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SUZUKI SENSEI
Author: MIKE CLARKE
Sensei, I believe you started your Karate training in 1942, at the age of fourteen. Can you tell us a little about those early days?
At that time it was during the second World War and Karate at that time in Japan was very rough. Most of the training was fighting, not much basics or kata.
Nothing like in our present days, with sports like Karate. It was very very rough and non-stop. Lots of people were injured. Mostly cuts and bruises, you know,eyes, mouths and noses. But sometimes people were really hurt.
Had Ohtsuka Sensei completed the formulation ofWado Ryu at that time, or was he still working things out?
No, I think he had formulated WadoRyu about two or three years before I started training. But you know, my early days of training was not in a dojo like you might imagine now. I had a friend whose brother studied Karate at University. He came back to Hamamatsu, where I was living at that time, and he started to teach his brother and myself Karate. The kind of Karate was, I think, Wadoryu, but we did mostly fighting.
"We should all see each other as Karate brothers and sisters", says Suzuki Sensei. "Just like a big family"
So when did you first go to a dojo for formal training?
After about two years, I moved back to Yokohama where I was born and there I went to the Y.M.C.A. They had an instructor there who was teaching Karate, so I started dojo training in Yokohama at that time.
I believe you reached Sandan (3rd Dan) level after six years' training. What were your early grading tests like? I can't remember much at all about my early tests. In those days I was not interested in grades or tests, all I wanted to do was train Karate. Then one day I had a Black Belt on, and some time after that I was Nidan, then Sandan, but J don't really remember the tests I did. I know I was already Sandan when I went to University. I remember, though, when I got 5th Dan. This is because at that time, in Wadoryu, 5th Dan was the highest grade. I remember thinking that as J was already 3rd Dan it was enough for me, I didn't want to go any higher. But J was approached by some people who told me that if I did not take any more tests then they also would have to stay at their present level. This was because they knew that J was better than them and so if I did not move they could not overtake me. So now everybody was waiting for me to take a test. I decided I would take 4th Dan test before I graduated.
I took the test for 4th Dan under Ohtsuka Sensei, but after the test he gave me 5th Dan. So this meant I jumped from 3rd Dan to 5th Dan. I thought this was too much for me. I said to Ohtsuka Sensei that J thought it was too much for me and could he please give me 4th Dan. He said no; all the other examiners also thought I was 5th Dan so that is what J was. He said I must take it. That is why I can remember that test, because of this incident.
You also have Nidan grade in Eo Jitsu, and Shodan grade in Judo. Where did you practise these arts, at school?
The Bo Jitsu came about because after the war the Wadoryu Headquarters dojo was at a police station. J was training there with Ohtsuka Sensei. At that time he was still young enough to do a lot of training with us. We did lots of fighting as well as kata and combination training. Ohtsuka Sensei did all this with us at that time and the training was very hard. It was a good time because many old students were coming back from the war. Also we would have senior students from other University clubs coming to train with us. At that time the headquarters of Wadoryu was a very hard place to train, the training was so good. The people who were there at that time were the top group in Wadoryu.
After a few years we had to leave the police station. So now we had to find a new place to train. Sensei Ohtsuka came to us one day and told us he had found somewhere. He told us he had a friend, Mr Ueno, who was a Martial Artist and had a dojo. His dojo was very small but we could not find another place so we were training there for about a year. U eno Sensei used to teach Bo Jitsu as well as other Martial Arts. One day he asked me if I would teach Karate and, in return, he would teach me Bo Jitsu. He also taught me Shuriken (knife throwing). He told me once that because I was training in Karate, then Bo Jitsu should be very easy because both arts use lots of hip action. This is how J came to study Bo Jitsu.
You have also made a study of Zen. How did you become interested in it?
Ive have always been very interested in the lives of the great Martial Artists of the past. I liked to read about their lives and so on. I discovered that most of them made a study of Zen. So from my early days I was interested too. During my University days I was secretary of one of the Wadoryu supporters' clubs. The patron of this club was Mr Tanaka. He was a very famous man in Japan at that time. He was interested, too, in Zen and had made his study with Genpo Yamamoto, who was a very well known priest. So it was Mr Tanaka that introduced me to Genpo Yamamoto and also to his top disciple, Soyen Nakagawa.
Sometimes I would take some of my Karate students along to the temple with me. The temple was called Ryutakuji. A very famous Kendo master of about one hundred years ago used to train there. I will tell you a story about him. One day a rival of his who was very strong, and who had only ever been beaten once, came to the area. He wanted to beat this man but he knew that he would not do it with technique alone; he knew this was no good. So he decided that he must study some kind of mental training. At that time Ryutaku-ji temple was the home of a famous monk and our hero decided to go there for training. The trouble was he lived in Mushima, which was a small city some distance away. So every night he would ride his horse to Ryutaku-ji, study Zen and then ride the long journey back to Mushima. He did this for a long time, every night. The constant travelling was very hard for him but he did it. Finally he achieved Satori.
