Blog Article/Post Caveat (Read First Please: Click the Link)
Today, the 16th of September 2017, Andy Sloane called me from Okinawa ... wait for it ... through Facebook! Now, that is cool simply because until the FB-Phone rang I didn't realize it was possible. I must be getting old, geez.
Anyway, during our conversation it came up about Isshinryu pioneers, that those believed as pioneers for Isshinryu were fewer than believed and that got me to thinking about what an Isshinryu Pioneer might be.
First, in general, a pioneer is, "A person to develop or be first to use or apply (a new method, area of knowledge, or activity)."
Now, think about this because to be an Isshinryu pioneer it means, in my simple mind, a person must have developed a new Isshinryu method, discovered an area of Isshinryu knowledge or an isshinryu activity! Right?
Those thought to be Isshinryu Pioneers could not be, because almost all of them believed that to change one iota of the system from the way Tatsuo-san taught and/or practiced to be ‘blasphemous’. In my mind, the key here, is both Isshinryu and pioneer being used to describe a person, also in my mind, NO ONE in Isshinryu, except its creator, Shimabuku Tatsuo, can be an Isshinryu pioneer!
I prefer to reference the early practitioners who started Isshinryu here in the US as luminaries because many of these fine karate-ka indeed, "have been persons to inspire or influence others, especially as being prominent in a particular sphere. Sphere being the Okinawan karate style named Isshinryu.”
In closing, to my mind and heart, there are no Isshinryu Pioneers. There are a few luminaries who influenced Isshinryu a good deal and more are being created almost every decade. The latest luminary to my mind is Andy Sloane Sensei who has spent the last seven years or so on the Island helping to keep Isshinryu alive there along with Uechi Sensei. That in and of itself deserves the respect and admiration of the Isshinryu community both here and there.
Kanpai Isshinryu’ist!
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We call people like Don Nagle and Sherm Harrill Isshinryu pioneers because they were among the first to teach this style of karate in the US. That's all.
ReplyDeletePioneerism could just mean being the first kid on your block to utilize a way of doing something, even you weren't the guy to actually invent it.
Being first to teach something exactly, as they assume they did, to my mind is not enough to make them pioneers but ... Isshinryu Luminaries, very much so because simply they started the ball rolling and as to karate in general in the States regardless of system or style, pioneers.
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