A man who, in a video of this field, openly says "I never had to fight on the street" has to be worth listening to! Humility and peace, almost forgotten nowadays in our world order. (And his smile at the end is the best part of all!)
There are other ways of interpreting or thinking about what someone who NEVER put karate into practice says. I'm not sure his never having ever USED his karate would by itself MAKE me want to listen to him.
Remember i heard this from some where. A sheated sword is the best sword compared to one thats drawn when confrontrd with adversity. Similar to how gun owners carry alot of restraint and know its most best to walk away than be confrontational
Albert Burton But he ran from plenty of fights. So, if you are going to run anyway what's the point of spending all of that time (andmoney) learning karate?
@@zebbanister2348 it's all about avoiding the situation instead of facing it. Our zanshin should be always on to prevent ourself from the confrontation. "Prevention is better than cure" Peace and Harmony, Sensei Maharaj
Sensei Maharaj, yes I agree with you. But, as I said if one is always going to try to avoid confrontation as you point out and run from a fight why bother spending all of the time and money learning how to defend one's self? Makes no sense to me.
I was in high school during the 70's. I was a nerd and an easy target for a group of jock bullies. I was beat, stolen from, chased and tormented for two years. One kid split my head open with a PE foot locker as I was pulling a sweaty gym shirt over my head. I wound up with six staples in my head...and no witnesses. This kid would always attack me from behind and usually with other kids. I became suicidal and would hide in my bedroom closet to avoid going to school. My parents did nothing. My older sister began dating a judo and kenpo martial arts student who was somewhat advanced. He began teaching me basics and I eventually went to the only martial arts school in the area, Hwa Rang Do. I had to work a paper delivery route to afford it. This kid split my ear in half when he slammed my school locker into the side of my head while I was retrieving my books. This was the last straw. Soon after, I went looking for him after school and found him the in the wrestling gym area sitting down. In front of everyone, I walked up behind him and executed a heal kick to the back of his skull as hard as I could. I turned and ran home crying. That night the police came to my home and we're going to arrest me. The kid was in an induced coma as I fractured his skull and he had a metal plate inserted. The police heard the whole nightmare I had been through and saw my mangled ear and split head with staple marks. They decided to forward the case to juvenile detectives and the family court officials. I was never arrested. I was expelled and completed HS in a continuation school. I continued training in Hwa Rang Do and after three years earned my half black belt. I moved on to Judo and earned my brown belt after two years. Today I am 60. I can' still hold my own and only train in wing chun. It's easy and enjoy working the wooden wing chun dummy. My career path often put me into positions to defend myself. I have been in roughly 500 street fights/altercations while arresting people. Martial arts paid off in more ways than I can count. After my HS encounter I never severely injured anyone again, but I never had trouble subduing someone quickly. I don't like bullies. My kids began their training early in life and have never had to endure what I went through. I cannot speak highly enough of the benefits of martial arts.
Thank you for sharing that, I think I would have done the axe kick also. Revenge and vengeance are real emotions and you can only Push someone so far. I’ll be doing the same with my kids, because it’s very primal for young boys to dominate each other. I won’t let them suffer like that, or how I did.
My UNCLE is Uehara Saburo. He had his own dojo in Okinawa. He was married to my aunt Yoshiko Uehara ( maiden name = Miyagi). My mother was one of 16 siblings in the Miyagi family. My grandpa is Matsu Miyagi. My mama is Shigeko Miyagi. I remember when my mama would take me to visit my aunt and uncle and my cousins, I would watch my Uncle teach his students in the dojo.
This style is one of my favorites. To watch the training and conditioning of this system is mind boggling. The most physically demanding and extremely brutal of any system I've seen. It's so deadly it would be hard to imagine actually using this system in a street encounter. Not for the faint of heart.
One of my teachers was stationed in Okinawa while in the military and studied Pangainoon. He also was proficient in Judo. I realize Kata is being ignored by many of today's martial artists, like swimming out of water I think I read somewhere. But, for traditions to continue and have a solid core I believe, Kata is the only genuine way. Now that I am in my 60s it is the only safe training I have to hold on to. When or if the internet went down and electronics where inoperable Kata would still be here.
Throughout my school life I was bullied. They mocked me because of my dark skin. And they use to beat me up. No one helped me. I made friends with some of my classmates thinking that they will help me. But when the bullies came they left me and joined the bullies to beat me up with them. Then I started learning karate. And I worked day and night to train myself. And then all my bullies avoided any conflict with me. Now I'm a black belt in karate and I know how it feels to be weak. But the truth is we are not weak its just a state to mind. So I thought of teaching everyone martial arts and rise above bullies. And started a UA-cam channel last week. Always remember YOU ARE NOT WEAK. YOU ARE MORE THAN WHAT YOU THINK YOURSELF TO BE. NEVER EVER GIVE UP.
It is a good thing that people like you are born with that kind of mindset to preserve culture and tradition. Some generations, like the man said, were unsettled and forceful.
is the traditions of the Japanese people, not for white people to take over and make theirs, you will always only he a guest to their culture and traditions
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Just joined a goju/shorin ryu dojo an hour away from me. Could have chosen from handfuls of other styles closer to me but I love and respect the authentic okinawn traditional karate. So thankful for these videos and this new journey 🙏🥋
Bless the old school masters that still kick ass, and a way for future generations. I would love to see more. It’s also good to hear about his life and training to. The makiwara was cool, I got one too!! Lottsa love for Okinawa 🙏🏼👍
Absolutely fantastic video and interview, Chris. Inspiring to hear Senega Sensei's story even if only a small bit. I had the pleasure to meet and speak with him during our renmei dinner last year and I am happy to see that his wonderful personality comes out in this video. A truly humble master.
