SONNY CHIBA

Mengumbar wajah sangar tanpa senyum dan sedikit bicara. Takuma Tsurugi, seorang "tukang pukul bayaran" dan pembuat onar sangat ditakuti oleh lawan-lawannya. Aksi baku hantam yang ultra keras dan tanpa ampun menjadi gayanya. Berjalan kesana kemari, Takuma lebih mirip mesin ganas yang ingin membunuh semua lawannya. Meski tidak sekeren Bruce Lee dalam Enter The Dragon, aksi Sonny Chiba sebagai Takuma Tsurugi dalam The Street Fighter mendapat acungan jempol.

Sonny Chiba lahir tahun 1939 di prefektur Fukuoka dengan nama Sadao Maeda. Sebagai anak kedua dari lima bersaudara, tidak ada yang istimewa dalam kehidupan awalnya. Ayahnya bekerja sebagai pilot uji pesawat dalam kemiliteran dan harus menghidupi keluarga besar itu. Sejak kecil Chiba sangat gemar dengan olah raga senam dan teater. Keseriusannya dalam senam berlanjut hingga bangku universitas. Saat itu Chiba aktif dalam sebuah klub senam di Universitas Nippon Taiiku. Kemampuan Chiba dalam senam sebenarnya cukup layak untuk masuk dalam tim olimpiade. Sayangnya cedera pinggul yang didapat dari bekerja sambilan sebagai buruh bangunan membuatnya harus mengubur impian itu. Setelah kegagalan itu Chiba mulai aktif berlatih dalam banyak bela diri.

Perkenalan Chiba dengan karate dimulai setelah dirinya berjumpa dengan salah satu nama besar dalam dunia karate yaitu Masutatsu Oyama. Chiba seakan menemukan semangat baru setelah kegagalannya masuk dalam tim olimpiade. Sejak itulah Chiba berlatih bersama Oyama dibawah bendera Kyokushinkai. Minat Chiba dalam bela diri ternyata sangat besar terbukti dari banyaknya bela diri tradisional Jepang yang diikutinya. Selain peringkat shodan dalam Kyokushinkai, Chiba juga belajar bela diri lain yaitu judo (nidan), kendo (shodan), ninjutsu (yondan), Goju-ryu karate (nidan) dan Shorinji Kempo (shodan). Terlatih dalam banyak bela diri sebenarnya sudah menjadi modal awal bagi Chiba untuk masuk ke akting. Namun saat itu belum ada pikiran dalam benak Chiba untuk menekuni dunia senia peran.

Tahun 1960-an Toei Studios tengah mencari aktor untuk film mereka. Dalam ajang pencarian bakat yang disebut “Wajah Baru” itu Toei kemudian menemukan Chiba. Chiba kemudian menerima tawaran Toei untuk membintangi film sains fiksi berjudul “Uchu Kaisoku-ken” (Invasi Makhluk Neptune). Film itu menjadi film layar lebarnya yang pertama dan lumayan sukses. Sebelum itu aksi Chiba sebagai aktor sebenarnya sudah dimulai di beberapa tokusatsu (superhero gaya Jepang) yang diputar di stasiun TV lokal. Setelah berkarir dalam film, Chiba mengganti namanya yang semula Sadao Maeda menjadi Sonny Chiba. Nama itu diambil setelah hubungan Chiba yang mengiklankan mobil bernama “Sunny S” produksi Toyota. Namun kadang-kadang Chiba juga menggunakan nama Shinichi Chiba sebagai nama panggungnya. Bisa jadi pertemuan Chiba dengan Toei Studios hanyalah kebetulan saja, namun sejak itu Chiba sangat sibuk berakting dalam banyak film. Film yang dibintangi Chiba umumnya bergenre kisah kriminal gaya Jepang semacam yakuza.

Tahun 1970 Chiba mendirikan Japan Action Club (JAC), semacam sekolah pelatihan bagi calon aktor untuk film laga atau aktor pengganti. Sekitar tahun 1973 masyarakat dunia sedang menggandrungi film laga yang dibintangi Bruce Lee. Chiba yang sibuk dengan JAC memutuskan kembali ke layar lebar dengan membintangi film The Street Fighter (1974). Film itu meraup sukses, hingga dalam tahun itu saja telah dibuatkan 3 sekuelnya: Return of The Street Fighter (1974), Sister Street Fighter (1974) dan The Street Fighter Last Revenge (1974). Film itu mempertahankan gaya khas Chiba yang anti hero, orang bayaran yang mau melakukan apapun demi hadiah, sedikit bicara dan aksi langsung dengan kekerasan. Meski berlawanan dengan gaya Bruce Lee yang “clean hero”, sejak film itu sukses nama Chiba menjadi diperhitungkan dalam kancah film internasional hingga 20 tahun berikutnya. Bahkan Chiba sebenarnya sempat akan beradu akting dengan Bruce Lee. Sayangnya kematian Bruce Lee yang mendadak membuat produser membatalkan proyek itu.

Meski “langganan” dengan model karakter berandalan, Chiba sempat berakting sebagai jagoan dalam film bergenre karate. Film karate pertama yang dibintanginya adalah Champion of Death (Karate Bull Fighter) yang tayang tahun 1975. Film yang mengisahkan perjalan hidup pendiri Karate Kyokushinkai itu sukses hingga dibuatkan sekuelnya yaitu Karate Bearfighter (1975) dan Karate for Life (1977). Di ketiga film itu Chiba berperan sebagai tokoh utamanya yaitu Masutatsu Oyama. Melihat background Chiba dari Kyokushinkai, tidak mengherankan jika dirinya tidak kesulitan mengadaptasi karakter tokoh utamanya. Selain berperan sebagai Masutatsu Oyama masih ada pula film bertema karate dari Chiba yaitu Karate Kiba (The Bodyguard) dan Karate Warriors yang keduanya diproduksi tahun 1976.

