12-1-07
We often tell juniors about Ohshima Sensei and SOD (Shotokan Ohshima Dojo--SKA's state-of-the-art central dojo) in Santa Barbara. During one practice in October, I was talking about Sensei and SOD. All the juniors present showed a very strong interest in going there and meeting Sensei. "When is his next practice? I want to meet him!" How happy I was to hear that! "You know, it's coming up soon." Their eyes sparkled. OK, this is going to be a lot of fun. I felt like a little kid again. I couldn't wait!
Sammy offered to take us (Brad, Lynette, two teenagers Gareth & Lisa and myself) in his mini-van. It was like a 10 hour field trip in a school bus. Greg took his two young sons (Michael and Andrew), his wife and his youngest son in his truck. We stayed in three rooms in the same motel in Carpinteria. Lynette, Lisa and I could hear Gareth's happy voice all the time from the room next door.
The next morning, we left early for SOD to beat the crowd and to enjoy the time at the beautiful dojo as long as possible. After changing into gi, I practiced about ten katas slowly to warm up and get used to the polished floor. All my juniors in gi gathered around. They (except Brad) looked a little anxious in a crowd of new people from all over the U.S. and Canada. I said, "Let's do Heian katas!" We went through Taikyoku Shodan and Heian katas in a group. Lynette was shooting pictures. Then I saw godan Jim Sagawa coming toward us. How proud I was to introduce my juniors to him! They also got to meet other godans such as Norman Welch, Don De Pree, Bruce Kanegai and other seniors. It is always wonderful to see all these people again. It is like a reunion of the SKA family. We were all waiting for Ohshima Sensei to arrive at the dojo.
The most impressive thing happened after we had mokuso and rei. Sensei quietly walked to the most senior godan at the very right end of the long line, and greeted him. He went on greeting each one of us, shaking hands with his warm smile. When it was finally my turn, he looked gently into my eyes, said something very kind and shook my hand. He did it to everyone. It took a long time. There were over 140 people in lines. It was quiet and peaceful all the time, and yet there was some flicker of excitement around Sensei. I was very happy to see each of my white belt juniors get to meet Sensei and greet him in person at the far end of the long line.
We had a great practice as always. It was open to all levels and ages, but each level learned something precious from Sensei. How could he do it when he had 140 students of all different levels and ages? Amazing... Something most striking to me during the practice was his word "Form is power." I have heard "Speed is power" on many occasions before, but not this word. Something I need to ponder over, but I was glad to hear it from Sensei.
After the practice, everyone wanted to thank Sensei. There was a long line for him. I managed to ask him if he could be in our dojo group photo. He kindly said OK, but the line never got shorter. We all waited very patiently for about 40 minutes. No one gave up. We knew it was a rare opportunity and worth waiting forever. Finally it was our turn! Our group photo with Sensei is in "Recent posts" and "Image galleries" on this website. It turned out to be a perfect photo for everyone!
We went back to Redding that afternoon. We drove 20 hours round trip for Sensei's two hour practice! However, we were all very happy and content. It was well worth it. Everyone who made the first practice at SOD (especially teenage Gareth and Lisa) was quite inspired. I knew this was going to happen, because every time I go to the beautiful SOD, I get inspired. I have seen Brad and Lynette get very inspired as well. Is it because of the magical and spiritual power of Sensei, of SOD, or of the harmonious SKA family? It is probably all of them.
Thank you Sammy(our iron man driver), Lynette(our photo artist!), Brad(my reliable buddy), Greg(awesome dad), Michael(samurai), Andrew(little prince of karate), Gareth(kamikaze) and Lisa(princess in gi) for making this memorable trip to SOD. We missed Linda for her unexpected medical conditions. She was the most enthusiastic person about meeting Sensei. Not to worry. We will try it again. I hope Linda, Yana (in Sacramento now) and more juniors will make it the next time. A trip for inspiration!