@@OkinawanSpirit He made a interesting comment about tradition and reality vs entertainment and commercialism. And I think that was so important.He has/is teaching a traditional style and way of life,It's not meant to be flashy,but a "Art form"that if called upon could really seriously damage someone!. And that's why so many of these MA Vids are nonsense,they look good(help the provider gain fans and views)but if called upon in an actual emergency,could they be practically applied?I very much doubt it. One well practiced move(be that a punch,kick.or Elbow)learned from this Master would be like possessing and owning a rare Diamond!!.That's my take!!
@Kenjutsu Tengu Yr absolutely correct(and i also live in the U.S) They're basically peddlng BS to often naive customers!! There's no harm in giving sum kind of instruction,but it has to be realistic and "short&sweet"to the point!(Kick the person in the Nuts,land a few decent punches,if they hit the deck,land sum Kicks&get the f##k out of there,rapido!) But certainly no complicated stuff! When i lived in London,the Guy who ran our works Gym for about 7 yrs was a real character. He was an Ex Army P/T instructor,Former Pro Boxer,he had a BLACKbelt in Karate and finally finished up a"Grand Master"in "Tai Chi" so he certainly was a well rounded person(and very funny&a really nice guy) So u can imagine he always had people asking odd (Q) and putting to him silly Hypotheticals."Which is the best MA?"Who would win a fight between a MA or a Boxer??(lots of silly assed (q).And he always was at pains to make it perfectly clear"no matter how hard u train at a particular MA,when u get out in the Street,it's a totally different paradigm. He would say"as much as I follow and embrace MA now ,never underestimate a Boxers fitness or a Seasoned street fighter"because if someone walks up to u and b4 you have blinked punches you on the nose,and u find urself swallowing blood,that's when u are going to find out how good u are at the MA u have been studying&practicing for yrs!" And that is the reality!!
Me; I've also striving with Olympics under the one serious discipline, Judo, as yet I was not enough lucky to be acknowledge even to having myself potentially moderate eligible, but now; I've started to invest with at least one Okinawan Karate that comes from Shorin Ryu, but now not to intent for Olympic dreams, it is just for my own simple understanding and to adapting at least effective biomechanic
Senaga Sensei, please do not worry. However popular "sport karate" may become, there will always, ALWAYS be those who hunger for the authenticity of traditional training. Whether their number be many or few, they will seek it out and carry it forward. Thank you, Sensei for sharing your wisdom, and thanks to Chris Willson for bringing this to those of us who care about such things. These videos are documentation of the elders of the art and will be a resource for the coming generations. Imagine if we could have videos like these of Chojun Miyagi and others of that generation that we all look to today.
@Fred Forbes yes I do. He told me to finish his training. He had studied judo and aikido and shokotan karate and also studied uechi-ryu karate. He never got too finished shokotan karate or uechi-ryu. So yeah I’m gonna finish it for him.
See when I trained in Wado Ryu many years ago. I had no idea it was sports Karate. I just knew I didn't want to be in a team competing. Just some discipline, exercise. And above all self defence. I know nothing of traditional methods, and wished I'd have known at the time. There must surely be many more like me.
Really enjoyed this Masters understanding of the way of karate. A humble man never had a problem in the street he reminds me of the great masters that had and have tremendous power but kept it to themselves.
Muy buen video, es un lujo conocer en la distancia a grandes maestros del Karate tradicional, referentes genuinos de cada escuela, gracias por compartirlo.
I know nothing of karate but, I agree with his view to be authentic to his style, teach as he was taught and not to give in no matter what others say to protect its traditions. And for a guy in his 80s to be as healthy, robust and still teaching is the u deniable proof of the code he lives by. Respect! 👍
About karate in olympics, it's not about protect tradition, it's not about close, it's about open, show the people that karate is much more big and complex than just the sport karate they already know, show them the tradition, make them interest on it, that's why karate must be olympic, and it's our duty to make our styles shine and impress the public, so they can see that there is more than they know
Few years ago i joined gojukai karate-do branch in my home town, i was expecting that the training Will be so hard since it is a karate style i think but then i got dissapointed because we only keep repeating kata and doing kumite (touching contest) and i think that is n0t the way of a fighter so then i leave it. I am very interested to learn as much as possible traditional karate but i am too far from Okinawa and cant afford enough money to get there. Sad
«I can't see the end, but I will protect traditional karate.» You can see he is struggling with the sport evolution of his most precious art and way of life, . I wish his message will be heard. I think traditional karate is beneficial in many more ways than sports (which are still great by the way).
I viewed again this video; and I think that the Sensie does not dislike karate for sports and the olympic but that traditional karate of its purpose should not be forgotten but to be continued for training.
...I lived for a few months in Japan and after listening to this Sensei what comes to my mind is that in Occident we are a thousand light years of this thinking and way of life
Un plaisir , une émotion à nouveau de rencontrer un autre Grand Maître D' okinawa : quelque soit l'age, il continue de pratiquer son art, de servir son style, de former. Merci :) :)
Absolute, genuine respect to Senaga Sensei . . . but aren't arts supposed to evolve over time as we learn more about everything from the human body to the effectiveness of various techniques? It's an important question for us in the world of Karate to discuss.