Salah satu cover video Sonny Chiba sebagai Masutatsu Oyama

Sukses film The Street Fighter agaknya menginspirasi sutradara terkenal Quentin Tarantino. Tahun 1993 Tarantino yang saat itu masih menjadi sutradara film indie memproduksi True Romance. Dalam film itu Tarantino banyak menggunakan image dan referensi dari film The Street Fighter. Namun kesempatan Tarantino berkolaborasi dengan Chiba baru terjadi tahun 2003 dalam Kill Bill: Vol. 1. Dalam film yang sedikit sadis (kalau tidak disensor) itu Chiba kebagian peran sebagai pembuat pedang Jepang bernama Hanzo Hattori. Film itu meraup untung besar hingga dibuatkan sekuelnya. Sebelum itu Chiba sebenarnya pernah berperan sebagai ninja Hattori dalam Kage no Gundan (1982) yang pernah diputar di Indonesia. Sosok Chiba dalam Kage no Gundan kemudian digunakan oleh produser mainan elektronik SEGA sebagai opening dalam game berjudul The Revenge of Shinobi.

Meski saat ini dunia perfilman di Jepang sekarang banyak dihiasi wajah-wajah baru, nama Chiba sebagai aktor senior tidak terpinggirkan. Bahkan Hollywood masih mempercayakan film mereka untuk dibintangi Chiba. Kesempatan yang sangat langka karena belum tentu aktor Jepang mendapat kesempatan itu. Bagi penggemar film aksi balap jalanan tentu akan melihat akting Chiba dalam The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006). Film itu adalah sekuel dari The Fast and Furious yang dibintangi oleh Vin Diesel. Tidak berhenti sampai disitu, Chiba yang usianya hampir 70 tahun masih mampu menunjukkan kualitas aktingnya dalam film berjudul Oyaji (2007). Luar biasa memang, Chiba telah membintangi tidak kurang dari 152 judul film sepanjang karirnya. Jumlah itu belum termasuk J-dorama (drama TV Jepang) yang dibintanginya.

Berkaitan dengan kesuksesannya sebagai aktor, Chibapun turut membagi rahasianya:

“Tubuh seorang seharusnya penuh dengan emosi, apakah itu gembira atau sedih, suka atau duka, marah atau sabar. Kau harus mengekspresikan diri dengan seluruh tubuhmu. Aktor Jepang biasanya tidak melakukan ini. Apa yang kulakukan sebagai aktor laga adalah apa yang harus dilakukan setiap aktor. Akting adalah drama. Jika kita tidak mampu membuat penonton tertawa, tersenyum atau menangis bersama kita, kita bukanlah aktor. Barangkali terdengar idealis – namun itu benar”.

Boleh saja orang tidak setuju dengan pendapat Chiba, namun harus diakui Chiba adalah salah satu legenda film Jepang. Lebih jauh, Chiba adalah satu contoh orang Jepang yang senantiasa bersikap profesional dalam pekerjaannya. Tidak berlebih-lebihan jika totalitasnya dalam berkarya menjadi inspirasi bagi aktor muda Jepang. (Fokushotokan.com)

MAESTRO KARATE GICHIN FUNAKOSHI (1868-1957)

MAESTRO KARATE GICHIN FUNAKOSHI (1868-1957)

By : Richard Kim

Jika ada seseorang yang sangat berjasa dalam perkembangan dan posisi karate yang telah menjadi kampium seni beladiri di Jepang, dia adalah Ghichin Funakoshi. Maestro yang lahir di Shuri, Okinawa dan tidak pernah mendapat pengakuan resmi terhadap kemampuannya dalam beladiri hingga umur 53 tahun.

Yasutsune (Ankoh) Azato

Sejarah Funakoshi tidak bisa dipisahkan dengan sejarah keagungan karate. Dimulai sebagai seorang anak yang lemah, pesakitan dan memiliki kesehatan yang kurang baik, orang tua Funakoshi membawanya kepada maestro beladiri pada saat itu yaitu Yasutsune Itosu untuk mengajarinya karate bersama Yastsune Azato (Azato memberikan banyak pelajaran kepada Funakoshi untuk membangun pikiran disiplin dan tehnik karate).
 

Yasutsune (Ankoh) Itosu

Dengan dibantu oleh seorang dokter, Tokashiki, yang memberikan ramuan-ramuan alami untuk menguatkan fisiknya, dan latihan yang diberikan oleh Azato dan Itosu, Funakoshi tumbuh menjadi orang yang kuat dan gagah. Dia menjadi murid menonjol ketika menjadi murid Arakaki dan Sokon “Bushi” Matsumura. Dia menguasai dan mencapai taraf yang tinggi dalam kedisiplinan. Maestro Funakoshi selalu menceritakan disetiap kesempatan sejarah hidupnya pada bagian ini. Ketika dia hidup bersama kakek-neneknya, dia mulai memasuki sekolah wajib dimana dia sekelas dengan anak guru Azato dan menerima intruksi karate pertama dari Yatsusune (Ankoh) Azato.

Ketika pada akhirnya Funakoshi datang ke Jepang dari Okinawa, tahun 1922, dia tinggal bersama orang-orang sekampung halaman di sebuah asrama mahasiswa di Suidobata, Tokyo. Dia tinggal di dalam kamar yang kecil dekat pintu dan dia akan membersihkan asrama ketika para mahasiswa pergi kuliah. Dia juga bekerja sebagai tukang kebun, dan pada malam hari Funakoshi mengajar karate kepada para mahasiswa.

