Читать книгу Complete Aikido. Aikido Kyohan: The Definitive Guide to the Way of Harmony онлайн

26 страница из 78

Soft-spoken yet stern, powerful yet kind, Mitose Sensei remained one of Suenaka’s primary instructors until his move to Los Angeles in December of 1952 (some say early 1953), at which time Thomas Young, a Chinese-Hawaiian and then Mitoses senior student, assumed his master’s teaching duties in Hawaii. Like Henry Okazaki, James Mitose had a profound influence on young Suenaka, so much so that when Mitose departed Hawaii, Suenaka gradually decreased his study of Koshu-ryu. “We were so used to learning under Mitose Sensei,” Suenaka recalls. “I really loved him; he was a good teacher. Like Jesus Christ, he was the best.”

In 1950, Warren Suenaka introduced his son, now ten, to judo, the third and final martial system Suenaka was to study prior to his introduction to aikido. As stated earlier, Warren Suenaka was himself an experienced judoka, and so he took especial care in selecting a school for his son to attend. Luckily, judo was perhaps the most widespread martial art in the area at the time, with a number of quality schools available. Suenaka ultimately studied judo at two different schools under three instructors: Higami Sensei at Honolulu’s Shobukan (“We called him ‘Rubber Man,’ because he was so limber”); Yukiso Yamamato, who taught at the local YBA (Young Buddhist Association) hall; and Matsumoto Sensei (“I never knew his first name,’’ Suenaka says. “We just called him ‘Sensei’.”), a member of Japan’s Kodokan, who taught at his own local school. Suenaka at first studied primarily with Higami, though he soon found himself drawn more to study under Yamamoto. Personality and not quality of instruction was the reason. Suenaka remembers Higami as being “too hard. When we got something wrong, he would whack us with a stick!” Eventually, Suenaka’s judo instruction took place exclusively under Yamamoto and Matsumoto, with Yamamoto the primary instructor. Of course, Warren Suenaka was always there to offer his son additional instruction and advice.