Bob Honiball - Martial Arts Expert

BOB HONIBALL – Martial Arts Expert

 

My Story

 

By Bob Honiball

 

I guess it’s always best to start at the beginning as our childhood usually shapes and affects our values and how we think and act later in life.  I was born in 1952 in Liverpool, England into a working class family; besides my father and mother I had an older sister called Celia. Guess things were hard in those days; although being a child you don’t really realize it. We lived in a property which was later to be condemned as a slum, the house had no bathroom with an outside toilet; bathing was a weekly event as we only had a tin bath and had to boil up the water to use it, which took some time. The house was always damp; something my parents forever struggled to remedy. At the bottom of our back yard was a huge factory producing tin cans, so there was a continuous noise from the machinery.

 

      When I was about nine years old I contracted double pneumonia and pleurisy and nearly died. Because my mother was a nurse during the Second World War, she pleaded with the doctors to let me stay at home where she could give me more care and attention than if I was in hospital. The doctors agreed. I remember the doctor popping in to check on me from time to time, and being given what seemed like bottle after bottle of penicillin; in those days there were no antibiotic tablets. I can still clearly see myself being too weak to even move and struggling for breath. After more or less recovering I remember visiting my specialist in hospital for the last time when he showed me the x-rays of my lungs; both my lugs were black shadows and I remember him saying; “see son, how bad your lungs were, for God’s sake never smoke as it will kill you.” He scared me so much I never smoked but in those days nearly everyone did smoke and as a result I suffered greatly from secondary smoking.

 

      In total I missed about a year of schooling and this obviously affected my education. In those days we had Secondary and Grammar School education and everyone had to sit an 11-Plus exam in order to be accepted into a Grammar School. I failed and as a result was sent the local Secondary Modern School; I have never been that academic but feel the schooling I missed while ill had some bearing on my academic failure.

 

      The school I attended was not a good learning environment; some teachers cared but there was generally little incentive to learn, really it was all about just doing enough in order to give the children a basic education and nothing else. Being a tough inner city school there was also a lot bullying; my tactic to avoid this was to keep a low profile, which for the most part worked. It was about this time that the Comprehensive School system was introduced. Because we were in the highest class within our school we were allowed to stay on an extra year to take exams but in order to do this we were absorbed into the old Grammar School and had to face the fact that everyone thought we were the “plebs from that other school”. This helped to bond the members of our class together and we all looked out for each other. My creditability was enhanced when one day on the playing field I spectacularly threw a boy much bigger than myself over my shoulder. After that I never had to face the threat of intimidation again, although I continued to suffer with bronchial problems virtually every winter, still having to spend long periods away from school. Although I wanted to be good at sport, my health affected my fitness and held me back. My Uncle Sid and brother-in-law Dave tried to encourage me to get fit but it wasn’t until I was fifteen that my friend Rich introduced me and another friend Ray to Judo and it was only then that my fitness and health started to improve. However I continued to suffer with bronchial problems virtually every winter right up to my mid-twenties and my sister Celia has said that if it wasn’t for my early Judo training she doesn’t think I would be alive today. 

 

      In the early 60s most people who wanted to study the martial arts had either the choice of Judo or Karate. There was boxing of course, but in those days the 'martial arts' had a sort of mystery surrounding them which attracted me so in 1967 I decided to start Judo classes with my friends. I continued Judo training for several years, however during this time a Karate guy came to train with us and one day we asked him to demonstrate his techniques. We had never seen anything like this before; to me Karate seemed mysterious, powerful and deadly and I was sold straight away. I was introduced to my first Karate instructor, Sensei (teacher) Harry Benfield and the style of Karate was Mushindo Ryu. Harry used to be a street-fighter and a doorman, and the combat effectiveness of Karate interested me greatly.

 

      Eventually, for reasons I can't now remember, we decided to stop training in this style and look for one that better served our needs and in 1971 I briefly started training in Uechi Ryu Karate Do under Sensei’s Tony Christian and Bob Greenhalgh. In 1972 Gary Spiers appeared on the Karate scene in Liverpool and we invited Gary to become the teacher at our dojo (club).

