In November 2008, one of the legends of Japanese Karate, Hidetaka Nishiyama, passed away. Below is a small excerpt from an article about Nishiyama. If you click here, you'll be directed to the full article.
“A Tall Tree In The Forest Has Fallen”
By Don Warrener
On November 8, 2008, we lost yet another one of the legends of martial arts, Hidetaka Nishiyama. He was the most senior of all the JKA (Japan Karate Association) Masters and now he has passed.
We will all remember his kindness and his knowledge on the biomechanics of karate plus his attention to detail in kata. But perhaps his greatest gift to us was his education on the culture of Japanese karate.
For me though it was November 8 2001 (seven years earlier) that I will remember Sensei Nishiyama for. This was the day my Sensei Richard Kim passed away and Sensei Nishiyama could see how I was visibly broken up. He said to me very softly and kindly in his broken English, “you come to my dojo and train is OK now”. Wow, I will never forget this kindness.
This rare interview was conducted at Sensei Nishiyama’s dojo in Los Angeles in the summer of 1999. It was video taped for future use as well.
>>I say to these people, “you do what you want and I will stay teaching karate as a traditional art.”<<
ReplyDeleteThereby demonstrating one of the ways that Americans will never understand Japanese culture!
(What a physique that man shows in the photo! Yikes!)
You certainly have to respect his stance!
ReplyDeleteIt looks like he didn't need any supplemental or cross training, did he?