I would love to hear old masters talking about mma and did it change their views on fighting styles, efficacy of training and how would they implement their knowledge into it
That old gezza scares the hell out of me, just imagine so young fool trying to mug him, just the thought of it it's just painful ouch. He looks absolutely in top shape, he's still looks very flexible, I like the hand strick technique, they all look like head or upper body stricks.
What sense is saying is that just because you have the skills that doesnt mean when trouble comes you should be confrontational but rather better to just walk away. Similar to people who carry guns where they practice alot of restraint and use it only as a last resort when your life is in danger
I'm STUDENT of RAMIRO LEONE SENSEI IN BRASIL. HE WENT STUDENT OF SENAGA SENSEI IN 1991. TODAY ARE SENSEI. MY BROTHER SHIHAN GUSTAVO SAMPAIO IS OKINAWA WITH STUDENT. HAI!!!
I do not profess any expertise, and I should say that I very much appreciate the Yoshitsune Senaga video. My comment is just a question. Does the woman in the room (on the left) seem to make the other practitioners look slow and less powerful? She seemed amazing to my untrained eye.
Does anyone know what kata he performed fully in this video? I've never seen it in Uechi Ryu before. I thought it was Sansei ryu (I'm a Ni Dan so I haven't learned it yet) but it didn't look familiar to me.
"GIKEN": this kata was created by Senaga Sensei himself, using various Uechiryu techniques as well as other defensive techniques which he chose to include. (the name comprising of the "Kanji" of his name and fist 義拳)
Open handed strikes and ukes (as mentioned in a previous comment) faster movement, multidirectional movement, short breathing finally wa uke instead of mawashi uke.
Ous! Shihan I love this video. When some one mentions "Sport" to me it means some one participating in the sport is controlling some sort of object like a baseball for (Base Ball) a, basket ball for (Basketball) , a foot ball, (American Foot ball) etc. So how is it that Martial arts is a sport? Other than your opponent is the object. Thankz Turbo
You can see it in his eyes how much he really hates the idea of karate in the olympics...Good for him to address this issue as the bastardisation of okinawan karate seems to have spread globally.... Hopefully other masters in future videos address the sakamoto and his "traditional" style along with their /his "long lost kata" which is an absolute joke.
umm - He says specifically at 9:27 that "I'm not against sport karate, that's fine" and at 9:43 he says, "...I'm not against it" and then goes on to say at 9:31 that he has to, "promote and protect traditional karate above all." I don't think you should conclude then that he hates the idea of karate in the olympics. Certainly he wants to continue to try and protect tradition (and he clearly points this out), but there is no evidence that he "hates" the idea of karate in the olympics.
Just as with the Karate Masters Portrait Project, hopefully I can interview Okinawan karate masters of all different styles and philosophies. Would be great to hear from Sakamoto Sensei directly. I'm merely a photographer and now videographer with limited karate knowledge. I'll do my best to interview as many as I can, and let them do the talking.
As a sport karate competitor for 26 years on the east coast, I fully understand the excitement that our art has finally been elevated to the point where it becomes a sport that is accepted in the Olympics. Finally our quest for legitimate acceptance by the general public has ended finally. We can no longer be viewed as strange ninja weirdos who get off on beating each other up. On a superficial level, it is a nice boost to our pride that an obscure practice from Okinawa will now be accepted worldwide and given equal importance as any other sport practiced throughout the world. There is however a darker side to this jubilant announcement. If we investigate the same identical thing when it happened to taekwondo and look at what has happened in the development of taekwondo since it was accepted into the Olympics. After a few years the IOC cautioned the taekwondo people that if their viewership is not increased, the sport will be eliminated from the Olympics. The sport had to become more exciting to the spectator to create the financial revenue desired by The IOC. So the rules were changed to make more visually exciting moves, worth more. So the coaches got away from teaching strong front kicks, ball of foot round house kicks and hook kicks with the heel. So many people were ecstatic when Tae Kwon Do was accepted into the Olympics years ago. Insiders now know, that it has nearly destroyed traditional TKD because now the training regimen is designed to take advantage of rules designed to satisfy spectator demand in making the SPECTATOR more important than the art and the practitioner (as demanded by the IOC) and not designed to enhance the sport NOR the participant. The rule changes forced trainers, who, motivated by the carrot, are destroying hundreds of years of development to satisfy people who do not even train! TKD is the monkey and the IOC is the organ grinder that decides how the monkey dances by playing the music it seeks to entertain others with, for the nickel! In the end, the IOC stated that spectator interest has waned so new rules were made to increase audience interest but is destroying the art as short sighted teachers changed the training for the benefit of the Olympics and the detriment of the art! If you want to play in the Olympic Sandbox, you must follow the rules decided by non-budoka who only bow to the financial gods! This is a simple warning...that in the case of tae kwon do in the Olympics, when viewership was low-to keep the money flowing in (viewership) the IOC decided to make a regular kick worth one point, a kick to the head three points, and jump kick six points. I may have a point system incorrectly stated but in principle this is what they did. Therefore the coaches got away from teaching strong front kicks, ball of foot round house kicks and hook kicks with the heel....they focused on teaching the higher valued kicks, over the standard kicks that made taekwondo lethal long ago. This is what I caution against because I fear if the IOC thought taekwondo looked boring from the spectators point of you-I wonder what they will think of Karate in competition from the viewers point of view. Allowing non-practitioners to set the rules is fraught with pitfalls, however if we wish to play in their sandbox, THEY set the rules and we must abide. Best regards and deepest respect to all! Les Heri Shoreiha Dojo Torrance, California
Sakamoto Sensei has a legit background. He has learnt from the Nakaima family. They're literally one of the best. If you carefully observe his katas, you'll notice that the first few are quite similar to Goju ryu, which indicate that they have similar sources. All of them are quite practical and effective. He may have branched out to competition karate, he still retains the true spirit.