 

      Gary had been invited to come over to the UK from Japan were he had been training in Goju Kai Karate, by the Sensei Terry O’Neil, who also had an awesome reputation as a karate practitioner as well as through working the tough doors of Liverpool. At that time Gary Spiers was considered one of the 'leading lights' of practical Karate, introducing his version of Goju Kai Karate, a no-nonsense fighting style to the UK. I always remember the first time Gary walked into our dojo; we didn’t know what to expect. In walked this big half-Maori with close cropped hair, which was unusual as those days everyone had long hair, a nose that had been broken so many times that the bones had been removed, and a scar from an old knife wound running across his face. There was definitely a feeling of trepidation that day, even amongst the real toughies in the dojo.

 

      Gary was a technician, but the whole focus of his training methods was towards practical no-nonsense fighting. In those days free sparring was tough with no holding back in some cases, I remember Gary standing behind me screaming “go, go, get in there digger, don’t stop.”  Having what they call a combative attitude, he always pushed you to your very limit and taught you that once the fighting started you should never stop hitting until your opponent is no longer a threat. Developing this 'combative attitude' was the main thing Gary taught his students. He also believed you should always be prepared to fight, no matter where or when and on a couple of occasions on a Sunday afternoon before training, he would take me and my friend into the pub next door, slap some money on the bar and order the barman to ply us with beer until the money ran out. We would then have to spar full-out for the rest of the training session with a belly full of beer, feeling like you wanted to throw up, no control or accuracy and knocking spots off each other. Gary was a bit crazy like that, and I suppose so were we for doing it! However, he would tell us with his usual laugh that it was important for us to know how to fight, even in an inebriated state!

 

      Even though Gary had always lived in a violent world, during all the time I knew him he only ever metered out his version of justice to those individuals who deserved it and one of the first stories I heard about Gary working the doors was not long after he arrived in Liverpool. One night while on duty, Gary was confronted by an individual who was waving a broken beer glass at him. Straight away Gary picked up another beer glass, smashed it and threw it at the feet of the individual shouting, “Your gonna need two of them, digger”. The individual’s response was to take to his heels. For me this story sums up the spirit of Gary.  Perhaps in some way this also explains the ability to 'fight without fighting'; if you dominate the psychology of an opponent in any confrontation you have gone a long way to winning the fight...or you might not even have to fight at all.

 

      At one time Gary lived with Sean Reich, a student of his and one of my closest friends. Gary got Sean into full-time door work. I was a frequent visitor to Sean’s house and would sometimes sleep-over, which was an experience in itself. Being in my early twenties I was impressionable and like so many people who came into contact with Gary, I was in awe of this larger than life character, who had 'been there and done it' and who certainly lived life to the full. A lot of people were afraid of Gary but to me and my buddy Sean he was like a big brother who taught us a lot about real fighting, spirit and life.

 

      Sean worked on the doors of an out-of-town night club. One day he had to intervene with a bad guy who had stuck a beer glass in someone’s face. The guy tried to do the same to Sean and Sean turned it back into him making a mess of his face, a technique we used to practice over and over again. I wasn’t there at the time but when I went to see Sean at the club the following week, the friends of the guy Sean had hospitalized were in the club 'tooled up.' Sean called Gary for back up but he was working miles away in the city center and would take a while to arrive. Luckily for us Gary turned up just in time, with Terry O’Neill and another guy who was a professional wrestler. They had run red lights to get to us and when they walked in Sean calmly approached the group of guys and said 'if you want it, let's go.' Such was the reputation of Gary and Terry they just got up and walked out and there was never any trouble from them again.

 

      Interesting things and meeting interesting people were always par for the course by being around Gary. On one occasion we traveled to Spain for a long weekend of training. Driving to the airport Gary produced an SAS (Special Forces) training manual and tossed it to us to read, things like that were not in the public domain in those days and Gary had made friends with a guy from the Service who he had given it to Gary to look at. It had all sorts of fascinating information, including improvised bomb making. A few days later, after we returned to the UK, I was sitting with Sean at his place - Gary was out - when there was a strong knock at the door. When Sean answered there was a group of heavy looking Special Branch guys standing there with a search warrant. When they entered, some searched the property while we were separated and interviewed; they paid attention to my friend Sean as at this time the IRA was active in the UK, planting bombs and making terrorist attacks. Sean received particular interest because he was an Irish American who had spent most of his life in the UK. Later we found out that it was related to the SAS manual that 'someone' had stupidly left on the back seat of the hire car. Gary laughed it off, of course.

