An Interview with Iwasaki sensei
Yoshihiko Iwasaki is head of the Wado-Ryu Academy of Ireland. He lives and teaches in Dublin, Ireland and travels extensively throughout Europe. He is affiliated to the Wado-Ryu Academy under Shiumitsu sensei, which is a branch of the Wado-Ryu Karate-Do Renmei.
He was born in 1943 in Yokohama Japan.
When did you begin Martial-Arts training and who were your teachers?
At about the age of six, when I was in school, I started Judo and also Kendo as was traditional with all Japanese boys. But I especially loved Baseball! My Sensei then was one of the teachers at the school in Yokohama but I can't remember his name. Training was strict, like Samurai way. Then when I went to University to study Economics, I decided to give Karate a try. Ohtsuka Sensei came fairly regularly but we were mainly taught by Arakawa Sensei who is the current head of the Wado-Kai technical committee and Yamashita Sensei who is one of the favourite 'old boys' of our University and one of Ohtsuka Sensei's oldest students. Needless to say training was quite brutal then. We did full contact fighting and little else!
Was your family interested in Martial-Arts?
Yes, my father was a Yudansha in Kendo and in Judo. In the old days when he trained in Muso-Ryu kenjitsu, there were no 'dan Grades' as such. Instead, if you were good enough, you were registered with the Butokukai in Tokyo. He was good enough. They had different levels called Chuden, Kaiden, and Okuden. It was a great honour in those days to be registered. It means that you were given the secret techniques of your school. In those days the techniques were hidden and you were not supposed to show them to other schools or in public. Especially as an army officer, he was not permitted to speak about it even in the family! He was also a 3rd Dan in Judo when at that time there was no higher grade than 5th Dan. He went to war into WW2 as a heavy machine-gun operator in the bombers. If you know anything about the machine gunners in these planes you know that they are the first to be targeted by enemy planes because they want to destroy your ability to fight. He was very unusual because he survived! But he has a lot of bullet holes in his body. He qualified as an architect when he came home from the war.
Then there is my younger brother, Nobuhide, he is a 4th Dan Wado-Kai and runs the Wado club at the YMCA in Yokohama. His teams have an excellent record in Japan. He is 3 years younger than I. We have quite different personalities and when we were younger, we used to kill each free-fighting! We never got on very well, I suppose because we were too close in age. But now we get on much better.
Can you tell us about your most memorable moments during your Karate career?
I must say that the thing that stands out most of all is the first time I saw Ohtsuka Sensei's sword defence demonstration. At that time I never really saw a Karate demonstration before, and expected lots of wood breaking or bull killing like Oyama's legend or myth. In college we just killed each other fighting, there was no beauty or technique involved at all. Yes, the older boys like Arakawa Sensei and others tried to explain what Wado was sometimes or when the Grandmaster came he tried too, but we could not understand at all. So when we went to the very first Japan All Styles championships in 1968 and saw his demo with his son Jiro, it was amazing! We never saw anything like it before. We were totally speechless after we saw it. We then knew that this must be the true Japanese Karate. It was just so far ahead of any other Karate we had seen and way ahead of any of the other demos that day. Of course this is because what he was showing us was really original Japanese Jujitsu mixed with some Karate. Another of my best memories was a national tournament held in Yokohama. I was on the YMCA team with my brother because we were good fighters. We trained hard for the tournament but unfortunately, I got the flu and on the day was very sick. Yamashita Sensei told me to fight anyway. He said "Yoshi, you go fight anyway, you will win!". Of course I could not refuse, and so I went in. After a few wins I met a very well known fighter. He was really tall and I was worried, but Yamashita Sensei kept my spirits up. Unfortunately, our training was very rough and was usually full contact and I ended up knocking the other fighter out-cold. I got disqualified but I will always remember Yamashita Sensei being proud!
As a well known Karate teacher can you describe your own personal training?
I stretch for more than one hour every day. I train my stomach and my back to stop injuries. As well as this, I practice Kendo and Jo techniques using a big builder's shovel. One time a few years ago, a construction company was doing some work in the garden and they left behind a shovel. I was trying to practice with a heavy Bokken but it was not heavy enough after a while so I switched to the shovel. Its very good. I do Shomen-Uchi (overhead straight cut) lots of times each day. At least a hundred strikes. Its good for the internal power. If you just practice karate thrusting, your techniques won't be strong enough. Ohtsuka Sensei said that to get really good Wado technique you have to develop Kendo muscles. I also practice lots of Shiko-dachi (horse stance) to build up my legs. I practice Kata every day. Usually Kushanku and Seishan. Kushanku is good for general basic movements while Seishan is essential for good Wado Kumite techniques because it teaches how to generate internal power which you need in Wado movements, especially Kihon Kumite.
Can you tell us what you believe the principles of Wado are?