of course, the great problem is Okinawan masters in the 50s and 60s living in poverty but teaching American servicemen stationed on Okinawa who took what they'd learned back to the states and elsewhere, building over time large organizations with many schools and making a great deal of money, little of which was ever paid back to their original instructors in any meaningful amounts which naturally led the Okinawan instructors to gain leadership positions in those groups. That's why so many fractured systems exist (every separate association becomes a profit center) and why so many traditional Okinawan instructors corrupted their own systems for profit (and who can blame them, they gave away so much for so little), and who then demanded high fees to visit the states for seminars/workshops. And created so much infighting and dissension leading to breakups and animosity. Nothing wrong with making a buck but without integrity, and a grasp of the larger picture, and consequences, greed creeps in and can corrupt even the best. In the old day's instructors in Okinawa, china, japan, etc, all had other careers to earn a living. Martial arts were never the sole source. Whereas in America at least it seems that many were able to live off karate, judo, tae kwon do "take your dough", etc, which included selling expensive uniforms, charging high fees for advancement, promoting quickly, handing out black belts to children, etc. Much of the original was lost as it was made softer and weaker to attract more students. Unlike high school wrestling and football and other sports that have no problem weeding out those who can't compete and aren't willing to work. So kudos to the old masters who try to preserve as much of the original as possible. So much has been lost to time, unexpected early deaths, keeping secrets, and war.
basic respect and openmindedness costs nothing ,without the internet we may have never heard this man talk,the words of our elders is gold !x
A man who, in a video of this field, openly says "I never had to fight on the street" has to be worth listening to! Humility and peace, almost forgotten nowadays in our world order. (And his smile at the end is the best part of all!)
There are other ways of interpreting or thinking about what someone who NEVER put karate into practice says. I'm not sure his never having ever USED his karate would by itself MAKE me want to listen to him.
Remember i heard this from some where. A sheated sword is the best sword compared to one thats drawn when confrontrd with adversity.
Similar to how gun owners carry alot of restraint and know its most best to walk away than be confrontational
Albert Burton But he ran from plenty of fights. So, if you are going to run anyway what's the point of spending all of that time (andmoney) learning karate?
@@zebbanister2348 it's all about avoiding the situation instead of facing it. Our zanshin should be always on to prevent ourself from the confrontation.
"Prevention is better than cure"
Peace and Harmony,
Sensei Maharaj
Sensei Maharaj, yes I agree with you. But, as I said if one is always going to try to avoid confrontation as you point out and run from a fight why bother spending all of the time and money learning how to defend one's self? Makes no sense to me.
I was in high school during the 70's. I was a nerd and an easy target for a group of jock bullies. I was beat, stolen from, chased and tormented for two years. One kid split my head open with a PE foot locker as I was pulling a sweaty gym shirt over my head. I wound up with six staples in my head...and no witnesses. This kid would always attack me from behind and usually with other kids. I became suicidal and would hide in my bedroom closet to avoid going to school. My parents did nothing. My older sister began dating a judo and kenpo martial arts student who was somewhat advanced. He began teaching me basics and I eventually went to the only martial arts school in the area, Hwa Rang Do. I had to work a paper delivery route to afford it. This kid split my ear in half when he slammed my school locker into the side of my head while I was retrieving my books. This was the last straw. Soon after, I went looking for him after school and found him the in the wrestling gym area sitting down. In front of everyone, I walked up behind him and executed a heal kick to the back of his skull as hard as I could. I turned and ran home crying. That night the police came to my home and we're going to arrest me. The kid was in an induced coma as I fractured his skull and he had a metal plate inserted. The police heard the whole nightmare I had been through and saw my mangled ear and split head with staple marks. They decided to forward the case to juvenile detectives and the family court officials. I was never arrested. I was expelled and completed HS in a continuation school. I continued training in Hwa Rang Do and after three years earned my half black belt. I moved on to Judo and earned my brown belt after two years. Today I am 60. I can' still hold my own and only train in wing chun. It's easy and enjoy working the wooden wing chun dummy. My career path often put me into positions to defend myself. I have been in roughly 500 street fights/altercations while arresting people. Martial arts paid off in more ways than I can count. After my HS encounter I never severely injured anyone again, but I never had trouble subduing someone quickly. I don't like bullies. My kids began their training early in life and have never had to endure what I went through. I cannot speak highly enough of the benefits of martial arts.
Thank you for sharing that, I think I would have done the axe kick also. Revenge and vengeance are real emotions and you can only
Push someone so far. I’ll be doing the same with my kids, because it’s very primal for young boys to dominate each other. I won’t let them suffer like that, or how I did.