 

      The one time I saw Gary on the 'back foot' was after an all-night party. The next day I was ill after consuming too much alcohol. Gary, out of the goodness of his heart, decided to drive me back to my mother's home. He knocked on the door and when it opened I staggered in. Looking back I could see my dear old mum, who was five foot nothing, looking up at this big bear of a man wagging her finger at him, telling him off for bringing her son home in such a state. It was the only time I saw Gary on the defensive, walking backwards and apologizing in the most polite way possible. A real gent! 

 

      Gary taught me how to get stuck in, fight dirty, the importance of fighting spirit and having a combative attitude, qualities up until then I lacked. One day Gary, who had once been a butcher, was cutting up meat; he was quite skilful and knew how to fight with a knife. While I watched I asked him how you would fight someone armed with a knife? He said, “Bob, if you want to fight anyone armed with any weapon, first get good with the use of that weapon yourself”. That has always stuck with me and I have practiced various weapon skills and how to counter them ever since. He also fostered in me the importance of always respecting and thinking about the reality of combat and I’ve always trained and taught with this in mind.

 

      Training with Gary was excellent but over time Gary’s attention was drawn more towards the night-club security scene and although Gary taught us a hell of a lot, it was felt by my Sensei’s, Tony Christian and Bob Greenhalgh that our direction needed to be more traditional and to go deeper into our practice of Karate. After training on several courses held by Sensei James Rousseau, it was decided that we should go on to study Okinawan Goju Ryu Karate Do. During this time we trained under Sensei’s Morio Higaonna, Teruo Chinen and James Rousseau.

 

      In 1978, together with Sensei Roy Flat, a friend of mine, I opened a dojo in Liverpool. A year later I then moved to Norwich in the county of Norfolk on the opposite coast of England and opened another dojo. I continued training with various groups including Karate Do International, based in South Africa, my main Sensei being Francis Rink who was based in Rhodesia as Zimbabwe was called back then. This was an Okinawan Goju Ryu organization headed by Sensei Hugh St John Thompson, an early student of Morio Higaonna whose main representative in the UK was Sensei Denis Martin. Denis was a friend of Terry O’Neill and also worked the doors and had an awesome reputation. Denis went on to specialize in teaching unarmed and armed combative skills and has taught bodyguards and other security personnel worldwide, and has written extensively on the subject. I spent a month of intensive training in South Africa. Although I learned a hell of a lot from all these Sensei, I decided that I needed to look for an organization with a more direct linage to Master Chojun Miyagi teachings.

 

      With the approval of my dojo we decided to apply to join the Okinawan Goju Ryu Karate Do Kyokai, Jundokan. The association was then headed by Master Eiichi Miyazato 10th Dan. Eiichi Miyazato was the head student of Master Chojun Miyagi, the founder of Okinawan Goju Ryu Karate Do. After the death of Master Miyagi, it was decided by the students and family of Master Miyagi that Master Miyazato should continue as head of the dojo. This was because Master Miyazato was held in such high regard by Master Miyagi. Master Miyazato also trained with Master Miyagi for longer than anyone else, right up until his Master's death; he was Master Miyagi chief assistant both at the Okinawan Police Academy and at Master Miyagi home dojo. Later Master Miyazato opened his own dojo which he called the Jundokan. Since then he has devoted himself to preserve and pass on the teachings of his Master. Many first-class karate practitioners have been the products of both Master Miyazato teachings and the Jundokan. At this time the UK branch of the Jundokan was headed by Sensei Richard Barrett. Richard had been training in Okinawa at the Jundokan for an extended period, returning in 1985 to open a branch of the Jundokan here the UK, with the permission of Master Miyazato. Richard is a very strong Karate Ka with an excellent technical ability.