Dalam jangka waktu yang tidak begitu lama, ia mendirikan sekolah karate pertamanya di Meishojuku. Setelah itu dia mendrikan sekolah karate di Mejiro, dan akhirnya dia memiliki tempat untuk menghasilkan murid generasi penerus karate, seperti, Takagi dan Nakayama dari Nippon Karate Kyokai, Yoshida dari Takudai, Obata dari Keio, Shigeru Egami dari Waseda (pembawa sukses dalam perkembangan karate), Hironishi dari Chuo, Noguchi dari Waseda dan Hirori Ohtsuka (Otsuka).

Pada saat melakukan perjalanan keliling Jepang untuk mengenalkan dan mengajar karate, Funakoshi selalu mengajak Takeshi Shimoda, Yoshitaka (anaknya), Egami dan Ohtsuka untuk menyertainya. Murid utamanya adalah T. Shimoda dan Y. Funakoshi.

Shimoda merupakan lulusan Nen-ryu Kendo School, dia juga berlatih Ninjutsu, tetapi dia sangat tidak beruntung, Dia sakit dan meninggal pada saat masih muda , tahun 1934, setelah melakukan sebuah perjalanan pertunjukan karate. Dia digantikan oleh Gigo (Yoshitaka) Funakoshi, yang memiliki karakter yang sangat baik dan tehnik karate yang sangat tinggi. Shigeru Egami berpendapat bahwa tidak ada orang yang lebih baik untuk menggantikannya. Dikarenakan jiwa muda dan metode latihan yang keras (bahkan dapat dikatakan sebagai latihan yang kuat dan brutal), membuat terjadinya konflik dengan golongan tua. Othsuka Hironori, yang mengatakan tidak dapat menerima latihan yang sangat keras. Akhirnya Otsuka keluar dan mendirikan sekolah karate sesuai dengan gayanya sendiri, yang diberi nama Wado-Ryu (Jalan keharmonisan), dan secara nyata nama itu menyindir Yoshitaka. Dalam jangka panjang metode latihan Yoshitaka adalah sangat penting bagi masa depan karate-do. Tetapi, sekali lagi, dia meninggal dalam usia muda, tahun 1945, ketika berumur 39 tahun, penyakit TBC ( Tuberculosis) menghantarkan dia pada kematian.

Pada abad awal abad ke-20, ketika momentum ultra-nasionalis melanda jepang, perkembangan seni beladiri di Jepang mengalami kemunduran, orang yang berlatih beladiri dianggap sebagai penyembah berhala (pagan) dan seni kebrutalan ( savage art). Funakoshi mencoba mengatasi prasangka tersebut, dan akhinya berhasil mendapatkan pengakuan bahwa karate merupakan salah satu seni beladiri Jepang tahun 1941.

Setelah itu banyak pekumpulan karate berdiri di Jepang. Pada tahun 1942, karate diperkenalkan di Universitas Keio sebagai klub karate pertama, yang lainya termasuk Chuo, Waseda (1930), Hosei, Universitas Tokyo (1929). Klub yang lain didirikan di Shichi-Tokudo, di lingkungan tangsi militer di sudut halaman Istana.

Funakoshi mengunjungi Shichin-Tokudo setiap beberapa hari sekali untuk mengajar, ketika Otsuka mengajar di Shichin-Tokudo, seorang murid, Kogura, dari Universitas Keio yang menyandang Dan III (san-dan) Kendo (Seni melidungi diri Jepang/ Japanese Fenching) dan juga penyandang sabuk hitam karate, mengambil pedang dan berhadapan dengan Otsuka. Semua murid melihatnya dan menunggu apa yang akan terjadi. Mereka menyangka dengan kemahirannya dalam kendo, tidak seorang pun yang dapat menghadapinya dengan pedang terbuka (the shinken). Otsuka terlihat tenang melihat Kogura dan pada saat Kogura mengerakkan pedangnya, Otsuka menyapu kakinya dan Kogura jatuh terjerembab. Kejadian ini tidak banyak diceritakan, dan hal ini membuktikan keahlian Otsuka. Kejadian itu juga membuang kejemuan terhadap filosofi Funakoshi bahwa latihan kata/jurus lebih dari sekedar cukup waktu yang dibutuhkan dan juga sangat penting untuk menujukkan kemampuan besar Gichin Funakoshi sebagai guru dan karateka.

Pada tahun 1922, tiga muridnya, Miki, Bo dan Hirayama berpendapat bahwa berlatih kata saja tidak cukup. Mereka mulai mengenalkan pertarungan bebas (Jiyu Kumite). Mereka membuat pelindungan badan dan menggunakan pelindung kepala kendo di dalam pertandingan. Funakoshi mendengar tentang penyimpangan ini, dan tidak menghalangi usaha yang dia anggap telah mengurangi arti seni beladiri karate. Funakoshi menghentikan kunjungannya ke Shichin-Tokudo. Baik Funakoshi dan Otsuka tidak pernah terlihat lagi. Setelah kejadian tersebut Gichin Funakoshi melarang adanya pertandingan karate. (Tidak pernah ada pertandingan karate hingga setelah ia meninggal tahun 1958).

