yame’ which provided a brief respite whilst he demonstrated the same drill on the opposite side. The sum total of all these drills saw every kick, block, strike and stance repeated over and over again on both sides.
An hour or more had passed and the number of different drills we covered I cannot tell you or even remember. My near thirty years practise at this game counted for very little with a man who has clearly forgotten more than I will ever know. I cannot imagine how it was for the kyu grades and the hand full of children practicing behind me who I occasionally caught a glimpse of in the mirror. I remember my initial thoughts on arriving in the dojo being how few people there were, in particular the children who so often outnumber the adults in so many dojos these days. However, the answer was now clear. Ishimi Sensei doesn’t teach children, he has Senpai at his dojo for that. At this time in his life he enjoys teaching adults Shitoryu in all its glorious diversity and refuses to compromise on his teaching methods or ideology gained over his fifty year study of karate-do. I was lucky enough to be sharing the same hotel as Ishimi Sensei and was delighted to be able to spend a little time chatting over supper with him. He stressed the need for practicing basics and stances and criticised the British for not spending enough time on them; something he said was apparent from judging kata for many years and that compared to our continental cousins, we were lacking in kata skills he felt, because of a poor foundation in kihon / dachi practice. I spent a little time trying to think of a prominent British kata champion who’d done well on the world stage and struggled a little before returning to the conversation. Talking about Anan he explained the kata contained movements that engaged the right side of the brain more than many other kata where the brain had to switch focus from one part of the body to another very quickly. Normally a punch, kick or a block is executed and there is a single part of the body which makes contact with your opponent. Once the technique is complete normally the next technique uses another limb but with the fast multiple techniques of Anan and other kata from this ryu focus can move to several points on the same limb with a second or two. This change in focus (apparently) relies on the right side of the brain, where as the simpler mechanical techniques use the left side. He then explained further that people in today’s society use the left side of the brain much more to chase money, acquire possessions and spend less time on recreation, the arts, music, poetry etc.
The following day began with kyu grade training (not that I noticed a great deal of difference). It was a similar lesson plan starting with a brief stretch and then kihon, kihon and er..kihon. I was amazed that despite the vast array of renzoku kihon and tenshin happo drills, Sensei never seemed to repeat a drill. Next, was something I recognised, Bassai Sho. Ishimi Sensei had taught it the previous year but remembered teaching a part incorrectly and so wanted to put things right…a whole year later! This practice allowed my ego to recover but my comfort zone was soon snatched away from me. The afternoon session saw the black belts join in (I didn’t realise I didn’t have to train in the morning so I just did the lot!). What a day, almost five hours training with one of the worlds most respected masters. The final session of the day was on kata Paiku, a kata I had no previous knowledge of. The kata was lengthy, complex and very different to that of the Higaonna ha or Itsou ha that are the foundation of Shitoryu. Never the less Ishimi Sensei performed the kata several times and explained some details and characteristics of the kata and its lineage. I don’t mind admitting I struggled, not least because of the gruelling three and a half hours training prior to starting this kata. After the final session ended I sat exhausted. A local student asked me to go through Bassai Sho with him which probably saved me from seizing up. I then exchanged some help with Bassai Sho for Annan (fare swap) before returning to the hotel with Sensei. As we walked to the car Sensei turned to me and nodded, ‘four and a half, maybe five hours today Brian?’ This I know from experience is a Japanese compliment, hardly gushing but my effort throughout the day was acknowledged and that meant a lot. Sensei Connell had booked a table in the city that night, a very nice Asian restaurant serving Japanese, Tai and Chinese food. I found Terry’s group both warm and friendly and his beautiful wife and two daughters even more so. The night was relaxed and the conversation, like the wine flowed freely. On returning to my room at the Gleddoch Hotel, surrounded by stunning scenery and golf course, I enjoyed a fireworks display courtesy of a neighbour’s garden party. I slept like a baby that night. The following day saw a change of dojo, a sports hall, no doubt booked to cope with the larger numbers expected on Sunday seminars. Surly today I would recognise some of the previous day’s drills, maybe a chance to revise and remember a few drills to take home with me, not a chance! Forwards and back, left and right blocking up, down, side ways. Kicking forward, back, snapping to the left and hooking to the right. Neko-ashi, Shiko-dachi, Moto-dachi, Kokutsu-dachi, it was relentless and sometimes just funny to see veteran black belts looking like novices but that’s what it looked like at times. Still, once our ego’s had been battered into submission there began a marathon kata-fest. Over the space of an hour or so we covered Itosu ha Bassai Dai, Bassai Sho, Matsumura Bassai and Tomari Bassai. After the session finished I was able to get some photos and thank Ishimi Sensei and Terry Connell for allowing me to share some time with his group. There followed a special presentation for Robert ‘Rab’ McQueen who was presented with a plaque congratulating him on his recent European Judges qualification. Rab was also kind enough to take me to the airport and we enjoyed a tasty ‘fish-supper’ before my flight number was called. I had no idea what to expect from my invitation to visit the Shito-kai Scotland group or from Ishimi Sensei, but I enjoyed my experience very much and would not hesitate to recommend either to any serious karate-ka who has a genuine interest in Shito Ryu. Ishimi Sensei is not for the faint hearted or the work shy karate-ka. He has reached a level of competency in his Budo journey and sees to it that you stretch yourself in order to reach his level whilst understanding that your failure to do so is simply part of the process that is ‘the way’. Those that understand this process and are willing to endure it cannot fail to improve greatly under Master Yasunari Ishimi’s watchful eye.