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I still had no karate experience, nevertheless I realized that there was a great difference between the way of moving demonstrated by sensei Mabuni and the performance of the other karateka representing various schools. I was so impressed that I decided on the spot to study karate. So, I joined the Shitō ryū club in my hometown. My first teachers were Jorge Sosa and Nobuyoshi Murata. I learned the basics of Shitō ryū and a lot about the history of the Mabuni family from sensei Murata.

In 1969 when I received the 1st kyū I got the chance to attend a lesson by sensei Mabuni in Guatemala City. This was a great honor for me. About 20 disciples, all of them holders of the 1st kyū degree participated in this lesson. We all had studied different karate techniques for several years, but Sensei Mabuni exclusively trained breathing techniques with us. After two hours of such exercises, of the 20 participants only a friend of mine and myself were ready to continue. The other ones left the training room because they could not bear the constraints caused by the breathing techniques any longer. When the two of us were alone with sensei Mabuni he said: “Now you can begin to study karatedō.”