Ketika Funakoshi datang ke Jepang, ia membawa 16 kata, yaitu 5 pinan (heian), 3 naihanchi (Tekki), kushanku-dai (Kanku-dai), kushanku-sho (Kanku-sho), seisan (Hangetsu), patsai (bassai-dai), Wanshu (Empi/Enpi),chinto (Gankaku), jutte (jitte) dan Jion. Dia memberikan muridnya kata dasar sebelum mereka menunjukkan kemajuan yang berarti untuk meningkat ke tingkat lanjutan. Pada saat itu tidak kurang dari 40 kata masuk dalam kurikulum, kemudian dimasukkan dalam edisi terbatas “Karate-do for specialist” yang merupakan karya monumental dari Shigeru Egami.

Jigoro Kano, penemu seni beladiri Judo moderen, sekali waktu mengundang Funakoshi dan temannya, Makoto Gima, untuk melakukan pertunjukan seni beladiri di Kodokan (Tomisaka). Kira-kira ribuan orang menyaksikan pertunjukan tersebut. Gima yang belajar setelah Yabu Kenstu adalah pemuda dari Okinawa, memainkan kata Naihanshi Shodan, dan Funakoshi memaikan Kata Koshokun (Kushanku-dai).

Sensei Kano menyaksikan pertujukan tersebut dan menanyakan tentang tehnik yang terkandung didalamnya. Dia merasa sangat kagum. Dia mengundang Funakoshi dan Gima untuk menghadiri upacara tendon (makan malam dengan nasi dan ikan "fish and rice dinner"), mereka menyanyi dan berkelakar untuk menyenangkan Funakoshi.

Didalam ketulusannya mengajarkan seni beladiri karate yang baik dan benar, Funakoshi bukan tanpa hujatan. Kritik menghina menyangkut ketegasannya dalam aturan mempelajari kata, dan mempelajari apa yang mereka sebut “lembut” karate merupakan hal yang menyia-nyiakan waktu. Funakoshi tegas terhadap aturan hito-kata sanen (tiga tahun satu kata).

Funakoshi adalah orang yang rendah hati. Dia mengajari dan mempratekkan apa yang dia katakan dengan kerendahan hati. Dia tidak memberikan nasehat tentang kebajikan dan kerendahan hati, tetapi pada dasarnya kerendahan hati seseorang adalah bersumber pada pandangan yang benar terhadap sesuatu dan hidup penuh dengan kesadaran. Dia hidup dengan damai dengan dirinya dan orang disekelilingnya.

Kapanpun nama Gichin Funakoshi disebutkan, akan mengingatkan kita pada perumpamaan “A man of Tao (Do)" dan “A little Man”. Dikatakan seorang murid bertanya “Apa bedanya antara- a man of tao -dengan a little man ?” Guru menjelaskan ,”sederhana sekali, ketika a little man menerima “DAN” (kelulusan atau rangking), dia tidak akan sabar menunggu untuk pulang kerumah dan naik keatas kemudian mengatakan kepada semua orang bahwa dia telah mendapatkan “DAN” pertamanya. Ketika menerima “DAN” keduanya, dia akan naik hingga ke ujung tiang dan mengumumkannya kepada semua orang. Ketika menerima “dan” ketiganya, dia melompat di atas mobilnya dan berparade keliling kota sambil membunyikan klakson, memberitahukan kepada semua orang tentang “DAN” ketiganya”.

Guru melanjutkan, “ Ketika- a man of Tao-menerima “DAN" pertamanya, dia akan menundukan kepalanya sebagai tanda berterima kasih dan bersyukur. Ketika menerima “DAN” keduanya, dia akan menundukan kepalanya hingga kebahu. Ketika menerima “DAN” ketiganya, dia akan menundukan kepalanya hingga pinggang dan diam-diam dia berjalan disamping dinding sehingga orang tidak dapat melihat dia.

Funakoshi adalah “ a man of Tao”. Dia tidak memiliki keistimewaan apapun dalam sebuah kompetisi, catatan kemenangan, atau kejuaraan. Keistimewaannya terletak pada kepribadiannya yang sempurna. Dia yakin kepatuhan dan perhormatan adalah hal yang harus dilakukan seseorang terhadap yang lain. Dia adalah maestro dari maestro.

Funakoshi meninggal tahun 1957, pada usia 89 tahun, setelah kerendahatiannya membuat kontribusi terbesar dalam karate-do.

