MASTER YUCHOKU HIGA PRACTICE KARATE IN THE MOONLIGHT

Remarks: written by a reporter of the monthly magazine ¡ÈAoi Umi¡É
Feb.
1978 issue. Pages 96-97.

Translated by Sanzinsoo

¡ÉVery rhythmical and beautiful movement!¡É praised a musician from
outside
Okinawa when he saw a performance of Shorin-ryu karate in Okinawa. It is
natural that the musician was impressed, as the characteristic of Kata in
Shorin-ryu has not only fighting element but also esthetic element. It has
power in the graceful and fluid movement, but we cannot see it by
appearances. It is said that Shorin-ryu is rather an aggressive karate,
although its movement is soft and gentle. They attack the opponents like
dancing. Shorin-ryu has similarity to Okinawan traditional dance in its
positioning of waist, movement of hands and footwork. That is why some
Okinawan traditional dancers come to the dojo to study karate.

¡ÈYes, like this. You raise your hand. And lower it. You do it fast. You
do
it slowly.¡É said Mr. Yuchoku Higa. If you add rhythm to Kata of karate,
it
will become an Okinawan traditional dance.

Master Yuchoku Higa is the chief instructor of ¡ÈKyudokan¡É, a
karate dojo
of Shorin-ryu. He has a strong physique as a warrior because he has been
training in karate for a long time. But when he was a boy, he was skinny
and had a weak constitution. Higa¡Çs grandfather was worried about his
delicate grandson, so he took his grandson to the home of Master Gichin
Funakoshi, his cousin, and made Higa stay with Funakoshi¡Çs family. The
grandfather hoped that Higa learn karate from Master Funakoshi, and at the
same time Master Funakoshi help his grandson with his studies. At that time
Master Funakoshi worked as a teacher at school. After four days, Higa who
was in the fourth grade of elementary school, escaped from Master
Funakoshi¡Çs home and went back to his home. He was very afraid and felt
lonely when he lived apart from his family. However, the grandfather could
not give up his idea, so he tried again when Higa was in the sixth grade of
elementary school. This time he took his grandson to the home of Master
Chojun Miyagi. But again Higa escaped from Master Chojun Miyagi¡Çs home.
He
said to his grandfather, ¡ÈPlease, please do not force me to learn
karate!¡É
Eventually the grandfather gave up and never took him to any karate
masters.

- to be continued -

Sanzinsoo
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