Читать книгу Complete Shotokan Karate. History, Philosophy, and Practice онлайн

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By the late 1970s the situation had reached the absurd. Men no older than twenty-five or thirty were appearing on televised sports shows and billing themselves as tenth-degree grand masters. Demonstrations of their alleged skill included catching bullets in their teeth and other acts probably never seen in Japan. The American public readily accepted their claims to black belt ranks, ranks in systems that they themselves had originated.

At about the same time, two of the most famous Japanese masters of the current century, Gogen Yamaguchi, the head of the Japanese Goju system, and Masatoshi Nakayama, the head of the prestigious Japan Karate Association, attained their tenth and ninth degree rankings, respectively, after lifetimes devoted to the study and propagation of true karate. Both of these men were in their sixties at the time of their achievements. In the United States, veteran instructors Nishiyama and Okazaki, men with over thirty years experience, finally earned eighth degrees. Although their efforts had produced many practitioners of authentic karate and their organizations were strong, they had not been truly appreciated by the public. The unqualified instructors had made their mark on the American audiences.