Karate & Kobudo Exhibition

Art has been given two tickets to the Karate & Kobudo Exhibition this afternoon so that is the focus of our day. Art will be participating in the exhibition as part of the Makishi Dojo.

It’s a beautiful Sunny Sunday and I wake before Art and John. Of course I always wake before John since at 14 he would happily sleep until mid afternoon. I work on the computer adding a few items to my http://www.martymagic.com web page enjoying the quiet of the morning. When Art wakes, in keeping with our Sunday morning tradition we bicycle to Starbucks but we are pressed for time.

Buzzed on caffeine, we take a taxi to the Budokan (Martial Arts Hall) over by Naha Port. The Budokan is an immense structure consisting of two main exhibition halls and many practice rooms. I would describe the exterior architecture as “Contemporary Bizarre.” The building is constructed of cement with a curved roof topped by zigzag skylights and rooftop copulas.’ The inside of the hall is large and very functional. John and I arrive early and get seats front and center. There is tiered seating along both sides of the hall as well. I expected to be bored with the exhibition, but I have been “assigned” to take photographs and I look at the participants in a new light. Having never done “sports” photography I find myself very challenged. 28 demonstrations are on the program representing about 18 organizations. The exhibition opens with close to 1000 participants entering the hall. Two thirds of the participants are children and I am immediately captivated by their innocence and their discipline. Groups form, lines morph and katas are preformed in unison. The youngest participants are 4 and 5 years old and some wave to their parents but almost all perform their katas proudly and powerfully. Speeches follow and then each Dojo performs a demonstration. Artistically I am fascinated with the formations and the synchronizations of the presentations. The starched white gis snap and kiai’s are yelled. (A Gi is the loose white cotton clothing worn when participating in this martial art.) (A Kiai is the yell that comes from the belly when the power of a thrust is focused down into pure energy.) Midways into the program the Makishi Dojo enter. John picks his Papa out before I do and I focus my camera in on Art and take photo after photo of the dojo’s brief but proficient demonstration. Art performs well and John is surprised by this and admittedly proud of his father. The afternoon has evaporated and it’s after 3:00 P.M. Unlike our sports stadiums there are no food concessions and my blood sugar is at a low, but the exhibitions keep getting better and I forget my hunger. Several of the final exhibitions are utterly amaze me. I watch boards and sticks of wood splinter with a single blow of the hand. Stacks of curved roof tiles are smashed by the blow of an elbow and then the Kobudo Exhibiton begins.

Karate means “Empty Hand” and Kobudo means “Ancient weapon.” Centuries ago when the Japanese Samurai were in power the Okinawans were not allowed to own weapons. In an effort to arm themselves, the martial art forms of Karate and Kobudo evolved. Farm implements were not outlawed so the peasants turned simple sticks, boat paddles and rice thrashers into implements of weapons. Several Dojos’ demonstrate impressive Kobudo Katas but the grand finale are three female “Ninja’s” performing a choreographed fight. Their legs twist and turn over head, they tumble and twist and defy gravity in an exhibition that awes the audience. Its 4:30 before the exhibition ends and I feel drained. We walk out into a beautiful afternoon of slanted sunlight and catch the monorail to the Shintoshin district to eat dinner. Our destination is a restaurant beside the Tsutaya Book Store. This slightly upscale restaurant offers an after 5:00 P.M. half price sushi menu. Our timing is perfect and after removing our shoes we glide along a glass floored corridor and are seated in our own private curtained room. We decompress and feast on sushi in our private room. The bill for the three of us including drinks is $3,300. Yen. (Less than $30.00 including tax and tip.)

More photos of the Karate Kobudo Exhibition can be viewed in the Okinawa.com Photo Gallery.