 

      It had always been a wish of mine to travel to Okinawa to experience the birthplace of Karate and to train there under the Masters. In 1988 my wish came true and I traveled with my student and good friend Tony Green to Okinawa for the first time to train intensively under Miyazato for a month. I also trained under Masters Koshin Iha, Nanko Minei and Tetsunosuke Yasuda. Master Iha was also one of the top students of Master Miyagi and was the technical adviser for the Jundokan. The depth and quality of instruction at the Jundokan was awesome.

 

      When we first arrived in Okinawa we were advised not to ask too many questions, as it wasn't the Japanese way; just to do as you're told and train hard. But we wanted to learn as much as possible so every day we would turn up at the dojo before anyone else and when Master Miyazato appeared would politely ask things. Sometimes he would just say; “train more and you will understand” but for the most part he would answer all our questions - to some questions he would give us direct answers but to others he would answer in a way to make us think and try to discover the answers for ourselves. In the end though, I think he enjoyed our cheek. When I asked him about certain individuals who say that they have the secrets of Karate, he laughed and said “Bob, the only secrets are the ones you find out for yourself.” Wise words.

 

      Master Miyazato lived above the dojo with his wife.  The dojo itself is spacious by Okinawan standards and well-equipped. Traditionally in the Jundokan we use specialized weight training equipment to develop our bodies in the right way for Karate - by developing the structure and muscular strength of the body. To develop our body's weapons we use conventional boxing bags and pads. However we also use traditional equipment to condition our fists, hands, elbows and feet by repeatedly striking what is know as a Makiwara, a chest high chamfered piece of flexible wood that is inserted into the ground. The top is covered by a leather pouch, it is then stuck repeatedly, not only to harden our body weapons for combat, but also to develop full-body power through effective dynamics. A bamboo bundle called a Tou is struck with the finger tips to develop this type of striking. There is also a tree trunk which is struck with the forearms and shins to develop blocking power and to harden the shins for kicking, and being kicked. 

 

      When a student first starts training, Master Miyazato would delegate a senior to be his or her instructor. This relationship would usually last for the whole of the student's Karate life. During the day there would only be a handful of people training, however during evening the numbers would increase dramatically and the range of experience and knowledge was great. Because there were no set classes you had to motivate yourself; you could be lazy - but if you had this attitude you would be left alone. On the other hand if you worked hard with enthusiasm you would usually find that a senior would take you under his wing and others would train with you or offer advice. Although everyone practiced the whole system, there was senior sensei within the dojo who specialized in all the different aspects of training. This made for an excellent work and learning environment, as you could call upon the expertise of all these individuals to resolve any problems that you may have.

 

      On occasions Master Miyazato would ask us up to his living area for a little something to eat or to share in a drink or two. This was a great experience; to be able to talk, to ask further questions and just to be in the company of a part of Karate history.

 

      Training in the dojo is strict and no idle chatter is allowed, however after the evening class we would usually be invited out by one or more of the seniors. This would be interesting and very informative, because away from the dojo the seniors let their guard down and open up. In some respects I’ve learned just as much on these occasions as being in the dojo itself. Also, on occasions we were invited to train at one of the other dojo’s run by another master, which normally ended with some sort of party afterward. Just being able to socialize with these senior masters and to ask questions about history and training was a great experience.

 

      During this first visit we were instructed and refined in all aspects of Goju Ryu by Master Miyazato and the other Masters at the dojo. We finally felt that we had trained at the heart of Goju Ryu Karate Do and were taught by some of the best in the world. This made Tony and I determined to return to Okinawa on a regular basis to gain further refinements and deepen our knowledge of Karate. Becoming a student of a true Master has always been a goal of mine and being able to tap not only into your Masters' experience but the accumulated experience of all the previous Masters before him - in other words hundreds of years of experience. Also the knowledge you receive is pure and direct, not third or fourth hand. Based on their knowledge and experience, Masters and good teachers can help to refine you and short-cutting the mistakes you would normally make and I actively encouraged all my students to make the pilgrimage to Okinawa at least once in their lives.

 

      Tony and I returned to Okinawa several times to train under Miyazato and in 1997 when Richard Barrett, the former Chief Instructor for the UK resigned, I was made Shibucho, Chief Instructor for Jundokan UK by Master Miyazato. The last time we trained with Miyazato was just before his death in 1999. Although looking frailer he was teaching right up until the very end. I remember when we left for the airport he said goodbye, telling me to look after myself and I remember bowing and saying, “no Sensei, you look after yourself.” In saying those words I think I realized I wouldn’t see my Sensei again.

