Blitz - June-July 2017

FEATURE STORY |ƫ333ċ(%06)#ċ*!0ƫđƫ^37

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very great karate
teacher leaves an
impression on their
students. What are
your strongest memories of
the late Ohtsuka Tadahiko
Sensei, in terms of how he
taught and presented the Goju
Kensha school?
Noguchi: When Ohtsuka
Sensei created the Goju Kensha
Sai Shin Kan dojo in 1970, I
followed him and embraced the
entirety of his teachings until
his passing in 2012. My lasting
impression of Ohtsuka Sensei is
his amazing ability to codify his
Goju Kensha karate teachings,
and constantly evolve his system
with whatever he considered
useful — and make it fit within
the perimeters of traditional
Japanese Goju-ryu. He was way
ahead of others in Japan, and
according to his peers, Goju
Kensha Sai Shin Kan dojo was
considered one of the top three
dojos in all of Japan. Ohtsuka
Sensei was extremely intelligent;
after the Goju Kensha school was
established, many of the seniors
studied Japanese chiropractic. In
the difficult graduation exam,
most of us scraped through with
low pass marks, in the fifties,
but Ohtsuka Sensei achieved a
perfect score of 100. His physical
abilities in karate-do matched his
extraordinary intelligence and
people like him are rare. I am so
grateful our paths crossed.
Some would ask that since
Goju Kensha is a branch of Goju-
ryu, what makes it different to
other Japanese forms of Goju,

and the Okinawan schools from

which it came?

Noguchi: Ohtsuka Sensei

researched the Chinese systems

that were the precursors of

Okinawan Goju-ryu, namely

White Crane [kung fu], bagua,

Hsing I chuan [literally ‘fist’,

meaning fighting method] and

tai chi chuan. He revived many

of the underpinning power-

generating principles, theories

and training methodologies.

Unfortunately, he received a

lot of criticism from Japanese

karateka in the 1970s and ’80s —

but now, funnily, many are doing

the same thing he was then.

Probably the most radical

difference may be his approach

to Sanchin kata training.

Ohtsuka Sensei used more of

the natural and relaxed Chinese-

influenced internal methodology,

where the emphasis is on the

use of the hara (abdomen; the

general area encompassing

the lower tanden) without any

forceful breathing or excessive

tension on the body.

Naming and categorising

things is how humans develop

knowledge, as it enables us

to identify similarities and

differences, so as to then learn

more about the relationships

between such elements. In

martial arts this process is

at work everywhere — we

have names to identify all the

‘different’ systems or styles

— but do you think perhaps

there is too much emphasis

on this, and not enough on

the similarities?

Noguchi: Yes, definitely, I

do believe that. That is a very

good question, perhaps a subject

that needs to be reflected on

much more. Human beings are

the same, the only differences

are cultural behaviours and of

course, in relation to training,

we have differences in physical

build that may influence the way

we perform. Novice students

and immature practitioners are

the most passionate defenders

of their particular art and

concentrate on the differences,

often quick to criticise other

schools. Visual differences are

more obvious at this novice level,

but as you advance, you become

enlightened to the sameness.

Goju Kensha has a strong

connection to the Chinese

internal arts — a link that goes

back quite a way to when the

Okinawans were engaging in

sharing their martial arts with

the Chinese, and vice versa. This

exchange process between the

two martial cultures was revived

by Master Ohtsuka. Is this

something that has also been

part of your karate journey?

Noguchi: Yes, Ohtsuka Sensei

saw martial arts as an important

cultural artefact of China. He

encouraged that we study the

Chinese arts that karate came

from, and we basically did what

our teacher advised. We never

questioned him — he was the

teacher, after all.

Ohtsuka Sensei saw Japanese

Goju-ryu as a living philosophy

of harmony and balance. He

felt that you needed to be able

INTERVIEW BY BEN STONE & JAMES SUMARAC | IMAGES BY JON NANOS

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