I feel sorry for your horrible early years. Tragic how kids can become so evil so young.
My UNCLE is Uehara Saburo. He had his own dojo in Okinawa. He was married to my aunt Yoshiko Uehara ( maiden name = Miyagi). My mother was one of 16 siblings in the Miyagi family. My grandpa is Matsu Miyagi. My mama is Shigeko Miyagi. I remember when my mama would take me to visit my aunt and uncle and my cousins, I would watch my Uncle teach his students in the dojo.
16 siblings? Wow, thats a big family
This style is one of my favorites. To watch the training and conditioning of this system is mind boggling. The most physically demanding and extremely brutal of any system I've seen. It's so deadly it would be hard to imagine actually using this system in a street encounter. Not for the faint of heart.
One of my teachers was stationed in Okinawa while in the military and studied Pangainoon. He also was proficient in Judo. I realize Kata is being ignored by many of today's martial artists, like swimming out of water I think I read somewhere. But, for traditions to continue and have a solid core I believe, Kata is the only genuine way. Now that I am in my 60s it is the only safe training I have to hold on to. When or if the internet went down and electronics where inoperable Kata would still be here.
Well said and true!
The fluidity in his movement is amazing. His movements are clear and simple and perfectly applicable. This is real karate.
Throughout my school life I was bullied. They mocked me because of my dark skin. And they use to beat me up. No one helped me. I made friends with some of my classmates thinking that they will help me. But when the bullies came they left me and joined the bullies to beat me up with them.
Then I started learning karate. And I worked day and night to train myself. And then all my bullies avoided any conflict with me.
Now I'm a black belt in karate and I know how it feels to be weak. But the truth is we are not weak its just a state to mind. So I thought of teaching everyone martial arts and rise above bullies. And started a UA-cam channel last week. Always remember YOU ARE NOT WEAK. YOU ARE MORE THAN WHAT YOU THINK YOURSELF TO BE. NEVER EVER GIVE UP.
Oss!
@@rashedyshedy5666 oss!
Thank the bullies for putting you where you are! The irony?? lol!
nice fairytale lol, karate the most useless thing on the street, any boxer or wrestler could beat karate
The Nostro go back and look at this video again listen to what the master is saying you have missed the point
Would be lying if I said this didn’t bring a tear to my eye. There are many of us who will keep these traditions alive! Oss
Joshua Richards Oss!
It is a good thing that people like you are born with that kind of mindset to preserve culture and tradition. Some generations, like the man said, were unsettled and forceful.
is the traditions of the Japanese people, not for white people to take over and make theirs, you will always only he a guest to their culture and traditions
joshua, quite honeslty are you a sissy? You are crying over this? Sheesh what do you do when something really sad happens in your life? My gosh...
Oss 💯
Thank you for all the positive comments. We're about to start filming Series Two, and need help from the international martial arts community to do it.
Learn how you can become a supporter or sponsor of the series in the video description.
The philosophy & the wisdom of this great grandmaster brings tears to my eyes
There are only few. Cherish their times always.
Thanks 🙏🏼, that’s so beautiful. Such grace and power. A kind smile at the end. A true budoka!! A master indeed, we need more like him 👍😃
Just joined a goju/shorin ryu dojo an hour away from me. Could have chosen from handfuls of other styles closer to me but I love and respect the authentic okinawn traditional karate. So thankful for these videos and this new journey 🙏🥋
Bless the old school masters that still kick ass, and a way for future generations. I would love to see more. It’s also good to hear about his life and training to. The makiwara was cool, I got one too!! Lottsa love for Okinawa 🙏🏼👍
This video makes me continue to training uechi ryu style
This is a great video! I have also found Karatemo's videos really helpful! Check them out: youtube.com/@karatemo
I don't even practice Karate but I have a lot of respect for this gentleman and others keeping the traditional martial arts alive.
I think words of sensei are full of beauty and of course his movements.
Absolutely fantastic video and interview, Chris. Inspiring to hear Senega Sensei's story even if only a small bit. I had the pleasure to meet and speak with him during our renmei dinner last year and I am happy to see that his wonderful personality comes out in this video. A truly humble master.
The tradition must be kept, I only hope that traditional karate doesn’t get wiped out
Thank you
Well said.
@@OkinawanSpirit He made a interesting comment about tradition and reality vs entertainment and commercialism.
And I think that was so important.He has/is teaching a traditional style and way of life,It's not meant to be flashy,but a "Art form"that if called upon could really seriously damage someone!.
And that's why so many of these MA Vids are nonsense,they look good(help the provider gain fans and views)but if called upon in an actual emergency,could they be practically applied?I very much doubt it.
One well practiced move(be that a punch,kick.or Elbow)learned from this Master would be like possessing and owning a rare Diamond!!.That's my take!!
@Kenjutsu Tengu Yr absolutely correct(and i also live in the U.S)
They're basically peddlng BS to often naive customers!!
There's no harm in giving sum kind of instruction,but it has to be realistic and "short&sweet"to the point!(Kick the person in the Nuts,land a few decent punches,if they hit the deck,land sum Kicks&get the f##k out of there,rapido!)
But certainly no complicated stuff!
When i lived in London,the Guy who ran our works Gym for about 7 yrs was a real character.