 

      I felt very sad when I heard about his death but also felt privileged that I had had the opportunity to train with such a great man and I made a pledge to myself to pass on what I had learned from him.

 

      I once asked Master Miyazato what is the greatest gift Karate can give. He simply replied “humility” and this has always stayed close to me and I hold it dear. Master Miyazato said various things to me that inspired me to think deeply about my training and to refine it based on the principles he taught. He also told me, “if you’re true to yourself, even if you lose a battle, you will never be defeated”. In my life I’ve had a few people who have influenced and inspired me in different ways and Master Miyazato was one of those.

 

      Despite Master Miyazato’s death we continued to travel to Okinawa on a regular basis to deepen our knowledge and I am constantly trying to refine my own training and the way I teach based upon what I’ve been taught and the principles of Goju Ryu. I always tell my students that the day I stop refining is the day I give up training. Although I’ve been training in the martial arts for forty two years, I still strongly believe it is vitally important to seek out teachers who are more experienced and knowledgeable than you. Training in Okinawa with the likes of Masters Yasuda and Omini (10th Dan’s), as well as other very experienced Masters and Sensei is essential to me.

 

      Personally, I’ve never been particularly interested in sport Karate, however I do have a great respect for those who practice it. I am not saying that an individual who practices sport Karate would not be effective in a 'real' situation, for example you only have to look at Terry O’Neil - an individual who has been top of his field, whom I greatly admire and who, over time from working on the doors of Liverpool, has amassed a great deal of practical experience in real fighting. Moreover I do believe that in the West we have some of the best competition fighters in the world and I believe that one should constantly look to the 'modern' methods being developed by sports scientists and other individuals to improve both physical and mental performance. However, there is Japanese saying; “cherish the old to understand the new”. Karate practitioners who wish to call themselves traditionalists must cherish the fact that their fighting tradition has evolved out of the research, training methods and fighting skills of previous Masters. Over the centuries each new generation of Master has rediscovered and built upon the teachings of their Masters. Therefore the training methods, principles and philosophies of the past, which form the bedrock and essence of what we call “Traditional Karate Do” today, must always be studied, researched, trained in, refined and never forgotten. Only by doing this will people come to understand the true power and deeper meaning of Karate. Karate is an important part of the cultural heritage of Okinawa and as such will always be held very dear by the people of Okinawa. Therefore to those Okinawan’s who follow the “Karate Do” or “The Way of Karate”, it a special treasure that forms a major part of their lives. One Okinawan sensei told me “As long as I can breath I will practice Goju”. I feel that because of this strong feeling for the tradition of Karate Do in Okinawa, there will always be a concentration of experience and expertise. Personally, for me it is important to always have a sensei to look to, not only to refine my physical ability but to guide me towards a deeper understanding of the essence of Karate. To me it’s all about emphasis and in sport Karate the main emphasis is on wining a point or having the best precision there is and the skill level required to achieve this is undeniably to be both admired and respected. However in traditional Karate the emphasis is more about realistic fighting and the development of Kata (Karate forms or sequences of Karate techniques passed down to us by previous Masters), that is not only dynamically powerful but also reflects the practical fighting principles of that style. There is a saying “train the way you want to fight and you’ll fight the way you train”.  Also, on a deeper level, traditional Karate emphasizes the development of character through an understanding of “Self”.  Master Motobu Choki (1871-1944) who was renowned as practical fighter (gained through his experience of real fighting) wrote in 1927, “In seeking to understand the essence of Karate, we must search beyond the immediate results of physical training and not place too emphasis upon competition or record breaking, but rather to seek wisdom through self knowledge and humility”.

 

      In 1992 I was invited to Lithuania to teach traditional Goju Ryu. The people I taught there were both tough and eager to learn. At the end of that visit I was presented with a sports medal from the Lithuanian Army for teaching some of their self-defense instructors, in fact I was invited by them to stay on and teach unarmed combat but at that time I politely declined. However I was invited by a former student several times to teach seminars over the years since and eventually made Lithuania my home.

