Essay Archives - Barrie Ryusei Karate Club

Chito-Ryu: The Next Generation

December 16, 2013 By Peter

Senior practitioners of Chito-ryu karate live under long shadows. First there is enormous shadow cast by founder Tsuyoshi Chitose, a martial arts virtuoso who studied under many masters and synthesized what he learned into his remarkable art.

Then there are the shadows cast by the pioneers who introduced Chito-ryu to their countries and amassed impressive organizations. In North America these larger-than-life figures include Masami Tsuruoka, the Father of Canadian Karate; Shane Y. Higashi, head of the Canadian Chito-ryu Karate Association; and the late William Dometrich, founder of the United States Chito-ryu Karate Federation.

As longtime adherents of this karate style, most of ask ourselves at some point, What we should learn and emulate from these impressive examples?

Shane Y. Higashi: A Life Lived in Karate

October 4, 2013 By Peter

The following is a piece I wrote about my teacher, Shane Higashi – 9th dan, head of the Canadian Chito-Ryu Karate Association – for the program given out at the celebration of his 50 years of teaching karate, held last April in Toronto.

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To the cheers of 1,500 enthusiastic fans a 24-year-old Torontonian was crowned the new Karate champion of Canada. Shane Higashi, 1st Degree (Shodan), star pupil of Karate master Mas Tsuruoka, kicked and carved a path through some of the best Karateists in North America to capture both the Black Belt and Grand Champion titles during the 2nd Annual Canadian Karate Open Championship held at the YMHA in Toronto last October 19th.

Some 150 contestants representing clubs from such places as Detroit, Toledo, Ottawa, New Haven, Harrisburg, Peoria, Rochester, Erie, Montreal, Warren, and the United States Karate Association, representing 10 states, sent men from as far as California and Hawaii. Also, for the first time in its history, the United States Marine Corps sent out a Karate team for this meet.

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So opened the Black Belt magazine article, written by Kei Tsumura, describing the second annual Canadian Karate Championships, in 1964. The previous year, Tsuruoka-Sensei’s top pupil, a young brown belt named Shane Higashi, won second place in the tournament, losing only to a third-degree black belt named Gary Alexander.

And while the young nisei (second-generation Japanese) karateka’s fighting spirit was undeniable, his life lived in the martial arts is more a story of character and dedication than being the toughest guy on the block.

Karate is Not a Martial Art

September 14, 2012 By Peter

barrie karate sensei talks martial art — On the feudal Japanese battlefield you would see swords, spears, bows and arrows, and other weapons. No one by choice would fight empty handed. A scene from the movie *13 Assassins.*

Karate is not a martial art. Neither is judo, aikido and many other of the, uh, whatever-they-are arts. OK, fighting arts.

Strictly speaking, ‘martial’ is something that pertains to war. So martial arts are war arts.

In feudal Japan, martial arts would include systems using swords, spears, bows and arrows, even later guns and other weapons.

A samurai on the battlefield would not willingly give up his weapons. If he, through really bad luck, lost his long sword, short sword and knife, he might resort to last-ditch grappling. This is where some of the first ju jitsu moves came from.

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