It happened several times to me. Only several times in more than 20 years, but it did happen. I still remember the moments so vividly.
Practice led by Ohshima Sensei in Berkeley, California:
It was in 1989 or 1990. I was a fresh and energetic shodan. For some reason, I had the feeling before the practice that Sensei was going to choose me to have a jiyu-kumite match in front of all other participants. I tried to be ready for that in my mind. There were about 100 participants from the dojos in the Northern California. During the practice, Sensei had all of us line up. As he walked by in front of me, he stopped, looked into my eyes and told me to get out to the middle of the gym. "Here it comes", I said to myself. Sensei chose a shodan guy as my opponent. He was much taller and younger than me. I could see his strong determination in his eyes to beat me in the match. We bowed and Sensei said "Hajime!" He was aggressive. He wanted the first half point. I saw tightness in his upper body. I got the first half point. He got mad and even more aggressive. I noticed that he always tried to punch me, but no kicks! "OK, next time when he gets in, I'm going to kick his chudan." I moved around, trying to keep the proper ma, and waited for him to get in. He grew frustrated and moved in. At that moment, I gave him a side-thrust kick. Sensei said "Yame!" I won the match. It was my first time to feel my opponent's mind so clearly. It still comes vividly to mind today.
Sensei's Open Practice at Ohshima Dojo in Santa Barbara, California:
It was probably in 2002 or 2003. I had just made yodan. We were all sitting around Sensei. There were about 80 participants of all ranks. I asked Sensei a question about movements in Bassai, where you punch chudan with the right hand and make ude-uke with the same-side arm, then do the same things with the left side before making four shuto-uke. Sensei told me to stand up and make ude-uke. He said, "Take power off completely." I tried. He corrected my form. He told me to breathe through my blocking arm. I did. I was totally relaxed. Then he tried to push my blocking arm from outside of it. I kept breathing out. I saw Sensei trying so hard to push my blocking arm with his both hands. He was leaning against my arm with the angle of 45 degrees. I felt nothing. Nothing at all! I was not using my muscle power a bit. I was just staying relaxed and breathing out. It was a miracle! Sensei said to everyone, "Form is power." Since then, I believe in proper form.
Nisei Week Tournament preliminary match, Garden Grove Dojo, California:
I was facing a woman black belt from Canada in August, 2002. Each of us had one half point. The next effective technique will be match point. We heard the timer called "Thirty seconds!" We both wanted to make match point as soon as possible. We wanted to win the match. The watch ticked in our minds. We were both careful but grew frustrated. I knew we had only less than ten seconds left. At that time I decided to forget about time. I decided to stop thinking about win or lose. I tried to think nothing. I focused on feeling my opponent's mind. I felt that she was very frustrated. She got more aggressive. When she got into my ma, I did something that I do not remember. The referee said, "Yame!" I got match point. At the same time the bell rang. I won! It happened just a second before the time was called. I was lucky. I had never experienced the calm state of mind like that before (and after).
Nagewaza practice with Brad at Redding Shotokan dojo, California:
It was in early November, 2008. I was practicing nagewaza with Brad for our dojo demonstration at the 35th Nor Cal Shotokan Anniversary Celebration on November 8. Brad is a great uke. In one of the throws, I was trying to get straight in when he decided to make his best punch into my face. It is like you are blocking the punch with your nose. If you hesitate a split second, you are too late and will get his nice punch in your nose. If you do not think anything and just get in, you will pass his punch and you are behind him. I had been trying "No hesitation". It was not easy to breakthrough that mental block (fear). After trying many many times, I saw Brad's back. His shoulders were right there. I immediately pulled them straight down to the mat. I can not forget that moment.
Kendo practice at Sun Oaks Tennis and Fitness, Redding, California:
I was sparring with shinai (bamboo sword) with Ross, my kendo senior. He is way more experienced and better in kendo. He had been hitting me in the protective gear with his clean techniques. At some point, I saw and felt his frustration. I felt that he wanted to finish me quickly. I thought that he probably wanted to make a straight-down head cut. "OK, as soon as he moves, I will give him a waist cut." I waited for him to raise his both arms to come down with his head cut. He did. At the same time, I cut his waist! Ross liked my cut. This is the second time that I felt my opponent's mind clearly. I just hope it happens more often.
There are a few other moments that I can not forget. However, I want to keep them in my memory box a little longer. Amazing things do happen in practice.