 

      In 2007 I was invited to teach in India. India was a unique and extremely interesting experience. And I am currently planning to return to help develop and promote traditional Karate and the other Martial Arts. I stayed at my student’s family house; they are Hindu and it was interesting to experience a completely different culture and religion. In India, to my embarrassment, I was called a Guru; it is custom to bow, touch the feet of your teacher, and then your heart and this happened to me many times. As gifts I gave away a couple of karate black belts from Okinawa and the students I gave them to actually prostrated themselves and kissed my feet. I was also to be the Chief Judge at a Karate tournament and was to award the prizes. They gave me what looked like a throne to sit on to survey the tournament. I am a quite person and don’t like a lot of fuss so this was a very humbling experience for me. Unfortunately one day my student Balaji was involved in a motorcycle accident on the way to pick me up. He nearly died and was in intensive care for the rest of my stay. Most days I was taken to visit him in hospital, although he was unconscious I was asked by his family to talk to him and encourage his recovery. Once or twice when I was with the family, the doctors would appear and said there could only be one visitor and I was told by his father to go in, I would always say no and that it is more important for a family member to see him but they would insist, saying it was important for me to see him being his teacher and an honored guest, again a very humbling experience. It was touch and go that Balaji would survive but thankfully he did and now he has made a full recovery.

 

      Because of my interest in the reality of how Karate would be applied in actual combat and the fact that I was being asked to teach self-defense seminars, I decided to increase my experience of actual conflict by working on the door of night-clubs. Later I got my friend and student Tony Green a job working with me. I felt I knew how to fight from the days training with Gary Spiers as well as with my own training, but I wanted to confront my own fears and learn how to deal with real and violent confrontation. Having a knife pulled on you or facing multiple attackers wanting to rip your head off certainly brings home the importance of effective techniques, tactics and reality based training. Working on the doors taught me the importance of effective awareness skills, correct body language, verbal skills, how to deal with fear and stress (flight or fight syndrome), the positive use of the adrenalin pump and the use of the mental attributes of courage, determination and having a combative attitude. If practiced correctly I do feel that all these qualities and attributes are there in Karate training and in the writings of various martial arts Masters, however for me security work has given me more understanding and insight into these particular aspects of Karate. I’ve heard it said that Kata (sequences or patterns of Karate technique that the masters of old have passed down to us) is only good for the development of technique, sport and is of little use in actual fighting. My experience of working “the doors” disproves this. More often than not I would use Kata applications or a variation during an altercation. Therefore, I would suggest that the people who hold this view have little or no knowledge of the use of effective applications in relation to the Kata they practice. Kata and their applications must be practiced together in an effective way so that they become one in the same. In this way when you practice Kata you will be practicing the applications and when you practice applications you will be practicing Kata. If you train your in Kata and applications in this manner, their use in real situations will become natural, reactive and effective. In total I worked the doors for nearly ten years and the reason I eventually gave up was because I got ill. Eventually the doctor called me and said he would like to have a serious talk with me. I feared I had something seriously wrong but he said no, he wanted to talk to me about my lifestyle. I told him what I did; working full time at the Post Office, training and teaching four times a week and working the doors three, sometimes four nights a week. He shook is head and told me that if I carried on like that I would not be around much longer. Something had to go; so I gave up the doors.

 

      I never thought of practicing another Marital Art but on the advice of Master Miyazato I decided to try something else. I wanted something that would balance out the stronger aspects of Karate training, so I decided to give Taiji a go and have been practicing Yang Style Taiji since 1991, under the guidance of my teacher Pete Dobson. My training in Karate, my martial attitude, together with my knowledge of structure and body dynamics helped my understand and develop my Taiji more quickly than normal. In time Pete and I became close friends, Pete is a really interesting guy, an artist, ordained Buddhist, ex boxer and boxing coach; he also worked in prisons for years teaching Taiji and meditation and had some successes in turning some real bad guys around. He’s a deep guy with a big heart and has helped me to think and better understand myself. Although in a totally different way, Pete has a similar charisma to Gary Spiers; going out with Pete and being in his company was always interesting and a fun, he can engage with anyone and you would sometimes meet up with some very interesting people, from Buddhists to ex cons! One day he asked if we could stop off and see some guy he knew him from his work in prison. Over the years had done his best to help this guy sort himself out and he wanted to see if he was OK before Pete eventually left to emigrate to New Zealand. He was a big guy, a bruiser and you could tell he had been around a bit - he had been in a few 'Mexican' stand-offs with the police and I believe the police sent in Armed Officers first if they wanted to have a talk with him. I had some trepidation but the guy was really friendly and polite.

