Steven Seagal Instagram – Lot of people know that I started Karate and Kung-fu long before I started Aikido. As a young boy I left home at 15 and went to work as a dishwasher in a restaurant. In that restaurant there was an old Japanese man who cooked there who used to sometimes watch the way I would wash and move dishes and glasses. Once I asked him where he was from, he said Okinawa Japan, the motherland of Karate. Then I asked him if he knew Karate. He smiled and said Yes. Even as a child I had dabbled in karate before this, but this was my first chance to have a real teacher, where I started my long road in Karate.
In Japan in the early 70’s I had gone by the ancient saying to spend more time trying to find the right teacher than the actual training in knowing that finding the right teacher is everything. I was lucky enough to find a few authentic great teachers who were real masters of a mixture of Sword, Jujitsu and Karate. Later on I became good friends with sensei Mas Oyama, who was the founder of Kyokushin Karate and I was very impressed with the realistic battle applications of the style. I had always tried to take the most effective techniques of all the arts that I had studied to combine them into my own style. When Mas Oyama sensei passed away, one of his best students Kancho Hatsuo Royama became his successor and I was very pleased and impressed with his personality, humility, and an amazing drive to keep the technique severe and real. Several years ago Kancho asked me to teach one of his karate master classes in Krasnodar. I accepted and was so happy to begin a closer relationship with him.
Last time I was in Japan, I was lucky enough to spend time with Kancho and was surprised and honored to receive 7th degree black belt from him. It is my hope and prayer that the wisdom of the real masters doesn’t disintegrate as time goes on. I am hoping that these sacred arts spread throughout the world, inspiring humility, respect, discipline and the desire to help others and make the world a better place.
Love and respect,
Steven Seagal
#kanchoroyama #kyokushinkan | Posted on 19/Jul/2019 00:56:13
