from Okano Sensei

昨日の我に勝て

Kinou no ware ni kate - be better than I was yesterday.

Commemorative cup received from Okano Tomasaburo Sensei of Shotokan Karate, Kenkojuku.

Curiously, I stumbled across something in an old journal last night. Back in 2001, Okano Sensei praised my tai ji quan (he was also active in that art in the Hachioji area) to one of my seniors/ senpai, but added that my karate was still no good.

In 2000, back in Japan after an almost-year in China, Okano Sensei asked me to demonstrate my tai ji quan in the karate dojo. I declined, he insisted. I had spent almost every morning in China one-on-one with my teacher, working on the 42 form. Okano Sensei raved about my sweeping-lotus kick (摆莲) near the end of the form and had everybody in the dojo try it. Being hardcore karate guys, they were not terribly interested and their faces showed it.

I don't think my karate got much better after that - but events were already in motion that would lead me ever deeper into the world of Chinese martial arts. I am no longer practicing karate, but his words are more important to me today than ever.