KOBE OSAKA INTERNATIONAL
KARATE-DO RENMEI

Tommy Morris, Scotland's first karate black belt, is the acknowledged founder of organised karate in Scotland. He first became interested in the martial arts at the age of 14. "I suppose I was something of a seven stone weakling, though I don't remember anyone kicking sand in my face," says Tommy, "but I did decide to do something about it. I became interested in judo and ju-jitsu after reading several books and magazines on the subject. I had already come to the conclusion that proficiency in unarmed combat was a necessary part of any self-respecting man's repertoire and of course it was also a great way to keep fit and develop my physique". In 1957 Tommy joined the Royal Marines Reserve, qualifying as a commando, a parachutist, and an assault engineer. During his 6 years of service he taught close combat and participated in many successful demonstrations and displays throughout the United Kingdom. It was in 1961 that he first heard of the new techniques of karate, which were fast gaining popularity in France and the U.S.A., but there were no qualified instructors in Britain. He realised that if he wanted to learn the new art he would have to teach himself from training books and manuals. He drew up his own training programme and every day for the next two years, in every available free moment, he persevered with his task alone and unsupervised. With no fixed place to train his dojo was often the open fields, sometimes the Royal Marines Drill Hall at Eglinton Toll, more often than not the Daily Express process-engraving darkroom during the meal-break. The major breakthrough came in late 1963. The Glasgow novice wrote to the famous French martial arts expert Monsieur Henri Plee, who had made a study of karate in Japan and who was teaching the Shotokan style of karate. The young Scot was invited to cross the Channel and train for a spell at the Frenchman's famous dojo, the Academie Francaise d'Arts Martiaux in the Rue de la Montagne St. Genevieve in Paris. Finance for the trip was a major stumbling block but Tommy overcame it by regretfully selling his most prized possession - a Royal Enfield Constellation motorcycle he had saved three years to buy - and in May 1964 he set off to take his first instruction in karate. Once in Paris he found that his lonely hours in the gym had not been in vain. His training schedule had been basically correct and at the end of five days he was awarded the grade of 4th kyu. Back in Glasgow Tommy was approached by a group of friends and asked if he would be prepared to instruct them in karate. A small informal club was formed at the Osaka Judo Club's gym in Albion Street, and interest was so intense that by the time Tommy set off for a second trip to Paris in September of 1964, the Club membership had mushroomed to over ninety. Tommy was promoted to the rank of 1st kyu by Monsieur Plee, and the membership of the Osaka Karate Club, as it was then known, continued to snowball. In 1965 some of the leading instructors of the day were invited to Glasgow to give instruction. Among the first were Yoshinao Nanbu then 4th Dan, and Frenchman Patrick Baroux who was later to become European Champion in 1966 and 1967. At the end of Sensei Nanbu's week long course, he awarded a number of Osaka Club members their first gradings. Tommy Morris himself made history as the first Scot ever to be awarded a Karate Black Belt. Members of the Kobe Osaka in September 1965. Yoshinao Nanbu is in the centre with Patrick Baroux and Tommy Morris in the front. Are you in the photo? If you are why not get in touch? In October that same year, the club took part in the first British Karate Championships at Crystal Palace and Danny Bryceland a Kobe-Osaka member who had been in training for only 10 months won the Junior Grade Championship of Great Britain. In November 1965 the club moved to a new H.Q. in the Dixon Halls and changed its name in honour of Mr. Nanbu, to the Kobe-Osaka Karate Club. Kobe is the city where he lived and trained and Osaka the university where he studied. It was also in 1965 that a number of people in Dundee, Coatbridge, and Kilmarnock, approached Tommy with a view to affiliating with his club to learn karate. As a result a Constitution was drawn up and the Osaka Karate-do Renmei, later to be the Scottish Karate-do Association was founded with Tommy Morris as Secretary and National Coach. In 1966 a karate magazine article by Bob McIntosh the Chairman of the Scottish Karate-do Association, had this to say - "The Association and its growth are the direct result of the prodigious efforts of our own Tom Morris, who is the only Black Belt holder in Scotland. It is an accepted fact that karate and Morris are synonymous with all who reside in the North, and his boundless enthusiasm and organising ability are the motivating factors behind the success we have enjoyed so far. As our National Coach, he travels wherever requested, and his prowess in his field is unique. This is the view of all who have enjoyed his instruction. If these attributes are overshadowed at all, it is only by his performance on the mat, which is an experience in itself. His sacrifices for the sport have been many and varied, and his entry into karate is an absorbing tale on its own. In an effort to emulate someone like this, members train hard and compete in a like manner. If they are trained by Morris, there will never be any hesitation to accept any challenge. The Association was founded in June 1965, and gradually enquiries came from various parts of Scotland. It soon became apparent that someone would have to accept the mammoth task of welding different clubs together. Tom Morris immediately set about preparing a Constitution along with plans to embrace as many clubs as possible throughout Scotland. Today, these clubs are now united under the guiding hand of this singularly dynamic person. Tom's efforts have been rewarded by the successes achieved, and when one considers his capabilities, there can be little doubt of future success." Prophetic words, since members of the four clubs who attended the inaugural meeting little realised that in the space of one decade Scottish Karate would blossom to include thousands, and that home-bred karate champions would emerge, who one day would challenge Europe and the World and win. In February of 1966 Tommy successfully organised the first Karate International to be held in Britain. A highly experienced French team came out on top but the Scottish squad's experience was invaluable for the future. Tommy himself now became an established member of the Great Britain Team and took part in the first British International events and the first European Championships in Paris. In October 1966 he organised the first Scottish Championships in the Govan Town Hall. In attendance were such famous names as Henri Plee, Yoshinao Nanbu, Tatsuo Suzuki, and Jacques Delcourt, President of the European Karate Union. A capacity crowd of 1400 wildly cheered the demonstrations and fighters alike. Not unexpectedly Kobe-Osaka swept the board. Success followed success. The first Kobe-Osaka Championships held shortly afterwards attracted hugely enthusiastic support. "Oh those heady exciting days, we little realised we were making history", says Tommy. In January 1966 the club had moved to new premises at 27 Union Street, where it was to stay for the next five years. The Scottish Karate-do Association was also flourishing and by the end of the year there were 14 clubs. Shortly afterwards the staggering interest in Karate in Scotland forced Tommy to make the most crucial decision of his life. If he wanted to promote and nurture the present growth in interest he would have to give up the security of his job as a photo-process engraver with the Scottish Daily Express. Work-mates told him he was mad to consider it, but in July 1967 he made the break and set off on a further quest for knowledge on a two month Odyssey to Japan with Yoshinao Nanbu. Together they visited as many Japanese karate clubs as possible, but it was at the Kobe dojo of Sensei Chojiro Tani, that Tommy was introduced to the karate style that he felt had everything. "Some of the dojos I visited had been disappointing," says Tommy. "Many of the techniques were archaic and lacked in real power. Some of the movements were purely traditional, rather than functional and therefore did not provide the answers in sporting or self-defence situations. The new style I was introduced to at the Shukokai dojo in Kobe appeared to have everything the others didn't. It was aesthetic. It looked how I believed karate should look. It was powerful. It was fast. It had traditional roots, and it was realistic and effective." It was here that Tommy met Sensei Shigeru Kimura and recognised immediately that he was to be one of the world's great karate instructors. Bearded and almost six feet tall, he was anything but the traditional Western idea of a Japanese. Fast, fearsome, explosive and deadly in action, it was the quiet aura of invincibility that was most impressive of all. back to top ^ Tommy resolved to make an in depth study of his style and trained eight hours a day with him for the next six weeks. It was a spartan existence on a diet largely composed of fish and rice with a four mile walk each way twice a day, to the dojo, often in 100 degree heat. Training commenced with half an hour's punching practice on the makiwara and then an hour and a half training in basics and kata, sometimes under the personal tuition of Mr. Tani and sometimes alone. After a light lunch there were a further two hours of basics and kata training. Between 4pm and 6pm there was practice with nun-chaku and ton-fa (Okinawan close combat weapons originally used as farm implements). After a half-hour break, public classes commenced for an hour and a quarter and after that Mr. Kimura took the black belts for "special" training. This included very hard training, kata and free fighting. To finish there was a period of free practice, with the survivors working late into the night. At the end of his stay in Japan, Tommy was promoted to the rank of 3rd Dan. An achievement which rightly gained him recognition as "The highest ranking karate man of British origin in the United Kingdom." (Karate & Oriental Arts Magazine November 1967).
