My Journey to Okinawa

Group Photo in the Hombu Dojo

Every Martial Artist who practices Karate has the ultimate dream of going to Okinawa to train. People train really hard their entire lives and build up to train in Okinawa but I was fortunate enough to receive this opportunity very early in my Martial Arts career.


Since I started training in Karate in 2010, I had the dream of going to Japan. There was always something about this place that intrigued me, even before my training began. It could have been the fact that I was a huge Batman fan and in the comics Bruce Wayne the alter ego of Batman travels to Japan for Martial Arts training. I made a promise to myself that no matter how long it took, I would go to Japan  at least once in my life.


But Japan doesn't let you do that, you can't just go there once. People who have traveled there fall in love with the place and many decide to move there permanently. It has this effect on you. Japan mesmerizes you. I went there to train with the Yagi family as a Brown belt and they welcomed me with open arms and treated me like family. I wish I had the space for all the stories, I could write pages for all the amazing things that happened to me.


I plan on going back in 2017 as a Black belt for a seminar that takes place every 5 years in Naha, where members of the Meibukan organization gather from around the world. Naha receives thousands of Martial Artists from almost 15 different countries for this seminar. It's a family made by blood and sweat.

Some Friend's I made on my Amazing Journey

Okinawa's Lion Guardian

Okinawa: The Birthplace of Karate

Entrance to Okinawa Prefecture Museum

In today's post, I want to talk about Okinawa, the place that gave us Karate. I want to talk about the history of the island and how Karate came to be. The Okinawan islands are the most southern part of Japan which is made up of thousands of small islands.

These islands are called Prefectures. The Okinawa prefecture is a hub of tourists. Many of the tourists are there to enjoy the warm climate and the beaches which Okinawa has no shortage of but there is a group of tourists that is there for a deeper purpose and that is to find the roots of any style of Karate they practice. Okinawa is the base for all styles of Karate. It is where it all started.

The headquarters for most of the world's biggest Karate organizations are in Naha, Okinawa. So how did Martial Art come to be? People living on the island were not allowed to carry Katanas( Samurai Swords) so they had to learn how to defend themselves from raiders and thieves. This was purpose Karate was invented by mixing Chinese Martial Arts and local forms of self-defense called Naha-te.

Okinawa was taken over by the Satsuma Samurai clan of Japan and it was forbidden for commoners to carry Samurai weapons. The local people found a very effective way of defending themselves by inventing not only Karate but by also turning everyday utensils into weapons. The practice of weaponry if called Kubodo.

A Chinese Scholar, Chinese Gardens, Naha

Takashiki Island, Okinawa

Training With Sensei Akihito Yagi

A poster of Sensei Akihito Yagi's film 

One of the biggest honours I have had while training in Karate is that I have had the chance to train with Sensei Akihito Yagi. Akihito Yagi is the grandson of Sensei Meitoku Yagi, the inventor of Meibukan Goju Ryu Karate. He is the current president and he took the position from his father Meitatsu Yagi.

One of Sensei Akihito’s responsibilities is to go to different countries to promote the Meibukan organization. He leaves Japan for almost 8 months a year to conduct seminars and make sure that Karate is being practiced properly in the satellite dojos.

I have had the opportunity to train with Sensei Akihito many times. The reason training with him is so special is because he has been given the responsibility of carrying on the Meibukan tradition and he has to make sure that it survives.

Sensei Akihito Yagi is also a Martial Arts actor appearing in 4 films and he is also a part of a rock band called RyuKyu free style. Sensei Akihito started training with his grandfather when he was 3. 

He is currently 38 years old and is and 8^th degree black belt. He has dedicated his life to making sure that his grandfather’s teachings live on.

Even with all his accomplishments, Sensei Akihito is one of the most down to earth people one can ever meet. He has no ego and he is a very good teacher. Taking a seminar with him is one of the best learning experiences for any Martial Artist. 

Me in the Home Dojo in Okinawa

Sensei Akihito in Canada

The First Tournament

My Sensei and I after a Dojo Tournament. I won the Gold for Sparring that year. 

As a Karate practitioner, you will understand that you need to show what you have learned in a controlled yet competitive environment. Tournaments take place so that a person can gain the confidence in performing in front of other people and show judges that they have prepared for this demonstration with all their might and heart.

The first tournament will not be easy, you will be nervous, you will feel like you are not prepared and you will feel like you will mess up. The best thing to do is tell yourself that you are not here to win but to show your skill and talent. Tell yourself that you will do your best and show the judges that your Sensei (Teacher in Japanese) has taught you well and that you are here to have fun.

As you participate in more tournaments it becomes easier but that first tournament will make you push yourself and make you want to conquer your fears. Always go in with the mindset of doing your best, regardless of winning or losing because after all Karate is about being humble. Proper etiquette of Karate is to be followed in these tournaments as well like bowing to the judges, bowing to the referee and bowing to your opponents.

