USA Magazine sept/October'2013

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Spain, which meant an important event. Onaga Sensei has been in Spain since 1972 and leads the European Hombu Dojo, the Gojunkan or Dojo Karate Onaga, as he has renamed his former Jundokan after the division events in the Okinawa matrix. Despite his fierce appearance, Yoshio Hichiya is a friendly person and we had a nice time on his Tatami. Although I had seen him in some demonstration in Okinawa, I didn'nt know him personally and the truth is it has been a most pleasant surprise to see his good nature. B.I.: Are there observable differences among the various lines of Goju Ryu in Okinawa? H.S.: While Chojun Miyagi was still alive,

B.I.: So Miyazato Sensei spent the whole day in the Dojo, right? H.S.: He spent many hours there, but Eiichi Miyazato was always very busy, since he also worked in the police department, in the military base ... and in the dojo. H.S.: Eiichi Miyazato was also a master in Judo. Did this fact exert any influence on his techniques? H.S.: Yes, Miyazato's techniques were influenced by Judo. B.I.: How was the division occurred in the Jundokan? H.S.: After the death of Eiichi Miyazato, Master Iha Koushin did not want to have any leading role. Miyazato's son wanted to be president but he did not have an adequate level. Miyazato's son had practiced Karate only to some extent, and he had been many years without doing so. I must say that when I met Yoshihiro Miyazato, in 2009, his treatment was everything but polite. In fact it bordered on rudeness. Only a phone call from Naoko, Miyagi Chojun's daughter-in-law (by the way, Miyagi had a grandson practicing Karate in the Jundokan) made Yoshihiro feel a little constrained to pay some attention to me ... even if it was in a bad way... Sorry to say! B.I.: Is the association widespread around the world? H.S.: There are many countries in our Kyokai. In Europe we have some fifteen. In Spain, the association counts on someone very special and another important bulwark of Okinawa Goju Ryu Karatedo Kyokai. He is Ryoichi is Onaga, which stays true to the line of Eiichi Miyazato, Koushin Iha and Yoshio Hichiya. Onaga Sensei began to learn Karate in 1964 in Naha, of the hand of Eiichi Miyazato himself. In 1992, Master Miyazato visited Onaga's Dojo in

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USA Magazine sept/October'2013 by Budo International Martial Arts Magazine - Issuu