	Tommy Morris demonstrating Ton-fa 1981
The wave of publicity which followed his return from Japan led to incessant demands for Tommy's services for courses in Shukokai Karate and the first authentic demonstrations of Nun-chaku, Sai, and Ton-fa throughout Britain and Europe. The great Hiroo Mochizuki, himself an accomplished weapons expert and a master of Iai-do, paid him the ultimate compliment watching his demonstrations in London and Paris, when he said "Those were some of the best ton-fa demonstrations I have ever witnessed." The Kobe-Osaka Club membership also increased by leaps and bounds. In the British Championships Team Events the club was 3rd in 1967, 2nd in 1968 and 1st in 1969. In 1968 Peter Buonaccorsi took the British Junior Grade Championship and Danny Bryceland topped off his 1965 success by winning the Senior Championship. Success in the Scottish Championships was also evident with Kobe-Osaka members winning all events from 1966 to 1971. It was a startling achievement considering that there were nine senior Japanese instructors and over 300 clubs in Britain at the time. In 1968 the first Scotland v England International was held and the Scottish team comprised entirely of Kobe-Osaka members, thrashed the English in the first victory of an unbeaten run which was to extend for eight years. In 1969 Tommy Morris took part in a series of demonstrations and courses in England and France along with Shigeru Kimura and arranged for the karate master to visit the Kobe-Osaka Club in Glasgow where he awarded Black Belts to several members. In 1970 Tommy became Scotland's first International Karate Referee when he successfully passed the European Karate Union's Referees Examination in Ostend, Belgium. So successful a referee was he that in 1974 the European Karate Union appointed him Vice Chairman of the European Referees Commission. In 1975 he was appointed Arbitrator at the 2nd World Karate Championships in Long Beach, California and in 1977 at the 3rd World Championships in Tokyo, was promoted to Chief Referee (Kansacho) and elected Chairman of the World Union of Karate-do Organisations (W.U.K.O.) Rules Committee. In 1973 accompanied by Brian Docherty, one of his senior instructors, he paid a working visit to the dojo Mr. Kimura had established in New Jersey, U.S.A. There, he gained valuable insights into the American karate scene and exchanged close combat techniques in training sessions with the New Jersey State Police. In the same year the Kobe-Osaka Clubs, now an Association in their own right, severed their relationship with the Scottish Karate-do Association and Tommy assisted in the formation of the new Scottish Karate Board of Control. He also achieved a goal he had fought for, for several years as delegate to the European Karate Union, when the Scottish squad was recognised as a separate team for the first time in the European Championships. The stand he had taken was vindicated in the most crushing way, when in the finals in Valencia, the Scots beat the French to take the Championship at their first attempt. All but one of the team had started their karate at the Kobe-Osaka Club. The wheel had turned full circle. The Kobe-Osaka Club's membership had now grown to over 500 in Glasgow alone, and there was a long waiting list. Tommy therefore purchased another floor at the premises in Glassford Street, where the club had moved in 1971, and a new dojo was opened on the 6th January 1974. Bruce Lee and the "Kung-fu" films now hit the Western world with a bang. The Kobe-Osaka club was besieged with people eager to emulate Lee's exploits and Tommy had to negotiate with Unicorn Leisure for the use of Clouds Disco at the Apollo Theatre to cope with the demand. What started off as a let for two nights per week became four nights and a Saturday and Sunday. Over 1500 people started karate there that year alone, and in order to meet all his commitments Tommy was now working a 90 hour week. So great was the demand that Tommy opened clubs in Kilmarnock, Ayr, Motherwell, Dumfries and Edinburgh and trained some 30 instructors to teach Kobe-Osaka's 2500 members. By the middle of 1975 the "boom" was over and the hordes of aspiring "Bruce Lee's" once again gave way to the more serious student. In line with their established policy of keeping abreast, indeed in front, of new developments, eight Kobe-Osaka instructors visited Mr. Kimura's dojo in New Jersey in the late summer of 1975, and fought Mr. Kimura's crack team. The result was a resounding victory for Kobe-Osaka when they defeated the U.S. team by 7 victories to 1 and took the first five places in the individual event. In April 1976 Tommy Morris was elected Chairman of the Scottish Karate Board of Control and in March was promoted 5th Dan by Senseis Tani and Kimura. However the boss of the Kobe-Osaka had no intention of letting the grass grow under his feet in the fields of self-defence and combat. An expert with knife, pistol, rifle, and shotgun he graduated as top student at Jeff Cooper's American Pistol Institute in Arizona with a rating of "Expert-Special Merit", in the use of the .45 automatic pistol. He was runner up in the first U.K. Combat Pistol Championships and represented Great Britain in the biennial World Combat Pistol Championships in September 1977 and again in 1979. In 1978 Kobe-Osaka members again demonstrated their superlative abilities and further consolidated their position as leaders in the karate world. David Coulter won the European Lightweight title in Geneva, and the Kobe-Osaka teams took both first and second places in the 10th Scottish Championships. This was their seventh Scottish Championships team victory. In addition Kobe-Osaka members took first, second and third places in the individual event. Twenty members were also promoted to Black Belt status including Tommy's son Steven, who after nine years training became at 15 years old the Club's youngest black belt. There was so much interest in a new International Shukokai and Shitoryu organisation that it was decided in 1991 to found Kobe Osaka International. From the start it was agreed that there should be provision for younger children to participate, since the World Union of Karate-do Oganisations, WUKO as it was then known, did not provide competition for those under 16 years of age. In addition instructor and referee training would be a priority, and coaches and officials would be expected to display a high degree of competence and responsibility. The first Congress was held in Scotland on 19th July 1992 with representatives from nine countries attending, Australia, Egypt, England, Greece, Italy, N. Ireland, Russia, Scotland, and South Africa. 165 persons attended the Gasshuku, which was held from 20th July until 23rd July and 270 competitors took part in the first competition on the 25th July. Every year since there has been a meeting with international training camps featuring information intensive training in all aspects of karate-do, including kata, kihon, self-defence, and competition plus kobudo, ju-jitsu, coaching courses for instructors, and refereeing. At the end of the Gasshukus, examinations were held and international certificates issued. The week's training always ends with the KOI World Cup Championships. Over the years Kobe Osaka Russia has emerged as the major force to be reckoned with and have taken many of the medals. More recently Egypt, Iran, Philippines and Uzbekistan have also had major successes. The venues were: 1992 till 1996 KOI 1-5 Scotland. 1997 KOI 6 Zadar, Croatia. 1998 KOI 7 Evia, Greece. 1999 KOI 8 Erding, Bavaria. 2000 KOI 9 Wishaw, Scotland 2001 KOI 10 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia 2002 KOI 11 Dresden, Germany 2003 KOI 12 Halkida, Greece 2004 KOI 13 Mandaluyong City, Philippines 2005 KOI 14 Moscow, Russia 2006 KOI 15 Halkida, Greece 2007 KOI 16 Varna, Bulgaria 2008 KOI 17 Latina, Italy 2009 KOI 18 Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia 2010 KOI 19 Evia, Greece Until Dresden in July of 2002, Erding was the site of the biggest ever KOI World Cup. Running six tatamis, the German organisers processed 800 individual competitors and 97 teams for kumite and kata, from 20 countries in two days. However this was surpassed in Dresden when 1200 competitors from 31 countries competed on eight tatamis. The whole event was completed in a day and a half. However at a meeting of the KOI instructors it was decided that in future entry to the competition would be restricted to those who attended the training camp so that the traditional "Kobe Osaka Family" atmosphere should be preserved. Sources by : http://www.worldkarate.net/More%20About%20Us.shtml