The first tournament and all other tournaments that you will take part in are learning experiences and take them as such. You will win some and you will lose some. Make the best of both experiences. Don't lose yourself with pride if you win one and don't bring yourself down if you lose one.

My first Tournament in 2012

Dojo Tournament 2014

The Purpose of Karate Training

Chinese Gardens, Naha, Okinawa

People choose to take up Karate training for many reasons, namely being fitness and exercise, but there are those who want to turn their life around with it. There are people who want more out of life, like discipline, self-restraint, control on all matters of life, and generally being a good person. Karate does all of this if person wants and you get to be fit and in shape. The biggest reason to take up Karate should be to be a better person because that is what the inventors of Karate wanted the purpose to be. 

Meitoku Yagi called his style Meibukan or "The House of The Pure Minded Warrior" because that is what he wanted his students to be, role models of society. The first lesson taught is that be passionate towards those who are weaker than you and always avoid a physical confrontation unless necessary. Learning something that is potentially violent but teaches the value of human life. Karate teaches balance, it teaches how to breathe, and it teaches compassion. 

Karate training is not only physical but spiritual as well. Your teacher or Sensei is your guide to a more balanced life. But it is hard to find teachers that can fulfill these requirements, so always do your research on a school before you join it, because there are fakes out there trying to take your money. There are a lot of good Karate schools out there, always be sure to pick one that matches your needs and be sure to check this blog for more info on Karate.Here are some other Martial Arts blogs for more information,http://www.ikigaiway.com/,http://www.karatebyjesse.com/.

Bruce Lee Impersonation

Samurai Impersonation

Meibukan Goju Ryu Karate

Meibukan Home Dojo, Okinawa

Goju-Ryu Karate is perhaps the most popular style of Karate and roughly translates to Hard-soft style. It has numerous organizations around the world that practice it. Even Japanese movie star Sonny Chiba holds a Black Belt in Goju Karate. The tricky part to understand is though that each Karate style has different organizations and they all practice it a different way, which results in even more sub-styles.

The easiest way to explain this is that Karate is a tree with many branches and Goju-Ryu is one of them and then smaller branches are coming out of this big branch which the sub-styles of Goju-Ryu Karate. Goju-Ryu Karate was invented by a man named Chojun Miyagi who had many students and each one of them went onto teaching Karate themselves.

But they all had a different understanding of Miyagi taught, thus creating their own style based on the teachings of Miyagi. When Chojun Miyagi passed away, his uniform and Black Belt were given to his top student Meitoku Yagi by Miyagi’s family.

This meant that he had been chosen to carry on the teachings of his Sensei. A Sensei is not only a teacher, but a father figure, a guide, and an example to follow. Yagi went onto creating his own school which he called Meibukan Goju-Ryu Karate. Meibukan translates to “House of the Pure Minded Warrior”. Yagi went back to Chinese roots of Karate and incorporated more “soft” or “open hand” techniques into his style unlike his contemporaries who were more focused on punches and kicks. More on Meibukan Goju in the next post. Here is the link to the organization's website,http://www.imgka.com/.

Sensei Akihito Yagi in St. Catharines

Road sign to Home Dojo in Okinawa

Introduction to Okinawan Karate

Shuri Castle, Birthplace of the Matsuhiga Weapon Techniques

The first post is to inform people about what Karate is. Karate is a Martial Art originating in the most southern part of modern day Japan, known as Okinawa. Okinawan Karate is a combination of a local Martial Art Naha-te which was invented during the early 19th century in the city of Naha and other Chinese Martial Arts, mostly White Crane.

If people are interested in taking up Karate, they should be aware of its origin and history. Karate has become one of the most popular Martial Arts in the world and people always confuse it for being Japanese, but the fact is that it was invented in Okinawa which was a separate kingdom known as the Ryukyu Kingdom and was taken over by Japan during the late 19^th century. Karate was taken to mainland Japan in the early 20^th century and took years to become part of Budo, which are the Martial Arts Japanese consider to be the “Way of the Warrior”.

The original spelling of Karate meant “Chinese hand”, giving a nod to its Chinese origins. When it was taken to mainland Japan, the spelling or the Kanji characters were changed slightly to make it “Open Hand”. The Japanese wanted to show that Karate finally belonged to them.

Today it is practiced by thousands of people across the world with many sub-styles in the mix. The most popular ones are Goju-Ryu, Shotokan, Shorin-Ryu, Uechi-Ryu, and Kyokoshin. All these styles originate from Naha-te but have adopted different techniques and philosophies to match their unique approach to Martial Arts. I will be focusing on Goju-Ryu through this blog, as I practice that style.

Dojo Tournament 2014

Bruce Lee Impersonation