2008 SMAA Seminar (3)

Saturday--July 26, 2008
H. E. Davey kicked off the event on Saturday morning with instruction in the Shin-shin-toitsu-do system of Japanese yoga and meditation. Since many students had experience with stretching exercises, and due to time constraints, he skipped the basic stretching exercises he typically starts classes with. Actually, instead of focusing on the stretching, meditation, breathing exercises, and other disciplines that comprise Shin-shin-toitsu-do, he chose to concentrate on the art’s Four Basic Principles to Unify Mind and Body. Through unification of mind and body, people can realize their full potential in many activities, including the martial arts.

The photos in the post are of H. E. Davey teaching mind and body unification exercises created by Nakamura Tempu Sensei. Students can be seen practicing these disciplines.

2008 SMAA Seminar (2)

As usual, this year’s SMAA Seminar was an exceptionally joyful affair, filled with smiling participants. The tone for the event was set by the teachers, all of whom are old and close friends. Joe Rippy Sensei, Steve Fabian Sensei, Nicklaus Suino Sensei, and H. E. Davey don’t get to see each other as much as they’d like; the students could clearly see how happy they were to be teaching with each other again. The mutual respect among the teachers at the event was palpable. This set the tone for the entire weekend.

Friday--July 25, 2008
The event began on Friday evening with testing for dan grades. The tests were observed by the four sensei featured at the seminar. A high degree of skill was displayed by everyone being examined. Following the tests, Suino Sensei, Rippy Sensei, Fabian Sensei, and Mr. Davey enjoyed a fine dinner and had an informal SMAA officials meeting. They agreed that the group is continuing to grow, while still retaining the excellent quality and attitudes we associate with traditional Japanese budo.

The photos in this post are of one of the tests that took place on Friday evening. Brian Barnes Sensei and Matthew Hawthorne Sensei of Kentucky were testing for dan rank in the SMAA Jujutsu Division. They performed the kata of Hontai Yoshin Ryu.

2008 SMAA Seminar (1)

The 2008 SMAA Seminar in Michigan was a resounding success. Each class at the Japanese Martial Arts Center (JMAC) was packed with students, some of whom traveled long distances to attend this sold-out event. The seminar in Ann Arbor was international in scope with participants from Canada and multiple U. S. states, including California, New Jersey, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, North Carolina, Michigan, and other locations. The theme was “Budo Bridges: From Ancient Jujutsu to Modern Budo.”

This post shows the beautiful Japanese style interior of JMAC, where the seminar took place.

2008 SMAA Seminar & Conference

July 25 - 27, 2008: Join us for the 2008 SMAA Seminar & Conference on July 25 - 27, 2008 in Ann Arbor, Michigan! This year's event, titled "Budo Bridges: From Ancient Jujutsu to Modern Budo," will feature training with four of North America's best known martial arts instructors: Steve Fabian, H. E. Davey, Nicklaus Suino, and Joseph Rippy. Space is limited — visit the conference website and register today!

Member Profile: Joseph Rippy

Joseph Rippy Sensei was born in 1946 in San Mateo, California. He has, however, lived most of his adult life in Tennessee. Married with three sons, aged 32, 29, and 24, Rippy Sensei received a University of Tennessee degree in Asian Studies (Japanese) in 1980. His interests include Chinese metaphysics and the art of Wado Ryu karate-do, which he teaches privately to a select group of children and adults.

The name Wado Ryu is composed of three characters: Wa means "harmony," do means "way," and ryu means "system." From one viewpoint, Wado Ryu might be considered jujutsu rather than karate-do. When the founder Ohtsuka Hironori Sensei first registered his art with the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai in 1938, it was called Shinshu Wado Ryu Karate-Jujutsu, which reflects its hybrid nature. To the untrained observer, Wado Ryu might look similar to other styles of karate-do; many underlying principles, however, are derived from jujutsu.

Rippy Sensei began karate-do training in 1964, when he was invited to join the Wado Ryu system by Cecil T. Patterson Sensei (1930-2002). Wado Ryu is one of the most widely recognized karate-do systems in Japan, and it is known as one of the four major styles of Japanese karate-do (as opposed to original Okinawan systems).

In 1968, Rippy Sensei met and trained under Ohtsuka Hironori Sensei. He later studied directly with Ohtsuka Sensei (1892–1982), who tested Rippy Sensei for his third dan in 1976. Ohtsuka Sensei was a licensed Shindo Yoshin Ryu jujutsu expert when he met the famed Okinawan karate-do exponent Funakoshi Gichin Sensei (1868-1957), founder of Shotokan karate-do. After learning karate-do from Funakoshi Sensei, Ohtsuka Sensei merged Shindo Yoshin Ryu with karate-do to create Wado Ryu.

In 1979, Rippy Sensei began practicing with Suzuki Tatsuo Sensei (Wado Ryu eighth dan). He continued to study with Suzuki Sensei from 1979 to 1988, primarily when this teacher visited Tennessee and Florida each year. In 1984, Rippy Sensei successfully represented the USA at the 50th Anniversary Wado Ryu Invitational Tournament in Tokyo, Japan. While there, he trained at Sakai Kazuo Sensei's dojo in Yokohama. Sakai Sensei (now tenth dan) was then Wado Ryu Chief Technical Director, and he further practiced with Sakai Sensei whenever he visited the USA.