 

      Taiji has helped me in my karate training in many different ways, especially understanding how relaxation can deliver force, as well as by refining my sensitivity for close quarter fighting where eyesight becomes less important but sensitivity to the pressure and / or energy or lack of pressure and / or energy an opponent gives you is vital. Taiji has also improved my health and has helped me to become more in touch with my mind and body. I also encouraged one of my karate students Paul Fretter to train in Taiji. Paul has gone on to teach Taiji and Fujian White Crane successfully all over the UK.

 

      While in New Zealand Pete trained with Chinese teacher Mr. Wee Kee Jin. Pete invited him to the UK to teach and once we had trained with him we were well and truly sold. Jin has been training in Taiji as long as I have been practicing Karate. His ability is second to none and he is one of the best teachers I have ever trained under; being very knowledgeable, totally open and sincere. He is also very humble; a man who would never call himself a Master but instead regards himself as a true student of Taiji. His lineage is also exemplary; when you are taught by him you know that you are being taught the true heart of Taiji. I am proud to have him as my teacher and over the years we have also become friends. We eventually found out that Jin was also taught Fujian White Crane by his Taiji teacher Master Huang Sheng Shyan (1910-1992) and Huang originated from Fujian province in China. For me and Paul this was a remarkable coincidence as there are very close links between our style of Karate, Goju Ryu and Fujian White Crane. In fact Master Huang had been taught by a Master Xie Zhongxiang (also known as Ryuru Ko), the same master who had taught one of the previous Karate masters in our lineage, Master Higashionna Kanryo. Higashionna was taught by Xie Zhongxiang during the years he spent in China furthering his study of martial arts. This seemed like fate to us and we had to learn this fighting tradition. Furthermore, some of the Okinawan Karate Masters from previous times also trained in the same fighting tradition. Jin taught the whole Fujian White Crane system to Pete, Paul and I. Jin hadn’t the time to teach it in the UK himself, so he has left it in the hands of Paul and I to teach, develop and promote. However, Jin is always there to help and refine our practice and answer questions and in turn this fulfilled the promise made to his teacher, Master Huang to pass on his Fujian White Crane fighting tradition.

 

      Jin is wise, when I asked him about practicing different systems of martial arts he said, “you should never change one thing for another but you will find that one influences the other” and I’ve found this to be true. The martial attitude and spirit I have developed from my years of training in karate is always there, however the principles I’ve learned from Jin’s teachings and my practice Taiji and Fujian White Crane have influenced and refined my practice of karate and how I teach it, without changing anything that Master Miyazato first taught me. 

 

      As mentioned, my friend Pete Dobson is also an ordained Buddhist minister and I also call myself a Buddhist. For many years I have had a keen interest in Buddhism and the relationship it has with the martial arts and it was Pete who inspired me to experience meditation practice. Zen Master Dogen (1200-1253) describes Zen in this way; “To study the Buddhist Way is to learn about oneself. To learn about oneself is to forget oneself. To forget oneself is to perceive oneself as all things. To realize this is to cast off the body and mind of self and others. When you reach this stage you will be detached even from enlightenment but will practice it continually without even thinking about it”.  Zen or Ch’an as it is known in China has had a great influence on the martial arts. The Shaolin Monks of China, together with many of the warriors of feudal Japan, believed in the importance of Zen. These warriors thought that the study of Zen was essential in order to both become an effective warrior and to overcome their fear of death. In fact modern sports psychologists and security advisers use similar methods of mind development for sport and combat survival. The Zen term “Mushin”, meaning empty or no mind and what sports psychologists call “being in the zone” is to me, one in the same. The Japanese maxim “Tatakawa zushite katsu” declared by some Masters to be the true meaning of Budo states, “Winning without fighting by overcoming the enemy within”, for me holds true. 