He was an Ex Army P/T instructor,Former Pro Boxer,he had a BLACKbelt in Karate and finally finished up a"Grand Master"in "Tai Chi" so he certainly was a well rounded person(and very funny&a really nice guy)
So u can imagine he always had people asking odd (Q) and putting to him silly Hypotheticals."Which is the best MA?"Who would win a fight between a MA or a Boxer??(lots of silly assed (q).And he always was at pains to make it perfectly clear"no matter how hard u train at a particular MA,when u get out in the Street,it's a totally different paradigm.
He would say"as much as I follow and embrace MA now ,never underestimate a Boxers fitness or a Seasoned street fighter"because if someone walks up to u and b4 you have blinked punches you on the nose,and u find urself swallowing blood,that's when u are going to find out how good u are at the MA u have been studying&practicing for yrs!"
And that is the reality!!
Oss
Me;
I've also striving with Olympics under the one serious discipline, Judo, as yet I was not enough lucky to be acknowledge even to having myself potentially moderate eligible,
but now;
I've started to invest with at least one Okinawan Karate that comes from Shorin Ryu, but now not to intent for Olympic dreams, it is just for my own simple understanding and to adapting at least effective biomechanic
興味深くビデオを見て、つものように空手家にとても感心しました。上地流最高！
ビデオに御感謝しております。
Dōi suru
Senaga Sensei, please do not worry. However popular "sport karate" may become, there will always, ALWAYS be those who hunger for the authenticity of traditional training. Whether their number be many or few, they will seek it out and carry it forward.
Thank you, Sensei for sharing your wisdom, and thanks to Chris Willson for bringing this to those of us who care about such things. These videos are documentation of the elders of the art and will be a resource for the coming generations. Imagine if we could have videos like these of Chojun Miyagi and others of that generation that we all look to today.
Don’t worry sensei.I’ll come to Okinawa to protect the old style of Okinawa karate. It’s my dream and idea to come to study the older style of karate.
@Fred Forbes yes. It was an order I was giving by my Okinawa friend grandpa
@Fred Forbes yes I do. He told me to finish his training. He had studied judo and aikido and shokotan karate and also studied uechi-ryu karate. He never got too finished shokotan karate or uechi-ryu. So yeah I’m gonna finish it for him.
I am personally thank`s you Great Teacher for your word`s.Because it honor for me and my life been best with your word`s...
Okinawan heart. Much respect to/for this man.
Great video presentation. Arigato ne
A great man and Sensei. I was fortunate to work out with him at his dojo in 2018.
Fantastic- interesting explanations.
See when I trained in Wado Ryu many years ago. I had no idea it was sports Karate. I just knew I didn't want to be in a team competing. Just some discipline, exercise. And above all self defence. I know nothing of traditional methods, and wished I'd have known at the time. There must surely be many more like me.
Fantastic video….I’m proud to be apart of spreading the Okinawa Martial Arts.
Thanks Ron!
Really enjoyed this Masters understanding of the way of karate. A humble man never had a problem in the street he reminds me of the great masters that had and have tremendous power but kept it to themselves.
great advice for life and training !
10:34 love the shureido shihan gi, great gi great quality 👌 much love for Okinawa styles, from a Shorin ryu karateka
Great respect to master Senaga ,I love karate 💪
Thank you Sensei for protecting traditional Okinawan Karate
Another great interview. Many thanks. Long live Okinawan Karate!
Muy buen video, es un lujo conocer en la distancia a grandes maestros del Karate tradicional, referentes genuinos de cada escuela, gracias por compartirlo.
I know nothing of karate but, I agree with his view to be authentic to his style, teach as he was taught and not to give in no matter what others say to protect its traditions. And for a guy in his 80s to be as healthy, robust and still teaching is the u deniable proof of the code he lives by. Respect! 👍
About karate in olympics, it's not about protect tradition, it's not about close, it's about open, show the people that karate is much more big and complex than just the sport karate they already know, show them the tradition, make them interest on it, that's why karate must be olympic, and it's our duty to make our styles shine and impress the public, so they can see that there is more than they know
I agree
Few years ago i joined gojukai karate-do branch in my home town, i was expecting that the training Will be so hard since it is a karate style i think but then i got dissapointed because we only keep repeating kata and doing kumite (touching contest) and i think that is n0t the way of a fighter so then i leave it. I am very interested to learn as much as possible traditional karate but i am too far from Okinawa and cant afford enough money to get there. Sad
What a respectfull and wise man.i hope young people will protect the knowledge and culture of Okinawan karate it's invaluable .great content .
«I can't see the end, but I will protect traditional karate.»
You can see he is struggling with the sport evolution of his most precious art and way of life, . I wish his message will be heard. I think traditional karate is beneficial in many more ways than sports (which are still great by the way).
Sensei 10dan move like water with power.at his age is trueley.Amazing.
keep em comingo! great to see all those interviews and training sessions. thumbs up!!!! and follow!
This is pure gold. I hope one dy I can go to Okinawa to learn traditional karate.
Hatsumatsusempukiaku
Hi Chris & crew: thank you for this excellent video! Hope that you can continue the series. BR
I viewed again this video; and I think that the Sensie does not dislike karate for sports and the olympic but that traditional karate of its purpose should not be forgotten but to be continued for training.
Olympic karate= Showmanship.
Okinawan Traditional Karate= Survival.