A Littel Man of Tao

Gichin Funakoshi was born in Shuri, Okinawa in 1868. As a boy, he was trained by two famous masters of that time. Each trained him in a different Okinawan martial art. From Yasutsune Azato he learned Shuri-te. From Yasutsune Itosu, he learned Naha-te. It would be the melding of these two styles that would one day become Shotokan karate. Funakoshi-sensei is the man who introduced karate to Japan. In 1917 he was asked to perform his martial art at a physical education exhibition sponsored by the Ministry of Education. He was asked back again in 1922 for another exhibition. He was asked back a third time, but this was a special performance. He demonstrated his art for the emporer and the royal family! Atfer this, Funakoshi-sensei decided to remain in Japan and teach and promote his art. Gichin Funakoshi passed away in 1957 at the age of 88. Aside from creating Shotokan karate and introducing it to Japan and the world, he also wrote the very book on the subject of karate, "Ryukyu Kempo: Karate-do". He also wrote "Karate-Do Kyohan" - The Master Text, the "handbook" of Shotokan and he wrote his autobiography, "Karate-Do: My Way of Life". These books and his art are a fitting legacy for this unassuming and gentle man.

This is a photo of a memorial to Gichin Funakoshi. This memorial to Master Funakoshi was erected at Enkaku-ji Temple in Kamakura in 1968. The calligraphy at the right is by the master; that at the left is by Asahina Sogen, chief priest of the temple, and reads, "Karate ni sente nashi" (There is no first attack in karate).  