I believe that the most important principle of Wado-Ryu is to 'disconnect your power'. It is essential to take off your power before the technique is completed. that is why Wado Kata has real power, it is not just a dance like some Kata competitors make it today. In Wado, you do not hold on to the Kime. This is called 'Nuki', and it is very difficult to master. You must not have any tension at all. You can see it in other Japanese Martial-Arts such as Kendo and Jujitsu, even in Aikido which has very sophisticated Tai-Sabaki techniques even though many western practitioners make 'Mudan-Ugoki' too which means they continue to hold on to power too long after it is necessary! this is what makes Wado so very different from Shotokan or Goju or any other Karate style. When it is not understood, you think it looks weak, but an experienced eye can see what it is. You should withdraw all power from your techniques before they are complete. The technique must move from power to no power very quickly. Thats why older peoples Kendo or the Grandmaster's Karate is so special to see. But it is not really possible to master until about 5th dan. Watch western boxing, they do not hold on to any power at all! Unfortunately, some Wado teachers did not understand this principle and so went their own way. It looks like Wado on the outside but inside it is not Wado principle. In Japanese Martial Arts, there is never any unnecessary tension.
There are some who would say that there is none of the original Jujitsu left in Wado-Ryu Karate. what do you think?
In Wado-Ryu, the method of attacking the opponent is that of Karate. We have a saying, it is like this: in Wado-Ryu you bite and then chew Karate. Then it enters your stomach where it is digested and then turns into Jujitsu.
In Wado-Ryu we practice Kata differently to others. Yes we do blocks and other Karate movements in the Kata but that is only basic Wado and mainly for using in attack. Wado-Ryu defence is really Jujitsu, using the principles of Nagashi, Inasu and Noru, which are principles in common with Kenjitsu. Of course you can not really understand how to defend unless you first learn to attack. That is the Karate section of the Wado syllabus, then you learn Tai-Sabaki and how to defend which is basically from Yoshinryu Jujitsu. Finally, you learn the principle of 'Ai-Nuki' which means that you do not 'crash' with your opponent, but naturally move to a good position to defeat him using his own power. Physically you never get hurt - mentally you never have arguments. This is the meaning of the 'Wa' in Wado. Harmony inside and outside yourself through 'Ai-Nuki'.
There are a lot of schools who claim to be Yoshinryu Jujitsu or Wado-Ryu without having any connection with Japan or certified teachers. What do you think about this?
Wado-Ryu comes from Yoshinryu Jujitsu which originally comes from Shinkage Ryu Kenjutsu sword school. The original masters of Yoshinryu Jujitsu as well as Ohtsuka Sensei first and second as well and some of the other Japanese masters today including myself know and practice Kenjutsu sword techniques. Jujitsu-Ka and Wado-ka should understand the principles of Kenjutsu and be able to use a sword effectively.
The style of Yoshinryu Jujitsu is more than 1,000 years old! It originally came from China and was developed by the Samurai to suit battle Japanese style so that you could use it in close fighting when you lost your long sword and you only had a short sword or a knife so it is a close-in fighting style. You can easily see if the schools you mention are real ones because if their teachers do not practice the sword or do not understand and teach the sword principles through either the sword itself or through training such as Jo, then they are not really what they say they are. Proper teachers can also be identified because they will understand and demonstrate excellent Tai-sabaki techniques such as Nagashi, Inasu and Noru. However, regarding Jujitsu, there are few real Jujitsu schools in Japan anymore. Most of the masters died out since long ago. I say that with the exception of maybe one or two masters and of course Ohtsuka Jiro who's main study is Wado-Ryu Jujitsu Kempo. Ohtsuka Sensei says that if Wado Karate was a soup, then the Karate part of Wado would just be like a pinch of salt!
Do you have any favourite Kata. Do you practice it in any special way?
As I already said, I practice a lot of Ku-Shanku for basic movements and Seishan for improving Kihon Kumite and Kumite Kata. But I also like Chinto very much. I practice Kata the usual way but sometimes I adjust the Katas and add in new movements or change the directions and applications for particular reasons. The basic structure and principles I leave alone.
The worse thing about some people’s Kata practice is what we call ‘Itsuku’ which means their movement lacks the necessary flexibility to be able to change the techniques depending on the opponents changing situation. For instance, when I practice the Kata, I may change the block because I visualise a different attack or perhaps I move in another direction changing the play-line (Embusen) because the opponent moves differently.
Did you ever compete?
Yes for many years in Japan with my University. But my final competition was in the 1984 World Championships in Tokyo. I brought the Irish National Team and fought myself winning all my fights. our team went to the quarter finals. I was 37 years old then. I am now 54 but have been thinking about making a comeback!
Can you explain what the basic criteria for good Kata competition is?