...I lived for a few months in Japan and after listening to this Sensei what comes to my mind is that in Occident we are a thousand light years of this thinking and way of life
Wholesome stuff
The respect this Sensei has for traditional Karate is admirable and respectable. Glad you shared this story.
No doubt. A true budoka. I hope he lives to be 150 years old teach future generations 😃👍
Excellent, thank you !
here in the boston area of usa we have a large Uechi Ryu community
Un plaisir , une émotion à nouveau de rencontrer un autre Grand Maître D' okinawa : quelque soit l'age, il continue de pratiquer son art, de servir son style, de former. Merci :) :)
I'm a nontraditional martial artist. But I really enjoy and appreciate the tradition and the wisdom of all of these great masters.
Can anybody tell me which kata the master is performing at 10:55? I´ve never seen that one in Okikukai.
Great project. Thank you.
Oss! Nice documentary and very nice photography.
A fascinating documentary. Thanks a lot for showing!
I Totally agree with Sensei, we must protect traditional karate do
Absolute, genuine respect to Senaga Sensei . . . but aren't arts supposed to evolve over time as we learn more about everything from the human body to the effectiveness of various techniques? It's an important question for us in the world of Karate to discuss.
Finally a real master with real traditions , a real martial art !!
Good stuff Chris, well done.
Thanks mate.
thank you for sharing this great interview
Great interview! Great project.
❤Oss,Okinawa é o berço do melhor karatê do mundo.
I would love to hear old masters talking about mma and did it change their views on fighting styles, efficacy of training and how would they implement their knowledge into it
SAN SOO KUNG FU IS MY SYSTEM... WORKS FOR ME!!!! I RESPECT THESE " MASTERS "☯️☯️☯️☯️☯️🙏...
LOVE THE HISTORY!!!!!
That old gezza scares the hell out of me, just imagine so young fool trying to mug him, just the thought of it it's just painful ouch. He looks absolutely in top shape, he's still looks very flexible, I like the hand strick technique, they all look like head or upper body stricks.
I like this sensei, Osu.
Excelente 👍
Thankyoumaster
The best
Sensei I share your concern for traditional karate.
Fantastic video!!! Thanks a lot for everything sensei!!
What sense is saying is that just because you have the skills that doesnt mean when trouble comes you should be confrontational but rather better to just walk away.
Similar to people who carry guns where they practice alot of restraint and use it only as a last resort when your life is in danger
I'm STUDENT of RAMIRO LEONE SENSEI IN BRASIL. HE WENT STUDENT OF SENAGA SENSEI IN 1991. TODAY ARE SENSEI. MY BROTHER SHIHAN GUSTAVO SAMPAIO IS OKINAWA WITH STUDENT. HAI!!!
Good the see the origins from Kung fu acknowledged, Kung Fu itself had origin from India of course
excellent.
Wise words, much respect to this Sensei. I must train more!
Great respect, Sensei!
I do not profess any expertise, and I should say that I very much appreciate the Yoshitsune Senaga video. My comment is just a question. Does the woman in the room (on the left) seem to make the other practitioners look slow and less powerful? She seemed amazing to my untrained eye.
I think there will always be many people interested in keeping tradition and passing it on.
Karate Instructor / Sije are approved in Japan but frowned upon in USA.
Does anyone know what kata he performed fully in this video? I've never seen it in Uechi Ryu before. I thought it was Sansei ryu (I'm a Ni Dan so I haven't learned it yet) but it didn't look familiar to me.
"GIKEN": this kata was created by Senaga Sensei himself, using various Uechiryu techniques as well as other defensive techniques which he chose to include. (the name comprising of the "Kanji" of his name and fist 義拳)
It looks similar to Sanchin kata...
Please, traducir al español, Thank You!!!
What is the difference between the Sanchin he practices and any other Okinawan style with Sanchin?
open handed nukite strikes
Open handed strikes and ukes (as mentioned in a previous comment) faster movement, multidirectional movement, short breathing finally wa uke instead of mawashi uke.
Most basic is, different breathing method, shuri, tomari, naha have their own breathing technique each kata
Master 👍
Any video about "okinawa shorin ryu karate do(sobayashi ryu) "eizo shimabukuro"
Osu.................................
The video series began after the death of Eizo Shimabukuro so I didn't record an interview with him. I hope someone else was able to do it.
@@OkinawanSpirit thank you very much for reply.osu..
Viva las Artes marciales cada niño del planeta tendría que practicar artes marciales o cualquier otro deporte ..el Deportes es salud
Oss, long live sensei....and thanks for the video
Ous! Shihan I love this video. When some one mentions "Sport" to me it means some one participating in the sport is controlling some sort of object like a baseball for (Base Ball) a, basket ball for (Basketball) , a foot ball, (American Foot ball) etc. So how is it that Martial arts is a sport? Other than your opponent is the object. Thankz Turbo
Terrific interview. I wish he had said how old he is and when he started training.
Born in 1937.
He says he was born October 1st 1937. Would be a great idea to ask when they first started training. Will add that question to future interviews.
You can see it in his eyes how much he really hates the idea of karate in the olympics...Good for him to address this issue as the bastardisation of okinawan karate seems to have spread globally.... Hopefully other masters in future videos address the sakamoto and his "traditional" style along with their /his "long lost kata" which is an absolute joke.
umm - He says specifically at 9:27 that "I'm not against sport karate, that's fine" and at 9:43 he says, "...I'm not against it" and then goes on to say at 9:31 that he has to, "promote and protect traditional karate above all." I don't think you should conclude then that he hates the idea of karate in the olympics. Certainly he wants to continue to try and protect tradition (and he clearly points this out), but there is no evidence that he "hates" the idea of karate in the olympics.