IF THERE IS ONE MAN WHO COULD BE CREDITED with placing karate in the position it enjoys on the Japanese mainland today, it is Gichin Funakoshi. This meijin (master) was born in Shuri, Okinawa, and didn't even begin his second life as harbinger of official recognition for karate on the mainland until he was fifty-three years old.
Funakoshi's story is very similar to that of many greats in karate. He began as a weakling, sickly and in poor health, whose parents brought him to Itosu for his karte training. Between his doctor , Tokashiki, who prescribed certain herbs that would strengthen him, and Itosu's good instruction, Funakoshi soon blossomed. He became a good student, and with Asato, Arakaki and Matsumura as his other teachers, expertise and his highly disciplined mind.
When he finally came to Japan from Okinawa in 1922, he stayed among his own people at the prefectural students's dormitory at Suidobata, Tokyo. He lived in a small room alongside the entrance and would clean the dormitouy during the day when the students were in their classes. At night, he would teach them karate.
After a short time, he had earned sufficient means to open his first school in Meishojuku. Following this, his shotokan in Mejiro was opened and he finally had a place from which he sent forth a variety of outstanding students, such as Takagi and Nakayama of Nippon Karate Kyokai, Yoshida of Takudai, Obata of Keio, Noguchi of Waseda, and Otsuka, the founder of Wado-Ryu karate. It is said that in his travels in and around Japan, while giving demonstrations and lectures, Funakoshi always had Otsuka accompany him.
The martial arts world in Japan, especially in the early Twenties and up to the early Fourties, enjoyed ultra-nationalists were riding high, and they looked down their noses at any art that was not purely called it a pagan and savage art.
Funakoshi overcame this prejudice and finally gained formal recognition of karate as one of the Japanese martial arts by 1941.
Needless to say, many karate clubs flourished on mainland Japan. In 1926, karate was instirudes in Tokyo University. Three years later, karate was formally organized on a club level by three students: Matsuda Katsuichi, Himotsu Kazumi and Nakachi K.,Funakoshi was their teacher. He also organized karate clubs in Keio University and in the Shichi-Tokudo, a barracks situated in a corner of the palace grounds.
Funkoshi visited the Shichi-Tokudo every other day to teach and was always accompained by Otsuka, reputed to be one of the most brilliant of his students in Japan proper. Otsuka's favorite kata was the Naihanchi, which he performed before the royalty of Japan with another outstanding atudent named Oshima, who performed the Pinan kata (Heian).
One day, when Otsuka was teaching at the Shichi-Tokudo, a student, Kogura, from Keio University who had a san-dan degree (3rd-degree black belt) in kendo (Japanese fencing) and also a black belt in karate, took a sword and faced Otsuka. All the other students watched to see what would happen. They felt that no one could face the shinken (open blade) held by a kendo expert.
Otsuka calmly watched Kogura and the moment he made a move with his sword, Otsuka swept him off his feet. As this was unrehearsed, ot attested to the skill of Otsuka. It also bore out Funakoshi's philosophy that kata practice was more tah sufficient in times of need.

In 1927, three men, Miki, Bo and Hirayama decided that kata practice was not enough and tried to introduce jiyukumite (free-fighting). They devised protective clothig and used kendo masks in their matches in order to utilize full contact. Funakoshi heard about these bouts and, when he could not discourage such attempts at what he consedered belittling to the art of karate, he stopped coming to the Shichi-Tokudo. Both Funakoshi and his top student, Otsuka, never showed their faces there again.

When Funakoshi came to mainland Japan, he brought 16 kata with him: 5 pinam, 3 naihanchi, kushanku dai, kushanku sho, seisan, patsai, wanshu, chinto, jutte and jion. He kept his students on the before they progressed to the more advanced forms. The repetitious training that he instituted paid divedends; his students went on to produce the most precise, exact type of karate taught anywhere.
Jigoro Kano, the founder of modern judo, one invited Funakoshi and a friend, Makoto Gima, to perform at the Kodokan (then located at Tomisaka). Approximately a hundred people watched the performance. Gim, who had studied under Yabu Kentsu as a youth in Okinawa, performed the naihanshi shodan, and Fuankoshi performed the koshokun (kushanku dai).
Kanso sensei watched the performance and asked Funakoshi about the techniques involved. He was greatly impressed. He invited Funakoshi and Gima to a tendon (fish and rice) dinner, during which he sang and made jokes to put Funakoshi at ease.
Irrespective of his sincerity in teaching the art of true karate, Funakoshi was not without his detractors. His critics scorned his insistence on the kata and dectied what they called "soft" karate that wasted too much time. Funakoshi insisted on hito-kata sanen (three years on one kata).
Funakoshi was a humble man. He preached and practiced an essential humility. He did not preach the is rooted in the true perspective of things, full of life and awareness. He lived at peace with himself and with his fellow men.
Whenever the name of Gichin Funakoshi is mentioned, it brings to mind the parble of "A Man of Tao (Do) and a Little Man". As it is told, a student once asked, "What is the difference between a man of Tao and a little man?" The sensei replies, "It is simple. When the little man receives his first dan (degree or rank), he can hardly wait to run home and shout at the top of his voice to tell everyone that he made his first dan. Upon receiving his second dan, he will climb to the rooftops and shout to the people. Upon receiving his third dan, he will jump in his automobile and parade through town with horns blowing, telling one and all about his third dan".
The sensei continues, "When the man of Tao receives his first dan, he will bow his head in gratitude. Upon receiving his second dan, he will bow his head and his shoulders. Upon receiving his third dan, he will bow to the waist and quietly walk alongside the wall so that people will not see him or notice him".
Funakoshi was a man of Tao. He placed no emphasis on competitions, record breaking or championships. He placed emphasis on individual selfperfection. He believe in the common decency and respect that one human being owed to another. He was the master of masters.

by R. Kim

Gichin Funakoshi

Gichin Funakoshi in 1935

The memorial to Gichin Funakoshi. It was erected at the Enkaku-ji Temple in Kamakura in 1968.