Proper, strong basic techniques that would really be effective in a fight. If you do not practice proper basics the Kata will never be right! It may look pretty but it will never be right. For instance, if you are building a wall you need bricks, sand, cement and water. If Kata were the bricks, basics are the sand, cement and water.
Some people say that Wado kata is not good for all-style tournaments. What do you think of this and modern Wado Kata competitors?
Wado Kata and Kihon must be capable of becoming typical Jujitsu movements and techniques. The Kata must be able to move the practitioner into correct Japanese Bujutsu movement. The main difference between Wado Kata and other styles is that the way other styles practice and perform the Kata makes it impossible for them to be able to use the movement like that in real fighting. In Wado, the Kata movement must be capable of being applied to modern fighting situations and Shiai. In other words, Kata is the material needed to produce the final product, but it is not the product itself! That is why Wado Kata should never use unnecessary strength, movements/gestures or techniques.
When performing Wado style Kata the movements should flow easily from one to the other in a smooth quick manner but not ‘rushed’. In other words, the Wado Kata should not stop between the techniques as such but should flow naturally from one technique to the next. Of course this is very unlike Shotokan or Goju style Kata. My complaint about Wado Kata competitors is that they do stop their techniques and ‘pose’ in order to appeal to the judges, they do not produce proper Wado Tai-Sabaki and use too much unnecessary tension.This is very, very wrong! We should do Wado Kata properly, not copy other styles whose Kata has a different concept behind it. Many students have not been practicing Wado Karate right. They train only for competitions which is only physical training like any sport.
In high level Kata competition with proper experienced judges, the scoring starts at an average or base level. Then scores are added to or subtracted from depending on their performance. If the performance lacks proper Wado mechanics such as Tai-Sabaki or natural relaxed arm movements, then marks are taken off. The Kata should not be just ‘looking good’ or ‘posing’, this kind of Kata is just gymnastics. Incorrect pace, wrong combinations or even a simple thing like stating the name of your Kata after you have already made ‘Yoi’ (ready stance) will cause marks to be taken off.
What is the purpose of the Wado Academy?
The whole point is to spread Ohtsuka Sensei’s Karate principles. People need to have a strong leader who is experienced and whose ability is admired. Thats the problem with other groups because there are too many leaders. If teachers want to improve their Wado Karate they need someone to tell them what to do, but mostly they don’t. Many teachers just do their own thing because they think they have all the answers. Unfortunately, their ability disappears and their Karate becomes something other than Wado-Ryu as it was meant to be. These teachers eventually forget the techniques and then ‘invent’ their own or teach incorrect versions of the original. Teachers must be intelligent enough to study properly and to change and develop their Wado properly. The Wado Academy’s mission is to bring Ohtsuka Sensei to the world. Before the Academy, people did not see much of Ohtsuka Sensei’s Wado.
What do you think about Karate in Japan nowadays?
In my opinion Martial-Arts in Japan like everywhere else have become too sport orientated. But we must realise that Japanese Martial-Arts were changed in times of peace inside the Dojo. So originally the techniques were practiced to kill the opponent on the battlefield but now they are different. Thats OK, its practice for mind and body, mental discipline for life.
Jujitsu and Karate also changed because of the Dojo and peace times. Ohtsuka Sensei was the first martial-artist to have Karate accepted as a proper martial-art in Japan because he included traditional Japanese techniques and approach in his style. he also introduced modern tournaments and full contact fighting. But the movements were adapted to suit ‘knockdown’ not ‘kill’. Nowadays in Japan lots of people train in Martial-Arts but they do not train to kill they train for sport or for Budo (mind training).
Budo and Bujutsu was always changing down through the years. 1,000 years ago techniques and attitudes are different to those of 500 years ago or 100 years ago. For instance a 800 year old sword is more curved than those produced in the last 100 years because more curve was better for slicing through armour skin and bone! Those old swords were bigger and heavier than the ones today. So it is natural for Karate to change in general too, to reflect the needs of today. Its a matter of what is necessary and what is not. This is like Wado Kata and techniques.
What are your plans, hopes etc., for Wado in the world today?
We wish to continue to learn and teach Wado and when we leave the world, leave good teachers behind. Obviously, Wado may change after all of this current generation of Japanese teachers are dead and gone, but I hope the essential principles do not change. And most importantly, the manners and etiquette of Budo should not change. I am sure that in the future Karate will become an Olympic sport, but I hope this will not cause the traditional methods of our style to disappear. We must keep the traditional, beautiful Way. The relationship between teacher and student is NOT the same as that between coach and athlete. I hope there will always be a clear line between sports Karate and Karate-Do. In Budo, there is a big wall between the teacher and the student that can not be scaled or gone around, this is the deep respect of student for teacher and teacher for student.October 2001, Tyrone Pardue
© WadoWorld/Tyrone Pardue