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

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The arrangement at the Hombu was too good to be true, and so perhaps too good to last. In May of 1961, about three months after his arrival in Japan, Airman Suenaka unexpectedly received transfer orders. He was still considered a surplus airman, remaining in Japan only until the Air Force could find room for him elsewhere, which they did—in Korea. Suenaka was shocked. Regardless of its close geographic proximity, it might as well have been on another planet. But having just tasted what it was like to study with O’Sensei, he wasn’t about to give it up without a fight. Fortunately, he had a cousin who was assigned to the 5th Air Force, the regional command. Suenaka pleaded with him to do whatever he could to allow him to remain in Japan. “He said, ‘The best I can do for you is Kadena Air Base in Okinawa.” The U.S. government was constructing a missile base there to help defend the Japanese mainland, Okinawa and nearby smaller islands against possible attack by the Communist Chinese, and servicemen possessing electrical engineering skills like Suenaka were in high demand. Still, at the time, Okinawa seemed to him no better than Korea. It was even more distant from Tokyo, and the likelihood of being able to spend weeks at a time studying at the Hombu, as he was then, seemed remote at best. On the other hand, Okinawa was obviously more akin culturally to Japan than was Korea, so Suenaka would feel more at home, especially considering that while his Japanese was still rusty, he spoke no Korean. And while travel to the Hombu might be difficult, it wouldn’t be impossible. Okinawa was clearly his best alternative, and he accepted the assignment. Once again, though, it seemed as if divine providence was guiding Suenaka’s life; far from being a disappointment, his stay in Okinawa was to become one of the most significant periods in both his martial development and his personal life.