In 1988, Rippy Sensei received his sixth dan certificate from Ohtsuka Hironori II (the current Saiko Shihan, or Grandmaster, of Wado Ryu). In 1989, he also trained with Osaka Toshio Sensei (seventh dan) of Salt Lake City, Utah. Rippy Sensei currently receives direction from Ohtsuka Kazutaka, the son of the current grandmaster and grandson of the art's founder, via the U.S. Eastern Wado Ryu Karate-Do Federation.

At present, Rippy Sensei is nearing the completion of a book on teaching karate-do to children. He is also preparing to return to Japan in 2008, where he will continue his lifelong study with the Ohtsuka family.

Member Profile: Mark Colby

Mark Colby Sensei began studying Kodokan judo in 1969 in the USA. The majority of his training took place under Japanese and Japanese-American teachers at Seikikan Dojo, one of Washington State's oldest schools of judo. He successfully competed in numerous tournaments, often placing first, qualifying to compete in the United States Judo Federation Nationals, and winning medals in the AAU Junior Olympics.

He received his first dan in 1976 from the Northwest Yudanshakai, United States Judo Federation, and Kodokan Judo Institute in Japan. His tournament success continued, and in 1979 he began training with the U.S. Olympic Judo Team at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.

He married a Japanese woman, and he moved to Japan in 1980, where he started practicing judo with the Koichi Riot Police. The training in Japanese police dojo is notoriously rough, and the riot police are known as the roughest of the rough. Colby Sensei practices with the Koichi Riot Police to this day, and he has trained weekly at the Kodokan for over 20 years. The Kodokan is the birthplace of judo, and it's widely regarded as an international Mecca for judo practitioners. He also trains at the Nippon Ne Waza Kenkyujo, a dojo devoted to researching ground grappling within judo.

Two of his biggest tournament wins were the USA-Canadian Championships in 1981 and the 1985 Maroto Kaigai Championship in Japan. He was the Grand Champion at both events, winning every weight class. This is a feat usually accomplished today by heavyweight competitors. Colby Sensei is of average height and build. His win at the Maroto Kaigai Championship harkens back to the days of classical judo when smaller judoka competed in tournaments without weight classes and sometimes won overall.

The Maroto Kaigai Championships is a particularly important event, and Colby Sensei's victory is significant. So impressive was this triumph, that he was featured on NHK national television in Japan.

Colby Sensei teaches and practices traditional judo in the USA and Japan. His daughters have both studied at the Kodokan since childhood, with Julie Colby winning the United States Judo Association Nationals in her weight class in 1997.

Colby Sensei currently lives in the countryside of Chiba Prefecture. An author and artist, he is also a successful businessman. He is CEO of CGIKK. Based in Tokyo, CGIKK creates and implements innovative solutions for medical associations, healthcare professionals, and the medical industry.

Given his belief in preserving traditional judo and his lifetime of training, much of it under legendary teachers in Japan, the SMAA is honored to have Mark Colby Sensei on our Board of Advisors.

Member Profile: Iwasaki Hisashi

Iwasaki Hisashi Sensei, SMAA Senior Advisor, is the Soke (Hereditary Headmaster) of Kobori Ryu suiei-jutsu. One of the highest ranking martial artists in Japan, he teaches and preserves a very rare and esteemed form of ancient bujutsu.

Suiei-jutsu is the age-old Japanese martial art of combative swimming. Unlike modern budo, such as judo, karate-do, or iaido, the old martial systems (koryu) were often sogo bujutsu. A sogo bujutsu incorporates a number of martial disciplines that are linked by a set of unifying principles as espoused by the art's founder. While not all bushi, or "warriors," studied every one of them, generally speaking there are 18 classical martial arts that often comprise bujutsu. Although the exact arts that made up the bugei juhappan, or "18 martial arts," varied according to martial system, and sometimes according to historical period as well, suiei-jutsu is often described as being one of them.

While not as widely practiced as swordsmanship, samurai swimming was often a part of the bushi's training. It was natural for the Japanese warrior to develop swimming skills in that the sea surrounds Japan, and combat could therefore potentially take place in water. Eventually, swimming and engaging an opponent in water reached a high level in certain clans of warriors. Depending on the speed, size, and depth of the water that was near a particular clan, different skills were developed. For example, some ryu of suiei-jutsu featured methods for swimming under water, while others focused on swimming in fast moving rapids.

Suiei-jutsu served various purposes, ranging from allowing the bushi to silently sneak up on an enemy, to floating for long periods, to fording strong rivers. Bushi needed to be able to swim while wearing armor, carrying flags, weapons, and banners; and they needed to be able to use a bow and arrow while almost submerged. Some ryu also featured grappling while in the water.

At present, suiei-jutsu is seldom taught in Japan. Most of its contemporary practitioners are studying it as a means of recreation, as a way of maintaining their health, and as a method of disciplining their minds and bodies. But make no mistake, the small number of suiei-jutsu teachers that are still extant have not forgotten the martial origins of this rare art form, and they are also preserving it as an important cultural property of Japan.

Iwasaki Soke lives in Kyoto.