What was training like with Shimabuku Tatsuo

 

Question for the senseis who have trained with master Shimabuku on Okinawa back in the day. What did a typical training day consist of (kata, kumite, etc etc)?

If this has been asked before, I apologize, and I appreciate anyone taking the time to respond. It’s an experience I’ll obviously never have, so I’m just curious what it was like for you

 

Bill Pogue I've asked this before. most of them said that you worked out on you own and TS sat up on the water tank watching. if you were a good worker, he'd help you. the classes i grew up with- one hour of charts and one hour of kata and kumite- was apparently a marine innovation. since I'm in the nagle lineage, i presumed nagle . i notice in other parts of the country, they don't have such a structured training.

 

Victor  That is pretty much how it was explained to me. Senior students would instruct the new students. All the others were pretty much on their own how hard they trained. Shimabuku sensei was always watching, and when someone’s work merited more training he would come out and show them something more. When he did so he would show it 3 times and if you didn’t get it would then walk away shaking his head.

 

As a student of Tom Lewis before class a ½ hour or so many of us would gather and work on basics, kotokite, other body hardening drills and other drills. Then most often Sensei appointed someone to hold the warmup (Another black belt or a brown belt depending on the night) and at times it would be Sensei. After warm up about ½ the time would be on kata and about ½ the time would be on kumite. Frequently Sensei would stay in his office watching, letting the other black belts run things. He could knock off 50 knuckle pushups faster than we could do 50 regular pushups, and he could kick the heavy bag harder that I could with a baseball bat. Class was always varied, never repeating itself.

 

I remember my 3^rd class. Sensei came out of his office, leaned against the wall watching everyone. When warm-ups were concluded, he told everyone to work on their kata, that was it for the night. I only knew the first 3 steps to Seisan and that is what I did over and over for the rest of the class.

 

Years late I questioned Sensei about how he would run the class. He explained he was using the model of Shimabuku Tatsuo.