After that point his fear of the rival disappeared. He knew in his own mind that he could now beat him. One day the two met and our hero immediately asked the man for a duel. The rival only had to look at him and he gave in. He knew he would be beaten. This is Zen. This kind of thinking is very important in Martial Arts and that's why I wanted to study Zen.
Did Ohtsuka Sensei study Zen also?
No, not really. I don't think he was influenced much by Zen, but when he was older he used to tell us to study Ochaku Zen. This means lazy meditation. So I mean you just lie down and meditate. Maybe he was much more knowledgeable about Zen meditation than anyone knew, and when I think of him I think maybe he was.
Do you teach Zen philosophy to your students?
Occasionally, yes I do. But it's a little 'difficult to teach Zen injust one lesson. If I am teaching on a gasshuku where everyone is together for a week or longer then I can do something, but if it is only a short time then I would not be able to make students understand things. The thing with Zen is that a person must do it by themselves to find the meaning.
Do you think people should try to train every day?
Yes, if possible. You know Zen, like Karate, is mental training so you should try to train every day. This is very important, to be able to continue with things once you have started.
For instance there was a famous ballerina who said that if she did not train for one day she could tell just by the feel of her body. If she didn't train for two days, then her partner could tell. If she didn't train for three days then the audience could tell. So for this reason she said she always had to train.
Sensei you have spent many years now travelling around the world teaching Karate. How have things changed in that time?
Well, in the early days I visited many countries where Karate was just beginning. So I had to show off a little and show them techniques that would impress them. This meant I had to train very, very hard myself. Otherwise people would be disappointed. But now people understand more about Karate and so I don't have to show off. I can help them to develop their character and I can share my philosophy. But still I need to show people the right way to do technique, so still I must train hard. But it is easier now than it used to be.
It is said that training in Karate builds character. As you have been travelling around the world, do you see evidence of this, or do you think people are paying more attention to merely physical technique?
That all depends on the instructor. If they are good then the character of the students will also be good. So as the' student has been training, their character will become good. But if the instructor is bad, then their students will become troublesome also ...
Besides Karate, what else do you like to do?
I like to read books, particularly about the great Martial Artists of the past. Most of them had very good philosophy. Also I like Japanese chess. In my house I have a lot of videos of boxing. I like boxing very much. I have most world championships on video and I like to watch them. You can see some really good moves from these people. You see, boxing, because it uses only hands, has developed very strong ways to punch - much better than Karate, I think. A Karateman might be able to win over a boxer, because he can kick as well. But if he could not use his kicks, then the boxer would be much stronger. Boxing has a very long history and so nowadays it has a lot of history to call on.
What do you think about Karate going into the Olympic Games?
I think it's about an 80 percent impossiblity ...
Why is that?
Because Taekwondo is already three or four steps closer to achieving this than Karate. Also, the Chairman of Taekwondo is a very clever politician. He's on the Olympic Committee and, as you know, at the Seoul Olympic Games, Taekwondo opened the Games. In the next Games it will be an exhibition sport, so I think this is a strong sign that by the next Games after Barcelona, Taekwondo will become a full Olympic sport. Once this has happened it will be impossible for a similar sport to gain entry. Also, you know, the W.U.K.O. committee are not as good as the Taekwondo people. So, for these reasons, I don't think Karate will ever get into the games.
But what if it did get in - do you think it would be a good thing or a bad thing?
Well, as far as publicity for Karate worldwide it would be a good thing, better than the situation now. Also, countries would support their Karate groups better because they always 100kaftertheOlympic sports better than the non-Olympic sports anyway. The other side of things, as far as the Olympics goes, is this. If it was accepted then more and more people would train Karate just for the sports side of it; then I am sure that Karate would lose its Martial Arts content.
If you met someone who was interested in starting Karate training and asked you for some advice, what would you say to them?
I would advise them first to find a good instructor. If they do not do this first they will never learn good Karate. Also they must continue training once they have started. They cannot take time off from training, but must go all the time and keep going. Even people who are slow will eventually turn around and come to know Karate, as long as they continue to train. So this would be my advice to them.
Do you believe that Hojo-undo is important to Karate training?
Yes, it is important. Wado movement looks like light movement with no power, but that is because you have to stay relaxed when you are moving. But when you hit your opponent you have to have power, you have to be sharp. So Hojoundo is important but not too much weight training. The makiwara is also very good for building your arms and wrists, as well as making your fist strong. And focus, as well, is improved.
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