Interview of Morio Higaonna,
9th Dan, Hanshi, Goju Ryu
Dragon Times Issue #10

This interview of Morio Higaonna sensei was first published in issue No.10 of Dragon Times. It is republished here for the benefit of the karate world in general, and for those in particular who may have been confused by the latest campaign of rumor, innuendo, and misinformation aimed at discrediting this very senior karate instructor.

It should not go unnoticed that, despite being treated universally with derision by the serious martial arts journals, the stories continue to make the rounds with monotonous regularity. It should be concluded therefore that this campaign is not so much designed to discredit Morio Higaonna, but rather an attempt to bring to the attention of the public a number of insignificant instructors by linking their names with his.

Since this interview was first published, Tetsuji Nakamura has moved to Canada where he opened an IOGKF Dojo. Dragon Times has obtained legal documents showing that the allegations made against An'ichi Miyagi were categorically denied by the source of record. We will publish them in a future edition with a new interview of Higaonna sensei. -- more

From the Editor's Pen...
Olympics and Karate...(?)
The John Edwards Column
volume 16 spring, 2000

In an official announcement dated March 18th, 1999 and signed by the General Secretary of the International Olympic Committee, (IOC) Juan Antonio Samaranch, the World Karate Federation was accepted as the governing body for karate. Practically speaking this means that Olympic Karate is on the horizon and may even be announced at the Olympic games this year in Sydney, Australia.

Far from being the disaster many had predicted, this may be the best thing for classical karate in years. Finally there will be a clear separation between karate as a practical fighting art, and karate as a competitive sport. The grey area that exists at present will disappear and, hopefully, just like when we woke up on January 1st, 2000, and found the world where we had left it the night before, an immense feeling of relief will spread through the classical karate movement. -- more

In Defense of Mediocrity
The John Edwards Column - volume 14 Summer 1999

We at Dragon Times enjoy such a special relationship with our readers that it seems that within a minute or two of starting a phone conversation, we have known them for years. This may result from a positive impression they form of us from reading Dragon Times, or it may be that the material we publish just attracts nice people. Suffice it to say that working in this office is a lot of fun, and extremely satisfying. Readers often bring up the topic of the "other" martial arts publications when they speak to us. It is clear from what they say that they dislike their lack of serious content, inaccuracies, wild exaggerations, and overly commercial approach to the subject. Some customers are so upset that they become quite vocal and color their conversations with words and phrases we can't print here. From this we have concluded that they are not happy with most of what they find on the newsstands, despite the fact that many of the worst titles have long since disappeared and many more become marginal as time marches on.
-- more

What the Olympics Will Bring to Karate
The Transformation of Karate-Do
by Kiyoshi Yamazaki - volume 16 spring, 2000

1999 was a great year for the estimated 50 million karate practitioners around the world who have long awaited their chances to have their Olympic dreams fulfilled. On June 19, 1999, the 109th Session of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) ratified the definitive recognition of the World Karate Federation (WKF) as the International Governing Body (IGB) for the sport of karate. What this means is that karate is now a candidate sport for the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece, and will likely be included as a demonstration sport. The decision will be made by the 111th Session of the IOC, scheduled for September 11-13, 2000 in Sydney, Australia. -- more

JKA Shotokan Karate Back to Basics
Dr. David Hooper

Mondays are my days for teaching English outside Tokyo, in a small university in the neighboring prefecture. I was sitting in the teacher' s room last week, having just completed my first class of the day, and enjoying a cup of green tea. I still had at least ten minutes before my next class. An American teacher was giving vent to his frustrations at the adjacent table. The volume was sufficiently loud as to make eavesdropping unavoidable. "They just don't seem to understand," he was saying, "that if they'd just do the homework and learn the stuff, they might actually enjoy some of the activities I plan for their class. As it is, they all sit there like zombies, and half of them can't even put a sentence together." His colleague nodded in agreement and made a few sympathetic noises. As I got up to leave, his following remark "If they'd just get the basics under their belts, they'd realize how much they've been missing" set me thinking. I've met many people teaching karate in the West who seem to spend much of their time worrying about keeping their students interested. Yet, in spite of their efforts, the drop out-rate remains high, particularly around the level of shodan. -- more

Essential Principles of Nakamura Ryu Iaido
by Nakamura Taizaburo
(with Capt. Guy H. Power)

I was a taito honbun sha in northern China during World War Two; that is, I was officially authorized to carry a sword. More specifically, I was an army kenjutsu instructor charged with the task of teaching the battlefield techniques of sword, knife, and bayonet to both officers and noncommissioned officers of the imperial army.

I had received training in kendo before joining the army in 1932; in fact, at twenty years old I was already a third degree black belt in both judo and kendo when I enlisted. During unit training I applied myself rigorously to all aspects of the military arts, and taught kendo to the recruits, officers, and noncommissioned officers of my unit. In 1935 I was assigned to a Boy's Military School as a kendo and jukendo (bayonet fencing) instructor. During this four year assignment I also studied Omori Ryu iaido. Then, in 1939 I was selected to attend the Rikugun Toyama Gakko (Toyama Military Academy). I attended the Toyama Army Academy for a six month period and qualified as an instructor of jissen budo, the combat martial arts of sword, knife, and bayonet. These techniques differed from kendo and traditional iaido because they were for combat; they were exact, precise, and powerful. I may offend some, but these techniques were taught to kill effectively with one blow. -- more

Constructive and Counterproductive Use of Resistance in Aikido Training
by David Alexander

This is a translation of an article appearing in the 25 March 1988 issue of Nippon Budo Monthly.   (1)  -  indicates footnotes.
I am not surprised that iaido has become remarkably spread and developed after World War II. Until the end of World War Two Japan's national identity was expressed through the Three Sacred Treasures--the mirror, the jewel, and the sword. The sword represents the spirit of the warrior to we Japanese; therefore, it is only natural to me that today there is an upsurge in the spirit of the Japanese Sword. This new popularity tells me that iaido has naturally spread among the Japanese. Before the war, not many people studied iaido even though they may have owned numerous swords. Those people had only owned swords simply because they were entitled to do so. In fact, kendo practicioners would say, "Studying iaido will prevent you from improving in kendo.' This attitude is attributed to the fact that iaido is composed mainly of kneeling techniques. In this sense, iaido has no relation to kendo, which contributed to iaido's not having been spread as widely as kendo in those days. -- more

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