After more than 21 hours of transport, I now stood at All Nippon Airwa's "baggage service center" in Tokyo's Narita Airport and filled in the forms for my missing suitcase, which had been stranded during my transit at Charles de Gaulle, the largest of the Paris airports. No luggage and thus no training clothes for my 29th training camp in Japan under Our Great Grandmaster, Soke Sensei Tonegawa. But as they say "A bad dress rehearsal gives a great premiere". This was my dress rehearsal, my fiftieth visit to Japan, and now follows the account of my premiere.
It was great to see Soke Sensei again, whom I hadn't seen since April, 2001 during my last Japan training camp. To my great delight, this 6 day visit began with me receiving Soke Sensei wearing Jokokan Europe's, including Denmark's training top and a big warm smile on his face. After a cup of coffee and a light lunch, Soke Sensei and I went out into the small town of Tokyo to do the required shopping for JEU's members.
What I expected to take a few hours ended up taking 8 hours including some small breaks. As it turned out that the different stores were located at different ends and directions of the city, and sometimes did not have the number of units that were on my shopping list. So late at night, two overburdened people tumbled into the hotel with well-trodden shoes, but with green picks from the entire shopping list.
It was great to hear good news for the Japanese Honbu dojo in Iwaki and the newly started Jokokan school in Tokyo. Soke Sensei's right-hand man in the Tokyo dojo, Matsuda-san has been training with Soke Sensei for the past 3-4 years several times a week. He has a long past as a Kendo and Iaido practitioner from the extremely famous and recognized Noma dojo near Nara, and has practiced full-contact Thai boxing at an elite level for a number of years.
I also had the pleasure of training Yakusoku kumite with Matsuda-san at full blast during one of the training days in Yoyogi Park in Tokyo in brilliant sunshine and 5 degrees Celsius. Matsuda-san and I had a wonderful time, unlike Matsuda-san's video camera, which very quickly went dead in the relatively cold but wonderful weather.
During the subsequent trainings, I again had the pleasure of training basic and kata together with our Soke Sensei Tonegawa, who I must admit is getting better and better over the years - as incredible as it may sound.
Despite his now 64 years, he moves like a young man with lightning-fast, harmonious and incredibly beautiful movements. One feels deeply moved by one's observations of him, and gains incredible respect for Soke Sensei's insight, skill and knowledge. He really expresses BUDO and BUJUTSU, which you only read about in the old books about the legends of martial arts.
Based on the debate of recent years, which has mainly taken place with some Danish Gensei-ryu Karate-do practitioners, we also talked about this. As Soke Sensei said, it was strange that for 32 years he has been recognized as the Japanese who introduced Gensei-ryu karate-do in Denmark without a sword strike, and then suddenly strong doubts have been sown about this by former students (what we can understand confusing debate), and relatively very new practitioners of Gensei-ryu karate-do in the last few years.
But as we agreed, these critics probably had a special motive or interest in starting this rather confusing debate over the Internet or during internal meetings.
However, the interesting output of this talk was also that, upon curious inquiry, the next day I was presented with a large amount of history, in the form of various certificates, diplomas, articles, videos, original manuscripts and documents, as well as pictures of Soke Sensei and his master teachers during various training situations and social gatherings. It was fun to see and hear about his grandfather, Yakami's old Soke, Wado-ryu Karate-do's, Kobayashi Sensei (1922- ), 8th dan at the training in Shotokan's JKA Yotsuya-dojo over Goju-ryu karate-do the training in the Akita dojo.
For the meeting, training and friendship with Gensei-ryu Karate-do and Taido's Shukuminé Sensei (1925-2001) for some twenty years, for the start-up of Gensei-ryu Karate-do in Denmark, five articles with pictures in "Taido nyt" at the request of Shukumine Sensei for marketing purposes in Europe, Paris and especially Denmark, for private visits by Shukumine Sensei to Soke Sensei's childhood home in Aomori, 8 mm narrow film taken by Soke Sensei's wife of Shukumine Sensei performing Taido kata and kihon, seasoned with private letters from Shukuminé Sensei to Soke Sensei during his stay in Denmark together with many 8 mm narrow films (1967-1974), to the period when the relationship slipped completely in the early 80s.
The certificates and pictures of Soke Sensei during the years of training with his Chinese martial arts teacher Shakua Sei Sensei, "National treasure" from southern China and his right hand man, manifested themselves in the training lessons the next day. Which his over 20 years of training with BUIDO's Soke, Minouchi Sensei (1922-1991) and the Meditation Grandmaster, Nagano Sensei (1913-) also did.
In addition to the above-mentioned teachers, Soke Sensei has trained with other teachers throughout his life, who he felt could increase his enormous knowledge, insight and skills. Some of these I myself have met and been trained by.
Well, enough talk about this. The participants will hear and see more about this during Jokokan's annual 2002 winter camp.
But there is absolutely no doubt that both the past, present and future students of Soke Sensei can rightly be EXTREMELY proud of their Grandmaster in Budo and Bujutsu, but also the skill and insight they themselves possess after the transmission from this very rare and genuine Budo and Bujutsu capacity.
It was great to land again at Kastrup airport and be received by my family, and this time with all my luggage - and more.
Kimu Yamana Bjarkmann
Sodenke, Yakami-ryu Taijutsu
Jokokan Europe, including Denmark