 

      I also practice the Buddhist tradition known as Kokoro No Kai which is a practical form of Buddhism involving meditation through the practice of chanting and the study of a Buddhist scripture called the Lotus Sutra.  My teacher is Sensei Hiromi Hasagawa who I have known for many years, being the proprietor of the Oriental Martial Arts Center in Norwich were I used to teach. Hiromi is a wise, generous man and a good friend, who is always there to offer me advice and guidance when ever I needed it.  

 

      My life changed in 2004. I took redundancy from the Post Office where I had worked for most of my life, and a long term relationship ended. My life seemed to implode and it took me a long time to get my head together. My family and friends helped me through it all and I owe them everything for that. The phrase “you know who your true friends when times are bad”, holds true for me. In reevaluating what to do with myself and why I’m here on this planet I came to realize that training and teaching is my true purpose in life. My mother once told me that it is important to be good at least one thing in your life.

 

      I wanted a fresh start and at first thought about going to live in either India or Lithuania where I already had students. Then two female karate students from Lithuania turned up to train here in the UK with me and I ended up marrying one of them! Her name is Simona and I now live with her in Lithuania. Everyone thought I was a bit crazy but I have my fresh start and my own martial arts center – I am doing something I love to do. Our Center has been open a year now and we are gradually developing a hard-core of students, as well as teaching seminars around the country. But without our Sensei Hiromi and the support of the Kokoro No Kai we wouldn’t have achieved what we have so far. Our intention and ambition is to create a special place for people of all ages who want to study traditional martial arts, improve health and fitness, develop character, learn how to effectively defend themselves and, if they wish, to follow the Buddhist path and already people are saying that attending our Center has affected their lives in a positive way. We have also trained some of the instructors who train the President's bodyguards and hope to do some more work with them in the future. I have one government bodyguard attending regular classes with me and some anti-terrorist police attending my seminars. One of the instructors who has trained with me is one of the best combat shooters in the country, he also works for the government and teaches bodyguards, anti terrorist and other specialist units firearm skills. We have become good friends and he is teaching me combat shooting. 

 

      People sometimes ask me why I still train and I have to be truthful and say I don’t really know. I think this is because over the years training has become so much a part of me, just like eating and sleeping; it’s just something I do and still love. It is who I am. If you have the right attitude, training in the martial arts is like a bottomless pit which is why Masters are still able to refine themselves and still be effective well into old age. The key word here is 'refinement' and through refinement seeking perfection. Refinement to me means that I’m always striving to go deeper into my training, to improve myself in order to try and achieve perfection. Sometimes I feel I’m almost able to touch it but in reality it’s always just out of reach. Striving for perfection is the way I keep my drive and enthusiasm alive. I still get a buzz from teaching, not only from seeing my students develop but also from seeing how training helps affect their character in a positive way. An extreme example is I once had a thirty year old guy start training with me; he had been knifed in an unprovoked attack while leaving a pub with his wife and as a result he lost all confidence and found it difficult to go out anywhere. Training gave him back his confidence and self respect and helped him to overcome his problems. He only trained for a couple of years but every Xmas after that he would seek me out and give me a bottle of wine as a thank you. Another guy who was an ex-con was recommended to me but as a rule I never teach individuals who I think may abuse what they are taught, but I was assured the guy was trying to sort himself out. Training helped to give him some focus and channel the aggression he felt. He was also dyslexic and when he was young dyslexia was not recognized so as a result he became dysfunctional at school, which in turn led to borstal and eventually prison. I never forgot his first Karate examination; this big bruiser of a man was nearly in tears when he passed - he told me that he had never been awarded anything before. Once again training helped to give him back his self-confidence and his self-respect, he has now settled down and has a family.

 

      A good teacher is only as good as the students he produces, the ultimate aim of any true teacher being to develop a student who excels him or herself to refine their teachings still further. Over the years in the UK I’ve helped produce some excellent karate exponents who are now respected and highly regarded for their ability and I am proud that they still consider me their Sensei. I hope to do the same here in Lithuania. At the time of writing this I am nearly fifty-eight, and as well as trying to refine myself as much as possible, my main goal now is to produce good students who can carry on the traditions I teach.

 

Web site: bobhoniball.lt