Just as with the Karate Masters Portrait Project, hopefully I can interview Okinawan karate masters of all different styles and philosophies. Would be great to hear from Sakamoto Sensei directly. I'm merely a photographer and now videographer with limited karate knowledge. I'll do my best to interview as many as I can, and let them do the talking.
As a sport karate competitor for 26 years on the east coast, I fully understand the excitement that our art has finally been elevated to the point where it becomes a sport that is accepted in the Olympics. Finally our quest for legitimate acceptance by the general public has ended finally. We can no longer be viewed as strange ninja weirdos who get off on beating each other up. On a superficial level, it is a nice boost to our pride that an obscure practice from Okinawa will now be accepted worldwide and given equal importance as any other sport practiced throughout the world. There is however a darker side to this jubilant announcement. If we investigate the same identical thing when it happened to taekwondo and look at what has happened in the development of taekwondo since it was accepted into the Olympics. After a few years the IOC cautioned the taekwondo people that if their viewership is not increased, the sport will be eliminated from the Olympics. The sport had to become more exciting to the spectator to create the financial revenue desired by The IOC. So the rules were changed to make more visually exciting moves, worth more. So the coaches got away from teaching strong front kicks, ball of foot round house kicks and hook kicks with the heel. So many people were ecstatic when Tae Kwon Do was accepted into the Olympics years ago. Insiders now know, that it has nearly destroyed traditional TKD because now the training regimen is designed to take advantage of rules designed to satisfy spectator demand in making the SPECTATOR more important than the art and the practitioner (as demanded by the IOC) and not designed to enhance the sport NOR the participant. The rule changes forced trainers, who, motivated by the carrot, are destroying hundreds of years of development to satisfy people who do not even train! TKD is the monkey and the IOC is the organ grinder that decides how the monkey dances by playing the music it seeks to entertain others with, for the nickel! In the end, the IOC stated that spectator interest has waned so new rules were made to increase audience interest but is destroying the art as short sighted teachers changed the training for the benefit of the Olympics and the detriment of the art! If you want to play in the Olympic Sandbox, you must follow the rules decided by non-budoka who only bow to the financial gods!
This is a simple warning...that in the case of tae kwon do in the Olympics, when viewership was low-to keep the money flowing in (viewership) the IOC decided to make a regular kick worth one point, a kick to the head three points, and jump kick six points. I may have a point system incorrectly stated but in principle this is what they did. Therefore the coaches got away from teaching strong front kicks, ball of foot round house kicks and hook kicks with the heel....they focused on teaching the higher valued kicks, over the standard kicks that made taekwondo lethal long ago. This is what I caution against because I fear if the IOC thought taekwondo looked boring from the spectators point of you-I wonder what they will think of Karate in competition from the viewers point of view. Allowing
non-practitioners to set the rules is fraught with pitfalls, however if we wish to play in their sandbox, THEY set the rules and we must abide.
Best regards and deepest respect to all!
Les Heri
Shoreiha Dojo
Torrance, California
@@shoreihadojo5805 I understand your point and sadly will be true, so bad for you and for the rest of us.
Sakamoto Sensei has a legit background. He has learnt from the Nakaima family. They're literally one of the best. If you carefully observe his katas, you'll notice that the first few are quite similar to Goju ryu, which indicate that they have similar sources. All of them are quite practical and effective. He may have branched out to competition karate, he still retains the true spirit.
Just incredible sensei, oss!
Quedé prendido de la belleza de la señorita estudiante
of course, the great problem is Okinawan masters in the 50s and 60s living in poverty but teaching American servicemen stationed on Okinawa who took what they'd learned back to the states and elsewhere, building over time large organizations with many schools and making a great deal of money, little of which was ever paid back to their original instructors in any meaningful amounts which naturally led the Okinawan instructors to gain leadership positions in those groups. That's why so many fractured systems exist (every separate association becomes a profit center) and why so many traditional Okinawan instructors corrupted their own systems for profit (and who can blame them, they gave away so much for so little), and who then demanded high fees to visit the states for seminars/workshops. And created so much infighting and dissension leading to breakups and animosity. Nothing wrong with making a buck but without integrity, and a grasp of the larger picture, and consequences, greed creeps in and can corrupt even the best. In the old day's instructors in Okinawa, china, japan, etc, all had other careers to earn a living. Martial arts were never the sole source. Whereas in America at least it seems that many were able to live off karate, judo, tae kwon do "take your dough", etc, which included selling expensive uniforms, charging high fees for advancement, promoting quickly, handing out black belts to children, etc. Much of the original was lost as it was made softer and weaker to attract more students. Unlike high school wrestling and football and other sports that have no problem weeding out those who can't compete and aren't willing to work. So kudos to the old masters who try to preserve as much of the original as possible. So much has been lost to time, unexpected early deaths, keeping secrets, and war.
2:04 Ooow, my fingies! also, that sounds loud, that must feel like a whip to the face, goddamn
yo practico este estilo de karate y me parece de lo mejor del arte tradicional
Respect !!!!
How old is he?